Simviation Forum - Virtual Cockpits

Jun 8^th, 2006 at 11:01am

RAFAIR100 Offline
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I love YaBB 1G - SP1!

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OK, this might seem like a dumb question from an experienced pilot and flight simmer, but I really don't know the answer. Why do we have virtual cockpits? I've never seen one that looks even half way realistic. So what arey used for? I'd like to know because I'm trembling on the brink of deleting them entirely. For me, they just seem to be taking up space !

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Reply #1 - Jun 8^th, 2006 at 1:19pm

Apex Offline
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Many of us simmers are not pilots and perhaps never will be. The VC enables us to at least get a partially realistic view of the inside of a cockpit as well as enabling us to view outside also with a certain amount of realism. As an experienced pilot, it's understandable that you could have issues with the reality aspect of sim VC's because you have a basis for comparison which others do not. Also keep in mind that some VC's are better (or worse) than others and a typical VC may not show up with the clarity that a 2D panel does. Having said all that, I personally do not rely on VC's too much, preferring 2D's instead, but still find VC's interesting and educating.

As far as deleting them is concerned, you can't actually do that per se because they are an integral part of the model. You can go into the panel.cfg file and delete the lines that refer to the VC, you will then see an 'open' view where the VC view used to be, but that's not going to save any real computer space and might create other problems.

Cheers.

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Reply #2 - Jun 8^th, 2006 at 8:07pm

Webb Ex Member
I Like Flight Simulation!

I posted this a while ago but I'll be damned if I can find it. It's not my idea or my code and I suggest you back up your original file before you try it. All I can tell you is that I have tried it several times and it has worked every time.

I use it when models have such abysmally bad VC's that it's better to dump them entirely than to try to make them useable.

When cycling through the panels you will see an 'open' view, as Apex describes - I think his solution doesn't completely eliminate the VC.

Quote:

As far as removing the VC from the A/C model is concerned, it is perfectly possible and actually quite simple to do, involving only a hex editor and one change to the aircraft.mdl file.

Open the mdl file you want to edit and search for the following hex value: 0022003900

In the SECOND occurence of that string, simply change the 39 in 0022003900 to 00. It should now look like this: 0022000000. Save the changes, OK the creation of the backup file then exit the editor to test it out in MSFS.

Open the .mdl file, hit Ctrl+F and enter 0022003900 in the "Find" box. To eliminate the vc, you must change the 39 in this string to 00. NOTE: Since this same string appears several times in the file, you must be careful to alter the correct string. For example, in the DC-3.mdl, altering the FIRST string only loses the plane's shadow, so leave this string intact and hit "Find next". Changing the 39 to 00 in the SECOND string loses the vc.

Do not change all the strings 0022003900. Because then you would make not only the VC invisible, but also the landing lights and even the plane itself. The best way to remove the VC -and ONLY the VC- is looking for the said string, changing the 39 into 00 for the first appearance of the string and then going into FS to see the result. If it didn't work then go back into the hex editor, undo the change and go to the next appearance of the string and change the 39 into 00. Have a look in FS and continue the operation untill the VC has gone. The string 0022003900 appears more than once in a .mdl file and is something like a command telling to show some part of the aircraft model (the VC, landing lights, the model itself, etc..), so make only the change to the string that handles the VC.

In the two months since this topic was posted it has been determined that only the second occurrence of the 0022003900 string concerns the virtual cockpit, the first occurrence switches off the A/C shadows.

A good hex editor can be found here (Hex Workshop 4.1 - shareware but fully functional for long enough to get the job done and then some): http://www.bpsoft.com/downloads/

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Reply #3 - Jun 9^th, 2006 at 4:38am

RAFAIR100 Offline
Colonel
I love YaBB 1G - SP1!

Posts: 217

Thank you both for your illuminating and helpful replies. I think that I'll just leave well enough alone and simply ignore the VCs. The main cockpits work fine for my flying.

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Reply #4 - Jun 10^th, 2006 at 7:33am

PisTon Ex Member

High quality Virtual cockpits look like this:
http://www.aeroworx.com/gallery/B200/Interior/int05.jpg

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Reply #5 - Jun 10^th, 2006 at 7:44pm

Apex Offline
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I love YaBB 1G - SP1!

Posts: 732

Webb is correct, deleting the VC lines in panel.cfg does not eliminate the VC (thanks for that, Webb), only eliminates the gauges. The bare VC will still be there.

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Reply #6 - Jun 11^th, 2006 at 3:21pm

Airshow_lover Offline
Colonel
I'm back........!
LaVergne, TN

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I personally prefer the VC over the main panel.

The one thing i wish the VC did have was a way to controll the auto pilot. Sad

C/SMSgt - Civil Air Patrol

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Reply #7 - Jun 14^th, 2006 at 5:16pm

G-EORGE Offline
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England

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Posts: 151

For me, the virtual cockpit is just something to look round on a long flight...

George

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Reply #8 - Jun 21^st, 2006 at 12:59am

rootbeer Offline
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Fernley, Nevada

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That's a VC, PisTon? WOW!! If only FS would give 'em to us like that!

emachines T6212; AMD Athlon64 3800+ (2.40 GHz; Venice core); Allied AL-B500E 500W power supply; 2048Mb PC3200 DDR400; Westinghouse LCM-22w2 wide-screen LCD monitor; eVGA e-GeForce 7900 GS KO X16 PCIe video card; Logitech Extreme 3D Pro flight controller;&&Cyber Acoustics CA-4100 4-channel digital sound with 5 speakers; 300 Gb external hard drive in an enclosure; Windows XP Home; 3 Mb/s AT&T/Yahoo! DSL service; Microsoft Intellipoint trackball; Supergate EC-2000 multi-media keyboard. Epson CX-7800 Stylus all-in-one printer. Canon PowerShot S3 IS digital camera with 1 Gb SD card.&&Next thing: A CH Products USB 2.0 Flight Yoke (for enhanced realism).

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Reply #9 - Jun 21^st, 2006 at 3:32am

Hagar Offline
Colonel
My Spitfire Girl
Costa Geriatrica

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Quote:

That's a VC, PisTon? WOW!! If only FS would give 'em to us like that!

I believe that shot was taken in FS. Check out the Screenshots forums some time.

The DVC gauges are clickable in FS9, just like the ones on the 2D panel.

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Reply #10 - Jul 12^th, 2006 at 5:50am

GhostOperative Offline
Lieutenant Colonel
Sweden

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[quote] Why do we have virtual cockpits? I've never seen one that looks even half way realistic. So what arey used for?[/quote]
I think virtual cockpits are very good during landings with Bell 206B Jetranger III. You can look around and see where the ground is.

If God wanted us to fly, He would have given us tickets. - Mel Brooks

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