Remove Compass Completely? : IV

» Tue Feb 01, 2011 12:50 pm

hi, is there a way to copletely remove the compass?? i'm not talking about quest markers, but the actual compass itself. so far, it looks impossible

» Tue Feb 01, 2011 4:53 pm

Darnified UI - then turn off the compass in the XML files. It's in the readme.

» Tue Feb 01, 2011 3:26 pm

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10763

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11280

This UI is pretty much all you need for any desired changes. It has a lot of options. As Hex said, use the XMLs.

» Tue Feb 01, 2011 12:08 pm

thanx but can some1 explain the xml's. is it like when u open the ini file and turn off borders? can u do the same to the compass?? if so, what do i do? i need to know and cant work it out plz help

k thanx

» Tue Feb 01, 2011 6:57 pm

thanx but can some1 explain the xml's. is it like when u open the ini file and turn off borders? can u do the same to the compass?? if so, what do i do? i need to know and cant work it out plz help

k thanx

Open hudmainmenu_config.xml in Oblivion\Data\menus\prefabs\darn with Notepad, for example.

Here you can change settings for STATUS BARS etc. Scroll down to COMPASS and change:

<!-- Show? (def. 1) -->	<_miv> 1

to

<!-- Show? (def. 1) -->	<_miv> 0

Save. You can customize just about everything as you'd like via settings in hudmainmenu_config.xml.

» Tue Feb 01, 2011 10:52 pm

Open hudmainmenu_config.xml in Oblivion\Data\menus\prefabs\darn with Notepad, for example.

Here you can change settings for STATUS BARS etc. Scroll down to COMPASS and change:

<!-- Show? (def. 1) -->	<_miv> 1

to

<!-- Show? (def. 1) -->	<_miv> 0

Save. You can customize just about everything as you'd like via settings in hudmainmenu_config.xml.

thanx for the info but i cant access the hudmainmenu_config.xml. i dont even know where it is. i have tried looking in my oblivion data file and cant find it. i dont even know where the menu part is am i missing something here? plz help

» Tue Feb 01, 2011 7:12 pm

thanx for the info but i cant access the hudmainmenu_config.xml. i dont even know where it is. i have tried looking in my oblivion data file and cant find it. i dont even know where the menu part is am i missing something here? plz help

Well, you obviously have to install DarN's UI first. If installed correctly it is in Oblivion\Data\menus\prefabs\darn

» Tue Feb 01, 2011 11:36 am

Well, you obviously have to install DarN's UI first. If installed correctly it is in Oblivion\Data\menus\prefabs\darn

how did darn make it??

surely if he/she made the mod, then it can be done by others' without the need to install darn's ui right? how did he/she make this? why can't others make it without this mod? there must be a way right?

» Tue Feb 01, 2011 12:02 pm

how did darn make it??

surely if he/she made the mod, then it can be done by others' without the need to install darn's ui right? how did he/she make this? why can't others make it without this mod? there must be a way right?

If you don't want to use Darn then try searching 'compass' on TESNexus.

» Wed Feb 02, 2011 12:10 am

surely if he/she made the mod, then it can be done by others' without the need to install darn's ui right?

Yes, if you're very familiar with how XML works, particularly how the game uses it. But it's not something that just a simple beginner will be able to accomplish, it's not going to be an easy task by any means. If you don't even know where to find the file you need, I doubt very much if you'll have the knowledge to be able to do anything with it. I've worked with XML files in other games, but I wouldn't have a clue how to go about doing what you want. Your best bet would be to follow mcc84's advice if you don't want to use DarN's UI. My guess is that you're getting in way over your head thinking you can do it yourself.

» Tue Feb 01, 2011 9:57 am

imo no one will give you a real explanation as to how this can be done. I suspect there are many here who like to think they are experts but in reality, very few will actually figure this problem out.

» Tue Feb 01, 2011 11:03 pm

Bosmer, try one of http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=17182 http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22947. If you want to learn how they were created, opening them up in the construction set or looking at their files should be fairly easy.

» Wed Feb 02, 2011 1:26 am

imo no one will give you a real explanation as to how this can be done. I suspect there are many here who like to think they are experts but in reality, very few will actually figure this problem out.

Benson, every time I've seen you posting on this forum, you've been complaining and passive-aggressively insulting half the forum. Be nice or get out.

» Tue Feb 01, 2011 8:46 pm

imo no one will give you a real explanation as to how this can be done. I suspect there are many here who like to think they are experts but in reality, very few will actually figure this problem out.

Was there any need for you to bump this thread?
No worries though, I've already reported you.

» Tue Feb 01, 2011 9:01 pm

These guys have the right idea. Mods are your friend here. The short answer to your question is no. DarN added extra files to the UI in his mod that contain settings and then modified the XML for elements on the screen to respond to these. The game doesn't come with any ability to turn tthings like the compass on or off, so you'd be looking for the parts that control how the compass is displayed and changing them. That would be tricky without knowledge of programming.

Benton isn't being nice, but it's probably true none of us who haven't specifically worked on any UI mods can give you a good answer other than to use a mod. Below is me giving a long-winded, half answer because you made me curious and I looked in the original xml file that packaged with one of the mods linked for you.

Spoiler

XML isn't really a programming language in the normal sense. You can easily learn how it works and what kinds of things it's used for, but its contents change from one application to another. The guys at Bethesda invented their own structure for representing a UI in XML and if that has any documentation it comes with the CS and not with the game. If it doesn't have any documentation then there was some reverse engineering on the part of modders like DarN. In the case of Oblivion, the UI XML files have components that can do computation or make decisions like most programming languages, but even many of us who have coded for years couldn't work out the exact rules without spending some time testing or reading specifications. Many of the components of those files are easy for me to figure out and many of them have no meaning for me at all.

Here's the part from hud_main_menu.xml that controls the compass layout (not posting all 270+ lines of the compass code):

			 213 			 87 															 20 									 1 					₂₀						 5 			 &true; 			...

The width and height are pretty obvious numbers. X is interesting because it's borrowing values from the items defined earlier in the file and modifying them. The odd big with copying and multiplying the value looks like it's designed to push the compass off the screen when the other menus load. I bet if you changed the Y value to some big negative number instead of 5 it would drop the compass off the bottom of the screen. Do that at your own risk. I'm making an educated guess and I don't feel like going and uninstalling DarN's mod just to test that idea. My thinking here is one of possibly several dozen approaches, and not one of the more elegant ones.

I have no idea what the locus tag is for. The compass code below this controls the placement of the various images involved and the rendering of the icons and markers, angles of rotation, etc. Best to leave it all alone unless you like fiddling and breaking things.

Despite all the half-baked techno-babble in the middle there, I'm sticking with the story here that a good UI mod is your friend. And I know you said you don't want a UI mod, but if you haven't looked at what DarNified does, you might like it. Things like the inventory are far, far more pleasant to use with that mod in.

» Tue Feb 01, 2011 1:09 pm

Aliotroph, that is a good, well-written response. Really! :foodndrink: Let me just add a couple of things.

XML = eXtensible Markup Language. Extensible, as in "capable of being extended". Normally, I don't like self-referential definitions, but in this case it could not be more appropriate. XML can be extended to almost any application, defining new data types, functionality, etc. By definition, it is different for every program.

XML documents are self-describing, hence the reference above.

XML must be well-formed and (typically) valid. Leave off one / and things break in a hurry. It's easy as can be, but you have to know the rules.

XML goes hand-in-hand with reusable code. Neither requires the other, but they work exceptionally well together. Advanced XML can be reusable code.

XML is ubiquitous.

All of these reasons combine to make it a favorite of programmers for an every-growing number of uses.

Now, the point I have been trying to make is that, if you really want to try to do something like this, you are going to have to understand the context of the XML in question, and what its role in that context is. However, without some basic knowledge of XML, such an understanding is going to be hard to grasp, and even harder to discuss.

So, now that it has been thoroughly explained from several points of view, I hope the OP has enough to decide what to do. I agree; you should get a UI mod. DarNified is my pick. You may want something else. Or not. Good luck,
veg

» Wed Feb 02, 2011 1:49 am

Oh, I suppose I should have put that bit in. hehehe I did after all have to pass a test on the stuff this year. Oddly enough, that was in a networking course.

Is there even a published specification for the XML schema Oblivion uses? The whole thing seems to be quite separate from the CS and the wiki makes no mention of it whatsoever.

» Tue Feb 01, 2011 12:41 pm

Oh, I suppose I should have put that bit in. hehehe I did after all have to pass a test on the stuff this year. Oddly enough, that was in a networking course.

Ubiquitous.

Is there even a published specification for the XML schema Oblivion uses? The whole thing seems to be quite separate from the CS and the wiki makes no mention of it whatsoever.

That, I do not know. This is the place to find out, but probably in a new thread. If anyone knows such things, you will find them here. :foodndrink: