Minimal HUD mod

This is where our experts try to teach you the very flexible modding system for our previous release - SOW Gettysburg and its add-ons. It's powerful, but dangerous. Post your tips and your questions.
Interlocutor
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Re: Minimal HUD mod

Post by Interlocutor »

Oops. I failed to get the screenshot uploaded, let's try again...

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Interlocutor
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Re: Minimal HUD mod

Post by Interlocutor »

Oops. I failed to get the screenshot uploaded, let's try again...

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"My headquarters are where my hindquarters should be!"
Davinci
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Re: Minimal HUD mod

Post by Davinci »

Looks Good!

MTG - is a very good Modder, so I'm sure that if you follow what he has done you will be alright.

I have never figured out how to add any New orders to the Courier-System, so I probably can't help out there.

SO, Best of Luck!

BTW - If you figured out this much, considering that the gui.csv is one of the hardest files to figure out, I'm sure that you will do fine.

A Side Note - For the love of Mary's Holy Child - Please get rid of those awful looking default trees.

davinci
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Saddletank
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Re: Minimal HUD mod

Post by Saddletank »

You may also be able to reduce the unit information as well - ask yourself what is the minimum you need to know? Then trim away the rest. Is a semi-transparent compass possible?

I like the minimalist look, it begins to look like a real first person immersion setting instead of a game screen.

I agree with Davinci about the trees. There is a vegetation mod by Jolly (or it also gets called the GCM Trees Mod or GCM Vegetation Mod) which makes the colours much mellower.
HITS & Couriers - a different and realistic way to play SoW MP.
Interlocutor
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Re: Minimal HUD mod

Post by Interlocutor »

Thanks Davinci, Saddletank.

I've considered eliminating the unit info from the HUD entirely, and just relying on the OOB. But I want to playtest it thoroughly first, in both SP & MP. I have an old gaming friend in San Diego (I'm in Massachusetts) who, along with me, just discovered this fabulous game last November. We've been playing MP games with each other since then, learning the ropes. He'll help me playtest this mod.

I'll act on your trees advice as soon as I get the mod done :) . I still have to revise courier.csv to include a bunch of orders that I can't get at otherwise, now that I have no toolbar buttons.

Which brings up a problem I'm having. Attached is a screenshot showing four errant "buttons" that still show up in my HUD, but only when I select a unit outside my own chain of command, or when I select a superior officer. My gui.csv is pared back to the bone; I know the x-y coordinates of these four errant buttons, and there are no remaining button assignments in my gui.csv, or anything in my guitext.csv, that could be producing them.

Do either of you guys have any thoughts as to why these buttons still show up? Are there global button assignments somewhere other than in gui.txt?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated, and thanks for the help so far.
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Davinci
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Re: Minimal HUD mod

Post by Davinci »

Interlocutor - I think that the Game is Reading the GUI-Friendly-Info that is located at the bottom of the gui.csv file.

If "You" can't solve the problem there, Apply a "Alpha-Channel" on those buttons by editing the "Buttons.dds" file which will make them invisible.

I kept the "Unit Information" but made it less intrusive by changing the color.
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Last edited by Davinci on Sun Feb 12, 2017 7:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Saddletank
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Re: Minimal HUD mod

Post by Saddletank »

Try turning off the 'radar' in the game options as well, that will remove the range and enemy unit name in the upper left. I have never liked this feature as its so unrealistically accurate/reliable. I wish NSD had allowed the host in MP to toggle it on/off for all players.
HITS & Couriers - a different and realistic way to play SoW MP.
Interlocutor
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Re: Minimal HUD mod

Post by Interlocutor »

Davinci - Thanks for the tips. I hadn't noticed "buttons.dds" before, and removing all graphics from its single layer and rendering it transparent did get rid of the buttons, though the tooltips still pop up like "button ghosts" when I mouse over the former locations of said 4 buttons :huh: . I suppose I can live with that for now, at least until I can figure out why said 4 buttons were there in the first place.

I'm not sure what you mean by "the GUI-Friendly-Info that is located at the bottom of the gui.csv file". There's nothing like that left at the bottom of my gui.csv file now.

Saddletank - Good suggestion about the range & enemy info at top left. I'll do that, once I get courier.csv where I want it.
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Davinci
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Re: Minimal HUD mod

Post by Davinci »

This Picture might not show up that well, but it appears that the information that you are trying to get rid of are these lines that are Hi-Lighted.

The "Tool-Tips" info that is showing up is in the "V-Column" called "Text"
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Interlocutor
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Re: Minimal HUD mod

Post by Interlocutor »

Thanks, Davinci. Those data rows are already gone from my gui.csv. I only have about 300 rows left, none that could be placing those 4 buttons. It's weird...

I just finished a 2 hour MP HITS battle with my PC gaming buddy, and the mod worked fine, no glitches. The four weird buttons are gone, though, thanks to your suggestion of the edits to buttons.dds.

But I haven't yet worked on courier.csv, that's the next step.
"My headquarters are where my hindquarters should be!"
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