In your opinion, what is the best gui lib?

Blitz3D Forums/Blitz3D Userlibs/In your opinion, what is the best gui lib?

Kalisme(Posted 2005) [#1]
I'm hoping on doing a game like the sims... (very different... but that's the closest I can think of to explain how I want it set up) What (in your honest opinion) would be the best GUI library to use?
This is keeping in mind:
How fast is it to learn to use
How usable is it (user friendly and flexible)
How easy is it to include into a game?
And is it freeware? (prefured very much)

Some examples are: BlitzUI, AlphaUI & Xlt-gui
Please help... I'd be very thankful :)


GameKing(Posted 2005) [#2]
Hi THEartistKAL,

I use xLnt ii, but you should download the different demos and try them out for yourself.

Enjoy


Kuron(Posted 2005) [#3]
BlitzUI
This one gets my vote. Very good, full-featured, fast, and free. I would have happily paid $$ for this one.


Erroneouss(Posted 2005) [#4]
Another vote for xLnt ii.

And then in order of awesomeness:
2. BlitzUI
3. BCF 2.0 Freeware Edition
4. Eniretu
5. NGUI
6. Stre


Kalisme(Posted 2005) [#5]
I'd like to try out "BlitzUI"... does anyone know where I can find a link to this lib?


Mustang(Posted 2005) [#6]
ppl, ppl... learn to use this site:

http://www.blitzbasic.co.nz/toolbox/toolbox.php?cat=14


Rook Zimbabwe(Posted 2005) [#7]
I have plucked through the GUI libs section and never seen BlitzUI... It doesn't show on that link list either...

HOWEVER I went to google and searched for blitzui and this link appeared:
http://www.blitzbasic.com/Community/posts.php?topic=24400
But I do swear to you I don't see it on the GUI Toolbox list... could it not be showing for users in the USA?
Link to download BlitzUI is here:
http://www.legacygames.co.uk/projects.php?disp=blitzui
Hope that helps
-RZ


xmlspy(Posted 2005) [#8]
I use FUI 3D. I used to use BlitzUI, but FUI is better :)



http://www.f-software.co.uk/


Rook Zimbabwe(Posted 2005) [#9]
xmlspy... quantize that statement... Why is FUI better? I ask honestly and sincerely...

Is the code easier to understand? I will DL it and try. BUT why is it better?

I know FUI costs something, I see a FUI lite edition on the screen... is this the FREE version?

-RZ


xmlspy(Posted 2005) [#10]
Yes, Lite is free version. FUI is a "pixel perfect" 3D GUI. It doesn't use any realtime 2D functions, so it doesn't have the slowdown that you get when you have 2D on 3D. The GUI is very complete, lots of gadgets and a couple of optional Win32 Dialogs.

You can take a look:
http://www.blitzbasic.com/toolbox/toolbox.php?tool=10


ckob(Posted 2005) [#11]
blitzUI gets my vote


Shambler(Posted 2005) [#12]
Not used it yet but it is here http://www.legacygames.co.uk/projects.php?disp=blitzui


Kuron(Posted 2005) [#13]
I vote for (and use) Blitz UI. Its fast, full-featured, looks good, easy to work with, not bloated, stable and works with all versions of Blitz.


Craig H. Nisbet(Posted 2005) [#14]
I like Tools UI actually, because the appearence of the UI is customizable. All the other ones seem to force you to use their premade look.


KuRiX(Posted 2005) [#15]
I have bought BCF 3.0 recently. It can use buttons with no windows, user buttons, and lot of things i need. Can make my own styles, icons, etc...

It's faster and cheap. The only i cannot select is the font type, but anyway i like it.

My vote for BCF 3.0


slenkar(Posted 2005) [#16]
Does blitzUI work well with 3D?


mrtricks(Posted 2005) [#17]
I really like BlitzUI too - I used it in Total Terrain 2 (in my sig) - although next time I need a GUI I'll move up to F-UI as it seems more fully featured and quicker.


Rook Zimbabwe(Posted 2005) [#18]
You know I have been thinking about this...
theduck (Posted 2005-02-07 14:20:00)

Another vote for xLnt ii.

And then in order of awesomeness:
2. BlitzUI
3. BCF 2.0 Freeware Edition
4. Eniretu
5. NGUI
6. Stre

I am unfamiliar with Entiretu and Stre on this list... does anyone know them?

I googled and only found this:
http://cgsigma.cshl.org/cgi-bin/jz/getfactor?STRE
and I suspect that isn't it. Intersting site though... Genetics.
RZ


Bot Builder(Posted 2005) [#19]
FUI.


Erroneouss(Posted 2005) [#20]
Rook: Noel Cower made them. :) Ask him. I don't remember
the links or anything....


Ricky Smith(Posted 2005) [#21]
BlitzUI is very good the only negative is the tree-view which doen't allow horizontal scrolling and is very ugly - sometimes when fully expanded things get a little crazy. There also seems no way to select a tree-view node programatically.
Just bought FUI a few days ago - looks good - if the tree view works correctly then this is what I'll use in future.
Xlnt ii looks very good and I really like the tree-view - but its 2d - so a bit slower !
For any type of editor that makes use of hierarchy in any form a tree-view is essential - not all gui libs have one (e.g. BCF).
For my purposes a good functional tree view has become the defining factor in deciding on a Gui.


DH(Posted 2005) [#22]
Yes, Lite is free version. FUI is a "pixel perfect" 3D GUI. It doesn't use any realtime 2D functions, so it doesn't have the slowdown that you get when you have 2D on 3D. The GUI is very complete, lots of gadgets and a couple of optional Win32 Dialogs.


FUI BlowS!

Take it from a former customer.

Use FUI and expect the following:
Your the bug tester!
Report a bug and your asked to modify your FUI library to fix.
Search the FUI forums for a huge list of modifications you have to make to the FUI library just to get it to work correctly.
Excuses from the developer on how busy he is with other things and doens't really have the time to support the software (but you'll pay for it regardless).

The Gui itself is slow, clunky, and not pixel perfect by any means.

After purchasing it I dropped it, very unhappy. I tried out XLNT2 and bought it afterwards.. Since everyone is spouting high reviews of BlitzUI I think I will try that and see if it's better then XLNT.


EPS(Posted 2005) [#23]
I vote for my own gui...escape...

the most standard features, fast, full documented but, sorry, only in german available.

lets have a look: http://escape.east-power-soft.de


Rook Zimbabwe(Posted 2005) [#24]
Escape looks pretty cool and simple. Wish the interface designer was finished! :) but coding looks fairly easy. What makes BlitzUI so simple for me is the interface designer... I would toss it for a faster/simpler toolset!!!


jfk EO-11110(Posted 2005) [#25]
I used XLnt2, but believe it or not, I came back to Jeppes good old bbGui lately, simply because it's so easy to use. I hate to lose time in Gui design.


Dock(Posted 2005) [#26]
Does anyone here use BlitzUI with 3D? Do you render to polygons, or do you just use 2D functions and render to the screen?


N(Posted 2005) [#27]
I used F-UI. Loved it, wouldn't have gone with anything else (although I did make several GUIs for the sake of it).

I am unfamiliar with Entiretu and Stre on this list... does anyone know them?


As duck said, I made them. Stre was a GUI written to be used with my preprocessor (which allowed OOP features in Blitz3D). Eniretu was a skinnable GUI with a somewhat modular design. Both were of the pixel-perfect 3D sort.

Does anyone here use BlitzUI with 3D? Do you render to polygons, or do you just use 2D functions and render to the screen?


I used to, it's pretty troublesome, so I'd be careful or you might end up with something completed messed up. It works, obviously, just a real pain to actually get a 2D GUI working alongside a 3D program.


Techlord(Posted 2005) [#28]
BlitzUI is a very good FREE GUI Lib. Comes with an excellent GUI Editor. My only complaint is its performance with 3D. Literally brought my PersistentWorld Multiuser World Builder Project to a complete halt. Still waiting on a Free 3D GUI Lib. I may have sit down write one myself:(


Picklesworth(Posted 2005) [#29]
BlitzUI is good, but I wouldn't recommend it for games because it is definietly not built for speed.


Storm8191(Posted 2005) [#30]
I've tried a few other GUI engines, but never liked them. Maybe I don't spend enough time learning them enough to use them effectively. Personally, I like my own GUI engine: FredGUI. It's not that pretty but it's fast for 2D, and easy to use. If you'd like to check it out, you can download it from my list of modules at www.mindstormgames.com/projects/codelibs/index.html

I'm always working on expanding it, but sometimes it takes a bit of work. I still think it's worth checking out.


Techlord(Posted 2005) [#31]
I've been forced to write my own:( However, it will be significantly different from all known Blitz-Made GUI Libs and Editors.:)


767pilot(Posted 2005) [#32]
Whats happened to BlitzUI website?

Where can this be downloaded nowadays?


jfk EO-11110(Posted 2005) [#33]
here's a mirror of version 1.30: blitzui_130.zip
Although, not sure if this is the latest release.


Chevron(Posted 2005) [#34]
I vote for xlni, great piece of coding and very stable, easy to use if you read the help files.

Easy to get put off at first, due to the amount of literature, but this is beacause it is so fully featured.

This GUI has been in dev for at least 3 years,so it has run the test of time.


WendellM(Posted 2005) [#35]
I used XLnt II with Blitz3D. It seems abandoned now, though it's pretty complete and you can expand it yourself since source is included.


ryan scott(Posted 2005) [#36]
i might be asking for too much but is there a decent gui lib that comes with a gui editor?

i really need it for initial game menus/options. not so much in-game stuff (i mean i'm happy to use something different for in-game hud etc)

i'd rather be able to design it on an gui designer than hand code it.

barring that, is xlntii abandoned?? maybe the most important question is what is NOT abandonded?

[this is the frustrating thing with the Toolbox. Half or more of the items you find in there are abandoned. It's always a crapshoot. And you can't always tell its abandonded by visiting the author's website. the knowledge of the community just doesn't make it all the way into the toolbox because it just doesn't have the tools itself. can't wait for blitzmax 3d. maybe the wiki will help with organization of all our collected know-how! -endrant]


ryan scott(Posted 2005) [#37]
wow, xnlt ii with the editor, its nice.

slows my whole system down (dual core, dual SLI!)

but it doesn't matter for my non in-game menus.

that said, less message in the message forums is almost 1 year old. :((( [hey maybe that means its so perfect there's nothing to discuss!]