lightningbolt WSV3 Tactical is going to have a completely new user interface 100% natively GPU-rendered and not using regular OS-based controls. It is harder at first for me to do some UI things in this new design, but it is necessary for maximum EXE file size minimization and overall rendering performance/speed/memory savings.
A preview of the flexible docking panel UI system is here: https://wsv3-next-gen-2025.com/forum/d/42-very-early-screenshots-of-new-uimultimap-system/9
The high-level user-facing UI of Tactical Hazard Display and Mesoanalyst are still very far away from being created/designed.
I am focusing on the engine first, which will be used programmatically/on server just as much on with an interactive UI/on client.
The UI is not a high-priority as long as the data and features are perfect at first. In order to get those perfect, I am intentionally disciplining myself to do the minimal amount of work possible on UI until finishing everything else. It's relatively easy to get going with UI selections once the engine is created, but premature work risks wasted effort. Last winter I probably wasted 3 or 4 full weeks on what is retrospectively UI work that was never needed (in the summer we trashed Delphi VCL for UI and did the ultra-low-level GPU-rendered UI as part of the huge code refactoring for minimal EXE size and tactical-grade software robustness).
Nevertheless I am very excited about the new UI. We are using the world-famous open-source ImGui library by Omar Cornut for real-time in-program GPU-rendered UI. ImGui is well-maintained, being funded by major AAA game publishers, extremely lightweight/flexible, and has cross-platform to ease creation of eventual Linux port.
One aspect of UI I do see myself handling soon is how to organize the on-map visual color palette editor with real-time updates to live raster layers. I am thinking about a pop-out vertical bar next to the regular right sidebar that has the palette colors and steps vertically.
I am favoring side panels and frame popouts over floating windows. Floating windows are helpful for very complex UIs such as NEXRAD SCIT tracking or L2 product selection, but more graphical/customization UIs such as visual color palette editor should welcome a closer interaction between the UI area and on-map content. This is where obstructing on-map content with a floating window is less beneficial.
I decided to adopt ImGui after reading and pondering the timeless classic "About Face" by Alan Cooper, which goes deep into interaction design.