Avionics "stuttering"? Or: about the Heads-Up update rates

[+Stary 2,427]

Aren't you all bothered by the always perfect real time computations and displays of all the HUD elements? All the pipers, boxes, CCIPs, steering symbols etc?

 

If so is there way to force reduce the update rates of these elements? So we get bit more interesting bit jerky and jumpy HUD in earlier jets?

[+streakeagle 867]

If you can play and enjoy SFP1/WoX/SF2 all these years and live with the sight drifting off combiner glass, why would smooth, accurate indications on a HUD bother you?

 

As for fixing it. All of those animations are driven by hard coded dlls. Unless you are very talented at interpreting hex code and manually editing it, the only other way to change it would be a hidden or ignored ini parameter.

 

Given TK's attitude toward the game play superiority of the wild gun sight drifting down into the cockpit, I don't see why he would have made any provision for having slow or glitchy updates to HUD data. But he did have some whimsical features that favored extreme realism in some areas, so who knows? Good luck finding an already coded internal solution.

 

Of course if you could identify a stream of information and intercept it the way some of the DX shader drop ins take over the graphics quality... there is some hope with time and skillz.

[+Stary 2,427]

If you can play and enjoy SFP1/WoX/SF2 all these years and live with the sight drifting off combiner glass, why would smooth, accurate indications on a HUD bother you?

 

 

sigh because there is no harm done in asking questions, is it? I was thinking some kind of control over avionics cycles updates etc given as you mentioned ideed there are alot of oddly realistic features implemented for a "easy fun game with planes in it"

 

also I have spend countless hours digging into the FLTGUNSIGHT and FLTHUD shaders and material inis trying to cull the bloody reticles by meshes so no not really can live with the sight drifting

 

Side note, with what's now preveiling attitude from the really old timers here I might take my toys and find myself other sandbox seeing as everyone is soo anusealed (yep I just made that word... oh you see what I did there? :D ) about digging deeper beyond inis; a trend I have noticed for quite some time here, it ain't helping. Shall I evaluate?

[+streakeagle 867]

Whether you understood or liked the tone of my reply, the answers remain the same:

1) TK already provided a way to do this and somebody needs to look for it, but the odds are low since people have already dissected most of his dll ini keys.

2) The game files need to be hacked/modified with a hex editor.

3) The stream of data going from the physics engine to the display engine needs to be intercepted and altered by an outside program in real time per the shader plugins for DirectX.

 

I have no objections to anyone trying to increase the accuracy/realism/immersion of the SF series. But it has been under the scrutiny of so many modders that I would really be surprised if anyone could find anything new and not have already posted it here. I have only seen three efforts of note to push this sim beyond its current boundaries: the WTR effort, the mysterious and mostly ignored hacker-type, "mlracing" or something like that that appeared to be altering the game files (option 2 above)... and you with your never ending struggle to expand and improve terrains and cockpits. Of those three, only you would answer anyone on these boards. So, if you can't answer this question, I don't have any idea of who else to ask beyond the cockpit guru, moon jumper. I suspect if MJ knew how to make the HUD any more realistic, he already would have done it.

 

No one wants you to pack up your toys because you make them and paint them so nicely and even share them for free. But you have to accept, you are among the last of the serious modders for this sim and this is the last English speaking forum that cares about this sim to that degree. So when the one remaining expert asks for help... you are probably only to get one or two types of answers: total silence or half-humorous/half-sarcastic comments.

[+Stary 2,427]

 

But you have to accept, you are among the last of the serious modders for this sim and this is the last English speaking forum that cares about this sim to that degree. So when the one remaining expert asks for help... you are probably only to get one or two types of answers: total silence or half-humorous/half-sarcastic comments.

Which saddens me deeply Streak as there are soo many areas that we could improve further if we had more of coder type of users; Swambast, Mue and Gerwin can't do all by themselves and yeah sorry for silly tone of my previos reply, I am a bit jagged by the state of affairs and silence from Thirdwire's side. Hope no offense taken.

 

To cheer you up Stephen here's 125 meters resolution heightfield data for Wrench's Korea3 (compared to stock TW's 500 meters) already implemented and working without issues so far see, we still can improve things here and there (have Kamchatka too but in 250 meters res as that is 1500km map and things get funny in higher mesh version)

 

 

[+streakeagle 867]

I assure you, I want you to succeed in any and all endeavors to improve SF2. Discovering how to use the SF2NA terrain engine and implement a terrain better than TK did would add a lot to the existing maps... especially if they could be scaled 1:1.

 

TK was such a genius in so many ways. DCS World still hasn't caught up to his level of making the aircraft and decals so modder friendly. But he made some odd compromises. less than 1:1 terrain and a refusal to even provide an arcade/automated in-flight refueling system were big ones. Abandoning ramp starts and drag chutes that were clearly planned in the original SFP1 release were odd choices too.

 

The avionics were right at a sweet spot between fun/playable and realistic. If the terrain engine had been up to the level of the aircraft in shape and texture... it would have beaten the crap out of LOMAC/FC with good marketing. It was always the better game AND sim but lacked some eye candy and multiplayer that many gamers need to see before even considering buying a game. Until the DCS World quality cockpits arrived, TK's were inherently better... and when pro modders like you took over, the engine really shined. It is a shame TK couldn't make the business model work well enough to continue. The tablet games are ok for tablets, but a pale shadow of the fun to be had in the SF2 series.

As far as mesh resolutions go:

I have the FSX/TacPack F-4B and installed some upgrades to model Vietnam better, both mesh and textures.

The Hanoi/Thud Ridge area in this modded FSX is directly equal to Google Earth meshes. It is pretty impressive to see detailed mountains, valleys, etc.

But, as low a resolution as the stock SF2 Vietnam mesh is, your textures smoke anything I can find for FSX... much closer to photo real... and seasonal, too.

Nice Korea meshes. Reminds me of how much better SF2I terrain looked compared to the original SFP1 map.