In-Game GUI
HUD
Character Vitals
In the top left corner of the screen there appears a bar that represents the characters hit points, and numerical representations of character attributes: STR (strength), DEX (dexterity), CON (constitution). The length of the hit points bar does not grow as the player gets more hit points, but changes in hit points will result in smaller changes on the bar. Below is a representation of this section of the HUD:
All of text in this section can be minimized, so that only the graphical hit points bar is visible. The hit points are the resource that the player needs to keep constant track of, and even the actual hit point total is only pertinent at certain times. Minimizing and maximizing the text data in this section can be accomplished by either pressing the Stat key or clicking the health bar. When minimizing, the text slides up and disappears behind the hit points bar; the opposite happens when maximizing.
Character Buttons
In the bottom left corner of the screen exist buttons for actions related to the character.
Player Buttons
In the top right corner of the screen are buttons for actions that are removed from the character.
- Options Button
Tile Overlays
Overlays related to character action appear on top of tiles to keep the player informed about how potential actions relate to the world.
- Movement Path: The shortest path between the characters current tile and the tile under the player's mouse is highlighted. This is the path the character will take if the player clicks the tile under mouse.
- Weapon Range Indicator: When one monster is within the character's vision, the range of the character's currently equipped weapon is represented by a translucent red overlay.
- Item Range Indicator: When player chooses to use an item from his inventory, a range indicator similar to the Weapon Range Indicator appears. The overlay for this range is translucent yellow.
- Target Tile: Everything within the tile that is being targeted by an action is heavily darkened to indicate where the action will take place. If the action affects a single tile, only that tile is darkened. If multiple tiles would be affected by the action, they are all darkened. In cases in which the action affects multiple tiles at different intensities, such as an explosion with a focal point, less intensely affected tiles are darkened less than more affected tiles, creating a gradient representation to the player.
Monster and NPC Overlays
These overlays appear on or near monsters and NPCs to inform the player of their current condition.
- Health: A small health bar appears over creatures within sight. No text is present here, so the fullness of the bar is the only gauge for the creature's health.
Inventory
The inventory window is accessible by pressing the Inventory key or Inventory button. This window appears over the right third of the game screen and vertically lists all the items the player has possession of. Ten items appear at at a time, while more can be access by scrolling through the menu. There is always one item highlighted in the list, and that item's description pane appears to the left of the inventory window. The player can cycle through the list with the up and down movement keys, or choose items with the mouse cursor. Each element visible in the inventory is accompanied by a number, [0-9] with 0 representing 10. By pressing a single number key, the player can select the associate item. Items are not directly used from the inventory window, but instead through the item description pane.
At the top of the inventory window, there is a counter that displays the capacity and current load in the character's inventory. This counter is of the format <current item count> / <max item count>. When the current item count reaches the max item count, no more items can be picked up.Most items take up a whole spot in the inventory by themselves, but multiple potions and pieces of ammunition can occupy the same inventory spot as long as they are of the same type. Exactly 5 potions of the same type can occupy the same inventory slot, but the exact ammunition count per inventory slot depends on the ammunition.
There are two tabs in the inventory menu. The first tab contains the standard items that the character is free to use, consume, throw, or drop at the player's discretion, and the second tab contains key items that are required for the character to progress. Key items in the second tab are ignored when determining the item count total, and cannot be consumed or otherwise relinquished except to trigger associated events.
Item Description
The item description pane opens adjacent to the inventory window to show an extended description of the currently selected item. Along with the description, the pane also displays an image of the target item. There are also buttons in the pane for using the selected item:
- Consume: Consumes the item, applying effects to himself.
- Read: Read the item, usually a scroll. The target of the effect is determined by the the item.
- Equip: Equip the item to the character, and unequip any conflicting items. Effects will be applied to character as long as the item is equipped.
- Enchant: Apply the current enchantment, such as one created by a scroll, to the current item.
- Throw: Throw the current item onto a target tile. If the item becomes active on immediate contact, then the effects will be applied to the tile and surrounding tiles, depending on the item.
- Drop: Drop the item from the inventory. Effects are not applied. Dropped items remain on the ground until the player either picks them up or leaves the floor.
Not all items will have all the options. Each option will only be available to items that make sense to use it. For example, scrolls do not have a Consume option, because consuming a scroll does not make sense.
Options
- Quit: Auto-save the game state and close the game.
- Controls: Open up the Controls pane.
- Audio: Open the audio settings menu.
- SFX Volume: Slider to control the volume of sound effects.
- SFX Mute: Checkbox to mute or unmute sound effects.
- BGM Volume: Slider to control the volume of background music.
- BGM Mute: Checkbox to mute or unmute background music.
- Graphics Options [do we care]
Controls
Below is the table for controls. Keyboard controls can be remapped, but mouse controls cannot be. All menu items that can be chosen via the keyboard should have and indication of the associated key, such as bolding the letter 'C' on the 'Consume' button, or placing a one digit number next to each visible item in the inventory window.
Action | Keyboard Control | Mouse Control |
---|---|---|
Move Up | W | Click space above character |
Move Down | S | Click space below character |
Move Left | A | Click space to the left of character |
Move Right | D | Click space to the right of character |
Attack | Not Available | Click Target |
Rest | R | Rest Button |
Map | M | Map Button |
Inventory | I | Inventory Button |
Options | Esc | Options Button |