[an0n]

**** the 'test cockpit' idea.

Just stick a $cockpit thing in the table parser that moves and locks the camera if you use the -cock thing in the launcher.

Or even a new cockpit.tbl file, so models and tbl's for a cockpit-havin' ship can work with vanilla FS2.

[DaBrain]

I know the instruments in the cockpit could be animated with an ani.
But is it possible to have them show something really important ?

[J3Vr6]

Originally posted by an0n
Just stick a $cockpit thing in the table parser that moves and locks the camera if you use the -cock thing in the launcher.

You said -cock... huh huh huh huh huh huh

[an0n]

Originally posted by DaBrain
I know the instruments in the cockpit could be animated with an ani.
But is it possible to have them show something really important ?

Like a live view of what you're seeing, but in wireframe

[Lightspeed]

Cockpits are only really useful when you can set up the HUD on a per-ship basis (location of the various HUD elements, like radar, lists and such).

[Langy]

Going with Nico's idea, that's perfectly possible, Lightspeed. From what I can tell, that cockpit is part of the ship itself, not a seperate model at all. It should be perfectly possible to make a different cockpit for each fighter.

[kasperl]

yeah, but we would need a HUD table to move the various items such as radar....

[Fineus]

Can't be that hard - just have it arrange itself on a pixel-coordinate basis, where 0,0 is top left and 1,1 is bottom right (IIRC that's how it works?). Then all you need to do is specify where each .ani HUD file goes on the screen, save it and play. Making one per-ship shouldn't be hard either, as it could be referenced in the ships.tbl file.

[Lightspeed]

Originally posted by kasperl
yeah, but we would need a HUD table to move the various items such as radar....

bingo. And it doesnt seem to be that easy Kalfireth, as the code gurus have been trying to get a modifyable HUD for a long time now ~ V seems to have done some pretty messy coding there

[phreak]

well we can rip out the hud code and do it correctly, but it won't be reverse-compatible with retail data

[Lightspeed]

see, and that's no option

[phreak]

unless we include a hud_gauges.tbl or something in a required VP

[Sticks]

Originally posted by Nico
Why do you need a good one? If the idea is to be trashed after a couple tries, like hell somebody would spend his time making a good test cockpit.

Don't be stupid. If I'm going to spend the time working this thing in, the least I can ask for would be a fairly accurate example of what people would be using so I can optimise for it. However, if you want me to use my kludgy programmer-art cockpit and optimise for that, I'd be more than happy to deliver garbage frame rates with the real deal.

The other side is that 50% of the features we put in never get used so I'm asking for some proof that this is going to be utilized before I waste hours of my time.

I really don't understand your level of pessimism. I find it highly disrespectful to the coders who are volunteers and have sacrificed their time to bring you a decent product. We do not owe you features. Send us some money, then you can get pissy when stuff you want doesn't get in.

To everyone else, the cockpit will be a separate model, probably specified in a tbl file. The reasoning for this is that most of the ship is not visible from the cockpit, so you only want to model the stuff that is visible, and not have to cull a bunch of useless polygons every frame (most of the rear of the ship).

[Taristin]

Originally posted by Lightspeed
Cockpits are only really useful when you can set up the HUD on a per-ship basis (location of the various HUD elements, like radar, lists and such).

Shh. Don't complain. I've been toying with putting a cocpit in the Shrike, and possibly a few other TVWP ships. Like you saw in my T******i.  And you wanted one on the people's fighter, right? (Really bad code there)

[phreak]

well give us a sample model and we will work on this once 3.6 is done.  its kinda hard to do things that require models when the only thing i can model is a cube/shpere/other simple primative

[Nico]

Originally posted by Sticks

The other side is that 50% of the features we put in never get used so I'm asking for some proof that this is going to be utilized before I waste hours of my time.

I really don't understand your level of pessimism. I find it highly disrespectful to the coders who are volunteers and have sacrificed their time to bring you a decent product. We do not owe you features. Send us some money, then you can get pissy when stuff you want doesn't get in.

To everyone else, the cockpit will be a separate model, probably specified in a tbl file. The reasoning for this is that most of the ship is not visible from the cockpit, so you only want to model the stuff that is visible, and not have to cull a bunch of useless polygons every frame (most of the rear of the ship).

Proof? What do you want, a signed contract? How the hell can anybody give a proof for something like that? I know that I always use cockpit views in games ( save for Freelancer coz it was unplayable ), that in car games I always view the inside view, etc. Now, for other peoples, I don't know.

My level of pessimism comes from the outcome of every thread about 3d cockpits...

As for the thing, I don't care if the HUD infos are not reflected on the cockpit, for now. Tha's not the point. For now, I want a cockpit, and,if possible, a padlock view. And you NEED the full ship for a padlock view.

As for the useless parts not seen, well, so what? Performance hit? ca't be more than the third person view, right?

Anyway, all that is useless, for now, I'm just asking for a view from the ships point of view that would show the ship as well, just one more cycle to the "*" key ( or the "/" one, don't remember ). That's all, I'm not asking for anything more fancy, no custom HUD, no info reflected on the cockpit mesh, nothing.


Anyway, about the cockpit mesh on it's own, if someone really wanna look at that way of doing things, I have the ezechiel cockpit on it's own, as a 3ds file, uploaded, check my sig. Would need the pilot removed ( you can see a weird poly on the top of my cocpkit in the screen*shot I posted above, it's not a glitch of the cokcpit, it's the underside of the pilot's chin ) and the thing conerted to pof.
That's good enough for a test cockpit if you ask me.

[Flipside]

Also Sticks, you may find that number has increased somewhat lately, since this 'break' from new features has given, at least in my case, a chance to catch up with getting some of my Mods up to SCP quality. I suspect you will also find a lot of heavy use of the 'good stuff' in internal forums for projects.

I can assure you that the work you are putting in IS being used and appreciated. I suppose it ought to be bourne in mind that most of the campaigns were pretty much hammered into shape storywise before the SCP started coming along in leaps and bounds, so we are all quietly re-writing our campaigns to include the new features

You and everyone elses hard work IS being used and IS being appreciated

I don't tend to use cockpits, but if the option is there to have them, I don't see why I wouldn't create them

Edit : From memory, TI is using....

HT&L Hi-poly abilities.
DDS, TGA & JPG support.
Updated beam and turret weapon features, such as Shotgun etc.
A whole bunch of new Sexp's
Glow/Spec maps
Skyboxes
Alpha Transparency
Table updates (new species abilities etc)
Increased Subsystem allowance.
HT&L's clipping forgiveness
And a few I've forgotten.

Plan to implement

Glowpoints
Rotating Turret barrels
A few other 'things'

Still looking forward to :-

Cloaking in Direct3D.
Side mounted rotating turrets.
A whole bunch of other possible ideas that won't be requested till post 3.6

[Lightspeed]

Originally posted by Raa Tor'h


Shh. Don't complain. I've been toying with putting a cocpit in the Shrike, and possibly a few other TVWP ships. Like you saw in my T******i.  And you wanted one on the people's fighter, right? (Really bad code there)

Yes, but *that* is something different all together

[Taristin]

I don't care.

[madaboutgames]

Here are some cockpit screens for the Star Fury internal cockpit view.








It was modelled in Max, so if someone wants to do the code for it it should be mint ref - [url]http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,6605.msg109767.html#msg109767 are the actual screens from the series