CMD wireframe display mode

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CMD wireframe display mode

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blue_max
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Post by blue_max » Sun Jun 28, 2020 6:58 am

I'm still wrestling with finishing release 1.1.4 -- which will support cockpit shadows and metric VR (both things are related). However, every once in a while, I get stuck, and I need a bit of a distraction. So, as per a suggestion by keiran, I did this:

WireframeCMD.jpg
WireframeCMD-2.jpg
WireframeCMD-3.jpg

The color of the display is specified in the DC file, but ual002 suggested to do it with the IFF field. I can read that value for the current target, but I'm not sure how to interpret it. Seems to me like 0 is friend, 1 is foe, and 2+ is... neutral? Can someone else confirm this?
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BenKenobi
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Post by BenKenobi » Sun Jun 28, 2020 7:06 am

Wow, Looks good! Let’s give this man some more distraction I’d say! :D

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Vince T
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Post by Vince T » Sun Jun 28, 2020 7:38 am

Wow that looks fantastic!
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Forceflow
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Post by Forceflow » Sun Jun 28, 2020 7:41 am

This looks really cool! I love it! One question, can you still see in the wireframe model what subcomponent you have targeted and where it is?
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Trevor
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Post by Trevor » Sun Jun 28, 2020 10:41 am

wow, gorgeous :)

Cant wait to test the shadows and wireframe.

Trev

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Ace Antilles
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Post by Ace Antilles » Sun Jun 28, 2020 11:07 am

Looks pretty cool to pay about with.
blue_max wrote:
Sun Jun 28, 2020 6:58 am
The color of the display is specified in the DC file, but ual002 suggested to do it with the IFF field. I can read that value for the current target, but I'm not sure how to interpret it. Seems to me like 0 is friend, 1 is foe, and 2+ is... neutral? Can someone else confirm this?
Not sure if this helps, from Allied the IFFs are:

Rebel
Imperial
Harlequin / Neutral
Viraxo / Foe
Backdrop
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ual002
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Post by ual002 » Sun Jun 28, 2020 11:41 am

Wait so both myself and Keiran suggested it to you at the same time? Ha. Great minds think alike. When I boot up my PC i want to include that reference image I sent you from Disney's Rebels as well. Just to show it actually has a somewhat realistic origin rather than a random design choice.
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Jaeven
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Post by Jaeven » Sun Jun 28, 2020 2:16 pm

This looks really, really cool.

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Post by Driftwood » Sun Jun 28, 2020 4:09 pm

Dude this looks really cool and makes a lot more sense than the full color renders we've traditionally had.

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Post by JeremyaFr » Sun Jun 28, 2020 4:23 pm

Nice :thumbs:

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Ace Antilles
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Post by Ace Antilles » Sun Jun 28, 2020 4:52 pm

I was watching a Squadrons video and it looks like they use a sorta wireframe system too. Doesn't look like a full colour ship but more a readout
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Will T
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Post by Will T » Sun Jun 28, 2020 8:42 pm

This is awesome.

Seems weird to be excited for something that technically looks more primitive than what we have, but it does look a load more movie accurate.
blue_max wrote:
Sun Jun 28, 2020 6:58 am
The color of the display is specified in the DC file, but ual002 suggested to do it with the IFF field. I
I like this idea a lot, but....

Can this be done while also changing the colour of the boxes for the selected component on bigger ships? Because currently, the selected component is a little green box, and other weaponsys type componens are red.

One of the IFF colours is green, and another is red. That means that the selected component would be really hard to see on a green wireframe ship, and other weaponsys components would be really hard to see on a red wireframe. As red is the Imperial IFF, and the time you're most likely to want to target weaponsys is going to be on Imperial Star Destroyer, that could really be a problem.

Well, okay. Not a big problem. The boxes are probably more relevant overlaid on the ship itself. But still. Sometimes it's nice to reference the CMD to figure out where a given component is on the ship.

Big part of me does also kinda want to say I think it'd be cool if the wireframes were red in the TIEs' CMDs and yellow in at least the X-Wing's, as that's the colour of the wireframes in the films. The IFF thing is probably a better idea in terms of the game, though.
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blue_max
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Post by blue_max » Mon Jun 29, 2020 6:08 am

Thanks for the information, Ace, I'll use that.

@Will T: You're raising good points. The sub-component box is currently converted to the same color and wireframe style, so it gets lost. I can probably recover it, but then there's the problem of coloring against the wireframe background. I guess I'll have to do a hue shift to keep the sub-component visible... or something. Mmm... More Thinkation Needed.

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Post by Forceflow » Mon Jun 29, 2020 6:21 am

blue_max wrote:
Mon Jun 29, 2020 6:08 am
Thanks for the information, Ace, I'll use that.

@Will T: You're raising good points. The sub-component box is currently converted to the same color and wireframe style, so it gets lost. I can probably recover it, but then there's the problem of coloring against the wireframe background. I guess I'll have to do a hue shift to keep the sub-component visible... or something. Mmm... More Thinkation Needed.
Might want to test to simply use white. That should be visible for all IFF colors...
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blue_max
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Post by blue_max » Mon Jun 29, 2020 6:44 am

Forceflow wrote:
Mon Jun 29, 2020 6:21 am
Might want to test to simply use white. That should be visible for all IFF colors...
Simple is good. I like this :)

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ual002
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Post by ual002 » Mon Jun 29, 2020 12:42 pm

Forceflow wrote:
Mon Jun 29, 2020 6:21 am
blue_max wrote:
Mon Jun 29, 2020 6:08 am
Thanks for the information, Ace, I'll use that.

@Will T: You're raising good points. The sub-component box is currently converted to the same color and wireframe style, so it gets lost. I can probably recover it, but then there's the problem of coloring against the wireframe background. I guess I'll have to do a hue shift to keep the sub-component visible... or something. Mmm... More Thinkation Needed.
Might want to test to simply use white. That should be visible for all IFF colors...
I agree if IFF color coding will cause issues.
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Post by korekwerner » Mon Jun 29, 2020 7:43 pm

Are we really need Star Wars Squadrons?
@blue_max with your mods XWA enough for the next few years.

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Post by Kampher » Mon Jun 29, 2020 8:13 pm

This is such a cool little change. This is great!

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Post by keiranhalcyon7 » Tue Jun 30, 2020 6:10 am

Whoa, way to take a concept and run with it! Looking good! What's great about it is that it looks like something I might expect from a (monochromatic) sensor return, with a little processing. I'm not sure about the IFF linkage idea, though. On the one hand, it makes total sense on paper. But on the other, Vader's screen showed the Alliance fighters in red, and while that does not rule out the possibility that his screen was color-coded to IFF, it would be the opposite of the color convention used by XWA. (XWA's IFF convention is a bit wonky; more typically, red is enemy, not "always faction x".)
ual002 wrote:
Sun Jun 28, 2020 11:41 am
Wait so both myself and Keiran suggested it to you at the same time? Ha. Great minds think alike. When I boot up my PC i want to include that reference image I sent you from Disney's Rebels as well. Just to show it actually has a somewhat realistic origin rather than a random design choice.
Actually, it was LordHelmet's request, based on footage he saw of XWVM. I just mentioned, in vague terms, how XWVM achieves their effect - knowing that blue_max wouldn't be able to resist. :D

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Post by Forceflow » Tue Jun 30, 2020 7:35 am

keiranhalcyon7 wrote:
Tue Jun 30, 2020 6:10 am
Whoa, way to take a concept and run with it! Looking good! What's great about it is that it looks like something I might expect from a (monochromatic) sensor return, with a little processing. I'm not sure about the IFF linkage idea, though. On the one hand, it makes total sense on paper. But on the other, Vader's screen showed the Alliance fighters in red, and while that does not rule out the possibility that his screen was color-coded to IFF, it would be the opposite of the color convention used by XWA. (XWA's IFF convention is a bit wonky; more typically, red is enemy, not "always faction x".
Honestly here I would go with the 'rule of cool' and go against what might be considered canon. Having the wireframe color coded not only looks much cooler but is also a really nice little helper when you quickly want to see the affiliation of the targeted craft.
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blue_max
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Post by blue_max » Wed Jul 01, 2020 9:10 pm

I just added the sub-component squares to the CMD and increased the contrast to get more details. This is how it looks with Jeremy's enhanced 2D renderer on:

WireframeCMD-4.jpg

and this is how it looks without it:

WireframeCMD-5.jpg

The sub-component square isn't supposed to look that noisy. I probably have a bug in the code. But either way, I don't think it will hard to locate the sub-component regardless of the color of the wireframe. I'm going to add support for IFF coloring but leave the current option as well.

@keiran: Yes! That's what I meant... and yeah, once you mentioned it, I couldn't let it go! :P
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keiranhalcyon7
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Post by keiranhalcyon7 » Wed Jul 01, 2020 9:19 pm

Hmm... What if the component is at the model edge? Could the white box be lost visually in the white outline?

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blue_max
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Post by blue_max » Wed Jul 01, 2020 10:52 pm

Yeah, if it's close to the edge it might be hard to see... Hmmm... More Thinkation Needed.

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ual002
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Post by ual002 » Wed Jul 01, 2020 10:53 pm

Well its progressing nicely and it seems to be a popular addition. So I'm excited.
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Post by Forceflow » Thu Jul 02, 2020 7:08 am

This is looking awesome! Can't wait to see it in action :)
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