a few thoughts about the hud

jedidia · Post by **jedidia** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 10:25 am

Geting to know (and like) the game a bit better here, but I noticed an odity on the HUD: Why exactly does the Vector indicator move when I turn the ship with IDS of? If it moves, wat's the exact sense in it? Does it ever tell where exactly I'm heading other than when I'm directly pointed at it?
Maybe it's a minor concern to most, but I use to fly my combats inertial only... I would sure apreciate if it would point in the exact direction I'm heading.

Plus, a relative velocity to the target (Z-axis would be enough IF I could rely on the vector indicator for the other two) right on the HUD (beneath the range or so) would be helpfull. I allways have to look at the left AND right display to get all the information together I need for a correct decision, which is a bit tedious.
Not to mention that the two tenths of a second I need to compare my speed, the target speed and the heading in my head and tell me left hand wheather to shut it or shove it are sometimes crucial. A bit more information on the HUD directly would lighten things up.

Otherwise there are some very nice ideas in there. I especially like the fact that Missiles get a marking that stands out from the rest, on the HUD as well as on the radar. Would be stardust much faster without that feature! And the similiar marking for containers spares you valuable time you would otherwise be tracking your target list to see if anyone droped anything.

Post by **Vice** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 5:32 pm

Geting to know (and like) the game a bit better here, but I noticed an odity on the HUD: Why exactly does the Vector indicator move when I turn the ship with IDS of? If it moves, wat's the exact sense in it? Does it ever tell where exactly I'm heading other than when I'm directly pointed at it?
Maybe it's a minor concern to most, but I use to fly my combats inertial only... I would sure apreciate if it would point in the exact direction I'm heading.

It's a relative indicator, not a 1:1 pointer. It reaches the near edges of the screen when you are at the limit of momentum in one direction or another. If it did point directly to where you were drifting, it would leave the screen 50-75% of the time through rotation/movement (you'd only see it in the first 90-degrees of forward viewing direction, leaving out the other 180-270 degrees of visibility, depending on inverse attributes), making it useless for 50-75% of the range of movement. So it is to be used as a guide and you will likely become very skilled in determining your rate of drift visually by using it. Also, you can use your horizontal and vertical speed gauges to further determine your ship's directional movement with more accuracy, if desired.

Plus, a relative velocity to the target (Z-axis would be enough IF I could rely on the vector indicator for the other two) right on the HUD (beneath the range or so) would be helpfull. I allways have to look at the left AND right display to get all the information together I need for a correct decision, which is a bit tedious.
Not to mention that the two tenths of a second I need to compare my speed, the target speed and the heading in my head and tell me left hand wheather to shut it or shove it are sometimes crucial. A bit more information on the HUD directly would lighten things up.

Ah, very interesting. Rate of closure (which is what I think you're getting at) might help a little, but it seems like the biggest challenge you've been having is getting the needed information faster. It is a skill that takes a little time to build, you will likely soon get a good sense of speed and movement as you play the game so you won't have to rely so much on gauges. Here are a few suggestions for now. First, keep your HUD on mode 2 so you can see additional orientation and movement guides (pitch ladder and movement streaks), they can come in handy. Then, if you want to put your ship's speed information directly on the gunsight, place the attached file (hudtext.txt) in the game's folder. That way, you won't need to look down and left so far to view your ship's velocity at least.

You can also optionally move the cockpit display text itself, if you want to turn off the 3D cockpit or use your own custom design. Details on that modification option are here: http://www.starwraith.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3504

Otherwise there are some very nice ideas in there. I especially like the fact that Missiles get a marking that stands out from the rest, on the HUD as well as on the radar. Would be stardust much faster without that feature! And the similiar marking for containers spares you valuable time you would otherwise be tracking your target list to see if anyone droped anything.

Sounds like you're fast becoming a master. Probably time to test your skills in multiplayer soon.

[Edited on 11-12-2008 by Vice]

jedidia · Post by **jedidia** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 9:39 pm

Then, if you want to put your ship's speed information directly on the gunsight, place the attached file (hudtext.txt) in the game's folder.

That will come in handy, thanks!

Sounds like you're fast becoming a master. Probably time to test your skills in multiplayer soon.

Oh well, being an Orbinaut and a fan of I-war since the day it came out, newtonian movement is a pretty familiar concept to me. I can handle it a lot better than the standard X-Wing model. Multiplayer, however, will still take a while. First I don't have too much time on my hand and second I'm not quite so anxious showing up there with the hunk of junk I'm currently flying. Would get blown to bits rather fast!

It's a relative indicator, not a 1:1 pointer. It reaches the near edges of the screen when you are at the limit of momentum in one direction or another. If it did point directly to where you were drifting, it would leave the screen 50-75% of the time through rotation/movement (you'd only see it in the first 90-degrees of forward viewing direction, leaving out the other 180-270 degrees of visibility, depending on inverse attributes), making it useless for 50-75% of the range of movement.

Ah. I expected it to be an absolute indicator that is replaced with a heading indicator once it gets out of the hud. So if I get this right, this actually tells me about how fast I'm moving sideways... that might actually make more sense than an absolute indicator, you're right.

[Edited on 11-7-2008 by jedidia]

jedidia · Post by **jedidia** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 8:12 pm

Erm... I just came around to playing a bit again, and I placed the File you proposed in the evochron folder, however There doesn't seem to be any change in the Hud. As I understand it I should be able to see my speed now.

Anything I'm doing wrong? do I have to activate this somehow?

Post by **Vice** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 8:15 pm

Woops, create a folder in the game's directory called 'hud' then place that file inside. Also, the file's extension should be 'dat' not 'txt'. Forgot to include that.

Edit: I've updated the link above to the correct filename hudtext.dat.

[Edited on 11-12-2008 by Vice]

jedidia · Post by **jedidia** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 8:17 pm

that was whopping fast! thanks a lot!

jedidia · Post by **jedidia** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 8:23 pm

Still nothing showing... could it be connected with me having the new preview version installed?

EDIT: 's allright, I got it. downloaded the customization kit, looked at it and noticed that the file in there had a .dat extension, not .txt. Renamed it, everything up to boost now.

[Edited on 11-12-2008 by jedidia]