Formatting text msgs on a HUD

[sdrubble]

Hi all...

I'm trying to solve an issue which is hard to describe... and even harder (for me at least) to figure out WHERE I should be asking about. So I'm expecting this to be possibly moved elsewhere. And I couldn't begin to figure even WHAT I should be searching for, so pls bear with me...

Ok, done with the excuses. Best way to show my issue is to unabashedly STEAL other people's screenshots (some more boring excuses omitted).

So, from this post from CommonSenseOTB, from the yet unreleased ChupaCabra HUD, we have the screenshot below, with a small yellow display on the right for the status messages (is this how they should be properly called ?), and a green one on the left with the... erm, communication log, I guess.


Then in this other post from El Viejo there's the screenshot below - where, if I decoded it right, the communication log is on the upper left and the status messages on lower left.


While on my machine, using MilHUD with some personal tweaks, I get both the status messages and the communication messages in giant yellow and green letters right in the center of the screen, which fade out quite slowly and get pushed upwards by subsequent messages. This sometimes ends up taking about 30-40% in the middle of the screen... While quite annoying at all times, when in combat it makes things quite cumbersome and unwieldy.

I suppose (???) this sort of stuff can be adjusted in the HUD's plist. As the ChupaCabra is not yet available for download, I can't check this for myself... and I have no idea of which HUD was being used by El Viejo, and with which tweaks if any.

So, if anyone would be kind enough to educate me on this with any hints, that would be great. If it's indeed done inside a HUD's plist, I (think that I) could try and paste some code snippets inside my own MilHUD plist and fly on my own from there.

Thx a lot and cheers !!!

[Cody]

Hi sdrubble... this works for me (I use CaptKev's Fighter Hud MkI), but I can't be sure about some of the newer huds.

Create a config folder in your AddOns folder, and C&P the core hud.plist into it. Then add this code snippet at the bottom of the new hud.plist in the new config folder:

Code: Select all

message_gui =
{
	width = 210;
	height = 160;
	x = -210;
	y = -35;
	row_height=10;
	};
	
	comm_log_gui =
{
    width = 250;
    height = 100;
    x = -195;
    y = 200;
    row_height=10;
    };

so it looks like this:

Code: Select all

overall_alpha	= 0.75;
	reticle_target_sensitive = yes;
	cloak_indicator_on_status_light = yes;
	
	message_gui =
{
	width = 210;
	height = 160;
	x = -210;
	y = -35;
	row_height=10;
	};
	
	comm_log_gui =
{
    width = 250;
    height = 100;
    x = -195;
    y = 200;
    row_height=10;
    };
}

You may have to adjust some spacing, and watch-out for misplaced semi-colons. Remember to restart Oolite holding the shift key down until the spinning Cobra appears every time you change anything.

If that works, then you can tinker with the x and y co-ords, and the row height, to your heart's content, to position messages where you want them.

Thinking about it (which is something I can only do very slowly, these days), your own hud may well override that, so you might have to 'tinker' with the message gui part of your hud.

Hope this helps.

[sdrubble]

Dear Mr. Oldman...

You are my HERO !!! My life has changed forever.

Here's an incredibly nice screenshot, after I've conjoined your tweak suggestions with a couple of pending others I was sitting on:

Sdrubble's brand new HUD in full action on board a Dark Rainbow

Matter of fact, I attempted doing it the hard way first. Trying to incorporate your suggestion within MilHUD itself was a no-go... tried 2 alternative formats - dict and your suggestion - none worked, one of them due to syntax error ('unable to parse' or some such).

So when I stopped trying to 'perfect' things and just followed your suggestion to the letter - hud.plist under AddOns\Config - things worked.

So, the font sizes and the window positioning for the status msgs and the comm window were done as per your suggestion. The tweaks for missile pylon display positioning and for the SHIFT-F thingy were done in the HUD itself (they had to be C&P'ed onto 4 different plists).

Thx a lot. A whole new level of enjoyment was added to my gaming experience.

Oh, and BTW - not sure if my photos will require some gamma tweaking for proper viewing. Now I know I'm not the only one EEE pilot with this quirk - gamma temporary tweaks are required here for playing, viewing screenshots and for better viewing of ClymAngus star charts. I suspect that this gamma fiddling won't need to be done by (some of) the viewers of my screenshots, though.

Thx a LOT man, and take care.

[Killer Wolf]

i'm trying this stuff on the Phantom and nit having much luck - i seem to get both sets of messages on both GUIs :-/ must be a typo somewhere >:-/

[snork]

There is a lot more in the Wiki than the main page suggests (so it is kid of hidden, somehow ).

http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Catego ... _scripting
(once one starts reading there, one might get stuck for days )

-> http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Plist

-> http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Hud.plist

[Cody]

Thx a LOT man, and take care.

Sweet... thanks should go to the devs who facilitated that tweak.
That config folder in your AddOns folder can be used to house other modified plists as well... very useful.

[sdrubble]

There is a lot more in the Wiki than the main page suggests (so it is kid of hidden, somehow ).

Indeed.

My first thought had been that this was some sort of omission in the original code or documentation... now I'm beginning to see the light, in that one has to really dig in order to find what he/she is looking for.

One has also has to be VERY attentive to the forum... otherwise he/she won't have a clue about any potentially missing features affecting his/her particular gaming experience, and of course wouldn't know what to ASK for in the first place.

I for one have been playing OO for 2 or 3 months with the screen-centered, giant yellow spam.

All's well of course... to each his own.

Cheers y'all

[Smivs]

There is a lot more in the Wiki than the main page suggests (so it is kid of hidden, somehow ).

http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Catego ... _scripting
(once one starts reading there, one might get stuck for days )

-> http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Plist

-> http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Hud.plist

Just thought I'd point out that, like much of the wiki, the http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Plist page is quite an old one and concentrates on the use of XML for plists, whereas today, I think it is generally recommended to use Openstep (ascii), as this is a much easier format to both read and write.
The 'core' game's plists, and nearly all new/recent OXPs use Openstep, so best to avoid XML.

[JazHaz]

Here's an incredibly nice screenshot, after I've conjoined your tweak suggestions with a couple of pending others I was sitting on:

Sdrubble's brand new HUD in full action on board a Dark Rainbow

Matter of fact, I attempted doing it the hard way first. Trying to incorporate your suggestion within MilHUD itself was a no-go... tried 2 alternative formats - dict and your suggestion - none worked, one of them due to syntax error ('unable to parse' or some such).

So when I stopped trying to 'perfect' things and just followed your suggestion to the letter - hud.plist under AddOns\Config - things worked.

So, the font sizes and the window positioning for the status msgs and the comm window were done as per your suggestion. The tweaks for missile pylon display positioning and for the SHIFT-F thingy were done in the HUD itself (they had to be C&P'ed onto 4 different plists).

I see you modified MilHud. Thats what I use, although its the switching version.

Did you have to copy the whole of MilHud's hud.plist into your Config folder, or just the bit quoted above?

[sdrubble]

I see you modified MilHud. Thats what I use, although its the switching version.

Well, I'm not really aware of a NON-switching version of MilHud... ... clarify pls

Did you have to copy the whole of MilHud's hud.plist into your Config folder, or just the bit quoted above?

Oh well... I don't really remember what I did, I'm (as usual) in a tweaking frenzy...

Not sure if this would help you, but I uploaded a file containing TWO folders: one has the 'Config' contents of my 'MilHUD' folder (including copies of all previous tweaked versions). I might have done further tweaks AFTER the ones posted here, so you can check by the file dates exactly what was done when.

The 2nd folder has the contents of my \AddOns\Config folder. IIRC, what I did was to copy ..\Resources\Config\hud.plist to it, and then tweak it there (I suspect I could have placed hud.plist inside MilHUD's folder as well, with identical results).

Link to download: [REMOVED (possible licensing violation)] . NOTE: adrive's download links become locked after 14 days... I'd have to unlock it if you take longer than that to grab it.

May I suggest you subscribe to the thread where Chupacabra.hud OXP is being discussed. I'm currently finishing a number of tweaks on this other hud - along the lines of those I did here but with a few twists - and I'm preparing to post there with both the screenshots and the plist tweaks themselves. You'll probably appreciate these and might even transplant them into MilHUD if you so prefer.

And pls post again if I can be of further help.

Cheers
EDIT: removed download link.

[Wildeblood]

The 2nd folder has the contents of my \AddOns\Config folder. IIRC, what I did was to copy ..\Resources\Config\hud.plist to it, and then tweak it there (I suspect I could have placed hud.plist inside MilHUD's folder as well, with identical results).

No.

[JazHaz]

adrive's download links become locked after 14 days... I'd have to unlock it if you take longer than that to grab it.

Thanks I got it. I'll look at it later probably, and let you know. Thanks for doing that!

No

What you talking about, man?

[sdrubble]

@JazHaz,

Thx you've got it already. The download link is now deactivated (it's quoted on your reply but no longer works) so that I don't possibly infringe on any licensing terms (I should have done this privately to begin with, instead of publicly).

May I ask that you also edit your own post and clear that link from your quote as well ? [you've already done this. Many thx.] While the URL no longer works, we'd better avoid any future interactions with other parties regarding this.

[ . . . ] (I suspect I could have placed hud.plist inside MilHUD's folder as well, with identical results).

No.

I think that Wildeblood was just trying to reply quickly and objectively , while possibly being not clear enough. But I'd bet that his negative word applies specifically to my bolded ones in his quote.

Of course, this is just MHO, and maybe Wildeblood might wish to clarify this on his own.

Cheers

[JazHaz]

I see you modified MilHud. Thats what I use, although its the switching version.

Well, I'm not really aware of a NON-switching version of MilHud... ... clarify pls

I think some of the older versions were non-switching. Current versions are switching.

Did you have to copy the whole of MilHud's hud.plist into your Config folder, or just the bit quoted above?

Not sure if this would help you, but I uploaded a file containing TWO folders: one has the 'Config' contents of my 'MilHUD' folder (including copies of all previous tweaked versions).

The 2nd folder has the contents of my \AddOns\Config folder. IIRC, what I did was to copy ..\Resources\Config\hud.plist to it, and then tweak it there (I suspect I could have placed hud.plist inside MilHUD's folder as well, with identical results).

The latter is what I have done.

I have just had a quick play, and can confirm it works well on my machine. As I use a low-res netbook, I was worried that some of the GUI boxes might go over the edges of the screen. In fact I've already editted it to move the left box further left.

The only concern I have, is that messages seem to disappear very quickly, almost too quickly to read. What is your experience?

May I suggest you subscribe to the thread where Chupacabra.hud OXP is being discussed. I'm currently finishing a number of tweaks on this other hud - along the lines of those I did here but with a few twists - and I'm preparing to post there with both the screenshots and the plist tweaks themselves. You'll probably appreciate these and might even transplant them into MilHUD if you so prefer.

Will do.

[sdrubble]

I think some of the older versions [of MilHud] were non-switching. Current versions are switching.

Ah, thx - makes sense now.

As I use a low-res netbook, I was worried that some of the GUI boxes might go over the edges of the screen. In fact I've already editted it to move the left box further left.

Well, the Wiki is currently down so I can't find the proper link. But all boxes and Gui elements can be referenced, alternatively, either from a screen edge (so they don't EVER get run over when resizing the screen or changing resolutions) or from the screen center (for things such as crosshairs and scanner which should never be off-center). y_origin and x_origin are your friends here...

I'm personally lazy and will sometimes tweak-test-repeat over and over, when I could be using these myself for less interactions ...

...messages seem to disappear very quickly, almost too quickly to read. What is your experience?

Again, you should check the wiki when it's up - but I've modified LOTs of OXP scripts to replace the original commands, like in this example:

Code: Select all

	//	player.consoleMessage("Probe missile recovered, refuelled and ready for re-use.", 6);
		player.commsMessage("Probe missile recovered, refuelled and ready for re-use.", 6); 	// sdrbl-comms-twk

what this and countless other replacement lookalikes do is, replace the original consoleMessage with a similar commsMessage. The former goes only in one of the GUIs and disappears forever after the number of seconds specified, while the latter appears in BOTH GUIs and can be recalled when you press '`'.

You need, of course, do this manually for each and every message of every OXP you're afraid of missing. Better to start right now...

the thread where Chupacabra.hud OXP is being discussed. I'm currently finishing a number of tweaks on this other hud - along the lines of those I did here but with a few twists - and I'm preparing to post there with both the screenshots and the plist tweaks themselves.

Well if you check that thread NOW (it's HERE) , it's more likely that I end up posting that elsewhere. Stay tuned.

Cheers