Two tasks complete- the game screen is resizable, and the map display takes up the entire screen. The next big challenge is to decide how I’m going to arrange the UI components.

The Original Layout

This is what we’re starting with. Much of the screen is filled with blank space. The map takes up a little over half of the visible area. It is clearly a product of the 90s, if not earlier.

Idea #1: Ultimate Layout

In this layout, styled after a game I may have played far too much of in my childhood, all the UI components get shoved over to the right hand side of the screen. When the mecha control menu is active it takes space from the top half of the message console. This display scales well as the screen gets bigger since the height of the message console can always be increased.

One problem is that because of the shape of the isometric tiles, horizontal screen space is more valuable than vertical screen space. At 800×600 you can see further up and down than you can left and right. Even at 1366×743, you can see one tile extra in the vertical direction than in the horizontal. Also, it may just be because I’m not used to this layout yet, but I often missed messages popping up in the console.

Idea #2: Wizard Layout

In this version, also named after an RPG of yesteryear, the interface is scrunched to the bottom of the screen. The message console retains its original position, while the character info display gets cut down to just the most important info and moved to the lower left corner.The panels are transparent so they don’t block the map display.

Originally, I planned for the mecha control menu to appear to the right of the message console, but I’m not sure that’s the best place for it. Another option would be to extend the message console to the full width, and stick the mecha control menu above the PC’s head as needed, as shown below:

Is that a weird idea, or do you think it works? The control menu would probably also be semi-transparent.

As the window size changes, the Wizard layout UI elements remain centered at the bottom. Personally, I think this looks better than the Ultimate layout since the play area covers the entire screen. It also has the advantage that it’s basically the same interface as used in GearHead-2. One concern is that it may not be easy to read text on the semi-transparent panels. My other concern is what to do with the mecha control menu.

So, what do you think? Please vote for your favorite layout in the comments.