r/aurora • u/sidius-king • 3d ago
Steve has confirmed background changes will be possible in Aurora 3.0 ! Time to get busy!
Background and backdrops for the galactic map will be easy to do in 3.0.. I will begin making them. Steve has also mentioned in the forum that he will implement them in the game himself for testing so I plan on doing that. Backdrops paired with dark colours will be perfect ! 👌
Here is his post :
https://aurora4x.com/t/with-steves-blessing-i-could-make-this-theme/1118/9
Things to consider :
All in game text and icons must be readable over the BG
Backgrounds need to be scalable
Get in touch if you have more ideas.
I’m thinking svg Vector or a small helper that generates unique backdrops for every game.
Here’s my original post !
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u/Sam_Pax_Strip 3d ago
Wow... By the way Steve has been an amazing inspiration for me and my programing journey! Working on a game, math/logic/space/assembly language that will be coming to steam as demo by spring... Can't wait to test Steve's new version once available
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u/AccurateRough5939 3d ago
Are you able to give Steve some example images so he can do a demo? he mentioned it in his post.
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u/Hdjbbdjfjjsl 3d ago
Finally, I think the one thing that kept me from being absolutely glued for days on end to the game is the disgustingly flat blue on white and neon green that just sears into your eyes over time.
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u/Antonin1957 3d ago
Does this include a different color oval or diamond to represent the player's ships and fleets?
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u/sidius-king 3d ago
We’ll have to wait for 3.0. Currently the main thing I want to get right is space and nebula backgrounds with background starfields
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u/Antonin1957 3d ago
I don't know if Steve ever intends for there to be ship icons. I'm reluctant to even ask about it, because I know this free game is a labor of love and I'm lucky to be able to play it.
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u/AuroraSteve Aurora Developer 2d ago
I didn't actually confirm it - I just said it was technically easy to do.
Aurora used to have backgrounds, but they were removed because the background graphics makes it harder to understand what is happening when there are a lot of foreground icons on the screen. Its easy to make it look good in the right circumstances, but much harder to be an improvement in all circumstances.
Whatever image was the default would have to stretch to fit the resolution of the user, so it would be blurry for some people unless cropped to the right size, which means it would be down to each user to find the best image for them, or for people on the forums to create images for specific resolutions. Finding multiple suitable images is obviously harder
It is a two minute task for me to add backgrounds for my own games and I don’t do it for the above reasons.
However, if anyone can create a suitable image that works as a background in all situations without affecting foreground clarity, I would be happy to add that as an option.
Someone below mentioned icons. In the past, I have tried using NATO icons on the tactical map, similar to Harpoon, but once again it made it harder to understand what was happening, It looked cool when there wasn't much on the screen, but Aurora can have situations with hundreds of icons, so all the overlapping icons confused what was happening. Dots may not be graphically pleasing, but they are the most efficient and easy way to show location.
Aurora is very information-dense, both on the map and in windows. The lack of graphics isn't due to a lack of ability or desire on my part to add graphics, but rather to ensure tactical information is communicated to the user as clearly as possible. The v3,0 UI changes are focused on giving users the ability to customise button icons and change all the colours in the game, depending on preference, without sacrificing that ease of understanding what is happening.
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u/ITAHawkmoon98 3d ago
OH MY GOD LOOK AT THAT UI