How do I make a custom scrollable list of items?

I'm trying to make a list of items in a kind of listbox. No problem adding my items to my listbox and having them scroll up and down with various mouse activity (e.g dragging in the box or using the mouse-wheel). I'm not too fussed about a traditional scroll-bar, although I might think about it. For now, I'm happy just dragging or scrolling through them.

The problem I'm having is working out how to limit the visibility of the items as they scroll off the top and bottom of the list. I can think of various ways to do this manually (e.g make them invisible if their coordinates are outside the box, although that's messy), but I'm trying to find a way to have my listbox work as a kind of 'window', where you scroll the items (vertical only) and the bits that show inside the 'window' appear and anything outside the window are invisible.

Looking at blend modes, I think I'm describing 'Source Atop', but I don't know how to set that up in layers and so on. I know somebody did a very long and detailed explanation on these forums a while ago but I'm getting lost. I 'think' I need to set my listbox and the content items in separate layers and set their blend modes accordingly, but I can't get it working.

Anyone had experience with something like and got any pointers?

Thanks, that'll give me something to get stuck into. And it's always good to follow a working example :)

Re : The 'one sprite in two copies'. Do you mean, my background sprite, the listbox itself? I need two copies of that, ontop of each other, on the same layer, one rotated at 180? Any additional info that I could read on this step? I'm good with the list itself, mine's already working.

I mean sprites which will be placed on top & on the bottom of your list object. So your scrolling listbox always fades in & out of them.

I would take a look at ProUI addon.

I am not a fan of addons as who knows what will happen in the future, but this is a great thing to have. I am making a soccer manager game, which is 90% UI/menus/buttons/lists, so it has been a big help.

Interesting, I'm also making a Soccer management game :)

I've gone from Unity, to C3, to Godot, even looked at pure JS etc. But C3 always draws me back because it has so many great features. As you say, it's 90% UI, so it doesn't feel like a C3 project but in many ways, C3 is perfect for it.

I'd be interested in checking out your partially finished game if you need any testing / advice :)

Thanks for the tip. Like you, I don't like addons but this one sounds good.

Hehe, I get that you want to keep your ideas secret, no harm in that. Mine is based upon my existing game which has been going forever (since the 80's) so it's very much a stats game. However, I had considered a 'words only' version myself. There was a German game in the 90's that worked that way and it was brilliant. Players were just blank sheets with one or two characteristics and that was that. The fun was trying to get the team to work together based on the available players you had.

Mine is barely started as I keep re-writing the squad screen over and over in different languages xD My existing PBEM or online version can be found at soccerstar.org.uk . Verrrrrry old game.

I'm hoping to have a play around with the ProUI system and see if I can work around that. I kinda don't want my C3 version to be a copy of my old game since it has many faults (it's 35 years old after all). I'll keep some stuff, ditch other stuff and see where it goes :)

you can have any c3p files you wish if you think they will be useful. I think they will give you some ideas at least.

i LOVE PBM games (not so much PBeM). I played them loads when I was a kid and waited by the door all the time for the post - walking miles to the sorting office sometimes!

I also then ran my own 'PBM' (using Tactical Manager on Amiga) in a workplace with about 1000 people - it was such a great experience.

The game that I have taken lots of inspiration from is Super League Manager on the Amiga, by Audiogenic. No stats in that game, but they didn't expand upon the English enough, which is what I am trying to do.

Here's some example of alpha screenshots in case they get your mind working - i know that seeing something can trigger a thought or two (does for me).

samuelbromley.itch.io/soccer-manager/devlog/148246/some-screenshots-for-my-retro-soccer-manager-game

Same for me in terms of writing in different languages. I've used several platforms, but C3 is definitely the one for me!

I see you are pretty close to me (I'm in Stoke) if you ever want to swap ideas etc.

I love the retro look.

I suspect that you have the same thoughts as I do on football manager games, they're just NO FUN any more. The modern manager games are like... ugh. The stats mean basically nothing. They're more like 'Fantasy Dream Team' simulations or something.

Back in the day, your player went from 5 rating to 6 rating and that meant something. The numbers just don't mean anything any more. Maybe it's my age but I feel that old games were fun because they were simpler. Doesn't mean that a complex game HAS to be boring, but they often are.

My own managers, who have played my game for about 30 years often talk about the old postal days. I played some postal games myself and I have to agree, nothing beats the feeling of the postie turning up with your turn. At the same time, nothing is more depressing than waiting for the postie and he HASN'T got your turn and you know you have to wait another 24 hours......

I asked them for amusing game-related stories once and there were some classics. One guy left his paper turn on his car seat while he drove home down the motorway and it blew out of the window, so he turned around at the next roundabout and drove back to find it, running across the motorway to retrieve his shredded turn. PBM turn > life xD

Looks like it's up to us to make something playable then :)

LaurenceBedford I believe you are also making a football manager game? Maybe you guys should team up :)

dop2000

Thanks for the heads up!

farflamex

If you need any help send me an email

at: ficiendeveloperpsy@gmail.com