This is a bit of an ahead of time question just looking for opinions since I won't immediately work on this. Since OM is going to primarily be multiplayer (since we won't do single player unless we get far with multiplayer), I decided I would most likely want to go with a matchmaking/join game lobby application, (like League of Legends) vs starting the whole game before finding a match. You can see the LoL launcher below.

Just wondering if this is what others would prefer rather than creating a full screen game menu, since something similar to the above picture is what I have visioned upon opening the game (at least for multiplayer).

I don't know, I personally would love to see another classic WFW circuit board menu. I think every little element adds to (or takes from) the original atmosphere of Machines.

I'd say, make the players capable of selecting menus in a style they like.

If they're minimalists - have this compact menu.
If they love big projects - blueprint menu.
If they don't want anything special - just a default menu.
If they want a nostalgia (or something) - classic menu should make them happy!

If it's going to be Open, in my opinion, almost everything should be customizable. People like the idea of having the option available, even if they don't use it at all. So, the multiplayer option would be exactly that, an option. In fact, I think that we can apply all of this, since the User Interface is something meant to be easy to use. Whether it's familiar or new, it must be something that makes the player feel that, in case it's new to him/her, is easy to adopt.

I'd say customization beyond skins is not significant. Also, for a multiplayer RTS, a lobby is almost always there. Usually, if the game has a single player mode, it will either let you access the lobby through the menu or externally, which then either opens an in-game lobby, or an out-of-game lobby. Usually the multiplayer screen is the latter.

A good example of this is GPG Net for Supreme Commander. Examples of games with external lobbies include most SpringRTS games and LoL as I mentioned before.

Remember that this would be a prototype game finder and I would only make one lobby client. Again I think that an ingame detailed menu would only really be important for a single player experience.

@bilal said:

Remember that this would be a prototype game finder and I would only make one lobby client.

I understood what you said, but I'm not sure of what this would imply.

You mean for the alpha and beta versions, or you have in mind some sort of "kit" or "package" that once it has acquired a certain level of popularity it would evolve according to everyone's contributions?

Is this the reason for which you state that customization is not significant? (Because this joint-development program would ensure that everyone gets what they want?)

If that's the case, I believe it's logical. Yet, I have to say that as a multiplayer-based game, O.M. could benefit from certain customization aspects, such as your own customized "homeworld" (where your race's first pod landed or maybe something else) as the menu's background. In fact, certain multiplayer matches could involve defending your homeworld from other players and vice-versa. Whether you win or loose, your menu's background would change according to the outcome of those battles.

Maybe we should make a "formal" list with all the things that we are planning to include and modify it if necessary. Just to keep things organized and clear.
(By the way, I read the GitHub site! Should we use that for this?)

I'll look at your references to have a better idea of the on-screen/off-screen lobby issue.

@Pisarz said:

@bilal said:

Remember that this would be a prototype game finder and I would only make one lobby client.

I understood what you said, but I'm not sure of what this would imply.

You mean for the alpha and beta versions, or you have in mind some sort of "kit" or "package" that once it has acquired a certain level of popularity it would evolve according to everyone's contributions?

When I say prototype I just mean that it would be a simple/minimalist program during early development and evolve to fit requirements as the game develops. I meant it as the same term as a game prototype, where gameplay is functioning, but the game has a long way to go.

@Pisarz said:

Is this the reason for which you state that customization is not significant? (Because this joint-development program would ensure that everyone gets what they want?)

I think customization and modding is important, but I don't think a menu needs customization beyond the ability for users to create and share skins.

@bilal
I love minimalist designs! Ok, so, your point is to make the thing work and then develop the details. Perfect!
This is from Hawken:

Oblivion (the movie) has some nice hud designs as well.

Quick example I did in photoshop:

(only to include basic features like joining and friends for now)

EDIT: Updated; I forgot the slider next to the friends list originally. Oops.

I like the way your logo matches the color palette of the window. Maybe one, by clicking on an on going game, could see if his/her friends are there (or vice versa).
Is that the font from Transformers?

@Pisarz
The font is called SF Transrobotics

Edit: Going to attempt creating a quick log in application with a mysql database of users