Preface
This idea came to me in a dream, which woke me and kept me from falling back asleep until I wrote this post.
I’m an exclusive PC player, so I have no idea how well this feature might translate to consoles.
Current Issue
In the current game, some parts of the unit action or building training UI feel congested.
This already seems to be becoming a challenge for the developers — looking at you, Gauntlet.
I can only imagine how difficult it will become to fit new actions or units into these interfaces as the game continues to grow.
This is where my idea comes in, hopefully to help or even solve this issue.
Solution
The idea: Tabs.
As far as I know, the Tab key isn’t bound to anything by default, which would make it a perfect choice to switch between UI tabs.
Units
Ever had a large selection of units, each with one or two abilities? In that case, not all abilities can be shown in the single row available.
This is where the Tabs feature comes in.
If the game detects that your selection contains more abilities than can fit in one row, it could automatically create one or more tabs — up to 18 abilities per tab.
This would allow players to access all abilities through hotkeys, without first needing to select a specific unit type to reduce the ability list.
Another area that could see improvements with this, would be the Norse infantry’s construction and abilities/formations pages. These pages could each become their own tab, freeing up a key currently used only to switch between them.
Buildings
When selecting multiple buildings, the game already shows only the units that can be trained.
However, if enough different buildings are selected — especially when using mods that add more trainable units — the grid can quickly fill up, leaving some units hidden.
With tabs, the game could detect when there are more than 18 trainable units and split them across multiple tabs.
Moreover, when selecting several buildings, there could be one or more Research tabs, allowing research items from those buildings to be queued as well.
If we can train units across buildings, why not queue research too?
Gauntlet
In Gauntlet mode, the Favor Shop button is currently placed in row 2, column 6.
However, that slot also holds the Autumn of Abundance tech for the Chinese Heroic Age god Rushou.
Future expansions, DLCs, or mods could easily conflict with that position.
With tabs, Gauntlet mode could move the Favor Shop to its own Gauntlet tab — or even better, make the shop itself a tab.
That would make it easier to buy shop items with hotkeys.
If I’m not mistaken, the current popup window makes it difficult or impossible to use hotkeys for shop purchases.
Xml
To accommodate this new feature, the proto.xml would need an additional argument for train, tech, or command entries in the grid.
This would effectively add a third (Z) dimension to the grid layout.
The new argument could be called something like tab, and would take a string key referencing the name to display on the tab’s label.
Modding
For modders, this feature would allow them to place their content on separate tabs if desired.
This would make mods more compatible with one another and with base-game updates.
Mod creators would no longer need to worry as much about their techs, units, or commands conflicting with existing ones.
Of course, existing mods wouldn’t yet use the new XML argument, so the game could assign defaults based on type — for example, techs could default to a Research tab if no tab value is provided.
Final Thoughts
I believe adding a tab-based system would make the UI more scalable, intuitive, and mod-friendly — a future-proof improvement that could prevent many interface challenges down the line.
It would give developers room to expand and experiment, while also helping modders avoid layout conflicts and improve compatibility.
As a developer myself — currently between projects — I naturally think about how features scale and integrate over time, and this idea grew out of that mindset.
I’d love to hear what others think, especially console players or mod creators who might see unique benefits or challenges.
If refined further, this concept could become a solid foundation for keeping Age of Mythology’s UI clean, flexible, and ready for many years of continued support.