1. you don't need a rename button. similar functionality is available elsewhere in the UI (like renaming crafts) simply by clicking on the name.
I thought this before. But consider the following: The player clicks to the editbox, types a name, then clicks to Create. Now he renamed a layout, and created a new one with identical name. But his original intention is to create a new layout with the typed name. Of course he can do that by clicking on the Create FIRST and then typing the name (rename).
But this usage is not self-explanatory, not evident. Most of the people would use it as if it would work like it works now.
And not the place of the Rename button is what we really have to make free for something else.
2. for parity with how other UI screens look (such as the purchase/sell/equipment screens), perhaps remove the top two buttons and replace them with left/right arrow buttons to the left of each soldier name. this would also enable the left arrow key as a shortcut for saving the soldier's layout to the selected layout name and the right arrow key as a shortcut for applying the selected layout to the soldier. this would make this screen as keyboard-accessible as option one. just type down-right-down-right-down-right... to apply a layout to the entire squad instead of option 1's tab-v-tab-v-tab-v... This is a little different from the idea of using left click to apply and right click to save, but nowhere else in the UI is a right click used for anything but cancel or "take all", and using right click to save might be out of place.
This is a very good idea!!!
Especially for touch screen devices, since they have no "RIGHT-clicks", or right-clicking is not easy on them.
The only problem is that it needs some space in the list for those buttons to fit. We have to make some space for those buttons. We either have to make less space for the layout names, or for the soldier names.
Hmm, I will experiment with this, and i think I'll implement this on next weekend.
3. a limitation of the current screen for option 3 compared to the other two options is that you can't see what the layout includes. is there any way to show the regular inventory screen as a background image for the layout manager screen that can indicate what the selected layout is? that may not be possible (or aesthetically pleasing), though.
You're right about this, and i also thought this before. But think about it. There are NAMES for the layouts. You have to know what layout name associated with what layout. The name should be communicative. This way you don't have to actually see the layout itself. But if you want to see it, you can see it by moving back to the Inventory view.
Showing the layout itself in the background may be a good idea, but as you mentioned it may not be so aesthetically pleasing.
Hmm, maybe if the layout itself would only be showed when the player moves the mouse cursor on a specific part of the layout button, maybe half of the layout button. Or a little icon would be next to the layout button, and when the player moves the mouse cursor over it, the game would show that layout, but not as a background, it would show it foreground, with all other buttons/etc temporarily hidden. Only when the mouse cursor is over that little icon next to the layout button.
What do you think?
4. if space becomes tight because of these revisions, create and delete buttons could be replaced with plus and X symbol icons.
This is also a good idea, but not those spaces occupied by those buttons is our real problem now.
