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[WxTech]

UPDATE: Mar 24, 2025. For the cockpits NOT equipped with a gun sight, I have relocated the 'gunsight view' camera hook over to the observer position. This is the same as is done for the B-17, for example. And so instead of the usual shifting of the viewpoint slightly forward (and aligned nicely with a sight if present), hitting the 'gunsight view' key shifts the viewpoint to the right, where the observer sits.




Get it here:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/c9x6t26x5h2c47i/Mosquito_FB_MkXVIII_adjustable_reticle.7z/file


From the included and updated readme file:

Achieving an adjustable reticle brightness for the Mosquito FB MkXVIII
----------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE: Mar 24, 2025. For the cockpits NOT equipped with a gun sight, I have relocated the 'gunsight view' camera hook over to the observer position. This is the same as is done for the B-17, for example. And so instead of the usual shifting of the viewpoint slightly forward (and aligned nicely with a sight if present), hitting the 'gunsight view' key shifts the viewpoint to the right, where the observer sits.

Now, because the pilot's armored seat back is not modeled on the back surface, in order to not see this invisible seat back I've kept the new 'observer' viewpoint a bit farther forward than his head would normally would be.

To keep the usual gunsight view as it normally is for those cockpits having a sight, I've created a copy of Body.msh, named Body_sight.msh, which retains the CAMERAAIM hook positiuon. This new mesh is referenced in hier.him and hier_TSE.him (and its copy, hiertsetse.him, as written in the cockpit classes)

Note that in all cases I have moved the normal viewpoint, CAMERA, a bit farther forward.

If the player wishes, he can place these view hooks wherever he likes. I've indicated in what sense the XYZ moves the hook when the values are increased.

In Body.msh we have:

[Hooks]
CAMERA <BASE>
CAMERAAIM <BASE>

[HookLoc]
//-1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 1 -0.22735 1.1794 0.68068  //R F U
//-1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 1 -0.1041 1.35872 0.68057
-1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 1 -0.22735 1.3 0.68068
-1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 1 0.28 1.15 0.71

The last three numbers are the XYZ positions, in meters. In the same order, when increased in value the hook moves Right, Forward and Up.

END OF UPDATE -- Former content for the original mod follows...
======================================================================

Adjustable brightness for reticles would seem to require that the reticle's mat name be "Reticle.mat".

If a cockpit folder is shared by two or more planes each having a different reticles pertaining to them, such as the Mossie Mk6 and Mk18, any reticle having its mat file named other than "Reticle.mat" will always present at full brightness and not be adjustable.

To get around this, a cockpit subfolder can be created, into which the afflicted reticle's .msh, .mat and .tga files are moved. Then the mat file is renamed "Reticle.mat" and the .msh file's material reference is similarly named. Additionally, hier.him has the reticle section altered so as to point to the new sub-folder. This will allow the reticle to now be brightness adjustable!

I created sub-folder [TSE] in the cockpit folder:

  3do\Cockpit\Mosquito_FB_MkVI\TSE



Old and new entry for the reticle in hier_TSE.him, the latter pointing to the new sub-folder, TSE:

;[Z_Z_RETICLE]  //original
;Mesh Z_Z_RETICLE_TSE
;Parent _ROOT_
;Attaching 0 -1 0 0 0 1 -1 0 0 11.3515 0.09479 0.67293

[Z_Z_RETICLE]
Mesh TSE/Z_Z_RETICLE_TSE
Parent _ROOT_
Attaching 0 -1 0 0 0 1 -1 0 0 11.3515 0.09479 0.67293



Inside the new sub-folder:

  3do\Cockpit\Mosquito_FB_MkVI\TSE\Z_Z_RETICLE_TSE.msh, Reticle.mat, Reticle.tga

Z_Z_RETICLE_TSE.msh originally pointed to "Reticle_TSE.mat", but this has been written as "Reticle.mat".

These supersede the files in the parent folder, which are still present.


Now that adjustable brightness has been obtained, I brightened up the texture in the .mat file, by making both the Shine and ColorScale alpha values equal to 1.0. (Formerly they were both set to 0.75 so as to have a reasonable compromise in brightness due to being non adjustable.)




WxTech
Feb 28, 2023
Mar 24, 2025

[WxTech]

I've don't recall having seen a cockpit hier.him point to a sub-folder. I've looked at rather fewer plane hier.him files, but also recall no such instances. Surely I can't be the first to try this?...

If anyone suffers any problem, fire off a missive. 😉

[Epervier]

I've don't recall having seen a cockpit hier.him point to a sub-folder.

This is the first time I've seen this in my memory. 
I didn't know you could do that...
Tks ! 

[WxTech]

As a Java chimp, when getting desperate in poo-flinging mode I sometimes flail about and try what might end up being a hare-brained notion. Once in a while something might work, kind of.   

[Kopfdorfer]

Jeez WXTech I can't believe how fast you responded to this hope , this dream ,
this glimmer of promise.

Did I get a tear on you guys ?

Seriously I wasn't necessarily expecting this to happen at all , let alone so quickly.

Thank you.

Kopfdorfer

[WxTech]

In a case like this, involving such an isolated element, the work is quick if the solution is known. Here I had just stumbled upon the understanding of the problem and its solution, and you presented what appeared to be a directly related sibling of the issue which provided an opportunity, a test case, by which to verify the remedy. Fundamentally simple problems can be fixed in a snap.

There will doubtless be another such case that just about anyone can tackle using the Selector's dump mode and a utility by which to convert a mesh to ASCII text.