Driver Computer HUD (BETA)

v7 beta documentation in progress. v7 beta documentation may be incomplete or inaccurate.
v7 functions and features may be significantly different from previous ACS versions.
These instructions are not valid for current v6+ ACS!


The new v7 Driver HUD retains basic control compatibility with v6 HUDs and the v6 Driver HUD API Kit. The stock Driver HUD replaces the extended menu button bars with a button driven text menu for the extended commands. The extended commands selection can be customized by you in the notecard inside the HUD root, so you can add, remove, re-organize, or place your custom commands to be relayed inside the vehicle via link messages.

Two versions of the driver HUD are included in the v7 Driver HUDs Kit box, one using text-on prim to display data and one using text-on-mesh. Use either HUD as is, modify it, or use the various parts for your own HUD construction.

Custom HUDs built using the Driver HUD API Kit should continue to operate just fine with v7, as with any modified v6 Driver HUD.

Floating text has been replaced with font-on-prim displays for vehicle name, extended commands interface, and current gear # display. You can link additional prim buttons to the HUD as before, and touching them will relay the prim name as a command back to the vehicle linkset. You can still use the floating text display on your custom HUD using the v7 script by following directions below under the Floating Text title.


The included Driver HUD is only an example, but you can use it as is or a base for your own

Don't like how the ACS HUD looks or operates? No problem! Make it look and work however you want. The core of the driver HUD is the HUD root script that provides the connection to the vehicle. You can use this script in your own custom HUD, or modify the example HUD or even use the example as is. All you need do with your HUD is feed one of the HUD API commands to the HUD root script, or send your own custom commands that will be sent through the connection to the vehicle linkset on channel 500. You do not have to use the text menu, you can create buttons or menus to map any supported command or your own custom command to be routed to a non-ACS script inside the vehicle.

You can use the single prim digital speedometer prim or the needle+dial speedometer prims and link them to your own HUD (or even directly to the vehicle).

I cannot build your ideal HUD for you any more than I can build your vehicle for you, but using the HUD root script and API commands you can create or adapt any HUD object to suit your custom needs.


Extended Commands Interface

Navigate through the extended commands menu by using the up and down arrow buttons on the HUD to scroll through categories, and left and right arrow buttons to cycle through the commands. Once the HUD is connected to vehicle, touch the prim in the middle of the arrow buttons to issue the displayed extended command, or click on the command text itself.


Customizing the HUD notecard.

This digital text display and notecard programming system are entirely optional. You may prefer to simply create a HUD with a few buttons or your own menu system. I have provided this menu system as a way to make many commands available in a small interface, but it is not required.

The notecard contains a list of categories followed by the extended options. The category names can be set to whatever you like as they are used only to organize your commands in the menu. The category name must have a . before it. Following that are the list of HUD commands to be routed to the vehicle. ACS recognizes a specific set of commands.

Any custom command you add that is not in the list, will be sent to the vehicle linkset on channel 500.

Lines that start without the . will be added to the category. These commands will be displayed in the extended command interface on the HUD. You can choose a fancier display name for the command by adding a comma and then your desired custom display for that command.

Example:

.SETTINGS
Menu
Alarm
Alarm Test
Fixtures
StartParked
Group
Font
Skin
Color Picker

.ENGINE
Return,Return Position
Record,Record Position
Align
NOS/Recvr
Recover
Rev,Rev Engine
Burnout
Transmission
Shift Style
Controls,Controls Menu

.CAMERA
Camera
Cam A,Load Camera A
Cam B,Load Camera B
Cam C,Load Camera C

.ANIMATIONS
Position
Current Position
Park-,Previous Park
Park+,Next Park
Passenger Menu
Passenger Sit
Eject,Eject Passenger

As you can see with the line:

Return,Return Position

The Return command is what is sent to the vehicle, and the Return Position is what is displayed in the menu.

Special HUD Commands

(NEW for v7)
These are only for use by the HUD.

  • "Skin" - changes any preset skin on the HUD itself
  • "Font" - changes any preset font on the HUD itself

Things to know:

  • If you like, you only need a single category in your notecard, in which case you can remove your up/down arrow buttons.
  • To replace the arrow buttons with your own, such as sculpted/mesh selector buttons, simply follow the prim naming convention in the Driver HUD for the button keys. u for up, d for down, l for left, r for right, and c for the center select button. The center selection button is optional if you are using the text-on-prim/mesh panels, as clicking on the currently displayed command will also send it to the vehicle.
  • To use your own color picker prim/system, send an LSL color vector to the HUD root on channel 100 and if a Color Group is selected on the vehicle menu, the color will be applied to that group.
  • You do NOT have to use the included v7.0 text/notecard menu system. You can create your own system, even if it is all just separate prim buttons to issue whatever v7 HUD API Commands or your own custom commands to the vehicle.

For custom HUDS and notecard edit commands full list: v7 HUD API Commands


Customizing the HUD

Rez the HUD on the ground and there you can change the textures, unlink unwanted prims, or link on new buttons.

To add a custom button, shrink down a prim to the appropriate size and link it into the HUD. The name of the prim will be sent as the desired command. For example, If you wanted to assign a button to the Eject function, name the button prim Eject.

If you want a prim to not act as a button, name it skip. You can alternately pass messages to the vehicle by sending a link message to the HUD root on channel 100, with the command to pass to the vehicle as the message.


Customizing Driver HUD Sounds (v7.0)

There are three sounds you can customize for the HUD root script. This is done by placing specially named sound files in the HUD root which will replace the stock sounds:

  • hudconnect - the sound when the HUD connects to the vehicle
  • clicksound - the sound when clocking the HUD to open/close it
  • buttonsound - the sound from pressing buttons

Passing messages back to the Driver HUD from the vehicle using the existing connection (v7.0)

If you build a custom HUD using the ACS Hud scripts, you can also pass messages back from the vehicle through the connected driver HUD listen to the HUD linkset without having to add your own additional llListen.

Messages sent to the vehicle linkset root on link channel 175 will route through to a connected driver HUD to the HUD linkset also on link channel 175.


Floating Text (v7.0)

Earlier ACS HUDs used floating text on the HUD to show the connected vehicle name and gear #. You can activate these floating text messages in the v7.0 hud root script by including specially named prims in your HUD, which may be useful if you do not want to use the v7.0 text-on-prim menu/display system.

Place a small transparent prim somewhere in your HUD and name it with the special prim name:
Status shows the vehicle name
Gears shows the current gear number when connected
Status2 shows the v7.0 built-in menu text, only displays if the notecard menu system is used.

Reset/drop in a fresh copy of the hud root script to scan the hud linkset after making changes.

For examples of these floating text prims using the v7.0 hud root script, rez the KCP Classic Bike HUD or KCP Classic v4.0 Bike HUD objects included in the Driver HUDs Kit box.


[v7 Main]