I’ve been looking around about this and found some old topics (years or months ago), so just gathering things together while devs work in everything else. When they ahead their attention to this subject matter they may find this topic a start point from ours feedback.
Stonehearth Main Screen/Menu about menu
Ability to return to main menu from startup screen about return button after start screen
Also, Finished game concept art (main screen and new game screen) about new concept ideas.
Found other locked about the same subject so I won’t link they here as I quote these instead.
So right now what we do have is:
Start Screen
Return button
Just an idea correction about this “Quit to main menu” button: this is a restart client game button, it loads up everything again from zero, not a “back” (read “turn a page back”) screen transition. I am not complain it, I just not sure if that is what people want. Talking for me I think its good, for now.
Also F5 right now do what it supposed to do I guess (?), black screen out everything and show everything again, same page, same screen, same names and buttons which is great instead of restarting the game as someone said in some of that topics.
I don’t really understand about concept art, I only imagine that should be thinking when you think about the new options to come which will need new screens, but let give you some suggestions about the menu choices.
Right now I imagine game-modes like: campaign, sandbox/free style (something variant from micro worlds, just the idea of free building and/or testing or maybe even separated buttons for each), multiplayer (disable, to give the idea that you still working on it) or even ahead in the future more limited small modes like mini-games involving another type of survival, maybe another type of objectives after all or whatever type of game-mode planned.
Thinking: Its not like Stoneheart will lose its sandbox concept by acquiring a new campaigns system, I really think nobody wants that. Nobody really should. Because it should be what we most like in the game: be capable to actually MAKE any type of construction we want, anywhere, ANYTIME. Which implicates in a game timeline long enough to let players decide WHEN they should move on to next campaign. That is exactly what I think about sandbox games which have campaigns: A great campaign mode is based on that, the time it leaves the player enjoy the game being enough satisfying to himself decide: “Hey, now I think I have made everything I wanted, every building I decided, every worker progression exactly how I intended, also won every great fight with my military units. Yeah, I am ready to move on!”. We could actually discuss this in other topic, that is a long talk and I haven’t check if it already exist.
I can imagine a Tool that make what some templates sites do, host your uploaded templates shcematics buildings to share to others, with lot of searching options, rating, and filters by tags or anything like it.
I also imagine the top bar buttons to be align in this menu: about, options and exit. Just to the player feel a better look and understanding that those options exists, not only in the (insert your number here) time he start the game and only then take a look closer to the top and see those options there. Obs.: The exit button already exist in the esc/pause message menu.
And that is it. Thank you to read and sorry if I did any mistake, I tried to check everything up before posting it.