Show the top level menus (menubar) in a button like style. This increases the contrast between the text and background texture without having to apply the brighter color to the entire menu bar.

data/base/resources.properties

@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ image.background.ColopediaPanel=resources/images/ui/bg_brown.png
 
 image.background.FreeColList=resource:image.background.Paper
 image.background.FreeColMenuBar=resources/images/ui/bg_brown.png
+image.background.FreeColMenu=resources/images/ui/bg_paper_brown.png
 image.background.FreeColOptionPane=resource:image.background.Paper
 image.background.FreeColPanel=resource:image.background.Paper
 image.background.FreeColPopupMenu=resource:image.background.Paper

src/net/sf/freecol/client/gui/ImageLibrary.java

@@ -634,9 +634,13 @@ public final class ImageLibrary {
         return getUnscaledImage(key);
     }
 
-    public static BufferedImage getMenuBackground() {
+    public static BufferedImage getMenuBarBackground() {
         return getUnscaledImage("image.background.FreeColMenuBar");
     }
+    
+    public static BufferedImage getMenuBackground() {
+        return getUnscaledImage("image.background.FreeColMenu");
+    }
 
     public static BufferedImage getMiniMapBackground() {
         return getUnscaledImage("image.background.MiniMap");

src/net/sf/freecol/client/gui/menu/FreeColMenuBar.java

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 package net.sf.freecol.client.gui.menu;
 
+import java.awt.Color;
 import java.awt.Graphics;
 import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
 import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
@@ -254,7 +255,7 @@ public abstract class FreeColMenuBar extends JMenuBar {
         if (isOpaque()) {
             super.paintComponent(g);
         } else {
-            ImageUtils.drawTiledImage(ImageLibrary.getMenuBackground(),
+            ImageUtils.drawTiledImage(ImageLibrary.getMenuBarBackground(),
                                       g, this, getInsets());
         }
     }

src/net/sf/freecol/client/gui/plaf/FreeColLookAndFeel.java

@@ -121,6 +121,7 @@ public class FreeColLookAndFeel extends MetalLookAndFeel {
         FreeColListUI.class,
         FreeColMenuBarUI.class,
         FreeColMenuItemUI.class,
+        FreeColMenuUI.class,
         FreeColOptionPaneUI.class,
         FreeColPanelUI.class,
         FreeColPopupMenuUI.class,
@@ -212,6 +213,9 @@ public class FreeColLookAndFeel extends MetalLookAndFeel {
 
         u.put("CheckBox.icon", (LazyValue) t -> FreeColCheckBoxUI.createCheckBoxIcon());
         
+        // TODO: We might want to allow overriding font colors for the menu:
+        //u.put("Menu.foreground", java.awt.Color.WHITE);
+        
         return u;
     }
 

src/net/sf/freecol/client/gui/plaf/FreeColMenuBarUI.java

@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ public class FreeColMenuBarUI extends BasicMenuBarUI {
     @Override
     public void paint(java.awt.Graphics g, javax.swing.JComponent c) {
         if (c.isOpaque()) {
-            ImageUtils.drawTiledImage(ImageLibrary.getMenuBackground(),
+            ImageUtils.drawTiledImage(ImageLibrary.getMenuBarBackground(),
                                       g, c, null);
         }
     }