@Illustair - Yeah that sure would be nice. I doubt us modders will ever have that much control over the Infinity Engine.
Ask overhaul to make that functionality available to modders or at least confirm if they can do it, maybe it's just not possible.
This thread has more views that all but 2 threads in the modding sections(and they are announcements) and twice the posts of the 2nd largest thread, there are a LOT of people following this so I don't think they would mind if you ask someone from overhaul(I think trent was the one that redid the UI) to look it up and tell you if it can be done(and how).
I'm not suggesting you try to impose yourself or anything, just that they said several times that they intended to make BG:EE more mod friendly and help modders and they can't do that if there is no communication with them about what's needed.
@cryocore - Are you people even reading any of the comments I've made regarding this? It has NOTHING to do with me not wanting to do it or me limiting myself. You would still have to scroll down with your template you created...whats the point in me back tracking to create a this wonderful template you created that still scrolls down? Doesn't make any sense at all. It's easy for your to put your black and white template together and tell me how I'm limiting myself with my designs when you have no clue how half of the design process works. If I could do it I would...but it simply will NOT work the way you think it will. I looked into it...
As you can see I've looked into this to see if you would still need to scroll down. The scroll bar is still present and there is enough text to fill two screens...this layout of yours doesn't make any sense at all if you still have scroll down. Filling an entire screen with text is an eye sore and looks horrible.
@Archaic You know what I was only making a suggestion. I personally dont care if it still scrolls. I like how it would look with the text down one side. but as I said I like what you're doing. But you know what screw it if you're going to react like that I'm out. You want feedback and suggestions then bite my head off for making one. Good luck Im done.
@cryocore - I wasn't biting your head off. If it came across that way I'm sorry. Maybe you should consider how you came across as well. Either way its all good. I stated various times prior that it cannot be done and yet it keeps getting brought up. There is nothing more I can say on the topic. If you're done then thanks for feedback and have a good one. Later.
@Archaic did you actually read what I wrote? If you can find anything even remotely aggressive in there you're being way too sensitive. I would think based on our previous interactions that would be apparent. I dont appreciate being spoken in such a manner, and I have never been anything less than completely supportive, but yeah I dont take kindly to the manner in which you decided you reply. I have re-read it a few times and I cant see any other what to interpret it. Personally I think a dramatic layout change would be awesome, but limitations and personal preference dictate your project and thats cool, but I wont be contributing any more. Respect needs to be a two way street.
@cryocore - Respect has been a two way street. I've been taking in your feedback and everyone else by improving the mod not for myself but for the community - that is RESPECT. I've already apologized if you took what I said as offensive - honestly what more do you need? I don't see any need to continue going on and on after someone apologizes. Please try to move on so we can continue working on the mod and not this drama. My frustration in the matter is that I've stated over and over this design cannot be done the way it makes sense which in my eyes would be to make it without the need of scrolling. This cannot be achieved and simply doesn't make sense for me to backtrack and re-design this when plenty of people are happy with it including myself. I've already spent a good amount of time trying to make it work as I do with most suggestions in the forum. Sometimes it works and other times is just doesn't. Now can we please drop this and chalk it up to a misunderstanding? My frustration may have come about more vividly upon responding to you and if you found that offensive for the last time, I'm sorry. Your feedback is very much appreciated. Thank you.
Thanks to everyone who supported the transparent bug fix request. Hopefully a fix will come out with the next patch and we can have a killer immersive experience for BETA 6.
@Illustair - Yes the font size can be lowered slightly. I tested the smallest font size from top to bottom and it still doesn't all fit without scrolling for all 6 of my party members. I really did extensive testing on this to see if it was possible at all. There were simply too many road blocks and too many issues for me to continue moving forward with it. I need to spend my time wisely and get BETA 6 done. Keep your suggestions coming. I truly do appreciate your support.
@Rasekov - I agree with everything you stated. Lets see how this bug fix goes for the transparent backgrounds and if they fix that then I think that gives us an indication that they are supporting the modders since the bug is only affects mods. Thanks.
@Archaic I certainly hope they get it fixed and fixed soon! I'll give the "official" bug report a bump but I would carry on with your mod as normal and not be waiting around for the fix. I'm sure you are doing this anyway
@Balquo - Thanks for the help. This is much appreciated for sure. I'm going to keep moving forward. I'm pretty excited to see this fixed the immersion level is amazing. I was playing around with it a lot today and I was amazed at how it made the game feel so different. I can also add an option to the installer for people who want transparent backgrounds and for those who do not.
@Jodien37 - Thanks for the bug report. You are the first to report it. I will have a fix up hopefully later today or tomorrow. I believe its because of the new patch adding the option to enable/disable color circles within the feedback options screen. I simply need to update my files to support the change.
I was able to create my own workaround for the TBM by overlaying a window on top of the bug to hide it. I was also able to find a way to add a full background to the windows that were effected by the TBM like the start screen and main menu. So things are looking really good for the TBM even if they don't release a fix. I would still really like to see a fix as it would improve the mod.
I know the border is a bit rough right now but I will clean it up and make it look nice and smooth. As you can see the bottom has a big block of GUI to hide the bug. If we can get a fix I can get rid of this on the bottom and open up the TBM even more.
@archaic incredible stuff, the amount of effort you have put into this is astonishing, and the outcome is certainly worth it. I know it's been said a few times before, but the developers should really take notice of this and incorporate into the game once it's finished.
@Requiem - Thanks for your kind words. I've been able to creatively manipulate the infinity engine to do somethings it wasn't designed to do and I find that challenging and rewarding. After the TBM is finished I would like to add BG2 style windows (http://img542.imageshack.us/img542/6696/bg2styleconcept.jpg) and possibly a Icewind Dale 2 style GUI with only 1 bottom panel interface. These are some steep goals but it sure would awesome.
Maybe the TBM bug was a blessing because it forced me to get really creative and I learned a lot and its opened up some more possibilities I was not aware of for future designs.
@archaic is it possible to make the entire bottom block transparent while the inventory window is open? I can't think of anything that could go there to add more functionality (maybe others can) but if it could be made invisible it would open up much more of the game screen.
After the TBM is finished I would like to add BG2 style windows (http://img542.imageshack.us/img542/6696/bg2styleconcept.jpg) and possibly a Icewind Dale 2 style GUI with only 1 bottom panel interface. These are some steep goals but it sure would awesome.
I would love to see an Icewind Dale 2 kind of GUI. BG is looking great while deactivating the HUD (h button), this way it would come closer to it. Might be strange to play BG with a huge change like this, 15+ years of playing with the same kind of interface... :-)
@Sylvus_Moonbow - of course it shows your character options once you leave the screen it goes back to the normal GUI. It behaves just like it normally does just with transparent backgrounds.
The latest screenshot is truly astonishing. I'd be more than satisfied if you settle with that. But I know you still have more creativity to juice out. Keep it up!
After more extensive testing it appears that my workaround for the TBM doesn't work on every screen like expected. I've been trying to find a solution but have been unsuccessful so far. Looks like we will need that bug fix after all.
As you can see I made the options screen transparent and my fix doesn't work on this screen. It works on the majority of screens except the save/load & options screen.
Thanks for the fix Archaic. By the way, the item description screen remains unchanged in 5.5. Do you plan to mod it in version 6? And how do you use the ui non-scaled, is there an option somewhere to toggle scaling?
@Jodien37 - Yes, I've already designed the item description screen for BETA 6. There are still quite a few screens that I have not had the pleasure of re-designing yet. I will try to get to all of them as we progress in the BETA design process.
You can toggle scaling by going to your baldur.ini file (My Documents/Baldur's Gate - Enhanced Edition\Baldur.ini) You will need add or edit:
'Graphics', 'Scale UI', '0',
Make sure the value is 0 for non-scaled and 1 for scaled. I use a program called ConTEXT (http://www.contexteditor.org) to make edits to the ini files or you can open it up in notepad but its not as easy to navigate.
If you need further assistance please feel free to let me know. Thanks.
Comments
This thread has more views that all but 2 threads in the modding sections(and they are announcements) and twice the posts of the 2nd largest thread, there are a LOT of people following this so I don't think they would mind if you ask someone from overhaul(I think trent was the one that redid the UI) to look it up and tell you if it can be done(and how).
I'm not suggesting you try to impose yourself or anything, just that they said several times that they intended to make BG:EE more mod friendly and help modders and they can't do that if there is no communication with them about what's needed.
As you can see I've looked into this to see if you would still need to scroll down. The scroll bar is still present and there is enough text to fill two screens...this layout of yours doesn't make any sense at all if you still have scroll down. Filling an entire screen with text is an eye sore and looks horrible.
I know the border is a bit rough right now but I will clean it up and make it look nice and smooth. As you can see the bottom has a big block of GUI to hide the bug. If we can get a fix I can get rid of this on the bottom and open up the TBM even more.
TBM = Transparent Background Mod
Maybe the TBM bug was a blessing because it forced me to get really creative and I learned a lot and its opened up some more possibilities I was not aware of for future designs.
DOWNLOAD: http://www61.zippyshare.com/v/10842698/file.html
@Jodien37
I would love to see an Icewind Dale 2 kind of GUI. BG is looking great while deactivating the HUD (h button), this way it would come closer to it. Might be strange to play BG with a huge change like this, 15+ years of playing with the same kind of interface... :-)
As you can see I made the options screen transparent and my fix doesn't work on this screen. It works on the majority of screens except the save/load & options screen.
You can toggle scaling by going to your baldur.ini file (My Documents/Baldur's Gate - Enhanced Edition\Baldur.ini) You will need add or edit:
'Graphics', 'Scale UI', '0',
Make sure the value is 0 for non-scaled and 1 for scaled. I use a program called ConTEXT (http://www.contexteditor.org) to make edits to the ini files or you can open it up in notepad but its not as easy to navigate.
If you need further assistance please feel free to let me know. Thanks.