While I had intended to only do a partial update to the control management code (and then spend the second half of the update time on airlock art), it turned into an all out overhaul of the command binding system. Just about everything was reworked and refined, both to fix bugs as well as to add functionality that has been asked for previously. Here's a list of some of the new features and fixes:
Ability to bind to full and/or split axis (both 50/50 as well as user-defined ranges)
Support for toggle/rocker switches, such as those on the Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog
False positives when attempting to assign a control to a command should be completely fixed
Controller disconnect/reconnect is now handled gracefully for controllers that have bindings assigned to them. Controllers that do not are ignored
It's now possible to use combinations of keyboard modifiers for all buttons, keys AND axes (ex. SHIFT+CTRL+A)
Commands can now have multiple binding assignments, and controls can now be bound to more than one command
It's now possible to map to the mouse wheel
Along with these, another important addition was a change to the ingame UI for tutorial and subtitle messages. Long strings will no longer overrun the messagebox. This is a big plus for those folks who were interested in helping with the localization process. Finally, for those that were asking, since I was doing a bunch of control work, I added incremental zoom in/out, which by default is now mapped to the mouse wheel.
I AM now starting one the airlock and EVA suit artwork; and I hope to have at least the airlock in the game for the next update....
As always, thanks for everyone's support!
Full Change Log: http://steamcommunity.com/app/366000/discussions/0/364041776190769973/
Part 2 of update .08 is Now Available
Part two of update .08 adds a fair bit of base functionality designed around the equipment bay that was added in .08 part one. It's now possible to look at equipment, grab it, and carry it around in front of you. This ability is very raw in this first implementation--the core goal being to get handle the mechanics and to create the physical link between your avatar and the carried item. Once carried, a piece of equipment can be installed into the intended "port". What this allows is the basic ability to remove and replace damaged items. This is a first step to inflight repairs.
For now, two pieces of equipment are available for you to play around with--the MTS computer controller (comptroller), and the LSS scrubber. The scrubbers are located in the equipment bay--click on each to uninstall. Then you can grab, carry, and reinstall them. The small display next to each will show the current state of the installed scubber. The MTS comptroller has a locking handle, which must be unset before you can put the component. Once reinstalled, it must be locked before the comptroller will function again.
Also added were control panels for the various doors leading to, and located in the equipment bay. Each panel also includes a switch to control interior flood lighting. Likewise, the first of many ECS breakers, and isolation valve resets were added. Avatar roll control was also added, and by default is set to F and V (although you may have to set these manually if this is not your first install. Lastly, there were many small fixes and tweaks both relating to this work, as well as other various low-level items--one of which should aid art creation for both myself now, and modders later.
As always, please see the change log below for full details; and, thanks for everyone's support!
Part 1 of Update 0.2.01.08 is Now Available
0.2.01.08p1 is now available. From the readme:
Again, this was an expectedly longer update cycle as this one was also very art intensive. Hence, update .08 is being broken up into two parts to reduce the wait time. This part one adds the in-game art for the new equipment bay area of the Flying Fox. To access it, simply float down the ladder shaft and into the equipment bay. Once there, you'll also see examples of the main breakers, isolation valve resets, and LSS scrubbers. You'll also find all the component racks for all of the system computers. In part two, the inital ability will be added to start working with this equipment, which will begin to unlock the ability to repair your ship.
Please note, it can be tricky to move around without the ability to control the roll of your character. I'll be adding this also for .08 part two.
And again, a reminder that this is an art update ONLY. Part two will contain new gameplay code.
As always, please see the change log full details; and, thanks for everyone's support!
I knew this update was going to take a bit longer due to the art that had to be done for the new OPS satellite--my apologies for that. On that subject, there is now an Orbital Positioning System (OPS) for moons/planets that have orbiting OPS sats. Currently when within 10,000 km of one of these bodies, your ship will attempt to register with the local OPS. When it does, you can allow your sensor to use OPS data to select/target other ships (even when they would normally not appear on your sensor). When one of these registered ships is selected, you can bring up OPS data for it. This preliminary version of OPS includes a ship's hull data, register information, and orbital data (apoapsis, periapsis, etc). You can continue to track OPS-registered ships, even when on the far-side of the moon/planet. With this, you will have a far easier time finding ships when arriving to a new location.
The OPS sats had to be powered by SOMETHING other than batteries, hence the introduction of solar panels. I added functionality that will allow ship builders to tag polygons as solar panel surfaces. Once tagged, RogSys will determine their orientation relative to the local star, and then calculate how much power is generated at that moment. If a ship rolls its solar panels away from the star, they can not generate power.
With this same technology, I completely finalized the radiator implementation. Now, pointing your radiators away from the local star will greatly increase their efficiency. This worked well, so I was finally able to tweak the laser coolers so they act as originally intended--as supplimental / emergency cooling. Your radiators are now your primary cooling source. Take some time and learn what configurations to use, and when.
On another note, Roberto (the person who designed the OPS sat) is now working on the EVA suit, so you can expect to be doing some space walking in the near future. For the next update though, I'm going to start work on the Flying Fox's equipment bay....
Full change log here: http://steamcommunity.com/app/366000/discussions/0/364041776190769973/
As always, thanks for everyone's support!
0.2.01.06 TRAJECTORY is available
First, my apologies for not only the short change log for this update, but also the delay in getting it out. The last two weeks have been... interesting, at best. I've had to deal with some personal issues; the latest version of Leadwerks broke too much to be used, so I had to revert. Once I reverted I found I couldn't build RogSys any more, so I had to fix that. Finally, my graphics card decided it no longer wanted to graphics; so I had to deal with that. Blah, blah, blah--just a bad two-weeks....
Anyway, I DID manage to accomplish the main goal for this update--to implement the preliminary version of both a VMS-based "trajectory tunnel", as well as velocity indicator lines. Both of these are available in VMS NAVIGATION display mode; and both are (currently) relative to the current primary gravity well. Later, they will be relative to whatever reference mode the NAS reference selector is set to.
The Trajectory Tunnel is color-coded. Based on the default colors: Green/ON basically means that portion of the tunnel is between your ship and the gravity well. Blue/IDLE means that portion of the tunnel is beyond the gravity well and you are not escaping. If Blue becomes yellow/CAUTION you are escaping the gravity well. Finally, if the last tunnel indicator becomes Red/WARNING there is a STRONG chance you will impact if you do nothing to correct the trajectory.
For the velocity lines, Green/ON means the line is closing, and Blue/IDLE means the line is moving away. The length scales as velocity increases.
While their functionality will be expanded on, in their current state you should have a much better idle of what your ship is doing with respect to the body you're currently orbiting. As always, thanks for everyone's support!
Full change log: http://steamcommunity.com/app/366000/discussions/0/364041776190769973/
Steam Summer Sale
In support of the Steam Summer Sale, RogSys will be on sale, at 20% off (now $23.99 USD), for the duration!
store.steampowered.com/app/366000/
Thanks to everyone for their support thus far!
Update 0.2.01.05a APS is now available
The Autopilot Steering (APS) issues, particulary during transfers, were becoming a hindrance to workflow; so unfortunately, I had to interrupt the planned schedule for this past week in order to take a look at it.
While not yet perfect, I think you'll find APS much more reliable now than it was previously. I found several small bugs, as well as made a few refinements to steering logic. Also, when using time acceleration during low FPS conditions, APS is much less inclined to porpoise (which was a particular problem with the pitch axis on the Flying Fox).
I am sorry for the shorter change log this week. Autopilot is one of those items that is very time consuming to test. Every time a change is made, I have to set up a new transfer ingame, fly it under various conditions, and then make changes accordingly. It's just one of those tedious things. That said, please keep an eye out for any new APS issues, and report them ASAP. I'm sure one or two may pop up once more eyes are on it.
As always, thanks for everyone's support!
--Michael
Update 0.2.01.04 CAW is now available
With the re-introduction of the Caution And Warning panel (not yet in its final layout) to the pilot's right console, the last of the old hard-coded ship UI system has been fully removed; and all key ship UI elements now use the new externalized system. This was the key goal for this update; so I'm glad to be done with that initial work, as it's very tedious and time-consuming. Also, I changed update methods to something that should more evenly distribute ship UI workload to help update times stay more consistent. Otherwise, I did manage to squash a few other ship UI-related bugs while I was digging around in that code.
The previous version's STC-related work uncovered a few approach logic flaws that have now been addressed. Likewise, I corrected a few mission tutorial script errors that were pointed out to me. On the fix list were also a couple MTS-related bugs concerning booster VFX, and boost deflector switch logic.
As always, please see the change log below for full details: http://steamcommunity.com/app/366000/discussions/0/364041776190769973/
On another note, I recently secured a Thrustmast HOTAS Warthog. There are a few issues that players with that controller have to deal with, making command binding somewhat tricky. Now that I have one, I can properly deal with these issues, as well as implement proper toggle support. I hope to begin working with this controller in the next couple of weeks.
As always, thanks for everyone's support!
Update 0.2.01.03 STC is now on "Test" branch
The focus of this update became the squashing of STC bugs that were preventing proper, repeated docking. The worst of these have now been corrected, and you should find STC-guided approach and docking behavior much more reliable. Also, the ranges for various approach notices were changed, and the External Docking tutorial scripting was updated accordingly. There were also some other small fixes, including correcting a bug that was preventing many people from achieving the "One Small Step" Steam achievement.
Another addition is a post-process (post effects) management framework. For testing, I've added 4 post effects: a celestial bloom, a local exterior bloom and sun rays, and an interior bloom. By default, these are all off. You can turn them on individually via the Options/Video page from the Main UI. Since these are in NO WAY intended to be final, I didn't add any controls to adjust their appearance. The main goal was to get the manager working. As with all post effects, these do come with a cost in FPS. Considering the hit RogSys takes from the unoptimized planetary surface shaders, and depending on your system specs, you may fine the FPS too low with these on. However, feel free to give them a test if you'd like.
Finally, I also made a change to the background starfield that MAY fix an issue some AMD users are having with corrupted visuals on this object. If you're one of these people, please have a look and let me know, via the forums or Steam discussion, if this helped or not.
Thanks!
Update 0.2.01.02 SENSOR now available
This update re-introduces the MFD SENSOR page. Also, the old VMS trace/tracking and localizer indicators have been removed, and are now properly projected on the VMS. The MFD sensor display is now in 3D isometric view, rather than the old top/front displays.
Not only this, the trace and track icons have gotten a slight makeover. Not yet final, but a bit more refined than they were.
I've begun the process of linking COMMS to the targeting system. For now,
when the VMS is in "TRACKING" display mode, you will see an indicator for each signal you have dialed in to COMMS. You will also notice indications of which signal is on the currently selected COMMS channel, which is being used as the active localizer and audio.
To go along with the above, a VERY preliminary target intercept mode has been added to NAS. To use it, you have to have a target selected, be outside of 10 km, and a closure of greater than 20 ms is recommended (although not required). While I've tested it at greater than 4000 km, it is really only meant for ranges between 50 and 1000 km. All this said, it should make it MUCH easier to rendezvous with distant targets, such as the target ring that needs rescuing in single mission 1.
Please note that this is very rough, and is prone to pointing the ship in the wrong direction when the relative velocity vector is VERY off-angle AND the closure is very close to 0 ms.
Please see the current change log, here:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/366000/discussions/0/364041776190769973/
