LEL is working at a basic grid level, able to render boxes where I want.

combat_ui.cpp

@@ -4,11 +4,31 @@
 
 namespace gui {
   CombatUI::CombatUI(GameLevel level) :
+      $layout(RAY_VIEW_X, RAY_VIEW_HEIGHT,
+          RAY_VIEW_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT - RAY_VIEW_HEIGHT),
       $level(level)
   {
+    bool good = $layout.parse(
+        "[attack1 | attack2 | attack3 | heal]"
+        "[move1 | move2 | move3 | move4]"
+        );
+
+    dbc::check(good, "failed to parse combat layout");
+
+    for(auto& [name, cell] : $layout.cells) {
+      sf::RectangleShape button;
+      button.setPosition({float(cell.x + 10), float(cell.y + 10)});
+      button.setSize({float(cell.w - 20), float(cell.h - 20)});
+      button.setFillColor({uint8_t(cell.col * 75), 100, 100});
+      button.setOutlineColor({200, 200, 200});
+      button.setOutlineThickness(5);
+      $shapes[name] = button;
+    }
   }
 
   void CombatUI::draw(sf::RenderWindow& window) {
-    (void)window;
+    for(auto& [name, shape] : $shapes) {
+      window.draw(shape);
+    }
   }
 }