Serious Attempt to get into X4 as a Totally Blind Player

[DocAce]

Are you aware that you can tone down and even turn off the head and UI movement in the game settings? It's under Settings, Game Settings, then just below the Camera header. You may have to scroll down to get to the option called "Head Movement Intensity". It's a slider that goes from 0 to 100, just set it to 0 and the UI should not move as your ship rotates.

[kuertee]

Are you aware that you can tone down and even turn off the head and UI movement in the game settings? It's under Settings, Game Settings, then just below the Camera header. You may have to scroll down to get to the option called "Head Movement Intensity". It's a slider that goes from 0 to 100, just set it to 0 and the UI should not move as your ship rotates.

ahhh cool! i did not know that - nor did the player who requested that i add the auto-disable/auto-re-enable of mouse steering for when the Interact Menu is open.
but my mod, Reset Mouse, does other things as well, like: reset mouse to centre after closing a fullscreen menu to prevent your ship from wildly turning immediately after the menu is closed (when mouse steering is enabled).

[CaplinCaplin]

I'm wondering if any of the other options in game settings might help with the accessibility at all. I suspect what will probably be more helpful is finding ways to make the screens more OCR-friendly, which I've mentioned previously. Still, I'm glad there are options even if they might not always be the most visible

I'm slightly concerned about the map changes coming in 4.10, and hope there's a way to reliably reset the map to a predictable place, lest I accidentally send the focus zooming off somewhere unexpected. Of course, until I get more property to speak of I probably won't be using it all tha often except for missions.

[DocAce]

You can always reset it to focus on the player by pressing the R key, or by clicking a (non-ocr-readable) button.

[CaplinCaplin]

You can always reset it to focus on the player by pressing the R key, or by clicking a (non-ocr-readable) button.

THanks, I wasn't aware of this shortcut I guess if I'm not on the beta it isn't as useful, though presumably 4.10 will come out soon enough

I've just got a Steam gift card for my birthday, and am contemplating purchasing both DLC in anticipation of increased accessibility. I hope that isn't jumping the gun a bit, but I'm honestly impressed at how much we can do already, knock on wood.

[kuertee]

I've updated the mod
Accessibility features: https://www.nexusmods.com/x4foundations/mods/748
The read-me is, of course, in the link above.

Updates:
v1.0.4, 17 Aug 2021:
-New feature: Talk to X. You need to first disembark from the ship. Read the section Conversations With NPCs At Stations below.
-New feature: Spacewalk to Signal Leak. You need to first exit the ship. Read the section Signal Leaks below.
-New feautre: Airlock commands: Exit Airlock Of X (to spacewalk), Disembark at X (to enter the station), Enter Airlock of X (to return to your ship). These are always listed at the top of the menu.
-New feature: Hot key to open the Navigation Computer. Read the section Navigation Computer below.
-New feature: Commands are now listed in a separate menu after you click on an object.
-Tweak: The Points Of Interests and Objects In Sector buttons are integrated with the list table. You no longer need to tab between the list and these two buttons.





The spacewalk (i.e. get the correct position fo the object) and the move player to NPC (i.e. talk to feature) codes were actually quite complex.
For spacewalking, it is not as simple as moving the player to the signal leak's the X, Y, Z. It required those values to be converted to the player's "scope" - i.e. the player's zone.
Similarly with the Talk to NPC feature, moving the player to the NPC is not as simple as moving them to the NPC's X, Y, Z values. It required the player to be in the same room as the NPC first.
And finding a reliable method to move the player to the correct room was not as simple as using the teleport_player function.
These two features are the cause of the delay for this version.
But with these two features, the gameplay loop should be better than trying to navigate around and in the station.

Also, one thing I forgot to add to the read-me is the ability to repair panels of data vaults.
You can repair panels by spacewalking to them, enabling your repair laser, and shooting at them.
Repair panels unlock the data vault chamber that holds it's signal leak.
BUT ... because you can spacewalk (i.e. teleport directly) to the data vault's signal leak, you don't need to repair any of the panels.
I'll remove this cheat in the next version.

[oasis1701]

Thank you kuertee! very excited to check the mod out, -- I was refreshing the page every day for it to come out
Will go and play with it and provide some feedback.

I have a general issue with the game, if anyone is reading and can figure out what's wrong:
I have to double click in some places of the game to be able to activate them. this includes the main menu items, -- and some parts of the kuertee 's UI mod. One click seems to set the focus on the item and enother click activates it. do let me know and i'll make a short video displaying the issue.

[kuertee]

Thank you kuertee! very excited to check the mod out, -- I was refreshing the page every day for it to come out
Will go and play with it and provide some feedback.

I have a general issue with the game, if anyone is reading and can figure out what's wrong:
I have to double click in some places of the game to be able to activate them. this includes the main menu items, -- and some parts of the kuertee 's UI mod. One click seems to set the focus on the item and enother click activates it. do let me know and i'll make a short video displaying the issue.

try the new version. i removed the "+" button that expands the object's command list.
in the new version, the command list is a new menu that replaces the objects list.
if that doesn't address your double-clicking problem, record a video for me, please.

[oasis1701]

Thank you kuertee! very excited to check the mod out, -- I was refreshing the page every day for it to come out
Will go and play with it and provide some feedback.

I have a general issue with the game, if anyone is reading and can figure out what's wrong:
I have to double click in some places of the game to be able to activate them. this includes the main menu items, -- and some parts of the kuertee 's UI mod. One click seems to set the focus on the item and enother click activates it. do let me know and i'll make a short video displaying the issue.

try the new version. i removed the "+" button that expands the object's command list.
in the new version, the command list is a new menu that replaces the objects list.
if that doesn't address your double-clicking problem, record a video for me, please.

The mod is still showing me as hidden in the website by the way. thought i'll let you know just in case.

[kuertee]

ooops, sorry. visible now.

one more thing:
you may find that the hot key stops working after you dock.
simply, get up from the pilot's control (ctrl-d, i think).
then try the hot key again.

i tried to enable it when the ship is docked and when you're still in control.
but i noticed that it stopped working after i released it.

[oasis1701]

A question I had regarding signal leaks
Will they only show up in the nav computer if I am in a spacesuit?
IF i'm in a ship, i can't seem to find them in my nav computer.
When i'm in a space suit, i can see them, often at 2 to 4 KMs away from me, but it says that they are not scanned. do i need to scan them with a ship first?
edit: oh just saw the instructions in the mod's page.

Will i have to wait for a long time to spacewalk to the signals? i click on spacewalk but it appears as if nothing happens.

more edits: I think my issue was that i had to start a new game, and not load from an existing game. i may have just unlocked a signal, which showed me a message about unlocking blueprints.

more edits: it seems that signals that are far away from me, i am unable to spacewalk to them. Should i be able to find these with my ship first and get within range first?

[oasis1701]

ok, in my last post i got very confused, i may have found a reason -- IT might be a bug.
Sometimes when you spacewalk to a signal leak, you get teleported to somewhere (it's a quiet place), from there you can't spacewalk to any of the signal leaks anymore. the leaks show as 45 KM, to 50 KM away, but space walk no longer works. when i entered my ship and exited again, i was able to spacewalk to leaks again.
It appears to be a recurring bug, let me know if a video is needed

[kuertee]

...Will they only show up in the nav computer if I am in a spacesuit?
IF i'm in a ship, i can't seem to find them in my nav computer....

yeah. you can scan signal leaks with your ship - but some signal leaks are in tight areas that require you to spacewalk.
because the spacewalk function in the mod can get you there and back to the ship in an instant, i decided to only list signal leaks during space walks.
if i try to fit the ship in a small area, and it collides with the station, the physics engine would kick in and either make the ships get stuck or fling the ship off to space.

...more edits: I think my issue was that i had to start a new game, and not load from an existing game. i may have just unlocked a signal, which showed me a message about unlocking blueprints.
more edits: it seems that signals that are far away from me, i am unable to spacewalk to them. Should i be able to find these with my ship first and get within range first?...

yeah, signals are scanned by activating your scanner shift-f2.
signals can be (1) messages for help (missions), (2) blueprint of the module (so you don't need to buy them), (3) discounts or commissions at the station, (4) or locks that you can unlock to claim abandoned ships.
and, yes, its best that you approach a station with the auto-pilot. and then spacewalk. or disembark at the station and exit its airlock to spacewalk.

ok, in my last post i got very confused, i may have found a reason -- IT might be a bug.
Sometimes when you spacewalk to a signal leak, you get teleported to somewhere (it's a quiet place), from there you can't spacewalk to any of the signal leaks anymore. the leaks show as 45 KM, to 50 KM away, but space walk no longer works. when i entered my ship and exited again, i was able to spacewalk to leaks again.
It appears to be a recurring bug, let me know if a video is needed

yeah, sounds like the positioning bug. it may not work if its in a different "zone" to you - a problem which i thought i solved.
i might check the code to not list signals outside of 15km.
it might be listing signals at adjacent stations - if the stations are close to each other.

[CaplinCaplin]

Hi there,

This seems to work very well so far with a couple gotchas I'm wondering about.

I was trying to meet with a faction representative, which seemed to go well. I docked, disembarked the ship, and was able to find her listed as my "mission target." I had a brief cut scene in which she told me to go to a specific freighter, which was apparently listed.

From that point, the navigation computer just paused the game but listed no mission targets, nor NPCs, nor embark options. I had to use shift+D to teleport back to my ship, but found navigating to the pilot's console very tedious, so gave it up and quit without saving.

I was hoping I would be able to use the computer to find the freighter I was supposed to take over, but suppose that even if I had I'd still be a bit lost actually figuring out where the pilot controls were.

On the positive side, spacewalking and signals seemed to work well when I tried them.

Thanks for all your help, as always.

[kuertee]

...I was trying to meet with a faction representative, which seemed to go well. I docked, disembarked the ship, and was able to find her listed as my "mission target." I had a brief cut scene in which she told me to go to a specific freighter, which was apparently listed.

oh, those types of missions, i.e. story missions, may need specific edits to the mission files themselves - especially if the mission doesn't change the guidance/mission marker to your intended target (e.g. the freighter). Usually, they do. Do you remember the mission name, so that I can check?

are you able to navigate the mission offers on the map when your near the station that it is offered? what this means is that you need to go to the stations and check. a little cumbersome.
but if you can, maybe, for now, only do generic missions.
the mission list is something i'd like to add to the navigation computer. but that, too, requires some time.

another way to acquire missions is from signal leaks and npcs at stations.
i recommend taking only taxi missions from signal leaks. hacking missions require other "teleport" features to my mod. i.e. hacking panels require you to walk to the panels.
NPCs on the nav computer marked with "important" may have the "Ask for job" conversation topic.

From that point, the navigation computer just paused the game but listed no mission targets, nor NPCs, nor embark options. I had to use shift+D to teleport back to my ship, but found navigating to the pilot's console very tedious, so gave it up and quit without saving.... I was hoping I would be able to use the computer to find the freighter I was supposed to take over, but suppose that even if I had I'd still be a bit lost actually figuring out where the pilot controls were.

yeah, that's something i noted in the read-me: "...(I've not found a way yet to automatically put you in the pilot's console - yet.)..."

[kuertee]

...I had to use shift+D to teleport back to my ship, but found navigating to the pilot's console very tedious, so gave it up and quit without saving.... I was hoping I would be able to use the computer to find the freighter I was supposed to take over, but suppose that even if I had I'd still be a bit lost actually figuring out where the pilot controls were.

yeah, that's something i noted in the read-me: "...(I've not found a way yet to automatically put you in the pilot's console - yet.)..."

here's a tip that you may want to try: the pilot's console is directly in front of you when you enter your ship with shift-d.
just walk forward for about 10 seconds. then click the mouse. hopefully, the mouse would click on the pilot's seat.
at this point the aipilot if there is one would stand up. if there is no ai pilot, you should take control of the seat.
if there was one, give them a few seconds to stand up. then click the chair again.

[oasis1701]

yeah, sounds like the positioning bug. it may not work if its in a different "zone" to you - a problem which i thought i solved.
i might check the code to not list signals outside of 15km.
it might be listing signals at adjacent stations - if the stations are close to each other.

I noticed that the signal leaks will tell you what stations they belong to, Last night i saw something like this: Argon disk defensive platform, argon bridge defensive platform" are those different stations or different parts of a station? I am guessing that they may belong to different modules of the platform.
How big are stations usually in the game? curious to know that as well, I did saw signals 17 to 20 KM away from the defensive platform i found last night.

I have a guess regarding Caplin's problem: @kuertee, is it possible that the font of the mod be changed? to something larger perhaps, something that the OCR is more capable to read, I will do some research on this, I am not sure what makes a text more readable to OCR. Sometimes the top of the navigation computer is not being read by the OCR. So if you have a text that only says, "enter airlock of ship" and nothing else, OCR will not read that; it appears as a blank page. in fact i realized that enter and exit ship commands at the top of the navigation computer is sometimes not read by the OCR maybe it is too small?

[CaplinCaplin]

Unfortunately, the font is a red herring. This was a legitimate bug, the menu didn't even come up because I could hit enter and pull up the ship interaction menu. I will try and get more details about where exactly things broke later today, and will write a longer reply

[kuertee]

...How big are stations usually in the game? curious to know that as well, I did saw signals 17 to 20 KM away from the defensive platform i found last night...

average about 10km - give or take 5km, at the largest. stations can be larger, of course - especially player-built stations. 15km would be about the max for ai-built stations. signal leaks 10km away from the general center of the station would be rare.

I have a guess regarding Caplin's problem: @kuertee, is it possible that the font of the mod be changed? to something larger perhaps,...in fact i realized that enter and exit ship commands at the top of the navigation computer is sometimes not read by the OCR maybe it is too small?

Unfortunately, the font is a red herring. This was a legitimate bug, the menu didn't even come up because I could hit enter and pull up the ship interaction menu. I will try and get more details about where exactly things broke later today, and will write a longer reply

you can scale the UI up to double its size. i thought that read it suggested after you first suggested increasing the font.
but, yes, i can change the font specifically used in my menu to be larger.

i'll look at the immediate-take-control ship and the font tonight, and see if i can release a small update tomorrow.

[oasis1701]

Any ideas if i can scale the UI by editting the config.xml or another file perhaps?
I found this, but i'm not sure if it's the right one: <volumeui>1.00</volumeui>
have a feeling it'll increase the OCR performance overall in the game