SmartUI Closed Alpha Launched

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TristanMX/Pixel Perfect Studio

This time I tried to integrate smartUI with a gamepad, and I realized it needed some more functionality to work. The first thing was to be able to override the mouse events, so I added a "Track Pointer" and a "Set Pointer" actions to replace the tracking with an in-screen object. By switching on and off the track-pointer feature, you can allow the different inputs to co-exist: mouse, keyboard and gamepad.

I've also created a much better demo, that will be available of course, to explore how I tackled these challenges. It's also focused on testing the features, and understanding the framework functionality. I found several bugs while doing it, which is great! I'm cleaning it as much as possible for the alpha. At this point, I think it's usable for a project. It depends on how far you want to push it until it breaks. I won't be able to cover all the possible use cases, but will help in many for sure.

https://youtu.be/WkKp-J7htVE

Check it out!

i don't think this is intended behavior but with the grid layout the icons show up outside of the frame?

are these meant to be confined to the panel?

Well, I created Guandows in less than an hour using ProUI. Got a bit sloppy but here's some highlights:

1. The GridLayout component can grow outside the grid by design.

2. The quick grid-demo window doesn't wrap around the content. The component depends on your entries to limit the number of elements to render. If you overflow the capacity, it will try to render them in a grid-like disposition but elements will fall outside the window. (Same as with ProUI)

3. The demo is meant to help you understand how it works, together with the documentation. By changing the settings, you will see the different results.

4. If you wrap the GridLayout component in a Scrollview, the rendering will clip anything outside the scrollview. (I've just updated it for you)

5. There's a big limitation using scrollviews, and it's because the engine can't do it: Scrollviews must use their own layout to wrap around the content, therefore if you have several windows in the same layer the rendering won't be coherent. You will end up with a window and parts of the scrollview rendering on top of the rest. To keep the plugins working only with built-in features, that will still be a limitation unless scirra implements a way to create cameras and additional viewports.

6. If you mix HTML elements and texture-like elements, Construct doens't handle it very well. But that's a construct limitation, and it's noticeable depending on the type of animation/presentation you set for your components. You are free to chose what's best for your game.

Anyway, you are getting discouraged too soon I think. The tool has the same limitations than ProUI yet it provides a better way to solve them and more funcionalities. Take some time to test it in the alpha period, then you can decide whether or not it works for you.

P.S. I´ve got to admit that by mistake I omitted the Transform opacity and Transform visibility attributes to be set in all their childs. This is key to be setup when creating the object's hierarchy.

I tried the demo and there seems to be a lot of visual issues.

Thanks for the feedback. First of all, remember it's an alpha version and it's not its final version. I wouldn't recommend jumping into conclusions without trying it first, that's why I decided to open an alpha testing period for everyone who whises to test it. Keep in mind the demo has more functionality than what construct offers natively, and even more than ProUI, and it's pushing the boundaries of what the engine can do.

First when you click the play button at the bottom, the menus are empty of icons, then the icons appear for a split second outside (as though they have just been loaded in the middle of the frame), then they appear in the menus.

This is not an issue, in the demo I synched the creation of the grid elements after the window finishes animating. But you can instantiate them right away, I'll update it to demonstrate it. Depending of the amount of textures you are loading, you can pre-load them to memory using Load Sprite Sheet to speed up construct's instantiation.

When you click the ui icon on the desktop the same thing happens with the text. Also you can see the text moving as the window resizes itself with easing. By opening and closing them quicky it becomes quite noticeable.

You are right, but that's because I'm mixing html elements with textures-like elements. That's something construct can't handle very well, you will have the exact same results doing it without the addons. That's a construct limitation: Place a text object as child of a sprite, then resize it and you'll see the exact same result.

I think what you have done is great, but i don't think based on this demo it can be used for a professional game in its current form.

Too soon to declare a conclusion tbh. ProUI had these limitations and far more, yet it got used professionally. I'm a ProUI user, I can tell.

Guandows, in Construct 3

I was doing some more testing, and I did found several bugs that are now fixed!

Checkout Guandows, the disabled brother of Windows made in Construct 3.

Don't forget to register for the closed alpha. It's for free.

Register at: https://forms.gle/RBSmpJdwzQMqNxcs8