Working as of version 2.0.2. Description updated. If you find any unlisted issues, please a screenshot would be useful.
Complete overhaul of the UI with bigger windows and text but with less clutter (got rid of needless UI elements). Classic Rome 1/Medieval 2 feel brought back where feasible! Tested on 1080p laptop and large 2k monitor.
Unpack and put in your My Mods folder.
Works and scales well for 85%, 90% and 100% game settings, though 100% is recommended for smaller resolutions like 1080p (85 and 90 variants are useful on larger monitors to get rid of large windows but still end up with clear, readable font).
Feel free to use my work if you wish. This is also a good base for your overhaul mods.
PS: Recreating classic UI as it was in original is pretty much impossible due to the design and system in place behind the current UI behavior. So this wasn’t the intention of my mod, besides I think the base UI layout isn’t that bad… except it isn't perfect and bothersome for some people on vanilla due to more modern TW looks and unbalance (it's either clutter on the screen from all sides OR lack of readability with a bit less clutter). Better UI Classy is here to fix this and deliver clearer, more intuitive experience :D
KEY FEATURES:
* CLASSIC BATTLE UI – Everything to bottom of the screen, minimap on left, commands on right.
* SEASON AND INCOME DOWN – Finances close to the eye when you end your turn!
* DISCREET ADVISOR – Moved to the bottom with ? button, got rid of other buttons.
* SMALL RECRUITMENT/BUILDING QUEUES – They are very discreet in corners.
* LARGER BUILD/RECRUIT PANELS – Larger images and more intuitive.
* BIGGER DESCRIPTION PANEL – Wanna create amazing historical descriptions for your mod? Now you can read them more comfortably like in the old Rome, with clearer font, bigger wall of text and larger images!
* READABLE CHARACTER TRAITS – More space given, character panel redesigned. Awful bars with character points left exclusively for stats and replaced with big icons for main character overview.
* BIGGER DIPLOMACY – Now easy to read! Traits removed because too small to read and couldn't be changed, also they don't contribute anything to diplomacy and are distracting.
* REWORKED AGENT LAYOUT – Kept it to minimum which worked flawlessly for the original Rome, nobody needs distracting clutter on their screen. Bigger Send Agent panel!
* BETTER DIPLOMATIC STANDING PANEL – I reworked this one a bit since the vanilla one seemed counter-intuitive IMO. Bigger map instead of tiny map and factions at the top (with room for future ones once the faction limits are increased!)
* OVERALL FUNCTIONAL DESIGN – Everything essential moved to the center of the screen and needless doubles eliminated. Some buttons much smaller than vanilla but more intuitive. Character portrait immediately in the central panel (wasn’t even made smaller – it fits perfectly exactly the size it was in vanilla). Everything crystal clear around central area, not scattered around screen.
PLANNED (hopefully Feral can enable some missing options and help me to make this a reality):
* CAMPAIGN MAP TO BOTTOM – no pesky background frame in top right corner and expandable map above finance at the bottom.
* BIGGER NEWS PANEL – this one is a dream come true but certain elements are hardcoded and it was impossible to achieve this, hopefully Feral can add those entries and enable modding of newsframe sizes/fonts.
*DISABLING WINDOW ANIMATIONS (to be considered) (...if it’s ever possible) – most windows are pretty annoying in my experience with their up/down routine when you open them hundreds of times on the campaign map, nice animation but sometimes distracting/bad for eyes.
KNOWN ISSUES:
- no background frame for advisor popup text, but no big issue, it's now white and more readable
- during battle results there are two empty frames on both sides in bottom corners - this is how it's supposed to be, no way to disable them
- public order/pop growth tables spacing is weird, some "%" might be invisible, but actual numerical values should be visible
- annoying icons and coding leftovers previously hidden underneath advisor background bar, especially annoying are religion symbols in BI
- when building requirements exceed those found in vanilla (so only applicable in mods) the slider feature appears broken. Same behavior on vanilla UI, in need of a bugfix
