Are optional overlays in BMS a good idea?
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BMS is pretty close to perfect, clearly, but it’s not easy to learn. I think help overlay panels would aid learning a lot. The flightgear F16 (https://wiki.flightgear.org/General_Dynamics_F-16_Fighting_Falcon) is a good example of the use of help overlays. The Flightgear F16 isn’t as detailed as the BMS version, of course, but it’s not trivial either, yet it’s easy to learn without a manual.
Here’s how the flightgear F16 uses help overlays:
1. overlays to teach panel controls - move a control on the overlay and the switch on the F16 panel moves accordingly
2. overlays for tutorial walk throughs - like an active checklist. Select “?” and a circle is drawn over the relevant control or gauge. Select “>” and the action (e.g. flip a switch during ramp start) is carried out automatically
3. overlays for documentation: click on, e.g., the DED tab in the overlay and you can scroll through a description of DED commands.
The overlays are surprisingly good at getting you familiar with the flightgear F16 commands quickly.
Imagine that you were new to BMS and look at the overlay screenshots attached to this post. What do you think? Are optional overlays in BMS a good idea?
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…actually, I think those are pretty cool and wouldn’t mind seeing such available in all of the TE missions.
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perhaps you could list it as a feature request on the bugtracker.
I think this would probably make learning a bit easier for some. My own 2c - Id personally prefer efforts were on implementing more of the avionics suite, rather than improving tutorials. Still, perhaps devs disagree with me.
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overlays for tutorial walk throughs - like an active checklist. Select “?” and a circle is drawn over the relevant control or gauge. Select “>” and the action (e.g. flip a switch during ramp start) is carried out automatically
BMS scripting would already allows to achive interactive inpit tuturials with highlighting clickspots and adding text as well as reacting to user input it just needs some undrstanding how the scriting works and time to make i.e a full guided Rampstart TE with interactive guidance
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I find flightgear-style overlays easier to use than DCS-style text printed to the screen for tutorials (item 2 in my first post above).
Overlays also allow for alternate control panels and help tabs (items 1 and 3 from my list above).
Can such overlays be created using the existing BMS script capability?
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perhaps you could list it as a feature request on the bugtracker.
I think this would probably make learning a bit easier for some. My own 2c - Id personally prefer efforts were on implementing more of the avionics suite, rather than improving tutorials. Still, perhaps devs disagree with me.
One more good reason for only including them in the TEs.