More New Map/Unit Display Properties

More New Map/Unit Display Properties

[Eric McDonald]

Hello Xconq Game Designers,

   The Tcl/Tk interface now honors the 'unit-gbox-border-color' and 
'unit-gbox-fill-color' globals that I mentioned in the previous message.
For example:
   (set unit-gbox-border-color "red")

   There are two new unit-type properties now available, and only the 
SDL interface presently honors them. These are: 
'construction-border-color' and 'construction-fill-color'. You can set 
these on a type by type basis. The border color is the color of a box 
surrounding an unit under construction. The fill color is the color 
_behind_ the unit under construction.
   I have gotten alpha blending to work in the SDL interface, and it 
uses alpha blending regarding the fill color. As construction on an unit 
progresses, more and more of the terrain or transport grouping box 
behind the unit under construction starts to "show through" the fill 
color. By the time an unit is almost complete, the fill color is very 
faint. (The border does not fade at all. It disappears once the unit is 
complete.)
Example:
   (unit-type foo
     #| other junk |#
     (construction-border-color "AntiqueWhite")
     (construction-fill-color "brown")
   )

   (If anyone is planning on hacking on the SDL interface besides 
myself, the function I created to alpha blend a fill rect into a surface 
is 'alpha_blend_fill_rect'.)

   I think that after I squash a bug regarding selection rectangles of 
units that have oversized icons (44x44, for example), I will create a 
new file release.

Eric

P.S. I posted a new screenshot showing SDL interface progress in the 
screenshots section of the Sourceforge Web site.
http://sourceforge.net/project/screenshots.php?group_id=124062
Note that the most recent SDL interface screenshot shows the 
construction boxes. They all appear to be the same color (brown fill 
with SandyBrown border) because the screenshot was taken before I had 
alpha blending in place.