Finishing the riding UI (Patreon)

The riding UI is done!

On the right hand side you see a new input widget, now with graphics instead of text like in the demo. This new widget does not only tell you which riding cues are currently used but also whether you used a short cue or a long cue.

What is the difference between short and long cues? The half-halt aid in the demo is considered a short cue - a quick tap of the halt button S. The half-halt in the new widget is represented by the mouthpiece icon in the middle. The added feature is that now you can also quick tap the rein and leg buttons. A long cue is therefore any cue that you hold down for longer than just a tap (the limit is set to about 0.2 seconds). Turning the horse is an example of a long cue.

When you give the horse a short cue, its responding icon flashes with a green color - except when actively doing a dressage movement, when it flashes pink. This is to tell the player that the dressage move is being ridden successfully. When the cue is being held for longer, the icons turn their normal color (brown leather rein and shoe). A small animation also plays.

The short cues are relevant for dressage riding. For example, the aids to leg yield are quick tapping with the outside leg + inside rein (same side leg and rein) to the rhythm of the gait. Pressing these buttons for too long would cause the horse to start turning instead. The rhythm on the other hand is represented by the flashing horse shoe in the left corner.

One change to the basic riding cues is that switching up a gait now requires a long press with the legs (0.3 seconds) whereas in the demo a quick tap would have done it. This is because the quick tap with both legs is used in extending gaits (alongside with the forward button being held down).

Each dressage aid combination will be taught to you in lessons, so I won't start listing them all here, though the video will spoil a few ones if you look carefully.

The left hand side widgets went through small changes as well, for example the stride length widget now mirrors when you switch the canter lead!