space engineers lcd panel not displaying information in stock
I placed a screen on my ship and it doesn"t want to show me text and textures. I"m the owner and the screen has power, but when I write stuff on the public/private area or if I assign a texture there is "Online" written on the screen and nothing else
It does not only affect texts that are created with the API, but according to my observations, also texts that are written normally via the editor in the terminal.
It does not only affect texts that are created with the API, but according to my observations, also texts that are written normally via the editor in the terminal.
For anyone curious following this. You can still use traditional LCD panels and the WriteText() method for your updating displays in dedicated servers.
For anyone curious following this. You can still use traditional LCD panels and the WriteText() method for your updating displays in dedicated servers.
I tried to put it on another ship but it gave me the same problem, the ships were all naturally less than 600 meters away, and I checked the requirements several times.
I tried to put it on another ship but it gave me the same problem, the ships were all naturally less than 600 meters away, and I checked the requirements several times.
Joined my friend"s game hosted by him. Non-dedicated server. I made a blueprint with a couple scripts loaded in, tested that everything worked in single player, but when we used it in multiplayer only the host could see the scripts update. The text doesn"t get sent to clients. It updates every detail of a panel but not the text. All LCDs, cockpit LCDs, programmable block LCDs, etc don"t update. Opening the panel shows there is no text but the host confirmed the panel is not blank and is updating for him.
Joined my friend"s game hosted by him. Non-dedicated server. I made a blueprint with a couple scripts loaded in, tested that everything worked in single player, but when we used it in multiplayer only the host could see the scripts update. The text doesn"t get sent to clients. It updates every detail of a panel but not the text. All LCDs, cockpit LCDs, programmable block LCDs, etc don"t update. Opening the panel shows there is no text but the host confirmed the panel is not blank and is updating for him.
Can confirm this bug. This bug seems to apply to both DS and Non-DS and the problem only happens for the connected clients, not the host (Networking issue?). The screen is updated for the host but not the client until the client reconnects where the current displayed image/text will be refreshed and stay that way until you reconnect again. Using "IMyTextSurface.GetText()" will return the correct text that is supposed to be displayed.
Can confirm this bug. This bug seems to apply to both DS and Non-DS and the problem only happens for the connected clients, not the host (Networking issue?). The screen is updated for the host but not the client until the client reconnects where the current displayed image/text will be refreshed and stay that way until you reconnect again. Using "IMyTextSurface.GetText()" will return the correct text that is supposed to be displayed.
It"s still not working for any of my scripts. Locally I can update the text on a cockpit display fine, but doing so on a dedicated server does not actually update the visible text. Am I doing this wrong, or was it marked as Solved when not actually Solved?
It"s still not working for any of my scripts. Locally I can update the text on a cockpit display fine, but doing so on a dedicated server does not actually update the visible text. Am I doing this wrong, or was it marked as Solved when not actually Solved?
yes. you can also see the resulting text if you try to manually edit the text. you just cannot see it on the outside surface. This is still an issue on my DS, but only after other players join the server. It works fine when I am alone on the server as the host.
yes. you can also see the resulting text if you try to manually edit the text. you just cannot see it on the outside surface. This is still an issue on my DS, but only after other players join the server. It works fine when I am alone on the server as the host.
It seems that the programmer block has a new bug, not important but PB screen cannot be set to anything, it stays on the "No Content" image event with simple text or image or script (ex: digital / analog clock).
It seems that the programmer block has a new bug, not important but PB screen cannot be set to anything, it stays on the "No Content" image event with simple text or image or script (ex: digital / analog clock).
The various LCD Panel blocks are a great way to add a human touch to a ship or base by displaying useful images or text. For LCD configuration and usage, see LCD Surface Options.
Note: Some functional blocks, such as Cockpits, Programmable Blocks, Custom Turret Controllers, and Button Panels, have customizable LCD surfaces built in that work the same way as LCD Panel blocks, which are also discussed in detail under LCD Surface Options.
LCD Panels need to be built on a powered grid to work. Without power, they display an "Offline" text. While powered without having a text, image, or script set up, they display "Online".
LCD Panel blocks come in a variety of sizes from tiny to huge (see list below) and are available for large and small grid sizes. Note that LCD Panel blocks all have connections on their backs, and very few also on a second side.
All LCD Panels and LCD surfaces work with the same principle: They are capable of displaying dynamic scripts, or few inbuilt static images accompanied by editable text. Access the ship"s Control Panel Screen to configure LCD Panels or LCD surfaces; or face the LCD Panel block and press "K".
A Text Panel, despite its name, can also display images. On large grid, it is rectangular and does not fully cover the side of a 1x1x1 block. On small grid it is 1x1x1, the smallest possible LCD block in game.
On large grid, you choose the Text Panel when you need something that has rectangular dimensions that make it look like a wall-mounted TV or computer screen. If you want to display images, this one works best with the built-in posters whose names end in "H" or "V" (for horizontal or vertical rotation). On Small grid, you place these tiny display surfaces so you can see them well while seated in a cockpit or control seat, to create a custom display array of flight and status information around you.
Corner LCDs are much smaller display panels that typically hold a few lines of text. They don"t cover the block you place them on and are best suited as signage for doors, passages, or containers. They are less suitable for displaying images, even though it"s possible. If you enable the "Keep aspect ratio" option, the image will take up less than a third of the available space.
These huge Sci-Fi LCD Panels come in sizes of 5x5, 5x3, and 3x3 blocks, and can be built on large grids only. These panels are only available to build if you purchase the "Sparks of the Future" pack DLC.
They work the same as all other LCD Panels, the only difference is that they are very large. In the scenario that comes with the free "Sparks of the Future" update, they are used prominently as advertisement boards on an asteroid station.
This LCD panel can be built on large and small grids. The transparent LCD is basically a 1x1x1 framed window that displays images and text. It is part of the paid "Decorative Blocks Pack #2" DLC.
What is special about them is that if you set the background color to black, this panel becomes a transparent window with a built-in display. In contrast to other LCD Panels it has no solid backside, which makes it ideal to construct transparent cockpit HUDs, or simply as cosmetic decoration.
While configuring an LCD Panel, the GUI covers up the display in-world and you can"t see how the text or images comes out. In the UI Options, you can lower the UI Background opacity to be translucent, so you can watch what you are doing more easily.
Note: Space Engineers currently does not support nVidia/AMD 3D vision and it should be disabled in the nVidia/AMD control panel, otherwise it can cause various issues.
Provide as much detailed information as you can. Write a synopsis of what you were doing before the error happened. Taking a screenshot of the bug or a video may also also help. Support staff will request additional information as is needed.
Many of the most common issues experienced while playing Space Engineers can be resolved without assistance. Choose any of the below categories according to the problem that you are experiencing. If you can’t find a solution in any of the suggested solutions, please report your problem at our dedicated support site by following the above guide.
Solution: Open %appdata%\SpaceEngineers\SpaceEngineers.cfg in a plain text editor like notepad. Find GraphicsRenderer – it is usually near the top. Change its value to DirectX 11.
Solution: This is caused by hardware and driver support issues mentioned above. We recommend using the latest drivers directly from the hardware designers. We do NOT recommend the use of “Beta” drivers.
Cannot create log file: System.UnauthorizedAccessException: Access to the path ‘C:\Users\YourUserNameHere\AppData\Roaming\SpaceEngineers\SpaceEngineers.log’ is denied.
Solution: Some users are reporting this problem after switching to Windows 10. In some cases we have found that the users have copied files from their old operating system to the new one. In other cases it seems to be an issue created by the Windows 10 upgrade. This creates the problem where the old files have different ownership credentials from the new user account on Windows 10. This prevents Space Engineers from accessing them.
It has been reported that some 3rd party programs can cause in-game issues, game not starting or black screen. In this case, you will have to disable these programs in order to run the game. Below is the list of the 3rd party programs that have been reported so far.
After many requests, we have decided to release our internal Replay Tool that we use to create our trailers. It allows you to record the movement and actions of multiple characters in the same world. You can use your video recording software of choice to capture these moments for cinematic purposes! It’s also super useful for epic screenshot creation. The tool allows you to be the director of your own Space Engineers film where you can carefully position and time different engineers with their own specific roles. We are extremely excited to see what the community will create with this!
Important: because it’s an internal tool, it has a very basic user interface and required advanced users to be used. We believe this is OK, because most video creators who would want to use it to create epic cinematic Space Engineers videos are advanced users.
There are now Steam trading cards to collect for Space Engineers! Collect a full set of cards to earn items that help you customize your Steam profile including backgrounds and badges.
There are fourteen new decorative blocks for people who want to buy them and support the development of Space Engineers, which are available on the Space Engineers Steam Store page. Within the package you will get following new blocks:
Beds can preserve characters’ inventory and toolbar while they"re offline and keeps them alive as long as there is oxygen available. Is considered to be the same as the Cryo Chamber Block, except oxygen is used from the environment. Space Engineers don’t work from nine to five, they work whenever they’re needed: day or night, during peace and war. But when it’s time to call it a day, every engineer looks forward to resting in these beds.
Standard and Corner Desks can be used as seats, which allow players to sit on the chair attached to it. Combine these blocks to produce various designs and sizes, creativity has no limitation. Whether designing new schematics or charting a fresh course to another world, desks are essential for any engineer looking to get some work done.
Kitchens are purely decorative. The kitchens in Space Engineers come well-equipped and include stunning visual details. Space Engineers overcome challenges everyday when they’re working on new planets or among the stars.
Planters are purely decorative, but they make outer space a bit warmer by housing life in a special glass container. Build your own garden on the space station. Planters not only help to liven up spaces, but the flora housed inside these capsules also remind many engineers of the homes they’ve left behind in order to explore the universe.
Couchescan be used as seats, so take your time to relax and take a break. You don’t need to always run, fly or work, you can enjoy your cozy room and enjoy the view. The last thing anyone would ever call a Space Engineer is ‘couch potato’, but who wouldn’t like to relax after a hard day’s work on this comfy furniture?
Armory and Armory Lockers can be used to decorate interiors and store weapons, ammunition, tools and bottles; both are small storages (400L), where you can keep your equipment. Space Engineers use lockers in order to ensure that keepsakes from home, toiletries and other items are kept safe.
Toiletscan be used as a seat. The latest and greatest interstellar lavatory technology has made many earth dwellers jealous of the facilities enjoyed by Space Engineers.
Toilet Seat that can be used as a seat and is fit for the creator of the legendary Red Ship; most engineers don’t want to get up after ‘taking care of business’.
Industrial Cockpits are used to control your ships. This industrial cockpit in both small and large grid versions will make your creations look much better. Offering unmatched visibility, the industrial cockpit enables engineers to experience stunning vistas while traversing landscapes and space.
Console blocks project blueprints for downscaled ships and stations, as well as display pictograms or customizable text. They are fantastic functional LCD panels where you can project your creations and show them to your friends. The sleek and crystal clear picture offered by this console allows Space Engineers to display designs and other important information.
*Note to modders: When modding the decorative blocks, copy the current settings and then do the change on top of that. The mod will also include the DLC tag:
Keen Software House needs to stay profitable in order to continue development and support of Space Engineers, and to take risks, to invest into experiments that may not pay off in the short term, and to develop innovative concepts.
A:Actually, even this update isn’t paid. The major part of this update (LCD screens, Replay Tool, new music tracks, smaller improvements) is free for everyone. Only the smaller and not mandatory part is paid - Decorative Pack, which you can purchase here.
A: To support future development of Space Engineers and other leading-edge projects we plan to work on at Keen Software House. Players kept asking us for something they could buy to support the development of Space Engineers, and the Decorative Pack is a great option for them.
A: Right after Space Engineers left early access and all hot issues were resolved. Most of the work was done by the Art team, the rest of the developers is working on other long-term updates.
A: We want more people to play Space Engineers, which means we must lower the barrier of entry. When the Space Engineers community grows, everyone benefits from this - more content on Workshop, more mods, more new ideas, more people to play with. This means that all non-mandatory features should be optional, so only those who really want them can pay for them. That’s why we decreased the price of Space Engineers, and made the Decorative Pack an optional purchase.
A: Hehe, if you put it this way, it sounds kind of funny. But the reality is that decorative blocks are low-hanging fruit, not a bottleneck towards those other mentioned future features. Additionally, the decorative pack can bring added profit and make the mentioned things happen.
Looking at our upcoming plans, I can say that we are going to work on another package similar to this one. It’s not a secret that we want to bring you more things you asked for in the past, such as new skins, new weapons, new economy system etc.
Visual Script Builder allows you to create Space Engineers scripts with a user interface. You don"t need to know anything about programming. Just enter the name of the block you want to control and choose what to do with it. Chain logic statements together to create complex behaviors.
A large number of Space Engineers players are unable to utilize programming. The scripting documentation is poor, and the in-game editor doesn"t provide any help. Many people are unfamiliar with coding, and C# in Space Engineers doesn"t make for a simple beginner language. There are scripts available on the Steam Workshop, but those rarely work for custom applications.
I developed this tool to let anyone capable of playing Space Engineers write their own custom scripts. I tried to make it as feature-rich as possible while still being easy to use.
Overhauled User Variable logic to be independent of Blocks. Variables added to the Affect buttons, which hides the Block Type, Block Name, and Block Group options when selected. Older saves that use variable logic in the same chunks with block logic will need to be updated. These saves will populate all the same information, but the user must select between Variable and Single/Multiple blocks. Both cannot be applied in the same chunk.
Added Functional Block as the first block in the block list. This represents any block that can be turned on or hacked. It is not recommended to use with Single Block logic type selected. As suggested by /u/sumguy720, it is designed to check if any blocks are being hacked.
Keep in mind that as you create your script, the page is updated automatically. You will not need to "Apply" your logic to add it to the script. As you add logic chunks to the page, those logic chunks are used in the script. Removing them from the page removes them from the script.
In Visual Script Builder, everything is driven by logic chunks. One logic chunk can either check a condition (e.g. If Light X is ON), or apply an action (e.g. Turn Light Y ON). You can insert logic chunks and remove logic chunks at any point in the script. There is no limit to the number of logic chunks you can use. Each logic chunk consists of the logic type, the in-game Space Engineers block it applies to, and the in-game block"s data.
Works just like an IF logic chunk, but must be placed after a DO logic chunk that follows an IF logic chunk. Checks a condition only when the previous IF condition was not met. e.g. IF (a) DO (b) ELSE IF (c) DO (d). When condition a is not met, condition c will be checked. If condition c is met, d will happen. However, if condition a is met, b will happen and c will not be checked.
Performs an action or sets a value only when the previous IF failed. e.g. IF (a) DO (b) ELSE DO (c). When condition a is met, b will be executed and c will not. When condition a is not met, b will not be executed and c will be executed.
Sometimes, certain logic types will not be accessible. The button becomes greyed out depending on previous logic. For example, on the first block, you cannot choose AND because that does not start a logic statement correctly. You cannot choose OR to follow a DO logic chunk. (DO a OR b does not make sense.) ELSE IF and ELSE DO cannot be used unless there has been a previous IF statement.
Any Blocks of Type works similarly to All Blocks of Type, but only allows checking conditions. You cannot set a value for Any Blocks of Type. It can be used with IF logic to check if any doors are open, or if any Air Vents are not pressurized, for example.
For example, if you want to get only Batteries that have a name including "Station", you can enter "Station" in the block name field, and choose All Blocks of Type. This will select only the Batteries that have "Station" somewhere in their name. It will get Batteries named "Station Battery 5" and "Battery 3 [Station]" but would not get a battery named "Battery 2", because it does not include the filter text.
For IF logic chunks, enter a value in one or more of the boxes to check that the field is equal to the value you entered. The If button next to the field name will become selected, indicating that the field will be used. If you decide not to use the field, you can delete the contents of the box or click the If button to deselect it. The field will only be applied when the If button for that field is selected. The operator (equals sign) can be clicked to change the type of comparison. For numbers, you can use equal, not equal, greater than, greater than or equal, less than, and less than or equal. For other types, you can only use equal andnot equal.
After a variable has been set, it can be used in IF logic chunks to compare a value against the variable. When clicking on an input box for a field in an IF logic chunk, a list of the variables that have been created will be shown below, and can be selected. Note that the type of the field is important. If a boolean (true/false) variable was created, it will only be shown as an option for boolean fields.
When writing the text you want displayed on an LCD panel, you can use any variables that you created in your script by surrounding them with brackets. For example, if you saved a variable called totalpower, you could display its value on an LCD panel by writing [totalpower]. This can be combined with any other text, or any other variables. Total Power: [totalpower] would display Total Power: 3.00MW. See additional information about using LCD panels below.
Using a DO logic chunk allows you transfer items to or from another inventory. To change between Send [x] to [inv] and Take [x] from [inv], click the word to or from. This will toggle between the two.
When sending or taking items, the amount field accepts decimal numbers (ex. 10.4), numeric user-defined variables (ex. oreAmount), and percentages (ex. 10%). You can even take a percentage of a variable (ex. oreAmount%). A note about using percentages, the percent amount is based on the quantity at the time of transfer. So if you transfer 50% of the Stone in an inventory to another inventory, then transfer 50% again, the second transfer sends 50% of what"s left (25% of the original). If you want to send 50% to one place and 50% to another, you"ll need to first send 50% and then send 100%.
In order to send items to an inventory or take items from an inventory, you must give the other inventory a name. This is done by typing a name into the the Inventory line of the other block. If the other block is not otherwise used, you can create a DOlogic chunk at the top of your script for that block, give the correct inventory a name, and leave all other fields blank for that logic chunk. This will define the inventory without applying any actions or changing any properties (though you can also apply actions or change properties if you want).
Let"s create a script that pulls Iron Ore from a Small Cargo Container and puts it into a Refinery. You need two DO blocks for this script; one for the Small Cargo Container, and one for the Refinery. For this example, we will send the ore to the Refinery. Create a DO block for the Refinery first. In the Refinery"s first inventory, enter a name for the inventory (ex. refinv). Now create a DO block for the Small Cargo Container. In the Small Cargo Container"s inventory, find Iron Ore. You"ll see a buttonSend, an input field, the word to and another input field. The first input is the amount, which you can leave blank to send all. The second input is the inventory you"re sending the items to. When you click that box, the refinv inventory you named earlier will be suggested. Click on the name to choose that inventory. The Iron Ore line should look like this: Send(blank) to refinv. Your script is complete. When it is run, it will attempt to send all Iron Ore from the Small Cargo Container to the Refinery"s first inventory (for ores). Note that this same result could be achieved by reversing these blocks, giving the Small Cargo Container inventory a name, and applying Take (blank) from smallcargoinv in the Refinery"s Iron Ore option in its first inventory.
Don"t worry about highlighting and copying, just click the button to copy your entire script to the clipboard and paste it into the editor in Space Engineers.
As you can see, our variable (here named variableName) is followed by a question mark (?), the text to display when true (trueText), a colon (:), and the text to display when false (falseText). For use on the LCD panel, we must enclose this whole string in brackets. In a more realistic scenario, we might want to display ON when our Reactor is on, and OFF when our Reactor is off. We can create a boolean variable called reactorOn for the Reactor"s On/Off state by typing a new variable name (reactorOn) into the Save As box for the OnOff property of the Reactor. For this property, true means the reactor is on. To get the text to display correctly, we can type the following into an LCD panel.
As of Update 1.0.3, it"s also possible to do calculations right inside the text of the LCD panel. This allows you to display your power percentage. Mathematically, power percentage is:
This can cause your script not to compile if you don"t use the correct C# syntax. There is no error checking in VSB to ensure the code you typed is valid.
The Block Name box is where you enter the name of the Space Engineers block you want to work with. If this is left blank, the default value will be used for the chosen block type. Leave this blank.
That"s it! You"re now ready to try the script out. Click the Copy Script To Clipboard button, and paste the code into a Programmable Block in Space Engineers. Running the code will toggle on/off an Interior Light with the name "Interior Light".
In Space Engineers, create a Programmable Block. Go into the Programmable Block"s menu and click Edit. Delete everything in the editor and paste in your script. CTRL-C and CTRL-V work in the editor. Click Check Code to check the code for errors, then click Remember & Exit to save. Be careful, as using ALT-TAB to switch out of Space Engineers will revert your script to the last saved script. It is easy to lose your changes.
To run the script, open the Programmable Block"s menu and click Run. You can also assign this action to your toolbar in a ship, or to a button panel by dragging the Programmable Block to the bar and choosing Run with default argument.
If you want your script to be run constantly (for example, waiting for a door to open and triggering the lights to turn on) you can use the Frequency dropdown in the Script Settings menu. It will automatically run your script every 1, 10, or 100 ticks. There are 60 ticks per second in-game. This feature was introduced in version 1.0.8, but can cause issues when trying to use Arguments in the Programmable Block. With older versions, or to avoid issues with Arguments, you have to use a timer block. Create a Timer block and set the Trigger Delay to 1 second. Click Setup Actions, and drag your Programmable Block to the first space on the bar. Again, use Run with default argument. Then drag your Timer block to the next space on the bar and choose Start. Now start the Timer block, and your script will be executed every second.
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Do you want your Arduino projects to display status messages or sensor readings? Then these LCD displays can be a perfect fit. They are extremely common and fast way to add a readable interface to your project.
This tutorial will help you get up and running with not only 16×2 Character LCD, but any Character LCD (16×4, 16×1, 20×4 etc.) that is based on Hitachi’s LCD Controller Chip – HD44780.
True to their name, these LCDs are ideal for displaying only text/characters. A 16×2 character LCD, for example, has an LED backlight and can display 32 ASCII characters in two rows of 16 characters each.
The good news is that all of these displays are ‘swappable’, which means if you build your project with one you can just unplug it and use another size/color LCD of your choice. Your code will have to change a bit but at least the wiring remains the same!
Vo (LCD Contrast) controls the contrast and brightness of the LCD. Using a simple voltage divider with a potentiometer, we can make fine adjustments to the contrast.
RS (Register Select) pin is set to LOW when sending commands to the LCD (such as setting the cursor to a specific location, clearing the display, etc.) and HIGH when sending data to the LCD. Basically this pin is used to separate the command from the data.
R/W (Read/Write) pin allows you to read data from the LCD or write data to the LCD. Since we are only using this LCD as an output device, we are going to set this pin LOW. This forces it into WRITE mode.
E (Enable) pin is used to enable the display. When this pin is set to LOW, the LCD does not care what is happening on the R/W, RS, and data bus lines. When this pin is set to HIGH, the LCD processes the incoming data.
Now we will power the LCD. The LCD has two separate power connections; One for the LCD (pin 1 and pin 2) and the other for the LCD backlight (pin 15 and pin 16). Connect pins 1 and 16 of the LCD to GND and 2 and 15 to 5V.
Most LCDs have a built-in series resistor for the LED backlight. You’ll find this near pin 15 on the back of the LCD. If your LCD does not include such a resistor or you are not sure if your LCD has one, you will need to add one between 5V and pin 15. It is safe to use a 220 ohm resistor, although a value this high may make the backlight a bit dim. For better results you can check the datasheet for maximum backlight current and select a suitable resistor value.
Next we will make the connection for pin 3 on the LCD which controls the contrast and brightness of the display. To adjust the contrast we will connect a 10K potentiometer between 5V and GND and connect the potentiometer’s center pin (wiper) to pin 3 on the LCD.
That’s it. Now turn on the Arduino. You will see the backlight lit up. Now as you turn the knob on the potentiometer, you will start to see the first row of rectangles. If that happens, Congratulations! Your LCD is working fine.
Let’s finish connecting the LCD to the Arduino. We have already made the connections to power the LCD, now all we have to do is make the necessary connections for communication.
We know that there are 8 data pins that carry data to the display. However, HD44780 based LCDs are designed in such a way that we can communicate with the LCD using only 4 data pins (4-bit mode) instead of 8 (8-bit mode). This saves us 4 pins!
The sketch begins by including the LiquidCrystal library. The Arduino community has a library called LiquidCrystal which makes programming of LCD modules less difficult. You can find more information about the library on Arduino’s official website.
First we create a LiquidCrystal object. This object uses 6 parameters and specifies which Arduino pins are connected to the LCD’s RS, EN, and four data pins.
In the ‘setup’ we call two functions. The first function is begin(). It is used to specify the dimensions (number of columns and rows) of the display. If you are using a 16×2 character LCD, pass the 16 and 2; If you’re using a 20×4 LCD, pass 20 and 4. You got the point!
After that we set the cursor position to the second row by calling the function setCursor(). The cursor position specifies the location where you want the new text to be displayed on the LCD. The upper left corner is assumed to be col=0, row=0.
There are some useful functions you can use with LiquidCrystal objects. Some of them are listed below:lcd.home() function is used to position the cursor in the upper-left of the LCD without clearing the display.
lcd.scrollDisplayRight() function scrolls the contents of the display one space to the right. If you want the text to scroll continuously, you have to use this function inside a for loop.
lcd.scrollDisplayLeft() function scrolls the contents of the display one space to the left. Similar to above function, use this inside a for loop for continuous scrolling.
If you find the characters on the display dull and boring, you can create your own custom characters (glyphs) and symbols for your LCD. They are extremely useful when you want to display a character that is not part of the standard ASCII character set.
CGROM is used to store all permanent fonts that are displayed using their ASCII codes. For example, if we send 0x41 to the LCD, the letter ‘A’ will be printed on the display.
CGRAM is another memory used to store user defined characters. This RAM is limited to 64 bytes. For a 5×8 pixel based LCD, only 8 user-defined characters can be stored in CGRAM. And for 5×10 pixel based LCD only 4 user-defined characters can be stored.
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The LCD Panel is a thin panel that takes an entire block face and can display a variety of messages and textures that can be displayed constantly or triggered by the Programmable Block, Sensor, Timer Block, or any other block capable of triggering.
The "Color" sliders allow setting the text colour using RGB slider and "Backgr." allows setting background fill colours (default black). If using a transparent LCD then the text will be against transparency unless fill colour is added.
"Loaded Textures" has a list of the available default and modded (where applicable) images available for display on the screen. Select the desired image and select "Add to selection". The selected image will then show in the second "Selected textures" panel.
When multiple images are applied they can be set to cycle between with the duration between images being set by the "Image change interval" slider. To remove an image from display select it in the second panel and select "Remove selected".
The "Preserve aspect ratio" checkbox can be used to prevent the image being stretched if it does not fit the screen properly such as when using a wide LCD.
To set the LCD to display a script, choose "Script" from the dropdown. Choosing Script allows the display of information such as weather, artificial horizon for vehicles, Energy and Hydrogen level etc.
The panel"s title and text can be made public, private, or a combination of both. Textures applied can be selected from a list or custom textures can be selected. Textures can be set to rotate on a timer, changing from one to the next. GPS coordinates shown in the GPS format in the text panel will appear in the GPS and can be activated (=shown on HUD).
The LCD Panel could be accessed with the programmable block as IMyTextPanel. It could work in ´Texture Mode´ in which the selected textures are shown or the ´Text Mode´ in which the text is shown. The following methods are available:
I eagerly anticipated reading this book. I frequently design data visualizations for my job as a software engineer, and I have a deep love for effective graphs. I love to read about different strategies for representing information visually, and I know that Tufte"s work in this area is very highly regarded.
"[this chart] unambiguously locates the altitude in six separate ways (any five of the six can be erased and the sixth will still indicate the height): as the (1) height of the left line, (2) height of the shading, (3) height of the right line, (4) position of the top horizontal line, (5) position (not content) of the number at the bar"s top, and (6) the number itself. That is more ways than are needed."
I stopped for a second when I read this; surely Dr. Tufte is not arguing that a bar chart is inherently ambiguous because the bars are both outlined *and* filled, is he? But in case there was any question, he reinforces this concept a few pages later, when he takes a different bar chart and removes all of those "redundant" lines, and ends up with something truly unintelligible. Of this peculiar result he writes "The data graphical arithmetic looks like this--the original design equals the erased part plus the good part." I wish I could include the illustration in this review, because with words alone I simply cannot communicate how much worse Tufte"s revision of this graphic is.
There are so many examples of this, but I will give just one more. At the beginning of Chapter 6, Tufte revisits the traditional box plot and again finds that it "can be mostly erased without loss of information." After offering several iterations of his minimalistic approach, he settles on a version which is just astoundingly bad. To represent the five data points (quartiles) Tufte draws a single line that is offset by a *miniscule* amount between the 25th and 75th percentiles, and has a *miniscule* break at the median. It is not hyperbole to say that when my eyes are 18 inches away from this graphic, the quartiles can barely be seen at all; it looks like he just drew a straight line. About this Tufte says "This design is the preferred form of the quartile plot. It uses the ink effectively and looks good."
"In order to make comparisons among a variety of newspapers, magazines, scientific journals, and books, I have compiled a rough measure of graphical sophistication--the share of a publication"s graphics that are *relational*. Such a design links two or more variables but is not a time-series or a map. Relational graphics are essential to competent statistical analysis since they confront statements about cause and effect with evidence, showing how one variable affects another."
My first reaction (and I hope yours) to this was to note that relational graphs show how one variable is *correlated* with another, and cannot by themselves show cause and effect (we can thank statistics for an endless supply of "information" about what supposedly causes cancer). But besides that is just the overwhelming lack of support for the idea that we can judge the sophistication of a publication on what percentage of its graphs are relational. But that"s exactly what Tufte proceeds to do; he trots out a table of publications from different countries and their "sophistication percentages", and uses it to achieve some conclusion that the Japanese are much smarter than anybody else, and the Americans stupider.
Another example of an unsupported principle: that more information is better. Throughout the book Tufte is consistently impressed when someone has discovered a way to cram more bits of information into the same graphic. For example, from page 20: "The most extensive data maps, such as the cancer atlas and the count of the galaxies, place millions of bits of information on a single page before our eyes. No other method for the display of statistical information is so powerful." This attitude inspires the reader to include as much information as they possibly can in their graphs. But Tufte never stops to ask the question: is there a point when more information just becomes noise? To quote Google documentation about their charts API: "Take care not to overestimate the number of data points required for a chart. For example, to show how popular chocolate ice cream was over the last ten years, aggregating search queries for each day would result in more than 3600 values. It would not make any sense to plot a graph at this granularity."
Tufte"s principles totally ignore the primary purpose of graphs, which is to show a data set"s *patterns* (or lack thereof) to humans. This is confounding, because many of the examples he cites do this brilliantly. His very first example, Anscombe"s quartet (you can Google for it) is a fantastic example of how graphs show patterns even when basic statistical summaries do not. His Napoleon example shows the pattern of how the size of Napoleon"s army was so severely diminished over time and space, and the points at which it suffered its greatest casualties. But Tufte seems to completely miss the point. Though his examples repeatedly show patterns, Tufte never talks about patterns at all. About the Napoleon example, Tufte writes "Minard"s graphic tells a rich, coherent story with its multivariate data, for more enlightening than just a single number bouncing along over time. *Six* variables are plotted: the six of the army, its location on a two-dimensional surface, direction of the army"s movement, and temperature on various dates during the retreat from Moscow." Tufte again is primarily impressed with the amount of data and the number of dimensions.
Principles like "remove non-data ink" and "forgo chartjunk" treat graphs as though they are a form of compression, and treat "ink" as a scarce resource. The truth is that the primary goal of a graph is to communicate data to a human, and humans respond to design and polish (if they did not, there would not be so many colors, icons, boxes, visual effects, etc. on the page you are viewing right now). Design can communicate structure. Visual weight can help draw the eye to the part of the graph that is most significant. Polish can make a graph visually appealing enough to look at in the first place. Tufte has no appreciation for these ideas: "Chartjunk does not achieve the goals of its propagators. The overwhelming fact of data graphics is that they stand or fall on their content, gracefully displayed. Graphics do not become attractive and interesting through the addition of ornamental hatching and false perspective to a few bars." This attitude puts Tufte in the company of usability expert Jakob Nielsen, who probably has good points to make, but when you visit his bland and text-heavy website [...] are you really inspired to spend time there reading?
I don"t know how to explain the high regard for this book. There are lots of beautiful graphs, to be sure, but most of them are not Tufte"s and don"t follow his principles. I am disappointed in what I expected to be a great book.