Banished User Interface

[MarkAnthony]

Hi (again),

So I gather that in large respect most of the user interface elements are locked down right, prohibiting changes to it? I'm curious as to what can and cannot be done to the stock interface specifically that any of you may be aware of.

Apparently you can:

   
• add items to the drop down menus on the new game window
• add buttons to the main toolbar
• add additional toolbars with buttons on those
• change the width of the mods window for both the list of mods and the search of mods via Steam
• change the width and height of the professions window
• combine windows (professions to status window) or expand status window to include professions

But you cannot:

   
• add randomize buttons on the new game menu

So, that's all I know about I think.

Here are the windows I like to keep opened while playing:

   
• I like to see the yield status of my crops and orchards.

   
• I like seeing the # of students, # of patients, # of graves

As far as I know of at this moment in my small towns in the vanilla game those are the only additional things I like to keep track of. I already have the status window, town events window, professions window, and town hall window opened. Sometimes I keep the limits window open too but more often than not I keep it closed opening it only when prompted. And lastly I keep the trade window opened while stocking it, then closing it and only opening it when prompted.

Would it be possible for new in-game windows to be created?

   
• One new window showing the yields for crops in a scrollable window showing only "crop type - %" - maybe three to five displayed, the rest needing to be scrolled for.
• One new window showing the school stats in a scrollable window showing "name of school - #/# of students" - I know schools don't have names but there's the vanilla school and RKEC had one called Medieval School or something like that, that's all I meant. The #/# part would be number current/# max possible for that school - So 17/20 possible students for example. The window would show the first three to five schools and the rest would be scrollable. EDIT: Actually, students could just #/# total current/total max possible.
• One new window for hospital + graveyards - At the top of the window it would only say "# of patients" and that would give a total count for all hospital type buildings in game, then below that would be three or four cemeteries showing their grave count and the remaining cemeteries and their counts would be scrollable.  EDIT: Actually, graves could just #/# total current/total max possible.

EDIT: Since the number of students, graves and patients can all be easily displayed as total current/max possible then you can just have a single window showing these three line items.

These windows could be the exact same size as the basic status window thus allowing us to stack them neatly and evenly to the side of the screen. That's one thing that bugs me about the user interface is that all the windows are all different sizes and don't stack together real nice.  I like a nice looking HUD for my interface. Wouldn't you? And oh yeah, also important is can we please lock our windows down so that they stop moving!  lol  Is it possible for a modder to add that, a way to lock window positions in place? Find out how the main toolbar is locked into position and then just use that method, maybe?

That's all I can think of right now, of the things I would like for the UI.  All of those new windows could be stacked to the left side of the monitor for example from top to bottom, the map at top right with the town hall and professions tab to the lower right.  /shrug  Something like that.

It would just be really nice to have same-sized window elements so they can be stacked neatly and evenly... and locked!  Just my opinion.