HUD User Interface

The Heads-up Display is a critical part of our design, since it should not only summarise and convey the most important information for the user in clear terms, but it also should guide the player in how to play the game. It is also imperative that the User Interface remains clear, and is not bogged down by unnecessary information.

At this stage in development, since the mechanics haven't necessarily been nailed down for the core game loop, the best design for the user interface is still indeterminable. For now, this page serves as a list of possible ideas that might be used when how the UI should be implemented becomes apparent.

• What hotkeys the player needs to press to achieve a task
• What resources the player has available
• What resources are tied to what trees, and what the availability of those trees are
• Note, resource information could be similarly displayed in the tree-planting menu.
• The health bar of the player
  • Keeping this separate from the player sprite allows the bar to fill up more of the screen and sit in a consistent place
  • The con of this is that the player needs to move his eyes further to get information that needs to inform a player of their current movement decisions, constantly in the middle of combat.
• The health bar of other players (in multiplayer)
• The time till a player respawns
• The overall health of a base
  • This is particularly important if a player is in another world and can't see the base on the screen.