The MG Heat Bar.
This Tutorial describes where to find the files to change the colours and position of the MG Heat Bar.
Colours.
You will need to edit the ClientScheme.res file, open it up in Notepad.
This is very similar to the stamina bar in it's behavior.
Just like the Stamina Bar I have used green, yellow, orange and red as you progress through from a low value to a high value, cold, warm, hot then very hot.
Here is the group controlling the colors in the stamina bar and the MG Heat Bar (Below is the standard colors) very near the top of the ClientScheme.res file…
"HudProgressBarActive" "240 207 78 255"
"HudProgressBarInActive" "140 120 73 255"
"HudProgressBarActiveLow" "240 30 30 255"
"HudProgressBarInActiveLow" "240 30 30 99"
I first worked out the stages, then changed the colors of the bar…
FUNCTION NAME COLOR CODE
LOW "HudProgressBarActive" "100 120 66 255" //Green
MEDLOW "HudProgressBarInActive" "251 206 60 255" //Yellow
MEDHIGH "HudProgressBarActiveLow" "255 176 0 255" //Orange
HIGH "HudProgressBarInActiveLow" "240 30 30 255" //Bright red
So now I replaced the standard ones…
"HudProgressBarActive" "100 120 66 255"
"HudProgressBarInActive" "251 206 60 255"
"HudProgressBarActiveLow" "255 176 0 255"
"HudProgressBarInActiveLow" "240 30 30 255"
The icon, (A small MG graphic) is actually a character in a font file not a graphic.
The font file is a TrueType Font file called "dodlogo" and can be found in the dod\resource folder.
In Win XP you should be able to double click on a font file and look at it's contents, if you want to view more closely you can use a freeware utility called The Font Thing by Sue Fisher.
For the colours of the MG gun icon "the gun graphic" you can edit the ClientScheme.res file. Find the following...
HudMGHeatIcon.Active "HudProgressBarActive"
HudMGHeatIcon.ActiveLow "HudProgressBarActiveLow"
The "HudProgressBarActive" (on the right top line) is ok, it is green (dull yellow in the standard hud).
The "HudProgressBarActiveLow" (on the right top line, my orange color), has to be changed to red, just replace it with "HudProgressBarInActiveLow" now when the red (high) is on the stamina bar the icon will match. It should look like this now…
HudMGHeatIcon.Active "HudProgressBarActive"
HudMGHeatIcon.ActiveLow "HudProgressBarInActiveLow"
Now... if you find all that confusing you are not alone, but you can place a colour value in there as well, it will still work :) Like this...
HudMGHeatIcon.Active "100 120 66 255"
HudMGHeatIcon.ActiveLow "240 30 30 255"
I am not sure why the Hud colours were set up this way... naming a colour "HudProgressBarActive" seemed a little strange to me when you can just put the colour in anyway. I suppose it's for a reason... it maybe just that I am too thick to see the wood for the trees :D
So... if you are using the colours that I used, when in-game you fire the MG until it cuts out…
First stage… the bar is Green and so is the Icon.
Second stage… the bar is Yellow but the Icon stays Green.
Third stage… the bar is Orange the Icon changes to Red.
Forth stage… the bar is Red the Icon stays Red.
I picked those colors so the Green will not stand out so much… less distracting but when your MG is heating up and ready to stop… you will see the brighter colors out of the corner of your eye.
Changing the Position and Altering behavior of the bar.
You will need to edit the Resource/UI/HudPlayerStatusMGHeat.res file.
Open it up in Notepad.
This file has 3 sections. Some of the adjustments are self explanatory like...
"visible" "1" so I won't repeat the description of them every time and instead just place the items of most interest in that section.
NOTE: When moving items around, don't forget there is a page to help speed that up a little. Have a read here.
"MGHeatBackground" ...It's the background
{
"ControlName" "EditablePanel"
"fieldName" "MGHeatBackground"
"xpos" "150" ...Adjusting this will move left and right.
"ypos" "9" ...Adjusting this will move up and down.
"wide" "105" ...Makes it wider/narrower.
"tall" "9" ...Makes it taller/smaller.
"visible" "0" ... "0" makes it disable.
"enabled" "1" ... "0" makes it disable.
"CornerToCut" "bottom_left" ...The corner you want to "cut".
"CornerCutSize" "5" ...The size of the cut in the corner.
}
"MGHeatIcon" ...It's the ICON
{
"ControlName" "ImagePanel"
"fieldName" "MGHeatIcon"
"xpos" "213"
"ypos" "0"
"wide" "40"
"tall" "18"
"visible" "1"
"enabled" "1"
"scaleImage" "1"
"icon_mg42" "mgheat_mg42"
"warning_level" ".8" ...is the percentage level of when it changes colour. icon changes colour. (Colour controlled by the ClientScheme.res file).
}
"MGHeatProgressBar" ...It's the segmented bar graph.
{
"ControlName" "Panel"
"fieldName" "MGHeatProgressBar"
"xpos" "157"
"ypos" "11"
"wide" "56"
"tall" "5"
"visible" "1"
"enabled" "1"
"slice_width" "2" ...The size of the single bars.
"slice_spacer" "1" ...The size of the gap between the bars
"warning_level" ".5" ...is the percentage level of where it changes colour in the Bar graph ".5" will be the middle of the bar. (Colours, four of them, controlled by the ClientScheme.res file).
