never-ending yap-about-anything The Wingnut Chronicles

[Wingnut 1,939]

Hi again, gang.  Over in another thread, I went on an adventure to convert the ColorPicker GUI control (by @adam) into an "Ipod Controller".  Not important.

During those experiments, I learned a bit about drawing 2D "rings" and putting "hash marks" (graduations) on it, like a round speedometer backface might use.

I am not yet ready to talk about placing the text numbers/nomenclature on a "gauge backface".  We'll save that nightmare... for later.

I once experimented-with "curving" GUI textblocks... by mapping the ADT onto spheres.  https://www.babylonjs-playground.com/#11JINV#36

I also tried using extruded mesh rings, but the GUI ADT (advanced dynamic texture) wouldn't "wrap" (map) onto the extruded mesh ring... like it did for the spheres in the above PG.  Extruded mesh seem to have rather "basic UVs", if any UVs exist at all.  Possibly... with nice UV's on the extrudedMesh ring... hmm.  We'll talk. 

Although the #36 gauges were somewhat easy to place text and graduation marks onto, they look strange because they are not flat.

Now back to the IPOD ring method.   https://www.babylonjs-playground.com/#91I2RE#66

There is a custom GUI control that draws a ring with 8 graduation/hash-marks.

Take notice of lines 128-142.  There is Wingnut's piss-poor inefficient hash-mark maker.

As you can see by the way this makes hash-marks... it is difficult to make variable-length lines.  I think the LONG-line hashes... are called "majors", and short-line hashes... "minors".

I think we can work-around the majors/minors drawing issue... by using two rings with no gap between.  The outer ring... all minors.  The inner ring... all line-extender hashes... to make SOME minors... into majors.  With me?  You bet.  The "extend-some-minors-so-they-become-majors"-ring... could be on the outside, or inside, depending upon how you want your gauge back-face to look.

I could use some help... with efficient, tight, hash-mark drawings... on these rings.  (Need help from others replacing lines 128-142 with OTHER stuff.)

I believe these gauges... could help teach rotations to new users.  This means we need one gauge backface-o-hashes for radians, and one for degrees.

Others, feel free to try speedometers, tachometers, ANY gauges.  Notice that SOMETIMES the numbers are on the outside of the hashes, sometimes on the inside.  Text placement (for each major hash) could be a real challenge... and I would love to see all experiments and hear all ideas.  Besides these round gauges being helpers for learning rotations, I have a personal-project need for "easy round meters".

So, c'mon gang... let's get them brain juices flowing and think-up some crazy ideas, including... bending a line of GUI text (ouch)... layed-onto a FLAT circle/ring (as opposed to the "bulging circles" of my #36 sphere-meters).  Bending GUI text is NOT going to be easy, if anyone decides to chase that.  Use safety gear!    If it can be done at all, it will, likely, require some very precise/interesting UVs on the extrudedMesh "ring".... to map the ADT onto the mesh.

Hey, thanks for input/ideas, guys.  Have a fine weekend, everyone.