21.10.2009, 11:06
Well, if anyone is interested in yet another GUI, or ... a GUI kit (dead simple for anyone who knows photoshop basics like layers and channels, and could read a few paragraphs of instructions (english or russian), i can upload the GUI (just extract into the MODS folder, just like fly_zo's.
Here are the few differences which may make this an interesting GUI to play with:
1. Complete control of transparency of *all* the elements, including the main panel.
2. No longer stuck with the original "crosshatch" texture - it can be replaced with anything from a different pattern (like wrinkle black paint with chips down to aluminum), to a B&W vaseline-lens publicity shot of some WW2 starlet (up to 1024x1024).
3. (i'm an electronics geek, so the original GUI was a bit ... unnerving) Got rid of the 80's style micro toggle switches - since folks try for, at least, period consistency, those were really out-of-place in a WW2 sim. The same goes for the "locked out" switches in the "view difficulty" panel. Loockouts like that just don't make any sense. Ditto for pilot lights used as pushbuttons. Was too lazy to change the green flush-mount pilots in the "quick mission builder", but they're ... an indian mistake. here are a few screenshots just to give an idea of how the thing behaves:
![[Image: 10.jpg]](http://f9ynqw.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pz6o6FUBN_TAjxDeCmdvA_mFTxSEtRZK0PqMK6GfnIfJDW-mMtd7WCnwHvx2K6l7aVlQQjTafalKjeZZrp14ib7HAVOajrahv/10.jpg)
I've resized the screenshots by guesswork (photoshop script thingy asks for numbers), so the images shouuld be about 15% wider.
One of the buttons on the left is being pressed (under mouse cursor). The "pattern" is a screenshot of of a truly amazing plane (next time you fly it, look over the wing as you hit the rudder - and they talk about lateral instability! (grin))
![[Image: 9.jpg]](http://f9ynqw.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pz6o6FUBN_TDGkh-taJ7Btvgy-n-cYe3gIObGuANCsfEesol2Y7MyaRbNiD-NLpWJe1LhQ-0XSimOyU3DoM0KALF6-wG02q4Q/9.jpg)
You can see a bunch of different transparencies here, from the top bar being totally transparent, to partial on set text, to almost none on drop-down menu. Changing that is as easy as changing the gray level in the alpha channel (which i've marked out, so you won't have to guess what's what). BTW, the brown buttons with arrows *are* period, though they are elevator call buttons, which were mounted in a painted aluminum plate. Nothing military. The green buttons are actually indicator lamps, but they shoo' look like buttons. The brown "slide" button is most likely supposed to be a roller wheel (kind'o like the ones in tube testers which scrolled the chart). Since there were no slide controls 'till late fifties (early mixing boards had knobs instead of slide pots), there's not much to be done about that.
![[Image: 2.jpg]](http://f9ynqw.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pUkh6IPGZOpjS3GCuOZxPG-Xtdd3pIpcrUN60JnAWeFVVzbuS1JzNpz9Gi4IEPu7dZcM0JIih84Z4gL8Jt_B-xJp88seEgBw3/2.jpg)
This is my solution to the "lockout" on the "view difficulty" thing. They're safeties that were used in everything from aircraft to shop machinery.
I guess that's about it - the GUI's complete, easy to modify, and, of course, the background is a sign of a deranged mind, and could be easily replaced by a more current fleshly...
Here are the few differences which may make this an interesting GUI to play with:
1. Complete control of transparency of *all* the elements, including the main panel.
2. No longer stuck with the original "crosshatch" texture - it can be replaced with anything from a different pattern (like wrinkle black paint with chips down to aluminum), to a B&W vaseline-lens publicity shot of some WW2 starlet (up to 1024x1024).
3. (i'm an electronics geek, so the original GUI was a bit ... unnerving) Got rid of the 80's style micro toggle switches - since folks try for, at least, period consistency, those were really out-of-place in a WW2 sim. The same goes for the "locked out" switches in the "view difficulty" panel. Loockouts like that just don't make any sense. Ditto for pilot lights used as pushbuttons. Was too lazy to change the green flush-mount pilots in the "quick mission builder", but they're ... an indian mistake. here are a few screenshots just to give an idea of how the thing behaves:
I've resized the screenshots by guesswork (photoshop script thingy asks for numbers), so the images shouuld be about 15% wider.
One of the buttons on the left is being pressed (under mouse cursor). The "pattern" is a screenshot of of a truly amazing plane (next time you fly it, look over the wing as you hit the rudder - and they talk about lateral instability! (grin))
You can see a bunch of different transparencies here, from the top bar being totally transparent, to partial on set text, to almost none on drop-down menu. Changing that is as easy as changing the gray level in the alpha channel (which i've marked out, so you won't have to guess what's what). BTW, the brown buttons with arrows *are* period, though they are elevator call buttons, which were mounted in a painted aluminum plate. Nothing military. The green buttons are actually indicator lamps, but they shoo' look like buttons. The brown "slide" button is most likely supposed to be a roller wheel (kind'o like the ones in tube testers which scrolled the chart). Since there were no slide controls 'till late fifties (early mixing boards had knobs instead of slide pots), there's not much to be done about that.
This is my solution to the "lockout" on the "view difficulty" thing. They're safeties that were used in everything from aircraft to shop machinery.
I guess that's about it - the GUI's complete, easy to modify, and, of course, the background is a sign of a deranged mind, and could be easily replaced by a more current fleshly...