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Unity UI Cookbook
Unity UI Cookbook

Unity UI Cookbook: Over 60 recipes to help you create professional and exquisite UIs to make your games more immersive

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Unity UI Cookbook

Chapter 2. Implementing Counters and Health Bars

In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:

  • Implementing a score counter
  • Implementing lives counter
  • Creating a modular coin counter
  • Creating a symbolic lives counter
  • Implementing a linear health bar
  • Implementing a radial health bar
  • Creating a health bar with armor
  • Using multiple bars to make a multibar
  • Developing a kingdom hearts health bar style

Introduction

This chapter explains how to implement counters for keeping track of variables such as score, coins, and lives, and how to display them through texts or through more complex things such as health bars.

We will start by creating a counter for our score and we will proceed with more complex counters.

Later, we will introduce the concept of health bars and we will also learn how to change their look, so that they are more linear or radial.

Finally, in the last three recipes, we are going to implement very special and complex health bars, which are suitable for bosses, for example.

Implementing a score counter

In this recipe, we are going to create a score counter that displays the score as a number on the screen. To achieve this, we will use the Text (Script) component and create a script to handle it. Different functions will be available from this script, that will be called from other scripts to increase the score.

How to do it...

  1. First of all, we need to create new UI text to display our score. Thus, right-click on the Hierarchy panel and then UI | Text. Finally, rename it to ScoreCounter.

    Tip

    To rename an object, right-click on it and select Rename. Otherwise, we can change its name in the Inspector window.

  2. Next, we can change the Font and the Font Size in the Inspector as we wish, to better suit our needs.
  3. Furthermore, we should also adjust the Color. In this example, we will set it to white in order to be easily visible within the scene.
  4. Now, we need to drag the ScoreCounter with the Rect Tool (the hotkey for this tool is T, and we have seen it in the previous chapter...

Implementing a lives counter

This recipe teaches us how to use a Text (Script) component, along with a script, to create a counter. It is similar to the counter in the previous recipe; however, instead of keeping track of the score, here we are managing the number of lives that the player has.

How to do it...

  1. Like the first step in the previous recipe, we need to create a new UI text to display the number of lives. Right-click on the Hierarchy panel and then go to UI | Text. Finally, rename it to LivesCounter.
  2. We can also adjust the appearance, as we have done before with the ScoreCounter, so change the Font and the Font size. We can also set the Color of the text to white, and, finally, we place it in the scene through the Rect Tool, and so on.
  3. Ensure again that the Rich Text variable is checked in order to use styling tags.
  4. Next, let's create the script that manages the number of lives: click on Add Component | New Script in the Inspector, name it LivesCounterScript and then press Create...

Creating a modular coin counter

This recipe teaches us how to use a Text (Script) and Image (Script) components along with a script to create a counter with an icon. It is similar to the counters in the two previous recipes, but, instead, to keep track of the score or lives, here we manage the number of coins possessed by the player. In contrast to the first counter that doesn't have an upper bound, or like the second counter that has a maximum for lives, here, when the player has reached a certain number of coins, something will happen. For example, a life will be added and the counter starts from zero, creating modularity.

How to do it...

  1. As for the first step of the previous recipe, we need to create a new UI text to show the number of lives. Hence, right-click on the Hierarchy panel and then UI | Text. Finally, rename it to Modular Coin Counter.
  2. Let's adjust the settings to suit our needs, such as Font, Font Size, and Color, and also write in the Text variable 0 (zero).
  3. In order...

Creating a symbolic lives counter

This recipe teaches us how to use multiple Image (Script) components inside a script in order to create a symbolic lives counter. The number of lives are not displayed as a number, but with heart symbols on the screen. It is similar to the counter in the Implementing a lives counter recipe, but the logic to manage different icons is different.

How to do it...

  1. To begin, let's create a new empty game object. To do this, right-click on the Canvas object, since we want it as parent, and then Create Empty. Finally, rename it as SymbolicLivesCounter.

    Tip

    If there isn't the Canvas object in the scene, for example, in new scenes, we can create it by right-clicking on Hierarchy panel and then go to UI | Canvas.

  2. Next, click on SymbolicLivesCounter and add a new image by selecting UI | Image, and then rename the object just created as Heart1.
  3. Take a heart icon image, or create on our own, and import it in to our project. If our project is not set as 2D, remember...

Implementing a linear health bar

In this recipe, we are going to create a linear health bar. The health of the player will be displayed as a bar that shortens when the player's health decreases, and extends with the player's health increases. To achieve this, we will use the Image (Script) component in a different way than what we have in previous recipes, and develop a script to manage the length of the bar.

How to do it...

  1. First of all, we need to create our health bar, so let's open a graphic program and create it. We can create something that should looks like the following:
    How to do it...
  2. Then, import it in to our project. If the project isn't set to 2D, remember to set the Texture Type of the imported image to Sprite (2D and UI), and then click on Apply.
  3. Next, create a new Image. Right-click on the Hierarchy panel and then UI | Image, and rename it to Linear Healthbar.
  4. Inside the Image (Script) component, we have to change Image Type into Filled. The component should change a little...

Introduction


This chapter explains how to implement counters for keeping track of variables such as score, coins, and lives, and how to display them through texts or through more complex things such as health bars.

We will start by creating a counter for our score and we will proceed with more complex counters.

Later, we will introduce the concept of health bars and we will also learn how to change their look, so that they are more linear or radial.

Finally, in the last three recipes, we are going to implement very special and complex health bars, which are suitable for bosses, for example.

Implementing a score counter


In this recipe, we are going to create a score counter that displays the score as a number on the screen. To achieve this, we will use the Text (Script) component and create a script to handle it. Different functions will be available from this script, that will be called from other scripts to increase the score.

How to do it...

  1. First of all, we need to create new UI text to display our score. Thus, right-click on the Hierarchy panel and then UI | Text. Finally, rename it to ScoreCounter.

    Tip

    To rename an object, right-click on it and select Rename. Otherwise, we can change its name in the Inspector window.

  2. Next, we can change the Font and the Font Size in the Inspector as we wish, to better suit our needs.

  3. Furthermore, we should also adjust the Color. In this example, we will set it to white in order to be easily visible within the scene.

  4. Now, we need to drag the ScoreCounter with the Rect Tool (the hotkey for this tool is T, and we have seen it in the previous chapter...

Implementing a lives counter


This recipe teaches us how to use a Text (Script) component, along with a script, to create a counter. It is similar to the counter in the previous recipe; however, instead of keeping track of the score, here we are managing the number of lives that the player has.

How to do it...

  1. Like the first step in the previous recipe, we need to create a new UI text to display the number of lives. Right-click on the Hierarchy panel and then go to UI | Text. Finally, rename it to LivesCounter.

  2. We can also adjust the appearance, as we have done before with the ScoreCounter, so change the Font and the Font size. We can also set the Color of the text to white, and, finally, we place it in the scene through the Rect Tool, and so on.

  3. Ensure again that the Rich Text variable is checked in order to use styling tags.

  4. Next, let's create the script that manages the number of lives: click on Add Component | New Script in the Inspector, name it LivesCounterScript and then press Create and...

Creating a modular coin counter


This recipe teaches us how to use a Text (Script) and Image (Script) components along with a script to create a counter with an icon. It is similar to the counters in the two previous recipes, but, instead, to keep track of the score or lives, here we manage the number of coins possessed by the player. In contrast to the first counter that doesn't have an upper bound, or like the second counter that has a maximum for lives, here, when the player has reached a certain number of coins, something will happen. For example, a life will be added and the counter starts from zero, creating modularity.

How to do it...

  1. As for the first step of the previous recipe, we need to create a new UI text to show the number of lives. Hence, right-click on the Hierarchy panel and then UI | Text. Finally, rename it to Modular Coin Counter.

  2. Let's adjust the settings to suit our needs, such as Font, Font Size, and Color, and also write in the Text variable 0 (zero).

  3. In order to add an...

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Key benefits

  • Design and develop interactive and professional user interfaces (UIs) for games in Unity
  • Discover how to implement and deal with various in-game UI elements that will impress your players
  • This practical recipe guide will help you to efficiently create powerful and remarkable UIs using C# code

Description

With the increasing interest in game development, it's essential to design and implement a UI that reflects the game settings and shows the right information to the player. The Unity system is used to create complex and aesthetically pleasing user interfaces in order to give a professional look and feel to a game. Although the new Unity UI system is powerful and quite easy to use, by integrating it with C# scripts, it's possible to realize the potential of this system and bring an impressive UI to games. This guide is an invaluable collection of recipes if you are planning to use Unity to develop a game. Starting with the basic concepts of the UI components, we’ll take you all the way through to creating complex interfaces by including animations and dynamics elements. Based on real-world problems, these recipes will start by showing you how to make common UI elements such as counters and healthbars. You will then get a walkthrough of how to manage time using timers, and will learn how to format them. You will move on to decorating and animating the UI elements to vivify them and give them a professional touch. Furthermore, you will be guided into the 3D UI world and into HUD scripting. Finally, you will discover how to implement complex minimaps in the interface.

Who is this book for?

If you are a game developer with some experience in Unity and C# and want to create the best interactive experience fast and intuitively, then this book is for you. If you are an intermediate game developer or an expert, these recipes will help you bring out the power of the new UI Unity system.

What you will learn

  • Implement different kinds of counters and healthbars
  • Deal with timers and find out how to format them
  • Animate and vivify UI elements
  • Handle runtime customizations
  • Add complex Head-up displays (HUDs)
  • Design and implement 3D UIs
  • Integrate minimaps in the UI
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Length: 284 pages
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Estimated delivery fee Deliver to India

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ISBN-13 : 9781785885822
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Table of Contents

11 Chapters
1. UI Essentials Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Implementing Counters and Health Bars Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Implementing Timers Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Creating Panels for Menus Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Decorating the UI Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Animating the UI Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Applying Runtime Customizations Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Implementing Advance HUDs Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
9. Diving into 3D UIs Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
10. Creating Minimaps Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
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