On a similar concept to the
Graphics Improvements discussion, I think various aspects of the engine could be improved for aesthetic reasons.
[big]Drop down menus[/big]I rather like the style of the buttons, but dislike using two arrows for lists. This has a few problems. First of all, the list items often overlap with the buttons, as is the case with the "capture the flag" scenario name (this one's an aesthetic issue). Secondly is the fact that we can't easily select items from large lists (this one's a functionality issue). For example, there are over a hundred maps by now (I've been keeping track), and selecting that map you want is very difficult if it's not early or late in the alphabetical list (note to map-makers: name all your maps "AAAA_[map name]" to ensure you get the top spot). A drop down menu would be better looking and much more functional.
[big]Mod center icons[/big]I also really dislike the graphics in the mods center. I mean, how does a smirking face represent "available"? Even the check mark seems rigid. Would there be any opposition to me proposing new graphics there?
[big]Mod center frames and descriptions[/big]I even dislikes the frames in the mods center. They remind me of web pages made in the ninety's. The graphics are warping due to the stretching and I'm not even sure what texture the vertical bar is using (although it certainly looks odd). At any rate, text overflows from the left side of the frames, instead of wrapping. The frames ultimately strike me as unnecessary. Rather, I'd prefer to see a background to the area with the description and picture. The text is difficult to read without a background, anyway. The description also seem to be poorly written. With all due respect, it doesn't sound very professional when the description for a map says, "Very nice 4 player map for 2v2 games!!". Heck, I'd even write descriptions for all the items in the download center if you need them, but that's something better done by the mod creators, as they understand their mod's story and layout best.
[big]Scrollbars[/big]And then we have the scrollbars. Ugly and very out of place. I'd personally prefer to see them done very differently. Instead of one graphic for the entire bar and its handle, I'd give a small graphic (5 pixels?) for the top of the bar/handle and another for its bottom. Another graphic would be the middle, which would be simple (even 1 pixel?) and stretched. I've used this approach in web development, and it works well, since it allows the top and bottom to be of a definitive shape (as stretching would warp them) while still allowing the area to be resized. I can even supply graphics if anyone wants to take this approach.
[big]Saved games screen[/big]Anyway, these progress bars and frames also apply to the saved games menu. In fact, do we need to be displaying a progress bar background if there's no need to be scrolling? And we could also hide the load and delete buttons when no saved game is detected.
[big]Faction image on custom game screen[/big]I'm of the opinion that the faction image in the custom game screen is rather detrimental. It strikes me as useless (in its current form, at least) and looks out of place. If anything, it further cramps the crowded menu. But this one may be of a more personal opinion, since the picture was (presumably) added for aesthetic purposes in the first place. But that's an opinion coming from a minimalist anyway (I'd have tossed the custom game settings into a tabbed interface).
[big]Text in general[/big]Anyway, text. Maybe it's just me, but the fonts are stretched, as proven by the image to the right. According to the INI, the font is Arial, and the example is supposed to be size 14 and size 12 respectively. Presumably they're also bolded. However, trying this in an image editor gets the results below the example. Notice how the text for "control" is obviously much longer in-game than it should be. However, I'm rather confused at what I'm seeing here. The "C" appears to be the right height, but the rest of the letters are not the same height. And for the word "human", the letters are obviously smaller than the 12 point font the INI suggests. I'm not sure if the INI settings are being used or not, but at any rate, the text is not as crisp in the top image as in the bottom image.
But even then, I wonder if the text would be better with a more contrasting background. Perhaps a dark grey outline or a feathered grey "shadow"? At any rate, I think the text issue is even worse in the internet game menu. The servers are purple text, which is ridiculously difficult to read on the grey background. Not to mention we can't assume the background is always grey (although total-conversion mods are pretty much forced to use a dark background, as anything light coloured makes any white text unreadable). And in the mod center, the text for the mod list is faded (it appears to be partially transparent), making it a bit more difficult to read against the low contrast background.
[small]Edit: Added "titles" to improve readability.[/small]
