RE: UI proposal

[Hans Ronne <hronne@comhem.se>]

>I think this is a great idea, specifically the
>occupant and build windows and especially the option
>to show only what can be built by the current unit.
>This would clean up my games, for sure.

If you check out the Mac interface, you will find that several of the ideas
discussed already are implemented there.

1. A unit list can be brought up in a separate window, which contains much
more information (plans, tasks, build status, materials etc) than the tcltk
unit list.

2. By right-clicking on any unit you bring up a small floating window with
all the information you find in the unit info pane in the tcltk interface.
Plus images of occs or transports. Clicking on these bring up new floating
windows with information on those units. And so on. There is also direct
access to the relevant help node through a help button in each floating
window.

3. When a unit needs a new build task a small floating window pops up with
a menu that shows only what can be built by that unit. Picking an item
closes the window and sets the build task.

The key thing here is that stuff like this pops up only when you need it
(or ask for it). The Mac interface is similar to the SDL interface (and
differs from the tcltk interface) in that emphasis is put on a whole-screen
heads-up display. The map covers the entire screen. Lincoln's proposal
included a lot of useful stuff, but there was not much space left for the
map. And the map is the most important part of a game like this.

Hans