GUI improvements?

[Javolenus]

Hi There,

And first off, many thanks to all modders for great work. I've only been playing CMSF a couple of weeks but the mods really do add depth.

Well, I've got a few issues with the GUI and I wondered if anyone out there could tackle them in a mod? If not, then the following can just be viewed as feedback from a new player (novice!):

1. Clock - can this be made more noticeable? I have real difficulty making out what time it is in-game.

2. Compass - could this have N, S, E, W added? A bit picky, but thought I'd ask.

3. Is it possible to add some kind of map references? Probably not, but again, just thought I'd ask.

4. Any way to automaticaly log your own casulaty figures in-game, without having to select the ceasefire option?

5. Any chance of more radio chatter for ambience? Some excellent mods for this already, but wondered if A) the audio files could be lengthened in order to avoid repetition and any British radio chatter?

Well, these are just first impressions, and maybe it isn't worth worrying about. But I thought I'd at least raise the issues, just in case. And thanks again for excellent mod work.

[Sergei]

1) do you have more problems due to the size of the digits, or because they get lost in the background?

2) I think this should be easy to change - replacing the degrees with compass direction letters

3) in larger scenarios this would be sweet, but it's probably not too easy to do (eg. the minimap in Steel Panthers was not very useful due to how pixellated it was - but it was necessary because you only had a top down view)

4) good idea

5) dunno, haven't tried those mods and mostly I don't like unrelated ambient sounds so much. But I do really like the FOO/TAC radio traffic. Other units have radios as well, maybe they could be heard on the ether...

[Javolenus]

Hi Sergei and thanks for this. I have problems with small size and dark colour of digits. Would prefer larger digits and/or brighter colours (green, to match overall GUI design?). I've got no experience modding this particular game, so wouldn't know where to start. Just thought I'd raise the issues. In general, I find all ingame text a bit small. I agree, would be good to hear a little more radio traffic on the ether.

[Sergei]

Okay, I made a crude modification of the compass background. The BMP file will be available in the Repository after the standard checks, here's a preview:

It's a minimum effort version but at least it's a baseline for others

[Javolenus]

Wow, that's impressively fast work, Sergei! Many thanks indeed - look forward to seeing your work in the repository! Excellent!

[Chainsaw]

Cool compass Sergei, think I will use it just for a change

[Javolenus]

Yeah, I really like Sergei's compass - well done. I actually tried to unpack the game files in order to see if I could mod the clock - for me, the numbers are too small and/or too dark. Would prefer a brighter clock - maybe one that looks like an LED readout. But although I managed to unpack the files I had no idea what to do next and so gave up!

Meanwhile, another thought occurred to me about an improvement, but I don't know if it's possible (I already mentioned ingame automatic casualty stats, map refs for big maps etc). I wondered if a General Clear Target button could be added to the GUI? That is, a button you could select to order all units to Clear Target - could save a lot of mouse clicks.

Thanks again, Sergei.

[Apocal]

Meanwhile, another thought occurred to me about an improvement, but I don't know if it's possible (I already mentioned ingame automatic casualty stats, map refs for big maps etc). I wondered if a General Clear Target button could be added to the GUI? That is, a button you could select to order all units to Clear Target - could save a lot of mouse clicks.

Easiest way for me zoom out, shift select all units and CLEAR TARGET.

[Javolenus]

Thanks Apocal - that's neat. Needless to say, I never even thought of zooming out to select all units! OK, now I know, and will do the same - thanks, you helped me out again.

[lomir]

Hi Javolenus,

The closest thing you can do now to order a "General Clear Target" is:

During the 'Setup Phase' or when time is paused (ESC key), you can Double Left click on a unit (that's for selecting a Group formation: for example, that is all the units, vehicles included, from the Recce Platoon, B (Support) Coy, Scots Guards. Or said in a different way, the icons that are highlighted when you normally select a unit) and then you can still SHIFT + Left click on any icon of the units from different formations that you want to add to this Group. The icons within this Group are green colored - if you SHIFT + Left click on the (green) icon of any of this units you can take it out (deselect it) from the Group. Important: the game won't remember the "extra" units you added to this Group, it's something temporal until you deselect the group, so if later you Double Left click on any unit, back to the start: you'll just select that unit's formation and you have to add again any extra unit to the Group using the SHIFT key.

If you want to select a really big group with units belonging to many different formations, or if you want to select all the units from your side, you can zoom out the camera and using SHIFT + keep a Left click & drag a selection rectangle around multiple units. All your units within the rectangle will be added to a Group (their icons get a green color).

Alright, so now you might use the 'Instant Commands' (those great unknowns). These are the three little buttons on the top left of the Button Interface. From left to right (I quote the Manual):

PAUSE: instructs the unit (or Group) to temporarily halt all active orders and wait. [...] This button is a toggle, and by pressing it again, the unit is ordered to resume what it was doing.

CANCEL ALL: deletes ALL active commands for the unit (or Group) instantly. If you have plotted a long chain of waypoints, this command allows you to delete all of them with one click without having to delete each waypoint one by one. So, you can use it to stop fire and do nothing for the moment.

EVADE: deletes all active commands and instructs the unit (or Group) to take immediate evasive action. This may include moving to cover as well as popping smoke, if available. [...] Yes, you can as well use it if you need to stop fire and run away.

You can use 'Instant Commands' in both Real-Time and We-Go ("turn based") styles of play.

Cheers,

Lomir

EDIT: Apocal was faster...

[Javolenus]

Many thanks indeed for this - yes, I now see that using Instant Commands would help me a lot. That's really useful info and I'll certainly apply it. Thanks again and all the best. And a general Thumbs Up for the forum - I've had a great deal of help over the past few weeks - much appreciated.