Game Interface - Basics

jonadrian619

-___-
Reaction score
240
Game Interface Tutorial: The Basics
by jonadrian619

Version 2

1) Introduction
2) The Game Interface Dialog fields
3) Basic Game Interface Tutorials
4) Conclusion


1) Introduction:
This tutorial will provide you the basics for using the Game Interface dialog. All explanations of it's fields are here. There are also some tips and tricks for making very unique and cool game interfaces.

This will help you make your map more unique with the use of customized game interfaces. Read this tutorial before getting started to my advanced game interface tutorials.

2) The Game Interface Dialog fields:
Before you start, it's best that you study the fields of the Game Interface dialog. Here are some useful definitions about the fields of the Game Interface dialog for you to know.

Icon - Attack Type: Defines what icons a specific attack type uses, like Chaos, Pierce and Normal, that's shown at the bottom of the screen when an attacker unit is selected.

Interface-AttackTypes.jpg


Icon - Command: Defines what icons are used for certain unit commands (e.g. Attack, Attack Ground, Hold Position, Stop, Patrol, Cancel, Repair, Rally, Hero Attributes button, Build Structure, etc.), It also allows you to edit the icon Hightlights (The green border around an icon after you click it).

Interface-Commands.jpg


Icon - Defense Type: Defines what icons the following Defense Types use: Fortified, Medium, Small, Heavy, Divine, Unarmored, Hero.

Icon - Minimap: Defines what icons are used by the minimap.. (Ally Color Mode, Formation, etc.)

Interface-Minimap.jpg


Icon - Replay: Defines what icons a replay in the command card uses (Increase Speed, Pause Replay, Restart). It only takes effect in a Saved Replay of a previously played map with customized Replay interfaces.

Interface-Replay.jpg


Icon - Scorescreen: Allows you to define what kind of style your scorescreens will look, for all races. This thing is quite advanced, since you need multiple images to make up the whole screen, similar to the concepts of Loading Screens that use four or more images.

Image: These stuff are quite hard to modify. Menu Backgrounds, Console Textures, Multiboard Textures, Tooltip Icons, Tooltip Backgrounds and all others are part of this field. This field allows you to edit what styles the objects listed above can use.

Model: Defines what models are used by certain interfaces, such as the Bounty Art, and much more.

Sound: Defines the warning sounds that are triggered on certain in-game events. For example, you can edit what sound can be triggered if a unit runs out of mana when he casts a spell or when a gold mine has collapsed. (e.g. Job's Done, Not Enough Mana, Can't Build There)

Text - General: Defines the text of many basic interfaces like Quest Dialogs, Upkeep, Attack Type and Description, Dialog Descriptions, Hero Attributes, Status, etc. Most of these are descriptions or names of certain interfaces.

Text - Message: Defines certain warning or error messages in Warcraft III TFT, such as Must target a ground unit, not enough gold, spell is not ready yet, already at full health, full mana, etc.

Text - Unit Classification: Defines the names of the four unit classifications that can be read in-game: Giant, Mechanical, Tauren and Undead.

NOTE: When emptying a text field, make sure you make a space (press the spacebar) so that it will not return to the default text.

Those are the fields of the Game Interface, it's a reference that can be used in the future. Next, you'll learn how to customize the basic game interface, not the advanced yet.

3) Basic Game Interface Tutorials:
I'll make a separate section for this topic inside this tutorial. These sub-tutorials will help you polish your skills in Game Interfaces a bit, and then make your own. These are common game interfaces, so I'm listing them all here.

Tutorial 1: Quest Dialog
Go to Game Interface. Check the 'Custom game interface' checkbox and then find the following fields below. (These fields are under the 'Text - General' fields, don't get confused.)
- 'Quests'
- 'Quests' (|Cfffed312F9|R)
- 'Quest Status'
- 'Quest Not Yet Discovered'
- 'Quest Description'
- 'This dialog displays all of the current quests which you have been given.'

Those fields make up most of the Quests dialog. Now, change those fields to any name you want, something different and meaningful AND interesting/unique.

You can change 'Quests' to 'Missions' or 'Map Info' instead, anything different from Warcraft III or your own words.

Then change the 'Quest Not Yet Discovered' field to any text you want. I'll use 'Info Unavailable' or 'Mission Not Yet Initiated'.

Change the 'This dialog displays all of the current quests which you have been given.' field. Change it to something meaningful, like 'This dialog displays all of the necessary info the users can read'.

Tutorial 2: Resources, Idle Workers and Food/Upkeep interface
Gold, Lumber, Idle Workers and Food are overused too and are looking like crap. For custom interfaces, it's best that you change these things.

Go to Advanced --> Game Interface.

Part A: Icons of Resources and Idle Workers
First, find the following fields in the Game Interface dialog
- 'Icon - Gold'
- 'Icon - Idle Workers'
- 'Icon - Food'
- 'Icon - Lumber'

Then change the icons to something meaningful, and cool, like a 'Faceless One' icon for Idle Workers, A Monsoon icon for Gold defining 'electricity', or a Bullet icon for lumber, that can be used as ammo for the Systems made by users. Make up your own ideas and construct them.

Now time for the descriptions. Find the following fields...

- 'Text - General - The amount of food you are using over the total amount you can currently sustain.'
- 'Text - General - Gold is mined from gold mines.'
- 'Text - General - Lumber is harvested from trees.'

Change them to something unique and a description that matches the icons of course!! Use your own words.

Interface-CustomLumber.jpg

Interface-CustomLumberDescription.jpg


Interface-CustomGold.jpg

Interface-CustomGoldDescription.jpg


Part B: Upkeep
Upkeep interfaces are very ugly when unchanged, unless it's a melee map. Just believe me and you won't regret. Change them at any means necessary. Find the following fields
- Text - General - |N%d-%d Food: %s|R (%d%% G, %d%% L)
- Text - General - |N%d-%d Food: %s|R (%d%% income)

Looks gibberish to you. But for those who don't know: it's a field that shows Raw Data for Upkeep. G is gold, L is lumber amd %d, %s and other percent fields define income rate.

Remove them, since there's a crappy WE bug that makes them repeat over three times in the Upkeep section.

Then find the following fields: (these fields set the tooltips of the Upkeep interface)
Text - General - |cffff0000High Upkeep (Ignore the High Upkeeps with numbers, they're useless)
Text - General - |Cff00ff00No Upkeep
Text - General - |Cffffff00Low Upkeep

Change those fields to something nice. When your map does not use Food as an asset for players, then change all of those fields to the Name of the Map Maker, Map Version or something else you want, like for example, the title of your map.

IF it does become an asset for the players, change it to something unique, like Supplies, Psi or Control (for starcraft type maps), or use your own words.

Then find the 'Text - General - Upkeep is determined by the amount of food your forces are currently using' field.

Edit that field and type something like a short description of your map or contact/email adress, short credit, short version changelog, etc.

Interface-CustomUpkeep.jpg

Interface-CustomUpkeepDescription.jpg


At times, when you reach certain food levels, to be exact, 50, 80, the Low Upkeep or High Upkeep (or what you've modified), shows at the top of the screen. I thought there was no way on how to fix it but I found it then.

To remove that crappy thing, simply go to Gameplay Constants dialog. Set the first two integers of "Upkeep - Food Levels" field to 300 (maximum integer that field can handle). That way, it can't show up until it goes 300. Usually players can't reach 300 food and only go to 100-200 food..

This will help you make your upkeep interface more neat.

There's a way to remove the "100%" that always shows up in the upkeep interface, exactly the way DotA hidden it.. Go to Game Interface, then find Text - General - Gold Income Rate. Type anything you want there, like a link to the thread of your map or it's forum (if it's a hosted project), after that, place this hex color code beside it:

|c22222222

That way, it can't be easily shown by players. It can, however, be seen in bright terrain such as snow but it's still almost unnoticeable to the naked eye. For a more undetectable color, try using |c00101c29.

Tutorial 3: Hero Stats and Hero Interface (New)
I've decided to add this section to the tutorial, thanks for PurplePoot for reminding me of this. It's a mini-tutorial on how to change the Hero Stats, Hero info panel interface and some tips.

Part A: Text & Tooltips
Go to the Game Interface dialog. Then pay attention to these fields.

Text - General - 'Strength'
Text - General - 'Agility'
Text - General - 'Intelligence'

Note: There are more than 2 fields for each attribute, like the one having a colon after the end like 'Strength:'. Modify the fields with the colon :)) properly and don't remove the colons else it goes out looking like crap. Maybe it seems that those extras show up in different areas.

Now change them to a name suitable for each attribute. Like Power or Magic or Speed, anything you could imagine.

There are also these fields in which I can't identify their purpose.

Text - General - '|Cffffff00Strength|R'
Text - General - '|Cffffff00Agility|R'
Text - General - '|Cffffff00Intelligence|R

You can, however, just try modify them and see what happens.

Next, pay attention to the following fields.

HeroStatsFields2.jpg


These fields are compiled in a tooltip which shows the bonuses provided by each attribute.

The %d's are all raw data that shows the bonuses given by each attribute and the fields it's related to in the Gameplay Constants. Don't change them, or better yet, replace them with characters or numbers.

To modify how much bonuses each attribute is given go to Gameplay Constants > 'Hero Attributes' fields.

Next, find the Text - General - '|cffffff00Primary Attribute|r' field. This is the text that appears above your Primary Attribute inside the tooltip.

Also find the Text - General - 'Hero Attributes:' field. It's the text that shows up at the top of the tooltip.

Part B: Icons and the XP Bar
Now you have to modify your Hero XP Bar. Thankfully Orc_Tamer has made a tutorial about this. Click below to see how.

How to change the Hero XP Bar by Orc_Tamer

To change the icons of each Hero Attribute, open the Game Interface dialog and find the following:

Icon - Hero Agility (Info Panel)
Icon - Hero Intelligence (Info Panel)
Icon - Hero Strength (Info Panel)

Only modify the ones which have the '(Info Panel)' suffix displayed. I don't know about the others, what they do or what things they show up.

Now change them to any icon you prefer. Make sure they are of the same size as of the other icons.

Here is the result:

HeroInterface-Result.jpg


Trick: You can use Hex color codes (|cffffcc00, etc.) to make your text more colorful and fancy, this applies to all fields mentioned all over the tutorial. You can even use Gradient colors, you can use Magos' Model Editor, GradientMixer or any color making tool in wc3campaigns or The Hive.

4) Conclusion:
That's it!! You've done the basics. If you're having a problem in game interfaces or just want something new, or you're demanding for a new tutorial, tell it to me so that I'll be informed.

Credits:
PipeDream - for the way removing the 100% thing. I simplified it so that it could be much easier to do it.

Have fun customizing your game interface!!

~jonadrian619
 

jonadrian619

-___-
Reaction score
240
The Hero Stats and Hero Interface mini-tutorial is now included in the tutorial, as the third mini-tutorial. Requested by PurplePoot.
 

LordXavier

TH.net Regular
Reaction score
16
I have one issue with your tutorial, I followed the part about the upkeep thing in the top right corner of the screen. I followed it 100% but some unwanted text is still appearing. Before the place where High Upkeep, Low Upkeep, and No Upkeep are, it has these: 0-50 food; 51-81 food; 81-100; and these after: (100% income); (70% income); and (40% income). Do you know how to get rid of that?
 

LordXavier

TH.net Regular
Reaction score
16
I have one issue with your tutorial, I followed the part about the upkeep thing in the top right corner of the screen. I followed it 100% but some unwanted text is still appearing. Before the place where High Upkeep, Low Upkeep, and No Upkeep are, it has these: 0-50 food; 51-81 food; 81-100; and these after: (100% income); (70% income); and (40% income). Do you know how to get rid of that?
Never mind, I figured it out. I followed one of your instructions wrong. I messed up the part about the...
- Text - General - |N%d-%d Food: %s|R (%d%% G, %d%% L)
- Text - General - |N%d-%d Food: %s|R (%d%% income)
I just left those blank. Thanks for the awesome tutorial!
 

The Helper

Necromancy Power over 9000
Staff member
Reaction score
1,688
5 Star Bump

5 Star Bump!

This tutorial has only been rated twice. Please consider reviewing the information given and giving a rating. Thanks!
 

Furby

Current occupation: News poster
Reaction score
144
Really really helpful tutorial for those who dont know some of these things. This tutorial making maps better. However I know all this things, i have learned them on my own before I got Internet at home.

+rep
 

Furby

Current occupation: News poster
Reaction score
144
Change these:

Text - General - 'Strength'
Text - General - 'Agility'
Text - General - 'Intelligence'

to |c00000000

and these:

Icon - Hero Agility (Info Panel)
Icon - Hero Intelligence (Info Panel)
Icon - Hero Strength (Info Panel)

to nothing (I am not sure if it won't be green if yes then import black picture and add it there)
 

esb

Because none of us are as cruel as all of us.
Reaction score
328
Where have I been without this wonderful tutorial!!!
Really nice!
 

UndeadDragon

Super Moderator
Reaction score
448
I didn't realise there was a tutorial about all the Game Interface. There were a few that I was unsure of :thup:
 

my1loverkid

New Member
Reaction score
1
Game Interface Tutorial: The Basics
by jonadrian619

There's a way to remove the "100%" that always shows up in the upkeep interface, exactly the way DotA hidden it.. Go to Game Interface, then find Text - General - Gold Income Rate. Type anything you want there, like a link to the thread of your map or it's forum (if it's a hosted project), after that, place this hex color code beside it:

|c22222222

That way, it can't be easily shown by players. It can, however, be seen in bright terrain such as snow but it's still almost unnoticeable to the naked eye.

~jonadrian619

I am new in world and map editing.
But I think I have a better color code that will make the color of the 100% will become really "invisible".

Here it is

|c00101c29

I created a printscreen, checked the RGB in Photoshop and Match it with the Colour Manager.

Sorry for Interrupting.
And Sorry for my 'bad english'
I'm Indonesian.

Thankyou :)
 
Reaction score
7
Part B: Upkeep
Upkeep interfaces are very ugly when unchanged, unless it's a melee map. Just believe me and you won't regret. Change them at any means necessary. Find the following fields
- Text - General - |N%d-%d Food: %s|R (%d%% G, %d%% L)
- Text - General - |N%d-%d Food: %s|R (%d%% income)

Looks gibberish to you. But for those who don't know: it's a field that shows Raw Data for Upkeep. G is gold, L is lumber amd %d fields define income rate.

Remove them, since there's a crappy WE bug that makes them repeat over three times in the Upkeep section.

Actually, that isn't a bug. It repeats three times because normally there are three Upkeep levels. But, unless you are making a melee map, you will want to remove it.

(Ignore the High Upkeeps with numbers, they're useless)

They are not useless; they're there because it's possible to define further Upkeep levels in the Custom Gameplay Constants. Again, unless you're making a melee map, you probably won't use them.

To remove that crappy thing, simply go to Gameplay Constants dialog. Set the first two integers of "Upkeep - Food Levels" field to 300 (maximum integer that field can handle). That way, it can't show up until it goes 300. Usually players can't reach 300 food and only go to 100-200 food..

There is a way you can set it to 10000, like the defaults, using a MPQ editor:
  1. Save and close your map.
  2. Open your map with an MPQ editor.
  3. Extract and open 'war3mapMisc.txt'. If there's no such file then create a new one.
  4. Change the 'UpkeepUsage' fields to whatever you want.
  5. Save the file and add it to your map archive.
  6. Close your MPQ editor.

You can also do this to change the constant 'Food Limit'. Just change the field labelled 'FoodCeiling'. I've found this useful to use the food display for some other purpose, such as the number of kills.
 
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.

      The Helper Discord

      Members online

      No members online now.

      Affiliates

      Hive Workshop NUON Dome World Editor Tutorials

      Network Sponsors

      Apex Steel Pipe - Buys and sells Steel Pipe.
      Top