CF widescreen

Quote from SWAT_OP-R8R

not listening well? and i always thought to notice details that others dont get

Sometimes you do, and sometimes you are the guy who doesn't get it, my friend. But, no matter...

Good catch: The post that I linked was missing [cockpit camera] and I do not remember whether that was intentional, so I fixed it. Here is the full set of FOVX values. It includes a couple of settings that may or may not be used, but it would take a debugger setup to test thoroughly, so I use the entire list. (The added values are from people who do have debugger setups, such as Adoxa.):

Quote

ive a notebook with a standard resolution of 1280x768 and ive applied your settings to it (eventhough your settings appear to miss some standard camera values)
I can not even choose a widescreen resolution (i actually cant even choose that standard res)

OK, that is more of a problem. I don't think that FLMM can modify PerfOptions.ini, so you will have to handle that separately. Or tell people how to do it themselves. Also, if you try to include all possible screen sizes, then you would have a large list. I am not even sure where you would get such a list. Perhaps WikiPedia-Screen Resolution would give you a start, and add 1024x600, as Ryleous Arkane mentioned. I am not sure about 848x480... you would have to test whether Freelancer works at less than 800x600.

I will remind you that I have said, several times, that JFLP.DLL is a much better solution. It figures out screen size automatically, and it moves the HUD windows appropriately. And there is nothing to change once it is installed... it automatically adjusts to the user's screen.

The vanilla fonts are playable at higher resolutions, but they may not be pretty, depending on how high the resolution is. My main point is that fonts vary little with screen resolution, so two options should be sufficient (Normal fonts and High Resolution Fonts). I will also add that I have experimented with fonts and found them frustrating, because the same font may fit well in one part of the screen but not so well in another. I spent a day or so on it, and concluded that two versions were "good enough" although nothing is "perfect".

Finally, remember that no widescreen solution is perfect in Freelancer. There can be situations where the player can get stuck on a base and not be able to launch because the top menu is off-screen. Fixing it (without a hack) requires: Alt-tab out, change desktop resolution to a 4:3 aspect ratio, back to Freelancer, launch, then change the screen resolution back. It is not easy for newbies, and I think that you disable alt-tab anyway, don't you? I use a keystroke hack to launch when that happens.

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Just to be thorough here is how you install JFLP.DLL:

1) JFLP.DLL goes in the EXE folder
2) Add a line to DaCom.ini, in the [Libraries] section, that says, "JFLP.DLL".
3) Set all FOVX values to zero (0) in Cameras.ini

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OK, so now you have everything you need in this thread!

Quote from SWAT_OP-R8R

if its not looking good (refering to fonts) then its not going to be released with my mod
either it works 100% or it does not get supported

Yeah, back when I was answering questions on the Widescreen thread, I tried to make an FLMM mod to handle widescreen. Setting up JFLP was easy, and I don't care about fonts that bleed outside of their boxes. JFLP handles PerfOptions automatically. But the problem with getting stuck on a base was a show-stopper.

I made an FLMM mod for myself that sets up JFLP and installs the Cameras.ini (above). I never posted it because I figured it would cause some people more trouble than it was worth.

I tend to agree with you... there is no point in making the installer more complicated.

OffTopic

If you are updating your FLMM script, there are a couple of options that could use better descriptions:

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- Advanced Shader. I think that you point out that it can cause problems, but stronger words might be more clear: This option requires a moderate-to-high-end graphics adapter. If it does not work, then Freelancer may not run at all.

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- Compatibility Mode: I think that you say that it is for adapters with less than 128Mb, but there are other times when it is required, as well. Some systems in the game use advanced graphics. Try this option to fix display problems.

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Also, reinstalling Crossfire is a long process. Some of the options do not require a complete reinstall, so adding a "Crossfire Tweaker mod" would be nice. My thought on that is to strip out unsafe options from the current FLMM script and reuse portions of the script. You could, for example, change Compatibility Mode, Advanced Shader, Cursors or Juni's Costume without a complete reinstall. It's just a thought.

Quote from SWAT_OP-R8R

i have a problem with jflp... it changes stuff that i dont want to be changed
just alone the client side change of maneuvering is in my eyes a cheat

Well, if you install JFLP for everybody, then it would not be a cheat, right? And it would give you a roll feature that really works well.

Personally, I don't think the fonts are a big deal. Most widescreen users are not using super high resolutions. Most displays are no more than 1050 high, so vanilla fonts work well enough. Only the people using super-high resolution (tall) displays run into font problems.

However, getting stuck on a base is a very big deal, so you would want to fix that, somehow.

I asked Adoxa to consider adding a keystroke-to-launch for a future version of JFLP. That would make JFLP nearly perfect for widescreen support. He is sensitive to the needs of server operators, so he might like the idea (and he already has keystroke launch in other projects).

I will report back here if he does it.

One could just use the widescreen support of that dll - without the rest - as you are one of the 10 people in the world - you might know what i mean ;D

I talked with Adoxa and he thinks that the stuck-on-base issue should not happen to normal players. He is only aware of the issue happening when video resolution changes, so my experience might be a problem between the seat and stick (smile).

He added that you can use jflpac.dll instead of jflp.dll. The difference is that jflpac ignores the fovx settings in cameras.ini (although they still need to exist).

If he is right, then you could use jflp to automagically provide widescreen support for Crossfire. It really works great, including auto-detecting screen resolution and updating PerfOptions.ini.

I recommend testing it with a few different screen setups, for several playing sessions, just to be sure.

(If you do get stuck on a base without the top menu, another way to get unstuck is to create a new character, launch, then delete the character. You should only have to launch once in order to force jflp to work for the rest of the session.)

(BTW, the only time that you would get stuck on a base is when reloading a saved game. So, if you want to test that issue, restoring saved games is the key.)

Quote from SWAT_OP-R8R

what about all the other jflp features? are they part of jflpac?
if yes its still no option to me

"All other" jflp features are the same between jflp and jflpac, but there are not many other features. I have included the complete list of jflp features below.

The only features that affect gameplay are the vertical strafe and roll. You already have those features in Crossfire... jflp just makes them work better. By "better" I mean that roll works during mouse flight and two strafe keys can be used simultaneously to strafe diagonally.

So it is not as though jflp would change the game much. And, if you put jflp in your distribution, then all players would have the features equally.

(Note: jflp.exe is an entirely different product. The .exe is an SDK, while the .dll is mostly for widescreen support.)

Does that solve all of your concerns?

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Here is the complete list of jflp features. This is from jflp.c (Adoxa keeps his docs in the source code. His assumption is that "everybody is programmer".)

This patch removes the following warnings from FLSpew:
* couldnt find material 163618903
Generated when a waypoint is selected. I was unable to fix it, so just
remove the warning, instead.
* get_zone(N) failed
Generated when a job sector has no name, which is quite frequently.
* Disconnecting equipment with FATE_UNKNOWN, using FATE_DISAPPEAR
Generated when a wreck drops its weapons. This is a bug in Freelancer.exe,
since it doesn't detect the "fate_loot" type.
* Used Hostile Pick Assistance
Not sure exactly when this is generated (or even why), but it's something
to do with targetting enemy fighters.

2 June, 2009:
+ replace the line number of the "Deform::start_aim" notice with the
timestamp of the event (in milliseconds; it also replaces the string with
"(null)", in order to fit the new code).

26 & 27 August, 2009:
+ add proper stat displays for Powerplants, Engines, Scanners, Tractor Beams
and Armor. Not used by the vanilla game, but most mods display them.
Also add a blank line after "Stats".

7 to 9 September, 2009:
+ provide widescreen support.

v1.01, 22 September, 2009:
+ allow roll to work during mouse flight.

v1.10, 2 & 3 October, 2009:
- fixed widescreen support;
* use En Dash instead of Hyphen-Minus for the trade lane arrow;
+ added 8-way strafing;
+ put the sector letter first (as in "Sector C4");
+ add conditional code for cameras.ini anti-cheat (CAMERA_AC).

v1.11, 22 October, 2009:
+ if MultiCruise is being used, include cruise speed in Engine stats.

Quote from SWAT_OP-R8R

i actually dont have that much problems with the roll and strafe feature

Right, I did not think that you would.

Quote from SWAT_OP-R8R

what i dont want is the exclusion of those error logs (excluding the log does not mean to fix it and i prefer to know whats going on)

Adoxa is about as smart and careful as it gets. He examines Freelancer at the assembly level, while it is running, by using a debugger on a separate screen or computer. When he suppresses an error message it is usually because it is a false error. He is the only developer in the community that I have complete confidence in.

Quote from SWAT_OP-R8R

"* use En Dash instead of Hyphen-Minus for the trade lane arrow;"
the original does look better... next to that it absolutely looks terrible when you have lane modified and the distance is showing the normal state right below (that simply does not fit)

Frankly, I never paid any attention to that one, so I could not say which looks better, or under what circumstances. Are you saying that you prefer en dash? Or hyphen?

If there is anything that you want fine-tuned in jflp.dll, the source is in the .zip file and Adoxa gives free license to modify it. Just put him in the credits.

Adoxa is pretty quick about fixing any reproducible errors in his plugins. In some cases, he has even added external controls so that server operators can disable features that they don't want in their mods.

Quote from SWAT_OP-R8R

i was able to fix all of the above (except the fate disappear), they are errors, not false reports and it is possible to fix them

Interesting.

Well, I don't know his reasons for suppressing them then. You could ask him on the Starport if you are curious.

If you test jflp and decide that you like it, but you want to turn off some of the features, then I can probably make the changes for you. But test it first, to see whether you like the way it works.

Quote from Bullwinkle

If you test jflp and decide that you like it, but you want to turn off some of the features, then I can probably make the changes for you. But test it first, to see whether you like the way it works.

Have suggested the same already If you want a feature disabled the easiest is to comment it out and built that dll again ;D

Quote from Huor

Have suggested the same already

Oh, well, in that case, it's a great idea, Huor!

@OPR8R: OK, give it a spin on your server and let me (or Huor) know if you want changes. Also, please list exactly which changes you want.

Quote from Bullwinkle

I use a keystroke hack to launch when that happens.

Please provide details on how to do this keystroke hack, I sometimes forget when I'm playing and get stuck, this info would be greatly appreciated. Cheers.

Quote from uncleglennie

Please provide details on how to do this keystroke hack

I use Adoxa's Console (for Single Player only).

Console would not work in Multi-Player. I am not sure whether you would get banned before it would crash, or Console might crash before you get banned. Either way, it would not work! A different solution would be required for MP, and I do not know what that solution would be (other than Adoxa adding a keystroke launch to jflp).

I believe I mentioned a workaround, which is to Alt-Tab to the desktop, change resolution to 4:3 (such as 800x600 or 1024x768), back to Freelancer, launch, back to Desktop, then restore your normal screen resolution.

@Everybody: If you get stuck on a base while using jflp, please let me know the steps to reproduce it. I will forward the reports to Adoxa, which may encourage him to update jflp more quickly. He currently does not think that it is a common issue.

Quote from Bullwinkle

@OPR8R: OK, give it a spin on your server and let me (or Huor) know if you want changes. Also, please list exactly which changes you want.

Did you decide what you want, OP?

I dug into this further and confirmed that there is a case where it is possible to get stuck on a base without the top menu: When you begin at a base and restore a game that was saved at a base. I discussed this with Adoxa and he is interested in adding a keystroke-to-launch to jflp.dll. He is hopeful that he will be able to use F3 (Dock) as the launch key.

So the remaining question is whether you want changes in error suppression. If so, what changes?