[REL]Magnified HUD Dials for v1.4

[CapnScurvy]

The other day a member asked if the Magnified HUD Dials mod was compatible with version 1.4. It is not.

His question came in a thread that's on the "SH4 ATO Mods" portion of this forum regarding a fellow modder who made larger HUD dials for the Operation Monsun mod group. Unfortunately, the work done toward the OM+OMEGU version has been lost. Since this work was a redo of the original mod of mine I thought I'd take a look at making a compatible version for both OM+OMEGU, and the stock SH4 version 1.4.

So far I've completed the "Magnified HUD Dials for v1.4" and have it HERE at SubSims "Downloads" page. The main folder contains two separate mods:

Magnified HUD Dials for v1.4_Large
Magnified HUD Dials for v1.4_Medium

As you may guess, one will enlarge the dials greater than the other. I found this important for those that have the largest resolution/aspect ratios will want to try the "Large" edition. If the dials are made too big, then perhaps the "Medium" edition would work better.

As another possible cure for having too large a dial, using the "Delete" key will hide the interface giving you access to the screen behind the dials. In any event, these mods should help those with slight problems with seeing the dials.

For future reference, I'll be finishing up something similar for both the OM+OMEGU mods, and the version 1.5 of the Magnified HUD Dials.

[Beach Bum]

Scurvy, is the overlap of the dials just part of the package, or are they supposed to be spaced out more? Wondering if I'm messing something up (I'm using JSGME for the mod). I initially used the Large mod as I'm at 1920, but the overlap was so great that it prevented me from reading all of my gauges at a glance.

I definitely appreciate the new dial textures, and the relative bearing inner dial on the compass is a nice touch.

[CapnScurvy]

Originally Posted by Beach Bum

Scurvy, is the overlap of the dials just part of the package, or are they supposed to be spaced out more? Wondering if I'm messing something up (I'm using JSGME for the mod). I initially used the Large mod as I'm at 1920, but the overlap was so great that it prevented me from reading all of my gauges at a glance.

I definitely appreciate the new dial textures, and the relative bearing inner dial on the compass is a nice touch.

The overlap is intentional. You have to remember this game was never designed to play on resolutions as large as they are today. The games "native" resolution was only 1028x768....to be played on an RGB analog CRT monitor! No LED flat screen with resolutions of 1920x1080!! They weren't even used in early 2000's when the SHIII game was developed (yes SHIII, SH4 is just a clone of it!!).

To have the magnified dials work on the older/smaller computer screens, the "overlap" is intentional.

This points out one thing, the game is lucky to still be playable at all!! The design limits of the game have had a hard time keeping up with modern computer advances.....with some things (like memory accessibility) you need to use current "apps" like Large Address Aware to make the 'ol game do more than what it was designed for. Take it easy on the old girl, she's just not made for what players expect nowadays!

[Beach Bum]

I figured as much. I've been binging on SH4 youtube for awhile trying to figure out what kind of setup I'd like, though I'm sticking close to vanilla and mainly looking for UI and QoL features. Your mod stuck out for obvious reasons.

It's just too bad that if I want to get my Pacific sub fix I have to journey so far back in time. I like Cold Waters a bunch for my modern RSR-clone experience, but there's something special about the seat-of-your-pants knife-edge close-quarters combat that was WWII submarine warfare.