Overhauling the UI: Less Clicking, More Playing

[p]Last two weeks I've been working on improving the usability of the game. The biggest pain point was the UI. It was horrendous. It wasn't something permanent; it was a placeholder, and I was planning on improving it but just didn't get the time as I wanted to push the game for Next Fest. I'll explain how the UI is getting changed and how it will improve the gameplay experience.[/p][p][/p]

1. [p][/p][p]1.Map System: So now we have a 3D representation of the map. It shows all zones and buildings. It also shows all gang holdings, like which gang owns what part of the map. When you click on any building, it will show detailed information about that zone.[/p]
2. [p][/p][p]Trade Panel: Before, if you wanted to trade, the flow was something like this: You go near an NPC, press E/Interact, dialogue menu is shown, you have to find the Trade option, find and select whether you want to gift/sell or buy something and click on that, it opens up the inventory again where you have to search and find the item, it opens up the trade menu, and now you can finally trade. Based on the inventory and the many options, sometimes sell or buy is disabled, which creates lots of confusion. Also, the process is tedious since trading is something everyone has to do. To improve on it, now there's only one click: go near any NPC, press T, and it will show the trade window with all the details. What you have and what the NPC has. Based on that, you can gift/sell or buy items.[/p]
3. [p]You'll also notice that now we have a portrait system. So whenever you interact with any NPC, their portrait is captured and stored, making it easier to find NPCs from the database panel.[/p]
4. [p]In the zone panel, we can click on contraband to see recent trends. The best part about it is it shows current demand in that particular zone, and you can tweak the tax or selling price easily. Or you can also do it from the gang panel.[/p]
5. [p]The gangs panel will show gang information and tells you all the details you might need, whether you're fighting with any gang or have an alliance or trade deal (no tax in their zones).[/p][p][/p]
6. [p]Create Plot: You can give custom orders to your gang members now. Create hit squads to kill, harass, or teach a lesson to any prisoner. Or to raid territory or defend yours, you can do it easily with this panel.[/p]
7. [p]Negotiation Panel: It works like classic 4X games. You could offer daily payout, a one-time payment, any contraband, or a zone you have in exchange for something you want from the other gang. You can use this panel to negotiate a trade deal (no tax in their zone) or maybe offer an alliance, truce, etc.[/p]
8. [p][/p]

[p]There are many more changes here. I kept the same theme but improved the typography. My goal was to make something that clearly offers all necessary information. With this being done, I'll start working on improving the fighting system even more. Hopefully next week I'll be able to push these changes.[/p][p][/p]