Tooltips layout

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

What think?

 

First proposal on 4/5/2026

 

 

EDIT:

Latest iteration. 4/6/2026

Technology Tooltip

1. A thematic, but readable header font, 2 points larger than the game's current header font.

2. Cost moved to the top.

3. Lines spaced out slightly for readability.

4. Effects text bolded for readability.

5. Bullet points for organizing the effects.

6. Tech portrait added @ 100x100 px.

 

[guerringuerrin]

It might be somewhat arbitrary, but I’ll share my suggestions with you:

I like having bullet points at the beginning of each upgrade description and I’d try increasing the font size of the bonuses granted.
I wouldn’t use bullet points for “Unlocks…” nor bold text—I don’t think that’s information that needs to be emphasized.
And I'd try leaving an empty line between the bonuses and "Unlocks"....
Is there any reason to separate Cavalry from Infantry?

[DesertRose]

For Forge techs, the information that it unlocks the next tier is so unimportant that you can even leave it out. It certainly does not need a bullet point or being bold.

Also, somehow showing if it unlocks another tech, unit or building would be nice. Either color coded, or something l like

Unlocks "Tier 2 Hack Armor" [Tech]

Unlocks "Champion Swordsman" [Unit]

"Hack armor level" sounds strange. Why not simply "Infantry +1 Hack Armor"?

[Thalatta]

Anything to make these tooltips more readable, I enjoy. I'd like to see how those resistances on buildings get more readable.

I agree with removing "level", and anything unnecessary for that matter.

 

Unrelated: what is that star? Glory from Delenda Est? Why does it take that resource? I would have loved to see textiles as a fifth resource though, when thinking about all kinds of historical resources, the usual 4 and textiles seem the ones needed to cover most things. It seems to me it’s ignored because that’s what most RTS have done (and could have many sources, both animal and vegetal).

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

[guerringuerrin]

@wowgetoffyourcellphone
I think the information is much better structured now. I also like that you added the large image. It’s a detail that, to me, adds a lot of “personality” (after all, it’s the only visual element representing the “object”).

I understand that the bullet point follows a consistent logic, listing in an orderly way the elements the technology unlocks. However, personally, I would still prefer to remove at least the bold formatting from “Unlocks Scale Body Armor.” This way, what stands out more immediately would be the most important aspect of the technology: the military bonuses it provides.

I also think placing the cost at the top is a good choice.
And the increased line spacing greatly improves readability.

Good job! 

[Grautvornix]

6 hours ago, Thalatta said:

Anything to make these tooltips more readable, I enjoy. I'd like to see how those resistances on buildings get more readable.

I agree with removing "level", and anything unnecessary for that matter.

 

Unrelated: what is that star? Glory from Delenda Est? Why does it take that resource? I would have loved to see textiles as a fifth resource though, when thinking about all kinds of historical resources, the usual 4 and textiles seem the ones needed to cover most things. It seems to me it’s ignored because that’s what most RTS have done (and could have many sources, both animal and vegetal).

Frankly, introducing textiles as an additional resource is good idea but you would need infrastructure to create that: at least specific fields that grow textile plants or corrals producing sheep, spinning mills and weaving mills. Adding new resource types remains a challenge as if would affect many apsects of game play. A while ago I started suggesting to add water as a resource as this could create particluar situations and game challenges in those desert oasis maps. see also 

and also a bit further down this discussion we go ntinot he subject of water as a resource and how it could look like in gameplay:

 

[Thalatta]

There's a silly detail: should it say 'Unlocks "Scale Body Armor."' or 'Unlocks "Scale Body Armor".'? I feel the 2nd one, not only because I prefer British punctuation, but because I guess the "." is not included in the tech? And to end with ".", like the other points.

 

3 hours ago, guerringuerrin said:

It’s a detail that, to me, adds a lot of “personality” (after all, it’s the only visual element representing the “object”).

I agree with visual elements, that's why when "somehow showing if it unlocks another tech, unit or building would be nice" was mentioned I wondered if a small icon instead of bullet points could be something to be considered.

 

24 minutes ago, Grautvornix said:

Adding new resource types remains a challenge as if would affect many apsects of game play. A while ago I started suggesting to add water as a resource as this could create particluar situations and game challenges in those desert oasis maps.

Yes, I totally see it would be gameplay breaking, only a mod could consider something like this right now, but things like keeping or killing sheep for either textiles or food would make things like Corrals more interesting. Also, it would come from many sources: cotton, hemp, flax flower, silkworms, shearing sheep, and animals for leather or fur.

Water is interesting, lots of city-building implications with that, although maybe not necessarily as a main resource, but as connected structures and auras, since location matters a lot. Also, what is nice about the main resources is that they are like categories: there are many types of foods, wood, stones, metals (and textiles), but only one type of water (which I would cluster with foods).

Combining all this, a system similar to Rise of Nations would be nice: to have lots of different resources, but all falling into these 4 (5) main categories, the difference of gathering one thing or the other being some (small for starters?) bonus (or unlocking special stuff, eventually). This could also make things like Markets more interesting.

[DesertRose]

Unlocks "Scale Body Armor"

No "." at all

[guerringuerrin]

2 hours ago, Thalatta said:

There's a silly detail: should it say 'Unlocks "Scale Body Armor."' or 'Unlocks "Scale Body Armor".'? I feel the 2nd one, not only because I prefer British punctuation, but because I guess the "." is not included in the tech? And to end with ".", like the other points.

Yes, following the standard currently used in 0 A.D. and this proposal, it should be: Unlocks "Scale Body Armor".

I also think an elegant way to remove the quotation marks would be to use color to highlight the name of the unlocked technology.
In this thread (which I finally found, bc we went totally offtopic ), @Atrik and I were discussing  different designs for unit stats tooltips:

 

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

5 hours ago, DesertRose said:

Unlocks "Scale Body Armor"

No "." at all

This is definitely a good solution. As a writer, I just hate having no full-stop at all.  

[Thalatta]

7 hours ago, guerringuerrin said:

In this thread (which I finally found, bc we went totally offtopic ), @Atrik and I were discussing  different designs for unit stats tooltips:

All that I think is one of the most important things to solve right now in the realm of stuff that can be off putting for new players. I agree with your edit later on: to show icons instead of text (and hovering on them would show the text), not only looks nicer but after a while one will interpret all that information much faster, which should be the point.

[Outis]

18 hours ago, Thalatta said:

the usual 4 and textiles seem the ones needed to cover most things

Textiles indeed comprise an important part of ancient (and contemporary) societies, and adding them to the game would enrich it for sure, but please note it is a manufactured good and not a resource.

[Thalatta]

46 minutes ago, Outis said:

Textiles indeed comprise an important part of ancient (and contemporary) societies, and adding them to the game would enrich it for sure, but please note it is a manufactured good and not a resource.

Yes, but with textiles I didn't mean the product, but the natural resources you gather to almost inevitably end with textiles, so I used it like an easy to understand category. Maybe the correct name should be (natural) fiber. Also, for some types of food, like wheat, you have to plant, grow, sow, and process it to get bread and beer. Those are manufactured goods, and invented ten, maybe hundreds, of thousands of years after the simplest clothing, as was the process to separate the gathered ores from metals, although yes, they are not "manufactured" since they existed all along.

Edited 3 hours ago by Thalatta
Switched fibers to fiber, to keep all resources singular.

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

Back to tooltips ladies and gentlemen.