This API allows you to add, change, hide and unhide custom HUD bars for this mod.
## Overview
To give you a *very* brief overview over this API, here is the basic workflow on how to add your own custom HUD bar:
* Create images for your HUD bar
* Call `hb.register_hudbar` to make the definition of the HUD bar known to this mod
* Call `hb.init_hudbar` for each player for which you want to use previously defined HUD bar
* Use `hb.change_hudbar` whenever you need to change the values of a HUD bar of a certain player
* If you need it: Use `hb.hide_hudbar` and `hb.unhide_hudbar` to hide or unhide HUD bars of a certain player
## The basic rules
In order to use this API, you should be aware of a few basic rules in order to understand it:
* A HUD bar is an approximate graphical representation of the ratio of a current value and a maximum value, i.e. current health of 15 and maximum health of 20. A full HUD bar represents 100%, an empty HUD bar represents 0%.
This function registers a new custom HUD bar definition to the HUD bars mod, so it can be later used to be displayed, changed, hidden
and unhidden on a per-player basis.
Note this does not yet display the HUD bar.
The HUD bars will be displayed in a “first come, first serve” order. This API does not allow fow a custom order or a way to set it
manually in a reliable way. However, you can use the setting `hudbars_sorting` for this. See the advanced setting menu in Minetest
for more information.
#### Parameters
*`identifier`: A globally unique internal name for the HUD bar, will be used later to refer to it. Please only rely on alphanumeric characters for now. The identifiers “`health`” and “`breath`” are used internally for the built-in health and breath bar, respectively. Please do not use these names.
*`text_color`: A 3-octet number defining the color of the text. The octets denote, in this order red, green and blue and range from `0x00` (complete lack of this component) to `0xFF` (full intensity of this component). Example: `0xFFFFFF` for white.
*`label`: A string which is displayed on the HUD bar itself to describe the HUD bar. Try to keep this string short.
*`textures`: A table with the following fields:
*`bar`: The file name of the bar image (as string). This is only used for the `progress_bar` bar type (see `README.txt`, settings section).
*`icon`: The file name of the icon, as string. For the `progress_bar` type, it is shown as single image left of the bar, for the two statbar bar types, it is used as the statbar icon and will be repeated. This field can be `nil`, in which case no icon will be used, but this is not recommended, because the HUD bar will be invisible if the one of the statbar bar types is used.
*`bgicon`: The file name of the background icon, it is used as the background for the modern statbar mode only. This field can be `nil`, in which case no background icon will be displayed in this mode.
*`default_start_value`: If this HUD bar is added to a player, and no initial value is specified, this value will be used as initial current value
*`default_max_value`: If this HUD bar is added to a player, and no initial maximum value is specified, this value will be used as initial maximum value
*`default_start_hidden`: The HUD bar will be initially start hidden by default when added to a player. Use `hb.unhide_hudbar` to unhide it.
*`format_string`: Optional; You can specify an alternative format string to use for the final text on the HUD bar. The default format string is “`@1: @2/@3`” (The “@” numbers are placeholders that have a meaning in this order: @1 = Label, @2 = current value, @3 = maximum value). Do *not* use minetest.translator on this string, the string will be translated by `hudbars`, but you still must put this string into the translation catalogue file.
*`format_string_config`: Required if `format_string` is set. This allows to change which parameters to use in the format string. It's a table with these fields:
*`textdomain`: Text domain of the format string, used by `minetest.translate`
*`order`: Table that contains the order of the placeholders. It's also possible to remove placeholders. Default order: `{ "label", "value", "max_value" }`
*`format_value`: Format string to apply when displaying `value`. Syntax is same as in `string.format`. Default: `"%d"`
*`format_max_value`: Same as `format_value` but is applied to `max_value`
Displays an armor HUD bar with a label of the form „Armor: 53%“. (`N` is a dummy function that returns its argument, used to make the string visible for translator scripts.)
This function initialzes and activates a previously registered HUD bar and assigns it to a
certain client/player. This has only to be done once per player and after that, you can change
the values using `hb.change_hudbar`.
However, if `start_hidden` was set to `true` for the HUD bar (in `hb.register_hudbar`), the HUD bar
will initially be hidden, but the HUD elements are still sent to the client. Otherwise,
the HUD bar will be initially be shown to the player.
#### Parameters
*`player`: `ObjectRef` of the player to which the new HUD bar should be displayed to.
*`identifier`: The identifier of the HUD bar type, as specified in `hb.register_hudbar`.
*`start_value`: The initial current value of the HUD bar. This is optional, `default_start_value` of the registration function will be used, if this is `nil`.
*`start_max`: The initial maximum value of the HUD bar. This is optional, `default_start_max` of the registration function will be used, if this is `nil`
*`start_hidden`: Whether the HUD bar is initially hidden. This is optional,`default_start_hidden` of the registration function will be used as default
#### Return value
`true` on success, `false` otherwise.
## Modifying a HUD bar
After a HUD bar has been added, you can change the current and maximum value and other attributes on a per-player basis.
