Unit List

[alwaysdime]

Is there a way to go back to the old unit list? The new one just isn't as good. No offense. The terrain stats are especially terrible. It used to be neat and concise, now it takes up 75% of the screen.

[Crossroads]

The old “compass rose” themed Unit List represented some of the oldest code in the current game engine. It was designed back in the era when 800×600 SVGA displays roamed the earth, and in the spirit of revamping all UI aspects of the game, it simply had to go. Another reason was that it relied on a very old graphics API that only supported 256‑color 8‑bit images.

The current Unit List is roughly twice the width of the old one, and with our move to Full HD displays we now have about four times the pixels to work with. That said, this is only the first iteration of the new Unit List. There’s room for improvement for sure, such as displaying additional information and hopefully representing the selected hex along with its hex sides.

In addition, with on‑map unit tooltips already in place, I hope to introduce on‑map hex tooltips that would list all units in a hex along with other relevant data.

If the Unit List ever gets in the way, you can toggle it on or off using the toolbar icon or the hot‑key U.

I’d very much like to hear how you all would prefer to see the new Unit List area filled. What additional information would be most useful, and in what format?

[alwaysdime]

Lets compare the 2 unit lists. This is on course just my opinion.

1) I think all long time players know where Strength, Action etc are located. To me its easier for the eye to go to strength. Just look for the number in the green box. In the new one neither strength or the value are green. Instead its just a bar thats green. Far easier to view the old in my opinion.

2) Terrain information. The new are centered rather the being left and right aligned like in the old. The old is just easier to me. Also list meters for visibility rather than a hex number is not as user friendly. Now you have to do math in your head

3) Banner images at the bottom. These are not needed at all but I think the old helped to keep terrain info more centered rather than tossed into a big frame.

4) Size. Everything about the old were smaller, more condensed and easier to view. Back to the bars, why do we need one other than an action bar? It just adds to clutter

5) Flags - Old was again looked better. The height is more condensed in the new and width is wider. Its harder to spot the Jewish Star.

I will say I do like the Nato icon displayed. Aside from there I think there is alot of room for improvement.

Maybe have an option for the old and the new? Might be a pain going forward but there has been a lot of change going on. I don’t care for the new 3D map graphics either, but that’s a separate discussion . They are too subdued and washed out looking. Yes I know I can use the old graphics, just saying it seems like there is a lot of change for the sake of change.

[Crossroads]

Lets compare the 2 unit lists. This is on course just my opinion.

1) I think all long time players know where Strength, Action etc are located. To me its easier for the eye to go to strength. Just look for the number in the green box. In the new one neither strength or the value are green. Instead its just a bar thats green. Far easier to view the old in my opinion.

2) Terrain information. The new are centered rather the being left and right aligned like in the old. The old is just easier to me. Also list meters for visibility rather than a hex number is not as user friendly. Now you have to do math in your head

3) Banner images at the bottom. These are not needed at all but I think the old helped to keep terrain info more centered rather than tossed into a big frame.

4) Size. Everything about the old were smaller, more condensed and easier to view. Back to the bars, why do we need one other than an action bar? It just adds to clutter

5) Flags - Old was again looked better. The height is more condensed in the new and width is wider. Its harder to spot the Jewish Star.

I will say I do like the Nato icon displayed. Aside from there I think there is alot of room for improvement.

Maybe have an option for the old and the new? Might be a pain going forward but there has been a lot of change going on. I don’t care for the new 3D map graphics either, but that’s a separate discussion . They are too subdued and washed out looking. Yes I know I can use the old graphics, just saying it seems like there is a lot of change for the sake of change.

Thank you for your comments, alwaysdime.

Let me start by saying there is no “change for the sake of change” intended. The first iteration of the new Unit List, as included in the current version, was designed to provide more information at a glance. That has been the overall goal with all UI elements — moving from simple listbox text areas to grid views with richer data, scrollable columns, and so on.

As always, time is a factor. I had a limited window to prepare a release build, so what you see now is the initial version. I hope to have a second iteration ready for the next update, in particular incorporating hex and hex‑side information into the Hex Box area that displays terrain details.

Good catch regarding the flag — there is room for a larger version there. At present, what’s shown is the smallest size, similar to what the old Unit InfoBox displayed.

Options to toggle what is shown (for example, whether to display the counter beneath the unit’s 3D image) are very much on the table.

This is a living game, and we do our best to ask and listen to what everyone is saying. For instance, the new Unit List was previewed in the Sneak Peeks thread, but I only had time to begin implementing it quite close to when the 2.10 build needed to be frozen and handed out.