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Vinland UI

Starting work now on the UI for the game.
I need to get on with this as it's going to handle controls for things like changing infantry formations, giving orders to your units, targeting and combat etc...

Here's an early version of the UI command buttons:


The commands will also be accessible by hotkey. For example the first 4 are A, S, D, F:
1. Attack, 2. Sentry, 3. Defend and 4. Flank. These will set the overall state of the selected units.

Attack will make the unit move to the selected destination or enemy, trying to shoot whenever possible.

Sentry will go in to observation mode and for infantry they will go prone. Tanks will open their hatches to get a better look around. They won't attack unless first attacked, and will get a better visual range in this mode. You can use the ambush mode as well (second row, number 6), in which case they won't get the visual bonus, but will be harder to spot.

Defenders will try to turn automatically to face the nearest enemy, infantry will go prone and spread out to make a harder target. Tanks will button up (close their hatches) for safety but will have poor visibility.

Flanking units will move at a faster pace but will be more vulnerable. Infantry will bunch up to avoid causing traffic jams, making them a prime target for artillery. Vehicles will have a chance of breaking down or suffering mechanical damage when moving at flank speed and will be easier to spot due to increased engine noise.

Other actions there include:
5. Resupply on/off. If you have some supplies then begin distributing them.
6. Replenish troops. Alternatively use supplies as extra troops to man captured artillery or anti-tank guns.
7. Force target. If you want to shoot a bridge or house or some other non-hostile thing.
8. Exit vehicle/ house, unload. Any infantry on this agent will be dismounted.
9. Stop moving, hold fire. Cancel all orders.
10. Setting/ menu. Bring up main menu.
11. Repair self, others. If you have repair crews or engineers.
12. Conserve ammo. Don't shoot big guns, only small arms.
13. Indirect fire. Use a tank or gun like artillery on an unseen part of the map.
14. Ambush mode. Try to hide, don't shoot until shot at.
15. Call air support. Resupply by air, call in paratroopers, fighter cover, spotter planes, bombers etc... These will be kind of abstracted, you won't see the planes flying around on the screen right now. I'm leaving that for an expansion.
16. Show objectives.

Some of these are going to get changed There will probably be some more actions such as lay/clear mines. I'm also thinking of adding or moving some existing actions in to special abilities like aim at tracks, ambush and so on.

I also worked on the trees and found a way to get the clip alpha looking better:


Usually on the texture tab I set alpha to have 100% influence, so it should match the alpha setting of the texture. But this is rarely correct and setting it lower avoids the dark edges I was getting before.

I've also started maintaining the project on Github.
Not sure how I like it yet, it's nice to have some version control options and ability to experiment, but I'm not 100% on it yet. I've made a few mistakes and ended up losing some of my code once or twice. I'm sure I'll get more accustomed to it though. :)

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