SE5: GUI design discussion..

[Suicide Junkie]

Regarding what you Last said in the #SE4 channel before you left,

I sent a modified Version to Aaron where the mid section of the ship components had scroll buttons to allow for more components without having to increase the window/ship hull size!
This was in response to Aaron saying that he thought that the Starfury inventory system would be too limited for se5. His main concern was the lack of space for components and or the huge amount of space that would be needed to show all the components at once!
Personally I like the idea of placing the components over a ship hull design. It has more of a rpg feel to it!

I wonder if it would be possible to have the ship models generated on the fly from components?

If you start with an empty grid (like the combat grid, say) and start placing components, then SE4 could pick "ship parts" from the shipset depending on the pattern of filled squares you're making, and draw that underneath. The 3D ship when completed could then differ between each ship class!
EG:
If you have a 2x8 block of design squares filled, then one shipset could specify that that looks like a chain of four green spheres, while another makes it into a capped grey tube.