Jump to content

HUDCA in Twin Otter Extended


MarkHurst

Recommended Posts

For some reason I no longer see any caution lights (the orange ones above the fire panel) under any circumstances. This includes during startup when I would expect to see many caution lights.

Any ideas what could be causing this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Deputy Sheriffs

For some reason I no longer see any caution lights (the orange ones above the fire panel) under any circumstances. This includes during startup when I would expect to see many caution lights.

Any ideas what could be causing this?

Mark, what sim are you using? FSX or P3Dv2.x?

Did you (re)install anything that could be connected to this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mark, what sim are you using? FSX or P3Dv2.x?

Did you (re)install anything that could be connected to this?

I'm using FSX. Did I install anything? Well I have been mucking about with HUD panels, so I have been adding things to the panel.cfg in the last couple of days. I was trying out Dietmar Loleit's HUDCA, which behaved very oddly (in my experience). To get that to work I had to SHIFT+1 to get the main panel to show (I think corresponding to Window00 in the panel.cfg), at which time I would get a single floating HUD icon that would activate or deactivate the HUD. I don't know if that's left any kind of lasting effect even though I took the additions out of the panel.cfg.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please post the content of Your current panel.cfg and I will see if I can help You out without re-installing.

Thanks Finn. I have attached the panel.cfg, which is for the Tundra version. If I run the wheel version the caution lights work properly!

panel.cfg.txt

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Mark

Look here:

[VCockpit01]
file=$DHC6VIRTGAUGES.bmp
Background_color=0,0,0
size_mm=512, 512
visible=1
pixel_size=512, 512
texture=$DHC6VIRTGAUGES

gauge00=../SimObjects/Airplanes/Aerosoft_DHC6_300_WHEEL/Panel/TW_system!TW_Sys1, 0, 0, 1, 1
gauge01=../SimObjects/Airplanes/Aerosoft_DHC6_300_WHEEL/Panel/TW_system!TW_Sys2, 0, 0, 1, 1
gauge02=../SimObjects/Airplanes/Aerosoft_DHC6_300_WHEEL/Panel/TW_system!TW_Sys3, 0, 0, 1, 1
gauge03=../SimObjects/Airplanes/Aerosoft_DHC6_300_WHEEL/Panel/TW_system!TW_Ap, 0, 0, 1, 1
gauge04=../SimObjets/Airplanes/Aerosoft_DHC6_300_WHEEL/Panel/TW_system!TW_Ann, 0, 0, 1, 1 <-------- SimObjets !!! missing a "c" so it becomes SimObjects
gauge05=../SimObjects/Airplanes/Aerosoft_DHC6_300_WHEEL/Panel/TW_system!TW_FDR, 0, 0, 1, 1
gauge06=../SimObjects/Airplanes/Aerosoft_DHC6_300_WHEEL/Panel/TW_System!TW_State, 0, 0, 1, 1
gauge07=../SimObjects/Airplanes/Aerosoft_DHC6_300_WHEEL/Panel/TW_System!Twot_vibr, 0, 0, 1, 1
gauge08=ASC!MAIN, 0,0, 10, 10, 0
gauge09=../SimObjects/Airplanes/Aerosoft_DHC6_300_WHEEL/Panel/TW_Disp!Com_Nav_Disp, 345, 4, 162, 218
gauge10=../SimObjects/Airplanes/Aerosoft_DHC6_300_WHEEL/Panel/TW_GPS!GPS_530vc3D, 4,4,332,248
gauge11=../SimObjects/Airplanes/Aerosoft_DHC6_300_WHEEL/Panel/TW_Disp!DME, 8, 298, 357, 70
gauge12=../SimObjects/Airplanes/Aerosoft_DHC6_300_WHEEL/Panel/TW_Disp!ADF, 8, 378, 475, 53
gauge13=../SimObjects/Airplanes/Aerosoft_DHC6_300_WHEEL/Panel/TW_Disp!Transp, 8, 441, 457, 64
gauge14=../SimObjects/Airplanes/Aerosoft_DHC6_300_WHEEL/Panel/TW_Disp!Clock, 377, 236, 125, 97
gauge15=../SimObjects/Airplanes/Aerosoft_DHC6_300_WHEEL/Panel/TW_System!TW_APIAS, 0, 0, 1, 1

I hope this helps.

For another time, better make a backup copy of files You edit, then it´s easy to go back and fix again ;)

Best regards

Finn

Link to comment
Share on other sites

gauge04=../SimObjets/Airplanes/Aerosoft_DHC6_300_WHEEL/Panel/TW_system!TW_Ann, 0, 0, 1, 1 <-------- SimObjets !!! missing a "c" so it becomes SimObjects

I have no idea how that could have happened but that was indeed the problem! Thank you, and I will be a lot more careful in future!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You dont need a shift 1 to bring up Hud panel and switch it on. i helped you previously with hud, but have not gone any further with Hud after what i helped you, So I have not installed HUD here or anywhere else, but there are definitely other ways as said over in other post. I will only get time to install tomorrow in Twotter and will give you my way. So if you little patient, i might have not so "ODD" process.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just took it for a night flight and it was awesome.

however in the screen you will see my HUD i made more longer.

I changed both window display size of Window08 and 09 to be

window_size= 0.500,0.600

This way it also line up the centre with the horizon.

if Hud centre line is above horison, i know I am climbing. below horizon, I am going down

This might illustarte not so good as it was night, but it is working good for me

twotter2_zps0c70e516.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

here is what i have quickly done just to make it not so ODD

I added the on/off button on the panel select (Shift 3). Now it is not so odd anymore.

attached is your adjusted panel.cfg file

Thanks, I will save that for a look but it stil requires a click. I don't understand why it can't just be switched on and off like the other 2D panels. Although my initial experiments seemed to show it reducing my performance by about 10fps, having reinstalled it that doesn't seem to be happening now. So that's good news, with more experimenting to be done...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

but it stil requires a click

[Later...]

Okay, HUDCA exposes these Lvars:

HUDCAONOFF [0/1]
HUD_AUTO [0/1]
HUD_PRI [0/1/?]
Bright_ONOFF [0/1]
Colormode [0/1/2/3]

You can switch the HUD on without any clicks like this (Lua code):

ipc.writeLvar("L: HUDCAONOFF", 1)
ipc.control(66507, 1768)  -- PANEL_ID_OPEN, HUDCA
ipc.control(66507, 1769)  -- PANEL_ID_OPEN, HUDCA_Glass

You can also set the brightness and glass density from code in the same way. Cool! I will write some LINDA functions to do these presently. I have not quite figured out what HUD_PRI does yet (on the ground it just seems to follow HUD_AUTO). Oh, and once you have the HUD size set to your preferences you can do away with the frame by commenting it out in panel.cfg!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, yes I also like Lua files very much as I have some sort of home cockpit and many switches work with lua files.

yes I also decommended the frame as well as the glass, as I am really only interested in the HUD per say.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, I have finished tinkering with this gauge and I thought I would share my code. If you just want the LINDA functions go here.

First, this setup works for me in the Twin Otter:

(1) Follow the HUDCA installation instructions to the letter.
(2) MOVE the 'gauge40' line from the Window00 definition to the end of the VCockpit01 definition. This gauge has to run to read your HUD config file from gauges/HUDCA$. You should also create a config file called something like 'TwinOtterConfig.ini' in that folder with the appropriate V speeds and so on. This is how the HUD knows to switch modes in AUTO mode.
(3) Optionally, comment out the 'HUDCA-Frame' line in the Window10 definition (or whichever window number it is for you).

To set the appropriate size and shape for your screen you need to calculate the 'window_size' and 'window_pos' values for the Window10 and Window11 definitions. Although the original size of the gauge is noted in the panel.cfg as 768 x 640, that doesn't seem right to me as the gauge is squashed (circles aren't circular). I have calculated my sizes assuming 768 x 480, which gives the correct proportions. You need to express these dimensions as a proportion of your screen width and height. For me, running at 4066 x 1024:

Width = 768 / 4066 = 0.189

Height = 480 / 1024 = 0.469

Then the position, also expressed as a proportion of screen dimensions:

x = ((4066 - 768) / 2) / 4066 = 0.406

y = 0.125

This centres the gauge horizontally and puts it 1/8 of the way down from the top of the screen. (Note that it doesn't quite centre as the frame makes it asymmetrical. Hence it really needs to be nudged over a bit in the x position.)

So in the Window10 and Window11 definitions:

window_size = 0.189, 0.469

window_pos = 0.406, 0.125

Okay, now you can control the HUD entirely from buttons and switches using LINDA functions. I have added functions to my Almost Aviation library, which you can download from here. Just put this library in your LINDA/libs folder and you will see the functions. If you want to copy the functions into another LINDA file note that you will need to take a few other things with them (notably the rotary SHIFT functions). You will find the following functions, which ought to be more or less self-explanatory:

AAL_HUD_ON()
AAL_HUD_OFF()
AAL_HUD_Bright()
AAL_HUD_Dim()
AAL_HUD_Glass_Lighter()
AAL_HUD_Glass_Darker()
AAL_HUD_Auto_Toggle()
AAL_HUD_More_Transparent()
AAL_HUD_Less_Transparent()

AAL_Rotary_Shift_ON()
AAL_Rotary_Shift_OFF()

I have made the HUD default to 'Bright' mode when you switch it on. I have found it best to leave it in bright mode all the time and then call the transparency functions. These functions are SHIFT aware, which means if you call one while the SHIFT flag is on it works faster (twice as fast). The best way is to map this to a rotary control with a centre-push switch.

BTW, you can see the effect of the transparency functions using the Twin Otter configuration page of the checklist (SHIFT+2), where you can change this with the mouse wheel. The downside is you can't (it appears) set the transparency individually for each panel so this (and the library functions) affects all panels, including the GPS.

Whee! Off to build a hardware panel for it now ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Deputy Sheriffs

Okay, I have finished tinkering with this gauge and I thought I would share my code.

Thanks for sharing, Mark.

Do you also have some screenshots you can share?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just to emphasise...

Mark has been very busy with his Twin Otter Home cockpit project and made a video series about it:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy5yqXwYq-sHlzzEEXwCBOxJ0M1L4p324

It´s very worthwhile and interesting to watch - highly reccomended :)

Finn

ahhhhh so this is the same mark as that I saw in some videos... Now it all make a lot of sense..

so in my case it was me (the blind) trying to lead the not blind..

oh man it was just the other day I watched some of marks' videos and never even it occured this mark is that guy in the videos.

LOL...!! I am not answering any questions from Mark again.. I only ask him questions..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hallo Mark,

nice work indeed; nevertheless I can´t get it to work, not even in the default B737-800 with the pre-configurated files you can find in the some forums.

I´ve read Dietmar Loleits manual and did all the steps to the point manually too - but no luck. I only get a short glimpse of a squared window in the vc-cockpit of the DHC-6 and even in the default B737 when I select the HUDAC and the HUDAC-Glass via the FSX menu.

First assumption is I´m doing something wrong or mis something, second one, it´s cause I use FSX acceleration and compatibility isn´t in this case guaranteed by the author of that gauge (developed for FSX SP1/SP2!).

So, what version of FSX do you use and can you give me a hint?

I would like to have this enhancement but... you can´t always get what you want ;-)

Any advice would be much appreciated and

Kudos to you and your work

Cheers Rainer

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any advice would be much appreciated and

I think your experience mirrors mine! For now, assuming you did exactly what it said in the HUDCA installation instructions, do this:

- Press SHIFT+1. You should see a little floating icon appear. Click it.

The HUD should appear!

Let us know if that did anything...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hallo Mark,

thanks for your reply! I already did that what you suggest, the VC stays the same as before plus I only get the little blue circle of hell and it never stops and my fps drops down around 5-10 fps. Btw, that blue circle appeares everytime I hit SHIFT+1 with anykind of aircraft, so I have to avoid that in any case.

But I will try again and look very close but I think I can´t overlook the HUDCA when/if it appeares.

Just a suggestion: Do I need any kind of LUA or LINDA script to make the gauge run?; you mentioned the "LINDA functions" in your post!

Thanks again for kind help!

Best wishes Rainer

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do I need any kind of LUA or LINDA script to make the gauge run?

No, you should be able to get the gauge to show without any Lua code - that's just to turn it on and off from switches. I don't know why your SHIFT+1 doesn't work but you might try moving the switch icon (gauge41 line) from Window00 to Window02 (the Aerosoft view switcher panel) as bliksimpie described earlier. Then you should get an extra little icon on the view switcher that turns the HUD on and off.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Privacy Policy & Terms of Use