Annoucement: RADIONE texture looking for UI mod

[SkyBaron]

Originally Posted by gap

Sorry guys for resurrecting this old thread

@ SkyBaron

Do you still have the radione files imported into New UIs? On my end, I should have my working psd graphics somewhere on one of my hard drives and, in a week or two, I should get the time to edit them according to your suggestiond, in case you want to release them in a New UIs/TWoS compatible mod.

That was an old installation I had on another computer. I don't think I have them anymore, I'd have to check some old file backups, but I doubt it.

IMO this could be a better texture, since it's a front view instead of a perspective, and it seems to be a "sharper" image:

http://www.gamperaudio.ch/upload/img...a7142a09dc.JPG

The size won't matter much, since the needle will just go back and forth like I mentioned on a previous post.

If you can edit the new ones and send me the PSD files, I can assemble them and ask Vecko to add it to TWoS.

[gap]

Originally Posted by SkyBaron

That was an old installation I had on another computer. I don't think I have them anymore, I'd have to check some old file backups, but I doubt it.

Okay, no problem: the png version is gone for good (damn imageshack), but as I told you before I am pretty sure I have a back up of my working psd file somewhere.

Originally Posted by SkyBaron

IMO this could be a better texture, since it's a front view instead of a perspective, and it seems to be a "sharper" image:

http://www.gamperaudio.ch/upload/img...a7142a09dc.JPG

[...]

If you can edit the new ones and send me the PSD files, I can assemble them and ask Vecko to add it to TWoS.

If memory serves me well, my original texture was actually done by combining a front view of the radio receiver with a top view of the same, the latter skewed so to mimic a view from the front-top. I liked the pseudo-3D effect, but I like your image too, so what I am gonna do is sending you four textures, one for each Radione model (R2 and R3), with and without perspective. I hope I can keep the interface elements of the frontal of both views in the same position, so that you will only need to create two sets of UI files, one for the R2 and one for the R3, with interchangeable textures

Originally Posted by SkyBaron

The size won't matter much, since the needle will just go back and forth like I mentioned on a previous post.

I think the Radione looked a bit too big compared to the rest of the interface in the screenshot you had posted at post #6. I know you can set a scaling factor in menu editor, but scaled images look blurry at times, depending on scaling factor and on the pixel size of the original texture. What do you think?

[SkyBaron]

Originally Posted by gap

I think the Radione looked a bit too big compared to the rest of the interface in the screenshot you had posted at post #6. I know you can set a scaling factor in menu editor, but scaled images look blurry at times, depending on scaling factor and on the pixel size of the original texture. What do you think?

Yes, having the texture already in its right size is definitely much better than scaling it later on. When I said that the texture size didn't matter I was referring to the dial with the city names on it. Since the tuning can't be controlled by the player, it won't matter if the names are legible or not, the texture can be smaller.

This part is very subjective but maybe half the size in that screenshot will be good. If you can do the texture work while I do the menu integration, we can finish it much faster.

[gap]

The link to the Radione picture you had posted a couple of days ago seems to be offline since this afternoon

Do you happen to have that picture saved on your hard drive?

P.S: I have found my original psd image on my old hard drive.

P.S. 2: follow this link: http://brat01.mybb.by/viewtopic.php?id=28&p=2# (post #58); looks like someone else had our same idea. We should keep an eye on these russian guys

[SkyBaron]

Originally Posted by gap

Do you happen to have that picture saved on your hard drive?

Yes I still have it:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/eq...51/radione.zip

I think the size on that one from the Russian forum is about right. Just PM me the Photoshop files once you're done. No hurry.

[gap]

Thank you SkyBaron, I have got the file.
I will start reworking the graphics ASAP.

[SkyBaron]

Originally Posted by gap

Thank you SkyBaron, I have got the file.
I will start reworking the graphics ASAP.

Just thought of this, maybe we could do the gramophone texture replacement as well. Do you know if the default texture is close to the actual gramophone model most used by Uboats?

[gap]

Originally Posted by SkyBaron

Just thought of this, maybe we could do the gramophone texture replacement as well. Do you know if the default texture is close to the actual gramophone model most used by Uboats?

Good idea

I am not sure if the current gramophone is an accurate representation of a likely gramophone that could have been used aboard U-boats; I even doubt that there was an official model of gramophone authorized by the Kriegsmarine for usage on their vessels. Anyway, from the look of it I think the default texture would be more adequate for a late '800 early '900 model, as you can see by comparing the same with the picture below:



All in all, I think that a more modern-looking gramophone, especially of the portable type (where the brass horn is replaced by a speaker wihin the wooden base of the gramophone), would be more realistical for our game. I have made a quick search, and I have found a thread on the Axis History Forum relative to a gramophone which might have belonged to U-255, though its attribution is not sure:



In the next days I will look for better pictures of a similar device, if not of the exact same model as in the picture above, preferably of German make and dating back to late 30s early 40s. In any case, I am thinking about switching to a top view, especially if we can do a vinyl recording to spin while the music is played, and an animated tone-arm to work as on/off switch. What do you think?

[SkyBaron]

Originally Posted by gap

In the next days I will look for better pictures of a similar device, if not of the exact same model as in the picture above, preferably of German make and dating back to late 30s early 40s. In any case, I am thinking about switching to a top view, especially if we can do a vinyl recording to spin while the music is played, and an animated tone-arm to work as on/off switch. What do you think?

The gramophone and radio .py scripts are basically empty, which means that their functionalities are hard-coded, i.e. hard to change, but I think the idea of an arm as the on/off button is doable. In any case send me the textures if you ever find good ones!

I think the top view would be a better idea since the controls are located there according to those pictures.

[gap]

Originally Posted by SkyBaron

The gramophone and radio .py scripts are basically empty, which means that their functionalities are hard-coded, i.e. hard to change, but I think the idea of an arm as the on/off button is doable.

If cycling between different images is easier (as done for the stock radar-style spinning loading icon), I could include different frames of a spinning vinyl in the texture.

Originally Posted by SkyBaron

In any case send me the textures if you ever find good ones!

I think the top view would be a better idea since the controls are located there according to those pictures.

I think something like this would be perfect:



I am not sure that we can use it though, due to copyright infringements.

[SkyBaron]

Originally Posted by gap

I am not sure that we can use it though, due to copyright infringements.

Looks good! it looks like a pic of a textured 3D model. You seem to know how to work with 3D models right? Are there any free 3D gramophone models available? Just an idea

[gap]

Originally Posted by SkyBaron

Looks good! it looks like a pic of a textured 3D model. You seem to know how to work with 3D models right? Are there any free 3D gramophone models available? Just an idea

There probably are, or I can model one myself. It shouldnt be too complicated, but what do you have in mind? Can we really put an interactive gramophone 3D object in game? Are there object controllers for that?

[SkyBaron]

Originally Posted by gap

There probably are, or I can model one myself. It shouldnt be too complicated, but what do you have in mind?

I meant that with a 3D model you can get clean and high-res pictures of the gramophone parts with the right lighting and at any angle you want, so you wouldn't have to look for and edit real pictures.

It's just an idea, maybe real pics are easier to find, I don't know which one would be more practical.

[gap]

Originally Posted by SkyBaron

I meant that with a 3D model you can get clean and high-res pictures of the gramophone parts with the right lighting and at any angle you want, so you wouldn't have to look for and edit real pictures.

It's just an idea, maybe real pics are easier to find, I don't know which one would be more practical.

I will see what is better, but creating a good model, assigning the right materials to it, and making a good render of it could take longer than assembling various pictures in PhotoShop. Another alternative could be using the texture from the RetroPlayer software I have posted yesterday, with some touchups by me. I have been looking where are pointing to, and it apparently was developped by a Japanese software studio whose website is almost entirely in Japanese...

http://www.studio-kura.com

I couldn't even find an e-mail adress that I could write to for permission asking. Do you think we can dare using their artwork without prior consent?

[gap]

Found this other image (click to enlarge):




As you can imagine from the watermarks, this isn't a public domain image either. What I think I will do, is creating our texture by assembling many pictures. The original pictures will be hardly recognizable. This way I hope we won't infringe any copyright... or we will infringe many at once

Possible options for the spinnig vinyl (if possible):