Adjusting tail number for MSFS

[Demious 23]

At the moment I'm making a repaint for the Carenado C337. I'm making a black/red military O-2, and this aircraft has the tail number on the fin, instead of on the tail boom, because of there is text in that position. Im getting stuck on adding the panel.cfg to the livery package. Without adding the panel.cfg part, the aircraft shows up and works fine in MSFS, but as soon as I add the replacement panel file, things go wrong.

Im following the SDK manual on the MSFS website ( https://docs.flightsimulator.com/html/Samples_And_Tutorials/Tutorials/Creating_A_Livery_Package.htm ), so I assume I'm doing it the correct way, but apparently I'm still doing something wrong.

The content of the simobjects>airplanes>Carenado_C337_N101BL folder looks like this:

MODEL.N101BL

PANEL.N101BL

TEXTURE.N101BL

aircraft.cfg

I added the new folder to the panel entry (panel = "N101BL") of the aircraft.cfg and I added an entry to the layout.json file, that I copied from the original layout,json where I corrected the folder path names:

    {
      "path": "SimObjects/Airplanes/Carenado_C337_N101BL/panel.N101BL/panel.cfg",
      "size": 6127,
      "date": 13324750343446207
    },

Then I created a panel.cfg, according to how it's described in the SDK manual:

[VARIATION]
override_base_container = 0 (0 only overrides the [VPainting02] section of the original panel.cfg)

[VPainting02]
size_mm = 1024,256
texture = RegistrationNumber
location = exterior
painting00 = Registration/Registration.html?font_color=white, 0, 0, 1024, 256

 

Now, when I start MSFS and look up the aircraft, the livery, that was in the list before I added the panel folder, is no longer there. I also had this with another aircraft (Black Sqaure Analog King Air) and there I managed to fix this by copying the complete original panel.cfg, added the [VARIATION] override_base_container=1 (1 stands for override the complete original file) to the top of the text and then the aircraft showed up in the livery list and I could make changes to the tail number, so I thought to do the same for the C337. However, now I do get the aircraft in the livery list, I can set the tail number size as 1, 1 (instead of 1024, 256) in both places and remove the tail number. Now I can load the aircraft, but now panel gets messed up. I get the GTN750 (which is not installed at the moment) while the GNS530 is selected, the switches from audio panel stick through the top of the GTN750 and I cant activate the tablet anymore, to change the GTN750 back to the GNS530.

I tried removing everything from the copied original panel.cfg file besides the parts shown in the SDK manual, but this gives me the same result as when I use the complete file. Then it looks like this:

[VARIATION]
override_base_container = 0

[VPainting02]

size_mm    = 1, 1
texture    = $RegistrationNumber_a1
location = exterior
painting00=CustomRegistration/CustomRegistration.html?font_style=l3&font_color=0x20201f&font_scale=1.1, 0, 0, 1, 1

 

I tried removing the entries of the aircraft.cfg that are no longer in use, according to the SDK manual, but this doesnt make any difference. I also tried removing the $ from "texture = $RegistrationNumber_a1", since the SDK manual says its no longer in use, but no luck, and I tried removing the "_a1" on a wild guess, but also no luck.

To make it complete, I'll add the aircraft.cfg:

[VERSION]
major = 1
minor = 0

[VARIATION]
base_container = "..\Carenado_C337_Skymaster"

[FLTSIM.0]
title = "Carenado C337 Night Flier" ; Variation name
model = "N101BL" ; model folder
panel = "N101BL" ; panel folder
sound = "" ; sound folder
texture = "N101BL" ; texture folder
kb_checklists = "" ; Procedures/Checklist sibling file name
kb_reference = "" ; Reference information sibling file name
description = O-2 Skymaster, as used in the movie The Night Flier, based on a short story by Stephen King.
wip_indicator = 1 ; know if the variation is good to go or still WIP : -1=Disabled, 0=Rough, 1=1st Pass, 2=Finished
ui_manufacturer = "Cessna" ; e.g. Boeing, Cessna
ui_type = "C337" ; e.g. 747-400, 172
ui_variation = "Skymaster" ; e.g. World Air, IFR Panel
ui_typerole = "Twin Engine Prop" ; e.g. Single Engine Prop, Twin Engine Prop, Rotorcraft, etc
ui_createdby = "Demious" ; e.g. Asobo Studio, Microsoft, FSAddonCompany, etc
ui_thumbnailfile = "" ; app relative path to ThumbNail image file
atc_id = "N101BL" ; tail number
atc_airline = "" ; airline name
atc_flight_number = "" ; flight number
atc_heavy = 0 ; heavy?
atc_parking_types = "RAMP" ; "ANY" / "RAMP" / "CARGO" / "MIL_CARGO" / "MIL_COMBAT" / "GATE" / "DOCK"
atc_parking_codes = "" ; Comma separated and may be as small as one character each
atc_id_color = "0xffffffff" ; color for the tail number : i.e. "#ffff00ff"
atc_id_font = "" ; font for the tail number
isAirTraffic = 0 ; Is the plane usable for air traffic
isUserSelectable = 1 ; Is the plane selectable by the user

 

I Hope that one of the more seasoned re-painters can see what I'm doing wrong here. Some advise would be very much appreciated,