3.12 How do I create new panels for FS98?
From FlightSim
Q:
I HAVE BEEN SEEING A LOT OF PANELS BEING CREATED, BUT NOT FOR SOME OF THE AIRCRAFT THAT I UTILIZE, TO THIS END I WOULD LIKE TO GET ADVICE TO WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST (AND EASIEST FOR A BEGINNER) PROGRAM TO USE.
A:
Here's a quick lesson on panel design.
Ok, the first thing to understand is that the "guts" of a panel is it's configuration file. This tells FS 98 where to put everything, what to put there and what size to make it.
- Open the panel.cfg file with a text editor like wordpad.
- Study it...look at the lines and notice that many panels utilize more than one bitmap. You'll see the names toward the top, and then going down, you'll see them listed again with text below them. These are details regarding it's visibility, size, position etc...
- Look below one of the panel bitmaps listed and you'll see the gauge files. The gauges files are listed in the cfg file as you'd find them in the gauge folder EXCEPT there is no .gau extension. Then you'll two or three sets of numbers. The first set is the horizontal position on the panel. The second is the vertical position and the third is the size of the gauge in a percentage without the percent (%) sign. NOTE: if a gauge is it's default size there will not be a third set of numbers.
- Now you have enough information to tinker and learn. Always back up your files, because, believe me, you WILL mess something up when you're first getting used to this.
- I might also offer some suggestions on panel bitmaps. You can use photos (as you've seen, I'm sure). These photos generally need to be brought down to 256 colors. Sometimes they need to be reduced in color by 32K before you reduce to 256 colors. To do that, you'll need a program like Paint Shop Pro, of course.
- I suggest getting Chuck Dome's Gauge to Bitmap utility which allows you to edit gauge files by changing gauge color and color palette.
So, I hope I've helped. Like I said, that was a quick run-down of how to do it. It's almost best just to start playing around and see what you can learn
Aaron Pederson
Easy, start with the panel folder for the panel background you like. Load up
the panel.cfg file in the folder in any text editor (e.g. Notepad). Identify
the line (gauge**=[filename], x,y,size)for each gauge that you want to replace,
and just change the [filename]to the new filename of a gauge you want on that
panel. Leave all the numbers after the filename just as they are for right now.
Once you have replaced all the gauges, load the panel up and see what kind of horrible mess you have created. Heh heh. I recommend that you change one gauge at a time, get it placed and sized and working, then do another one.
Now pick a gauge, and change the x,y coordinates if necessary to move it around from where it is. Change the size number a little bigger or smaller to get it the size you want it.
You can leave FS98 running while you make changes to the panel.cfg file. All you have to do is remember to SAVE the file after you make a change or FS98 won't know you changed it.
Then you have to get FS98 to reload the saved panel.cfg file. There are two ways. One way is to select an airplane with a different panel, then reselect the one with the panel you are working on. A better way is to hit ALT-ENTER. This will reload the panel.cfg file. Hit it again, and you are back where you started.
About every 10th or 15th time I hit ALT-ENTER, the computer pukes, and I have to End Task, and reload FS98. Small price to pay. Several others I have talked to have had the same experience. You may not. No harm done if you do.
Experiment, experiment, then experiment. You can't hurt anything, and you will be very proud of your work.
BTW, I would not bother to get permission from the designers if the panel is for your own enjoyment. You are free to do anything you please in the privacy of your own home. You shouldn't distribute it, though, without the courtesy of contacting the authors.
Eric
The program you need to start making panels..is a good paint program.
I would recommend Paintshop Pro.... you can download and try it for a
couple of months free. To start, take a panel..copy it... and open
the .bmp files you find with paintshop Pro. Make a few changes...
and re-start FS98...and there you will see your changes...simple,
believe me it really is. As for gauges.. the moving bits. If you
look in the panel.cfg file you will find a list of all the gauges
used by the panel....and after the panel name you will find three
numbers... 1st= the horizontal positioning of the gauge...2nd is the
vertical position... and third number is the size of the gauge. SO...
you paint with paintshop Pro... and you size and move the gauges
using the numbers after the gauge title in the panel.cfg file. All
the gauge files are in the .gau folder... if you want to use a
different gauge, just add it to the list in the panel.cfg file and
give it a position and size using the three numbers. Just play
around... and find out how simple it all is Hope this helps you get
started
Bruce Upperton
Panel design is actually pretty easy. You start out with a backround bitmap,
then add and position gauges as required. You add and position gauges in the
panel.cfg file. Try looking at the panel.cfg for the cessna. You will see the
gauge name then three numbers following it. These numbers are as follows: the
distance in the x-axis, the distance in the y-axis and the last is the size of
the gauge. Try fooling around with the cessna's panel.cfg to see how changing
the numbers repositions the gauges. (Back it up first, just in case you mess
up).
John D. Hefcheck
