Also, could you explain what the "file=" and "texture=" entries are in a VC? Which one are the gauges actualy attatched to, or are they on something completely different? And why do some VCxx have texture but no file, or nothing at all? Again I am sorry for all the questions but I hate not understanding how something works.

Quote:




Yes .. none of the bitmaps in the panel folder are used in the VC

They are nothing mmore than 2D background images for the 2D panel..  they aren't mapped to anything.

NOW.. the panel.cfg file (in the panel folder) is where the the VC gauge layout is defined.. and the "never see it after compiling" texture for the gauge material is listed there too. But it's only used by Gmax.. and can be completely discarded after compiling.

Brett_Henderson wrote on Dec 31^st, 2008 at 8:02pm:


So this texture, the $textureA at the bottom of a VC entry,  that is listed there but doesn't actualy exist is assigned to a part of a model but you don't ever see it, just the gauges that are projected there, is that somewhat close? What is the file= that is sometimes listed at the top of a VC entry? What does that one do?

Quote:


That's close enough for now. Think of the $ texture as a big picture of all the gauges (kinda like a fuselage texture has many parts on it).. and parts of that texture are mapped to little polygons in the VC model.. and that's what you see as the gauge.

Correct...   It's not like the 2D panel background bitmap where you can just place a gauge. The nearest thing you can do, is swap a gauge. Like.. if you want to put a VOR where an NDB is.. you can just go into the panel.cfg file and change the name of the gauge. You gotta be careful on sizing though. I make most of my gauge polygons bigger than they need to be, so you'd have a little flexibility with one of my models. But if you go too big, or move the starting coordinates too much, you'll get into an area on that $ texture that is already mapped to some othe polygon, and it will overlap onto that gauge's area.

The main advantage to this method (as opposed to one big "screen"), is that you can place gauges all over the place... and at any angle. The HSI can stand out away from the panel more than the the attitude indicator... and the compass can be on it's own level (and angle).. or a clock can be modeled into the center of a yoke (the clock polygon would be a child part to the yoke)... the possibilites are limitless.

And what does the "file=$texture_A.bmp" do if the texture= line is the one the gauges actualy go to? Some have it and some don't.

[Vcockpit02]
file=$texture_A.bmp    <----what is this line for?
Background_color=0,0,0
size_mm=512,512
visible=0                    <----what does this line mean?
pixel_size=512,512
texture=$texture_A    <----this line determines which invisible texture the gauge goes to...?

brettt777 wrote on Dec 31^st, 2008 at 10:20pm:



I've never used "File="  so I'm not sure.. Here is a typical entry from one of my models..

[VCockpit01]
size_mm=1024,1024
pixel_size=1024,1024
texture=$gauges
background_color=0,0,0

I think "visible=0" is unused in a VC too.. like it's a leftover form 2D windows ..  meaning that its default is to be invisible (like a pop-up radio-stack or GPS).

brettt777 wrote on Jan 1^st, 2009 at 1:23pm:


The best way to visualize what the $filename is...  is to think of it as a perfectly square, 2D panel.. with all the gauges on it, in no particular order. The only way I've ever created one, is with PanelStudio.. and then literally take a screen shot of the big, square panel... that becomes $filename.bmp (after cropping and resizing to 1024X1024)  ,  because it's a near perfect representaition of the gauge layout (defined in a panel.cfg)

There is nothing special about the $filename.bmp  It's a normal bitmap. The invisibility comes form the material editor,, where you not only set it to transparent by default, but designate it as a VC panel material. 

Then, by UVW mapping specific areas of that material to specific polygons, you get your individual gauges.