Hidden Sudden Theming

[October Scream]

So I have multiple questions on hidden and sudden in Stepmania:
1) How am I able to move the hidden/sudden area without making it follow the ReceptorArrowsYReverse/Standard? It was the first thing I did since I was hoping it would distance it from the area I can see, but instead it's just dragged down or up.

2) Is there a way to remove the white flash that happens when the note image fades in and out? Very distracting and an eye sore I think, since it needs as much focus as I can give and I lose it when I see the flashing.

[Kyzentun]

1. The SuddenOffset and HiddenOffset modifiers move the boundary lines used for Sudden and Hidden. Setting a SuddenOffset of 1 will move the line where arrows change from invisible to visible by 160 units. (not necessarily 160 pixels, perspective, mini, and the receptor y metrics all have weird side effects)

2. It's not possible to remove the white flash in a theme.
Hidden, Sudden, and Stealth do not directly set the alpha value of a note. Instead, the modify an intermediate value, PercentVisible. As a note crosses the Hidden line, its PercentVisible goes from 1 (fully visible) to 0 (invisible). PercentVisible is used to calculate alpha and glow values for a note.
The glow value is what causes the white flash, because the glow color is white.
If PercentVisible is greater than 0.5, the alpha value is 1. Otherwise, the alpha value is 0.
The glow value goes from 0 at PercentVisible 0, to 1.3 at PercentVisible 0.5, then back to 0 at PercentVisible 1. The glow value is used as the alpha channel of the glow color. (yes, an alpha value of 1.3 looks the same as an alpha of 1, I don't know why they decided to have 1.3 as the peak)
So as the note crosses the line, it's covered by a more opaque white, then the colored layer is removed, then the white layer fades out.

SM 5.1 might have a modifier system that allows more direct and precise control over glow and alpha and everything else. But I'm really not looking forward to the shitstorm over breaking all noteskin and ScreenPlayerOptions compatibility.

[October Scream]

Originally Posted by Kyzentun

1. The SuddenOffset and HiddenOffset modifiers move the boundary lines used for Sudden and Hidden. Setting a SuddenOffset of 1 will move the line where arrows change from invisible to visible by 160 units. (not necessarily 160 pixels, perspective, mini, and the receptor y metrics all have weird side effects)

Where in the metrics.ini would I place this stuff?

[Kyzentun]

Same way you make an option row for any other modifier. Create a set of metrics similar to the ones for changing the rate modifier, except your entries will be like "mod,10% HiddenOffset;name,10%", then add the name of the set to the options screen.
The code is similar to this:
(LineNames will have many more entries, it's a comma separated list of names. Each name in the list tells the engine a "Line..." metric to look for.)

LineNames="1,2,3,4,HidOff"

LineHidOff="list,HidOff"

HidOff="11"
HidOffDefault="mod,0% HiddenOffset"
HidOff,1="mod, 0% HiddenOffset"
HidOff,2="mod, 10% HiddenOffset"
HidOff,3="mod, 20% HiddenOffset"
HidOff,4="mod, 30% HiddenOffset"
HidOff,5="mod, 40% HiddenOffset"
HidOff,6="mod, 50% HiddenOffset"
HidOff,7="mod, 60% HiddenOffset"
HidOff,8="mod, 70% HiddenOffset"
HidOff,9="mod, 80% HiddenOffset"
HidOff,10="mod, 90% HiddenOffset"
HidOff,11="mod, 100% HiddenOffset"

As you can see, it's a repetitive mess and the more detail you want in your choices, the more you have to copy paste and the more of a pain it is to use. I personally hate metrics for being an awkward pain like this, and decided not to use them at all for the options in my theme.

Or you could find a theme that already has an interface for setting modifiers to arbitrary values and not spend time on painstaking hacking and debugging. I think I saw a video of spawncamping-wallhack with editable offset, and I made sure every modifier is editable in Consensual (mostly under the heading of "Floaty Mods" because I couldn't think of a better name).

[October Scream]

Oh god all these numbers are giving me anxiety.

This is why I'm not head of any coding stuff. I'll try and fit it in though and if it doesn't work, well then off to wallhack I go.

[October Scream]

Yeah this was very complicated to figure out...

I tried wallhack, and it doesn't have a hidden+Sudden offset, which was what I was trying for originally. I couldn't find the file that the offset image is either, so no was of erasing the middle for it.

[Kyzentun]

ca25nada says you have to map the Effect Up and Effect Down keys, then hold select and press them during gameplay.

[October Scream]

Originally Posted by Kyzentun

ca25nada says you have to map the Effect Up and Effect Down keys, then hold select and press them during gameplay.

That was the easy part. I can't move both at the same time though. The way I play is with Hidden and Sudden, and it only allows one or the other, not both.

[Kyzentun]

I normally don't like keyboard-only features, but I made an exception for this. I spent some time adding it to Consensual. You have to set an option on the Theme Options screen to enable it, then edit the config file to set the keys you want to use, then you can change mods on gameplay (and changes are saved to your profile). The system allows changing any modifier, so you could use it to change Mini or Distant or whatever and it'll work. (except speed mods, I'd have to add a special case for those)
I don't support online mode though, so if you need online play you'll have to find some other theme author that can implement the feature.

[October Scream]

Wanted to bump this back up since I'm getting back into stepmania and am confused about the Eternna theme's Hidden Offset and Sudden Offset functions.