UI as blocks

New in 0.2.0-dev.20. These blocks require the dev.20 runtime and MDK or newer. Their rendering, clicks, key/gamepad input and actions on a joined server still need a client check.

WindowBlock, HudLineBlock and KeyBindingBlock describe UI without a draw function. The same shape goes in the windows, hudLines and keyBindings sections of blocks/*.json. Use kiln new ui MyUi --set blocks=true.

{ "format": 1,
  "windows": { "info": { "title": "My mod", "width": 360, "rows": [
    { "type": "value", "label": "FPS", "bind": "game.fps", "format": "0" },
    { "type": "button", "label": "Close", "does": { "closeWindow": "info" } } ] } },
  "hudLines": { "fps": { "text": "{game.fps:0} fps", "when": "game.inGame", "refresh": 1 } },
  "keyBindings": { "open-info": { "key": "F8", "does": { "openWindow": "info" } } } }

Players need the mod (clients: mod): the server cannot send these UI definitions. A dedicated server checks and keeps blocks but draws and binds nothing. For free drawing, input fields, images, tables or tabs, use Game UI in C#.

Rows and values

Rows are text, value, toggle, slider, choice, separator and button. A window may be an overlay (kind: window) or a screen in the game’s look (kind: screen, Escape closes it). Its menu can add a main-menu or pause-menu entry.

config.<path> binds an entry of this mod’s config. Register the config before defining a block that names it. Toggles, sliders and choices write through the config’s validation; server and synced entries become read-only while joined to a server. Slider edits wait until the drag rests before writing.

game.* exposes only safe values: fps, frameMs, state, inGame, screen, language, clock. clock is the computer’s time, not the world’s time of day. There is no health, mana, position or inventory binding.

{game.fps:0.0} formats text. when accepts a value, !value, a comparison, or comparisons joined with &&; there is no || or arithmetic. Text may be a string or a language map such as { "en": "Close", "de": "Schließen" }.

Buttons and keys

Each does performs exactly one action:

Action	Where it acts
command	this game’s command registry, on its tick
toggle, set	this mod’s config, on the tick
castAbility, applyEffect	asks the server; it needs the same mod, with normal costs/cooldowns
openWindow, closeWindow, toast	this game’s UI

A UI command does not send a chat command to a joined server. Use an ability/effect action when the server must do something. A refusal shows as a toast.

Keys use <mod>:<name> in the Kiln menu’s Keys tab. The player’s rebinding survives a restart; say was if you rename a key block so that choice follows it.

Refresh and unload

refresh is 0.1..3600 seconds (window default 0.25, HUD default 1). Values and conditions update at that pace, rather than each frame. A closed window and a hidden HUD line draw nothing.

Unload removes the mod’s windows, menu entries, HUD lines and keys and drops pending commands/config writes. A callback already copied by a frame or key event checks its original mod lifetime before acting. Do not keep an old handle across reload. Check visible behaviour after both a fresh load and a reload; a dedicated-server pass cannot do that.