Tutorial: Custom UI + Keybinds

[Wisse]

Many players don't know that u can customize your UI in Spring. That's why i made this topic which should help with some basic, user friendly customizations.
First of all you have to enable LuaUI in game settings if you don't have that already.


User Interface:
[1] Basic modifications
Since screens are getting bigger and bigger we can afford to use more space for build menu. Plus i hate switching menu pages because it takes alot of time and confuses me. You can customize menu completely changing ctrlpanel.txt (you can find it in rootspring\LuaUI).

You can also make buildmenu transparent which is nice feature in my opinion.

Here's how my UI looks:


To get that i modified ctrlpanel.txt

Code: Select all

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//
//  Spring Control Panel Configuration
//

outlinefont          1
// dropShadows       1
// useOptionLEDs     1
textureAlpha       1.0
frameAlpha         0.0  // use the GUI alpha if < 0.0
selectGaps           0
selectThrough        1

// newAttackMode     1  // enable attack by area selection
// attackRect        1  // use a rectangular selection
// invColorSelect    1  // use color inversion instead of tinting
frontByEnds          1  // use endpoints to create movement fronts


////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//
//  Extended 3x8
//

xIcons         4
yIcons         14
prevPageSlot   j0
deadIconSlot   j1
nextPageSlot   j2
xIconSize      0.045
yIconSize      0.045

textBorder     0.0035
iconBorder     0.0000
frameBorder    0.0000

xPos           0.000
yPos           0.1
xSelectionPos  0.018
ySelectionPos  0.115


////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

And used modified BA layout widget:

gui_transparent.lua

(5.88 KiB) Downloaded 119 times

Put widget in rootspring\LuaUI\widgets folder. You have to disable defaul layout widget and enable this one (Use F11 to get widget menu).
I have also "A colorful tooltip modification" turned on.

[2] Complete modification
You can always try UI replacement called IceUI made by Meltrax. It's very nice and has alot of options, but it takes alot of resources too, so keep in mind that u need quite PC to run this at descent FPS.


Custom keybindings:
Custom keybindings can help you play faster because you don't have to reach into buildmenu to select basic, frequently used buildings. They work in many mods like BA, SA, NOTA and others.
Check Beherith's Keybindings topic for more details.


Lua Widgets:
You can always search or request widgets on this forum. You can also find widgets on sites with spring content (where u download maps from).
I can't go without Custom formations for example. Advanced metal maker widgets help eliminate annoying all-metal-makers-turn-on-at-the-same-time sound.

[Tribulexrenamed]

Best thing to do is to get IceUI and modify the lua files. I removed the pesky units selected text and put it in the tooltip. I fixed the resizing of the map, and changed the colors and some formatting on the chat box. With some keybinds and luas and a modification my chat is like a console, allowing text orders like retreat, give, ragequit, targetghosts, upgrade mexes, tech, and some others.

Basically, use lua to make a kickass gui. Dont be afraid to edit text files.