Easy to associate goods color

[Ranran(retired)]

Previously, the colors of goods were used only in station bars. (And you can check the colors in the goods list)
I recently changed the convoy detail dialog and used it.
I'm newly trying to use it with factory information dialog. As I've presented in a mockup earlier in this thread, it will spread to station-related dialogs in the future.
I'm trying to use it in new factory information dialog. It may spill over to the station-related dialogs as I presented in <a href="https://i.imgur.com/7Ayw4XG.png">a mockup</a> earlier in this thread.
It may be in the near future.

In this way, the new GUI improves the player's perception and playability by combining good with color.

This goods color can be set by the pakset author for each goods individually, but if you do not set anything, the system will automatically assign colors.
However, if the color matches the image of the player's general merchandise, it will help the player to recognize more.
For example, what color do you associate with milk? I associate white. What color do you imagine from coal? I associate black.

Ambiguous products depend on the individual's feeling. However, in pak128.Britain-EX, I think it must be British's.
What do you associate with vegetables? Americans will answer potatoes.
Some people might say carrot. In that case the color is orange. My example is green.
What color do you associate with fruit? The Chinese may answer peach. In that case the color is pink. French people may be grapes. Newton saw an apple fall. Bananas are yellow. But I thought it should be used for mail.

This change will be confusing for older players who are used to existing colors. So it must be controversial.
However, if I make a change, I thought it would be better before the visualization of goods color spread to many GUIs.
James also suggested adding imports from outside the map. In that case, the color of the product will increase further, so a change will occur.
Even if the old player gets a temporary mess, I think it's easy to get used to. On the other hand, I think it is a good change for new players and improves playability.

I think it's difficult to set colors exactly as you imagined. There may be many specific similar colors.
If you use all the colors you expect, there may be many similar colors. Some will need to compromise.

Secondly, it can be confusing on the gui if the same industry, the same goods category have similar colors. That too needs to be considered.
Work procedure I think:
1) Set for characteristic goods with colors that many ppl would associate.
2) Otherwise, let the system decide automatically.
3) If the automatically determined color is similar in the same industry or the same category, change to another color.

I prepared a modified dat for testing. (The dat file is attached to this post.)



A test shot of the new UI I am working on.


What do you think about this? (´・ω・｀)

EDIT: Changed some colors as suggested by Vladki. (*The image has not been updated)

[Vladki]

Good idea. I never got used to the colors exactly because the have no sensible relation to the actual goods.
My suggestions:

vegetables - definitely green (they are sold be greengrocers, and at least in Czech the name implies green: zelená; vegetables: zelenina)

There's a lot of stuff that should be white (or only slightly tinted): flour, wool, china.
Also I would swap colors for meat (should be darker - blood red), and bricks (should be more like orange)
Livestock = sheep and cows - brown wold be IMHO better
textiles = can be anything, but I think jeans blue would be best
pharmaceuticals - pure green as is the cross on many modern pharmacies (chemists/apotheke)

[wlindley]

To complete the visual meaning:

Could we modify makeobj (or the image loading logic in the game) so the reserved "player colors" on industries change into the gradations of the specified goods color?   

Factories with both inputs and outputs, presumably, would use both player color gradations: one for input, the other for output.  And shops with two or more inputs would use the top two color gradients (selected by level, perhaps).   That would allow building painters to let the .dat file author choose the factory colors; and a single drawn shop or factory would function for any desired goods, visually coupled with the maps.

[Vladki]

And one more thought. I'm not sure about different countries, but the colors of recycling bins could be used. In CZ it is:
paper=blue
glass=green
plastic=yellow
biowaste=brown
But this may be country specific, so someone for UK should confirm or deny...

[jamespetts]

This is a very interesting project.

I agree that green is a better colour for vegetables. The meat colour in the original post on this thread seems correct to me as a good representation of the colour of actual meat. Livestock should not be green, as the animals represented are not green (sheep are mostly white, cows are either black and white or brown and white, pigs are pink or sometimes black or pink and black). Furniture would be better as a dark brown, and packaged food as a grey (to imitate the colour of canned food).

[Ranran(retired)]

Thank you for your thoughts.

Could we modify makeobj (or the image loading logic in the game) so the reserved "player colors" on industries change into the gradations of the specified goods color?   

Factories with both inputs and outputs, presumably, would use both player color gradations: one for input, the other for output.  And shops with two or more inputs would use the top two color gradients (selected by level, perhaps).   That would allow building painters to let the .dat file author choose the factory colors; and a single drawn shop or factory would function for any desired goods, visually coupled with the maps.

Does it mean something like this?


The above is a bad example, but this is why I said bellow.

Secondly, it can be confusing on the gui if the same industry, the same goods category have similar colors. That too needs to be considered.

I show you the updated one again. Please check.

[Vladki]

That all yellow brewery looks funny, especially beer and grain seem to have the same color. I don't know how to solve that. Especially if we want several shades for each good. We have only 7 colors of rainbow and 30 different goods. Can't be perfect....  Updated color chart looks better. Thanks

[Mariculous]

I did never really care about the colors to be honest, and I guess I will never do.
To be honest, I'd rather use one color per good class rather than one per good type, i.e. one color to piece goods, another one to bulk goods and so on.
However, people are different.

[Ves]

Altohugh I agree that those colors appear to represent their good well, I have also not really been using the good color to anything. There are too many good/colors to keep track of what is what, so I always anyways have had to open the stop info to see what bar it was now again that was full.

If I am honest, I know the good color is already in the game, and has been so since the beginning(?) and I think they of course should stay. But I would not like to have more GUI than absolutely necesary depending on, and associated with them. Simply due to the tendency of huge amount of colors and color gradients this requires.


I believe what wlindley was refering to was not about good color at all, but wether the player color could be used when painting factories, that then would show up in game in their respective "factory colors", which I think is those on the minimap. This way you could use the same png file for many different factories, and they would also look different on the map. However, this is outside this thread subject, I believe

[Ranran(retired)]

When it comes to minimaps, it's ideal to have a symbol like fish, electricity, farm, factory, shop and display it. They are already classified by "sector".
Judging from the grayed pax/mail/electric symbols, I think that the shadows can be colored and expressed. For example, a cream farm is a wheat farm.
Industries with only one product may find it easier to find the same color as the product.
Well, since I have only four foots, I'm going to start from simple work in order. 

EDIT:

But I would not like to have more GUI than absolutely necesary depending on, and associated with them. Simply due to the tendency of huge amount of colors and color gradients this requires.

I think good color coding will make things clearer and less bothersome to players.

Makes it easy to find relevant information. Then click on a station or factory to open another window. There too, colors will help find information.