Compass Model?

[ascottk]

I didn't see anything on the forums about the compass designs so I made a poll.

 

Here's the reference pics for a compass:

1. http://www.100thpenn.com/compass.jpg
   
2. http://www.pewter.it/400X400/0096601B.jpg
   
3. http://www.smartstart-toys.co.uk/images/Compass.JPG
   
4. http://www.stanleylondon.com/compass.jpg
   
5. http://gallery.hd.org/_tn/std/maths/compas...OVray-by-BG.gif
   
6. http://www.qpindia.com/pcat-gifs/products-small/compass.jpg
   

If anyone has other suggestions or reference pics, post it here.

[Springheel]

Personally, I prefer something realistic like those images, but one thing some people had requested was a compass that pitched as the character looked up and down, which is hard to do with a realistic compass (when it goes sideways you can't see anything). Drumple had a T2 version of the compass already completed and it apparently worked--should be in his T2 HUD.pk4

 

I wonder if we could do a combination of sorts? Instead of the simple purple/red star of the T2 compass, make it look more like an actual compass--something like the image below, but double-sided, so it can still pitch forward and back.

[ascottk]

Personally, I prefer something realistic like those images, but one thing some people had requested was a compass that pitched as the character looked up and down, which is hard to do with a realistic compass (when it goes sideways you can't see anything). Drumple had a T2 version of the compass already completed and it apparently worked--should be in his T2 HUD.pk4

 

I wonder if we could do a combination of sorts? Instead of the simple purple/red star of the T2 compass, make it look more like an actual compass--something like the image below, but double-sided, so it can still pitch forward and back.

Gil has a rough & working compass image that rotates & pitches as you look around. It's on test_inventory.map (the model is one of the potion bottles on the floor). It works very well.

[New Horizon]

Gil has a rough & working compass image that rotates & pitches as you look around. It's on test_inventory.map (the model is one of the potion bottles on the floor). It works very well.

 

Yes, it really does. For some reason, while I was testing out picking up the inventory lantern, I had the best time just running around that simple room, firing arrows and swirling around with that compass. Ha.

 

I'm pretty sure we could do it with a double sided image. The compass in that inventory test doesn't pitch too far...so maybe it wouldn't even need to be double sided. I like realistic too...but something inbetween like Spring posted would be fine too.

[ascottk]

Here's how that compass looks. With a little tweaking it could fit the dark mod a little better:

 

Hmmm, after taking another look at it, it looks like t2

[New Horizon]

I like it. I think something like that could work quite well.

[Springheel]

It would have to be 3d to satisfy the pitch crowd. I wasn't suggesting it had to look exactly like that, but something with a circular area that looks more compasslike. Here's another, somewhat darker, possibility:

 

(btw, if we made the compass a realistic model instead, we could also use it as a prop item--something to consider)

[ascottk]

On a similar but unrelated topic, I changed some of the inventory icons:

[New Horizon]

On a similar but unrelated topic, I changed some of the inventory icons:

 

They look good enough to drink.

[Crispy]

Lookin' good. Is the outline around the candle there on purpose?

[Springheel]

Those look good. You might want to get Gil's input--he wanted to be involved in the design of the icons last time I brought it up.

[New Horizon]

Those look good.

 

Agreed, very tastefully done. They look great ingame.

[Gildoran]

@Ascottk: Those icons look great!

 

One thing that I think needs to be tweaked is that the potion icons need to be be fully opaque, at least for the metal end-caps. (any transparency should be due to the tdm_inv_opacity cvar)

 

The reason I'm interested in working with inventory icons, is because I'd like to experiment with subtle animations, just to see how they look. (though I expect the Thief crowed would get annoyed if they were too obvious) For example, you know how the in-game potions ripple? We could have the potion icons subtly ripple in a similar fashion. Also, if we set up the materials right, we could provide a way for mappers to create arbitrarily colored potions without needing to add assets.

 

@NewHorizon:

I'm pretty sure we could do it with a double sided image. The compass in that inventory test doesn't pitch too far...so maybe it wouldn't even need to be double sided. I like realistic too...but something inbetween like Spring posted would be fine too.

The reason it doesn't pitch much is because it's just a flat 2D icon that distorts itself to pretend to be 3D (like how old SNES games used mode7 scaling to simulate 3D views) and if it pitches too much the illusion becomes obvious. I made it that way to avoid using a 3D model, so the inventory GUI wouldn't need special code to handle the compass. (which could make it more complicated) In fact the compass is sort of intended to illustrate the power the inventory code will hopefully give mappers - the compass uses no special code at all, so a mapper could have designed it as an item for their map without needing to modify the SDK, HUD or any existing assets. They'd only need to create some new images and write a script.

 

Edit: Actually, it might be possible to make an improved compass icon that would allow for full pitching...

[ascottk]

@Ascottk: Those icons look great!

 

One thing that I think needs to be tweaked is that the potion icons need to be be fully opaque, at least for the metal end-caps. (any transparency should be due to the tdm_inv_opacity cvar)

 

The reason I'm interested in working with inventory icons, is because I'd like to experiment with subtle animations, just to see how they look. (though I expect the Thief crowed would get annoyed if they were too obvious) For example, you know how the in-game potions ripple? We could have the potion icons subtly ripple in a similar fashion. Also, if we set up the materials right, we could provide a way for mappers to create arbitrarily colored potions without needing to add assets.

Thanks, Gil. They're on cvs so they can be changed any time. Those old ones were just sitting around & they were bugging me

 

That would be great if we had those material effects but subtlety is definitely keyword for those. If it was too much it'd be distracting.

[Gildoran]

BTW, is there any chance you could provide an icon for the lamp when it's turned on, with the lamp in the same position, but brighter and perhaps with a soft glow around it?

[ascottk]

BTW, is there any chance you could provide an icon for the lamp when it's turned on, with the lamp in the same position, but brighter and perhaps with a soft glow around it?

Sure. It'll be up within the hour . . .

[ascottk]

Okay, Gil, the lit lantern icon is on cvs under textures/darkmod/inventory/hooded_lantern_lit.tga:

 

I didn't include the modifed def or inventory.

[Gildoran]

Ok, thanks! I'll have the lantern item toggle icons when used...

[Springheel]

The reason it doesn't pitch much is because it's just a flat 2D icon that distorts itself to pretend to be 3D

 

About the compass--do you think your pitch method would work with a more realistic compass model, like the ones Ascottk posted above? If so maybe we could have the best of both worlds.

[Gildoran]

It depends on if the compass is mostly just a flat surface. Something like compasses 1, 2, 3 and 6 should work, since they're effectively just a disc (or several layers of discs). 4 would be completely unworkable, and I can't load 5.

[Springheel]

Maybe it would be worth trying it with something like #1 and see if it works. I think everyone would agree that a realistic-looking compass is better, and if we can get it to pitch, that should satisfy everyone.

[New Horizon]

What problems are you running into when it comes to using a model for the compass? Drumples hud mod used a model for the compass, perhaps you could borrow the settings you need from there? It also used low poly rotating models for the weapon icons. I understand we're using textures for the actual icons...but the ability is there. Having the compass as a fully 3d model would definitely look better and allow us to better tweak it.

 

Here is the link to drump's t2style hud mod. It throws and error right now, and I'm not sure how to fix it...but it should be fixable.

 

http://208.49.149.118/TheDarkMod/T2StyleHudMod.pk4

[Gildoran]

The reason I avoided using a model, is because you can't switch models on the fly. The model that's used has to be hard-coded into the GUI. The way Drumple's code works, is the GUI has a renderDef for each item and weapon. It's not modular at all... If a user wants their own item to have a model, they have to add in more special code to the HUD. I'd have to write a bunch of extra special-case GUI code to detect when the compass is selected, and display the compass then, rather than just relying on general purpose item code.

 

Edit: Though maybe the GUI overlay might be usable to solve this problem, because an individual model could reside on a separate GUI that only contains the renderdef, rather than have all the special-case code be built into the HUD.

[Ishtvan]

Would having an animated material for the GUI items worsen performance at all? I don't know enough about the renderer to know if animated textures are more expensive than static ones. If so, it's not worth it IMO.

[SneaksieDave]

Gil: for the life of me, I've been trying to remember why we are using images instead of models in inventory in the first place, for two days now. I searched, I concentrated, I browsed design docs, but I haven't found it and can't remember. Does what you said about the compass above apply to all models in inventory, then? Is it coded poorly, so that models can't be dynamically changed, or is that just a D3 GUI limitation, or...? It's a shame, because a modder could just drop whatever model they want into inventory and have it appear, rather than having to make a bunch of images.

 

I know, we've been over this before. Sorry, my memory is non-parity.