Hi Messyhead! Yes, that helps. I traced the gauges in the Havok back to the following 3D object file.
\EECHSourceCode\setup\cohokum\3ddata\objects\Mi-28_Havoc_Instruments\HAVOC_VIRTUAL_COCKPIT_INSTRUMENT_NEEDLES.EES
All of the Havok gauge needles are in this one file. I don't have LightWave so I can't convert the file and open it up to look at how each sub-object is set up for each needle in the file.
Basically as I understand it, the code searches and finds the correct needle sub-object, then computes a rotation angle to match the numerical value for the gauge, then it plots it to the 3D cockpit scene. The part I can't do (obviously without LightWave) is set up the 3D object file with the gauge needles in it. I would need that in order to set up the code to plot the needles to the gauges in the BlackShark or any other helo. The 3D object file contains all of the location information to get the needle onto the right gauge on the dash. I can see from the math how the rotations are calculated, I went through the Havok gauges and worked it out mentally for several of them. It matched, no trial and error needed. I'll go through the BlackShark code next to see where it's at.
I also traced back the Comanche MFD engine bar graphs to see how they are done. I traced it all the way back to the 2D box and line drawing commands in \EECHSourceCode\modules\2d\2dwrap.c Other than figuring out the texture plotting units, it doesn't look too bad. This one I can handle on my own, no LightWave required. Weren't you guys having problems with the engine bar graphs? The part I didn't pay attention to was how each MFD screen gets mapped to the right location on the dash. I may need to go back and figure that part out too.
I think I might have started work on the Blackshark needles too, I'll need to go through my files.
As for the MFDs, there's a null object in the scene, with the MFD name that maps to theobject in the code. But then there's some drawing code that draws the size, of the MFD and the various symbols on it. I get stuck at that part.
As for the engine gauges, I think the comanche uses the old way of doing it, which is what the old Havoc did too. If you can work out how that works, then we could get the Havoc gauges working again, without needing to create a 3D object for the bars....
Oh wait, the Comanche isall MFDs isn't it. The havoc didn't have an MFD for the engine gauges, so I couldn't work out how to draw the bars outside of an MFD.
Maybe the easiest thing, although a lot of work, is to upgarde the Mi28 cockpit to the N model as it has MFDs. I would imagine they would be the same as the Blackshark.
I'll PM you about Lightwave
