UIPanel

Description

The UIPanel class provides a comprehensive interface for managing UI panels in the game. It handles panel opening/closing, visibility, positioning, and element manipulation, allowing for dynamic UI control.

Namespace

Universe.Core

Enums

UIPositionType

Defines how position coordinates are interpreted for UI elements.

Value Description
World Position in 3D world space coordinates
Screen Position in 2D screen space coordinates (pixels)
Anchored Position relative to the panel’s anchor points

Properties

Property Type Description
name string Identifier for the UI panel
openOnLoad bool Whether to automatically open the panel when initialized
panelId int Internal ID for the panel (default: -1)
open bool Whether the panel is currently open

Methods

OnStart 

void OnStart()

Called when the script starts. Opens the panel if openOnLoad is true.

OnDestroy 

void OnDestroy()

Called when the script is destroyed. Closes the panel if it’s open.

CheckIfOpen 

void CheckIfOpen()

Ensures the panel is open, opening it if necessary.

IsThisPanel 

bool IsThisPanel(string panelName)

Checks if this panel matches a specified name.

Parameters

  • panelName: The name to check against

Returns

  • true if the names match, false otherwise

Open 

void Open(bool closeOthers)

Opens the UI panel.

Parameters

  • closeOthers: Whether to close all other panels

Close 

void Close()

Closes the UI panel.

Show 

void Show()

Makes the panel visible without changing its open state.

Hide 

void Hide()

Makes the panel invisible without changing its open state.

SetVisibility 

void SetVisibility(bool state)

Sets the visibility of the panel.

Parameters

  • state: Whether the panel should be visible

PlayAnimation 

void PlayAnimation(string animation)

Plays an animation on the panel.

Parameters

  • animation: Name of the animation to play

ShowItem 

void ShowItem(string itemName)

Makes a specific UI element visible.

Parameters

  • itemName: Name of the element to show

HideItem 

void HideItem(string itemName)

Makes a specific UI element invisible.

Parameters

  • itemName: Name of the element to hide

SetItemVisibility 

void SetItemVisibility(string itemName, bool state)

Sets the visibility of a specific UI element.

Parameters

  • itemName: Name of the element
  • state: Whether the element should be visible

SetItemActivition 

void SetItemActivition(string itemName, bool state)

Sets whether a UI element is interactive.

Parameters

  • itemName: Name of the element
  • state: Whether the element should be interactive

SetItemValue 

void SetItemValue(string itemName, object value)

Sets the value of a UI element (text, number, etc.).

Parameters

  • itemName: Name of the element
  • value: Value to set

GetItemValue 

object GetItemValue(string itemName)

Gets the value of a UI element.

Parameters

  • itemName: Name of the element

Returns

  • The element’s current value

PlayItemAnimation 

void PlayItemAnimation(string itemName, string animation)

Plays an animation on a specific UI element.

Parameters

  • itemName: Name of the element
  • animation: Name of the animation to play

SetItemIcon 

void SetItemIcon(string itemName, int iconId)

Sets the icon for a UI element.

Parameters

  • itemName: Name of the element
  • iconId: ID of the icon to display

SetItemColor 

void SetItemColor(string itemName, float r, float g, float b, float a)

Sets the color of a UI element.

Parameters

  • itemName: Name of the element
  • r, g, b, a: Color components (red, green, blue, alpha)

SetItemPosition 

void SetItemPosition(string itemName, vector3 position, UIPositionType positionType)

Sets the position of a UI element.

Parameters

  • itemName: Name of the element
  • position: New position
  • positionType: How to interpret the position coordinates

SetPanelPosition 

void SetPanelPosition(vector3 position, UIPositionType positionType)

Sets the position of the entire panel.

Parameters

  • position: New position
  • positionType: How to interpret the position coordinates

GetItemPosition 

vector3 GetItemPosition(string itemName, UIPositionType positionType)

Gets the position of a UI element.

Parameters

  • itemName: Name of the element
  • positionType: How to interpret the position coordinates

Returns

  • The element’s position

GetPanelPosition 

vector3 GetPanelPosition(UIPositionType positionType)

Gets the position of the panel.

Parameters

  • positionType: How to interpret the position coordinates

Returns

  • The panel’s position

SetPanelScale 

void SetPanelScale(float scale)

Sets the scale of the entire panel.

Parameters

  • scale: Scale factor

AddScoreboardItem 

void AddScoreboardItem(string itemName, string value)

Adds an item to a scoreboard element.

Parameters

  • itemName: Name of the scoreboard element
  • value: Value to add

InitScoreboard 

void InitScoreboard(string itemName)

Initializes a scoreboard element.

Parameters

  • itemName: Name of the scoreboard element

ClearScoreboard 

void ClearScoreboard(string itemName)

Clears all items from a scoreboard element.

Parameters

  • itemName: Name of the scoreboard element

CLoseAllPanels 

void CLoseAllPanels()

Closes all UI panels in the scene (static method).

Example Usage 

// Create a main menu panel
UIPanel mainMenu = new UIPanel();
mainMenu.name = "MainMenu";
mainMenu.openOnLoad = true;

// Open/close panel methods
void ShowInventory() {
    inventoryPanel.Open(false); // Open without closing other panels
}

void CloseInventory() {
    inventoryPanel.Close();
}

// Manipulate UI elements
void UpdateHealthDisplay(int currentHealth, int maxHealth) {
    healthPanel.SetItemValue("HealthText", currentHealth + "/" + maxHealth);
    healthPanel.SetItemValue("HealthBar", (float)currentHealth / maxHealth);
}

// Show/hide UI elements based on game state
void ShowGameOverScreen(bool victory) {
    gameOverPanel.Open(true); // Close other panels
    
    if (victory) {
        gameOverPanel.ShowItem("VictoryMessage");
        gameOverPanel.HideItem("DefeatMessage");
        gameOverPanel.PlayAnimation("VictoryAnimation");
    } else {
        gameOverPanel.HideItem("VictoryMessage");
        gameOverPanel.ShowItem("DefeatMessage");
        gameOverPanel.PlayAnimation("DefeatAnimation");
    }
}

// Position UI elements
void PositionHealthBar(UniObject player) {
    vector3 screenPos = CameraUtil.WorldToScreen(player.GetWorldPosition() + [0, 2, 0]);
    healthPanel.SetPanelPosition(screenPos, UIPositionType.Screen);
}

// Update scoreboard
void AddHighScore(string playerName, int score) {
    highScorePanel.AddScoreboardItem("HighScoreList", playerName + ": " + score);
}

Technical Details

  • UI panels are identified by name and tracked with an internal ID
  • The UI system is initialized when the first panel is opened
  • Panel operations use the UIUtil utilities for actual implementation
  • Elements within panels are referenced by name
  • Multiple positioning modes allow for different UI layout approaches
  • Scoreboard functionality provides simple list-based displays

Use Cases

  • Game menus (main menu, options, etc.)
  • HUD elements (health bars, ammo counters, etc.)
  • Inventory and character screens
  • Dialog windows and quest information
  • Shop interfaces
  • Scoreboards and leaderboards
  • Notification and alert displays
  • Interactive tutorials

Notes

  • Panels should have unique names to avoid conflicts
  • For complex UI layouts, consider using a design tool to create the panels
  • Performance can be affected by having many panels open simultaneously
  • For world-space UI, the World position type allows attaching UI to 3D objects
  • Elements must exist in the UI definition before they can be manipulated
  • The static method CLoseAllPanels() is useful for scene transitions
  • Works with Interactable.cs for displaying interaction UI
  • Can be used with InputController.cs for handling UI input

Dependencies

  • Uses UIUtil for all UI operations