Chat Window Modifications
 

Currently, we have the ability to modify a few Chat Window Elements, one of which IMHO would be better "held" or "applied" if there were more options for skinning the Chat Windows.

We can currently skin:
Chat Tabs
IM Button
Unread Indicator
Chat Entry (Focused and Unfocused)

What I would suggest is adding a baseborder set of elements similar to the one used to skin the Tooltip Border so we can reskin a matching border element for the Chat Windows, which would really go a long way in stepping up the aesthetic consistancy of fully skinned UI's.

Being able to skin the Chat Entry, specifically, is one of the things I'm curious about. It seems that with skinning this, we "should" be able to match the background as well as a border to complete the element.

I think agentfive will have a better idea of this than me, but...

I believe the chat window doesn't have much of a border. I think it all lies on a mostly transparent background and the border is just sort of "off". The interior of the chat listbox is also a set of transparent backgrounds with opacity from 0 to 1 that we cycle between when you're adjusting the slider.

That being said, I can certainly try to get what elements are possible added to the list of ArtAssetIDs we expose.

-P

Cool beans, thanks Frosty! Yes, I was curious since the Opacity Slider controls the entire element (which makes me curious to play with the Chat Entry ID's and see what happens with that). Even if it was like, a 2-3px border like the tooltip has that would be controlled by the Opacity Slider...that would probably be enough to round out the aesthetic feel of the window (especially since we can colorize & reskin the tabs as well).

I'll see if I can do a quick test tonight and do a reskin of Chat Entry and the Tabs, and take a SS to show what I mean. ;)

Yep. It's all the background - there are no borders. Though I'm not sure we tagged the different opacities with ids - or we may have for the monster play skin? yes - the base ones would work but not the different opacities.

I'd like a fade off functionnality, so the chat window would hide itself when I got no new messages.

Keep the UI to the bare minimum!

We tried this before ship, but there were some problems with the way that we're intercepting the "start chatting" keys that made it difficult. I'd love this feature too, though.

-P

id dearly love to be able to change chat/ui fonts.
Id like to be able to control opacity for each chat window
Heavier drop shadow/outline for chat.