[WIP] High Resolution Interface

[reaper7]

Ok gonna take this from concept and see how far I can get with it.
Hope to create ahigh resolution UI of 1920x1080.
At the moment this stands at Creating the Graphics for the Attack Pericope station. But will also include the UZO and Obs stations too. :up:

Credit to karamazovnew and his KiUB Kriegsmarine Interface for UBm.
Who allowed me use of his High res Dial pack that has inspired me to start this Mod. I have mutated some of his graphics to create mine.
You may recognise his dials. I'm not sure if these will remain by the time this is finished or be totaly redone from sctratch.

EDIT: I think this is getting to the stage of being a work in progress 1080P User Interface.

Pericope page with full TDC Dials to be included:

WIP: Working on Graphics for the Interface at this stage.

To be done: Grahics fully finished
More dial to be created. Needles to be created for dials .
Import into SH5.

Glass Transperent Covers for Dials
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/1080P-Silent-Hunter-Glass-Types.jpg

Closeup of Glass Dials
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Mods%20in%20Progress/1080P-Silent-Hunter-Glass-Types2.jpg

Latest Graphics to date:
Attack Scope
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/PHCC/Silent%20Hunter%205/Attack-Station-1.jpg

Obs Scope
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/PHCC/Silent%20Hunter%205/Obs-Station-1.jpg

[Frederf]

It is my impression that 16:9 is the assumed aspect ratio in SH5's UI design with 5:4/4:3 made to work. As for the UI elements, I assume they are fixed pixel size so they appear to shrink as resolution increases.

[reboot]

I'm running 1080p to my HDTV and everything looks just fine.:DL

Edit: Oh wait, I think I see what you meant by the scaling.

[reaper7]

Yes I belive that 16:9 is what they designed this around. I've started up Photshop and have started to drag in Dials and stuff to see how it all sits. Having the layers is great as I can do each screen on a seperate screen and the have all the graphics as sub layers, this allows me to move them around to find ideal positions.
Also I can the get there exact cropping cordinates from here.
The SH5 Editor allows you to define the graphics sheet in dds format that you are importing from and the croping cordinates which I can get from photoshop. This will allow me to use the resolution I have defined getting 100% identical ingame to whats in my photoshop designed set. :DL

I dont have 1080P in my current monitor to test, But I do have 1080P on my 47" LCD and HTPC system - So I may install SH5 there and give it a try.

What I dont know is can you define the Page size in the Editor to be 1080P or do you have to calculate relevant cordinates from the 1024x768 Page and adjust all the imported dial to set them to there relevant position in the 1920X1080 screen? :06:

Can anyone confirm if you can start up the Editor in 1080P windowed mode or is it always at 1024x768.

[reboot]

Just tried, and it is only 1024x768.:nope:

[Nico71]

There are one or two native (!) 16:9 UIs in the works for SH3. Maybe they can be made compatible in both directions?

[reaper7]

There are one or two native (!) 16:9 UIs in the works for SH3. Maybe they can be made compatible in both directions?

Hi Nico, would you have lnks to those by any chance. I'm debating if I should create graphics from scratch or use whats there already. The current dds files for the speed, compass and depth etc are 130x130 and so scale up ok to 150x150 with not much noticable difference (so I may just use them).

I could use the 1024x786 screen and import the graphics in 1080P then just use offsets into Editor to get them sitting in the correct place, thet just wouldn't be useable ingame if played at resolution much small than 1080P as they'd be all over each other. :03:

[Nico71]

Hi Nico, would you have lnks to those by any chance. I'm debating if I should create graphics from scratch or use whats there already. The current dds files for the speed, compass and depth etc are 130x130 and so scale up ok to 150x150 with not much noticable difference (so I may just use them).

I could use the 1024x786 screen and import the graphics in 1080P then just use offsets into Editor to get them sitting in the correct place, thet just wouldn't be useable ingame if played at resolution much small than 1080P as they'd be all over each other. :03:

I was refering to the new wide screen mod by Seeadler. Some new UIs are currently being developed for different resolutions and with new stuff, or at least this is what I gather from the threads. http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=165039

[TheDarkWraith]

Ok I've been considering getting a new monitor most likely 1080P.
And its been making me think, the whole game is designed around the
1024x768 resolution just moving and scaling everything to fit if the user is playing at a different resolution.
What would it take to Mod a new interface for 1080P and other common high resolutions like 1600x1200.
Having dials showing at there full resolution, for example the depth gauge at 150x150 on-screen instead of them being scaled down to 90x90 would improve there readability.
What would it take to Modify the current UI to achieve this.
Graphics should be easily done through the use of the Editor, but what else would need configuring?
Personally I would like to do something along the lines of SH3/4 with full dials.
As the higher resolution would allow more room for placement.

What are your thoughts on this, is it doable or are we stuck with the scaling of the current Interface?

I have a Samsung 30.5" LCD running at 2560 X 1600 (native) resolution and everything looks fine. The menu editor gives you the option of having the images scale in size also. Most everything is currently set to not scale in size though. If you provide the higher res images it should be just a matter of turning on the scaling for those images in the editor to enable high res.

[reaper7]

I have a Samsung 30.5" LCD running at 2560 X 1600 (native) resolution and everything looks fine. The menu editor gives you the option of having the images scale in size also. Most everything is currently set to not scale in size though. If you provide the higher res images it should be just a matter of turning on the scaling for those images in the editor to enable high res.

30.5" LCD Monitor, I'm envious :cry:. How do the Depth, compass and speed look as they are originally drawn at 150x150 then imported at 90x90 and then being scaled up from that to the higher resolution. Or does the editor bypass the importing at 90x90 and draw the at the full 130 x130.
My crappy monitor doesn't allow to run tests due to its low end resolutions.

[reaper7]

I've been messing about for a 1080P Layout for full dials.
This is not ingame but a mockup to get positioning, cordinates etc.

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/1080P-Web-Screenshot.jpg

This would be for a full dial set, what else would ne needed here?

[Mav87th]

Arclight and I have found one problem with switching between 16:9 and 4:3. The camera.dat file for periscope viewports are somehow busted, so any periscope mod that are released must be "calibrated" for specific resolution.

[reaper7]

Yes I seen, that I have his 16:9 camera.dat fix downloaded as well as his excellent filters. I will most likely include them if this goes ahead and its ok with him to use.
Haven't started yet to Import this still messing about with the layout, moving things to fit. Mainly cosmetic changes so far.

Heres one with Arclights Gracticules and filter embedded.

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Mods%20in%20Progress/1080P-Web-Screenshot2.jpg

[reaper7]

Just another quick update.
I have started to convert the Graphics over to actual dds layers that can be used for in Game, once finished its just a matter of importing them via the Editor and working out there anchor points and cordinate offsets.

Here's a current view - graphics are getting more detailed (Background I think are about done, next I'll start working on the dials. :DL

Changes from previous:
Panels now have a more natural rendered look.
Dials are now recessed into the panels (Note the edges of the panels don't look like there floating over the Panal anymore).
Switches have been given a more 3D look not as flat now.
Base of Periscope has been changed. Which base do ye prefer this one or the previous???
Preiscope Level guage has been reduced in size.
Iron Eagles on the panels have been given a raised 3D look.

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Mods%20in%20Progress/1080P-Web-Screenshot3.jpg

[reaper7]

Another quick post: Being working on these for a while. Very pleaded with them. These will be the glass covers for the dials. They are fully Transparent, the water beading looks good over the dials. :D

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/1080P-Silent-Hunter-Glass-Types.jpg

[TheDarkWraith]

don't forget the pattern running torpedo dials

[reaper7]

Um.. Oops. Almost forgot them. Cheers will add 'em in. :up:

Just work on the Glass covers now. Very happy with the results.

Sneak Peak. No needles done yet.
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Mods%20in%20Progress/1080P-Silent-Hunter-Glass-Types2.jpg

[Sargazm]

Wow look's Awesome! keep up the good!!:salute:

[Barso]

These look fantastic.
Will they work on a 1920x1200 display?
When, when, when ?????

[reaper7]

These look fantastic.
Will they work on a 1920x1200 display?
When, when, when ?????

Thanks, At the moment still in the graphics stage. I may just get the Perisope station working first and release, and then release each oter station when finished. Hopefully it should work with other UI mods out there. Just with my graphics vs Stock.
Should work no problem with 1920x1200 resolution and higher, as I can have it set via the Editor not to scale but just pull the spacing furter apart. :)

[urfisch]

what are these red outlines for?

[HanSolo78]

Really nice project!

I have to make a suggestion... what about using the correct view of the attack persicope from churchs mod. The attack periscope has a narrow sight.. the obs scope view that is currently used in both point of views a big sight to get a better surround view. Actually they should get different lenses:

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/5027/churchobsbetacopy0ii.jpg

[Decoman]

If the OP did rescaling in photoshop, I suspect that the images are abit too blurred. I'd be happy to rescale the dials with some decent filtering if I could access the larger files and be given instructions for the final size.

[thfeu58]

Yes, with the suggestion of Han I go correspondent. I like this historical representation, the feeling is more honest. :salute:

[Onkel Neal]

Impressive.

[reaper7]

what are these red outlines for?

Red outline are the frames of the glass, just used red as that what was on the original stock dds files. But looking at them they do seem to garnish.
Think i'll change them to black or silver. :)

Edit went with a Brass look.
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Mods%20in%20Progress/Glass-Brass.jpg

Really nice project!

I have to make a suggestion... what about using the correct view of the attack persicope from churchs mod. The attack periscope has a narrow sight.. the obs scope view that is currently used in both point of views a big sight to get a better surround view. Actually they should get different lenses:



Wow, I didn't even realise it looked like that. Yes I would like to go the more realistic route with this. Any photos of the full scope - did a search but came up short. Must check out Churchs Mod is it for SH3 or SH4?

If the OP did rescaling in photoshop, I suspect that the images are abit too blurred. I'd be happy to rescale the dials with some decent filtering if I could access the larger files and be given instructions for the final size.

Thanks Decoman, I'm unsure how to work out the size required for the Gracticule so as to maintain correct scalling. I was using the gracticule sizes from the More Realistic Periscope Mod, so I made the scope around that. Current scope layer in Photoshop (Including recticle and Background) is 950X1080. Anything in that range is fine. :up:

[HanSolo78]

@Reaper7

Here are some shots of the attack scope`s lense which show that it has the narrow view. Church relesed his mod as "Obs_scope" but actually it should be "Attack_scope" mod, I think.

Have a look at the picture:

http://s7b.directupload.net/images/100219/dm76tssz.jpg

[rcjonessnp175]

Nice!! Any hope to get this working with a eyefinitey resolution of 6048x1080?? game looks great on my 52 inch samsung but lately i converted over to a 3 screen setup with blows that 52 inch out of the water, when the games actually work with it.:damn:

[Frederf]

I have to make a suggestion... what about using the correct view of the attack persicope from churchs mod. The attack periscope has a narrow sight.. the obs scope view that is currently used in both point of views a big sight to get a better surround view. Actually they should get different lenses.

:timeout: That's the part you look out of, not into. The rectangular housing did not produce a rectangular view. Both the observation and attack periscopes' views were round and similar if not the same field of view. One just took in more light.

No part of that picture is "correct." :damn:

[reaper7]

@Reaper7

Here are some shots of the attack scope`s lense which show that it has the narrow view. Church relesed his mod as "Obs_scope" but actually it should be "Attack_scope" mod, I think.

Have a look at the picture:


:timeout: That's the part you look out of, not into. The rectangular housing did not produce a rectangular view. Both the observation and attack periscopes' views were round and similar if not the same field of view. One just took in more light.

No part of that picture is "correct." :damn:

Found a version of his scope in this Mod:
REL_GWX_Flavored_to_Taste_FINAL.7z
Looking at the graphics its appears both the obs and attack scope are the same graphics just with the rectangular graphics housing drawn on top.
I think looking at it Frederf may be correct and that the eyepiece side of this would be round. Looking at the Pics the appature was rectangular alright but the lense would still reflect the image down a round tube and with round mirrors (Just my guess), you would end up with a round viewpoint.
If anyone can confirm either way, I will go with the correct method. :up:
Even though the rectangular one does look cool. :)

Nice!! Any hope to get this working with a eyefinitey resolution of 6048x1080?? game looks great on my 52 inch samsung but lately i converted over to a 3 screen setup with blows that 52 inch out of the water, when the games actually work with it.:damn:

A 3 x 1080P setup :o.

Guess it would work ok, but theres gonna be alot of deadspace between the scopes and the Periscope.
You would have a panel on a third of each side of the outer TV's and the scope in the centre ot the middle TV. :hmmm:

[Barso]

Reaper when can you see this being released?
It looks fantastic.

[reaper7]

Reaper when can you see this being released?
It looks fantastic.

I'm afraid i've no timeframe, this is really my first Mod. I done the enhanced recognition manual mod but that was just adding text from a cfg wile to the pics.
I'm gonna get the graphics right first, then attemp to pull it together.
I may need the help of others yet. I'll try to do at as a graphic's only Mod as my scripting skills are zilch.

[DonZorro]

I wait it very much!!! :yeah::salute:

[Placoderm]

@Reaper7

Here are some shots of the attack scope`s lense which show that it has the narrow view. Church relesed his mod as "Obs_scope" but actually it should be "Attack_scope" mod, I think.

Have a look at the picture:

http://s7b.directupload.net/images/100219/dm76tssz.jpg


HanSolo78: The reason that the scope has that elongated shape is so that the lens could pan up and down within it's housing. The oval shape allowed the lens/mirror assembly to tilt upwards to scan the sky and then back down for surface observations.

The eyepieces and the resulting image that the observer viewed was still round at all times.

The Observation scopes lens was also much larger than the Targeting scopes lens and allowed more light to enter, so the image was notably brighter and clearer. Both lenses were round, and used prisms to re-direct the light down to tube to the eyepieces.

I hope this info is helpful!

:salute:

[reaper7]

HanSolo78: The reason that the scope has that elongated shape is so that the lens could pan up and down within it's housing. The oval shape allowed the lens/mirror assembly to tilt upwards to scan the sky and then back down for surface observations.

The eyepieces and the resulting image that the observer viewed was still round at all times.

The Observation scopes lens was also much larger than the Targeting scopes lens and allowed more light to enter, so the image was notably brighter and clearer. Both lenses were round, and used prisms to re-direct the light down to tube to the eyepieces.

I hope this info is helpful!

:salute:

OK, thats what I was thinking from what little info I could find.
Will leave the viewing points round then.
I wonder what the view looked like if you could see the the rectangular framing of the opening.

[the_belgian]

the shape of the housing doesn't matter since the lenses are round and in case of the OP could be used to look higher and lower than the AP.

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww187/royalairsoftguards/clocop.jpg

btw;i love the interface and can't wait to use it.
maybe you should add a background like this(maybe darker)

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww187/royalairsoftguards/ffrtyppp.jpg

[reaper7]

the shape of the housing doesn't matter since the lenses are round and in case of the OP could be used to look higher and lower than the AP.

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww187/royalairsoftguards/clocop.jpg



Thanks Belgian for the info. :up: Not sure about backdrops yet, will depend on what it looks like in-game when I get to that stage. :)

Here's a small up date:

Haven't had much time to work on this over the last dew days. So not much furter in yet. Looking at my Glass textures for the dials I decided to have another go at then (Last one were just that bit to dark). Made a few different ones, so as to give more varity to the Dials.

New Glass Dials and Bezels:
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Mods%20in%20Progress/Scratches-and-Water-Droplets-WIP.jpg

Also have readjused the Dial layout and added in the ommited Torpedo selector switches. :03:

Next step is to make the Needles and then convert everything over to .dds with alpha's. And then the fun of trying to get everything in via the Editor. :up:

Latest Layout:
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Mods%20in%20Progress/1080P-Web-Screenshot4.jpg

[reaper7]

Ok Neddles and switches are done:

Any comments before I go to next stage and convert to .dds and start Phase 2 of Exporting into game? :DL

Needles:
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Mods%20in%20Progress/Needles.jpg

Mockup of final Layout:
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Mods%20in%20Progress/1080P-Web-Screenshot5-1.jpg

Any ommisions or obvious mistakes? Before I go to next stage. :up:

[Barso]

Comments reaper?
I have one, when will this be out????
It looks FANTASTIC.
Dont change a thing.

[reaper7]

Comments reaper?
I have one, when will this be out????
It looks FANTASTIC.
Dont change a thing.

Thanks Baro, I hope It should't take to long. But then I haven't done a mod like ths before.

I just noticed a mistake. The range dial has a glass cover on it when it should not. :doh:

[Frederf]

I'm not a fan of the 1,000 dial screen concept overall but I have say that of that type of interface, well done.

[Vlad_one]

Fantastic job Reaper! I can't wait to try it! :yeah:

[Yoram777]

First of all, thank you for your excellent work! this will be awesome ingame :D

Also, it might be a good idea to incorporate emptguf's optics mod to make it even more realistic:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=166329


I have to say though, the only little thing I don't really like is the bottom, because it just looks too "Picture like..?" it doesn't quite fit in.


http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/7806/1080pwebscreenshot3.jpg

[karamazovnew]

Arclight and I have found one problem with switching between 16:9 and 4:3. The camera.dat file for periscope viewports are somehow busted, so any periscope mod that are released must be "calibrated" for specific resolution.

Sorry to be late in this discussion.
The above argument is false. A proper interface can be made to suit any resolution without any optional mods. Kiub was done this way and it included precise periscope marks in milirads. I am available on PM and messenger for any tips regarding this. When I made Kiub I actually started like this:
1. I did the periscope viewfinder with cameras.dat settings, done finished, never touched those again.
2. I did the side panels to fit nicely on any resolution using constantAspectRatioVertical for AAAALLLLL items.
3. I then made the entire background (including periscope masks and marks) with a constantAspectRatioHorizontal. The marks took me about 2 days to do correctly.

As far as the images went, I noticed that the game scales down images much better than it scales them up. So I made them high-rez for a 1920x1200 resolution (which at that time was the max). The same images were used even for 1024x768 and they looked great.

Reaper, your progress is amazing however you did make one mistake :D. You started making this interface for a widescreen monitor. Don't forget that on a 4:3 monitor, the side objects will cover the periscope :haha:. BTW, your photoshop work is amazing, if you want the 3d files i used (maya), pm me. A bit late but.. maybe you can find some use for them. :up:

[reaper7]

I have to say though, the only little thing I don't really like is the bottom, because it just looks too "Picture like..?" it doesn't quite fit in.



Its something that will prob not make it to release. It just doesn't sit right,


Reaper, your progress is amazing however you did make one mistake :D. You started making this interface for a widescreen monitor. Don't forget that on a 4:3 monitor, the side objects will cover the periscope :haha:. BTW, your photoshop work is amazing, if you want the 3d files i used (maya), pm me. A bit late but.. maybe you can find some use for them. :up:

Thanks karamazovnew, The aspect ratio was just one of thoes things I'm unsure how to get around. Its the main reason I went with doing this widescreen for now. Possibly as I learn to mod I may be able to get the panels sliding in and out.
I've being messing in the editor with the help of your tutorials on the Menu Editor trying to get my head around that - its getting there.
Also being spending a long time trying to get the glass effect right when imported into the editor as dds files.
Just got it to the stage that I'm happy with it - sure wish you could do proper tansperancy instead of alpha channel.

Cheers for the offer of the 3D files, but I've no experience with 3D applications - gonna have to stick with doing them in 2D :03:.
Your Mod has helped me get this one togeter, it would have taken me week to create the dials and stuff from sctatch.

[makman94]

i have to tell you Reaper7 that i really like what i see so far !! i am 'following' your thread and i am convinced by now that here is getting build one of the mods that will live as long as sh5 live

congratulations :up:

[reaper7]

i have to tell you Reaper7 that i really like what i see so far !! i am 'following' your thread and i am convinced by now that here is getting build one of the mods that will live as long as sh5 live

congratulations :up:


Cheers makman94, I just hope I can learn all I need to in order to finish this.
I have just finised converting all the photoshop PSD graphice to the silent hunter 5 .dds format.
I spent a day messing aroung with the dds converter as I wasn't happy with the standard DXT3 compression that SH5 worked with and to my surprise I managed th Import in to SH5 a much better format (Appears to be Lossless) of 8.8.8.8f compared to the DXT3 (Compression Losses).
The side effect is the 8.8.8.8f are even larger in file size than the original PSD files. But it means I can use the DXT3 format for stuff like backgrounds, Needles and switches. And use the better format for Dials and most importantly for the glass.
This gives a better trancperency effect as there more alpha steps from transparent to solid compared to the 4 steps in DXT3.
Hope that makes sence, if not just trust me it looks better. :DL.

Anyway I've started to import into the Editor, so its a start in the right direction. :up:

First stepd in the Editor:
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Mods%20in%20Progress/WIP1.jpg

Edit just to show the difference between saving in the standard DXT3 (on the left) and the 8.8.8.8f (on the Right) format.

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Mods%20in%20Progress/Glass-Compare.jpg

Notice the better transition between the transperancy steps. :)

[reaper7]

Latest Update:

Ok I've got the 2 panels imported into the Menu Editor. Now its on to the Torpedo firing panel, then the Scope.

Still don't like the glass effect though, I may have anothe shot at it agin after release. Photshope Transperancy is so much easier to get righ compared to the Alpha channel. :nope:

Anyway here's the latest shot:
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Mods%20in%20Progress/WIP2.jpg

As you can see you won't be playing this at standard 1024x768 resolution.:D
Unless you wanna' take pot shots, not much room for the scope.
Should be good at 1080P or similar. ;)

[reboot]

Edit just to show the difference between saving in the standard DXT3 (on the left) and the 8.8.8.8f (on the Right) format.

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Mods%20in%20Progress/Glass-Compare.jpg

Notice the better transition between the transperancy steps. :)

Not to go off topic, but would this work with the sky gradients as well?
In vanilla the sky has those ugly bands.

[reaper7]

Not to go off topic, but would this work with the sky gradients as well?
In vanilla the sky has those ugly bands.

I would imagine so. Where are the sky texture located. I'll try it out. :)

[urfisch]

must be tgas in the "scene.dat"...or in the dats of the "env" folder...

[D.Kruger]

I think it is better to make a big periscope ...

http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/3526/1080pwebscreenshot51b.jpg (http://img391.imageshack.us/i/1080pwebscreenshot51b.jpg/)

or ?

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/5506/1080pwebscreenshot51a.jpg (http://img706.imageshack.us/i/1080pwebscreenshot51a.jpg/)

[reaper7]

Had a look around for a graphics file but couldn't find anything, it should end with .dds or .tga.
All I could find were .cfg files that referencd top and bottom sky colours.

I think it is better to make a big periscope ...


With the current size of the Panels, in order to have the Perisope that big you would need to be running with a resolution of around 2500x1200 at a guess.

[urfisch]

hmmm...normally the sky gradient was a tga file...512x512 px...

[reaper7]

hmmm...normally the sky gradient was a tga file...512x512 px...

Maybe its still there somewhere, if ya find it let us know and I'll try creating a better alpha channel. :hmmm:

[reboot]

Maybe its still there somewhere, if ya find it let us know and I'll try creating a better alpha channel. :hmmm:

Is it the file referenced in this post?:06:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=165752

[reaper7]

Is it the file referenced in this post?:06:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=165752

Ok here's the texture files from the folder as listed in the Thread. First is the SH5 .DDS file that the sim may be using. I would take it the the first 2 boxes are for Night and Day as these are the alpha layers. The rest are for the different sky textures placed over the alphas.
They are Dark blue and light blue in colour, but the Alpha layer is switched on hence the red colour.

Here you can see the terrible banding effect in the Day time Alpha.

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Sky_pac_hdrdds.jpg

Heres the Sh3/4 type .TGA (Which is 4 times larger in file size but has less compresion). As you can see there it is a hell of alot better regarding the banding.

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Sky_pactga.jpg

Now its being posted on that thread that the Sim may not be using these files. And any results for replacing the better one for the more compressed version is a placebo effect. That may be true, then again untill someone can confirm that is not the case.

Anyway back to the above, I guess the TGA version could be worked on to improve the Alpha channel. This could then be saved in the 8.8.8.8 format .dds file for better results.
That is if we can improve the Alpha and get smoother results.

I am currently working on this in regards to the glass effect in my Mod above as I want to recreate the same effect I'm getting with the glass in Photoshop to be the same that I get with the alpha channel in the Editor.
Once I get that figured out the same could be done here. :up:

[reaper7]

@Reboot

Hi I had another look at them files and did up a quick fix to the graphics.

Here's the original:
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Original.jpg

As you can see the alpha would not be the main problem of the banding, but the sky texture themselves. The transistion between some of them go in jumps eg dark blue then medium blue the light blue.

So I redid a quick replacement to improve the jumps between bands.
Here's the result:
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Preview.jpg

But I have noway to test this at the moment, away from home for a couple of days.
And because of DRM can't get into SH5 to test :damn:

Have uploaded the replacement file here if you can test for me and give me feedback on results. If Ok I'll release officialy after tweaking abit. :up:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/downloads.php?do=file&id=1695


EDIT: Hi Reboot going over that thread it looks like this will have no efect as they files are not used to render the sky scenes.

[reboot]

@Reboot

EDIT: Hi Reboot going over that thread it looks like this will have no efect as they files are not used to render the sky scenes.

Just tried it and no difference:cry:
Oh well, it was worth a shot. Thanks.

[astradeus]

@Reboot

Hi I had another look at them files and did up a quick fix to the graphics.

Here's the original:
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Original.jpg

As you can see the alpha would not be the main problem of the banding, but the sky texture themselves. The transistion between some of them go in jumps eg dark blue then medium blue the light blue.

So I redid a quick replacement to improve the jumps between bands.
Here's the result:
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Preview.jpg

But I have noway to test this at the moment, away from home for a couple of days.
And because of DRM can't get into SH5 to test :damn:

Have uploaded the replacement file here if you can test for me and give me feedback on results. If Ok I'll release officialy after tweaking abit. :up:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/downloads.php?do=file&id=1695


EDIT: Hi Reboot going over that thread it looks like this will have no efect as they files are not used to render the sky scenes.


I myself called test these textures and made changes on it but I think what has not used anything in SH5. I think being a little twisted, which are a residue of old games bind to property rights to pass SH, like many other textures present in the files of SH5. I think we should change the config files in this Silent Hunter 5 / data / Env to FIND the solution to the problem.:up:

[urfisch]

thanks for the update...will give it a try!

[reaper7]

I'm running ino brick walls everywhere with SH5. I have most of the dials working at this stage, but some refuse to do anything.
Eg the Straight run and the Torp Impact angle just stay at there default values.

These are the values I've set up for the dials I created on the TDC Page:

[Dial84]
Name=reaper7_Torpedo_Straight_Leg
Type=20; DIAL_TORP_STR_RUN
Cmd=Set_torpedo_straight_run
Dial=0x3B200001
CrtVal=0x3B200003
NewVal=0x0
DialVal=20,340
RealVal=0,12500; meters
Circular=Yes
CmdOnDrag=Yes

[Dial89]
Name=reaper7_Torpedo_Impact_Angle
Type=21; DIAL_TORP_2ND_GYROANGLE
Cmd=Set_torpedo_2nd_gyroangle
Dial=0x3B2D0001
CrtVal=0x3B2D0002
NewVal=0x0
DialVal=-180,180
RealVal=-180,180; degrees
Circular=Yes
CmdOnDrag=Yes

Now I've noticed also if I set the stock dials that are on the TDC page to be used onscreen instead (I have them set ouside the Page Dispaly so only my created ones show onscreen) that they do not show up onscrenn at all.
Its as if the Devs have removed them from the game altogether.
All stock dials show onscreen except for these 4:

1. Straight Run
2. 2nd Gyroangle
3. Leg
4. Pattern angle

Can anyone else confirm this (If so the Full TDC is broken). :damn:

If this is the case it there any workarond for geting the values for Straight run and the Torp Impact to my created dials? :06:

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Dials-Editor.jpg

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/Dials-Ingame.jpg

[reaper7]

Ok, another post to show current state of this mod in progress.
I've had a couple of setbacks, like the one in the previous post, which turnes out was not a problem at all.
The Dials are tied to the Fat/Lut Torpedoes and so will not function unless your U-boat is carring them and has the fat/lut function switched on. :doh:
Well there you go, its all a learning experience. :D

Progrees so far is:

1. Left and Right Panels ingame and working.

2. I have incorporated Arclights excellent Graticule mask for the Periscope (With his Permission - Thanks Arclight) into my Periscope housing, ingame and working nicely. (Redone it a higher resolution and 8.8.8.8 compression just in case banding occurs at the higher Resolution's)

3. Redone the XO Interface so its centered and not obstructing the scope. Made it alot tighter and got rib of the Backgrounds.

4. Removed The Tutorial and Mission icons and there popup's (Although I still have one black border of an icon showing up - that I haven't traced down yet, hope its not hardcoded)

5. Removed Speed and depth controls - To be replaced with working dials SH3/4 Style.



Here's an Ingame working screenshot to show (Running at 1080P on a 48"" LCD TV).
http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af168/reaper7_SH5/SH5-First-Ingame-WIP.jpg

Started work on the top panel - currently just a rough for function version. :DL

Hope ye like it. Hopefully getting close to an initial release version. :yeah:

[Sailor Steve]

the shape of the housing doesn't matter since the lenses are round and in case of the OP could be used to look higher and lower than the AP.
Another point to remember is that it wouldn't matter even if the upper lens was that elongated shape. The eyepiece is still round, and that's all that counts.

[reaper7]

Another point to remember is that it wouldn't matter even if the upper lens was that elongated shape. The eyepiece is still round, and that's all that counts.

Cheers Steve, I'm going with round eyepieces for both the Attack scope and the OBS scope.
Arclight has kindly given me permission to use his excellent Realistic Periscope Mod.
The above image shows his graticules incorporated into my Attack Scope station.
Still have to do the Obs Station and UZO Station yet. But they will be the same as his stuff :up: no square holes here, at least not where the Lens are concerned :haha:.

[reaper7]

:DBeing a week since my last update, so whats changed.

1. I've replaced all the dials to match the ones used in the 3D Sub.
Found the graphics in the Silent Hunter 5\data\Textures\TNormal\tex folder as compared to the stock dials in the Silent Hunter 5\data\Menu\Gui\TDC folder.

2. After a lot of problems getting the switches working from the TDC screen, eg if you switched between single and salvo - the sound would play its sound twice (eg "switching to salvo") also if you clicked the switch in the wrong place it would play the sound twice and not move. Very annoying.:damn:

The solution was to forgo placing certain switches on the TDC and re-use the ones at the relevant station.
So far I've redone the Torpedo selection panel in this manner. the good news is it works the same way. It just means I have to place the Salvo switch and Impact/magnetic switch on the Top Panel - No Biggie :hmmm:. (Still have to replace the graphics to match the ones on the Left.

3. Re-created the Range switch so It works as the original U-Boat range dial.
That is you turn the inner dial with the Knob to line up with the correct range. The stock one (And all previous mods I've seen) have the outer dial rotate to line up with a marker at the top. :)

4. Have now done the Obs Periscope station. This will use Arclights Graticule in the Obs scope, so each station will have its correct graticule's and ranges.
I will get around to redoing a Periscope graphic (Most likely not in Initial release), so as they both don't look the same. :up:

5. Have removed most of the annoying Training and object Icons that appear at the top of the screen. Still tracking down one or two of them.
(Slow process using the Menu Editor, sometimes you fix one to break another :doh:.) Not only are they annoying, but they were covering up one of mt Torp select switches.
Can you picture it "Fire Torp 4",...... Sorry cap' we got an objective in the way :haha:

6. Removed the stock depth and speed Sliders. Will be replaced with Fixed Dial as in SH3/4. Just the Map and maptool left in bottom left corner.

7. Reworked the XO Menu screen, It was way to bid and obtrusive.
I've scaled it down by almost a third and moved it to the bottom of the screen (Also replaced that terrible XO Pic :)). Even with the Ship Recognition Manual open it does it does not encroach on the scope screen much. :up:

Todo: Will remove the Single and Salvo selection dial from the Left Panel. They just duplicate the function of the switches on the Top panel.

Will replace them with two more Fat/Lut dials the 1600M range and 2nd gyro angle. Yes these torps only come into the Sim at the end of the campaign, but I'm sure there will be mods to address the early finishing dates :D and then all four Fat/Lut dials can be used to there fullest.

Here an ingame screenshot of how its coming together (This is in the OBS)
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/Silent%20Hunter%205%20Recon%20Manual%20Mod/SH5-WIP-11-04-10.jpg

[HanSolo78]

Really a fantastic job you are doing here... the devs hould have done your work alrady months before... really outstanding!

I have one question... I think some users who don´t have widescreen would like to use your mod, when released... do you think it would be possible to release a version with sliding dials for users who have 4:3 or 5:4 resolutions?

regards
Han

[John Channing]

Absolutely fantastic:yeah:

On my list of "Must Haves"!

JCC

[reaper7]

Really a fantastic job you are doing here... the Dev's hold have done your work already months before... really outstanding!

I have one question... I think some users who don´t have wide screen would like to use your mod, when released... do you think it would be possible to release a version with sliding dials for users who have 4:3 or 5:4 resolutions?

regards
Han

Yes thats something I hope to achieve, that is after an initial release. :up:

[SloppyMk27]

Pure Genius:up: Our cry for functionality in SH5 has been answered!:woot:

This looks very excellent. I'm already tempted to skip JSGME with this mod when it's released and install it directly to the game.

Thank you for your time and effort you've invested making this mod. :salute:

[lumat83]

Yes, fantastic job. :up:

Do you remove :

- The "!" icon (helper) at the top center of the screen
- The Lock/Breaklock button on the center of the peri view ?

This mod will be perfect :)

[reaper7]

Yes, fantastic job. :up:

Do you remove :

- The "!" icon (helper) at the top center of the screen
- The Lock/Breaklock button on the center of the peri view ?

This mod will be perfect :)

Yes I've gotten rid of the Icons from the Top of the Screen - Haven't done much testing on that part to confirm they stay away or it it hinders things further on.
Haven't done the Lock/Breaklock yet - Will try and implement something else like a lock light on the scope. (May not make it to initial release).

Again all depends on how easy to implement (My scripting skills are Day 1 Basics :D)

I've eventually gotten the Control Dials to work and toggle - First few attempts failed miserably to try and use the hidden stock ones.
Could not get them to go larger than there set sizes - prob due to Dev Scripting :damn:.

Redone my own and implemented them via scripting.
Took a while using an example script TheDarkWraith did for me in an earlier Tutorial I posted, eventually got it working after a lot of head scratching and chasing down spelling mistakes.
But it works now :yeah:.

Also redid the Glass Dials for the third time (Still wasn't happy with them), but this time I figured out a method to achieve the same Transparency effect in Photoshop within the Alpha Channels. Couldn't be happier with the result - got some nice scratches and water drips going on now :D.

Latest Pic.
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/SH5-UI-WIP-14th-April-2.jpg

[Westbroek]

This mod just keeps looking better and better, man.
Really looking forward to this one...still!

[lumat83]

+1

Quick quick ..... It's difficult to wait :haha:

[ologuy]

The attack disc would be great, so you can get the distance and bearing of the target like in SH3 with OLC

[ddrgn]

The attack disc would be great, so you can get the distance and bearing of the target like in SH3 with OLC

Where is OLC when you need em eh?

[reaper7]

The attack disc would be great, so you can get the distance and bearing of the target like in SH3 with OLC


:hmmm: May consider that, if I can get the panels sliding will have some room for them. I created Graphics for an Is/Was attack disc (Links below in Signature) before for printing out. I know Gutted was gonna try importing them into SH5, will look into it down the road.

[ologuy]

yay, if you really get that working i will buy sh5 just because of your mod

[Nauticalwolf]

Quote:Originally Posted by reaper7 http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/smartdark/viewpost.gif (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?p=1363580#post1363580)
Just a quick reply in regards to Pattern running Torps. They are working in stock, there is a Fat/lut button on the hidden SH4 style Torpedo Panel.
The button is hidden unless the uboat is carrying a stock of Fat or Lut type torpedoes.
When you click the button the 4 Dials are revealed. I had the same problem about a month ago where the dial in my Mod would do nothing.
Until I was informed about the dials being tied to the Fat/Lut torps.

Once one the right track I created my own Dials and also placed the Stock dials on a test TDC Page and using a Torpedo Reown Mod was able to load up with each of the Fat and Lut type torps.

I can confirm that Stock dials appeared when selected and were usable as were the dials I created.
The only problem with the Fat/Lut Dials is in the Campaign they are not available till near the end.
Still I'm Integrating them into my Own UI as I'm sure the short campaign Issue will be addressed at a later date. :up: End quote

I also posted on TheDarkWraith's Ui thread

Reaper7, I have been looking for this same "Fat/Lut switch" and can't find it. Could you please point me in the right direction. Does it need some special code to make it show up/ work. I am at a complete loss with python, scripting or coding. :damn::damn::damn:

This is where I would like it to show up/ work :wah::wah::wah:

http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/ad318/Nauticalwolf/SH5/Depth-switch.jpg

On a different topic/proplem, the text "depth" in my Ui keeps "coming back" To get rid of it without deleting I changed its alpha value to 0. In game it just re-appears :wah::wah:. is there some code/script that would remove it and not have it come back.

I prefer not to delete things unless there is no other option. (don't know when you might need it back etc)

I know that you are busy with your UI mod but little help would be most appreciated.

I would be happy to help out with any graphic work if needed. :DL I bought a DVD with over 600 full colour photographs of U-995, amazing for reference photos of anything "U-Boat" .

[reaper7]

Quote:Originally Posted by reaper7 http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/smartdark/viewpost.gif (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?p=1363580#post1363580)
Just a quick reply in regards to Pattern running Torps. They are working in stock, there is a Fat/lut button on the hidden SH4 style Torpedo Panel.
The button is hidden unless the uboat is carrying a stock of Fat or Lut type torpedoes.
When you click the button the 4 Dials are revealed. I had the same problem about a month ago where the dial in my Mod would do nothing.
Until I was informed about the dials being tied to the Fat/Lut torps.

Once one the right track I created my own Dials and also placed the Stock dials on a test TDC Page and using a Torpedo Reown Mod was able to load up with each of the Fat and Lut type torps.

I can confirm that Stock dials appeared when selected and were usable as were the dials I created.
The only problem with the Fat/Lut Dials is in the Campaign they are not available till near the end.
Still I'm Integrating them into my Own UI as I'm sure the short campaign Issue will be addressed at a later date. :up: End quote

I also posted on TheDarkWraith's Ui thread

Reaper7, I have been looking for this same "Fat/Lut switch" and can't find it. Could you please point me in the right direction. Does it need some special code to make it show up/ work. I am at a complete loss with python, scripting or coding. :damn::damn::damn:

This is where I would like it to show up/ work :wah::wah::wah:


On a different topic/proplem, the text "depth" in my Ui keeps "coming back" To get rid of it without deleting I changed its alpha value to 0. In game it just re-appears :wah::wah:. is there some code/script that would remove it and not have it come back.

I prefer not to delete things unless there is no other option. (don't know when you might need it back etc)

I know that you are busy with your UI mod but little help would be most appreciated.

I would be happy to help out with any graphic work if needed. :DL I bought a DVD with over 600 full colour photographs of U-995, amazing for reference photos of anything "U-Boat" .

Hi Nauticalwolf, have replied to this in TheDarkWraiths NewUI Thread.
Seen your post there before this one :up:

[John Channing]

You are still working on this, right?


Don't make me come over there...

:D



JCC

[reaper7]

You are still working on this, right?

Don't make me come over there...
:D

JCC


:haha: Yup, although to the dissatisfaction of my other half :haha:

Got 90% of the Graphics Done and imported into SH5
Got a bit hung up over the last few days getting things to work the way I wanted. Also I have done a few new things that will be of Interest (No screen shots yet.) ;)
Have started to script the switches and stuff now - had run into a programming problem due to my lack of Python or programming skills.
Trying to figure them out as I go along.

Eg. was 2 days trying to get a button to toggle an Item visible/hidden.
Was trying everything I could think of in the script but nothing would work. Turned out it was NOT the programming but my layer order of the button and the item in question :nope:.
Well back on track now though.

[John Channing]

So you will have it out tonight, right?

Right?









hello?



JCC

[reaper7]

Being a while since I posed some WIP screen shots, its being a bit slow as its at the stage where I'm trying to get things working (And I don't know how).
I've being messing with scripts trying to learn how to do things and its not going well a lot of crashes and script errors.
Also very hard to find info on how to do stuff regarding Silent Hunter even for previous versions. Pity there's no Wiki on SH Modding - Maybe its something to look into :hmmm:.

I've Redone the Obs station and removed the TDC and firing station from there. Obs is now just for that - Observation.
Have got the Attack Disc (Angriffsscheibe) working also have incorporated the Range and Angle on Bow Finder (RAOBF) - Thanks to karamazovnew and Hitman with there help and permissions on this :up:.
Buttons to activate the RAOBF and Target lock (Lock icon removed from onscreen) are placed at the bottom of the scope and are currently working.

The Scope has been Made Larger than the Attack Scope and placed to the right so now the map and attackdisc in conjunction with the RAOBF can be used for plotting and solutions before moving to the Attack Scope for firing.

Attack Disc
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/PHCC/Silent%20Hunter%205/Obs-Station-1.jpg

RAOBF Obs Scope
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/PHCC/Silent%20Hunter%205/Obs-Station-2.jpg

Have also Incorporated the RAOBF into the Attack Station:

RAOBF Attack Scope
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/PHCC/Silent%20Hunter%205/Attack-Station-1.jpg

Left to Do:
Now I just need how to figure to create buttons in the slide out Orders Bar to create Hide/Show commands for all the TDC Panels and the AttackDisc.
Also need to create a toggle button for the Ship Control Dials for when not in use. (They can be in the way on the obs scope otherwise)

I have created this for 1080P and its displays ok in the resolution - But I have noticed something when using other resolutions:- The RAOBF Markings read perfectly at 1080P but at lower resolutions they do not line up its as if the Game Engine is also scaling the Display.
I.e. In 1080P the Cimmaron class tanker at 1000m in 1.5 zoom reaches 4 ticks on the RAOBF (Thats correct).
But if played at standard resolution (1024x768) the same ship at the same distance is only 3 ticks high :damn:.

Does the game engine scale the display (no constraints) as well when scaling up for higher resolutions :06:. If so That will mean that separate RAOBF Graticule markings will have to be created for different resolutions (Not nice).

[ddrgn]

Gorgeous! I am sooo waiting for this one ;P

[karamazovnew]

WTF, the Periscope Bearing still displays over ALL OTHER ITEMS? AGAIN?!!!
Reaper, can you tell me if there's such a thing as an individual periscope bearing dial in the game? Since all scopes now rotate in 3D there must surely be a way to use that info separately (move the Bearing out of the screen, then make a new dial which can be hidden behind the AOBF).

However, the last time I've looked in the dials list, it was mostly identical to the old one. :(
PS: this is just a graphical issue, but worth noticing. I KiUB, for some of the needles I also used a separate Highlight object. A simple overlay static image placed on top of the needle. That way no matter how the needle rotates, the highlights remain static. Otherwise, fast rotating needles (such as the gyro tenths) look weird when turning.

[reaper7]

WTF, the Periscope Bearing still displays over ALL OTHER ITEMS? AGAIN?!!!
Reaper, can you tell me if there's such a thing as an individual periscope bearing dial in the game? Since all scopes now rotate in 3D there must surely be a way to use that info separately (move the Bearing out of the screen, then make a new dial which can be hidden behind the AOBF).

However, the last time I've looked in the dials list, it was mostly identical to the old one. :(
PS: this is just a graphical issue, but worth noticing. I KiUB, for some of the needles I also used a separate Highlight object. A simple overlay static image placed on top of the needle. That way no matter how the needle rotates, the highlights remain static. Otherwise, fast rotating needles (such as the gyro tenths) look weird when turning.

Yes the Scope bearing appears to be Hard coded to be on top, doesn't appear to follow its order in the Editor. I am currently working on a workaround for this, hence why there's no bearing in the Obs scope pics above :03:.
I have used the background from the Heading bar hidden in stock for behind the bearing.
And using scripting I will set this and the bearing to hidden when the RAOBF is selected :up:.
In regards to the gyro Needles, how do you create a separate Highlight object. Is this a transparent image or solid - can the needle below be seen thru this when stopped :06:. Afraid I'm relatively new to all this and still only have the basics.

[Stevepine]

HI reaper....

thanks for persisting with this mod!

Please please please dont make the field of vision through the scope too small though as you add more and more dials and items etc.

question: is green the right colour for the scope markings? just curious

:)

BUT Fantastic efforts and work!!!!

[reaper7]

HI reaper....

thanks for persisting with this mod!

Please please please dont make the field of vision through the scope too small though as you add more and more dials and items etc.

question: is green the right colour for the scope markings? just curious

:)

BUT Fantastic efforts and work!!!!

Ah.. :D Nope thats not the actual default Attack scope view as above. Like the Obs perisope its got a switchable RAOBF. In the Screen stot above its switched on hence the very small field of vision and Green Graticules which are used to calculate range and AoB.

WTF, the Periscope Bearing still displays over ALL OTHER ITEMS? AGAIN?!!!

Just tried scripting to make it not visible in the obs pericope.py file and no luck. Not sure how to move its cordinates of screen via scripting yet, will look through the other scripts to see how the devs do it.

[karamazovnew]

In regards to the gyro Needles, how do you create a separate Highlight object. Is this a transparent image or solid - can the needle below be seen thru this when stopped :06:. Afraid I'm relatively new to all this and still only have the basics.

Take the fat needles for example, with the rounded plastic bulb that hides the metal screw. It has 2 highlights, diametrically opposed. What I did was copy a small section of that bulb and mask it. It's already done, it's inside the same tga file that has the needles. You'll have to figure out what the exact pixel position is by backtracking the crop line (easy to do with the menu editor). My dials were all done something like this:

1. All dial Background embedded in one single image due to cropping issues. This is clickable and does nothing (click mask)
2. Dial group:
2.1. Dial Background (transparent but clickable)
2.2. Needle Shadows (2 separate needles, you also have them there, just check the alpha channel).
2.3. Needle
2.4. Needle Highlight (static bmp)
3. Glass
4. Metal Panel.

So yeah.. it was a bit complex... but when I tried to stack them up in the normal way i got clipping margins that looked ugly. By default, when scaling images for different resolutions, the game will display about 1 or 0.5 pixels around the mask of the images. This means that all items will be surrounded by an ugly dark line if they were placed on a dark background in the dds file. Double so when overlapping images (as you do when you create dials). So I always made sure to retain a bit of slack around my objects, you'll see that all of my items in the tga files have a bit of metal background around them and a generous mask. Now you know why :D

[karamazovnew]

question: is green the right colour for the scope markings? just curious


The real Marks were always black. Only the center lines were lit because they were painted with glow-in-the-dark paint. But since we don't have red bulbs in our houses, we're using all-green marks at night.

The original marks in the game are made to change colour by hardcode at night. By placing any image inside the same group as the marks, you can fool the game and create custom auto-lighting marks. But the AOBF "special" marks must be placed in the AOBF group so... you either have always-green or always-black marks there. :cry: Maybe something can be done through scripting.

[reaper7]

Take the fat needles for example, with the rounded plastic bulb that hides the metal screw. It has 2 highlights, diametrically opposed. What I did was copy a small section of that bulb and mask it. It's already done, it's inside the same tga file that has the needles. You'll have to figure out what the exact pixel position is by backtracking the crop line (easy to do with the menu editor). My dials were all done something like this:

1. All dial Background embedded in one single image due to cropping issues. This is clickable and does nothing (click mask)
2. Dial group:
2.1. Dial Background (transparent but clickable)
2.2. Needle Shadows (2 separate needles, you also have them there, just check the alpha channel).
2.3. Needle
2.4. Needle Highlight (static bmp)
3. Glass
4. Metal Panel.

So yeah.. it was a bit complex... but when I tried to stack them up in the normal way i got clipping margins that looked ugly. By default, when scaling images for different resolutions, the game will display about 1 or 0.5 pixels around the mask of the images. This means that all items will be surrounded by an ugly dark line if they were placed on a dark background in the dds file. Double so when overlapping images (as you do when you create dials). So I always made sure to retain a bit of slack around my objects, you'll see that all of my items in the tga files have a bit of metal background around them and a generous mask. Now you know why :D

WOW, thanks for that info. Will defo look into it.
Couldn't get my head around the cropping required for states etc by the editor when I started out.
My workaround was not to do it the game way, but every object I've created so far is its own dds file (No sheets of graphics)
So far I've around 40MB of graphics and around 98 seperate files and growing.
Still it makes things so much easier everthing crops at 0,0 ;) and points to its own file.

"All dial Background embedded in one single image" What is meant by this?
Sorry if I'm being a bit slow :88).

[The General]

Just astonishing work here :o

It looks so technical and kind of daunting to the layman....Exactly how it should be! :03: At last, we're finally getting what looks like a Subsim, not some Subsim Lite for the XBox 360 crowd :up:

[karamazovnew]

"All dial Background embedded in one single image" What is meant by this?
Sorry if I'm being a bit slow :88).


I was reffering to the TDC_Panel_Inner.tga and Torp_panel_Inner.tga. Those are the only places where you'll be able to see the dial plates. You'll see that they're already obstructed by the metal panel.

I think it's a bad practice to use separate files for each item. The game takes longer to load. Cropping is easy once you get the hang of it. Doing it in Notepad and starting the game each time to see the results was NOT fun. But I got used to it after a while. That Menu Editor is a gem :D.
There's also one more thing you need to worry about when placing items sepparately. Just before releasing my mod I decided to decrease the brightness for all items. By only having to change 2-3 files it took me a couple of minutes. Imagine trying to edit 90+ files :har:.

[reaper7]

I was reffering to the TDC_Panel_Inner.tga and Torp_panel_Inner.tga. Those are the only places where you'll be able to see the dial plates. You'll see that they're already obstructed by the metal panel.

I think it's a bad practice to use separate files for each item. The game takes longer to load. Cropping is easy once you get the hang of it. Doing it in Notepad and starting the game each time to see the results was NOT fun. But I got used to it after a while. That Menu Editor is a gem :D.
There's also one more thing you need to worry about when placing items sepparately. Just before releasing my mod I decided to decrease the brightness for all items. By only having to change 2-3 files it took me a couple of minutes. Imagine trying to edit 90+ files :har:.

Aaaah.. 2nd time I've typed out a reply and wnt to post, only for it to crash. (Hmm... restart again)

Regards Dials, Ok. Got ya now. Cheers. :up:

I will prob redo the graphics into sheets down the line when everythings working ok. As it stands now its quick to do changes fo files, I've redone the glass dials a few times as well as the TDC Dials to its quick regards development (Must say i haven't noticed any loading hit with my graphics).

Ya the Menu Editor is great, I cant Imagine doing things the SH3/4 way of everything being in that one main1024.ini file :nope: (Gives me the shudders).
Its great that every thing is split into its own ini and page file. :rock:

[icecold]

This looks excellent. I love having the emergence factor of having buttons to press, switches the flip. SH5 Stock had removed all that emergance.

Are you going to incorperate the speed and heading dials too?

Also hurry up i really want to play with it :P :)

[Cap.Palla]

Wow great work here!! :yeah:
Can you post a pecentage of the work you've done?? Are you at 50% or...70%....or 99%? :O: I can't really wait to use this great mod!!

[reaper7]

Wow great work here!! :yeah:
Can you post a pecentage of the work you've done?? Are you at 50% or...70%....or 99%? :O: I can't really wait to use this great mod!!

Possibly about 85% to an Initial release. But its the slow stuff holding me up - trying to get things working via scripting (Poor scripting Knowlege).

[ologuy]

Dude, that looks just great!
Are all the Dials for targetbearing etc. working properly?

Maybe you could work together with TheDarkWraith to get all the scripting and stuff working.

[Alex]

Looking great, period. :huh:

[reaper7]

Dude, that looks just great!
Are all the Dials for targetbearing etc. working properly?

Maybe you could work together with TheDarkWraith to get all the scripting and stuff working.

All dials are working :up:.

[ologuy]

Is it possible to play with this UI on a resolution of 1680x1050?

[reaper7]

Is it possible to play with this UI on a resolution of 1680x1050?

It should work at that resolution, don't have a monitor that supports that high to try though :wah:.
Have it on my 1080P TV for testing as monitor is only 1440x900 Max.
The Graphics are fixed size so do not scale so it just means that in the TDC screen the panels will be closer to the center scope, but I am working on having the Panels appear/dissapear at the touch of a button.

I am currently working on a side project that will be part of the UI as well if we can get it working.
Also have to get the camera lining up with my RAOBF graticules before I can release. Its at the slow process at the moment but it will get there.

[icecold]

It should work at that resolution, don't have a monitor that supports that high to try though :wah:.
Have it on my 1080P TV for testing as monitor is only 1440x900 Max.
The Graphics are fixed size so do not scale so it just means that in the TDC screen the panels will be closer to the center scope, but I am working on having the Panels appear/dissapear at the touch of a button.

I am currently working on a side project that will be part of the UI as well if we can get it working.
Also have to get the camera lining up with my RAOBF graticules before I can release. Its at the slow process at the moment but it will get there.


Hmmm when released will it be a whole pack or can you break up the features for download?

Just the main features i am after, are quite simply your HUD and interface. However i would settle for more, if i have to. I dont mean to sound rude, its just i have been looking for a new interface that completes the realism but with my other addons i do not wish to add much more. This is just a question not request, as i am aware of how much hard work you have put into this.

[reaper7]

Not to worry. Everything I'm doing is for the whole realism side of things. It will be a complete package as its all pretty tied together. ;)
Side project I'm working on is just an improvment to a current stock part of the UI I don't like and am redoing the front end for a better look.

The real Marks were always black. Only the center lines were lit because they were painted with glow-in-the-dark paint. But since we don't have red bulbs in our houses, we're using all-green marks at night.

The original marks in the game are made to change colour by hardcode at night. By placing any image inside the same group as the marks, you can fool the game and create custom auto-lighting marks. But the AOBF "special" marks must be placed in the AOBF group so... you either have always-green or always-black marks there. :cry: Maybe something can be done through scripting.

Sorry Karamazovnew but just spotted this don't know how I missed this post. Thanks for the info on the Marks Group, didn't know that items placed in here have the glow in the dark feature.
Are they just standard black or do them need do be a cetain colour? I can place the RAOBF Marks in that Group, that would not be a problem and just enable/disable it when the RAOBF is switched on/off. Need to redo the marks on the RAOBF anyway as there 2 pixels wide instead of 1 pixel. Also have to figure out how to do the cameras.cam file for other resolutions. Works perfectly at 1080P but at 1440x900 its almost 200m out. just another thing to fix for an inital release.

[ologuy]

Will your UI be compatible with TDWs UI Mod and his other features?

[reaper7]

As it stands, propably not. I have altered a lot of the same files and scripts that TheDarkWraith uses in his mods. Now with a bit of work they could be made compatable, but thats a bit out of my league as it would require integrating the scripts to work together.
But if anyone was up to the challenge when its released that would be fine with me. :DL

[reaper7]

The real Marks were always black. Only the center lines were lit because they were painted with glow-in-the-dark paint. But since we don't have red bulbs in our houses, we're using all-green marks at night.

The original marks in the game are made to change colour by hardcode at night. By placing any image inside the same group as the marks, you can fool the game and create custom auto-lighting marks. But the AOBF "special" marks must be placed in the AOBF group so... you either have always-green or always-black marks there. :cry: Maybe something can be done through scripting.


Yes I got it working. Thanks karamazovnew, took me around 50 attempts but its finally working all the marks and graticuls are lighting up green at night now also removed the stock measurments (The 4x10's) markings (keeping the zoom value) so as not to duplicate the values.
The Alpha chanel and colour block were the critical factors. As was the periscope mask which I had combined with the Markings. These will not be seperate dds entities. Will also make seperate color filters for the scopes which can be switched on/off.

:yeah:


edit: Ok I had the Attack periscopw working also the RAOBF on the Attack Periscoipe working.
Did the Obs Periscope and nothing no graticules showed up, tried everything I could think of, redid the Obs pericope ini a few times over via the editor. They showed up ok in the editor but nothing ingame, a bit more investigating and I noticed thar the zoom was not showing up either (2 Days of redoing over and over :damn: -even reinstalled SH5).
No mather what I did nothing could get the Graticule or even the default markings to show ingame :damn:. Fustrated I came to the forum about to post for help, when I decided to look at any pics posted showing the Obs periscope - and I noticed none of them had the Markings showing up ingame. :nope:
Aha... so its another thing broken in the sim, To recap the Marking inthe Obs Periscope are broken no zoom or 10 markings show up.
As I was using the Markings group to get the glow in the dark working they were not showing up at all.
Will try a few things and see if I can get something working.

[reaper7]

Phew.... thats taken over 3 days to resolve, but after some excellent help fron TheDarkWraith with my script I have resolved the Obs Periscope Bug.
Now the Graticule are changing color at night for all Scopes and for the RAOBF as well. (Obs scope will not be as exact as attack or UZO - as script wokaround required I set a time period for night use). Obs will turn to night mode between 10PM and 6AM - times can be altered if necessary, but these times correspond to the Image in the to right corner globe (The one that shows the Day period - ie dusk , night, external camera etc).

Anyway's here some pics of the Graticules in Action:

Periscope Day
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/AttackDay.jpg

Pericope Night
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/AttackNight.jpg

Periscope RAOBF Day
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/AttackRAOBFDay.jpg

Obs Day
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/ObsDay.jpg

Obs Night
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/ObsNight.jpg

Obs RAOBF Day
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/ObsRAOBFDay.jpg

Obs RAOBF Night
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/ObsRAOBFFNight.jpg

Still I think the time to get it working right was time well spent, no matter how fustrating it was.
Ok on to the next item....:yawn: Need to sort out the compass bearing being dispalyed on top of the RAOBF.

Edit: Just noticed I didn't post a pioc of the Attack Scope AOBF at night. Oh well its praticaly the same as the obs one - so that will do. If really want I can post one, but donn't think its needed (threads already a bit graphic heavy.)

[The General]

Holy crap is that awesome Reaper! Excellent, excellent work :up:

[SashaKA001]

Phew.... thats taken over 3 days to resolve, but after some excellent help fron TheDarkWraith with my script I have resolved the Obs Periscope Bug.
Now the Graticule are changing color at night for all Scopes and for the RAOBF as well. (Obs scope will not be as exact as attack or UZO - as script wokaround required I set a time period for night use). Obs will turn to night mode between 10PM and 6AM - times can be altered if necessary, but these times correspond to the Image in the to right corner globe (The one that shows the Day period - ie dusk , night, external camera etc).

Anyway's here some pics of the Graticules in Action:

Periscope Day
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/AttackDay.jpg

Pericope Night
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/AttackNight.jpg

Periscope RAOBF Day
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/AttackRAOBFDay.jpg

Obs Day
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/ObsDay.jpg

Obs Night
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/ObsNight.jpg

Obs RAOBF Day
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/ObsRAOBFDay.jpg

Obs RAOBF Night
http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff240/reaper7_bucket/ObsRAOBFFNight.jpg

Still I think the time to get it working right was time well spent, no matter how fustrating it was.
Ok on to the next item....:yawn: Need to sort out the compass bearing being dispalyed on top of the RAOBF.

Edit: Just noticed I didn't post a pioc of the Attack Scope AOBF at night. Oh well its praticaly the same as the obs one - so that will do. If really want I can post one, but donn't think its needed (threads already a bit graphic heavy.)

And where to download this of fashions it is possible? Or how?
Thanks.:ping::ping::ping:

[reaper7]

Still work in Progress, although its getting close to initial release.

[Gunfighter]

This it going to make SH5 alot better keep up the good work:salute:

[SashaKA001]

Still work in Progress, although its getting close to initial release.

We wait also for good luck

[ERPP8]

Any projected release date?

[reaper7]

I'm hoping toget an Alpha release out this weekend. :D

After that I'll start working on fixing the Cameras.cam file for resolutions other than 1080P.
Also haven't done anything yet with the UZO so that will have to be worked on.
And No Periscope depth controls done yet, so will leave the stock ones in for now.

But as it I'm just getting a couple of buttons working to hide/unhide the panels and controls for neatness.

[ERPP8]

I'm hoping toget an Alpha release out this weekend. :D

After that I'll start working on fixing the Cameras.cam file for resolutions other than 1080P.
Also haven't done anything yet with the UZO so that will have to be worked on.
And No Periscope depth controls done yet, so will leave the stock ones in for now.

But as it I'm just getting a couple of buttons working to hide/unhide the panels and controls for neatness.
Cool:yeah:

[reaper7]

Cool:yeah:

Ok, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be .. Buttons are finished and working. Eary morning here so I'm gonna call it a night.
:zzz:

[ERPP8]

I really like this project because TheDarkWraith's New UI doesn't fit in with the current one very well.

[TheDarkWraith]

I really like this project because TheDarkWraith's New UI doesn't fit in with the current one very well.

how's that and why?

[ERPP8]

how's that and why?
The only problem I see is that it pushed the current UI up
and this UI works around the current one and looks more seamless

[TheDarkWraith]

The only problem I see is that it pushed the current UI up
and this UI works around the current one and looks more seamless

what do you mean by pushed the current UI up? reaper7's UI is just for the scopes (UZO, attack and obs) and nothing else if I read his thread correctly and it's not compatible with my UIs mod currently.

[ERPP8]

what do you mean by pushed the current UI up? reaper7's UI is just for the scopes (UZO, attack and obs) and nothing else if I read his thread correctly and it's not compatible with my UIs mod currently.
He also added the three dials

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/3628/64421676.png
http://img218.imageshack.us/i/64421676.png/

[TheDarkWraith]

He also added the three dials

I still don't understand what you mean by sandwiched even from the screenie but it doesn't matter.

All the code and features I've added to my UIs mod will not be released or permission given for others to use them all. I'll allow some of them but the main ones will remain only available in my UIs mod.

[ERPP8]

I still don't understand what you mean by sandwiched even from the screenie but it doesn't matter.

All the code and features I've added to my UIs mod will not be released or permission given for others to use them all. I'll allow some of them but the main ones will remain only available in my UIs mod.
The Stock UI is sitting right above the SHIII UI and it changes abruptly

[TheDarkWraith]

The Stock UI is sitting right above the SHIII UI and it changes abruptly

well yeah in the SH4 Style it does. SH3 style is doesn't. And SH5 Enhanced is just stock SH5 that has been enhanced.

[reaper7]

As it stands this UI will conflict with all TheDarkWraiths's scripts. Also as my scripting prowess is almost zilch I have done things the old fashioned was by moving items of screen via the Menu Editor or else cropping there x,y cordinate to zero hence removing them.
DW has done this in a more elegant way by scripts moving there anchor points of screen on the fly.

This is really an eye-candy Mod and does not contain the bug fixes that are in DW's Mods, wish I could do them but I can't. The only fix I have managed is for the broken Obs Periscope Markings Group. But unless you wanted custom Graticules to illuminate at night you wouldn't even notice the stock Obs was broken.

I for one would love to see this working with DW's mod an maybe he might like it enough to do the hard work and include it as an addon to his mod as he's done with many others. Then you could have the best of both worlds.
He's has my full permission to use any of my stuff. After all silent hunter 5 is unplayable without his Mods, his Stadimeter fix alone make it playable for me. :yeah: (That is when, or if I get a chance to play)

Its my dream to play SH5 with all the fixes and the looks... but dreams came come true ;).

[The General]

Can you release what you have?

[reaper7]

Yes, I'm just put a few last bits together for an Alpha release.
This will be far from finished but should hopefully be playable at least.
Just got the hide/unhide Panels and controls working yesterday and polised this morning (ie button Graphics).
Hopefully This will work with all resolutions not only 1080P as now panels can be hidden so not obstructing the scope :DL.

Keep an eye out for it soon - needs testing. :ping:

[ERPP8]

Yes, I'm just put a few last bits together for an Alpha release.
This will be far from finished but should hopefully be playable at least.
Just got the hide/unhide Panels and controls working yesterday and polised this morning (ie button Graphics).
Hopefully This will work with all resolutions not only 1080P as now panels can be hidden so not obstructing the scope :DL.

Keep an eye out for it soon - needs testing. :ping:
Oh I just realized I'm not running 1080p

[reaper7]

Have also tested it with 1440x900, 1360x768 and 1280x800.
Worked Ok - Though dials do start to get big at lower resolutions, but the can be hidden if blocking views and unhidden when needed. :up:

[reaper7]

Ok I have released the Alpha Version. It can be downloaded from the New Thread for this Mod:

:yeah:http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=169119 (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=169119):yeah:

[ERPP8]

I tested the alpha out on a lower res system and the only problem was that the boxes were too big and in low res

[reaper7]

Yes it was really designed for use on my 1080P LCD TV. In stock Most things are designed to scale ay you go up in resolution.
For Example any of the TDC Dials are created 125x125 pixels - These are then scalled up or Down depending on the Resolution.
Default 1024x768 displays them at 90x90 Pixels so at higher resolutions you start to get a lot of pixel bleeding.
In My UI I'm using fixed scalling so no matter what resolution you get 1:1 Scale. Hence the Large size at low resolutions, the flipside is as you go oner 1080P things start getting smaller.
As its designed for 1920x1080P all dials were made at 150x150 this was the best size I found during testing to Keep the Images as sharp as Possible.
(Still there's not much diff betweeen 125x125 and 150x150 so its only possible around 15% better quality than Stock). But no scaling so no bleeding.

But when ya see it on a 48" LCD, boy does it look good :sunny:.

[ERPP8]

Yes it was really designed for use on my 1080P LCD TV. In stock Most things are designed to scale ay you go up in resolution.
For Example any of the TDC Dials are created 125x125 pixels - These are then scalled up or Down depending on the Resolution.
Default 1024x768 displays them at 90x90 Pixels so at higher resolutions you start to get a lot of pixel bleeding.
In My UI I'm using fixed scalling so no matter what resolution you get 1:1 Scale. Hence the Large size at low resolutions, the flipside is as you go oner 1080P things start getting smaller.
As its designed for 1920x1080P all dials were made at 150x150 this was the best size I found during testing to Keep the Images as sharp as Possible.
(Still there's not much diff betweeen 125x125 and 150x150 so its only possible around 15% better quality than Stock). But no scaling so no bleeding.

But when ya see it on a 48" LCD, boy does it look good :sunny:.
A simple thing to do is change your res and then just do a little tweaking and then release it again for each res

[ERPP8]

Or if the patch fixes the framerate problem we can all run 1080p:rotfl2:

[reaper7]

Hopefully they fix for single core users, heck even dual and quads have trouble with this sim, Very unoptimised.
Haven't noticed much lad difference between lowest resolution and higher resolutions - all are as laggy as each other in internal views. Can drop to very low FPS if you activate screen grab, usually have to ctrl-alt-dlt.
Has happened a few times when trying to thake snapshots with crt-F11 hitting shift-F11 in error. :nope:

[ERPP8]

Hopefully they fix for single core users, heck even dual and quads have trouble with this sim, Very unoptimised.
Haven't noticed much lad difference between lowest resolution and higher resolutions - all are as laggy as each other in internal views. Can drop to very low FPS if you activate screen grab, usually have to ctrl-alt-dlt.
Has happened a few times when trying to thake snapshots with crt-F11 hitting shift-F11 in error. :nope:
I can help you with testing on other computers
I have a NVidea card; the arch enemy of SHV

[ERPP8]

Any updates?

[reaper7]

Have opened up a new thread [REL] Reaper7 High Resolution UI Alpha.
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=169119
UI is available for download to test there.
Have fun with it. :yeah:

[ERPP8]

Have opened up a new thread [REL] Reaper7 High Resolution UI Alpha.
UI is available for download to test there.
Have fun with it. :yeah:
I did, and tested it
It worked in a res other than 1080p but the panels were way too big and in a low res

[reaper7]

Oh right sorry, should lave looked back at your previous post.
It will prob be a while before I get to the Scalling issues as it means going through ever item and setting up there scale types at the moment everything is set to No scalling - But yes down the roard I'll most likely tackle this issue (just got to much other stuff and to little time to get to it at the moment)

Your more than welcome to have a go at it yoursely if you want to open up the Menu Editor and go through the Items Possible set it all to No Constraints with Linear type scalling.

There's a Sticky at the top of the Modding page about how to do this.

Good Luck if you do dicide to give it a shot. I will answer any questions where I can. :yeah: