Req: UI refinements x2: Text Size, Map Generator Settings

Brainstorm ideas of possible additions to the game. Read this before posting!

Moderator: Forum Moderators

Forum rules
Before posting a new idea, you must read the following:
Post Reply
User avatar
Simons Mith
Posts: 821
Joined: January 27th, 2005, 10:46 pm
Location: Twickenham
Contact:

Req: UI refinements x2: Text Size, Map Generator Settings

Post by Simons Mith »

Friend says: "Ok, I have wesnoth up and running. One problem I can see immediately is the readability. My eyes aren't what they were 10 years ago."

So how do you bump up the text size globally? I always assumed there was a way, and I'll be honest I'm getting close to needing it myself.
Some of the campaign story text in italics was just below what's comfortable...
gnombat wrote: If you're running Wesnoth 1.15, you can manually edit your preferences file and add this line:

Code: Select all

font_scale=150
So, please can this be added as a proper, accessible option in the Preferences UI? TYVM


While I'm here, I'll also mention another missing UI element:
In the map generator, which shows up both in the map editor, and also in
the random map part of the scenario editor, the GUI is as shown below:
generator-settings.jpeg
Number of Hills, Max Hill Size and Landform do not have a numeric readout.

If you wanted to recreate a map with the same hilliness settings, you
would have to manually count how many clicks you've moved the slider.
I know those are just arbitrary numbers, which is why they have
never been exposed, but I always thought they should be exposed to
aid map makers with reproducibility.

Rather than labelling them 'number of hills' and 'maximum hill size', how about
on the left:

Hills:
Max Hill Size:
Landform:

and on the right something like

Flat (4), Rolling (7), Hilly (15), Rocky (25), Mountainous (40)
None (0), Tiny (3), Small (7), Medium (12), Large (18)
Inland (0), Coastal (3), Island (7)

depending on slider position? (And the hidden numeric values obvs)

I note that Landform slider already does change from Inland - Coastal - Island as you move it,
but despite rummaging I can't find where it gets its current Inland - Coastal - Island strings.
 
User avatar
egallager
Posts: 568
Joined: November 19th, 2020, 7:27 pm
Location: Concord, New Hampshire
Contact:

Re: Req: UI refinements x2: Text Size, Map Generator Settings

Post by egallager »

Agreed that these would be nice changes to have; I'd check and see if there are bugs open about these on GitHub, and then if not, open some new ones for them
User avatar
Ravana
Forum Moderator
Posts: 2933
Joined: January 29th, 2012, 12:49 am
Location: Estonia
Contact:

Re: Req: UI refinements x2: Text Size, Map Generator Settings

Post by Ravana »

I suspect issue is not in eyes, but rather that you are running game in higher resolution than before.
User avatar
Simons Mith
Posts: 821
Joined: January 27th, 2005, 10:46 pm
Location: Twickenham
Contact:

Re: Req: UI refinements x2: Text Size, Map Generator Settings

Post by Simons Mith »

@Ravana - User interface design is a minefield.

You've got user eyesight deteriorating over time
You've got young, keen, eagle-eyed devs not taking text sizes sufficiently into account - it's understandably easy to design for what you're comfortable with, and overlook that those with poorer eyesight may struggle
Resolution isn't the only issue - text contrast also becomes a consideration

You've got display resolutions improving over time
And you've also got a far greater range of modern display sizes - nowadays games like Wesnoth are playable from smartphones with 5" displays up to 30" desktops and bigger, and multi-monitor setups, possibly with different resolutions per monitor
There was a time where you could assume pretty much everyone was on a 640x480 or 800x600 display, and a screen size of 14-17", and the same GUI size would work acceptably for everyone

If I run Wesnoth at 800x600 res I get a quarter-screen window because a modern OS is clever enough to realize that's all the game is using.
Then I can zoom in to 200% and I get double-sized text, but then I'd also get double-sized units and double-sized hexes. So reverting to low-res is only a partial fix.
 
User avatar
Pentarctagon
Project Manager
Posts: 5496
Joined: March 22nd, 2009, 10:50 pm
Location: Earth (occasionally)

Re: Req: UI refinements x2: Text Size, Map Generator Settings

Post by Pentarctagon »

Having font_scale as a more easily available option was once the case, however it was removed since there were many places where changing it would cause other UI bugs. So it's much more work than simply making the option available again.
99 little bugs in the code, 99 little bugs
take one down, patch it around
-2,147,483,648 little bugs in the code
Post Reply