Alphasim Phantom: Airspeed Gauge

[expat]

Thanks to this great community I now have the Pack 1 panel working perfectly in FSX.

I am also just one step away from doing the same with Pack 2 - again thanks to a SOH member posting fixes here recently (Pack 3 seems to work in FSX with no fixes needed) but am totally stumped on the location of the airpseed gauge. I keep trying to swap other ASI gauges that work in FSX but they do not appear.

If anyone out there knows, I would be grateful if you could post the specific gauge entry line, e.g.,

gaugeXX= etc

for both the 2D panel and VC for the Pack 2 panel.

Many thanks

expat

[DaveQ]

I had the same problem. There seems to be a gauge missing from the pack. I imported the AS F-104 gauge into the VC (I don't use 2D at all).

gauge18=ALPHA_F104!ASI, 267,201,122,131

That works for me.

DaveQ

[expat]

Many thanks.

[delta_lima]

Old news for you pros, I'm sure ....

I've stayed only with the Pack 3 RFs up till now - but I think I want to give the pack 2 (and maybe pack 1) a try.

My VC has large gaps everywhere - I didn't think there was a fix for that. Am I wrong about that? Please set me straight ....

My starting point is the Pack 2 (FSX) from flightsim, in which Bob Chicilo indicates the VC has these issues. I found the 2D panel is nice, but I can't see to land too well.

thanks,

dl

[DaveQ]

Old news for you pros, I'm sure ....

I've stayed only with the Pack 3 RFs up till now - but I think I want to give the pack 2 (and maybe pack 1) a try.

My VC has large gaps everywhere - I didn't think there was a fix for that. Am I wrong about that? Please set me straight ....

My starting point is the Pack 2 (FSX) from flightsim, in which Bob Chicilo indicates the VC has these issues. I found the 2D panel is nice, but I can't see to land too well.

thanks,

dl

Have you got the pack from the Virtavia site? It has a new set of gauges. Don't have a note of the URL but it works fine as long as you have the gauge .cabs in the panel folder. When Expat originally posted in Feb 2011 there was a missing ASI gauge in the pack (see above); don't know whether that's been fixed.

Best of luck

DaveQ

[delta_lima]

Thanks DQ,

Actually, when I reread your reply, I recalled that I had downloaded the fix by our fsxtcb as per here:

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php?49654-FSX-Virtavia-F-4-Phantom-Package-1-Panel-Fix

So I added that in, and

PRO: VC panel and gauges work fine
CON: AB effect is on permanently (I sense a recurring pattern ...:icon_lol:)
CON: HUD effect is killing my frames. Who the heck puts HUDs on an early series Phantom, for goodness sakes! :173go1:

On balance, it's a positive step - because I'm hoping these two issues are easy to fix.

I thought I'd tackle the HUD first. I commented out the Vcockpit line, as per below:

//[Vcockpit10]
Background_color=0,0,0
size_mm=512,512
visible=0
pixel_size=1024,1024
texture=$pan9
gauge00=Virtavia_Phantom StdHUD!Max, 23,4,449,350


... but now I get a huge black polygon, even larger than the HUD itself, extending down into the panel. On the plus side, it fixed my FPS issue, so I know that silly thing has GOT to go.

So, I guess I'm looking for how to get rid of the HUD properly.

thanks, and sorry for being a pest.

dl

ps: any help on how to properly fix portover AB effects that always stay on would be appreciated. I've now got a bunch of planes that have this issue. Many thanks

[fsafranek]

Perhaps instead of

//[Vcockpit10]

... you can comment that section out with

[VcockpitXX]

Something to try anyway.

The HUD originally used was the one we (Alphasim) licensed from Eric Marciano.
:ernae:

[delta_lima]

Perhaps instead of

//[Vcockpit10]

... you can comment that section out with

[VcockpitXX]

Something to try anyway.

The HUD originally used was the one we (Alphasim) licensed from Eric Marciano.
:ernae:

Thanks Frank. At work now - will try at home. Don't get me wrong - good HUD, just didn't want it on this plane. BTW - I replaced your gunsight vs HUD fix on the Skysim Mirage the other day - way more appropriate - thanks for that.

[fsafranek]

I hear ya. If I ever bring the old Alphasim Phantom's into FSX the HUD isn't going to be coming along. :icon_lol:

Glad you like the Mirage gunsight. Not sure what's going to end up in the revised models but I'll be pushing for something more realistic this time around.
:ernae:

[delta_lima]

I hear ya. If I ever bring the old Alphasim Phantom's into FSX the HUD isn't going to be coming along. :icon_lol:

Glad you like the Mirage gunsight. Not sure what's going to end up in the revised models but I'll be pushing for something more realistic this time around.
:ernae:

You really should. So far, I've had the RF version, and it's flawless. Mike Pearson's recent USMC repaints, as well as Markus Hellwig's repaints all work smashing, even though intended for FS9.

Now, Steve Bryant has a couple of B/J skins that are just stellar, so hence trying to get the earlier packs going in FSX. Also, I know of a bunch of nice C/D paints here - you may have heard of this guy:
:icon_lol:
http://www.mirage4fs.com/Alphasim/index.html#F-4



d

[fxsttcb]

I didn't realize there was that much interest in the Alphasim/Virtavia Phantoms anymore!

After perusing this thread, I scarfed the necessary fix files from my Pack 2 panel folder and zipped em up. They were uploaded to FSX/Panels here a few minutes ago. It includes a new .cab with a ton of extra gauges for your enjoyment. The HUD ain't nothing special. It comes from an old 2D I did a while back.

Be careful the Pack 1 fix is named the same except 1 vs 2...Don

[delta_lima]

I didn't realize there was that much interest in the Alphasim/Virtavia Phantoms anymore!




Are you kidding? With a ton of lovely but otherwise unusable paints, together with the likelihood of seeing a native FSX Phantom sometime this year akin to Charlie Sheen's chances of being chosen the next president of the Rotary Club ...

I'd love to also splurge on the Cloud9 model, given there are some nice schemes I'd love to have for (esp Diaz's Spanish paint!). I can understand those that bought it back in FS9 days, to stay loyal to it, but discretionary funds are tight now, and putting money into a model at this point, given that it has some unresolved FSX issues, is a hard step for me to take.

So ... yes, I'd say the there's good demand for this model and its potential, at least from me, for the foreseable future.

Many thanks for the mod - will be looking for it.

dl

[fxsttcb]

'tis in the library now folks. It has been an on again off again WIP for a while now.
I'd like some feedback on what is the most important improvement needed(not including modeling :icon_lol:)...Don

I used some of the stuff from my 2D and Pack 1 to the WIP to get the main where I want it(almost):
Stage II Main VC
45568

[delta_lima]

Hello Don,

Just installed your pack one fix, and had a brief look at pack 2.

Off the top, I much prefer the look of the pack 1 panel - but that's just preference. The top radar cluster looks a bit out of place on pack 2. Maybe that's just the limitations of the model.

More substantively, I caught a couple of visible holes into the outside, as per below.


45629

Finally, I find the airspeed indicator really hard to read - don't know what, if anything can be done there.

Regardless, they're keepers, now the three packs can come to life.

Many thanks!!

dl

[fxsttcb]

DL, The ASI/Machmeter was from the old 2D I made for Ito San's F-4 and was a lot bigger on that panel. There is another ASI/Machmeter in an F-8E panel I have. I don't remember where I got it, but the zip name is "fsxcrus.zip". It doesn't have a digital readout of IAS or Mach but the numbers are much larger.

I updated the Pack 2 download to include another ASI/Machmeter with 150% scaled digits on the Mach Card and the digital ones. Put the PhantomGaugesDCB.CAB in your Pack 1 panel folder and change 2 lines in the panel.cfg:

[Window00]
....
gauge53=F4GaugesXtra!F4 MachMeter Insert, 325,476,110,110
to
gauge53=PhantomGaugesDCB!F4 MachMeter Insert Lg, 325,476,110,110

and
[Vcockpit02]
....
gauge23=F4GaugesXtra!F4 MachMeter Insert, 261,191,143,143
to
gauge23=PhantomGaugesDCB!F4 MachMeter Insert Lg, 261,191,143,143

That should help a little.

***********************
If you make a bitmap 256x256, pure black(0,0,0), with a 3 pixel wide Charcoal(I used 28,25,28) stripe down the left side, name it VC4-1.bmp, and add it to the panel.cfg

[Vcockpit04]
file=VC4-1.bmp

it should take care of the bleed through. At least it did on mine.

One of these days I'll finish all these WIPs!(doubt it!)...Don

[OBIO]

Delt Lima

To way you have the Vcockpit10 commented out:

//[Vcockpit10]
Background_color=0,0,0
size_mm=512,512
visible=0
pixel_size=1024,1024
texture=$pan9
gauge00=Virtavia_Phantom StdHUD!Max, 23,4,449,350

is why you have the black area in your VC. Commenting out the entire VC section prevents the sim from calling up the texture ($pan9 in this case) that is mapped to that section of the VC model...and the result is the black square.

The right way to comment out a gauge you don't want (in this case the HUD) is to comment out the actual gauge line:

[Vcockpit10]
Background_color=0,0,0
size_mm=512,512
visible=0
pixel_size=1024,1024
texture=$pan9
//gauge00=Virtavia_Phantom StdHUD!Max, 23,4,449,350

By commenting out the gauge line, you "remove" the gauge but allow the VC to properly function and to pull up all the textures mapped to it.

OBIO

[delta_lima]

Thanks Tim.

Maybe had I done that, the hole issue might have resolved.

Don, thanks for the "fixed" fix. A silly question, given that I am equipped only with MS Paint, and precious few brain cells: in creating that .bmp, is there a way to tell Paint how big I want it? The rest makes sense.

Thanks.

Btw - AB works fine in pack 2, but always on in pack 1. Will research further....

[fxsttcb]

Don, thanks for the "fixed" fix. A silly question, given that I am equipped only with MS Paint, and precious few brain cells: in creating that .bmp, is there a way to tell Paint how big I want it? Your welcome. Paint..."Properties" in the menu, same place as "Save", or drag it(Status Bar on in View menu).

Pack1 Burners: In [Vcockpit01] there are the burner control gauges. I don't know what does what, because, I eliminated them all and use my own. You'll have to experiment with commenting them out...Don