AVSIM
Commercial Add-on Review
FS
Panel Studio
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| Rating
Guide |
Ed Struzynski's panel program can be bought in a box or as a download
A Completed Panel
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| Publisher:
Ed Struzynski & Flight 1 Software |
Description:
Panel editing
tool for MS Flight Simulator 98. 2000.
2002 plus
CFS and CFS2 |
Download
Size:
7.03 Mb |
Format:
downloadable
and boxed version available |
Simulation
Type:
FS2002
FS2000
FS98
CFS
CFS2 |
| Reviewed
by: Robert Kirkland, AVSIM
Associate Publisher |
Possible
Commercial Rating Score: 1 to 5 stars with 5 stars being exceptional.
Please see details of our review rating policy here |
What is it?
Back in the
days of FS98, Ed Struzynski created a program called CFGEDIT, which he
released as freeware. It was one of my favorite utilities as it allowed me to edit and add to many of the freeware panels those little features that I wanted. From that original program evolved the shareware
and soon to be boxed program, called FS PANEL STUDIO
I will say up front that I have found FS Panel Studio is the best tool I have for
creating and editing FS2002 panels. The fully graphical interface lets you drag,
drop and stretch your gauges and immediately see the results. You don't
have to be a programmer or understand panel.cfg file syntax to create great
looking custom panels. If you can’t modify or create a panel with this
WYSIWYG program, then retire from trying because you are not ever going
to do it.
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Reader
Survey
This
survey is intended for those that have used this product or add-on. If
you have used it, please let your fellow simulation enthusiasts know how
you rate it by taking this survey. Please, if you have not used this
product, do not take this poll (you can view the poll from the "Results"
link below).
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Having used CFGEDIT before I began this review of FS Panel Studio, I was already familiar with the way most of the operations within the program. Part of me
was curious as to why was this improved enough that I would purchase it
over staying with the freeware version? As I started using the program,
it became clear why this was not only a better program, but also why I
would not use CFGEDIT in an FS2002 panel. FS Panel brings features that
are tailored to the FS2002 environment that CFGEDIT just doesn’t have. Just one of
those features is the ability to access those cab files containing the
cluster of gauges found in FS2002. The other main feature is that
it allows you to edit XML gauge behavior.
The Features:
Add, delete, move and resize Gauges
With FS Panel
Studio you can browse through your gauge collection to select the perfect
one. Then add it to your Panel, move, resize and modify it using your mouse,
seeing your changes instantly. Position your windows exactly where you
want them, allowing you to overlay radio stacks and GPSs and see how they
line up in real time.
Edit the Gauge Bitmaps
Using your favorite paint program, you can edit the look of any of the gauges down
to the last bitmap.
Edit XML Gauge Behavior
FS Panel Studio can display and edit the internal structure of XML Gauges.
Gauge Cleaner Tool
FS Panel Studio can display all Gauges on your system that are not used on panels. It can
also identify Gauges used on panels that don't exist on disk. You can then
move these Gauges to a safe backup location or simply delete them to save
disk space.
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Test
System
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AMD
Athlon 1.3 Ghz
Windows
ME
512
Mb RAM
GeForce3
Ti200 64Mb
Detonator
27.70
16x10x40
CD-RW drive
Creative
Soundblaster
Ch
Pro Usb Yokes
CH
Pro USB Pedals
1
21" Monitor
1
17" LCD Monitor
Flying
Time:
100
hours over 40 days |
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Manual
FS Panel Studio comes complete with a 108 page, Adobe PDF format manual. You can download
a free copy to see how easy it is to create your own custom Panels.
What it isn’t
This program won’t create the basic panel bitmaps nor will it allow you to create new
gauges. For the former you will need a good paint program and
for the latter you need to be able to program in one of the FS compatible
languages, such as C++.
Getting Started
The installation is straightforward
with you only needing to indicate the location of the various flight simulation
programs after the fully automatically install. I would suggest reading
the manual, as well as, experimenting with the various functions before
starting to edit a panel that you want to keep.
As a test I did some editing on several
different panels. The first step in editing was to
select the panel to edit. I chose the SA-3 Bulldog by PSS, because
it is one I am familiar with. The program allows you to select the
panels in one of two ways. You can either open the panel direct, that is
you simply go to the panel.cfg in the browser listing and open it or you
can select by Aircraft. I use the select by Aircraft mode as it gives
me a list of all the aircraft that are available in the FS I am using at
the time. The other advantage is if you are modifying a panel
that is used by several aircraft the program will follow the alias to get
the correct panel.cfg for editing.
Select Aircraft to Edit
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Select Config File Directly
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Select a Panel to open
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Once the panel bmp is loaded the
program allows you to see the gauges in several formats. First you
can add and resize a grid that allows a “Snap-to Grid” function that makes
aligning a stack of gauges very easy. The second viewing option is decide
whether you display the gauges “transparently” or not. If you chose not
to view them transparently then you will see the blocked sides of the gauge
bmp. If you select “Draw gauges transparently” then you see the gauge almost
as it will appear in the final product.
Applying the grid |
Outlining Gauges |
The third option allows you outline
the gauges. This is very helpful when you are aligning gauges or
you have to overlap the gauges. The last option is whether to display all
gauge elements. This means instead of just the gauge face being shown,
little items such a pointers are also shown.
With the options set and a panel
selected, we can now start having some fun. You can select a gauge in the
panel. Gauges can be moved or resized and generally manipulated in just
about any way you want.
Adding a gauge
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Selecting a gauge to edit
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Editing the bitmap
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You can select, move, resize and,
repaint any of the FS2002 Cluster gauges such as the 747 for example. This
is a feature that CFGEDIT does not have. Each gauge has a number amount
of bitmaps within it and FS Panel Studio gives you access to them all.
These will include the face bmp, the pointers, tapes, etc. That means
if you want pink or green faces on all your gauges you can have them.
You can also select the various hot
button icons from FS2002 to use to bring up the ATC, radios, GPS etc.
With our gauges options set all we
have to do is move the cursor over the top of the gauge face, click and
the corners of the gauge outline will ave small squares added showing that
you have selected that gauge. A look at the information bar at the bottom
of the screen will show that you the name of the gauge and its size and
location on the screen
Put the cursor back over the face
of the selected gauge and the cursor will show a four-way arrow symbol.
Right-click and hold and you can drag the gauge any where on the screen.
Go to one of the corners or on any of the outlines, click and hold and
you can change the size and shape of the gauge.
A simple tap on the delete key on
the keyboard and the gauge is removed.
To add a gauge, just click the gauge
icon at the top of the screen or use the pull down menu. Then scroll thru
the gauge list highlight the gauge you want and bingo it is added to the
panel. Then you can resize and relocate the gauge so it is perfect
for your use.
Told you this was as simple as 1-2-3
The other options for repainting
gauge bitmaps, or .bmp files, adding an additional window to the panel
and working with XML gauge behavior are just as simple.
One other great feature is that the
FS Panel Studio program creates your panel.cfg file in the FS2002 format
by keeping and recognizing the lines of code that create panel and gauge
lighting etc. When you save the panel.cfg, FS Panel Studio will create
a back up file of the previous for you and it saves all the versions as
you go work with and save each one, You will it hard to get into any trouble
using the program with its back up features.
Adding a new Window
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The Gauge Cleaner
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One last comment I don’t recommend
the use of the Gauge Cleaner option for only one reason; you may be removing
just the gauge that you want to add to that new panel.
I won’t go any further because half
the fun is in learning this program. It is intuitive, straightforward in
its logic and darn near impossible to screw up. This is an excellent program,
no bugs, no complicated learning curve and an install that works.
Conclusion
If you are thinking of using the
freeware CFGEDIT, don’t. This program is a very bug jump for
panel and gauge redesign. And unlike the early version, the latest version
allows you to not only repaint the FS2002 cluster gauges found in the XML
folders but you can repaint any gauge in your folder.
But remember, it does not allow you to
create a gauge from scratch or create the panel bitmaps, or .bmp files,
but when it comes to panels and gauges that is about all it doesn’t do.
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