UI²

[zooloo75 834]

Thread Under Construction

The idea of this extension to ArmA3 is to allow for an expandable user interface. Allowing other modders of the community to expand upon the game, adding in their own UI elements to be overlayed.

Initially this will be a goggle mod - providing immersion by removing the default ingame UI, rebuilding in into the external overlay, and applying enhanced goggle effects.

If you're wearing goggles, sunglasses, etc, ingame, it will be reflected in the extension. Using the extension ditches the limits and hardships of the engine, allowing for ease-of-use and quicker implementation of effects.

Some food for thought here as we stumbled across some odd issues in regards to HUD drawing. I've noticed that

in ZAM Glasses mod, while diligently working on the project LHM was pushed back by a BI issue of not being able

to render/draw the UI ontop of his desired Goggles. This ensured that the project took on a form of trying to be

subtle in design, rather than as immersive as he originally desired. The mod is great, but it inspired me to wonder:

"Can we really break the immersion barrier?"

In this endeavor I sought to demonstrate what (while quickly doing some UI HUD design) it could look like, this;

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?163658-ZAM-Glasses&p=2715814#post2715814 this URL shows us all that there is the potential of

an unhooked HUD. So, I spoke with Zooloo75, a prominent programmer/coder who seeks a challenge with ArmA

and I'd assume future enthusiast projects that can build the artisans resume. That said, we discussed an idea:

-A- The original UI suppressed or removed from the game, while initially daunting we will explain that by doing

so, a core framework would rebuild the exact (or better UI) in an external applet, working strictly for sole

purpose of allowing a developer to rewrite, rebuild or alter existing HUD/UI functions in any order sought..

-B- This meant that, essentially you could have all your Goggles ingame, working with beautiful C# effects, a

UI that sits ontop of it, toggled by a button via userconfig .hpp format. The Goggles would be articulated

in code by a library of classname detections (allowing further support), a definable .hpp would allow HUDs

to be configured at will ensuring expandable mod support, to incl. Modules for in-mission definition of PAA.

-C- Definable throughout is the aim. Initially, the core framework aims to encompass the initial eyewear of A3

Classnames, an immersive and beautiful Goggle HUD that can be altered/affected by FX incl. Snow, Rain,

Fog, Dust and even Blood is in the plan. The UI, while likely Legacy in emulation to the original, can be in

user preference, turned on inside the Goggles (if worn) or off at will. Customized completely should Users

clientside wish to edit these features. Furthermore, gas masks will exhibit similar audio FX to Scuba dives.

-D- The last feature, will be to encompass vehicle developers, more specifically; aviation. When a developer's

goal is to make immersive his aim, he may forget that his vehicle comes with a unique UI. A helmet of his

or hers choice as a p3d, plus classname could be shipped with the product and extensible code added to

UI²'s script folder ensures that he or she can write a .hpp UI applet strictly for use only in this vehicle on

which only the corresponding helmet would work. This .hpp means that it can be written professionally, a

vista of realistic functions bound to the helmet and removed when the headwear is no longer on a player.

This feature means that while a template is created initially, a developer can endlessly create new, user-

friendly UI elements that simulate the real world, or his own choice rather than bending to the initial BIS

script found within the codex of A3's engine. There is one last feature, but will likely come into affect as

development is donated into; and that is Oculus support. The idea that your claustrophobic senses must

play as much a role in real life as they would in-game means that a functional, powerful UI & GoggleHUD

can be even more immersive as the player zones out the monitor and puts on a new set of eyes, in ArmA.

We expect that the player can look forward to immersive FX, powerful UI support and the unhooking of a

former HUD, for one that can be turned on/off at will, customized entirely and can be used in every mod

available on ArmAholic, Six or BIS. It means that at the end of the day, you can create the panic of Gas

Mask's in a zombie apocalypse, or the dust strewn across an operators goggles, while choosing a UI I/O

in-game. A few examples of idea's in mind incl. a PiP Shoulder/Helmet Cam management, and possibly an

entirely permission based Webcam "Crosscom" system similar to that of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon as an

online team can use their webcam to co-ordinate movements using real hand signals, and more besides!

These idea's while initially bold, are actually possible and with some commitment from dev, the push for this is an

immensely revolutionary ideal not yet realized in simulators. This can bridge the gap between super fidelity MilSim

all the way down to simple HUD tweaks, or fun, hobby-level development such as adding a ZombieHUD for a mod.

Click here for Concept's

or...

http://i.imgur.com/V4mn9Pd.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/vHgnFR7.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/nmV8QJL.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xUWoQ2W.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/dT4hxNu.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/W16Y7wV.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/rSBCt9T.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/hDX6HVL.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/yncWwDc.jpg

Thank you.

More news to come...

Media

UI Remake Concept

UI Remake - Flight

Weaponstat.Module In-Game

Future Plans

TrackIR / Occulus Rift support

Donate to support our endeavors and help us afford shiny things like the Occulus Rift and high-quality stock images/videos

Developers

Zooloo75 - Programmer

Masaketsu - Texture Artist, Project Director

Edited July 12, 2014 by zooloo75

[Masaketsu 10]

Some food for thought here as we stumbled across some odd issues in regards to HUD drawing. I've noticed that

in ZAM Glasses mod, while diligently working on the project LHM was pushed back by a BI issue of not being able

to render/draw the UI ontop of his desired Goggles. This ensured that the project took on a form of trying to be

subtle in design, rather than as immersive as he originally desired. The mod is great, but it inspired me to wonder:

"Can we really break the immersion barrier?"

In this endeavor I sought to demonstrate what (while quickly doing some UI HUD design) it could look like, this;

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?163658-ZAM-Glasses&p=2715814#post2715814 this URL shows us all that there is the potential of

an unhooked HUD. So, I spoke with Zooloo75, a prominent programmer/coder who seeks a challenge with ArmA

and I'd assume future enthusiast projects that can build the artisans resume. That said, we discussed an idea:

-A- The original UI suppressed or removed from the game, while initially daunting we will explain that by doing

so, a core framework would rebuild the exact (or better UI) in an external applet, working strictly for sole

purpose of allowing a developer to rewrite, rebuild or alter existing HUD/UI functions in any order sought..

-B- This meant that, essentially you could have all your Goggles ingame, working with beautiful C# effects, a

UI that sits ontop of it, toggled by a button via userconfig .hpp format. The Goggles would be articulated

in code by a library of classname detections (allowing further support), a definable .hpp would allow HUDs

to be configured at will ensuring expandable mod support, to incl. Modules for in-mission definition of PAA.

-C- Definable throughout is the aim. Initially, the core framework aims to encompass the initial eyewear of A3

Classnames, an immersive and beautiful Goggle HUD that can be altered/affected by FX incl. Snow, Rain,

Fog, Dust and even Blood is in the plan. The UI, while likely Legacy in emulation to the original, can be in

user preference, turned on inside the Goggles (if worn) or off at will. Customized completely should Users

clientside wish to edit these features. Furthermore, gas masks will exhibit similar audio FX to Scuba dives.

-D- The last feature, will be to encompass vehicle developers, more specifically; aviation. When a developer's

goal is to make immersive his aim, he may forget that his vehicle comes with a unique UI. A helmet of his

or hers choice as a p3d, plus classname could be shipped with the product and extensible code added to

UI²'s script folder ensures that he or she can write a .hpp UI applet strictly for use only in this vehicle on

which only the corresponding helmet would work. This .hpp means that it can be written professionally, a

vista of realistic functions bound to the helmet and removed when the headwear is no longer on a player.

This feature means that while a template is created initially, a developer can endlessly create new, user-

friendly UI elements that simulate the real world, or his own choice rather than bending to the initial BIS

script found within the codex of A3's engine. There is one last feature, but will likely come into affect as

development is donated into; and that is Oculus support. The idea that your claustrophobic senses must

play as much a role in real life as they would in-game means that a functional, powerful UI & GoggleHUD

can be even more immersive as the player zones out the monitor and puts on a new set of eyes, in ArmA.

We expect that the player can look forward to immersive FX, powerful UI support and the unhooking of a

former HUD, for one that can be turned on/off at will, customized entirely and can be used in every mod

available on ArmAholic, Six or BIS. It means that at the end of the day, you can create the panic of Gas

Mask's in a zombie apocalypse, or the dust strewn across an operators goggles, while choosing a UI I/O

in-game. A few examples of idea's in mind incl. a PiP Shoulder/Helmet Cam management, and possibly an

entirely permission based Webcam "Crosscom" system similar to that of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon as an

online team can use their webcam to co-ordinate movements using real hand signals, and more besides!

These idea's while initially bold, are actually possible and with some commitment from dev, the push for this is an

immensely revolutionary ideal not yet realized in simulators. This can bridge the gap between super fidelity MilSim

all the way down to simple HUD tweaks, or fun, hobby-level development such as adding a ZombieHUD for a mod.

Click here for Concept's

or...

Thank you.

Edited July 5, 2014 by Masaketsu

[mikero 79]

This is a nice, and valuable initiative. I'd take some care however to make certain people understand this is in-game UI such as hud versus the overall UI Game rscDisplays which are a different fish. cwr2 makes a reasonable effort of altering *those* UI displays and people might get a little confused at the distinction.

[zooloo75 834]

This is a nice, and valuable initiative. I'd take some care however to make certain people understand this is in-game UI such as hud versus the overall UI Game rscDisplays which are a different fish. cwr2 makes a reasonable effort of altering *those* UI displays and people might get a little confused at the distinction.

Oh this is actually not an ingame HUD (although it appears to be). This is actually an external HUD, powered by C#, intermingling with ArmA3 via callExtension. This will allow for rich UI's that can interact with the game and provide further immersion and ease of implementation.

---------- Post added at 06:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:31 AM ----------

Did some test runs.

Requirements for this addon are ArmA2NET and that the game is ran in Fullscreen Windowed.

A demo screenshot of it in action.

Edited July 5, 2014 by zooloo75

[HorbeySpector 164]

those diving goggles. :eek:

I like the concept, it'll really contribute to the immersion. Though I think immersion is just as much dependent on (environmental) sounds as it is on a realistic view.. sadly the game is missing both of these. but fortunately there's people like you. :D

[zooloo75 834]

Progress - Watch the archived stream of the development!

http://www.twitch.tv/zooloo75/b/544726107

[zooloo75 834]

Only been in development for a day and the progress made has been ginormous!

I've made this an extension using ArmA2NET and data can be passed to (and later, from) the UI.

Masaketsu is working hard on fancy goggles textures and weather effects, such as rain animations. Water pouring down the goggles.

Current progress (ingame screenie)

[Ranwer135 308]

Only been in development for a day and the progress made has been ginormous!

I've made this an extension using ArmA2NET and data can be passed to (and later, from) the UI.

Masaketsu is working hard on fancy goggles textures and weather effects, such as rain animations. Water pouring down the goggles.

Current progress (ingame screenie)

http://s12.postimg.org/8lr5gp06x/image41825_9002059491.jpg

Very Nice mod!

BTW: If your planning to do water droplets falling on the goggles, perhaps for the vehicles too! ;)

[zooloo75 834]

High quality, animated water droplets (Rain FX) implemented.

---------- Post added at 06:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:28 AM ----------

Video demos of the rain fx and further development!

http://www.twitch.tv/zooloo75/b/544937034

http://www.twitch.tv/zooloo75/b/544941069

[Masaketsu 10]

High quality, animated water droplets (Rain FX) implemented.

http://s28.postimg.org/6ariyfpw9/image41826_0569699306.png

http://s28.postimg.org/wlmjandnd/image41826_057050787.png

http://s28.postimg.org/vs9xi17mh/image41826_0572697917.png

---------- Post added at 06:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:28 AM ----------

Video demos of the rain fx and further development!

http://www.twitch.tv/zooloo75/b/544937034

http://www.twitch.tv/zooloo75/b/544941069

He make it rain; http://www.twitch.tv/zooloo75/b/544937034

[zooloo75 834]

Please donate to our cause! We require $5 from the community so we can purchase (http://www.hdbacks.com/product.php?id=165).

Snow effects :)

That, or so we can invest into Occulus Rifts or Track IRs and support them in our mod!

Edited July 6, 2014 by zooloo75

[n_icomach 312]

Loving the rain! Is there any plans to have a way to enable/disable the goggles and keep just the rain effects?

[kremator 1065]

Very impressive so far ZL!

[zooloo75 834]

Thanks to whoever donated $5 and thank you all for the support! This will be well spent on professional video, textures, etc!

[Masaketsu 10]

Thanks to whoever donated $5 and thank you all for the support! This will be well spent on professional video, textures, etc!

Thank you A******** G****** for your contribution of 5.00 USD

Thank you L*** J****** for your contribution of 10.00 USD

Our objective is to properly gather the resources needed, and

rather than pirate or rip content, we'd prefer to pay for video

and imagery effects for a professional use. For those who are

wondering, we're not simply using ArmA 3 Code, we're using a

bridge with ArmA2Net, to allow C# code manipulation for HD'd

Graphical interfaces. The water FX shown could not have the

beautiful luster it does without the contributions from you all.

The endgame project will be to get a devkit for oculus for my

friend and colleague Zooloo, he's the coder behind the genius

of this wonderful development. I'm the CGI Artist, so what i'm

good at is developing specular, HUD, UI and professional user

interface modifications for a variety of applications/solutions!

Again, thank you both, we are excited to work with you on it.

Edited July 7, 2014 by [FRL]Myke
Edit as requested from thread owner

[zooloo75 834]

Update: Removed most of the HUD - leaving work for HUD recreation in the external overlay.

[sttosin 67]

These effects are awesome! I can imagine snow, desert storm effect, etc. Very nice. Keep up the good work guys.

[zooloo75 834]

These effects are awesome! I can imagine snow, desert storm effect, etc. Very nice. Keep up the good work guys.

Thanks! Snow is currently being worked on.

Sent from my HTC One V using Tapatalk

[zeealex 2029]

loving the look of this so much! :D

[zooloo75 834]

Ammo indicator on the bottom right.

@Masaketsu - Rain now fades :)

---------- Post added at 05:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:05 AM ----------

Perhaps the best thing about this system is that it allows for quick and easy implementation of complex effects and various UI implementations without having to deal with the pitfalls of the engine. Possibilities are endless.

Edited July 7, 2014 by zooloo75

[Remi .A 8]

If I can give a bit of advise from someone that wears glasses daily, you can't see the nose piece unless you go cross eyed just keep that in mind. Also I can definitely tell that I have glasses on my face but they aren't as prominent as in your screens, its more of a blurry outline. Just some suggestions to play around with

[Masaketsu 10]

As the CGI Artist behind this I can safely say this is one of the most advanced

graphical UI reworks on the mod market. That said, I'd like to say regarding 2D

effects; i've been considering ways to implement a later oculus specific graphic

definition that would simulate the visible peripheral blur of both glasses/goggles.

For now, glasses/goggles will retain their currently beautiful look, simply as the

monitor of many screens in 16:9 format widescreen will look strange having the

blurred peripheri consistently. I imagine if there were an Oculus Rift code patch

that detected the device ID, it would alter/swap the overlay HUD for one that

could become more peripheral depending on movement, conditions or head sway.

Someone also suggested a Field of View adjustment bar, whereas it scales only

the textured overlay HUD, but not the FX, meaning the edging of the said glass

or goggles could be more edged, peripheral based, especially so with said oculus

code above. Again, all features that are only possible via UI2, and not vanilla A3.

Thank you all for the complements on the CGI work, please direct your critique's

and complements here as we continue to further the work. The real magic is the

C# used in Zooloo75's data. I will say this, you may see individuals claiming that

it can be done easily in ArmA 3 default code, via CutRSC or RSCTitle, but we are

aware of the limitations that this yields, henceforth why this modification exists!

Please don't be fooled by the idea that this is a simple project, it tethers UI, CGI

and Frame-by-Frame animation into a fluid, dynamic UI recreation mod that allow

developers and users alike to customize their HUD's however they see fit, even a

slight alteration such as coloration changes can be made simple with this, and an

expansive codex of options will likely follow as development works to assist mod's.

So, many thanks not only to you guys for your positive feedback, but your idea's,

we aim to create the bridge between ArmA 3, Immersion and most importantly, a

consistently improving UI editing system in place that may soon support an Oculus

future for gaming. In closing, don't forget to post ideas you feel will benefit UI² dev!

[Ckrauslo 12]

I believe regular glasses would be just a bit bigger

[nodunit 397]

Question, in your earlier posts you mentioned this addon as being a "product", is this simply jargon or are you planning on selling this kit?

[zooloo75 834]

Question, in your earlier posts you mentioned this addon as being a "product", is this simply jargon or are you planning on selling this kit?

It's not for sale, it's free! :P

Product as in "Final Product" or a product of our work.