DISABLE THE NATIVE RETICLE BEFORE USING FPV 1.1


In the game's Settings > HUD > Reticle Visibility, select Hidden. Keep FPV's
Custom reticle enabled; it is ON by default. This is the reticle intended
for this mod's aiming system. The game's setting is global, so it also hides
the native third-person reticle. FPV does not automatically change or restore
that HUD preference.

FIRST PERSON VIEW - VERSION 1.1

This update brings together the new aiming platform, range profiles,
remembered zoom, hip-fire reticle, reload handling, vehicle interiors and
Hellpod work, along with a cleaner settings menu and a substantial amount of
stability work.

A BIG THANK-YOU TO JANGONETT
A huge thanks to Jangonett for the modelling and texture work, especially the
mech chassis with its solid-looking metal exterior and transparent interior.
His contribution has been a major part of making the vehicle side of FPV
usable. The exterior/interior construction of his supplied mech model is
retained in this release, with optimisation that preserves its appearance.

THE AIMING WORK
Aiming has been the biggest part of this update. Moving the camera from the
game's shoulder view to the player's head changes the relationship between
the view, the weapon and the native HUD marker. The difference is especially
noticeable at close range, and a single fixed screen offset cannot account
for every distance, stance and weapon.

WHY A CUSTOM RETICLE?
The native HUD reticle does not reliably line up with this custom
first-person POV. A precise native-reticle solution would need the full live
firing/impact information, and that has not been accessible through the
supported tools available to this addon. I took the options available to me
as far as I could; security and anti-cheat restrictions limit what can be
accessed beyond that. The camera and animation information we can use is
helpful, but it is not the complete firing data needed to solve this perfectly.

That is why FPV uses a custom reticle. I would love to see someone solve the
underlying access/alignment problem in future. Until then, this approach has
worked really well in my own personal experience, while still having the
limitations explained below. This refers to the normal HUD reticle in FPV;
native iron sights and scopes remain available through the game's own view.

FPV incorporates adapted camera-capture and enemy-distance logic from
DCtimeMods' Aim Fix for First Person Mods after EAC update:
https://www.nexusmods.com/helldivers2/mods/18143
That work provided an important foundation for relating the original camera
to the first-person view and estimating distance to known enemies. Thank you
to DCtimeMods for that contribution. Its camera-turning correction is not
used in FPV; the adapted information feeds the custom reticle while retaining
the head-centred weapon perspective.

A huge amount of custom work, testing, rebuilding and fixing has gone into
the aiming platform around that foundation. This includes projection through
the current camera angle and FOV, keeping live aim sway, using supported
muzzle references where they can be confirmed, range profiles, target-change
handling, smoothing and recovery when an aiming reference becomes unusable.
Mounted weapons also have their own reference handling where supported.

The stability work includes reducing stale-target influence, keeping the
reticle responsive to the current view while a target change is being
confirmed, and adding confirmation for abrupt close-range depth changes.
That last change addresses a reproduced source of large reticle corrections
at very short distances. It does not detect whether an enemy is dead or guarantee
that every reported swerve has been eliminated.

HOW THE AIMING PROFILES WORK
- Seven built-in fallback sighting ranges: 5, 20, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 300 m.
- When a usable known-enemy distance estimate is available, the reticle uses
it automatically. The selected profile is the fallback when that estimate
is unavailable, including when aiming at ground, walls and scenery.
- Those enemy estimates come from approximate enemy bounds. They are not
terrain measurements or verified bullet collision points, and cover can
make an otherwise valid enemy estimate unsuitable.
- The recorded calibration values are built in. There are no calibration
sliders or adjustment hotkeys to set up. Supported, confirmed muzzle
references use geometric projection at the selected distance instead of
the older screen-offset calibration.
- Choose a fallback range appropriate to what you are aiming at when no
usable enemy estimate is available. Selecting a range changes the visual
reticle correction; it does not change the weapon's ballistics.
- My recommendation is 50 m as the general-purpose, low-maintenance option
to leave selected. For close-range circumstances, the 5 m and 20 m profiles
provide a more appropriate starting point. Higher values suit longer-range
shots and players sniping with the custom reticle. Matching the fallback
to the approximate distance helps the correction; no profile guarantees
perfect alignment. Usable automatic enemy estimates still take priority,
and native scopes retain the game's own sight and zoom behaviour.
- The ring is slightly larger at short sighting ranges and slightly smaller
at long ranges. A global size control scales all custom reticle modes.

RANGE, ZOOM AND THE HUD
- Mouse Wheel Down/Up without aiming selects the previous/next fallback range.
- Mouse Wheel Down/Up while normally aiming changes zoom. Zoom takes priority
over range selection in that view.
- Range selection works without holding right mouse. Both range and zoom
selections are remembered, including after restarting the game.
- Normal-aim zoom presets are 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x and 32x. A minimum FOV
limits the actual magnification at the extreme end. Native scopes retain
the game's own zoom.
- Each direction has a single input-binding row. Keyboard
alternatives can be assigned. To restore a row's default wheel binding,
press Delete on the row outside binding capture. The keyboard capture
screen does not capture scrolling. The game can also receive wheel input.
- A slim HUD beneath the compass shows the selected fallback range and zoom,
with small level ticks and the game's font where available. The displayed
range is your stored fallback selection, not a live rangefinder reading.

RETICLE AND RELOAD FEATURES
- Custom reticle ON by default: a white dot with a hollow circle and no black
fill. Size adjusts from 50% to 200% across the custom modes together.
- Optional hip-fire reticle uses the same aiming/ranging system through the
hip-fire view. It appears while the default left-mouse fire input is held
and fades after release. Fade time is adjustable from 0 to 2,000 ms,
defaulting to 500 ms. It follows the input, so charging or dry fire can
also show it; it is not a confirmed-shot detector.
- The reticle hides during recognised reload states and returns when the
reload ends, including if right mouse remains held. Unrecognised reload
animation data can still leave it visible.
- Optional third-person reload view remains available. F7 toggles the mode;
R starts/restarts its adjustable timer, and a fresh Aim press returns early.
This is a manual timed view for any weapon, useful for lengthy support
reloads. It does not automatically classify support weapons or measure
reload completion. It is OFF by default.
- Reload-view transitions remain adjustable, with head restoration during
the return to first person. Native iron sights and scopes remain available.

CAMERA, VISIBILITY AND SETTINGS
- Separate general-view and normal-aim FOV controls, up to 120 vertical
degrees. Defaults are 90 general / 70 normal aiming.
- Optional normal-aim FOV smoothing, ON by default at 230 ms. Transition
settings use 10 ms steps.
- Adjustable camera position. Defaults are -0.06 m forward/back, +0.07 m up
and 0 m sideways.
- Optional hiding of supported stowed support-weapon attachments on your own
rig, restored outside FPV. This helps stop a carried weapon obstructing
the view. It does not hide the equipped weapon, backpacks or capes.
- Adjustable close-weapon clipping reduction. This cuts away nearby geometry
and can visibly slice parts of the weapon or arms; it does not reposition
the weapon model or solve every clipping case.
- Everyday controls are grouped near the top of the menu. Camera offsets,
clipping, transitions and extra inputs sit under Advanced settings.
- SETTINGS-GUIDE.txt explains all 37 settings and their defaults, including
the new reticle, ranging, zoom, reload and visibility controls.
- Revised descriptions throughout. Background aiming and reload-visibility
tasks run automatically, with redundant switches removed. Normal aiming
uses hold-to-aim.
- Existing saved choices and bindings are retained. A default profile is
included; the menu's reset-all option applies it with two presses and also
resets FPV bindings.
- F6 switches to the game camera and puts FPV into standby after restoring
its camera/FOV/head/attachment changes. Re-enabling rediscovers the current
view. Turning the entire addon off in Chef requires a restart to start it
again; use F6 for normal live switching.
- Recovery handling for mission changes, native-sight returns and Hellpod
steering. Reduced repeated scanning, exhausted-list work and unnecessary
logging. These changes do not promise a particular FPS gain.
- Both builds include Hellpod FPV with regular non-inverted mouse look,
steering handling and return to the on-foot camera. Its sensitivity remains
separate from the game's native mouse-sensitivity setting.

VEHICLES AND MOUNTED WEAPONS
- First-person support includes Bastion and Maelstrom driver views.
THE TANKS HAVE NOT BEEN MODELLED FOR FPV: no custom tank interior, glazing
or visibility model is included, so their existing geometry can obstruct
the view. Tank modelling remains outstanding.
- An always-visible custom reticle is ON by default for supported mounted
weapon operators and mech pilots, with the existing sighting and zoom.
- Ordinary vehicle passengers retain on-foot aim/hip-fire visibility. Unarmed
FRV and tank drivers do not receive an always-on weapon reticle.
- Updated weapon references for the Standard FRV machine gun, Incinerator FRV
flamer, anti-tank emplacement and cover-mounted grenade launcher. The
existing HMG-emplacement aiming path is retained, along with the existing
mech/tank-gunner paths.
- While a gunner and mount remain confirmed, a brief loss of the required
grip or muzzle reference hides the marker. Full loss of that mounted
association returns ordinary visibility behaviour. Mounted aiming remains
approximate. The Supply FRV's separate turret has no verified manual
operator setup and is left unchanged.

TEXTURED BUILD: FRVS, MECHS AND HELLPODS
- Glazing for the M102 Standard, M103 Supply and M104 Incinerator FRVs, with
open viewing areas, retained metal framing and opaque lower door skins.
- Jangonett's chassis applied across the supported current EXO variants,
preserving the solid-looking exterior and transparent first-person interior.
Graphics-buffer optimisation retains the supplied model's appearance.
- Reworked Hellpod cabin lining, broad glass panels, metal surrounds and
upper/lower joins. Removed loose pane-edge fixtures and inward clutter.
- Clear lift-pad centre and aligned bottom viewport, with the moving glass
lift, hatch and iris retained.
- Removed the three animated side-thruster/outrigger render assemblies and
their shadows to stop them sweeping through the cabin. They are absent
from the exterior too. Rig, animation and landing-physics definitions remain.
- Removed the selected Hellpod jet effect to clear the interior. This also
removes those exterior jets on other pods sharing the effect.
- Optimised Hellpod geometry: the highest-detail opaque mesh falls from
43,149 to 26,088 triangles without increasing its raw resource sizes.

KNOWN LIMITATIONS - EXPECT SOME JANK
I've tried hard to make the aiming behave, but it remains an approximation.
The custom reticle is the intended aiming aid, not a promise that every shot
will land exactly on it. It does not have a complete live projectile or
terrain-collision feed. Recoil, animation, target bounds, cover, distance and
weapon differences can still cause offsets, jitter or an occasional large
reticle fluctuation. Very close enemies, collapsing bodies and targets
crossing doorways or standing in front of buildings can remain awkward.

Side-prone aiming is a definite limitation. Large equipped support weapons,
such as the Quasar, can rotate sideways across the camera and fill or clip
through much of the view. Stowed-weapon hiding does not solve this. What can
be improved remains to be seen, and a complete fix may not be possible.

Hellpod landings can briefly bury the first-person camera below the map
before the lift rises. Terrain may clip through the pod during that sequence.
Some body/weapon movement, model clipping and awkward terminal views remain.
Pickup/team HUD icons can also appear offset from the head-centred view.
Native sights and F6 remain available when a particular view is troublesome.

TWO DOWNLOADS / INSTALLATION
With Textures includes the vehicle/mech/Hellpod replacements above.
Without Textures has the same FPV runtime, aiming, settings and controls,
with the game's normal vehicle and Hellpod appearance. Enable ONE variant.
The shared model replacements can conflict with other skins for those assets.

Requires Chef Shared Loader 1.4.1. Install it separately and deploy it
last/highest priority. Exit the game, replace the older FPV package in
HD2 Arsenal, enable the chosen variant and redeploy. Disable other FPV camera
mods and the standalone Aim Fix; the adapted aiming components are already
included. With Textures also replaces the separate vehicle/Hellpod glass packs.
This release targets Helldivers 2 Steam build 26251122.

DEFAULT CONTROLS
F9: settings. F6: first person / game camera.
Right mouse: normal aim. Middle mouse while aiming: native sights/scopes.
Wheel Down/Up: fallback range from hip view; zoom during normal aim.
F7: manual third-person reload mode. R: start its timer when enabled.

CREDITS AND THANKS
Jangonett - a big thank-you for the modelling and vehicle texture work, and
especially the supplied EXO chassis with its solid exterior/clear interior.

DCtimeMods - Aim Fix for First Person Mods after EAC update; adapted camera
capture and enemy-distance work used in FPV's custom aiming platform.
https://www.nexusmods.com/helldivers2/mods/18143

Th3ShadowDragon007 - First Person Perspective-HD2, the inspiration for FPV.
https://www.nexusmods.com/helldivers2/mods/16813

Chef Shared Loader - the loader, settings, bindings and drawing interface.
Thanks as well to everyone who tested builds and reported awkward weapons,
stances, reloads and vehicle views; that feedback shaped this update.