FS Panel Studio

[J G 927]

I would like to be able to add some pop-up instrument screens to one or two of my favourite aircraft. Like the GPS but with some custom gauges. This is so that I can have a second monitor that will contain replicas of the real aircraft gauges and not generic equivalents

 

Will FS Panel Studio enable me to do this?  What experience have you had with this utility?  - I am considering eventually building a cockpit around a single aircraft, and so I need to understand how to make custom panels and gauges.

 

I am quite happy writing XML so complicated is ok with me

 

Any help would be good.

 

J

[needles 1,011]

Not used it myself JG but from what I've read about it it is fairly easy to design your own panels. 

Good luck with it. Be good to see the outcome when you've had a go at it.

[J G 927]

Making a panel is quite easy. Below is the engine instrumentation panel from an F-4J Phantom. All I have to do now is to build the instruments.

 

 

[brett 2,303]

Never used the program myself but you could use that panel above, create it as a background panel and then fill the "holes" with the existing aircrafts gauges and turn it into a popup panel. Everything you need can be found here in the SDK but there will be a learning curve for you to get through. 

[allardjd 1,853]

I've used it and the only problem I had, as I recall, was that the utility for "collecting" all the gauges for installed aircraft was a little funky.   I really don't remember the details and it was a long time ago so it may have been updated by now anyway.

 

Though I used it a little I soon found that making add-on pop-up panels or replacing instruments in existing panels was pretty easy by just playing with bmp images of the panel faces and editing the panel.cfg files and I abandoned it.  

 

Gauges, of course, can be "stolen" from the panels of other AC and for the most part work pretty well when transplanted into other ACs' panels.  I should point out that everything I've done is for 2D panels only.  I have not delved into editing 3D panels, nor have I tried creating new instruments from scratch.  That can be done but I haven't jumped into that end of the pool yet.  Trolling through the Panel folders of your installed aircraft will often provide you with a bmp that can be the base of your new pop-up, with some simple editing.

 

I find that add-on pop-ups are an almost necessary thing for TrackIR use.  Things that have to be clicked once on 3D panels are fine, but if something requires multiple, repeated clicks (e.g. tuning a radio, setting an altimeter, setting the OBI or Heading bug) it's nearly impossible to keep your head motionless enough to do that easily and correctly.  Ultimately, the click spot slowly drifts out from under the mouse pointer.  I call it mouse pointer archery.  The solution is to create a pop-up with those things on it (they can be duplicates - you don't have to remove them from the 3D panel) and put it off on a second monitor.  Those remain motionless and unaffected by inadvertent TrackIR head movement.

 

John

[J G 927]

Thanks J A -The whole point in doing this is to make pop-up 2D panels in the Milviz F-4J Phantom.

 

Initially I want to make 2D panels that match the those in the 3D cockpit. Having made the framework above I need to populate it with gauges.  Will FS Panel Studio allow you to use gauges from a 3D panel?

[allardjd 1,853]

1 hour ago, J G said:

Will FS Panel Studio allow you to use gauges from a 3D panel?

 

I'm pretty sure it will.  The gauges are the same, 2D or 3D, just are displayed differently.

 

John

[J G 927]

That's good to know.  I might give it a go.

 

[allardjd 1,853]

Coincidentally, I got an e-mailed ad from Abacus today that all downloads are 50% off.  Strike while the iron is hot.

 

John