Quick question for FS9 in regards to VC zoom level. I currently fly at .64 zoom but wondering if there is a level which is regarded as correct or the best as when using a small zoom level the outside scenery will also be zoomed out.Thanks,

Whenever I use VC for wingviews, I always press the (-) button once (to zoom out once) and seems realistic to me. I think if i'm in the Cockpit of the VC I press the (-) key about 3 times and then use my mouse scroller to do it more incrementally. (Press the scroller down and scroll up/down) then just use my instinct to imagine i'm actually there and leave it when it seems real.

head over to calclassic.com for a tutorial on this

I have read that doc 15 times over and no idea what to even look at with an AC like the PSS 777... Right over my head LOL

head over to calclassic.com for a tutorial on this

I looked over the site and couldn't find the tutorial. Do you have a link?

I looked over the site and couldn't find the tutorial. Do you have a link?

Flight Simulation Interface TutorialUnfortunately it doesn't even have an easy name to find :) It looks like the changes I need to make to the PSS 777 are in the VC so they are Aircraft.cfg changes but I can't figure out the difference between moving the viewpoint in the aircraft.cfg or moving around in ActiveCamera and saving my position...Let me know if you can make heads or tails of it!-Paul

Quick question for FS9 in regards to VC zoom level. I currently fly at .64 zoom but wondering if there is a level which is regarded as correct or the best as when using a small zoom level the outside scenery will also be zoomed out.

Whether VC or not, any setting other than 100% will distort perspective in the view (look at airport buildings when close to them!) and can affect judgement on fine things like touchdown - although I guess one would adapt to that in time.It is an unfortunate side-effect of VCs that 100% zoom then limits the amount of controls visible (unless you move the configured eyepoint back into the bulkhead) - the truth is that "it ain't real" because in the real world you would move your eyes up and down between dials and the view ahead.John

Very true John! i have found the "best" compromise is a zoom level of about .75 which achieves what the doc describes and allows me to see 95% of my critical gauges + the horizon simultaneously. The remaining 5% are one notch left, right, up or down on the hat switch...In reading that doc, do they not also change the zoom to .75 or am I imagining that?And again, to my original question, what is the difference between setting this in the aircraft.cfg and setting it in ActiveCamera and saving it?Seeming to answer my own question here.... The aircraft.cfg seems to control the initial eyepoint position so if you are using ActiveCamera and moving your eyepoint then saving it the aircraft.cfg changes are really irrelevant... Someone please correct me if I am wrong!-PWell after playing around, I can confirm that the setting in the aircraft.cfg does indeed only control the initial eyepoint... Anything you do with ActiveCamera will override what you do in the .cfg...I now have everything set up with a 1.0 Zoom Level but you do lose a lot of peripheral view... Gonna give it a try though,-P

Ok, played around with this for a few hours and read all the tutorials again and finally have it...For FS9 they (Tom/CalClassic in their tutorial) say the correct Zoom is 1.0 They also say that for FSX due to a bug that it should be adjusted to .75BUT And here is where it all makes sense now... When i set it to 1.00 things actually seemed TOO big and TOO close... So I went back and read the FSX tutorial and that said that 1.0 in FS9 and .75 in FSX were for Standard 4:3 monitors... They mention that for Widescreen you should reduce the zoom by ~ .20 so ~.55 in FSX or .80 in FS9... At .80 I was able to get a pretty harmonious FOV between the PSS 2D (CV) and the VC...That seems to be what works for me on a 32inch widescreen...-Paul

Thanks for the insight everyone, I work retail and have been a little short of time lately. I fired up FS9 today, .80 still is very limited for gauges as I fly turboprops and guages are everywhere. I cranked it to .70 which really seemed right and a compromise when on final from the VC. At least now I have some reference to play around with when I have some free time.

Ok, played around with this for a few hours and read all the tutorials again and finally have it...For FS9 they (Tom/CalClassic in their tutorial) say the correct Zoom is 1.0 They also say that for FSX due to a bug that it should be adjusted to .75BUT And here is where it all makes sense now... When i set it to 1.00 things actually seemed TOO big and TOO close... So I went back and read the FSX tutorial and that said that 1.0 in FS9 and .75 in FSX were for Standard 4:3 monitors... They mention that for Widescreen you should reduce the zoom by ~ .20 so ~.55 in FSX or .80 in FS9... At .80 I was able to get a pretty harmonious FOV between the PSS 2D (CV) and the VC...That seems to be what works for me on a 32inch widescreen...-Paul

Paul,I too tend to believe that 100% zoom provides the closest to realistic. I actually did a test one time to help me decide which zoom was best. At the time I was working for Delta Techops and we had a MD-88 that needed taxiing to the hanger. As we backed and awaited ground crew to disconnect, I took a quick series of pictures. The purpose was to ascertain just how much I could see in the pictures as well as size of buildings, proximity, etc. I then recreated this in FS9 and I concluded 100-120% was closest to real world. The problem with zooming to 120 in FS9 as you know is that scenery isnt crisp and you lose other aspects such as depth of field etc. So I use 100%.A more recent problem I have though is using things such as Triplehead2go and more recently I'm using Eyefinity 6. Stretching the front (3) displays and using a zoom of 100% is redicously ugly. I've actually had to zoom out to 30% to make it more realistic.It is confusing as heck and I certainly am far from being an expert on this. However, I would say that on a (1) monitor setup that 100% is most realistic in my opinion. I'll see if I can dig up the images I shot in the MD-88 and the screenshots I took for comparison.

I think this is one of those things where there's an up side and a down side to whichever choice you make. So you really need to decide which option gives you the most immersive experience.I agree that 100% is probably the one that gives the least distortion. My problem with that is:a. it gives you a very restricted field of view which introduces its own problem in creating "virtual reality." When you are scanning a real-world instrument panel it's true that you are focused on only one or a small cluster of intruments, but at the same time you are actually seeing the entire panel and are conscious of a much bigger "picture." So for me, to be too zoomed in introduces a dissonant feeling that this is not how it is in the real world... I need an awareness of the whole panel, or at least one complete side of it if I'm flying heavy metal.b. This second one is a biggie for me. One of the things I miss in FS from the real world is a convincing sense of speed and mass on take off and landing. I have found that the more zoomed out I am, the faster the terrain appears to be as it rolls by.So my personal choice has been 50% zoom. It's a compromise as are all the options but it's what works for meCheersIan

http://calclassic.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=3187&page=1Very explaining!

a. it gives you a very restricted field of view which introduces its own problem in creating "virtual reality." When you are scanning a real-world instrument panel it's true that you are focused on only one or a small cluster of intruments, but at the same time you are actually seeing the entire panel and are conscious of a much bigger "picture." So for me, to be too zoomed in introduces a dissonant feeling that this is not how it is in the real world... I need an awareness of the whole panel, or at least one complete side of it if I'm flying heavy metal.

I think you are absolutely right. Its just my opinion but I think to transform the three dimensional real world into a flat view in front of us, and keep things in scale and proportion, you probably need your nose to nearly touch the screen!John

http://calclassic.pr...ead=3187&page=1Very explaining!

Thanks Johan, Seems to support what I said about dropping down the zoom in the VC with widescreen monitors. So on 1920x1080 monitors it would be .5625/.75=.833 or .85Sorry math was off, it is .750 for widescreen 1920.1080 monitors... I went with .80 so I will try .85 .75 to see the difference. I use ActiveCamera so there is no need to modify the aircraft.cfg Setting the correct zoom and then adjusting your eyepoint to match 2D as close as possible is key...Very informative info Johan, thank you!