startLoadingScreen

1.00

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Description

Description:

Shows loading screen with the given text, using the given resource. While loading screen is shown, simulation and scene drawing is disabled, user control is disabled, mouse cursor is hidden, scripts run at full speed (50ms per frame instead of 3ms per frame for Scheduled Scripts).

⚠

The loading screen does not end by itself and absolutely needs a call to endLoadingScreen command.

⚠

The game simulation is disabled during Loading Screen operation (at least in SP), therefore any use of sleep command will pause the game indefinitely. If you have to "sleep", use uiSleep.

By default (if custom resource is not provided) startLoadingScreen will use "RscDisplayNotFreeze" resource. If you are using a custom resource (that can be defined in Description.ext), the following resource's controls are supported by the engine:

• idc = 101; - text (type = 0;) or picture (type = 48;). The text will be set to the text provided by the command param.
• idc = 103; - progress (type = 8;) or animated texture (type = 45;). This control indicates global hardcoded mission loading progress and is useless after mission is loaded.
• idc = 104; - progress (type = 8;). This control's progress is initially set to 0 and can be manipulated with progressLoadingScreen command.

Groups:

System

Syntax

Syntax:

startLoadingScreen [text, resource]

Parameters:

text: String

resource (Optional): String

Return Value:

Nothing

Examples

Example 1:

startLoadingScreen ["Loading My Mission, please wait..."];

Example 2:

startLoadingScreen ["Can't skip loading time...", "MyLoadingRsc"];

Example 3:

startLoadingScreen ["Loading My Mission"]; // code progressLoadingScreen 0.5; // code endLoadingScreen;

Example 4:

// this structure prevents error-prone or lengthy code to miss endLoadingScreen. private _maxTime = diag_tickTime + 30; // max 30s of loading startLoadingScreen ["Loading"]; private _handle = [] spawn { // code that may crash or take too long }; waitUntil { sleep .01; scriptDone _handle || diag_tickTime > _maxTime }; endLoadingScreen;

Additional Information

See also:

endLoadingScreenprogressLoadingScreen

Notes

Report bugs on the Feedback Tracker and/or discuss them on the Arma Discord or on the Forums.
Only post proven facts here! Add Note

Notes

Posted on July 15, 2009 - 01:47 (CEST)

Lou Montana

As it stops simulation as well as scene drawing, be sure not to put any sleep (or waitUntil if you are checking for in-game changes ; waitUntil for var initialization or script loading is ok) command between startLoadingScreen and endLoadingScreen.

Posted on January 18, 2010 - 08:07 (CEST)

Lou Montana

edit 10:15 : Whatever transparence you define in your own resource, there will be a black screen to cache loading.
It's up to you to choose a nice blue background :-)

Resource has to be defined in description.ext; it must NOT be defined as RscTitles! Here is an example:

Show text

// '''basic defines'''
//
class RscText
{
	type = 0;
	idc = -1;
	x = 0;
	y = 0;
	h = 0.037;
	w = 0.3;
	style = 0x100; 
	font = Zeppelin32;
	SizeEx = 0.03921;
	colorText[] = {1,1,1,1};
	colorBackground[] = {0, 0, 0, 0};
	linespacing = 1;
};
class RscPicture
{
	access=0;
	type=0;
	idc=-1;
	style=48;
	colorBackground[]={0,0,0,0};
	colorText[]={1,1,1,1};
	font="TahomaB";
	sizeEx=0;
	lineSpacing=0;
	text="";
};
class RscLoadingText : RscText
{
	style = 2;
	x = 0.323532;
	y = 0.666672;
	w = 0.352944;
	h = 0.039216;
	sizeEx = 0.03921;
	colorText[] = {0.543,0.5742,0.4102,1.0};
};
class RscProgress
{
	x = 0.344;
	y = 0.619;
	w = 0.313726;
	h = 0.0261438;
	texture = "\ca\ui\data\loadscreen_progressbar_ca.paa";
	colorFrame[] = {0,0,0,0};
	colorBar[] = {1,1,1,1};
};
class RscProgressNotFreeze
{
	idc = -1;
	type = 45;
	style = 0;
	x = 0.022059;
	y = 0.911772;
	w = 0.029412;
	h = 0.039216;
	texture = "#(argb,8,8,3)color(0,0,0,0)";
};
//
// '''the loading screen itself'''
//
class Harrier_loadingScreen
{ 
	idd = -1;
	duration = 10e10;
	fadein = 0;
	fadeout = 0;
	name = "loading screen";
	class controlsBackground
	{
		class blackBG : RscText
		{
			x = safezoneX;
			y = safezoneY;
			w = safezoneW;
			h = safezoneH;
			text = "";
			colorText[] = {0,0,0,0};
			colorBackground[] = {0,0,0,1};
		};
		class nicePic : RscPicture
		{
			style = 48 + 0x800; // '''ST_PICTURE + ST_KEEP_ASPECT_RATIO'''
			x = safezoneX + safezoneW/2 - 0.25;
			y = safezoneY + safezoneH/2 - 0.2;
			w = 0.5;
			h = 0.4;
			text = "img\nicePic.paa";
		};
	};
	class controls
	{
		class Title1 : RscLoadingText
		{
			text = "$STR_LOADING"; // '''"Loading" text in the middle of the screen'''
		};
		class CA_Progress : RscProgress // '''progress bar, has to have idc 104'''
		{
			idc = 104;
			type = 8; // '''CT_PROGRESS'''
			style = 0; // '''ST_SINGLE'''
			texture = "\ca\ui\data\loadscreen_progressbar_ca.paa";
		};
		class CA_Progress2 : RscProgressNotFreeze // '''progress bar that will go reverse'''
		{
			idc = 103;
		};
		class Name2: RscText // '''the text on the top-left'''
		{
			idc = 101;
			x = 0.05;
			y = 0.029412;
			w = 0.9;
			h = 0.04902;
			text = "";
			sizeEx = 0.05;
			colorText[] = {0.543,0.5742,0.4102,1.0};
		};
	};
};

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Posted on November 21, 2015 - 18:38 (UTC)

Killzone Kid

In Arma 3 default loading screen has no control do display text. The description of the command now contains information what is needed to create custom loading screen resource.