[crossfire] GTK V2 client default layout and map size

[Mark Wedel]

Juha Jäykkä wrote:
>> I think that I suggested a solution a long time ago: highlighting the
>> changes for the protections.  Basically, every time a protection changes
> 
> Something like this would be very helpful. Perhaps accompanied by a warning 
> sound (should the user have sounds), too. This has been so big a problem, 
> that I have considered writing a small script to recast all protection spells 
> whenever they expire, but never got around to do that. 

  I think highlighting protections as they change is a reasonable first step. 
but IIRC, there is also space issues related to fitting all the protections in 
the requisite area.

> 
>>>   Ideally something like a spell monitor would be nice - protections on
>> That would require a bit more coding effort, but that would certainly be
> 
> Wait a second, I don't quite follow you now. Don't we already have this? At 
> least protection spells cause a message "your protection from X is running 
> out" some time before it actually runs out. Could we not use the same code 
> (base) for an overall monitor? This warning was actually so big improvement 
> when it was introduced that it probably was the main reason I did not write 
> the above mentioned script.

  Messages being printed tend to get lost in the shuffle, at least in a nasty 
battle.  This is sort of why i say less is more - having less information but 
making the information I care about more visible may be quite useful.

> 
>> That's right, but this also has a cost: a top-level window has some
>> decorations that can take valuable space on smaller screens.  So if you
>> have a small display, then it is better to have as much as possible
>> inside a single main window.
> 
> You can always request a decorless window from the window manager. I think any 
> decent ;) window manager disregards the application's request, though, since 
> it should be the user, who decides that. But the user with such a window 
> manager can always tell the WM to remove the decors if they are too big. 
> <rant>Unfortunately, according to the above requirement, I know just two 
> decent window managers and I know no one who uses either. Luckily most wm's 
> are almost decent and can add/remove decors when user wants. </rant>

  I don't think this top level window should be the only way way to see 
protections, but could be a good to provide a larger/better view of the protections.

  Same could be said for skills and perhaps inventory.  A top level window for 
skills could be nice - list exp, show a nice progress bar on exp to next level, 
maybe even have some nice context information on how to use the skills (the 
message portion of the skill object).  At the same time, I don't think this 
should be the only way to see skill information - showing it under a notebook on 
the client is still good.

  In a sense, one could sort of see this with the spell window - you don't need 
that window to cast spells, but it can provide some nice information in a better 
format than just the output of 'cast' can.

  I think the one that could have the greatest benefit here is an inventory 
handling window.  Aside from a current problem right now of it sometimes being a 
bit too small to see full information for objects, I could see a full sized 
window having everything you might need:  Icon, item name, weight, different 
check boxes to denote equipped/locked/different favorite lists (one could see 
having a few different favorite lists - up to players how they use them - it 
could be based on type of foe - fire creature items list and cold creature items 
list, or different items, whatever.  It would be even cooler to list the value 
of items (based on current shop and 'real' value), so one can quickly see 
different objects, etc.  And for that matter, include the message field of the 
object in that list if reasonable.  Depending on space, maybe include a few 
other key things, like damage or AC/armor values

  I probably wouldn't go around adventuring with such an object inventory window 
up, but back in town at the shop, figuring out what to sell, such a window could 
be quite handy way to provide more concise information (being able to sell 
objects through the window should still be allowed).  And likewise, having all 
that information at hand could be really handy to see relative value of 
different objects (damage, ac, whatever).

  Right now, I often spend a lot of time examining the different objects to see 
what they do.

> 
>> I couldn't agree more.  All options that are currently hidden behind
>> some strange combinations of button clicks and modifiers would be much
>> more discoverable by the users if there was some kind of context menu for
> 
> Agreed. Although, I hate menus - shortcut keys and mouse-key-click -combos are 
> so much faster, when you know the magic combo. But, like you already noted, 
> these have the problem of being obscure and hard to remember (unless you use 
> them frequently), so having a "slow" way of accessing these functions is very 
> helpful.

  I'll look at doing that.  It would mean changing the bindings some, but even 
with 2 buttons (left and middle), there are probably enough control and shift 
combos to cover all the needs.