V0.9 cab and HUD wish list

[EricF]

The more time I spend in OR, the better it gets, but as it gets closer to a 1.0 state, there are a couple of things I hope can be on the radar for refinements?

First off, would it be possible to implement more than one font size for digital displays in cabs? Most cabs that need digital readouts have, to date, settled on the default MSTS font size for digital cab displays, but some cab designers (Borislav Miletic and Charlie Sibaja come to mind) have produced cabs using smaller fonts. In MSTS, the size can be changed by swapping the "gui_fnts.dat" file between the original and a "small fonts" version (I make the swap more convenient with a script). OR doesn't have an easy way to do this, so I wind up running some cabs with oversize fonts. Could there be a way to accommodate this in OR? I'm thinking either a large/small size option in the startup menu, or maybe better, an attribute in .cvf files added such as "cab_font_size" that can define at least large or small sizes, or a percentage smaller (or greater) than the default size.

The second thing is the F5 HUD. Is there any chance of adding the option of placing on the right-hand side of the screen as well? Some cabs do well with it on the left as it is now, but in others, having it right-justified would work better. Also, could there be a way to include a minimal F5 display, with less information than the current one -- just the basics, similar to the basic MSTS HUD. Ability to change the HUD color, all east among a few preset colors, might be nice, too, particularly for running at night with a more unobtrusive HUD color setting.

Just my random thoughts...

[seagoon]

The second thing is the F5 HUD. Is there any chance of adding the option of placing on the right-hand side of the screen as well? ......

I was under the impression that F5 was simply there for development/trouble-shooting purposes, not as a permanent feature.

Maybe it's call-up with be removed when OR goes into v1.0?

Bruce

[EricF]

The HUD is useful as it is, and I think a lot of MSTS users are accustomed to having it available on F5. MSTS cabs are limited in what information can be displayed on instruments in the cab, so as long as MSTS locomotives are run in OR, the HUD can be handy. Steam locomotives have their own special case; the HUD can display operating parameters beyond just what is on the gauges. It just would be useful to have a means to select the HUD's position so it doesn't get in the way of some instruments and cab signals, though, depending on the cab.

[bprice]

Here's a novel idea. Make the f5 window size adjustable and have the ability to have an opaque background. The user could theoretically drag the window to one of the cab computer screens and size it accordingly. This would cover the cab display of the readout and replace it with the F5 information. Of course, this would only be helpful on computerized displays.

[seagoon]

....This would cover the cab display of the readout and replace it with the F5 information. Of course, this would only be helpful on computerized displays.

Jeeeez!
It'd be bloody hard to read everything if overlaid on some of those small MFDs!

[bprice]

The key would be an option making the background opaque like the f4 window instead of transparent. Then the only thing visible would be the f5 info.