Make splash screen optional

[Benedikt Straub]

The welcome screen that appears on starting Widelands ("press any key or click to continue") is annoying because it´s an extra click before one can start playing. It should be possible to disable this screen (perhaps as an option) and immediately show the main menu.

[kaputtnik (franku)]

I agree that this screen is annoying...

If possible this screen should be turned into the main menu slowly (3sec or so). Or some other sort of automatism/animation. A (command line) option should be the last option to consider, imho.

[Nasenbaer (nasenbaer)]

I agree with you as well... and as I created the sunset graphic shown on the splash screen, I thought it was more or less my task to give you an option for hiding the splash screen anyways ;).

Added a branch that would give an option to hide the splashscreen.

However I set the bug to "opinion", as this would add just another small option used not too often.

I guess the big question is: do we need the splashscreen at all?

[Benedikt Straub (nordfriese)]

I think there was a discussion about removing the splash screen some time ago, and an argument for keeping it was that it gives new players a nice first impression about Widelands. I agree with that; when I was new to Widelands I liked that I was greeted with this beautiful image and not just the main menu. It´s only after a while that one gets used to it and the effect lessens.
So I´d vote for showing it by default and either disabling it optionally or automatically fading into the main menu; of the two, I find an option somewhat more comfortable, as the gameloading time is already quite long and we don´t need another 3 seconds here ;)

[Nasenbaer (nasenbaer)]

Fix committed in bzr rev 8841

[GunChleoc (gunchleoc)]

We are in feature freeze. Please do not merge branches that introduce new features, especially wishlist features.

Also, you circumvented sending a merge request, which means that this branch is 100% unreviewed and 100% untested. Please, please don't do that, because we'll end up with potentially fragile code and with new bugs, delaying the release :(

[GunChleoc (gunchleoc)]

I have reviewed the code now, looks OK. Needs testing (I'm still waiting for the compiler)

Also, you just broke string freeze without asking ;)

[kaputtnik (franku)]

This works not correct: The Checkbox is initially unchecked, but the splashscreen is shown. I guess thats because the option isn't initially in the config file. Solution: Make the checkbox initially checked.

There is also a message in console, if the option is stored in the config file, saying:

[] Section [global], key 'show_splashscreen' not used (did you spell the name correctly?)

[GunChleoc (gunchleoc)]

> Solution: Make the checkbox initially checked.

That solution is not sufficient. Alo, it would remove the splash screen for new installatiojs of Widelands per default.

For testing, I removed my config file, started widelands, set the checkbox, quit Widelands. Started Widelands again and got presented with the splash screen. Entered options, the box was still ticked.

The reason this doesn't work might be that wlapplication.cc never reads this value from the config.

I have put up a merge request to back out the commit, so that we can do a real code review on the feature branch and then merge it later when it's ready.

[Nasenbaer (nasenbaer)]

I am very sorry for the unneeded trouble I made! :(
Life got busy again over here and I understood your change from "opinion" to "confirmed" as a "go"... I've simply been away from widelands too long and did not have all rules for code commits in mind - sorry!
Please just uncommit the change, reimplementation should be fairly easy after Build20.

[GunChleoc (gunchleoc)]

Shit happens - I hope you'll still want to take up this bug when you're less busy?

[Nasenbaer (nasenbaer)]

I will gladly do so (although I do not know at the moment when I'll find some time again). And of course code review is obligatory the next time :).

[GunChleoc (gunchleoc)]

Migrated to https://github.com/widelands/widelands/issues/2112