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Profound_Darkness
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UQM Navisist Project...
« on: August 19, 2004, 01:14:05 pm »

[Edit] Just got rid of a bit of useless information and added a last updated area near the bottom of the page. [/Edit]

I hinted in a post a short while back that I might be starting on a project and I have.  Here is a link to the placeholder page: Link

Take a gander at the screenshot and the page, here is a few more details.

Basicaly after some tests I find this project viable if long.  The screenshot generated was in game and did not modify The Ur-Quan Masters in any way, actualy the program is in visual basic (sorry linux folks).  Also it uses DirectInput (again, sorry). I tried lightly to work with some dll calls accessing joystick and keyboard at a lower level but that didn't go well.

After I get it to a certain point I plan to release the source but for now it is closed source, well for now it's not even available for download since it is highly likely to crash your computer and isn't worth downloading right yet.

I should make some pretty big strides in the next couple of days.  Just thought some people might like a small heads up.

Yes I know there is a perfectly good page over here but it doesn't help much without a piece of paper and some key switching (for me anyway).

Thoughts/sugjestions are welcome however keep in mind that I am doing this project first and foremost for myself as I would realy prefer to play UQM full screen more than windowed...


Last Update: 9-09-04 2:57pm (Mountain Standard)
This update: Version 0.0.7 is released.  More of a bug fix but there are some unstable added features (that you can opt not to use) that show off what UQMNavisist will eventualy do.
« Last Edit: September 10, 2004, 03:53:51 am by Profound_Darkness » Logged

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Re: UQM Navisist Project...
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2004, 05:36:18 pm »

Quote
Not sure if this is the apt place for this but here goes... (admins, feal free to remove this if this is a bad spot).

Well, you can discuss pretty much everything in the Starbase Cafe. But this is closely enough related to UQM to be placed on the General Discussion board. I've moved it there, so that more people will read it.

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Re: UQM Navisist Project...
« Reply #2 on: August 19, 2004, 05:47:51 pm »

Looks nice. It could be especially good if you get a nice Quasispace
navigator working. Too bad it's in VB....but I'm sure someone would be
willing to do some porting.
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Re: UQM Navisist Project...
« Reply #3 on: August 20, 2004, 02:35:12 pm »

What, exactly, are you trying to do?  All i see in the placeholder screenshot is that youve removed the rings and have put in some odd looking numbers =p
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Re: UQM Navisist Project...
« Reply #4 on: August 21, 2004, 02:58:26 am »

Quote
What, exactly, are you trying to do?  All i see in the placeholder screenshot is that youve removed the rings and have put in some odd looking numbers =p


The strait and simple of it is a navigational helper (aid) that you can plot a course (or courses) with and it will find nearest quasispace portals and add them to your navigation list.  Then while in game (full screen UQM) a window is displayed above the main menu.  This window displays your next destination and you can get the next and previous nav destinations with a keypress.

There are many other ways to do this but I have been personaly wanting a helper like this so I can think more about the game than about what plannets I should be visiting.  It takes me as much as 15 minutes (or more) to plot a course accounting for quasispace, unvisited rainbow worlds, and unmined mineral rich stars to a destination.  Plus, if I don't want to use paper I have to play UQM in a window (blech).

As I think I stated somewhere else I am doing this mostly for myself but I bet there are others out there that would also like to fiddle with something like this.  *I* realy want something that blends into UQM that is fairly easy to plot courses with and you can play UQM in full screen without having an anoying in the way interface...  I have seen lots of stuff come close but I still have to go to windowed or use paper and, either way, lots of time.

The program will work with UQM but doesn't alter code (obviously since my C knowledge is limited and I don't want to start another thread of UQM).  Besides the navigation course plotting the window is always on top and is carefully placed in an empty location of the UQM UI when in exploration mode.  It doesn't peak at any internal information of UQM either, you have to tell it that you want the next or previous nav point.

As for the screenshot, that was generated in-game (print screen keypress).  The rings being removed is probobly an artifact of the jpg compression, the odd text is just an early sample of what this will eventualy do (in game), also made odd by jpg compression (50%).

I hope that answered your question, if there is some other detail you are curious about I will be happy to respond but I should note that almost everything at this point is merely planed out, not implemented (excepting for what the hitory file sais at the top).
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Re: UQM Navisist Project...
« Reply #5 on: August 21, 2004, 11:04:21 am »

Hmm..seems cool, and i like the way you worked around UQM by simply having an overlapping interface. Cool idea.
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Re: UQM Navisist Project...
« Reply #6 on: August 22, 2004, 11:22:27 am »

You can thank winamp for the idea of an overlaping interface since I played a lot of diablo2 with winamp hanging out in the top corner....

I just hope that UQM doesn't mind too much that the window is hanging out like that. I haven't done much testing beyond the check to see if it was possible for me to code.

[Edit] as is starting to become habit I have edited this post with new content rather than double post. Everything below here is new information, above is old. [/Edit]

For anyone that is interested version 0.03 is out, it's still an alpha of course but stability is way up there on pre-existing functions (that I took the time to look at).  Also there is the beginings of a graphical starchart.  On that note I could use some input about how the graphical starchart should look/behave.  I already have a plan which you can read about in the package's readme (also redesigned for ease).  Make your sugjestions now because at this stage they are easy to change.  I ask for sugjestions simply because I don't normaly work with graphics to such a level as that starchart.  That starchart has just about wiped me out all the different things I tried out.  Basicaly the starchart is the 3rd or 4th evolution of something remotely functional.

I am going to take a couple of days break at least where the starchart is concerned and either do nothing or get ready to implement some things that I am fairly certain will be in as well as some testing/debuging outside of the starchart to give time for a few poeple to ring in.

Happy UQMing!

btw, it almost goes without saying but here it is, please keep any questions/comments/whatever reguarding this program in this topic, I would rather not spawn new topics for this project on the UQM forums.  The only thing that UQMNavisist has to do with UQM is that *I* am writing it to work with UQM.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2004, 01:16:48 am by Profound_Darkness » Logged

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