[Lindsayts]

In case anyone's interested............

So far I have found 3 improved functions that OR has for renedering cabview. The image below is an example where all three are present.

1: Correct scaling for monitor aspect ratios other than 3x4. Below is done at an apsect rato of 5x8 to suit monitors of this ratio, eg 1920x1200 or 2560x1600.

2: MSTS cabviews are limited to 1024x768. It will handle an ACE file for the cabview of 1024x1024, MSTS scaling this to the monitor. This provides a marginal improvement. The current version of OR will handle cabview images of up to 2048x2048. The image for the example is 2048x1280. I have tried 2048x2048 the improvement was not really noticeble and the 2048x1280 is good deal smaller. Note the clarity of the brake gauges in the example, one has no difficulty in reading the pressures to 10 kPa, Excellent.

This size creates a minor problem, one needs a good deal of planning and care in taking to get a cabview photo with this much detail but it can be done. In the example the photo was not that good and was not taken looking straight down the track. The gauge faces were replaced with high resolution photos taken of the individual gauges. The camera facing slightly off was taken care of by very much manipulation of the images to correct the poor perspective.

3: The cab animations are now capable of MUCH higher resolution. This is a MAJOR and I do mean MAJOR step forward. I actual figured this one out after some thinking time yesterday. In MSTS the resolution for the animations is 640x480. This was not that fantastic when MSTS was released and its pathetic now. OR now lets one use graphics of high resolution and will scale them down to fit the cab background. The only items done in the example is the speed recorder and the brake gauge needles. The grahics of the needles were takan from the individual gauge photos and prepared and scaled to an effective cabview image of 2560x1600 then converted to ACE files. It took a bit of working out to get the CVF file addressing to work properly but in the end this was little problem.


I must say I am pleased with the out come as it has essentialy cured most of the problems in the MSTS cabviews and must thank the developers for coming up with these solutions. The example is so far the only cabview I have completed with all three enhancements.

Finally a word of warning OR has not official released or acknowledge these changes so one must beware but the eaxmple runs of both my machines at both 1920x1200 and 2560x1600 and is a REAL pleasure to drive.

If OR wishes to use these cabviews for testing just yell out............

This cab is essentially a combination of two victorain railways diesels, electrics the G class and the N class the only real difference is the Load meter also the radio of the N's is where the coffee cup is instead of the top of the dash. The speed recorder is also to the left of the windscreen. I shifted it for two reasons if I had left it there I would have to have created the cable runs to the device........ Long story. second OR's HUD information gets in the way on the left hand side.

A minor warning here the image download is around 440Kbytes, just in case anyone (other than me) is on dial up.

Well done OR,

Lindsay

[captain_bazza]

I like it....and the nice touches, such as the shades, broad-assed coffee mug and the train orders clip-board.

Cheers Bazza

[Noisemaker]

What about readout displays? I did some do-dad thing on MSTS that makes the LED displays more scaled down and appropriate to panel size et al. Will OR be able to improve upon that as well I wonder? But I like the needles and all in your pics. Much more realistic looking, and are they all operational on the left side view like that? Or just 'for show' still?

[Lindsayts]

 Noisemaker, on 30 December 2011 - 08:48 PM, said:

What about readout displays? I did some do-dad thing on MSTS that makes the LED displays more scaled down and appropriate to panel size et al. Will OR be able to improve upon that as well I wonder? But I like the needles and all in your pics. Much more realistic looking, and are they all operational on the left side view like that? Or just 'for show' still?

OR current lets you use apparently a wide range of sizes I tried one of the needles at 1200x 150 pixels and OR scaled this to 150x19 to display it. Although the position addressing in the CVF gets rather strange for these large sizes, this can be sorted out. I am currently using an "animation layer" of 2560x1600 (Note this layer in MSTS is 640x480), the needles in the cabview are this resolution so it seems no advantage to go larger than that So its is likely one can do highly detailed displays no problems.

All gauges are operational (Note 1) except for the flow meter (the left most gauge on the panel) as neither MSTS or OR has provision for air flow down the brake pipe. I have no difficult reading the six gauges at a glance, in fact on my Samsung 305T (30 inch 2560x1600) I get a strong feeling that the cab is real, it being around 80 percent of the full size.

I have yet to do any other animations, but the gauge needles are just one case of cab animations and I see no reason why all the other animations will not work. I have as I said only just worked this out so testing is continueing. I am going to have a go at animating the headlight switchs as a trial of this kind of animation, will of course report on progress.

Note 1: The gauges are from left to right bottom to the top, Main res white needle, Equ Res Red needle, next gauge locomotive brake cylinders (two needles only one shown though), Brake line pressure. The loadmeter is above that and of course the Hasler-Bern_Speedrecorder.

Lindsay

[Lindsayts]

 captain_bazza, on 30 December 2011 - 05:50 PM, said:

I like it....and the nice touches, such as the shades, broad-assed coffee mug and the train orders clip-board.

Cheers Bazza

Thanks for the comments, they ALL are apreciated even if I do not acknowledge all of them.

Makes the cab looked lived in doesnt it, In victoria here it appears the coffee mug is a sort of standard item a a good percentage of drivers place one in the cab. The cabs of course have tea/coffee making facilties, in fact in the this cab the heating element is just to the right out of shot.

In fact one of the reasons for the mug (and the paper work) is so a did not have to detail the cab there.

The real N class cabs have a radio there, the cab photo is of a G class loco, as I have said the only difference is the loadmeter of the G is larger, the loco being of higher power. I may change this around when there is more time.


Lindsay

[Lindsayts]

Just a minor point, I have only figured OR could do these hi res cab animations around 40 hours ago and I am just a "user" and I have not yet got my head completely around how the OR addressing works in these cabviews, the size of the graphic used effects its address in the CVF file, but I AM working on it as this solves a real major problem.

Lindsay

[longiron]

Lindsay,
For the control graphics, Open Rails works very simply. It takes the control texture size and then cab view file. It determines two things: (1) there are 12 frames, arranged 4 by 3, and (2) each control texture is x by y.

The control texture file is split in to 4 by 3 frames. Open Rails then determines what the size of each control sub-division should be from this information. This should match the size of the control texture in the CVF file or Open Rails will report an error.

[Noisemaker]

Very cool! ;) And just for my knowledge - gauges and displays on the left view in MSTS can NOT be animated? Or, no one has bothered really? Don't think I've come across a engine yet that does this in MSTS? Or if so, I wasn't paying attention, and went back to my 'main view' to make sure I knew where I was at readout wise.

So in OR, can even Right Views be animated? Many times in a F unit I forget and leave the sander on, and right view gives the best indication of that. But in MSTS, the view is always static. And isn't until I stop at the next station and wonder 'what's that hissing sound? Oh cripes - I've left the sand on!' B)

[Lindsayts]

 Noisemaker, on 31 December 2011 - 10:48 AM, said:

Very cool! :sign_welcome: And just for my knowledge - gauges and displays on the left view in MSTS can NOT be animated? Or, no one has bothered really? Don't think I've come across a engine yet that does this in MSTS? Or if so, I wasn't paying attention, and went back to my 'main view' to make sure I knew where I was at readout wise.

So in OR, can even Right Views be animated? Many times in a F unit I forget and leave the sander on, and right view gives the best indication of that. But in MSTS, the view is always static. And isn't until I stop at the next station and wonder 'what's that hissing sound? Oh cripes - I've left the sand on!' :oldstry:

Currently the left and right views are just images and there is no provision for animation. It would be nice to have a status display of all the controls so one can see where such things as sanders, the brake and the throttle position is if these are not animated in the cabview. If the normal animations where of a hi res it would not be very difficult to produce such an indicator at least for the main controls.

Lindsay