Hello PC pilotz :)I fly on FS2000 and was wondering if there was a way to display a "flat panel" for the planes (like it was in MSFS4) By that I mean all the instrumentation represented in one neat rectangular window, like this:I play on a small laptop screen with limited memory & a dated processor and Id like to dispense with the panel eye candy & free up some RAM for the exernal scenery.Would any of you know if this can be done in FS2000?TY :)

You can pretty much build one yourself, but the gauges will still look more detailed than the FS4 shot. It's not the display of the background gauge image, but what the gauge does and the number of gauges that control what happens on your panel.For what you want to do, you can make a panel bitmap easily enough....if you run 640x480 it could be 640*240 or even 640*200. If you run 800x600, make it about 800*350, so it comes just slightly halfway up the screen.Then, take a peak at this link:http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho..._id=18422&page=I actually wrote this in the morning for some work I am doing on a project. You can use the method I discuss for laying out your panel pretty easily. Go to an aircraft like the Cessna, pick the gauges you want, then look at the panel.cfg and identify their names. Then build your own panel using my method.It took me about twenty minutes last night to build a fully functioning panel with all the gauges neatly laid out....Hope this helps...-John

Wow thanks a lot for that John :)I will definetly have a go at that! Sounds like loads of fun too!I read that link you posted and its most interesting. I just have 2 questions (which will probably sound silly to you lol). You said:<<<<< I then create a box in the same location, and the same size, so I can save my COPY of the bitmap with the "real estate" I've taken up with the gauge. >>>>>Does that mean that the new bitmap will initially have blank squares in place of the replaced guages?And my second question...how do you point MSFS to your new guages? Im guessing you have to mention the "Guages" folder somewhere?Im a rookie at this so please excuse the retarded questions :)This is neat! Thanx again! Never knew MS Paint would actually come in this handy hee hee.

"Does that mean that the new bitmap will initially have blank squares in place of the replaced guages?"The copied bitmap is just a scratchpad so to speak, so I can mark the coordinates of the gauges and mark the rectangles my gauges have taken up, so I don't have to worry about gauges which overlap. The original, unmarked panel.bmp goes in the panel folder, and I toss the scratchpad when I am through with my design."And my second question...how do you point MSFS to your new guages? Im guessing you have to mention the "Gauges" folder somewhere?"I don't in most cases, since I can't write gauge code, I use the huge library of default gauges to map out my panel. You can use any gauge name listed in an existing panel.cfg--even mix and match Lear gauges with a 737 as an example. With six or seven essential gauges you can have all you need to make a decent high performance panel.The first step is to go "gauge shopping". Look at the default aircraft, and decide which gauges you want to include--which ones present information most cleanly, and which look "nice" alongside other gauges.Next, you can give your panel.bmp a simple shape, yet something more like what an aircraft panel might look light, with no loss of performance. This shot shows a panel shape I sketched in seconds in MSPaint. My method described in the link works regardless of panel shape. The "Black" you see surrounding the panel is a mask color MSFS uses to let the ground show through...-Johnhttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/84411.jpg

May I ask why you dont use Fs2002 or Fs9? Fs2002 is not nearly as bad on the frames as Fs2004.

I'm not sure who you're asking--if it is the author of the thread (I run both FS2002 and FS2004), FS2002 and FS2004 both have some higher requirements than FS2000. The thread's author uses a laptop, and FS2002 simply won't run on some laptops with their limited graphics memory--not to mention FS2004.-John

John - Thank you, I shall dive right into it then! :) I will use the defualt guages while drawing out a new panel in paint like you did. But mine will just be a simple rectangular shape. Can you mess with it so that the throttle levers show up as well? I also wanty to try to intergrate the GPS into the panel (although I think that will require a bit more knowledge than I have heh) They can be tiny I dont mind as long as they show! Im not a huge fan of pop-up windows although I know they are necessary on a computer screen! Hee hee. ---------------------------------------------Doug - I use FS2000 because:-I have a laptop with limited processing power & graphics card-I can fly using a mouse, this feature has been removed in FS2002 & FS2004 :( I travel a lot so being able to fly with a mouse is handy!-I can fly a Concorde! If Im not mistaken this plane is not present in FS2002 & 2004 :(Heres my specs if youre curious :)Sony Vaio Laptop (PCG-Z600HEK)Windows 2000 Professional (Service Pack 4)DirectX 9.0b20GB HDD (10gb free)800Mhz Mobile Intel Pentium IIIE 128MB SDRAMATI Rage Mobility-M1 AGP (8Mb)Yamaha Native DS1 Audio

Hey John,Thanks to you I have begun playing with panel-creation & fiddling!I did my first one today where I added the Mooneys clock to the 737's panel! I badly needed that one cuz I was getting fed up of always going to the Weather menu to change time of day from the 737.One more question:Why do the cordinates in the panel.cfg file have only 2 sets of numbers whereas some have four and upto five sets!!!?Thanx :)

>-I have a laptop with limited processing power & graphics>cardThat is a very good and valid reason.>-I can fly using a mouse, this feature has been removed in>FS2002 & FS2004 :( I travel a lot so being able to fly with a mouse>is handy!There was a "mouse as yoke" add-on released within days of the initial release of FS2002. It works just dandy in FS2004 (aka: FS9) as well. :)>-I can fly a Concorde! If Im not mistaken this plane is not present > in FS2002 & 2004 :(There are plethora Concordes available for both FS2k2 and FS9... Some of them are actually pretty good. :)

<<<<< There was a "mouse as yoke" add-on released within days of the initial release of FS2002. It works just dandy in FS2004 (aka: FS9) as well. >>>>>Youre kiddin me! Really? :) Sweet! Now I just gotta wait till I get a sizzling new laptop!! GOod to hear about the Concorde add-ons too!Could you pls point me to a website that has the mouse-as-yoke add-on?Yay :)