Accountant Observation Cockpit (EL) (V1.02 Current)

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Sat May 09, 2009 11:03 pm

EDIT:
Release 1.02 is the current release of my Observation cockpit.

Link
Link

Changelog:
V0.9: Initial Release
V0.92b: Adjusted reflect textures
V1.0: Adjusted the model to make the screens appear larger and more readable
V1.01: Added a heading indicator to the radar sphere
V1.02: Moved the outer displays in to accomodate different sized screens

From the readme:

The mod:
Utilizing state-of-the-art "no screen" technology, United Electronics Corporation (UE) and EvoSol Dynamics began selling this cockpit on the market just recently. Thought previous versions of the technology were crude and plagued with problems, UE was able to refine the technology into its current form. Meant to be a replacement of "ancient" LCD technology, "no screen" technology uses advanced holographic imaging to project an image without the use of a screen. UE partnered with EvoSol Dynamics to implement this technology into a clean-sheet design cockpit. The result has been branded as the UEED Observation Cockpit. Taking full advantage of this new technology, there are no screens or glareshields in the cockpit which obstruct the pilotâ€™s view. Because of the unparalleled visibility the cockpit provides, it has been extremely popular with explorers.

Some pictures:

Front

Right

Left

Down

-Accountant

[Edited on 12-17-2009 by Accountant]

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Sun May 10, 2009 1:07 am

I down loaded it and gonna give it a run, Looks Fantastic, Great Job!, Thanks for sharing!;)

Post by **Vice** » Sun May 10, 2009 1:27 am

That's great! I like the revised console and autopilot/formation icons. The white on blue is a nice touch and of course, the visibility. A really well designed 'glass' cockpit, nice work!

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Sun May 10, 2009 1:54 am

OK, I did a test run, and looks like there is a problem, the cockpit frame is all black!
The Compass and the Heads Up Displays are fine, just the frame seems to be missing were the cup holder and the control panels suppose to be! I did not see the Up.bmp, and the Side1.bmp, Side2.bmp, and the Down.bmp or the Back.bmp! in the Hud folder!

Do I need to bring these in seperately?

[Edited on 5-10-2009 by Maarschalk]

Post by **Vice** » Sun May 10, 2009 2:23 am

Yup, looks like the reflection textures are black. Just copy over the 'textureX.bmp' textures (there are 5 of them) to 'textureXreflect.bmp' names and it will become visible.

[Edited on 5-10-2009 by Vice]

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Sun May 10, 2009 3:04 am

Thanks Vice, will try that!

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Sun May 10, 2009 3:15 am

Not sure what the problem is, I can't replicate it on my end, even after updating to the latest version. Is anyone else having the same problem?

@Vice
I thought if the reflection textures were black, it would prevent a glossy sheen from showing on the textures. Does it also turn the whole model black? I did not think that was how reflection textures worked.

-Accountant

Post by **Vice** » Sun May 10, 2009 3:22 am

Yes, since it uses inverse transparency. When inversed, white is transparent, darker shades provide the definition. You can actually use your original textures on the main surface for the specular layer just by copying them over to the other filenames. Grayscale and higher contrast would just make it more shiny, but it looks great with just the original textures copied and renamed.

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Sun May 10, 2009 3:49 am

Originally posted by Vice
Yes, since it uses inverse transparency. When inversed, white is transparent, darker shades provide the definition. You can actually use your original textures on the main surface for the specular layer just by copying them over to the other filenames. Grayscale and higher contrast would just make it more shiny, but it looks great with just the original textures copied and renamed.

Oh.....go figure I use the wrong color for transparency. So do the reflect textures behave similarly to the shadow textures used for the HUD?

I will play around with the reflect textures and see what I can come up with. I guess I'll start by doing what you suggested - copying my normal textures and renaming them to the reflect textures.

Thanks for all the help!

-Accountant

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Sun May 10, 2009 3:56 am

OK, it worked, again very nice!

Glock36 · Post by **Glock36** » Sun May 10, 2009 4:55 am

yea I had that problem too and fixed it...then did not like the loss of visibility at the sides so I reinstalled the original and now I really like it.

for me, the original download did not show black textures, only space.

Post by **Vice** » Sun May 10, 2009 5:25 am

Oh.....go figure I use the wrong color for transparency. So do the reflect textures behave similarly to the shadow textures used for the HUD?

Yes, exactly. The only difference is that they allow the specular effect to pass through them, but the principle is exactly the same.

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Sun May 10, 2009 7:11 am

Originally posted by Glock36
yea I had that problem too and fixed it...then did not like the loss of visibility at the sides so I reinstalled the original and now I really like it.

for me, the original download did not show black textures, only space.

Interesting, maybe you downloaded after he changed the transparancy!, I would like to try that version.!lol:P

Glock36 · Post by **Glock36** » Sun May 10, 2009 9:24 am

you can see the date of my post. I downloaded and saw no cockpit detail and then did the fix and posted

Glock36 · Post by **Glock36** » Sun May 10, 2009 9:26 am

I just downloaded again and it's still the same fileset. I'm using an NVidia 7800 and I've set it to custom render this game with all settings at their highest level.

I gotta be honest...I think the next version of the game should include this cockpit with just space around you just like it works for me. Having the flat monitors makes it a lot easier for me to read the info.

[Edited on 5-10-2009 by Glock36]

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Sun May 10, 2009 9:22 pm

Ok, I've changed the reflect textures from black to a light grey and changed the release to V0.92. For a download link see the original post. I think it has improved the cockpit reflections a little. Let me know if there is still problems with seeing black textures.

Also, for those who do not want to re-download the whole cockpit, here is a ZIP file containing the new files. Just copy the five textures into the HUD folder containing the cockpit.

-Accountant

[Edited on 5-12-2009 by Accountant]

warsign · Post by **warsign** » Mon May 11, 2009 8:47 am

I like the design so much.
Very unique, amazingly clean details and stripes.

Very clean cockpit view, awesome work there!

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Mon May 11, 2009 4:38 pm

Originally posted by Accountant
Ok, I've changed the reflect textures from black to a light grey and changed the release to V0.92. For a download link see the original post. I think it has improved the cockpit reflections a little. Let me know if there is still problems with seeing black textures.

Also, for those who do not want to re-download the whole cockpit, here is a ZIP file containing the new files. Just copy the five textures into the HUD folder containing the cockpit.

-Accountant

What Vice suggested renaming the 5 textureX.bmp files to to the 5 textureXreflect.bmp did the trick. But just changing the textureXreflect.bmp from black to grey just changes the frame and the surrounding chassis from black to a solid grey, no buttons no texture, no lights on buttons, just grey!;)

[Edited on 5-11-2009 by Maarschalk]

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Mon May 11, 2009 5:04 pm

Seriously? I do not think that should be happening. Vice, is this normal behavior of reflect textures? On my computer my textures are working just fine.

I do not understand why the reflect textures are overwriting my normal textures. Something seems screwy, and I cannot replicate it on my end. Is anyone else having this problem?

-Accountant

EDIT:
Maarschalk, if it's not too much trouble, could you verify that you have 34 files in the HUD folder? Among them should be the following:
CCPIT.x
CCPITlights.x
CCPITreflect.x
texture1.bmp to texture5.bmp
texture1lights.bmp to texture5lights.bmp
texture1reflect.bmp to texture5reflect.bmp

[Edited on 5-11-2009 by Accountant]

Post by **Vice** » Mon May 11, 2009 6:25 pm

The blackout behavior can be expected, but would not occur if the player has selected 'Medium' or 'Low' graphics details since the game won't render the specular definition layer at those settings. I'm not sure about the grayout though, I'd need to see a screenshot and maybe test it myself. Normally, a plain gray texture would just dim the primary layer.

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Mon May 11, 2009 6:37 pm

Yes, I have all 34 files in the HUD. What Vice is suggesting with graphics selection medium or low might be the problem, I have been experimenting with those settings to improve frame rates. I'll check it out when I get a Chance!, I'm At work at the moment and do not think I have a chance to check this evening!;)

[Edited on 5-11-2009 by Maarschalk]

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Mon May 11, 2009 7:08 pm

Originally posted by Vice
The blackout behavior can be expected, but would not occur if the player has selected 'Medium' or 'Low' graphics details since the game won't render the specular definition layer at those settings. I'm not sure about the grayout though, I'd need to see a screenshot and maybe test it myself. Normally, a plain gray texture would just dim the primary layer.

That explains a few things. I have my game on low setting to keep framerates up. I just tested it on high, but I did not experience any blackout or greyout.

I'll look forward to your test Maarschalk, but no rush. In the meantime (between final exams) I'll try experimenting on different settings with different textures.

@Vice
Is there any way to texture the reflect textures so that no reflections are applied? I kind of liked the way the cockpit worked when I was in low graphic detail and there was no shinyness.

-Accountant

Post by **Vice** » Mon May 11, 2009 7:13 pm

You can use the same textures for the primary layer that you do for the specular layer, this will limit the shine. Higher contrast textures with higher levels of light colors increases the shine, using the same textures generally limits how much light is allowed to reflect back.

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:56 pm

OK, My bad, Sorry, I was drawing conclusions without testing!, I was able to reproduce the blackout again thou with changing the texture reflect files back to black. I was not able to reproduce the Gray!. So you can rest a sure it is working fine now with the gray files!, Now I feel like a big dumbo!LOL:P:P:P Thanks again Accountant, this is now my favourite cockpit!

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Tue May 12, 2009 5:49 am

@Vice
Thanks for all of your help in this matter. I think I might finally be understanding how the textures work.

@Maarschalk
Thanks for checking and rechecking everything to get me on the right track. I hope you spend many hours enjoying my humble little bunch of 1s and 0s.

@All
I have uploaded a new version (hopefully this is the last time) with the reflect textures being the same as the normal textures. I should learn to save myself a headache and just listen to Vice when he makes a suggestion

This new version is not necessary to redownload if the previous version is working for you. I am offering this version because I think it looks better and is what I am currently using myself.

For those of you who do not want to redownload the 4MB file, you have two options. You can either take the steps that Vice posted to replace the reflect textures, or below is a replacement ZIP file containing the necessary files to be replaced.

EDIT: Version 1.02 is the latest version. See the first post for a download link.

As always, any problem, suggestions, or comments are welcome.

-Accountant

[Edited on 9-29-2009 by Accountant]