The Dynamic Cockpit Project

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Re: The Dynamic Cockpit Project

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blue_max
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Post by blue_max » Mon Sep 02, 2019 6:33 pm

The cockpit look hook is independent of the Dynamic Cockpit, there shouldn't be a problem there. However, I (think!) just fixed the performance issues that ual002 reported eariler and added support for the 32-bit mode hook. I'll release something this week, so you might want to wait a little bit.

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Driftwood
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Post by Driftwood » Mon Sep 02, 2019 7:51 pm

Absolutely no huge rush.

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blue_max
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Post by blue_max » Tue Sep 03, 2019 5:30 am

Here's release 1.0.4:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bceeg2z4a18il ... 4.zip?dl=0

This version is compatible with the 32-bit mode hook and includes a preview of the bloom shader. I've also fixed several artifacts and improved the performance when DC is activated.

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ual002
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Post by ual002 » Wed Sep 04, 2019 3:28 am

Hot take before doing any troubleshooting. The original HUD is flickering on and off for me. And the concourse framerate setting doesn't seem to be functioning. But the bloom looks good with the 32 bit hook, maybe a little intense, but I think some of the smoke effects are more affected in a negative sense.
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blue_max
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Post by blue_max » Wed Sep 04, 2019 4:43 am

Hey ual002, thanks for your feedback! A few questions:

* Does the HUD flicker all the time or only in certain situations? Any other information you could share so I can reproduce the flickering on my side? What version of XWAUP are you running? Are you using VSync?
* Try setting "concourse_animations_at_25fps" to values higher than 1 (I'm guessing something between 4-6 should have *some* effect). Are you using the time hook I provided in the ZIP file or some other version?
* You can lower the intensity of the bloom in a number of ways. Try setting "bloom_strength = 1" and see how that looks. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a juggle and the settings are resolution-dependent, so you'll have to try a few settings. You can reload the settings at any point by pressing Ctrl+Alt+L.

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ual002
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Post by ual002 » Fri Sep 06, 2019 5:14 pm

concourse_animations_at_25fp seem to have no affect no matter the value.

bloom_passes setting seems to help effect my scaling issues with my triple wide monitor.

Still sorting the flickering. So far the Assault gunboat was the only one that didn't do it.

V-Sync is on.

Using DSUCP latest version.
Last edited by ual002 on Fri Sep 06, 2019 6:12 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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ual002
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Post by ual002 » Fri Sep 06, 2019 5:59 pm

for example

I threw this in dynamic_cockpit.cfg

move_region = TARGET_AND_LASERS_REGION, .16,.50, 0.32,1
move_region = LEFT_SENSOR_REGION, 0.16,0, 0.32,0.60
move_region = RIGHT_SENSOR_REGION, 0.70,0, 0.86,0.60


And edited those hud elements on in the assault gunboat .dc file

When I fly it, the hud does weird stuff as I turn my head with track IR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL1Mtz_ ... e=youtu.be

In the last version I had 3 monitors, render in the center and the peripheral monitors were for large sensor regions and a backup CMD. It worked fine.

And then other fighters that don't have a .dc file yet seem to flicker on/off
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blue_max
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Post by blue_max » Sat Sep 07, 2019 6:39 am

Thanks for reporting this, ual002 -- and thanks for your patience while I figure this out.

I installed DSUCP 2.6 and... there are a number of broken things. The 25fps setting doesn't do anything at all (as you said); and I can't even make DC work (I don't see any flickering; but since DC isn't working that isn't much of a statement). I'll start fixing whatever I can repro on my side; but I may need your help with some config files later.

In the meantime, can you answer a few more questions?

* Do the artifacts in DC go away if you turn off the 32-bit mode hook?
* Do you still see artifacts if you reset your POV to use a single monitor? (If you can, let me know so I can repro the bugs on my side -- I only have one monitor)
* What version of the time hook are you using, the one from DSUCP or the one in my package?
* What happens if you disable DC -- I'm assuming the HUD stops flickering and behaves normally?
* Can you share more info on your POV and resolution settings?

Time to squash a few bugs!

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Post by blue_max » Sun Sep 08, 2019 5:51 am

So... I've been using mip-mapping to distinguish between textures. This was a bad idea because if mip-mapping is turned off, then ddraw won't be able to distinguish textures and artifacts may occur. I'm fixing that right now; but you can try enabling full mip-mapping in the meantime to see if that fixes anything.

The other thing I've noticed is that lens flares also cause some noticeable corruption when the 32-bit mode hook is disabled and it blots out the DC in 32-bit mode. Disabling the lens flare fixes these problems (I'm also fixing that right now).

When the camera is in external mode, I've noticed that HUD momentarily flashes and then disappears when messages are displayed on the screen. Fixing...

I just fixed the 25fps problem in the Concourse: I forgot to Present() the device with VSync enabled.

So, ual002 can you enable full mip-mapping and disable lens flare to see if that fixes anything?

... and just for completeness: The performance problem you reported in the hangar was because my pixel shader was way too big. Breaking it up in smaller pieces seems to have fixed that. The other corruption problems were happening because the hangar doesn't load all the HUD regions and then when the ship leaves the hangar, these textures are released and copies are made. I was failing to detect these copies. These two problems were fixed in v1.0.4

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ual002
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Post by ual002 » Sat Sep 14, 2019 3:11 pm

Well, my MIP setting were already high, not sure if they should have been for regular play.

my bloom settings at bloom_passes = 3 seem to be fine.

If you have a new version to test for the concourse/hangar issues, let me know. Same for me moving the hud regions. As it is now, it doesn't seem to be grabbing the right parts of the hud with the original commands you gave.
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blue_max
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Post by blue_max » Mon Sep 16, 2019 4:47 am

Yes, I've got a new version here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2kl6ydc6omjh6 ... 5.zip?dl=0

I've fixed the 25fps in the Concourse (at least I hope I did). I also fixed how the textures are recognized -- so maybe that'll help fix the glitches you've reported, and a few other things.

The bloom shader is now implemented in a pyramidal scheme, so you'll need a new bloom.cfg file. The switch to using a pyramid is to get speed without sacrificing quality. I've also added a bunch of params to configure the bloom as well and I've included a number of bloom config samples.

Let me know if you're still seeing glitches in the cockpit on this version!

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Post by Turgidson » Tue Sep 24, 2019 11:35 pm

Would there be a way to both have the normal HUD appearing on the screen (more practical usage), and the dynamic cockpit displays (makes the environment more lively)?

IMHO, in case a (real) pilot would have a helmet-mounted display, he'd likely use his HMD to display (duplicate) some of the useful information there (instead of having to look back at the cockpit's screens - after all, it's the purpose of HUDs and HMDs), while the craft's screen would still display the info (at least as a backup).

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Driftwood
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Post by Driftwood » Wed Sep 25, 2019 12:13 am

As I recall, Blue Max stated that you could have one, the other, or both. I do not know how to configure the system at this point myself.

I wish we could change the HUD to look more like what is in "modern" aircraft. It'd cut down on the displayed GUI and still have the relevant information displayed center of the screen.
HUD.jpg
Also, I was thinking of a simple way to add dynamic cockpit screens, primarily the TEXT display/menus, and it just occurred to me the easiest way is often the right way; taking inspiration from current military pilots who are using tablets and notebooks strapped to their legs. It makes sense, and is used in real life by actual military pilots. It would also require little additional cockpit re-models, beyond the introduction of a partial pilot model from the shoulders down. Which already exists. This way, the hardest to fit (text portions) of the hud have uniform sized dimensions, easy to reference by looking down, and can be utilized potentially in any craft that does not have large enough displays to accomodate.
2231-cockpit_1.jpg
I've kinda been envisioning some kind of HUD overlay mod that functions and looks like this, versus spread out around the cockpit, but more translucent than what we currently have. I don't know how to modify the HUD though.
images.jpg
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blue_max
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Post by blue_max » Wed Sep 25, 2019 12:35 am

@Turgidson: Totally! Just remove the "erase_region" commands in the dynamic cockpit config files and you'll have both the regular HUD *and* the Dynamic Cockpit. Look at the DynamicCockpit subdirectory and search for *.dc files. There should be one file per DC-enabled cockpit. That's where you can remove the "erase_region" commands (just comment them out with a leading ";").

@Driftwood: If we can add a partial pilot body into the cockpits with the pads then we can put the DC displays on those pads with the current ddraw. In addition to that, in a future release I can remove the HUD backgrounds and just leave the floating text (I can even make the floating text more transparent if that's what you want). I'd probably need a proof-of-concept screenshot to make the necessary adjustments, though.

EDIT: Link to the latest ddraw release: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pzz5de9cson4g ... 6.zip?dl=0

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Post by Driftwood » Wed Sep 25, 2019 1:50 am

Here's that long awaited 3rd person "Dynamic HUD" concept. It would theoretically enable flying in 3rd person, as a viable option for those that wish it.
Screenshot 2019-09-24 18.24.37.png
And here's kinda what I was thinking layout wise (ideally semi-translucent military neon hud green) without the HUD GUI borders ideally, with the text in place. The rectangle bars are the laser, shield, engine, and beam weapon power level indicators. It's a super rough mockup, but it's what I could do in 5 minutes. This is kind of my interpretation of the AH-1 or AH-64 pilot eye mounted/tracking HUDs. For some reason the top bar disappeared, I must have forgotten to separate that to another layer, but it should be right across the top of the cluster above the reticall.
Screenshot 2019-09-24 18.24.03.png
Was going for something like this.
plane_327368747.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NERBxn_nJU
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ual002
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Post by ual002 » Wed Sep 25, 2019 1:17 pm

I like the kneeboard idea, but generally in this game the pilot model from the pilots perspective is only implied, unlike a lot of newer sims where the pilot can see his own body and legs.
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Post by Driftwood » Wed Sep 25, 2019 4:20 pm

Which is easy enough to fix, because of new model limitations pilot models are viable, whereas before I dont think it would have been worth the extra processing requirements. With track ir I find it kind of annoying when I look down and see nothing.

That said, this approach would be the easiest for implementing ALL off the dynamic cockpit hud elements since the biggest limitation is not being able to read the data pad text, and going forward would require extensive remodeling (in some cases away from canon design) of cockpit elements. This way ite be a generic copy paste almost to get this function working on any desired craft with minimal to no remodeling of existing cockpit elements.

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ual002
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Post by ual002 » Wed Sep 25, 2019 4:34 pm

I would argue you complicate the issue of which pilot to render with non-faction ships, or even cross faction ships.
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Post by Driftwood » Wed Sep 25, 2019 6:12 pm

Since it's already on a per cockpit basis anyways, I would figure that's up to the author. Its going to have to be on a per opt basis since either way will require additional modeling in some form to enable DC correctly on a functional and aesthetic level.

Discussions in private already have concluded that new screens will need modeled in the cockpit to properly enable this feature, I'm proposing a less time consuming alternative with my presented concept.

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Post by keiranhalcyon7 » Wed Sep 25, 2019 6:50 pm

The faction issue is no different than the Lambda Shuttle & Falcon install options, so it's handleable, although the proliferation of options could be undesirable.

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Post by Trevor » Wed Sep 25, 2019 7:40 pm

I actually edited the HUD "Panels" to give them edges all round so they work on the rift (with zoom-out) and show in the mid area of my field of view.

If you want the F16 esque HUD all you need is the text without the other bitmaps, sooo all you have to do is edit the dat file and make the panels transparent.

Trev

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Post by blue_max » Wed Sep 25, 2019 9:31 pm

The third person view HUD display is probably not possible at this moment. I think it might require rendering the HUD from first principles by looking at the PlayerData structures or something like that.

Moving the HUD elements into the center as in the second picture is doable right now. It might either require modifying the assets in the DAT files (as Trevor pointed out) or me adding an extra option to load HUD background replacements inside ddraw; but yes. Totally doable either way.

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Post by Turgidson » Wed Sep 25, 2019 10:19 pm

Thanks for the tip on how to enable/disable the HUD in addition to the dynamic cockpit. And BIG THANKS for all the impressive effort.

Regarding HUD redesign, I'd also agree the "real world" should be a source of inspiration. However, I don't think all the elements should be cluttered close to the screen center - thus obscuring the view where it matters most for dogfighting. For me, XWA's "HUD" seems closer to a Helmet-Mounted Display (and even more if using a VR helmet), so the "screens" can be scattered further apart from the reticle (as long as it remains readable enough).

Also, there's less information needed to fly a Star Wars starfighter than a real-life jet plane: we don't really need or even have altitude, boresight, flight path vector, angle of attack, heading, horizon... so it's a simpler HMD/HUD.

The following info is of course necessary:
- weapons, shields, engine (and beams) energy status (gauge or percentage)
- shields and hull status (could keep the current graphics, but having only the percentages would work too!)
- weapons recharge status (current graphics, or percentages! - or reticle symbol, for example have a brighter spot when it's double-charged)
- beams status (if applicable)
- countermeasures remaining
- speed
- throttle
- weapons sight / reticle
- forward and rear "radar"
- textual information about the targeted craft: type, name, distance, hull %, shield %, systems %, targeted component. No need to show a picture of the target itself (which would clutter the HMD view), this should be kept on the Dynamic Cockpit's targeting computer.


Now, on the dreaming side, I'd love to have these on the HMD:
- the target's movement vector
- reticle related to the target's movement, corresponding to where we should align the ship's weapons sight in order to shoot it (I'd admit it'd be a big targeting help/cheat, but seems realistic considering what technology should be able to provide)
- "overlay" symbols, for every craft in the HMD's field of vision. Each craft would be represented by a symbol, corresponding to its type (fighter, transport...). A bit like what was done in the Homeworld strategy game (for example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt8sVcGttoc ). Or using XWA's map symbols when out of sight...
- target status text as overlay, next to the target
- ... for all major items on sight (not just the current target)
Most of these are probably impossible... but maybe not?

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ual002
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Post by ual002 » Wed Sep 25, 2019 10:37 pm

Agreed about the helmet mounted display vs a HUD glass mounted above the console. The key would be a simple yet in-universe redesign that can function for all factions, and maybe even be more friendly to VR headsets.
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Post by keiranhalcyon7 » Wed Sep 25, 2019 11:32 pm

If I were to venture into wish list territory, I'd add current target's current remaining SBD/RU (and whatever units "system" is measured in), rather than just a percent,
and also its current speed (the movement vector can be gleaned from the target image).

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