Display Module
| Display Module | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Hit Points | 25 |
| Reactor Hit Points | 0 |
| Mass | 0.03 |
| Luminosity | none |
| Data Value (ID) | 479 |
Display Modules are special terminal blocks that allow players to type and display text messages. They can also use special codes that can display an entity's system stats in real time. They are extremely versatile and can be used for everything from simple labels to complex logic driven command prompts.
Contents
Item Description
"Displays a holographic screen based on the text entered. Can also be used to track vital systems' information."
Production
| Production Info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Produced in a | Standard Factory |  |
|||
| Requires | To create | ||||
| Bastyn Capsule | x10 |
 |
Display Module | x1 |
|
| Alloyed Metal Mesh | x10 |
 |
|||
Usage
| Function Codes | |
|---|---|
| Code | Use |
| [name] | Displays the current name of the entity. |
| [mass] | Displays the current mass of the entity. |
| [blockCount] | Displays the total number of blocks that make up the entity. |
| [armorHp] | Displays the current Armor HP of the entity. |
| [armorHpCap] | Displays the maximum Armor HP of the entity. Best used in conjunction with [armorHp]. |
| [armorHpPercent] | Displays the percentage of Armor HP remaining on the entity. |
| [structureHp] | Displays the current Structure HP of the entity. |
| [structureHpCap] | Displays the maximum Structure HP of the entity. Best used in conjunction with [structureHp] |
| [structureHpPercent] | Displays the percentage of Structure HP remaining on the entity. |
| [shield] | Displays the current shield capacity of the entity. |
| [shieldCap] | Displays the maximum shield capacity of the entity. Best used in conjunction with [shield] |
| [shieldPercent] | Displays the percentage of shield capacity of the entity. |
| [power] | Displays the current amount of energy in the entity. |
| [powerCap] | Displays the maximum amount of energy in the entity. Best used in conjunction with [power] |
| [powerPercent] | Displays the percentage of energy remaining in the entity. |
| [auxPower] | Displays the current auxiliary power in the entity. |
| [auxPowerCap] | Displays the maximum auxiliary power of the entity. Best used in conjunction with [auxPower] |
| [auxPowerPercent] | Displays the percentage of auxiliary power remaining in the entity. |
| [activereactorconsumption] | *Displays current energy usage across all entities (both current and docked), in e/sec |
| [activereactorconsumptionpercent] | *Displays current energy usage, as a percent, over all entities (both current and docked). |
| [activereactorrecharge] | *Displays how much power the active reactor generates, in e/sec. |
| [speed] | Displays the current speed of the entity. |
| [sector] | Displays the map coordinates of the current sector the entity resides in. |
| [system] | Displays the map coordinates of the current system the entity resides in. |
| [docked] | Displays the docking status of the entity. |
| [cloaked] | **Displays whether or not the entity is currently cloaked. |
| [jamming] | Displays whether or not the entity is currently radar jamming. |
| * These tags can display unusual values when editing in the shipyard | |
| ** displays are turned off when cloaked so you'll only ever see "off" or a blank screen | |
| Advanced Codes | |
| Code | Use |
| [PASSWORD]text | The text in this block will not show up. Can be used to create password protected devices. |
| [ADD]text | The text after [ADD] is added to the existing text of the connected block ( [ADD] must be in the very front) |
| [DEL]number | Removes an amount of characters from the conneted block ( [DEL] must be in the very front) |
| [REPLACEFIRST]regexp[WITH]replacement | use java conform regular expressions to replace specific text ( [REPLACEFIRST] must be in the very front) |
| [REPLACEALL]regexp[WITH]replacement | use java conform regular expressions to replace specific text ( [REPLACEALL] must be in the very front) |
Display Modules are one of the most versatile blocks in the game. They can be used for a range of things, from leaving messages to displaying vital information during a firefight. The Display Module can be as simple or complex as necessary.
Activating a Display Module with R will open its text editing menu. While it can take all manner of input, it has a limit on both character count and rows used. It can take up to 250 characters across up to 10 rows. Typing in a Display Module is not dissimilar to basic word processors such as Windows Notepad. Clicking "OK" will confirm and save the text which has been inputted to a Display Module's edit menu.
Display Modules can be oriented in 6 directions, but depending on the desired facing of the text, this may prove restrictive. In order to work around this limit on orientations, Display Modules could instead be placed on docked entities, letting the player more precisely control the facing of the text.
Formatting and Coding
Aside from text, Display Modules can also make use of various simple codes, which either change the formatting of the text on a display or allow it do display important statistics about an entity.
Basic formatting includes changing either the size or color of text on a Display Module. Typing certain characters between <style>and </style> tags will result in a change in font size and/or color. f=# will change the font size. There are only 3 values for this: 0, 1, and 2. c=####### will change the color of the text based on the HTML(Hex RGB) color code used. For example, typing <style>f=2,c=#FF0000</style> with make that Display Module have red text and font size 2. It should also be noted these settings will effect all the text on a Display Module. If different styles of text are required, different Display Modules must be used instead.
Display Modules can handle more than just text formatting. They are also capable of showing vital information about an entity or its surroundings through the use of some bracketed coding. Typing [power] and pressing "Ok" will allow for the current entity's available energy to be displayed in real time. Various other codes such as [shield] and [structureHp] will have similar effects for their respective statistics. Unlike the basic formatting, these codes are treated like normal text and do not overrule everything else on a display module. Making use of additional codes can allow the construction of practical information readouts.
Examples
Entity info/Display used as custom HUD
Shields: [shieldCap] / [shieldPercent]% Power : [powerCap] / [powerPercent]% Jamming: [jamming] Cloak: [cloaked] [name] Mass : [mass] Sector: [sector] System: [system] Status: [docked]
Copying and Pasting
Display Modules also support copy-and-paste functionality. When accessing a Display Module that contains text everything will be highlighted. Pressing Left Control + C will copy all the selected text (though there currently is no indication of this occurring). Opening another Display Module and pressing Left Control + V will paste the selection into the current space. Using the copy/paste function is a good way to maintain consistency throughout a number of Display Modules. Using this, players can also "import" special text characters from external sources. This is because Display Modules support ASCII characters, which can be copied from a website (or other sources) and pasted in-game.
Text Overhang
Display Modules lack certain formatting features such as text wrapping and alignment. Typing continuously without manually adding line breaks (Enter/Return) will result in text extending past the right edge of the block and being displayed in midair. If it is desired that text stays on the surface of the display block, some trial and error will be required to set up correct line breaks. This odd functionality does allow text to be displayed either in midair or in front of non-display blocks, however. The maximum distance that characters can reach is roughly five meters (5 block lengths) from the Display Module they are on.
Logic Activation
Logic can also be used with Display Modules to create a multitude of devices. When a logic block is placed adjacent to a Display Module, and this logic is linked to another Display Module, the text of the latter Display Module will be changed to that of the former whenever the logic is activated. This feature allows for dynamic setups such as sending messages in response to various logic triggers, or perhaps just animating a piece of text.
Useful Links
- An ASCII table of special characters: http://www.asciitable.com/
- An additional list of special ASCII characters: http://www.alt-codes.net/
- A web page which displays the hex code for a given colour: http://www.w3schools.com/colors/colors_picker.asp
- A video by Toasterborst, explaining basic and advanced display module usage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJwDxubfeK8
- Another video by Toasterborst, going into further detail about special characters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLDylQFvakA
- Various web pages which create formatted text using symbols:
- Make upside-down (uʍop-ǝpıɐsd∩) text to import in-game: http://fsymbols.com/generators/aboqe-flip/
- Make underlined (U̲n̲d̲e̲r̲l̲i̲n̲e̲d̲) text to import in-game: http://fsymbols.com/generators/underline/
- Make strikethrough (S̶t̶r̶i̶k̶e̶t̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶) text to import in-game: http://fsymbols.com/generators/strikethrough/
- Make excessively lined (R̶̷̲̅ᴇ̶̷̲̅ᴀ̶̷̲̅ʟ̶̷̲̅ʟ̶̷̲̅ʏ̶̷̲̅ ̶̷̲̅L̶̷̲̅ɪ̶̷̲̅ɴ̶̷̲̅ʏ̶̷̲̅) text to import in-game: http://fsymbols.com/generators/lines/
- Make small caps (Sᴍᴀʟʟ) text to import in-game: http://fsymbols.com/generators/smallcaps/
- Make large text letters to import in-game. (Warning: Uses a lot of space/ characters): http://fsymbols.com/generators/tarty/
- Make "creepy" text, with a lot of overhanging characters, to import in-game. (Warning: Uses a lot of characters and rows): http://fsymbols.com/generators/zalgo/
- Make fake Russian-looking (Яцšsїaи) text to import in-game: http://fsymbols.com/generators/rusify/
- Make text art to import in-game: http://fsymbols.com/text-art/blocky/
