[Cobra]

Wouldn't it be easier to just set it so the second wave doesn't arrive until the first wave is destroyed?

[karajorma]

In the same way that it would be easier to set the game to only have 1 class of ship that couldn't move or fire, yes.

Solving bugs in features by removing the feature is nothing short of idiotic.

[Cobra]

I don't see how that would be removing a feature.

[Galemp]

'Wing Threshold' is a feature. It's mainly to stop you as a player from equipping Akhetons, then disabling one fighter out of every wing so they don't respawn.

[Cobra]

Huh. I don't know that. Useful little failsafe, isn't it?

[Backslash]

EDIT... Do you mean the fighter and bomber icon images were garbled when they were set via the table option to have size of 16 (or smaller) or when the actual images were smaller than 16x16?

When the actual images were smaller than 16 (they're 8x8).  Do they work for anyone else?  Haven't goofed around with the table options yet.

[Wanderer]

Any compressed DDS textures (in freespace mainly DXT1 and DXT5) needs to be minimum of 16 x 16. Any smaller and then the image needs to be in uncompressed format (like u888 or u8888). But yeah i have encountered those problems before.. IIRC 4x4 pitch black compressed DDS texture which appeared... well... not so black ...

But that shouldn't be an issue with the scaling options (assuming they work like they should). Of course the scaling has its problems as it makes already thin lines even thinner (when making images smaller) unless the image used takes this into account - though this effect may by preferable as well.

[WMCoolmon]

'Wing Threshold' is a feature. It's mainly to stop you as a player from equipping Akhetons, then disabling one fighter out of every wing so they don't respawn.

It also helps keep the pace up; no waiting for warpins.

[karajorma]

'Wing Threshold' is a feature. It's mainly to stop you as a player from equipping Akhetons, then disabling one fighter out of every wing so they don't respawn.

That would only delay the warpin actually. After about a minute of being disabled or disarmed enemy fighters in wings self-destruct in order to prevent someone screwing up the mission by doing exactly that.

[Mobius]

I now know why some characters went down despite the fact that they were guardianed...someone disabled them...

Good to know

[Wanderer]

Backslash.. What did you mean by the hud thing? Using colors in hud elements? or something? make them table options?

[Backslash]

I'm already making them table options... what I was getting at was different.  Right now, a HUD ANI has to be a particular 256 color palette (actually only 16 colors, grayscale, with the rest being empty).  The game then shades that to whatever color is specified in the options menu (or the custom table option I'm working on).  What I'd like would be something like, "if the game detects the file is more than 256 colors, it displays it as is and does NOT try to shade it a custom color."  Does that make sense?

Upon looking through some archives I notice taylor said he might do it.  But then he says that about everything cool and he did say that a while ago.  I suppose if you did decide to take this on, you might want to PM him for input -- perhaps he has some WIP code or notes you could have.  I don't know what all is involved... it might dovetail nicely with the stuff you already worked on and be quite straightforward, or it could be a big complicated project.  I don't mean to push you into something too big.

[Wanderer]

Just wondering... If you are already making them table options wouldn't it be possible to enable boolean (or strings) to set the game to draw the bitmaps in the way like you want them to?

[WMCoolmon]

@backslash: Is it really a good idea when you can use hud_gauges.tbl for images already?

[Backslash]

@WMCoolmon, yes, that's where I'm putting it.

@Wanderer... the options I'm making is basically the same thing as what the HUD options menu sets... "I want the afterburner green, reticle red, shield blue, target box yellow" etc.  This is still just the shaded gauges though.  Yeah adding a setting is easy... I just don't know how to make the game actually DRAW the bitmaps that way

So basically, you start on one end (how to actually display the thing), I'll start on the other (settings in the table) and we'll meet in the middle? 

[Wanderer]

AFAIK the issue is basically that almost every HUD render functions sooner or later calls gr_aabitmap or gr_aabitmap_ex (actually almost the same thing as the non-_ex function calls the _ex function in turn) functions and therefore also opengl_aabitmap_ex_internal. And as that function has mandatory requirement that the bitmap in question has to be set in TCACHE_TYPE_AABITMAP type you cant really do anything else than just draw with current color. So what needs to be done (imho) is to place alternate gr function calls to the places where the gr_aabitmaps are called.

Perhaps using gr_bitmap_ex instead of aabitmaps though that sets the type to interface... hmm...


Besides at worst it seems to only need a new opengl draw function and as bitmap_ex is currently unused (i couldnt see references to it) i think that could be used... I'll probably try it later - possibly today.

[WMCoolmon]

Code: [Select]

gr_set_bitmap(idx, lua_Opacity_type, GR_BITBLT_MODE_NORMAL, lua_Opacity);
bitmap_rect_list brl = bitmap_rect_list(x1, y1, w, h, uv_x1, uv_y1, uv_x2, uv_y2);
gr_bitmap_list(&brl, 1, false);
from scripting drawImage function. Much more flexible than _ex.

[Wanderer]

Yeah... That one should do the trick..

[Wanderer]

To break the silence...

Salvo mode
Uses a single weapon entry. All firing points within a turret aim more or less independently (to improve accuracy) but fire simultaneously. Should ignore all the weapons expect for the 'primary one'. Known issues: Swarm weapons may not work properly.

Fixed firingpoints
Sets the weapon to a fixed firing position. Position is set according to the weapons 'position' when it is parsed. That is 1st primary weapon should fire from the 1st bank and 2nd from the 2nd bank and secondaries get their 'positions' assigned after the primaries so 1st secondary weapon in a turret with 2 primaries would go to 3rd bank and so on. Requires the use multiple guns option. Effectively maximum number of weapons (apart from the 3 + 4 limit) set to the turret is equal to the maximum number of firingpoints of the turret. Known issues: Multiple swarm weapons may not work properly - single swarm weapon is ok.


Comments are always welcome....

EDIT: ...as are ideas on how to fix a swarm weapons with turrets that have multiple weapons. That is from time to time the turret fires only portion of the swarm weapons loaded into it and tossing the rest away with Overlapping turret swarm firing intervals note.

EDIT2: heh.. err.. missed one thing... added the a flag for subsystems that if set should force the subsystem not to fire unless the turret points at the target. So if the barrels wont point where they were supposed to point the turret shouldnt start firing... so the 'wip_turret_10.7z' should contain the diff for 'fire on target' turret flag.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Galemp]

Blech. I wish turrets would behave like fighters stapled to the ship's hull.