HTML/CSS GUI

[MoLAoS]

I am currently working on a project and I am attempting to implement libRocket into the engine.
I was wondering how much the ability to edit the GUI in HTML and CSS and Python/JS would improve modding interest.
A lot of open source games use complex and unknown and poorly documented markup languages for instance as well as have limited GUI capabilities in the engine. At best maybe you can skin them.
Would contributors/modders/players/scenaio makers feel that a GUI based on HTML would be easier to use and encourage people to get involved?

I am already planning to get this done because I personally was initially a web designer and so it would be super easy for me. But I was wondering if other people had an opinion?

[Arthur]

You say "the engine". What engine is it?

[MoLAoS]

You say "the engine". What engine is it?

That wasn't the question. I just wanted to know if people considered web like GUI useful.

But since it looks like no one cares, its my own heavily modified version of the Glest Advanced Engine.

[KroArtem]

Well, for those who are familiar with html/css this would be an easy way to create gui, but I'm not sure you'll meet a lot of such people during the time your engine is not advertised.

[MoLAoS]

Well, for those who are familiar with html/css this would be an easy way to create gui, but I'm not sure you'll meet a lot of such people during the time your engine is not advertised.

True but I was just wondering if people preferred it to the typical method of engine specific languages.

[hc]

In my opinion using established standards is a good thing from many point of views.
As you mentioned, one of the good points is that others will instantly understand what to do and the less surprise the better.
But I would possibly try to support just a subset of the features of large standards - or adjust it slightly to your needs.

Talking about frontends one would have to consider interaction with the game code.
That's where topics and technologies from dynamic web pages come to mind (templates, xsl, jsp, jsf, ...) or markup to define non web guis like on android.
Which is possibly where it drifts of from your topic and towards why custom markups are used where there is no standard.

Back to the topic I think it isn't a bad idea to have html/css to style game guis to begin with.

[charlie]

It would be great if HTML wasn't a butchered document markup with foundations based in flowing text, thus has so many layout nuances that many basic layout mechanisms are just a total pain in the ass.

[MoLAoS]

Yeah well, what computer standards are not a total pain in the ass? C++ is a bitch for a lot of reasons and its the standard game language. Life just hates us I guess.

[Tranberry]

Charlie, HTML5 kind of makes it less a pain in the arse. But I agree it is somewhat stupid, but I have never encountered anything that is as easy to learn as HTML and CSS anyhow.

[hc]

@charlie: I agree. I could see two "clean" subsets of html to be utilised either the only-html-tables way, or only-div-and-css - both plus some few formatting-tags plus form-tags.

@MolAos: I'm not talking about Programming-Language-Standards-used-often-for-something, I'm talking about: DIN, ISO, Conventions, Procedures, Defaults...
Pick what you need - the idea is to reuse what others built before through years of trial and error what may be good for the purpose.
I try to see the ways and possibilities not barriers. Whatever.


Edit: xhtml or html5 would be preferable over old grown html of course - I prefer what-you-get-is-what-you-mean anyways...then again when it's all about the looks...?