[TEC] Lawrence 10-B Slideruler/USN S495-S505

[ElCid97]

Greetings!

I'm hoping someone can at least answer this question -- if it's even able to be answered: "Can I add a working slide ruler to the US side that a user can use along the lines of the Omnimeter by Capt Scurvy or the RAOBF on the German side as done by the Dark Waters Team?"

I'm asking because I came across some nice pictures of a Navy S495/S505 slide ruler from about 1939 or so. Maybe later. It's basically a "Manheim" style instrument which was a liscenced version of the Lawrence 10-B slideruler.

I've made a "game" graphic as well as a "practice" graphic I'm using in GIMP with moving parts. I'm planning on adding a "manual" of sorts with pages you can print to make your own "real" S505 as well as some basic instructions for getting things like range, speed, etc.

Here are the images I have so far:

This is in-game in the S-Boat control room/conning station. I've attached it to the clock since it's draggable and can be turned on and off. This may or may not be a game-stopper, but that's why I'm asking.


https://www.mediafire.com/view/m391r...50405.jpg/file

This is the basic image to get the pieces from which are displayed on the ruler. As you can see, the "B-C1-C" slider is at the bottom for ease of cropping. Same with the curser at the top-left.


https://www.mediafire.com/view/d71ks...-10-B.jpg/file

Finally, this is what I'm hoping the thing will look like when finished. This is the image I'm using in GIMP to practice with. The printed version will have the scales only and the rest will be to "fold over" or in some way make it possible to have the curser slide back and forth.


https://www.mediafire.com/view/i86zm...Ruler.jpg/file

This is the code so far:

;================================================= ====
;================ USN L10B-Slideruler ================
;================================================= ====

[G29 I20]
Name=L10B-SliderulerGroup
Type=1026 ;Menu group
ItemID=0x29030001 ;Tentative (next number)
ParentID=0x29020000 ;Clock page
Pos=0,0,1500,446
Zone=0 768 1500 446 2 1 0x29020000 0.5 -1 0x29030001 0 0 0 0

[G29 I21]
Name=L10B-SliderulerBCSlideImage
Type=1031 ;Static bmp array
ItemID=0x29030002 ;Tentative (next number)
ParentID=0x29030001 ;L10B-SliderulerGroup
Pos=0,0,1500,79
Zone=0 768 1500 79 2 1 0x29030001 0 -0.104287 0x29030002 0 0 0 0
Materials=1
Display=2 ;Linear
Mat 0=data/menu/skins/american/gui/USN_L10-B.dds
Crop 0=0.080543,0.837864,0.914838,0.162136
MatFlags=0x1
TexFmt=0x0
Drag=false
BmpState=1
NeedFocus=true
SelOne=false
IdGroup=0

[G29 I22]
Name=L10B-SliderulerBackground
Type=1030 ;Static bmp
ItemID=0x29030003 ;Tentative (next number)
ParentID=0x29030001 ;L10B-SliderulerGroup
Pos=0,0,1500,446
Zone=0 768 1500 446 2 1 0x29030001 0 0 0x29030003 0 0 0 0
Materials=1
Display=2 ;Linear
Mat 0=data/menu/skins/american/gui/USN_L10-B.dds
Crop 0=0.083718,1,0.916282,0.837864
MatFlags=0x1
TexFmt=0x0
Drag=false
BmpState=0
NeedFocus=true
SelOne=false
IdGroup=0

;================================================= ====
;================================================= ====

I can upload to my Mediafire and you guys can take a crack at it or, at least, let me know what you did so I may duplicate on my end.

If anyone can help on this, I'd really appreciate it. S-Boats didn't have a TDC, so everything was manual. A "banjo" and "is-was" were the tools on-hand, but the slideruler was also on-board and could be used instead.


From what I understand, many S-Boat captains would just use the regular slide ruler. The Omnimeter, for example, was actually made by crews on the fleet boats (USS Cod, for example).


This, at least, is something that ALL ships would have available since it was "GI" from the start. At the very least, a sailor would be able to go to the nearest store (stateside, anyway) and buy one cheap since they were the "ancient" version of the modern calculator! LOL!

Thanks again!

ElCid97

PS: There was a slideruler made a long time ago that apparently worked and was posted on the forums here, but the link has been dead a LONG time now. If anyone still has that file, please let me know since we can probably do some forensic work (hopefully) and try to figure out how they did it several years ago.

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by ElCid97

Greetings!

I'm hoping someone can at least answer this question -- if it's even able to be answered: "Can I add a working slide ruler to the US side that a user can use along the lines of the Omnimeter by Capt Scurvy or the RAOBF on the German side as done by the Dark Waters Team?"

I'm asking because I came across some nice pictures of a Navy S495/S505 slide ruler from about 1939 or so. Maybe later. It's basically a "Manheim" style instrument which was a liscenced version of the Lawrence 10-B slideruler.

I've made a "game" graphic as well as a "practice" graphic I'm using in GIMP with moving parts. I'm planning on adding a "manual" of sorts with pages you can print to make your own "real" S505 as well as some basic instructions for getting things like range, speed, etc.

Here are the images I have so far:

This is in-game in the S-Boat control room/conning station. I've attached it to the clock since it's draggable and can be turned on and off. This may or may not be a game-stopper, but that's why I'm asking.


https://www.mediafire.com/view/m391r...50405.jpg/file

This is the basic image to get the pieces from which are displayed on the ruler. As you can see, the "B-C1-C" slider is at the bottom for ease of cropping. Same with the curser at the top-left.


https://www.mediafire.com/view/d71ks...-10-B.jpg/file

Finally, this is what I'm hoping the thing will look like when finished. This is the image I'm using in GIMP to practice with. The printed version will have the scales only and the rest will be to "fold over" or in some way make it possible to have the curser slide back and forth.


https://www.mediafire.com/view/i86zm...Ruler.jpg/file

This is the code so far:

;================================================= ====
;================ USN L10B-Slideruler ================
;================================================= ====

[G29 I20]
Name=L10B-SliderulerGroup
Type=1026 ;Menu group
ItemID=0x29030001 ;Tentative (next number)
ParentID=0x29020000 ;Clock page
Pos=0,0,1500,446
Zone=0 768 1500 446 2 1 0x29020000 0.5 -1 0x29030001 0 0 0 0

[G29 I21]
Name=L10B-SliderulerBCSlideImage
Type=1031 ;Static bmp array
ItemID=0x29030002 ;Tentative (next number)
ParentID=0x29030001 ;L10B-SliderulerGroup
Pos=0,0,1500,79
Zone=0 768 1500 79 2 1 0x29030001 0 -0.104287 0x29030002 0 0 0 0
Materials=1
Display=2 ;Linear
Mat 0=data/menu/skins/american/gui/USN_L10-B.dds
Crop 0=0.080543,0.837864,0.914838,0.162136
MatFlags=0x1
TexFmt=0x0
Drag=false
BmpState=1
NeedFocus=true
SelOne=false
IdGroup=0

[G29 I22]
Name=L10B-SliderulerBackground
Type=1030 ;Static bmp
ItemID=0x29030003 ;Tentative (next number)
ParentID=0x29030001 ;L10B-SliderulerGroup
Pos=0,0,1500,446
Zone=0 768 1500 446 2 1 0x29030001 0 0 0x29030003 0 0 0 0
Materials=1
Display=2 ;Linear
Mat 0=data/menu/skins/american/gui/USN_L10-B.dds
Crop 0=0.083718,1,0.916282,0.837864
MatFlags=0x1
TexFmt=0x0
Drag=false
BmpState=0
NeedFocus=true
SelOne=false
IdGroup=0

;================================================= ====
;================================================= ====

I can upload to my Mediafire and you guys can take a crack at it or, at least, let me know what you did so I may duplicate on my end.

If anyone can help on this, I'd really appreciate it. S-Boats didn't have a TDC, so everything was manual. A "banjo" and "is-was" were the tools on-hand, but the slideruler was also on-board and could be used instead.


From what I understand, many S-Boat captains would just use the regular slide ruler. The Omnimeter, for example, was actually made by crews on the fleet boats (USS Cod, for example).


This, at least, is something that ALL ships would have available since it was "GI" from the start. At the very least, a sailor would be able to go to the nearest store (stateside, anyway) and buy one cheap since they were the "ancient" version of the modern calculator! LOL!

Thanks again!

ElCid97

PS: There was a slideruler made a long time ago that apparently worked and was posted on the forums here, but the link has been dead a LONG time now. If anyone still has that file, please let me know since we can probably do some forensic work (hopefully) and try to figure out how they did it several years ago.

are you referring to the circular slide ruler?

[ElCid97]

Well, for the German side of things, yes. In that sense I'm referring to the one on the periscope that you drag the ring around in order to get an answer.

My question would also apply to the "Angriffshreib" (sp?) which is the German "wiz-wheel" device as well.

In the omnimeter case, the graphics were "parented" to the sliders already used on the message toolbox. That made them "slide" as opposed to "rotate" onscreen, which is what I'm trying to determine. Is is possible to do the "linear" as opposed to "rotational" aspect?

The omnimeter works "as-is" very well. Unfortunately, when I tried to "splice" the USN505 slideruler graphics to it things didn't work out too well. The left/right movement is somewhat limited, so you can't really use the slideruler like you can use the omnimeter.

That's why I'm trying to see if there is a way to "repurpose" some of the other stuff in-game to make a "linear" as opposed to a "circular" slide ruler.

If there was a guide on the different meanings of materials or things (for example, the difference between Mat=0x0, Mat=0x1, Mat=0x9, Mat=-0x29, etc.) to see what could possibly be chosen to get something you can drag.

Or is that just something we don't have any control over?

ElCid97

[ElCid97]

Well ...

So far I've been able to get the background to work, but not the other stuff. It "crops" to an extent, but the cropped areas for parts other than the background are not showing properly or working, much less moving.

I've exhausted everything I can think of, so I'm hoping someone may have an idea what I might be missing.

Here is a guide I put together to help myself along with cropping and making the groups for the ini file:





And here is what I have so far in the ini file:

;================================================= ====
;================ USN L10B-Slideruler ================
;================================================= ====

[G29 I20]
Name=L10B_SliderulerGroup
Type=1026 ;Menu group
ItemID=0x29020048 ;hex number
ParentID=0x29020000 ;Clock page
Pos=0,0,1500,446
Zone=0 768 1500 446 1 1 0x29020000 0 -1 0x29020048 0 0 0 0 ;Drop the slide ruler below the clock.
Color=0xFFFFFFFF

[G29 I21]
Name=L10B_SliderulerBCSlideGroup
Type=1026 ;Menu group
ItemID=0x2902004A ;hex number (next number)
ParentID=0x29020048 ;L10B_SliderulerGroup
Pos=0,0,1375,225
Zone=0 768 1375 225 1 1 0x29020048 0 0.168889 0x2902004A 0 0 0 0 ;Move group slightly down to try and place where slide should be.
Color=0xFFFFFFFF

[G29 I22]
Name=L10B_SliderulerBCSlideImage_Value ;"_Value" must be part of name "as-is"????
Type=1031 ;Static bmp array
ItemID=0x2902004B ;hex number (next number)
ParentID=0x2902004A ;L10B-L10B_SliderulerBCSlideGroup
Pos=0,0,1367,73
Zone=0 768 1367 73 1 1 0x2902004A 0 0 0x2902004B 0 0 0 0 ;Moves with parent group.
Color=0xFFFFFFFF
Materials=1
Display=2 ;Linear
Mat 0=data/menu/skins/american/gui/USN_L10-B.dds
Crop 0=0.080667,0.000000,0.911333,0.163677
;Mat 0=data/menu/skins/american/gui/blank.tga ;Blank image for testing.
;Crop 0=0,0,1,1
MatFlags=0x9
TexFmt=0x0
Drag=false
BmpState=0 ;"0" or "1"
NeedFocus=true
SelOne=false
IdGroup=0
StatesColors=0xFFFFFFFF, 0xFFFFFFFF, 0xFFFFFFFF, 0xFFFFFFFF

[G29 I23]
Name=L10B_SliderulerBCSlideImage_Border ;"_Border" must be part of name "as-is"????
Type=1031 ;Static bmp array
ItemID=0x2902004C ;hex number (next number)
ParentID=0x2902004A ;L10B_SliderulerBCSlideGroup
Pos=0,0,1375,75
Zone=0 768 1375 75 1 1 0x2902004A 0 0 0x2902004C 0 0 0 0 ;Moves with parent group.
Materials=1
Display=2 ;Linear
Mat 0=data/menu/skins/american/gui/USN_L10-B.dds
Crop 0=0.083333,0.327354,0.916667,0.168161
;Mat 0=data/menu/skins/american/gui/blank.tga ;Blank image for testing.
;Crop 0=0,0,1,1
MatFlags=0x9
TexFmt=0x0
Drag=false
BmpState=1 ;"0" or "1"
NeedFocus=true
SelOne=false
IdGroup=0
StatesColors=0xFFFFFFFF, 0xFFFFFFFF, 0xFFFFFFFF, 0xFFFFFFFF

[G29 I24]
Name=L10B_Slideruler Background ;must use word "Background"????
Type=1031 ;Static bmp array
ItemID=0x29020049 ;hex number (next number)
ParentID=0x29020048 ;L10B_SliderulerGroup
Pos=0,0,1375,225
Zone=0 768 1375 225 1 1 0x29020048 0 0 0x29020049 0 0 0 0 ;Moves with parent group.
Color=0xFFFFFFFF
Materials=1
Display=2 ;Linear
Mat 0=data/menu/skins/american/gui/USN_L10-B.dds
Crop 0=0.083333,0.000000,0.916667,0.504484
MatFlags=0x9
TexFmt=0x0
Drag=false
BmpState=1
NeedFocus=true
SelOne=false
IdGroup=0
StatesColors=0xFFFFFFFF, 0xFFFFFFFF, 0xFFFFFFFF, 0xFFFFFFFF

;================================================= ====
;================================================= ====

Here is the Dials.cfg entry I added at the end, with the changed number of dials at the top to match (76 since the last one I added is 75) along with the notes I made to myself trying to explain to myself what was going on:

[Dial75]
Name=Clock_Temporary_AngleOnBow ;Name for dial (anything)
Type=42 ; DIAL_TGT_ANG_ON_BOW ;Type of dial (function)
Cmd=Set_TDC_angle_on_bow ;What to command.
Dial=0x2902004C ;_Border;defines draggable area????
CrtVal=0x2902004B ;_Value;Control Value????
NewVal=0x0 ;hex for "0"
DialVal=0.1,-0.1 ;percent????
RealVal=180,-180 ;degrees;units based on "Type"
Circular=No ;Yes=Rotate;No=Linear
CmdOnDrag=Yes ;"Dial=0x" can be dragged????
RelativeDrag=Yes ;Same????
SndStep=5 ;"Clicky" noise like German????
;SndList=1,Menu.TDC.AngleOnBow,360 ;"Clicky" noise like German????

The basis for the sections is just seeing other sections in the ini file since I haven't found much by way of "making" new stuff. Not sure how the AOB graphics and dials work together, but I'm definately missing something since it has been done before.

Right now I'm just trying to get the different "parts" to "play nice" together and show properly. The "moving" of the parts can come later, but if I can't get the things to show properly, then it's a moot point.

I've gone through the forums and have made PDF's of various tutorials on the "Zone" line, but I think I may be missing something. Either that, or it's something to do with the Hex code which I'm still trying to learn and have been using the internet to create "new" or "next" numbers from other numbers in the section/page (clock in this case). Maybe the "auto" created numbers are messing things up?

Heigharchy issue with the different parts? Maybe just save the parts as different files like Karamazov did and make the "Crop" line just 0,0,1,1 for the different parts?

Any ideas?

Thanks!

ElCid97

[mazzi]

Originally Posted by ElCid97

Well ...

All this was done a long time ago in the mod 'Optical Targeting Correction 1.5' - called 'Omnimetr'.
The 'omnimeter' there is tied not to a clock like yours, but to a message window (Name=Group messages 2).
Everything between 'Name=Group messages 2' and 'Name=E-mail Address' in G3F is ALL 'omnimeter'.
A few lines of code plus .dds - it is very easy to transfer it to other mods.
The 'omnimeter' works not through the dials as you do, but in some other way.
The 'omnimeter' does not work well, but I advise you not to touch the dials in Dials.cfg yet.
I didn't try it, but I don't believe that this mod cannot be downloaded:
https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/dow...o=file&id=3139

[mazzi]

Originally Posted by ElCid97

Heigharchy issue with the different parts? Maybe just save the parts as different files like Karamazov did and make the "Crop" line just 0,0,1,1 for the different parts?

You have a picture with a resolution of 800x600, you need to draw a narrow strip from this picture.
First, you find the coordinates of the zero point, it is always to the top left of the object being
displayed, let it be X=30 and Y=530.
Then you count the length and height of the object, let it be length = 740 height = 65.
Next, divide the coordinate X of the object and the length of the object by the horizontal size of the picture, and divide the coordinate Y of the object and the height of the object by the vertical size of the picture.
Crop 0=(30/800),(530/600),(740/800),(65/600)

Then you need to draw the second strip, narrower than the first one, but of the same length, the zero point of which is located at different coordinates.
X=30, Y=70, length = 740, height = 10, again calculate:
Crop 1=(30/800),(70/600),(740/800),(10/600)

For each part of the tool, its Crop and Mat
Crop 0 Mat 0 - a fixed part of the ruler
Crop 1 Mat 1 - upper extending part of the ruler
Crop 2 Mat 2 - lower extending part of the ruler.
Crop 3 Mat 3 - something else - usually a transparent substrate.

I'm not sure that everything is correct and understandable, in any case, see Menu.ini file from mod 1.5 OTC, everything is drawn and moves there.

[ElCid97]

Thank you!

I was wondering why there were 4 or sometimes 8 cropping sections in some of the files. This is something I wasn't able to find, so thank you once again for explaining that!

I did try the omnimeter approach, but it didn't work too well. The top and bottom parts slide well together, but for some reason the "clicking" or "grabbing" part is somewhat "jumpy" on my end. I'm wondering if there is something that can be adjusted since the interface for the sliders there is based on the sliders of the message box?

I'll try the different cropping lines after work tonight and report back tomorrow morning before heading off to work again. My only question is regarding "upper" and "lower" extending parts? Do you mean that the "Mat 1" would be the slider and the "Mat 2" would be the cursor, or the "lower" is something "underneath" the "upper" graphic being cropped? I understand the "transparent" since it would make sense now to have a transparent "base" of sorts for the "fixed" graphic.

Once again, thanks for the feedback! It may seem obvious to many, but I'm still learning to crawl!

Saludos!

ElCid97


Picture of what the final thing "should" look like and function. Cursor would be "upper" as "Mat 1" and slide the "lower" as "Mat 2" with the main image background as the "Mat 0" with a transparent backing for everything as "Mat 3", correct? And would I have to add the "Left/Right" entry I've seen in various places using the center of the image as a referrence?: