4. User Interface Document - DevCrumbs/Warcraft-II GitHub Wiki
This document contains the entire explanation of the Warcraft II user interface, our changes from the original game and all the reasoning behind these changes. The intention of this document is to let clear all the user interface functionality, for this reason the document will show flow diagrams and all the UI art possible. We will focus on the main menu, in-game interface and the pause menu.
The menu has five simple buttons with text. These buttons are:
- Play, to start a new game, a previous saved game or replay the tutorial
- Credits, where the player can find all the information about the team
- Options, where the player can change audio, volume or video settings
- Review intro, to replay the introduction video
- Exit game, to close the application
The character shown in the image, which will be the boss of the game, is Ner'zhul. He should be represented in pixel art in the final version. Below his image, we can see four circles representing the four artifacts that the player will receive in the game. In the final version of the game these circles will show a portarit of each of the four artifacts; and there will be a counter by the side of each image, which will tell the player how many times they've got each artifact in the game.
This is the concept art for the main menu:
Main menu screen depiction
When the mouse is placed on top of any text, green fel particles will appear to indicate the option you are selecting. If “Credits” or “Options” is pressed, the camera will move to the right to a new screen with a cave background image. The balls that represent the stolen artifacts from the menu screen will move, according to the camera movement, to this new screen as you can see in this image:
Options screen depiction
Diagram flow of the main menu:
Main menu graph
We have changed the character information and habilities from the original Warcraft II, because we consider that the squared window is outdated, and because it's proven that players prefer the information and habilities to be placed on the bottom of the screen. The minimap has been modified to a typical dungeon map, since the scenary is different from the original Warcraft II. We've decided, due to a consensual choice in the industry, to put the mini map in the top-left part of the screen, and as we have decided to discard all the resources of the game except gold. This resource has been moved to the top-left of the screen, near the minimap. We can also see the maximum number units that we can dispose at the moment in the top-center of the screen, and in the top-right part of the screen there's a building button that will open a window with all the buildings that we can build. All the way to the top-left of the screen, it is located the menu button, which opens the pause menu of the game.
In game. One unit selected
Below the minimap, there are three squares for viewing our 3 special units that we have to rescue for secondary misions. If we get these units we will see their portraits in the squares, if we dont get them, we will see a question mark.
Special units
When the player selects a group of units, the square that previously showed unit information, now will show all the selected units' portraits. The unit habilities will not be shown if there's a group of units selected, because every unit has its own individual skills. When there's a group of units selected, the player can order the whole group to patroll a certain area. In the unit squares, as well as their portrait, there will be a life bar that indicates how much HP (health points) they have left.
In game. A group of units selected
When the menu button in the top-left of the screen is clicked, an animation appears in which a parchment unrolls. This parchment has five simple buttons, which are:
- Objectives, that tells you what you need to do to finish the game
- Load/Save, for saving or loading another game file
- Options, where the player can change audio, volume or video settings
- Continue, to close the pause menu and return to the game
- Return to menu, which allows the player to return to the main menu
The parchment will be made in pixel art.
This is how it will be represented:
Pause menu in game
Diagram flow of the pause menu:
Pause menu graph
There's a “Buildings” button on the top-right of the screen that, when clicked, a multiple selection of buildings will appear in a tab below the button. The player will be able to choose which building they prefer to build by selecting one of them on this tab, and dragging the mouse where they intend to build it. The way the player will know if the construction is possible in the selected location is by the presence of a green rectangle surrounding the building (indicating you can build it) or by a red rectangle (indicating you can’t). These constructions can only be built in your base.
On the bottom-right of the screen, when selected, the player can see the information for the “Town Hall”. This tab is where you can repair the buildings that have been damaged. When clicking the first square, which has a portrait of a hammer, the mouse will become a hammer and the player can drag and click the mouse to the damaged building they want to repair in exchange for gold. If a building can be upgraded or leveled up, a second square will appear next to the hammer, that will increase the building one level when clicked.
The buildings that can be built are:
- Chicken farm
- Elven Lumber Mil
- Scout tower
- Guard tower
- Cannon tower
- Stables
- Mage tower
- Gryphon aviary
- Blacksmith
- Church
Building options
In game diagram flow except pause menu:
Builds and habilities graph
The victory screen of the game is shown when the player finishies the game by defeating the game's boss, Nerz'hul. This screen shows how many units and buildings the player has mantained until the end, how many enemy units they have eliminated and how many gold they have collected during the entire game. This screen could indicate more parameters than this; the depiction of the screen is still provitional and could change over the development of the game.
This screen will also indicate to the player how many time they have spent playing until the end of their run, and thus, which artifact they have obtained. When the player is ready to return to the main menu, they can click the "Return to menu" button to do it.
The defeat screen, in other words, the screen that will show up when the player meets one of the conditions for losing the game, will be very similar to the victory screen, with the differences that:
- Instead of a "congratulations" message, the screen will show a "try again" message
- No artifact will be shown, as the player won't have collected one
Depiction of the victory screen