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[Kyzrati]

Hi All,

I'm developing a game tentatively titled "X@COM", which is initially going to be a complete remake of the original X-COM (console-style) that will eventually be expanded with tons of new features.

It's been in development for several months now, and I already released an early playable tech demo for this year's ARRP--you can check it out on the dev blog. There are plenty of screenshots and some videos on the blog as well.

I'm posting here because there's currently a lull in releases while I work on porting the game to a newly-written engine which will support a more advanced interface. I love some of the ASCII interface work I've seen on TIGForums, and I'm wondering if anyone wants to offer up some "concept art" ASCII HUDs that they'd like to see in the game. Some months back I made a few mockups of a possible X@COM HUD using ASCIIPaint:



Here's a quick shot of the game, so you can see what I'm working with right now for testing:



You can read more about the HUD and see some earlier versions in this post. The game engine has true color support, and can animate the interface through particle scripting not unlike what I'm currently using to render the weapon/explosion animations. I want to make the HUD as informative as possible without cluttering it up too much. It has to fit in a 20x60 cell area.

For upcoming alpha versions I'll also eventually be adding windows for inventory, character info, medikit use, motion detector, game options, etc. I suppose if anyone's interested they could throw out some ideas for those as well. (Work on the geoscape won't begin until the battlescape is complete.)


ALSO, I have yet to decide on a default font to use for X@COM, and anyone's welcome to offer advice on that, or design one. If you download the game, you can test your font (in-game) by simply editing the current default font found here: data/img/font12x12.png (The first alpha version will have better support for font hotswapping, so it'll be easy to include multiple styles later on.)

You can resize the file to make each cell 8x8 or 10x10, or even something rectangular like 10x12. I prefer square fonts myself because they do determine the battlefield aspect ratio, after all, though one problem with square fonts is that they can be more difficult to read. As you'll see in the font bitmap, it's handled as grayscale alpha (white on black). Right now the font only supports the most common standard ASCII characters, though non-ASCII characters and other codepages could be allowed later.

Here's a quick alternate font I threw together while working on the new engine (only replaced alpha characters, though, not numbers etc):



I didn't clean it up at all, so it looks pretty crappy.

The interface font should ideally be the same as the font used for map graphics, though this isn't a strict requirement--I could add support for multiple fonts in the same window (as long as they have the same dimensions). Either way, font letters probably need to be relatively easy to identify on their own if used on the map.

So, if anyone has a combination of free time and cool ideas for X@COM, feel free to share in this thread


Edit: I posted in this forum and not in business/collaborations/feedback etc because I'm not looking for a partner, or even something that I'll necessarily use--just wanted to see what kinds of concepts people can come up with, and share with the community.

[happymonster]

Cool idea, though it looks complicated!

Any chance you can use the font in AsciiPaint in your game, the spacing is a bit too wide at the moment.

[Kyzrati]

Well, initially it'll be as "complicated" as the original X-COM; no more, no less.

The game can use any type/size font (or font-like images) saved in the proper bitmap arrangement, and eventually there will be multiple fonts to choose from, but I will need to decide on an official default appearance. (Right now it's just a tech demo--not even in alpha yet.)

The problem is that square monospace fonts aren't all that easy to read, and the ones that are don't look all that great. On the other hand, square cells are somewhat essential for tactical strategy to avoid distortion of space.

Another issue is the font's readability in words vs. single characters. With some fonts, identifying a character/letter by itself (i.e., on the map) may be more difficult when it doesn't appear in a word. Perhaps this could be solved by using a separate font for the each the map and interface text, but then that's not very console-like.

I'll probably post some alternate testing fonts at some point, but for now I still have to finish porting the game to a new engine.

[quixoticproject]

I really like the mockup HUD, they look great. I've always wondered how to implement a kind of "look direction" in roguelikes, I like your solution with the triangles.. clever!

[Scut Fabulous]

Anyone reading this thread, definitely check out the videos on the dev blog  http://xcomrl.blogspot.com/, the firing effects look excellent!

If I could throw in my own wishlist for this sort of game, I'm not sure if there is a mouse interface already, but it would be great to have one.

Some sort of cursor context popups would be immensely useful.  Like holding down a hotkey brings up a window of data pertaining to whatever us underneath the cursor.


Wish you all the best on this project, it looks very playable already.

[Kyzrati]

Yep, there's mouse support, and there'll be all kinds of useful animated popups and overlays, many of them mouse-controlled. I'll be adding those kinds of things in the forthcoming alpha versions. Have to write an interface scripting system first.

Some people are already having fun with the tech demo--it's already pretty playable, even if the features and content are only a tiny fraction of what they'll eventually be. The weapon effects are neat, but hopefully they'll be even more fun once I throw in the sound resources.

I still have yet to come up with a better HUD design, so I'm going to start on other smaller parts of the interface first.

I've always wondered how to implement a kind of "look direction" in roguelikes, I like your solution with the triangles.. clever!

The only drawback is that units are limited to being distinguished by color, leaving far fewer possibilities than with letter+color.

[xrabohrok]

OOOhh, I like.

I can't quite put my finger on it, I feel like this could be taken to the next level.  I want to say that you could almost make the UI like something

, something I've always wanted to do personally.

I guess what I'm trying to say is not to be afraid to add a little pizazz.  Computers, back then even, could still mix it up beyond a grid-like interface. 

Also, F*ck yeah, X-Com.

[Kyzrati]

Heh, that link hits the nail on the head--it's exactly what I'm working on right now (just before noticing this post, in fact). I've spent all day coding and testing a new scripted console animation engine which is going to be all about just making the game look cool and all that much more fun/immersive. Game startup and intermediary screens will definitely have plenty of interesting extraneous visual output.

I'll be uploading some videos of the new interface features this month, and I'll post here to update as well. Not exactly working on the HUD just yet, since I haven't decided exactly what all I want in it; for now using the inventory window to test.

Also, F*ck yeah, X-Com.

What you said

[Christian Knudsen]

Just downloaded this to give it a spin, but I seem unable to reliably move units. Sometimes they'll move, but most of the time I get "No path found" even if I click on an empty tile right next to it.

[Kyzrati]

There are lots of people playing without issue, so I'm guessing you overlooked the fact that at the beginning of a mission you start in the Skyranger which is one level above the ground. Are you sure you're pointing at the ground when you want to walk somewhere? You can't walk into the air. (Only one of your guys has a flying suit in the default mission.) Use the mouse wheel (among other methods) to change floors--and hit F1 for a list of commands.

Note that the game is in 3D, even through it's represented top-down; levels below your current one are slightly shaded.

If you use the keyboard for movement you'll be allowed to walk down the Skyranger ramp normally (automatically) without manually changing levels, but the mouse input for movement can only assume you're targeting the current level.

[Christian Knudsen]

[Kyzrati]

Don't worry, you're not the only one, otherwise I probably wouldn't have even known what to suggest

Another dude on Bay12 made the same mistake, and I hadn't quite guessed what he meant when someone else already figured out what was up and offered that piece of advice. Later versions of the game will be a lot more clear and include tutorial and context help--with a tech demo you get what you get

Stay tuned.

[Kyzrati]

I want to say that you could almost make the UI like something

, something I've always wanted to do personally.

I've uploaded a new video showing a bit of window animation, you can check it out on the blog post here. Lots more to come.