Implement a Tab Menu Hud

Plasma

<div class="IPBDescription">Don't make admin/vote commands so hard</div>Hi!

I want to introduce everyone to the idea of the 'Tab Menu HUD'.

This already exists in two fantastic (but old!) games, Tribes and Tribes 2.

This is a heads-up display/menu that appears when you hit (by default) the Tab button, and is used to quickly administer the server (if you are an admin), or call votes (if you are a player).

It shows you a list of players like a normal score screen has, but allows you to also:
* Select players in the list
* Perform commands on them (eg, Vote to kick, or Mute)
* Perform server related commands (eg, Vote to change the mission, timelimit, etc or if you are an admin, change immediately)

This makes it easy for everyone to call votes and vote to change the level and perform other routine commands that come across in every game, without having to use an icky console command or having to hit Escape and bring up a large clunky menu (where you are no longer being able to view the game).

Please see the pictures attached below for how this looks in Tribes 1.

After first opening the menu (no name chosen):
<a href="http://img200.imageshack.us/i/67066228.png/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/133/67066228.th.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /></a>

After clicking on someone's name:
<a href="http://img91.imageshack.us/i/31638325.png/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/9241/31638325.th.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /></a>

Feedback welcome - it would be a neat addition if there is time permitting; as having to use console commands for these tasks is a bit silly and cumbersome.

FocusedWolf

Sorry i'm tired. Didn't read much of your post. But a "Tab Menu" sounds to much like a windows taskbar. Which could probably work really well in game. I mean you sort stuff by column with dropdowns and there you go. With the added benefit of a easy way for someone to create, witch scripts, new menus. To make it easy to navigate i recommend different colors on the menus, especially so to differentiate from menu-items created by the engine, and ones "installed" by a server script that's running... I think it should be something that sits at the top of the screen as tall as the vista taskbar... but with openable menus...

I'm sure they thought of this already... or wait no... they didnt... i bet they just did it like every other game does with the only ingame hud dealing with the guns.

ryknow69

Servers have modded this into them, and I can see it fitting well into NS2, as the servers that had this were very fun.

Plasma

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->But a "Tab Menu" sounds to much like a windows taskbar<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Not really - sorry, when I say 'tab menu' I mean a menu that appears when you press the tab key (as per the pics) - its a term we used in-game to refer to that menu.

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Servers have modded this into them, and I can see it fitting well into NS2, as the servers that had this were very fun.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sort of - the server's I've played on allow you to press keys to access a menu (0-9), but don't let you use the mouse etc (or look anything like this), so its not 'as good'.

ryknow69

The ones I've played in do allow mouse.

Also, fyi, try Sven Co-Op, they heavily rely on a 'Tab Menu'.

locallyunscene

I don't know how much of this would be in the game itself or added as and amx-type-plugin. It would be nice for non-admin-players to have access to a separate menu also for votemap and other admin staarted votes instead of hitting '1' and looking for my primary while I actually voted for ns_co_siege_bhop_clear_the_server_map.