Node based UI

being a noob, this might be 101 question. I've heard this term many times but whenever
I google, I see node editors. I'm confused what the term Node based UI means. Seems
like it is useful to develop hierarchical structures. If there are any resources, it would be
really helpful.

 

Using the following image (UE4's Blueprint language) as a reference, the rectangular shapes with the red, green, and blue tops to them are referred to as nodes. The lines connecting them together are typically referred to as wires. The large grayish box surrounding them all is the Blueprint equivalent to a comment and the entire thing is known as a graph.

 

Don't worry Unity is a massive game engine maker and they don't know either

 

Could of stayed local and showed Playmaker instead of driving all the way across town to show blueprint.

 

You know I picked up PlayMaker years ago... and never once bothered to use it. Unity's scripting is just so darn easy.

 

Also node-based systems tends to lead to the mess that you can't then decipher what it's doing months later. When it comes to visual scripting, the best thing for me are Scratch-like blocks. It looks close enough to regular code but it's also easy to piece together without worrying about code not compiling because you forgot to close scope block or forgot a semicolon.

//edit: Of course, node systems have their uses (for example Mecanim machines or UE's material editor), but game logic isn't a best use for them.

 

Show-off.

 

That's why I approach it as glue-logic. I never use a visual scripting system solely by itself. I write custom nodes and combine those to create the functionality I actually need.

I'm a programmer. Artists are the show-offs to me.

 

You can't beat ladder logic for clear visual scripting!

Of course doing anything relevant to a game with ladder logic is virtually impossible.

 

A puzzle game where you solve ladder logic?

 

ok, so they aren't that useful to develop hierarchical structures ?
I stumbled upon it here -

.
of course, it's might be huge code running behind, but what does he mean by nodal UI/ node based UI.

 

It might be best to start with the actual definition of a node this time. A node in computer science is simply a unit that represents a device or data. Typically it is part of a larger graph or network. Visually nodes are often shown connected by having wires between them but that's not always the case.

Using the holographic spaceship in Limit Theory as an example, the nodes are the circles representing various parts of the ship. You'll notice that lines are not connecting the nodes this time but they're all part of the same group (the ship).



Likewise when he showcases the interface for ship data, the nodes are circles.



If you want to see it in action, simply watch the following section of the video. When he clicks on a node it moves to another menu consisting of yet more nodes. These are what he is referring to as a node-based or nodal UI.