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Author Topic: What a horrific GUI!  (Read 5374 times)

JT2

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What a horrific GUI!
« on: March 20, 2017, 09:57:29 am »

Newbie trying out DF, and wow!, does this game needs a serious GUI overhaul.

Why have all these different, blinking, multicolor icons spinning icons, when the user has NO IDEA what they are, and no way game supported way to determine what they mean?

You seriously need to add a command for "Look at GUI" (rather than Look within the game world) to provide an explanation of what the heck a particular colored, blinking icon means. Especially since there seems to be little documentation available that I have been able to find to explain the icons, anywhere on this site or on the various wiki's.
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lestmurphy

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Re: What a horrific GUI!
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2017, 10:23:45 am »

Use a graphics pack via Lazy Newb Pack. It helps!
Also, youTube is a great resource for tutorials.

It's a steep learning curve! Good luck!
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Shonai_Dweller

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Re: What a horrific GUI!
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2017, 05:16:47 pm »

Hit 'question mark', list of commands appears.
Like pretty much every other roguelike .

Yeah, Adventurer isn't quite as user friendly as Fortress if you're not used to roguelikes but the commands are right there in-game.

Your probably better off playing fortress first.

By the way, there are no 'icons'. Everything you're looking at is part of the game world. Just use (l)ook to find out what it is. This is a keyboard based game. That may have confused you I guess.

Also, starting in a tree in vanilla tileset may look pretty weird at first.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2017, 05:24:52 pm by Shonai_Dweller »
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JT2

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Re: What a horrific GUI!
« Reply #3 on: March 20, 2017, 05:38:39 pm »

Look doesn't tell you what the flashing right-angle signs are, or what the odd purple things are in rooms that you just left and can no longer see. For a GUI this messed up Look doesn't cut it.

If there was a comprehensive table somwhere that showed what the characters meant in all their wondrous blinking, spinning hues, that would be acceptable. But to put out this cryptic GUI with no explanation or support? Really?
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Eric Blank

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Re: What a horrific GUI!
« Reply #4 on: March 20, 2017, 05:55:15 pm »

Most of it is supported on the wiki, the rest you can ask about here, but no there is no comprehensive list of meanings for every character and every character state and color. A lot of the colors of materials, objects, and terrain depends on what that stuff is made out of, and also depends on time of day/night, where at night most everything takes on a deep blue/dark gray hue.

For the blinking creatures, it could be a facet of the creature (some of them are just set up to blink), be trying to tell you there are multiple creatures on the same tile, or the current status of the creature. For instance if they are quickly blinking a red or yellow + on a white background that represents injury, with red being more severe. The pink things in rooms you're no longer in represent the creatures you saw when you were in the room at the location you last saw them. If you go back into the room and they've moved, then leave again it will display those characters in the locations they were when you left the room. Items also appear on the floor as a dark green after they're no longer visible.


I dont think the ascii facet of the gui is ever going to change, that's just how the game is meant to be. You'll always have to view a separate window to find out exactly what something is or its exact status, because more blinking status characters will only be a bigger headache. right now the controls and everything are more or less standins just to make it possible to play at all, things are still being worked on as we speak. It'll all happen eventually.
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Shonai_Dweller

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Re: What a horrific GUI!
« Reply #5 on: March 20, 2017, 06:25:13 pm »

Look doesn't tell you what the flashing right-angle signs are, or what the odd purple things are in rooms that you just left and can no longer see. For a GUI this messed up Look doesn't cut it.

If there was a comprehensive table somwhere that showed what the characters meant in all their wondrous blinking, spinning hues, that would be acceptable. But to put out this cryptic GUI with no explanation or support? Really?
When you say 'put out' you mean, 'allow others to test this uncompleted game for free while it's being made', right?

Actually try playing the game. It becomes very obvious, very quickly what 'purple things' means. Or, you know, don't. Try something else. Go for a walk. Write a novel. Life is short.

Posting here to say "DF gui is rubbish" is a) Stating the obvious and b) Going to get you mistaken for a troll.

And, add suggested above, try one of the many alternative tilesets too.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2017, 06:27:56 pm by Shonai_Dweller »
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Max™

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Re: What a horrific GUI!
« Reply #6 on: March 20, 2017, 08:18:35 pm »

?
Icons

Though there should be one of these on the wiki.

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Dyret

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Re: What a horrific GUI!
« Reply #7 on: March 20, 2017, 09:27:49 pm »

High-strung screeching aside, I kind of agree with OP, the various blinky thingies don't do an amazing job of explaining themselves. Turns out the wiki has a handy list, though: http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Status_icon
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Shonai_Dweller

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Re: What a horrific GUI!
« Reply #8 on: March 20, 2017, 10:16:00 pm »

High-strung screeching aside, I kind of agree with OP, the various blinky thingies don't do an amazing job of explaining themselves. Turns out the wiki has a handy list, though: http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Status_icon
Most of that is Fortress mode though.

Exclamation marks in places you can't see mean you heard something there.

"Purple things" in places you can't see are obviously markers for where you last saw something (zombie moves behind tree, you kind of know it's there even if you can't see it).

Red eye like things are red eyes (probably attached to an off-screen goblin).

Messy green things on the map are tracks (K) to turn them off if they're distracting (as it says in the instructions).

Can't think off-hand what right-angles are? Movement/attack direction?

Other than that, use (l) and ignore anything you don't understand.

Fortress mode will give you a much better idea of what everything is when you come across it in Adventurer (workshops and stuff).
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Max™

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Re: What a horrific GUI!
« Reply #9 on: March 20, 2017, 11:20:54 pm »

Movement indicators:
┌ ^ ┐
<  Ü  >
└ v ┘


Attack indicators:
┌ ^ ┐
<  @ >
└ v ┘
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Chase

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Re: What a horrific GUI!
« Reply #10 on: March 21, 2017, 04:31:32 am »

Ba - Dum - Tsss

Welcome to Dwarf Fortress.
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Bumber

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Re: What a horrific GUI!
« Reply #11 on: March 21, 2017, 05:37:19 am »

Though there should be one of these on the wiki.
-image-
The image is actually from the in-game help. Unfortunately it only gives a partial list.

The tilesets wiki page can be somewhat more useful.
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SebasMarolo

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Re: What a horrific GUI!
« Reply #12 on: March 21, 2017, 05:41:56 am »

Ba - Dum - Tsss

Welcome to Dwarf Fortress.
And welcome to adventure mode!
Now it's personal!
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So uh, yeah you just murdered a until proven otherwise pretty neutral innocent being for no reason.

Max™

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Re: What a horrific GUI!
« Reply #13 on: March 21, 2017, 08:33:23 am »

Though there should be one of these on the wiki.
-image-
The image is actually from the in-game help. Unfortunately it only gives a partial list.

The tilesets wiki page can be somewhat more useful.
That's what I meant, I grabbed shots of the different icon guide pages and put them together like that.
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Squirrelloid

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Re: What a horrific GUI!
« Reply #14 on: March 21, 2017, 10:59:37 am »

ooh, I learned something - when did elves become 'e' instead of 'E'?
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