Holoprojector

NOTICE: This page is a Work in Progress as much of the lore/Development for the game is yet to be established.

The Holoprojector is an advanced display system located on the Bridge of the UNSF Magellan. It serves as a primary visual interface for rendering complex spatial data, particularly information gathered by the ship's Sensors suite, in a three-dimensional holographic format.

Location & Hardware

The Holoprojector is situated on the Bridge, likely integrated into a central console or table accessible to the command crew. While specific hardware details (emitters, projectors) are TBD, its function is to generate dynamic, interactive holographic images within a designated projection field. Development notes mention modeling the hardware itself (Roadmap 0.226) and fixing rendering issues related to bridge glass panels (Dev Build 0.225.0.55).

Functionality & Display Modes

The Holoprojector visually represents data from various Sensors modes, providing intuitive situational awareness:

• Galaxy Map (GPS Mode): Displays large-scale galactic sectors, the ship's current location (`Ship Loc`), selected manual sectors (rendered as a red cube - Build 0.225.0.49), and sensor/navigation targets within this mode. Rendering and marker appearance have been refined (Build 0.225.0.49).
• Long Range Orrery Map: When viewing system details (`View Detail` on Sensors UI), displays a 3D Orrery map showing relative positions and orbits of stars and planets within the target system. Includes zoom controls (KM/AU scale - Build 0.225.0.51), displays Sensor/Nav targets (Build 0.225.0.51), and indicates temperature zone lines (Lava, Habitable, Frost - Build 0.225.0.70). Object alignment and scaling relative to zoom have been implemented (Build 0.225.0.51). Planets feature basic 3D terrain using Nanite tessellation (Build 0.225.0.70).
• Medium Range Display: Shows objects within the current star system. Can be aligned relative to the ship or the target object (Build 0.225.0.50). Can toggle the display of temperature regions (Build 0.225.0.55).
• Short Range Display: Originally used spawned planet actors, later replaced with more lightweight textured spheres (Build 0.225.0.49 - WIP) for displaying nearby celestial bodies. Also includes an Orrery Map view (Build 0.225.0.54).
• Target Indicators: Clearly marks the currently selected Sensor and Navigation targets using distinct markers and animated 3D lines indicating direction and distance (Build 0.225.0.53). Rendering logic ensures markers don't persist incorrectly when targets are deselected or beyond the display boundary (Build 0.225.0.50, 0.225.0.53).
• Stellar Object Rendering: Displays stars with relative brightness adjusted to emphasize hotter stars (Build 0.225.0.51) and clamps colors for LTY types to avoid misleading visuals (Build 0.225.0.49). Black hole rendering size fixed (Build 0.225.0.44).

Interaction

Currently, the Holoprojector primarily serves as a visual output controlled via the Sensors console interface. Planned features include the ability for players to interact physically with the hologram itself (Roadmap 0.226). Development fixed an issue where the display might turn itself back on automatically (Build 0.225.0.44).

Development Status

The Holoprojector's functionality is closely tied to the ongoing development and refinement of the Sensors system. Numerous Dev Builds have focused on adding features, improving rendering accuracy, optimizing performance (e.g., fixing FPS drops when warping with Orrery Map active - Build 0.225.0.71), and fixing bugs related to its display modes and target indicators. Further enhancements and interaction methods are expected as per the Roadmap.