25 · HUD

Every HUD panel and every window of the sample’s HUD panels, each under a caption that says what it is, the way 24 · UI Gallery shows the components. The panels read units that exist only as data, so nothing moves or fights; the greybox props behind them show the panels’ transparency. The feature scenes use the same panels and windows in play.

Scene Scenes/25_Hud. Assets Content/25_Hud and Content/Shared.

What it teaches

• A HUD is a handful of components next to the UI Document: VtUiRoot for the layers, then one component per panel pointed at a unit and a region.
• A panel can also be placed inside an element of your own with PlaceIn, which is how the gallery puts each one under its caption.
• The target frame is the same component as the player frame, with Source set to Target Of Unit.
• The action bar reads the unit’s VtAbilityHotkeys: the abilities in slot order with their key caps and cost lines.
• The resource bars and the stat list read the same pools, level and modifiers every other system reads; the second bar draws from the shipped compact layout to show how a layout of your own goes on a panel.
• VtToasts shows short messages in four severities; VtUiNotifications feeds it from a unit’s events.
• The currency readout, quest tracker, threat list, selection panel, minimap and interaction prompt are HUD panels like the frames: one component, one unit, one region.
• A window is a component too: VtInventoryWindow, VtQuestLogWindow, VtDialogueWindow, VtCraftingWindow and VtTalentWindow each build a VtWindow on the Windows layer, or under an element of your own with PlaceIn, which is how the gallery shows them open.
• The windows only call the public API the systems already have: equip, use, abandon, craft, learn, choose an answer.

Assets

Unit definitions use the demo defaults unless listed: Physical damage in Channel Melee, Attack Range 2, Attack Interval 1, Move Speed 5, and the shared BasicAttack.

HeroCurve, an XP Curve: Id xp.hero, Max Level 5, XP To Next Level 60, 90, 130, 180.

Items, all Item Definitions:

Quests: MainQuests, a Quest Category with Id questcat.hud_main, Display Name Main, Sort Weight 0 and Color (1, 0.82, 0.35). RaiderTag, a Unit Tag with Id tag.hud_raider. SlayRaiders, a Kill Objective with Description “Slay raiders on the causeway”, Required Count 5 and Target Tag RaiderTag. GatherHerbs, a Collect Objective with Description “Gather Herbs”, Required Count 3 and Item Herbs. Reward120Xp, an XP reward of 120.

Talents, each with Point Cost 1: Toughness (talent.hud_toughness, Required Level 1, Max Rank 3, Modifiers Per Rank Max HP 25), Heavy Blows (talent.hud_heavy_blows, Required Level 2, Max Rank 2, Modifiers Per Rank Physical Power 0.1 percentage) and Battle Rhythm (talent.hud_battle_rhythm, Required Level 3, Max Rank 1, Modifiers Per Rank Attack Speed 0.2 percentage, Prerequisites Heavy Blows rank 2). HeroTree, a Talent Tree: Id tree.hud_hero, those three talents, Starting Talent Points 2, Talent Points Per Level 1, Starting Attribute Points 3, Attribute Points Per Level 2, Spendable Attributes Strength and Agility.

Crafting: Smithing, a Crafting Skill with Id skill.hud_smithing, XP Curve HeroCurve and Max Level 5. ForgeStation, a Recipe Station type with Id station.hud_forge. Metalwork, a Recipe Category with Id recipecat.hud_metalwork.

ElderTalk, a Dialogue Definition with Id dialogue.hud_elder and two nodes: start says “The causeway has been quiet since you came. What brings you back?” with Include Quest Answers on and the answers “Tell me about the marsh.” (to marsh) and “Goodbye.” (ends); marsh says “Herbs grow where the water stands. Mind the raiders.” and returns to start.

EldersBlessing, a Buff Definition with Id buff.hud_elders_blessing, Display Name “Elder’s Blessing”, Default Duration 60, Stacking Policy Refresh and Modifiers Armor 25.

The pools start part-way so the bars show a fill. Strength and Agility are the shared attributes in Content/Shared, and the shared AttributeFormula turns Strength into Physical Power and Agility into Crit Chance and Attack Speed. Gold is the shared currency.

Scene

Ground 30 × 30.

VtDemoHudGallery builds its layer 20 pixels in from the left, top and bottom and 480 pixels from the right, so the lesson card keeps its column, and fills it with a scroll view of nineteen sections, each a small caption, a muted line of explanation and the panel itself placed with PlaceIn at a minimum width of 320 pixels: Unit frame, Target frame, Resource bar, Resource bar · compact layout, Buff bar, Stat list, Action bar, Currency readout, Quest tracker, Threat list, Selection panel, Minimap, where every unit stands on the same spot, and Interaction prompt; then Inventory window, Quest log, Dialogue window, Crafting window and Talent window, each opened in place; then Toasts with four small buttons Info, Success, Warning and Error that show, as title over detail, “Quest accepted” over “The Sunken Causeway”, “Level up” over “You reached level 5”, “Out of range” over “Firebolt” and “Item broken” over “Iron Sword” through the scene’s VtToasts, the titles through their localization keys. The regions the panels name are not used, since the gallery places them itself. VtDemoHudSeed runs after the gallery: it accepts the two quests, puts the Hero and the Squire on the Target’s threat table, sets Smithing to level 2, puts Elder’s Blessing on the Hero for a minute and starts the conversation with the Elder, so every panel has something to show.

Build it yourself

1. Build the scene as in Build the shared layout with a 30 × 30 Level. This scene uses no prefabs.
2. GameObject → Create Empty, name it Focus, at (0, 0, 0), and set it as the VtTopDownCamera Initial Target.
3. GameObject → Create Empty, name it Props, and add the four primitives above as children.
4. Create → Vantage → Leveling → XP Curve, name it HeroCurve; create the three abilities and their effects with Create → Vantage → Abilities; the items, quests, talents, skill, recipes, dialogue and buff under their Create → Vantage menus; and the four unit definitions with Create → Vantage → Units → Unit Definition, with the values above.
5. GameObject → Create Empty, name it Data, add the four empty children with the components above, and drop a WorldItem prefab with Herbs next to the Hero.
6. Add a UI Document with the demo Panel Settings, then VtUiRoot, VtDemoCanvas, VtUiNavigation, VtTooltipHost, VtToasts, VtUiNotifications, VtNameplates, VtDemoNameplateText, VtDemoLessonCard, the thirteen HUD panels, the five windows and VtDemoHudGallery with the values above.

Try

• Read each caption: it names the component and what it draws.
• Hover an item, a talent or a recipe for its tooltip; click a bag item to equip or use it, and a talent to learn it.
• Compare the panels with the same ones in 03 · Abilities or 06 · Leveling and Talents, where they follow a fight.
• Press the toast buttons for one message of each severity, F8 to hide the gallery, and F10 to hide the HUD.

In your own game

• Add VtUiRoot next to your UI Document, then the panels you need, each with its unit and a region, or PlaceIn an element of your own layout. See UI.
• Add VtUiNavigation and the windows you need, and open them from your input. See Windows for the player.
• Translate every toast by adding rows for the keys on VtUiNotifications.Keys to your localization table.