[GameMode] (TM2) Endurance

[chuckie]

I, too, want to be able to see the back of my car.
And please keep everything as minimalistic as possible. If it is something I hate, it is a clogged screen full of stuff I do not care about.

[TatharNuar]

There's a lot of stuff here, so I'm going to reply to each part individually.

Platform has some stupid UI element on the right.
Your manialink example overlaps it: http://i.imgur.com/m0DvfHE.jpg
Besides, Platform does not use multiple timers, in fact, it does use the timer location to show the score, not showing any timer at all.

Ironically, the UI element overlapping it does the same exact thing. They're both live rankings. It's based on the Rounds mode UI for finish rankings. I believe it's possible to disable that UI element by xml-rpc since I don't see it on all Rounds servers, but I don't know how it's done. It's really not needed in Platform at all.

And sorry, this is really too clogged for me. http://i.imgur.com/2tpQIw9.jpg (even without the warming up text)

In that Manialink, I'm illustrating how the challenge info plugin can hide and display the track stats plugin. Although it doesn't work in the Manialink, the icon to the right of the author line is supposed to be a button to toggle the track stats plugin if it is loaded. I'm also looking into how to combine the run attempt tracker and live rankings into a single window that contains the functionality from both. I can't simulate that in a Dropbox-hosted Manialink though.

Regardless, if that window is too busy for you, you'd hate to see XASECO with Fufi Widgets. It's much worse than what I showed you, and that's the most cluttered view I have a Manialink prototype of. All of the other screen views use less of the screen, and the console acts to reduce clutter by hiding some plugin windows instead of displaying all of them at once.

My point is that placing the timer at the top of the screen is simply the best choice since it doesn't get too near to the center of the screen, thus distracting less, AND it is still symmetric. Keep in mind that the timer appears/disappears constantly, using a smooth animation, which would only distract more if it makes a longer distance.

I am keenly aware of the smooth animation, since it distracts me often when playing Endurance. I crashed very often soon after it popped up. To me, this is more distracting than something a slightly closer to the center.

Actually, this gives me an idea: is it even necessary to have the match time clock in that prominent a location? You could put the knockout timer there in its place and it would solve both problems. The match time clock is better placed as a smaller version to the bottom right or removed entirely, since it's not especially important.

Since I hate clogged xml-rpc manialinks (that's how I am ) I'm using this approach in my own servers: http://i.imgur.com/EZe7oaf.jpg - hovering the left-panels shows the data (slides in) and the user may click it to leave it open (latter bit is still a todo, but that's the concept).

I'm happy to hear that you think about alternatives for people like me tho .

You'll love to hear that eXpansion is a plugin suite that provides features like what you're describing then. It's ManiaScript-powered too, so it looks very fluid and doesn't require clicking icons to expand menus. I'm working with Reaby to make our plugin suites work together, so I'll have to ask him about alternative Dragon Console layouts. I'm designing my plugins to have separate backends and frontends, so you'll be able to use the Dragon Console's backend libraries with someone else's console window plugin to get a different GUI for the same console.

[TatharNuar]

Just wanted to say that I want to see the back of my car. Thanks.

It allows me to compute the distance I can drive the outside of a curve while the back of my car drifts close to the outside wall.

Good point. Please check my new idea, which resolves this problem.

[TGYoshi]

Your suggestion to remove the normal timer is indeed possible, but I personally really like to have that timer in place. It isn't really worth it to remove it as well.
The whole mode still features timer-based things as well (checkpoint time differences, "global" checkpoint times (http://i.imgur.com/swMLafg.png), prev/best .... ), all handled client-side, which is altogether disabled when hiding the default timer (so I have to manually make it).
It might sound rejecting, but I simply like how the mode works now.

Regardless, if that window is too busy for you, you'd hate to see XASECO with Fufi Widgets.

I do, I certainly do.
If I can't hide all of the clog with a simple F7 press I'd quit the server as usual.

[TatharNuar]

That's disappointing to hear. I don't have the time to maintain two plugin suites, so I guess I can't support this gamemode then. I just don't see another way to make my plugin suite compatible with your gamemode.

[lolracer]

hello TGYoshi,

i think that your script endurance is fantastic.

my problem with endurance is, that it work perfect, when i play it local.

But when i try to run it on a online server...the loading window shows me that your script is loaded and the server runs

ingame there are no Checkpoints to see...so the hole script has no function

do you have any solution ?

[TGYoshi]

Can you take a screenshot of what's visible (or what isn't)?
Also check server log files for any errors, and in-game press ctrl+g to see if any errors show up there.

[lolracer]

Ty for your answer,

here are some screenshots of how the gamescreen looks like, when i started it on my webserver





there are no errors in the server log

[TGYoshi]

Press ctrl+g once again so you get the full debug menu.
At the right you should see the client-sided UI script. Click it and take a screenshot of it. ( http://i.imgur.com/blC1YbP.png )
At your latest screen you shouldn't be able to see the == Restart == output, this indicates the script is being ran client-sided and not server-sided.

[lolracer]

ok here are my screenshots

but whats going wrong by me ?
your screenshot looks not so, as mine !