Suggestion, Diving gear gauges.

FragmagnetFragmagnet Join Date: 2010-07-26 Member: 72873Members
Remember this is a survival situation, you woke up in an escape pod.

Instead of having all the data put onto your onscreen hud. A feature to look at a dive computer/ pressure gage/ your diving gear on where ever it would be on your character model via an animation would be nice.
Also instead of an HP, hunger, and Thirst percentage, just leave that job to the suit to tell you, and just add a few new voiceovers. Like hydration optimal for >90% H2O

Still need a suggestions board.

Comments

  • NairitNairit NJ, USA Join Date: 2014-11-10 Member: 199589Members
    Seems a bit tech level inconsistent to me (admittedly at this point many things are), but I think civilization capable of interstellar travel would be also capable of sending all the relevant data on a dive-suit mask screen (if not directly to the optical nerves or brain).
  • FragmagnetFragmagnet Join Date: 2010-07-26 Member: 72873Members
    edited December 2014
    Nairit wrote: »
    Seems a bit tech level inconsistent to me (admittedly at this point many things are), but I think civilization capable of interstellar travel would be also capable of sending all the relevant data on a dive-suit mask screen (if not directly to the optical nerves or brain).

    yes but these things are just a luxury since they would be secondary to actual gauges attached to your equipment.
    You could still have your scifi suit telling you your oxygen levels, that's fine.
    But information being displayed onto a divemask which already cuts off your peripheral vision?

    You don't need a 100% real time all the time always there in your face display of little factors.
    You don't need to see the depth change every meter.
    You wanna know how deep you are? Pull up your wrist and check the time/depth gauge.
    Actually the player model texture already has some sort of display on the wrist anyway.

    Just because something is tech level inconsistant, doesn't mean it shouldn't be a thing.
    And remember.
    It's a survival situation, you woke up in a life pod.
    Don't forget that.
  • NairitNairit NJ, USA Join Date: 2014-11-10 Member: 199589Members
    You woke up in life pod, you have limited resources, you are in a survival situation... and you would waste resources building gauges to attach to equipment, make your dive load greater (however light those gauges are these are still extra weight), possibly lose valuable seconds in a life-and-death situation to access vital information... all for the pleasure of looking at your wrist. ;)

    Just because something is cool doesn't mean it should be a thing.

    As for information on dive-mask being and obstruction, i am pretty sure at this tech level we can manage for display to be opaque, or fading, or customizable... all controlled with an eye movement to leave divers hands free and to save crucial in seconds.

    As for peripheral vision... unfortunately mask does limit the vision, fortunately same information displays can provide sonar feedback or peripheral cameras feeds. :)

    I agree with you on a lot of other immersion issues, but this one seems to defy common sense to me - putting a diver in a disadvantage for no apparent reason.

    Perhaps the compromise would be to say that fully integrated divesuit where all components talk to each other and to the dive-mask requires some very complex circuitry, which in turn requires some rare materials, so you want be able to build it until much later in the game, so until then gauges it is... but then why is there anything at all on mask... if mask can talk to oxygen tanks to show you levels of O2 then you already have necessary integration circuitry.
  • FragmagnetFragmagnet Join Date: 2010-07-26 Member: 72873Members
    You seem to not understand, pressure gauges are a PART of diving gear, if you don't have the gauges, you're doing it wrong. What happens when your magical on screen display fails. How do you know your gear isn't overpressurizing all the air. Because air in a tank being fed into a person with a broken regulator can kill the person. There are ALWAYS gauges, no matter how high tech you get. When the gauges fail, that's when you replace the gauge/repair the equipment. A broken gauge on a dive = THE DIVE IS OVER.
  • NairitNairit NJ, USA Join Date: 2014-11-10 Member: 199589Members
    edited December 2014
    I think you might be confusing pressure gauge with pressure valve. Pressure valves and regulators have to be there certainly. Gauge is just a measuring and output device, and since we are discussing the action of "looking at the gauge" we aren't even concerned with measuring. And yes for safety measuring device should always be there - yes, output however can be mechanical or electronic (increasingly commonplace today) or indeed directed into the hud. I know gear isn't over-pressuring because i can see the measurements on my "magical screen"

    What happens when my screen fails? Exactly the same thing that happens when mechanical gauge fails - you replace/repair equipment.

    And yes if your HUD stops displaying crucial information - the dive is over.

    P.S. And yes, we can replace all the electronic displays (or indeed all electronic parts) in the suit, lifepod or subs with mechanical gauges. This will sacrifice both efficiency and reliability (despite common distrust of "fancy electronics" general engineering rule of thumb is "less mechanical parts = more reliability"), but yes we can do it. Hey it'll make a great steampunk vibe. :)
  • FragmagnetFragmagnet Join Date: 2010-07-26 Member: 72873Members
    edited December 2014
    Well if we have a magical screen, howcome we still have the PDA.

    I just don't like having the dive info on my hud. Just seems cheap.
    If the dive info were on the PDA that'd be fine.

    Still early in dev though, anything can happen.

    Also no I'm not talking about the valves. I'm talking about the measuring devices.
    If the magical screen breaks, we wouldn't have a backup to know if our equipment were working correctly.
  • NairitNairit NJ, USA Join Date: 2014-11-10 Member: 199589Members
    edited December 2014
    Fragmagnet wrote: »
    Well if we have a magical screen, howcome we still have the PDA.

    No idea. Best guess PDA is for the systems not integrated into the suit such as inventory. Still would make sense to patch the data into the HUD although obviously on demand rather than streaming.

    Also, backup system could be useful, but so could be backup for the backup... in the end it comes down to reliability of the equipment vs its importance. For the most part occasionally interrupting the dive and fixing measuring/display equipment is more efficient than having redundant systems on every dive.
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