rje Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 So I'm back up to speed with BASIC 2.0, finished Rogue Forest, and am re-working the Space Trader game I wrote this Spring. And I have to ask y'all's advice. HOW do you organize multiple data sets on the screen? I've got lists, maybe a map, and a status/alarm bar, as well as the player menu. Call it four or five zones on the screen. It's a bit painful keeping those data inside their boundaries. I was wondering if anyone has some useful, practical advice about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Super Administrators TomXP411 Posted October 29, 2020 Super Administrators Share Posted October 29, 2020 You don't. You break it up into categories and only display the relevant data at the time. For example, in the menu that lets you travel from one planet to another, you don't really need an inventory and price display... but you do need fuel levels, travel distances, and times. I'm thinking if you look at the menu system in Elite: Dangerous, you'll get a good idea of what I mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 StephenHorn Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 In terms of "not overflowing", I got nothing. I guess either hard code the appropriate boundaries or carefully choose the data so overflow is impossible. Abbreviate select words and whatnot. For instance, Megaman games almost always abbreviated weapon names like "M.Buster" for the Mega Buster. I forget who said it here, it may have been John Gill, but someone was saying that there's just no getting around it: You have to plan carefully. I think that's very sound advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Yuki Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 Keep It Simple, Stupid. That's what I have to say on the matter. The good ol' KISS. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 rje Posted October 29, 2020 Author Share Posted October 29, 2020 Thank you. It's ALL good advice. I think Tom and Yuki are saying similar things. And Stephen, I guess planning carefully includes thinking about context. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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rje
So I'm back up to speed with BASIC 2.0, finished Rogue Forest, and am re-working the Space Trader game I wrote this Spring.
And I have to ask y'all's advice. HOW do you organize multiple data sets on the screen?
I've got lists, maybe a map, and a status/alarm bar, as well as the player menu. Call it four or five zones on the screen.
It's a bit painful keeping those data inside their boundaries.
I was wondering if anyone has some useful, practical advice about it?
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