Custom Graphics for GeorgeS Tools

[trevius]

GeorgeS,

I figured I would just start a new thread for graphic update stuff so it doesn't cloud up your normal threads for the tools.

I got some of the button examples done today and am posting them so you can check them out and let me know if you think they are a good fit for your Item Editor. Let me know if there are any tweaks you think would make them better, like if they are too glossy, or too dull, or just not right at all.

In the examples here, I just saved them as BMPs so I could show them to you. So, you can see there is a little white dot in the corner of every button, but that is actually supposed to be transparent so the corners are just a little rounded. I could just as easily just use the color from the background of the tool if that would make things easier.

These are just to get your feedback on and then I will go through and make the actual versions after I know what you want. Once I have the basic layout setup, it is very easy to change the text and make new ones.

The only buttons I made that are exact dimensions to match the ones in the editor currently are the medium sized ones. They match the size of the green buttons you use (87X23 pixels). The others are just rough estimates. So, if you need particular sizes for certain buttons, just let me know and it will be easy to adjust it.

If you like these so far, then all you have to do is pick how you would like them to look when you mouse-over or press them and I can make a set in that color as well. I will also make some minimize, exit and radio buttons if you are ok with what I have done so far.


You can see the full list of what I have done so far on my forums here (since the emu forums limit posts to 4 images per post):


Here are 4 examples of the buttons I have done so far:

http://stormhavenserver.com/downloads/buttons/load_magelo.bmp

http://stormhavenserver.com/downloads/buttons/new_edit.bmp

http://stormhavenserver.com/downloads/buttons/delete.bmp

http://stormhavenserver.com/downloads/buttons/on.bmp


I don't want to cause too much extra work for you, so if you don't really want to change this stuff out, it is no biggie. I just noticed that you put a good amount of time in getting the background looking nice and you have a bunch of skin sets in the tool folder, so it seemed like you might want something nice that matches well to finish it off. And, if so, it is the least I can do.

A little description of what I used to make them:
I used the border from the EQ desktop Icon for the border of the button. I used the T. King background from your Editor Tool. And, I made the glossy part myself to make the buttons stand out a bit and to give it a slightly modern and cool look.

[trevius]

I saw your post in the other thread, so I figured you might have missed this one. I will go ahead and set the buttons to not use transparent backgrounds. I can just save them as BMPs as you requested, and set the small white dots in the corner to match the background color so they look as if they are transparent.

As soon as you let me know what you think of these and any adjustments you might want, including look, dimensions, pressed look, etc, I can get them made pretty quickly I might work on them a little more today while I wait to hear back, just to see if I can tweak the template to make them look a little cooler and crisper without quite so much light reflection.

[trevius]

I went ahead and tweaked the graphics just slightly so that they look more like the finished product. You can see them and the description of what I did in the second post here:

http://stormhavenserver.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=280&p=1828#p1828

And here are 4 examples just to show them here:

Original Standard Button Look
http://stormhavenserver.com/downloads/buttons/copy.bmp

New Version of the Standard Buttons
http://stormhavenserver.com/downloads/buttons/copy_new.bmp

New Version of the Blue Buttons
http://stormhavenserver.com/downloads/buttons/copy_new_blue.bmp

New Version of the Red Buttons
http://stormhavenserver.com/downloads/buttons/copy_new_red.bmp

The changes are all pretty subtle, but I think they look a bit nicer and more finished.

[GeorgeS]

Just looked at your progress and am very impressed!

I think they look very good and definitely better than what I have, so I had to spend quite a bit of time looking at these and decided I like this theme best.

http://stormhavenserver.com/downloads/buttons/copy_new.bmp

I like the slightly mottled look, with the black background.

A themed button set like these are just the ticket, and fit entirely within the feel of the program and eq!

http://stormhavenserver.com/downloads/buttons/load_bots.bmp

Also, I am interested in the On.Off buttons. As a possibility it may be doable to create a "lit on" hover over set like then a person clicks on a option/checkbox button and turns it on.

Your background is very good as it makes the buttons look rounded when in fact they are rectangular.

Some of these will be compiled into OCX controls and these will therefore be easy to use in future tools and even in my other tools as well.

You're welcome to take a shot at the main screen border graphics etc..

So far, I'm blown away..:)

GeorgeS

[moydock]

Those are pretty amazing Trevius, great work. This must be the coolest tool ever made, I doubt even real game developers get as great of tools. I agree with George's choice, except maybe some different colors where appropriate?

[trevius]

I'm really glad you like them, GeorgeS! They aren't the best ever or anything, but I think they will suit the tool well.

I re-made every button in the Item Editor and then some, and a few of them have different variations of the same buttons. Each button is available in at least 4 different colors as well. This is so GeorgeS can chose which ones he wants to use for what, and so he can decide which colors he wants to use for on/off or for mouse-over changes. I also included the .PSD versions of each button type so GeorgeS can easily create new buttons just by using Photoshop and editing the text layer in the buttons to whatever he needs it to be. And he can easily change the color of the button just by turning on the color layers. That is, assuming he has access to Photoshop :P

Here is the zip that includes all 267 files:

http://stormhavenserver.com/downloads/buttons/item_editor/eqitems_buttons_complete.zip

I am thinking that the blue version would make a nice mouse-over and the red and green ones would make good on/off switches. I also made a greyed out version of the save button for saving Raid Bots, so you know when saving isn't an option. I think most of the buttons can be direct replacements of the current ones, but some might need to have their position adjusted slightly. I made new buttons for closing and minimizing the window and I think they would be nice to be placed similar to a normal Windows window close and minimize. And there are a few buttons that have different variations of them so GeorgeS can pick whichever one he thinks is best for that particular button.

I made some radio buttons that match the theme as well. Though, I may go and try making another version of them just to have a little bit more variety and stay in the same theme. And, GeorgeS can pick which ones he likes best for it.

I think this will give the item editor a much more finished look and I can't wait to see what it looks like with them. Though, no rush on getting it done hehe. It is all just to make the tool look a little nicer, so it isn't the highest priority or anything :D

[GeorgeS]

Thanks for your efforts - I'll start right away to implement these into the tools. The colors are great and fit the theme well. Good job.

GeorgeS

[trevius]

I think the new tool look is great so far. But, here are a couple suggestions if they wouldn't take too much work to do:

1. Change the Delete Item button on the main screen of the Item Editor to RED and set a confirmation box on it to confirm the delete. I would also maybe recommend moving it to the bottom of the screen, or just somewhere other than right next to the new item edit button. As it is right now, it could very easily be clicked by mistake, which could cause some headaches. This is the most important change I think that is needed. The rest are mostly just cosmetic stuff.

2. The minimize button could be moved to be directly to the left of the X (close window) button and it wouldn't really need to say "minimize" next to it then, because it would basically be setup as a normal Windows window style, so it would be self explanatory.

3. Currently, if you click the "Stop Music" button, the whole button just disappears (it does stop the music though). I think that button would probably work just fine if it was to the left of the new Minimize button (where described above). And, if you change it to the green color for "music on", you could have it switch to red when it is set to "music off".

4. The On/Off button for Drop Details could be set to Red when it is Off and to Green when it is On. I mostly made the green and red sets so you could use them as options for mouseovers and/or showing if something is On or Off.

5. I made a greyed out version of the "Save" button for Load Raid Bots so that it could be greyed out when saving isn't an option. This isn't very important, but I thought it would be consistent with how you had it set before. It was greyed out until saving was an option. Then, once saving is an option, it could change to another color.

6. In the New Item Edit window, it would be nice if there was a way for the "Save" button to change colors if any changes are made and haven't yet been saved. That way, it would be easy to see if you have saved the item or not before moving onto the next one.

7. I did make some simple radio buttons of each color that could be used to mark which classes and races can use an item in the New Item Editor window. You would just need to pick a color for on and for off. I would say that on should be blue or green and off should be black or red. But, I was also considering making a set of buttons that matches all of the others that would list all classes and races on them. Then, you could just set the buttons to change colors depending on if the class or race was selected on not. If you would rather do that than to use the radio buttons, I can easily make those buttons for you. Or, I can even make another set of radio buttons in a completely different style that would still look really nice with the EQ feel of the tool. Whatever you prefer.

That is all I can think of for now. Most is just cosmetic stuff. The only important one is the delete item button issue.

I will start working on some more graphics for you soon. I will see if I can come up with some nice logos and maybe tweak the backgrounds a little. But, I don't want to make too much work for you hehe. Thanks for everything you have done so far. It really is amazing!

[GeorgeS]

New updated version

Changed the delete button skin to red and shifted it's position slightly to prevent inadvertant deletes.

Also you can now create items with multiple slots.
also, for L/R slot pairs - I made it so L. ear and R. ear now refer to "ears" and save correctly in the DB

The other minor cosmetic issues will be addressed later.

That's all for tonight..
GeorgeS