Graphic Status Panel

[James de Monet]

Okay, so this is still a work in progress, but I have a working version, so I figured I would post it, see if people wanted to try it out.  See if anyone had any feedback.

This is a graphics-based panel that uses UDP to send information from your prompt in MUSHclient, to .NET, so that it can show all of that information in graphic form!

The basics of the panel are as such (click, then click again for full size):



DOWNLOAD panel only version 1.0.0.1

DOWNLOAD paper doll damage version 1.1.1.1


Instructions:

• Extract the zip file somewhere accessible.
• In MUSHclient, go to File->Plugins->Add...
• Select the Arm_StatusPanel.xml plugin, from the unzipped folder.
• Type "InstallStatusPanel" (no quotes) in your client window while running Armageddon, and logged into your character.  NOTE: THIS WILL CHANGE YOUR PROMPT.  You may wish to make note of your old prompt, in case you wish to cobble it together later.
• Start the ArmStatusPanel application in the unzipped folder.
• If Windows or your firewall asks if you want to allow MUSHclient to communicate locally, select YES.
• Once the panel starts, you can move it by left-click-and-drag inside the graphic area.  Right-clicking provides access to the options, like time offset, voting reminders (!), clock options, clan pay reminder, graphic styles, etc. NOTE: Some of these options are not entirely functional, currently.  WIP.  (See notes below)
• Right-clicking also gives you access to 'Close' the program.

Notes:

• The health bars change color as they go down.  I believe they change to yellow at 60%, and red at 20%.
• When you are engaged in combat, the background will become bloodstained.
• You can change the background and icon shading via the options menu.  The ones I did so far are kind of dumb.
• I will probably be adding some better backgrounds for the final version.  If people want to make some to share, that would also be awesome!  Background images should provide variant versions (one fighting, one normal) and should be sized to this template
• Clan pay works, currently, but will reset whenever ANYONE in the room asks about their pay, not just you.  I'm working on it.
• The Damage System is not currently enabled.  WIP.
• The panel stores your settings in the registry.  (Probably unnecessary info, but the coders might care).

That's all I can think of for the moment.  If you guys have problems, questions, or suggestions, please post them!  Also, I would highly recommend using Agent_137's Arma_Highlights either with this panel, or on its own!  I only started using it recently, and love it!  137 also wrote the plugin on which I based the UDP sender (credit where credit is due!)

[IntuitiveApathy]

James wins Armageddon again (this is only possible for James, it seems!)

[James de Monet]

Has anyone managed to give this a try?

[RogueGunslinger]

I can tell you why I haven't used it, even though I love it. But my problem with it isn't really fixable.

It takes up too much sceen, and draws my attention away from where I normally have that info, which is the prompt. I basically always have my screen split half-way, when playing Armageddon. Half for browser/notepad half for Mushclient. This would require yet another layer to my notepad/browser half of the screen, and it's taking information that I already have on the mushclient half to do that. For me it's just much easier to have that info in the actual client where it's easy to quickly read.

I've just gotten way too comfortable having all that info come up with every line of input, right in the middle of the client. I feel naked and in danger having to shift my eyes all the way across my screen to see my HP.

[James de Monet]

That's great feedback, thanks!

You said it wasn't fixable for you, and if that's the case, that's totally fine, but would it make a difference if I made a version that was a strip instead of a panel?  That way you could dock it beneath your client window or browser.

I use two monitors, so it fills wasted space for me.  And I know what you mean about the prompt.  I added my normal prompt back into 137's master prompt, and it doesn't gag that part, so I have the info both in my prompt and in the panel.  I find it's actually most helpful during periods of combat, etc, where you get a lot of pageroll, because then glancing over to the panel becomes much easier than trying to read the moving prompts, echoes, etc.

[RogueGunslinger]

A strip or bar would work, but to fit all that info it would have to be fairly thick, or so simple as to be no different from a prompt, which is why I thought it'd be unfixable.. The most room is the top of mushclient for me, I don't ever use any of the options while playing.

[James de Monet]

I uploaded a demo video of the panel in use, along with the added damage mod, which shows all the damage a character takes reflected on a cRPG style body outline.  I will probably upload a working version of the upgraded panel in a day or two.  Check out the video, let me know what you think!

https://youtu.be/mKkW8iFQCbA

[Malken]

I'm not currently playing so I can't really test it out but that's pretty cool!

[Quirrilicious]

It looks really nice. I wish it was available for more than just MushClient. :/

I really like the bloody background of the combat mode and all the other little details you have there that I put in my prompt. I also really appreciate the hit tracker body thing.

[Kassindra]

Looks very cool but I only use CMUD

[CodeMaster]

If you got it playing that song from Requiem for a Dream during combat, sparring would be epic.  Or you'd want to chop off your arm

[deathkamon]

If you got it playing that song from Requiem for a Dream during combat, sparring would be epic.

The ability to put in mp3 files into the status panel as combat music, or setting music, that would be a game changer. Literally.

[nauta]

In tintin, I have it cue up "Eye of the Tiger" on the regex 'arrives from the' (with certain animal types), and "I'm too sexy for my shirt" on the regex 'crumples to the ground'.

Code Select Expand


#action {{carru|templar|tarantula|scrab|anakore|gortok|gith|bahamet|mekillot|cylops|raptor} has arrived} {
  #system mplayer EyeOfTheTiger.mp3;
}

#action {crumples to the ground} {
  #system mplayer ImTooSexyForMyShirt.mp3;
}


I also change the song when it's stormy out.  I really wish there were a prompt option for the weather.

[James de Monet]

Ha!  That's actually not a bad idea.  I think I might make it be able play theme music when you walk into a bar, get into a fight, etc.  Hmm....



(Also, nauta, I could be wrong, but I think you might need to change the "y" in that second to the last creature in your tiger list to an "i" [unless the creatures have varying name spellings, which sometimes they do].)

[James de Monet]

I really wish there were a prompt option for the weather.

Also, ditto this.  I wanted to add weather indicators to my panel, but I couldn't think of a way to do it, other than to have a timer which sends a weather command to the client, and then captures the echo.

[nauta]

It's the only way.  Since tintin can substitute out the output, and put it somewhere else, I've thought about a timer (or adding it to my 'look all' alias).

Also, on the Eye of the Tiger / I'm Too Sexy...:

Usually, when I meet one of the bigger monsters on the list, what happens is:

Code Select Expand


A whatever arrives from the west.
(cue music)
"The eye--"
A whatever attacks you!
A whatever does unspeakable damage to you.
*beep*


OR (if I'm with friends, coupled with the crumples code):

Code Select Expand


A whatever arrives from the west.
(cue music)
"The eye--"
A whatever attacks the friend of yours.
A whatever does unspeakable damage to the friend of yours.
The friend of yours crumples to the ground.
(cue music)
"I'm too sexy for my shirt."


It's a work in progress.

[Alesan]

Time to put the Final Fantasy 7 fanfare on all of my kills.

[nauta]

You know...

If you were really cool, and feeling it, you could, using tintin++ at least and gimp's commandline tools and xv fix up your background based on the output of the weather command, rendering a desert landscape, with sand blowing, the different moons, etc.  If I play more iso roles, maybe I will.

You'd just spam 'weather' (either in the 'look all' alias or in a timer), use #substitute to have it not render the output to your clint, and pipe it out via #system to imagemagick/gimp | xv.

It'd be easy peasy!

[James de Monet]

I actually did a thing that changed a whole wallpaper-sized background based on the time of day, in my original clock app that this panel borrows from (it's on the tools page).

You could set MUSHclient to be transparent, so you would always see a desert tableau behind your client, showing appropriate lighting for the time of day.  It was okay, but I think it made it hard to read the client, even after I made a dark version.  Nifty feature, but not terribly practical.

[Alesan]

As a side point regarding the strip rather than panel option, I would argue that a strip at the bottom of your screen containing the information that can be pulled from a prompt saves on line space. When things on screen are very active, one or two, even three extra lines on every action is a lot of valuable real estate, screen wise.

This is why I keep brief prompt enabled, and have my own set of buttons in zMUD. If there were something similar for Mushclient, I could see it being useful for people who value that extra screen space like myself.

[James de Monet]

I added this to the first post as well, but you can now

DOWNLOAD paper doll damage version 1.1.1.1

You will need to replace the current 'Arm_StatusPanel' plugin with the new 'Damage Update Arm_StatusPanel' version in MUSHclient, and you will probably need to retype InstallStatusPanel in your client window while running.  Please let me know if you have any issues.  Enjoy!

[CodeMaster]

Awesome stuff JDM.  I might poach some of your Zalanthas assets (the sun/moon looks awesome)

[James de Monet]

Be my guest!

[Majikal]

Pretty rad... honestly. Good work! After watching the demo I was real impressed.