GUI Menu Creator Progess Report

steven8 · Post by **steven8** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 2:31 am

I am getting it all ironed out, I believe. Once I have the main menu noodled out, then it will be a template for the rest. Here is my first menu output. Text in Red was dynamically set by the user. It doesn't look like much on the surface, but I believe it will make menu creation much easier.

;*********************************************************
;
; Menu.ini
;
; Custom Reality Factory
; menu initalization file created by The Reality Factory
; GUI Menu Creator
;
; Note: lines starting with a semicolon (;) are comments
;
;*********************************************************

designsize=800 600

;*********************************************************
;
; this section is where the bitmaps used
; by the menu are defined
;
;*********************************************************

; define the background bitmaps
; format : background# bitmap

background=0 background.bmp
background=1

; define the images bitmaps
; format : image# bitmap alpha_bitmap

images=0 Buttons.bmp a_buttons.bmp
images=1
images=2
images=3
images=4
images=5

; define the titles bitmaps
; format : titleimage# bitmap alpha_bitmap

titles=0 titles.bmp a_titles.bmp

; define cursor and crosshair graphics

; format : bitmap alpha_bitmap animate
cursor=cursor.bmp a_cursor.bmp -1

; format : bitmap alpha_bitmap
crosshair=crosshair.bmp a_crosshair.bmp

; define the bitmap fonts (FONT1 - FONT29)
; NOTE: FONT10 is used during in-game weapon positioning!

font=FONT9 Andy12
font=FONT10 Adventure26
font=FONT11 Verdana14b
font=FONT12 Verdana14w

; define the menu titles graphics
; format : title# titleimage# screen_X screen_Y width height image_X image_Y animation#

menutitle=0 0 150 175 50 16 25 0 -1
menutitle=1
menutitle=2
menutitle=3
menutitle=4
menutitle=5
menutitle=6
menutitle=7
menutitle=8
menutitle=9
menutitle=10
menutitle=11
menutitle=12
menutitle=13
menutitle=14

; define sounds used by menu
; format : name

mouseclick =menuclick.wav
keyclick =menuclick.wav
slideclick =menuclick.wav

; define Quick Load Message
; format : Font Message

loadmsg=FONT9 Loading Quick Save Game

; define Quick Save Message
; format : font displaytime message

savemsg=FONT9 5 Game Quick Saved

loadscreen =Loading2.bmp

;*********************************************************
;
; This section defines the streaming audio
; played during the menu
;
;*********************************************************

music =menu\Adultero.wav

;*********************************************************
;
; This section is where we define all
; the items in each menu
;
;*********************************************************

;*********************************************************
;
; Main Menu
;
;*********************************************************

; define background and title for main menu
; format : background# title#

main=0 0

; define New Game button
; format : screen_X screen_Y image# width height image_X image_Y mouseover_X mouseover_Y Animation# AnimationOver#

newgame=150 200 0 198 39 14 9 0 0 -1 -1

; define Multiplayer button
; format : screen_X screen_Y image# width height image_X image_Y mouseover_X mouseover_Y background# title# Animation# AnimationOver#

multiplayer=

; define Load Game button
; format : screen_X screen_Y image# width height image_X image_Y mouseover_X mouseover_Y background# title# Animation# AnimationOver#

loadgame=

; define Save Game button
; format : screen_X screen_Y image# width height image_X image_Y mouseover_X mouseover_Y background# title# Animation# AnimationOver#

savegame=

; define Options button
; format : screen_X screen_Y image# width height image_X image_Y mouseover_X mouseover_Y background# title# Animation# AnimationOver#

options=

; define Credits button
; format : screen_X screen_Y image# width height image_X image_Y mouseover_X ;mouseover_Y background# title# Animation# AnimationOver#

credits=

; define Quit Game button
; format : screen_X screen_Y image# width height image_X image_Y mouseover_X mouseover_Y Animation# AnimationOver#

quitmain=

; define Return to Game text
; format : screen_X screen_Y font

returntext=

Post by **AndyCR** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 3:27 am

Wow, really nice work!!

steven8 · Post by **steven8** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 3:32 am

Thank you Andy. Coming from you that means a lot!!

steven8 · Post by **steven8** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 1:19 pm

Two new screens. New and improved Button Selection screen, and the button alpha selection screen:

I like to put short help messages where I can, so the user doesn't always have to back to the help file.

Post by **bernie** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 1:49 pm

Looking great Steven. Please when can we expect a beta to play with?

steven8 · Post by **steven8** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 9:36 pm

A month to two months. The only reason for that is my lack of time to work on it. It kind of stinks working third shift. I work at a computer all night, but I can't work on the things I like. I have to work on. . .work.

steven8 · Post by **steven8** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 3:48 am

Okay, tonight I achieved a lot, and also saw into the future of just how deep this well is.

There are fourteen menus for RF. OI!

No problem, though. It is starting to fall into a routine. That is good.

Tonight I made some good changes to the interface. You can now keep the buttons bitmap open to select each bitmap before closing the window, then assigned each one to a button on the main interface. Same with the mouseover selection screen. Just click in the upper left hand corner of where you want the mouseover image to begin, and click apply. Click done when done.

It all gets written properly to the file now, but I forgot to include the call for the background of the 'next menu' you will be going to and the next title graphic. That created a bit of extra coding. Well, not extra, as I should have seen it in the first place.

Live and learn.

I have figured a way to make it not so linear as well. You will be able to bounce back and forth betwen the menus. That is a start. As I go along I want to have a save project and load project option. That will be a task in and of itself.

That's all for now. Next, I move on to the character selection menu!!

LtForce · Post by **LtForce** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 4:52 am

Steven8, where did you get that GUI menu creator? I could really use it for my virtual school

steven8 · Post by **steven8** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:10 pm

LtForce, I didn't get it anywhere, my friend. I am MAKING it.

This thread is basically a log telling what I have achieved so far. While I have made progress manually on your menu, I'm hoping to have your menu system be the first full one to be totally made by it.

LtForce · Post by **LtForce** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:38 pm

You made it

? Congrats!!!!!!!

steven8 · Post by **steven8** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 5:46 am

Well, it is a work in progress. But it will be a finished program here in the next month or two. (I hope) I am discovering new stuff every day, but it is going quite well. I am trying to make it user friendly as well as totally functional, and that may be the stickiest point of all!!

o0.MATIAS.0o · Post by **o0.MATIAS.0o** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 12:53 pm

As I install it?

Post by **Jay** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 1:09 pm

I think you mean "How do i install it?"

It's not finished for now, or am i getting something wrong, Steven8?

steven8 · Post by **steven8** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 5:20 pm

You are absolutely correct, Jay. It is not finished yet. I hope to be done in one to two months. I have been two days unable to work on it because of my new job schedule. I used to have Friday off, now I have Wednesday off and work on Friday. This is a big change and I will have to figure out how to get any dev time on Friday, if I can. I work third shift and need to sleep during the day.

Read back through this thread and you will see where I am at. I have been thinking today of how to implement saving for a menu project. It seems easy at first glance, but there are multiple layers to be saved, and I don't want the user to have to reselect his button image areas over again, so the images which have been select each need to be saved as small bitmaps and then reloaded into the proper pictureboxes. I believe I have that solved, but again, it will take time to do.

Stay interested, though, and keep asking me about it. If I haven't post in few days, ask me why. Keep me on my toes!!

steven8 · Post by **steven8** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 3:12 am

I have not disappeared. It has been a long week and weekend. I am working on the menu creator right now. I am trying work out save and load functions.