This month's update is focused on the UI Team, so we had a chat with them to give you all an insight into the guys behind the work. Welcome to this month's “Meet the Team” feature.
Firstly we asked Aric to introduce himself and say a little something about what he's been up to:
Hey Hey! I’m Aric (Air-ick), just a member of the UI Development Team for the STE Project! The UI Team was asked to write up a quick ‘Hello!’ for each of us for ya’ll so here we go!
I was glad to be able to join the team back in the middle of 2011. I have always been a fan of the LCARS interface. I had originally applied as a UI Graphic Designer, but the guys had other plans! Heh. I was asked instead to help write the actual code under the Graphic Design Leader, Mike. This was a surprise with my experience leaning more towards visual design but if they thought I was up to the task, coupled with some quick learning, I could not pass down this experience.
So far, the code development of the Base UI Elements with John, JD and Tony has been an exciting adventure! Through the process of testing, refinement and quick testing we have been creating a dynamically robust framework that can be quickly implement as easily as a simple copy and paste. The idea is to create elements that can work together and able to be used beyond their original designs.
One of the things I am very happy with is the theme framework. With the power of CSS3 we were able to create a dynamic system that allows anyone to quickly change or add different styles to the same element. This not only helped keep down the number of individual elements needed to create a full interface but also allowed elements to have more uses within the visually inspired style of LCARS.
As usual, we are always on the lookout for new examples, ideas and inspiration so I call out to the community, if there is something related to the UI of STE, throw one of us a message! Check out the new screenshots and video to see the UI elements in action!
Next up comes JD, one of our younger contributors:
Hey, my name is John, but I go by JD seeing as there are already two John's with the project. I am 16 years old and go to high school in Indiana, USA. Outside of working on Excalibur I maintain a website for my local church and I run track for the school.
I started watching star trek TNG with my dad when I was about 5. Ever since then I have loved it. My favorite series is TNG, but I have a special place for Enterprise. My favorite ship is the Prometheus.
I joined the project June of 2011 as part of the UI team. We are currently almost finished standardizing all the elements that will be used in the UI. After that is done my task will be to create the UI for the Scene Editor which will be used to create cut scenes for the story and to set up PR shots of Excalibur. You can continue to follow the progress with the monthly updates and on twitter. @STExcalibur
Finally, here is a bit from Tony:
My name is Anthony, but on the forums, you can catch me as TonyKirk.
I'm a thirty-year-old software engineer from the US living in Utah who shares a deep love for all things Star Trek. I am particularly drawn to how the LCARS interface works to perform complex functions for the starships in the Trek Universe. Because of this, I am mostly in charge of working our awesome UI into the actual game build, as well as building utility, mini-games, and other items for the UI and the game.
For the most part, I have worked on building the game menus that handle things like Video, Sound, Mods, etc. All the user interfaces that the user will be interacting with to change graphical settings, sound options, loading custom mods, etc. is handled by this menu. This mostly involves getting the menus constructed to match our high quality standards, as well as work with python and javascript to get the menu talking to the game engine. As we round the corner into working the UI into the build, I hope to be working on getting the in-game LCARS UI talking to the ship once we begin implementing that.
It's been incredible working with such a talented group of people, and the ongoing dedication to this project continuously amazes me. When we do get this out to the mass public, I think people are just going to be blown away. So much love and attention to correctness is going into every step of this game - it's simply uncanny how we have all worked so harmoniously together thus far to get where we are. Truly Star Trek can bring out the best in people.
-Tony
I hope you all enjoyed meeting the UI Team. Don't hesitate to join us on Twitter 8PM UTC on Sunday 4th March for a live chat and a chance to ask your questions. If you can't make it, then you can also ask questions or get in contact either on Twitter (@STExcalibur), Facebook or on the forum.
UI, the most used, seen part of games and the most unrated. Looking forward to the results.