Labels or No

[Weta43]

Rocky (posted this earlier but on S/one elses comp & the login had timed out)

Before you edit anything - make a backup copy !

With a text editor open the file and change the values to whatever you think reflects your abaility to pick out objects in real life.

( a good text editor is recomended - I have't tried with notepad, but if it won't save as a .LUA, you could try saving as .txt then changing the suffix back to .lua after you've saved the file)

 

The bit on the left of the equals sets the distance the label will shop inside of

The bit on the right gives the label format.

N = object name

n= new line

D = distance

P = pilot name

% joins them up

Quoted characters show as written "." shows as . "_l_" as _l_

 

I only run two settings for 'air'

"." inside 5000m

"_l_" inside about 3000m

and back to "" inside a few hundred meters

 

Ground : "." inside about 4Km or so & "" inside about 5 or 6 hundred meters

 

If both colours are set to something like {80,80,80} you end up with quite dark unobtrusive labels that don't IFF for you :-)

 

Try something like that - you'll get some SA while zoomed out without god like awareness, and have to look for objects - but be able to find them if you look in the right place, then keep an eye on them while able to see more than just a narrow slice of the world a couple of hundred meters wide...

Edited July 16, 2011 by Weta43

[Rocky49]

Weta43:

 

Thank-you for the information...Right now I am too pissed off to try to apply your information but thanks for the info.....Like I said...I can fly I just can't program....Maybe I have reached that point where I need to just back off...The flying part of the A-10C is easy...it is trying to make the rest of it work..I have good equipment and a not too bad understanding of flight and combat but having to learn how to re-program the simulation is just to much.

[Weta43]

Here - re-name your existing copy of the file to labels.lua.orig & replace it with this.

It's sort of a halfway house set...

The screenshot shows something like them - an A-10 @ 1.3Nm - should be sticking out like the proverbial dog's (it's bigger than a car, and if you can't find a car at that distance, you shouldn't be driving :-) - isn't immediately obvious on screen, but can be found and identified if you look for it...

 

 

(in DCS A-10C\Config\View)

 

 

Oh yeah - they higher your screen resolution, the smaller the labels will be - they're fixed pixel sizes...

Labels.lua

Edited July 16, 2011 by Weta43

[Cibit]

Rocky I hope you get the game looking how you like it and that the 1337bois are not too off putting:)

 

I just wanted to link you to notepad ++ because it is required for editing .lua files

http://notepad-plus-plus.org/

 

Hope this helps

[Rocky49]

Weta43:

 

Thank-you for your kindness. I will give it a try:thumbup:

 

 

Cibit:

 

Thanks for the support....I have no idea why Zakata became so hostile...he makes out that I asked for help then did not appreciate his effort...I did appreciate his effort but not his attitude. Modifying software is not something I am comfortable about...that being said i can replace the label.lua file with the one downloaded by Cibit :). I do have notepad plus plus installed.

 

Again thanks for help, that includes Zakata!

[Rocky49]

Weta43:

 

I have installed and tested your Label mod you made for me....It is a little too much like no labels cause I can't see any better than with no labels. :lol:..could I tweek the colors back to red and blue but still keep the smaller size?

[Zakatak]

Weta43:

 

I have installed and tested your Label mod you made for me....It is a little too much like no labels cause I can't see any better than with no labels. :lol:..could I tweek the colors back to red and blue but still keep the smaller size?

 

The bottom 3 numbers mean red, blue, green. 255 is the maximum value you can put there. So if I put (255, 0, 0) it would be red. (0, 255, 0) is blue. (0, 0, 0) is white. Follow? Colours look kinda.. uglyish though. I just made mine grey.

 

Learned this through a course forced upon me in school (grade 9 computer class, sucky course), so don't call me a programmer. Although I find it odd you would dis a programmer because they made the game you are playing.

 

@previous posts: I am short tempered, imma sry k?

Edited July 16, 2011 by Zakatak

[Weta43]

120,120,0 for both would get you a purple(ish) which I tried for a while early on

[Murf7413]

My skin is darker then the fake tan your mom sprays on her skin to impress all the Mediterranean teenaged boys.

 

I think you are just projecting your problems on other people to make yourself look tough, and I do feel sorry for you.

 

I'm sorry to chime in on this... But THIS kind of a post is neither appropriate, nor productive... in ANY forum!!! :mad:

 

Now, back to subject... Is there a way to kind of maybe space the text from the object?? For me I NEED the label to find anything on the ground, but the text usually tend to cover up the target, and I can't see the target...

Edited July 17, 2011 by Murf7413
To correct spelling...

[nomdeplume]

So if I put (255, 0, 0) it would be red. (0, 255, 0) is blue. (0, 0, 0) is white.

Shouldn't 0,0,0 be black (absense of colour), and 255,255,255 white (saturation of all colours)?

 

Is there a way to kind of maybe space the text from the object?? For me I NEED the label to find anything on the ground, but the text usually tend to cover up the target, and I can't see the target...

You can put spaces before the % escapes in order to push the text out to the right. You could also put additional %n escapes to add more blank lines, in order to push the text down. So it's a bit crude, but you can offset the text to the right and/or below the marker as far as you want.

 

For example, this:

 

GroundFormat = {}
GroundFormat[5000] = "{      %N%n      %D"
GroundFormat[10000] = "~     %n       %D"
GroundFormat[20000] = "`"

produces something like in the screenshot attached to this post (except the text is actually readable in-game).

 

If you want to push the text down, add a few %n immediately after the indicator symbol { or ~.

 

Another option is to add a new entry with a lower range than 5,000 metres in order to remove the label completely once you get close to the unit. That way you get the spotting benefit of the label from a distance, but it goes away when you're close enough to actually see the unit on your screen. You can see an example in the AirFormat for 10 metres, which is obviously too close to be useful for combat but presumably there for external views.

 

If you add

GroundFormat[1000] = "

for example, then the labels for ground units will disappear when you're within 1km of them. You might want to set it to 3200 or so (about 2 miles) so the label disappears when you reach guns range. Or you could use a single symbol like a ` at that range so you still have the indicator but the text disappears.

Edited July 17, 2011 by nomdeplume

[Murf7413]

Shouldn't 0,0,0 be black (absense of colour), and 255,255,255 white (saturation of all colours)?

 

 

You can put spaces before the % escapes in order to push the text out to the right. You could also put additional %n escapes to add more blank lines, in order to push the text down. So it's a bit crude, but you can offset the text to the right and/or below the marker as far as you want.

 

For example, this:

 

GroundFormat = {}
GroundFormat[5000] = "{      %N%n      %D"
GroundFormat[10000] = "~     %n       %D"
GroundFormat[20000] = "`"

produces something like in the screenshot attached to this post (except the text is actually readable in-game).

 

If you want to push the text down, add a few %n immediately after the indicator symbol { or ~.

 

Another option is to add a new entry with a lower range than 5,000 metres in order to remove the label completely once you get close to the unit. That way you get the spotting benefit of the label from a distance, but it goes away when you're close enough to actually see the unit on your screen. You can see an example in the AirFormat for 10 metres, which is obviously too close to be useful for combat but presumably there for external views.

 

If you add

GroundFormat[1000] = "

for example, then the labels for ground units will disappear when you're within 1km of them. You might want to set it to 3200 or so (about 2 miles) so the label disappears when you reach guns range. Or you could use a single symbol like a ` at that range so you still have the indicator but the text disappears.

 

SWEEET!!! That would be what I am looking for!!!!

Thanks nomdeplume!!!:thumbup:

 

EDIT:

Ok... where am I looking to find this file?? Is it an .lua file or .cfg file type?? Because I'm not finding it....

 

EDIT:

Never mind... found it...

 

Thanks!!!

Edited July 17, 2011 by Murf7413
Update on trying to find file

[dbeaty]

Here's my mod setting's for "Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS A-10C\Config\View\labels.lua"

 

AirFormat = {}
AirFormat[1000] = ""
AirFormat[10000] = "'"


GroundFormat = {}
GroundFormat[500] = ""
GroundFormat[5000] = "."


NavyFormat = {}
NavyFormat[1000] = ""
NavyFormat[10000] = "."


WeaponFormat = {}
WeaponFormat[5000] = "."


-- Colors in {red, green, blue} format, volume from 0 up to 255

ColorAliesSide = {100, 0, 0}
ColorEnemiesSide = {0, 0, 100}

 

PS it's actually (blue, green, red format) for me in the sim. Otherwise your pals will show up RED!!!

[Weta43]

But how can you tell spetznas from seal at 5000m ? :-)

[dbeaty]

But how can you tell spetznas from seal at 5000m ? :-)

 

True. You might want to change that color value unless you have psychic ability or are being given intel in some assumed mode during flight briefing as to which side is where. And you hope it's a seal not AAA. It's imperfect because a person or a tank uses the same code. 1000m might be better. But by then, the guns may open up on you. 5000m might just save you if you spot the gun.

 

ColorAliesSide = {0, 0, 0}
ColorEnemiesSide = {0, 0, 0}

Then everyone looks the same. A speck.