Slider for HUD opacity

Forevener · Post by **Forevener** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 12:43 pm

I would like an option to make HUD less intrusive (while keeping it readable and noticeable). Also it would help users who play GZDooM on Plasma TV / OLED TV to prevent burn-in from HUD.

Post by **Rachael** » Sat Jan 27, 2018 2:27 pm

If this is done, then elements that draw over each other will show through each other and this ultimately may not be possible to stop, unless the HUD is drawn in a single pass on a spare buffer and then overlaid with the screen.

This is doable, but it's going to take a pretty big time investment (at least several hours if not more) to see it through to completion. Parts of the 2D drawer code would have to be rewritten.

Post by **Graf Zahl** » Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:50 am

In OpenGL this should be doable because it already collects all 2D drawing operations in a buffer which could just be rendered to a framebuffer instead of the main screen.

The other APIs just draw on request which may have to be changed to also use an intermediate buffer. Furthermore, I'm not so sure about Direct3D as I have virtually no experience with that API, especially the crusty old version 9 which ZDoom originally implemented, and for software renderered 2D it may end up a relatively costly feature to blend a complete overlay screen with the rendered scene.

Also, what is to be considered part of the HUD? All 2D or just the status bar, or what?

Post by **Rachael** » Sun Jan 28, 2018 3:08 am

I have no idea how the Direct3D drawer does it, and as far as I am aware the 2D code in GLSWFB is just a fork from GZDoom's GL renderer, anyway.

As for the raw software drawers, you are right in that it would be costly because it would require reprocessing the entire screen, which will very likely add a noticeable percentage to the drawing time per frame at higher resolutions, where there will already be issues with frame rate anyhow.

ZDoom