Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
jmig

FS Panel Studio can't find BMPs

Recommended Posts

I have started trying to modify existing gauges to work in my T38C simpit, which I am building. I was able to modify some existing bmp images with no problem.I then tried to build one from scratch. I can find no existing gauges which look like the new Electronic Engine Display in the T-38C. I borrowed some code from the Beach Barron changed the bitmap names and converted it to a turbo engine. My xml editor said the code was valid. However, when I use FSPS to mount the gauge in a test panel, it says it can


John
My first SIM was a Link Trainer. My last was a T-6 II
AMD Ryzen 7 7800 X3D@ 5.1 GHz, 32 GB DDR5 RAM - 3 M2 Drives. 1 TB Boot, 2 TB Sim drive, 2 TB Add-on Drive, 6TB Backup data hard drive
RTX 3080 10GB VRAM, Meta Quest 3 VR Headset

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest iholrf

>I have started trying to modify existing gauges to work in my>T38C simpit, which I am building. I was able to modify some>existing bmp images with no problem.>>I then tried to build one from scratch. I can find no>existing gauges which look like the new Electronic Engine>Display in the T-38C. I borrowed some code from the Beach>Barron changed the bitmap names and converted it to a turbo>engine. My xml editor said the code was valid. However, when>I use FSPS to mount the gauge in a test panel, it says it>can

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

>As I don't use tools like the panel editor I can not say if it>uses the same search hierarchy as the sim, but the sim (on my>setup at least) looks for the "gauge cab"/"gauge folder">locally first, then it looks in the main guages folder. I>would check your paths to see if the editor is perhaps looking>in the wrong place.FS Panel Studio (I won't work without it!) will NOT find gauges in the panel folder of the aircraft at all.It will only look in the gauges folder to load/edit a gauge...


Fr. Bill    

AOPA Member: 07141481 AARP Member: 3209010556


     Avsim Board of Directors | Avsim Forums Moderator

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you Shad for responding to my "Mayday" call, or is that now 911 call? :)I had the files in a folder named T38CWIP, located in the FS gauges folder. I first of all, tried coding it myself using a couple of xml engine instrument gauges as examples. When that didn


John
My first SIM was a Link Trainer. My last was a T-6 II
AMD Ryzen 7 7800 X3D@ 5.1 GHz, 32 GB DDR5 RAM - 3 M2 Drives. 1 TB Boot, 2 TB Sim drive, 2 TB Add-on Drive, 6TB Backup data hard drive
RTX 3080 10GB VRAM, Meta Quest 3 VR Headset

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Bill,Isn't FS Panel Studio a nice program! If you like to build panels, it is the easiest thing going.I first got into MSFS when I started flying again for business, after a 15 year layoff. I was a bit nervous during the first cross-county flights I took. So I bought MSFS and flew them at home. It was amazing how closely they resembled the real flights I later made.In order to practice and sharpen up my rusty instrument procedures, I bought some GoFlight radios and a second monitor where I moved the instruments. That is how I found FSPS. By making a custom panel that had only the necessary gauges and wiring up switches for the essential stuff, I had a low cost instrument procedures trainer which really helped improve my real world skills.Which alas, started me down the road of endless pit building.:)John


John
My first SIM was a Link Trainer. My last was a T-6 II
AMD Ryzen 7 7800 X3D@ 5.1 GHz, 32 GB DDR5 RAM - 3 M2 Drives. 1 TB Boot, 2 TB Sim drive, 2 TB Add-on Drive, 6TB Backup data hard drive
RTX 3080 10GB VRAM, Meta Quest 3 VR Headset

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest iholrf

>Thank you Shad for responding to my "Mayday" call, or is that>now 911 call? :)Heheh, Mayday please.SNIP>I am not a programmer. To give you an idea of my age, when I>went to college, I used a sliderule. (That is a hand held>analog computer for you youngsters) LOL :) I am not sure about other places, but here in Ottawa the ground school kit consists of a very sweet Slide Rule. I am not old enough to have ever been taught about one in school, I was born in 1964 - calculators were mainstream by the time I entered highschool.>However, I do wish to have gauges which match the real gauges>in the new T38C. It is my dream to have young people fly it>and get an idea of what it was like for me and others to>actually fly a high performance fighter type jet. I want the>experience to be as real as money and talents will allow.I can certainly relate to that. :) The T38 was the baby Northrop F5A if I recall correctly, was it not? My 1st squadron in the airforce was equipped with F5As & Ds. We did not have t38's though. I have always thought the f5 was the sexiest fighter made. Loved it. I actually hated moving to the 25 year younger F18 when my tour was up even though the F5 was a tempermental SOB. Agile though, during one excercise with an American f15 squadron, our squadrons kill ratio was 2 to 1. And the f15 had radar (the f5a does not)! In all fairness, we were a training squadron, and it was instructors flying against national guardsmen... so there was an experiential advantage. :DNow to your problem. I see only one immediate potential problem in the axis line:<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>-**************************************Axis X="-18" Y="18" PointsTo="North"/>^^^ Is this simply a typo into the forum, or is it like that in the code? to fix it^^^********************************************************************* (A:Turb eng1 N1, percent) 100 /The only other suggestion I can make is to look at the example in the EICAS Display.xml within the Boeing747-400.cab and look at the parts for the engine display. I have not yet made a turbine engined AC so I am not sure the arguments in the tag are accurate for a turbine if you simply copied them from a recip type.CheersShad

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Shad - Yes, the F5 is the big brother on steroids to the T-38. It had bigger engines and leading edge flaps. However, the new T-38A to


John
My first SIM was a Link Trainer. My last was a T-6 II
AMD Ryzen 7 7800 X3D@ 5.1 GHz, 32 GB DDR5 RAM - 3 M2 Drives. 1 TB Boot, 2 TB Sim drive, 2 TB Add-on Drive, 6TB Backup data hard drive
RTX 3080 10GB VRAM, Meta Quest 3 VR Headset

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest iholrf

Something is odd here... if this is the RPM gauge from the baron, with only minor changes, then I think your editor may have made some changes with out your knowing it.Try this and see what happens. ***Do this in notepad and not your XML editor****.Copy the code below for the XML file and call it RPM_test.xml. put in an empty dir with its bitmaps. Test.(A:Turb eng1 N1, percent) 100 /I have included it as an attachment here as well, just in case the forum fudges up the post format.Let me know how it goes.CheersShad

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

>In regards to the xml code, the main problem is definitely in>the bitmap files. I tried using them in the Beech Baron code>and they still wouldn


Fr. Bill    

AOPA Member: 07141481 AARP Member: 3209010556


     Avsim Board of Directors | Avsim Forums Moderator

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am at my wits end. Now I remember why I never liked programming. :-bang I tried your code Shad. It still didn't work. When I use FSPS, I get a,


John
My first SIM was a Link Trainer. My last was a T-6 II
AMD Ryzen 7 7800 X3D@ 5.1 GHz, 32 GB DDR5 RAM - 3 M2 Drives. 1 TB Boot, 2 TB Sim drive, 2 TB Add-on Drive, 6TB Backup data hard drive
RTX 3080 10GB VRAM, Meta Quest 3 VR Headset

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest iholrf

If you can zip the whole gauge up and post it as an attachment, I might be able to see whats going on, because at this point I am rather confused. :)CheersShad

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi John,Have you tried the "Clear Gauge Cache" option? (from the "GAUGE" menu)Regards,Tom

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you Shad. The attached zip has your code and copies of each of the bmp file I have made and tried to use.John


John
My first SIM was a Link Trainer. My last was a T-6 II
AMD Ryzen 7 7800 X3D@ 5.1 GHz, 32 GB DDR5 RAM - 3 M2 Drives. 1 TB Boot, 2 TB Sim drive, 2 TB Add-on Drive, 6TB Backup data hard drive
RTX 3080 10GB VRAM, Meta Quest 3 VR Headset

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest Robert Sanderson

Hi John,The bitmaps show up just fine in FS Panel Studio and FS2004. Try clearing the FS Panel Studio gauge cache, or look in the EGDIR folder in your FS Panel Studio directory and delete earlier versions of the gauge. The gauge background is transparent (RGB 0,0,0), but the area outside the face of the instrument is fully opaque (RGB 255,255,255). This is usually the other way around, with the face some color other than pure black, and the surrounding area painted pure black for transparency. You may know this already, and the background might integrate well with your panel background, so I

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you Robert, as well as Shad, Bill and Tom for all your help. I am out of town on business. I will try out your idea on the cache when I return home.Thanks also for correcting the code. John


John
My first SIM was a Link Trainer. My last was a T-6 II
AMD Ryzen 7 7800 X3D@ 5.1 GHz, 32 GB DDR5 RAM - 3 M2 Drives. 1 TB Boot, 2 TB Sim drive, 2 TB Add-on Drive, 6TB Backup data hard drive
RTX 3080 10GB VRAM, Meta Quest 3 VR Headset

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

  • Tom Allensworth,
    Founder of AVSIM Online


  • Flight Simulation's Premier Resource!

    AVSIM is a free service to the flight simulation community. AVSIM is staffed completely by volunteers and all funds donated to AVSIM go directly back to supporting the community. Your donation here helps to pay our bandwidth costs, emergency funding, and other general costs that crop up from time to time. Thank you for your support!

    Click here for more information and to see all donations year to date.
×
×
  • Create New...