HardLife v0.27+ Unified UI Layout (Patreon)

New single-mode interface replaces the combat, home, and exploration/encounter screens. This unified UI will let us punch cars and throw people... among other things. It's a big change, but a necessary step to getting the unified actions system and greatly improving encounter options/interaction.

With this you can lift, throw, attack, workout-using, use powers on, talk to, etc. ANYTHING OR ANYONE you come across in the game. (disclaimer: altered states of mind may be required to hold meaningful conversations with desk lamps and other furnishings.)

Interface scales based on screen width, additional height extends the story/log area. Space is allocated at 10% per unit listed, with 2 columns for player units (shared with the commands menu) and 1 column for the scene units (NPCs, vehicles, and other targetable scene objects).

Additional unit information will be available by hovering/selecting a unit, and will likely be displayed in the Scene Viewport, instead of a popup/tooltip window.

The Scene Viewport is a multi-purpose area for showing relevant information, some navigation options (such as store-aisles/map, and later on graphics. This is also where the main/city map will be displayed, when opened.

The Scene Viewport has a fixed width of 70% screenwidth and a fixed height of 35% screenwidth, maintaining its 2:1 aspect ratio for graphical layer positioning/compatibility. All remaining height is allocated to the Story/Log area, which should at minimum have 30% screenheight on most devices.

The in-world date and time will display in the upper corners of the SceneView. (date in "Fri. Oct. 19, 2018" format on the left, and time in "10:00 PM" format on the right)

The UI layout and date/time display modes will eventually be customizable.

There will ALSO be a unified menu system that pops up full-screen, and will house settings, the cheat menu*, and other options and statistical screens. However, many of the existing menus, such as the slaves and item menus, will instead display through the main UI, covering the Scene Viewport and recording actions/results the the Story/Log window.

I am trying to roll together a small update before I completely rework the UI, Actions, and Navigation systems, which will deprecate many of the twine passages (such as the run/walk/jog/look for change/sleep in car and similar action-based passages). 

Going forward passages will only be used for locations and game setup blocks, simple activities will be performed on the current passage instead of using twine navigation... so if you want to pass out in public, you can. (You'll also be able to workout, search, and perform other actions that used to be passage-specific.)

The item system is also undergoing significant restructuring for v0.27+, as previously noted, so there is a high probability we will have another save-compatibility barrier between v0.27 and older save formats. This will likely be the last one, as all objects going forward will be under the new format, and there shouldn't be any more twine-passage restructuring after this.

Oh, in related news I'm adding a game-difficulty selection option that will modify starting stats, rate of growth, and some other game aspects. The planned difficulties are:

[0.34 BirthRight] (supporter version only)
0.69 EasyLife
1.00 NormalLife
1.69 RoughLife
3.16 HardLife
6.00 BadLife
[10.00 SurvivalMode] (supporter version only)

The difficulty level will DIVIDE your starting level/stats, and gains, and may also affect opponent power levels. There are no plans to have difficulty modify qi-disruption/damage rates at this time, but they will multiply the rate of injury once that system is complete.

The level will also affect NPC reactions, once added, making them less cooperative at higher difficulties.