twharrell

Omni, I just reinstalled the old drivers. Todd

I also have a 770 GTX but have similar issues with the new driver. 332.21 better on my system. Go figure. Todd

There is a freeware Challenger 604 in development right now that looks payware quality. The external model is nothing short of spectacular. The VC is being done right now and the early renders are breathtaking. You can follow it's progress in the FSDeveloper showroom. It's probably a year out from being ready, but from the looks of it will be well worth the wait. Don't be disappointed that it's freeware because once you see the pictures, you'll fall out of your chair in disbelief. Todd

I'm getting OOM's in the Carenado 337, so not just a large aircraft issue. Todd

My frustrations with Carenado are selfish. I want to get my systems fix from corporate aircraft, not a 777 or NGX. But I get the comments from the 777 and NGX drivers who just want to occasionally hop in and fly an airplane, and why not let that airplane be a Hawker or Phenom right? I just want my Hawker and Phenom to have good systems and then I can just hop in and fly my Cessna 337 or Cessna 310 when I am time-limited. Just goes to show you the flight sim community is quite diverse in our desires. No one will argue that Carenado makes some of the best visual models out there, both inside and out. Selfishly, I am sad that's where the fun ends. I can't help but stare at the Hawker, but then I get disappointed when I think about what will be. I don't fault Carenado, though. They obviously found a niche, and quite a large one at that, that are more than happy with their offerings and are willing to pay top dollar for it. So who can blame Carenado for charging what they charge? The market dictates that they are charging appropriately. And that, in turn, will drive prices higher for systems heavy aircraft. That, I think is a win for developers who invest a lot of time developing realistic systems. So, while I won't buy the Phenom or the Hawker, there will be a lot of people that do. I will, however, pay the premium that MilViz and ESDG will charge for their corporate aircraft. If you really think about the time, effort, and money it takes, just to get the permission just to create a realistic Collins Proline avionics suite, not to mention the permission to create the external model, I think people will see $60-$80 for a good corporate aircraft is a bargain. Todd

Get the Mindstar G1000, if you are planning to use the ESDG DA42. You can actually replace the default G1000 in the DA42 with the Mindstar G1000 - it integrates seamlessly. And since the Mindstar G1000 is used in RedBird simulators, you know what you are getting. You also can update the NavData for the G1000 quarterly using RealNav. Lastly, WAAS is to be implemented in the near future. The other benefit of the Mindstar G1000 is you can use it in FS9, FSX, and Prepare3D. I'm not sure if the DA42 is P3D compatible yet - Ron would need to chime in about that. Todd

Great news about the ESDG XLS+! As a bizjet fan, I was beginning to think we would never see another good one for a long time. I'm also looking forward to the MilViz King Air 350, as well as the Razbam EMB 120 and PC-12NG. Todd

This is awesome news! And RealNav support is just icing on the cake. I saw picks of the ESDG XLS+ about a year and a half ago and couldn't believe my eyes. I thought the project was terminated after so much silence, but this is music to my ears. Welcome back ESDG, and I am sure glad to hear you're supporting P3Dv2! About 6 months ago my son and I were airplane watching at KJYO when an XLS+ arrived. After talking with the pilot, he invited us to a tour of the airplane. I said "Yes," of course. My 4 year-old son was intrigued by the snack bar, while I was drooling over the cockpit. One of my favorite bizjets of all time. Todd

Just curious to know if anyone out there is working on a Great Lakes livery for the 1900? Todd

The Metroliner is a winner. I highly recommend it.

Scroll wheel works like a charm. That is what I use. When entering a flight plan waypoint, just scroll the inner knob until a letter appears in the first space, then just use your keyboard to enter the waypoint name. A nice little feature. Todd

Regular mouse icons. Todd

I copied this post I made from a similar discussion on the FSX forums, if anyone is interested: A quick how-to and the 5th parameter As you study the panel.cfg file of the default C172 contained in the Mindstar folder, you notice the 5th parameter entry that comes after the 4 coordinates of the Mindstar GNS entry. Let's say you have an aircraft that you can integrate both a 530 and 430 into both the VC and as a 2D popup window. The 5th parameter should read like this: [virtual cockpit.x] 3-4 lines of stuff here MSI_GNS!GNS530, w,x,y,z, 1:1:-1 MSI_GNS!GNS430, w,x,y,z, 2:1:-1 [window.x] ident=y or GPS_PANEL MSI_GNS!GNS530, a,b,c,d, 1:2:y (or if ident=GPS_PANEL, then y=225, which is the standard code for GPS_PANEL) MSI_GNS!GNS430, a,b,c,d, 2:2:y So, the fifth parameter is the 3 numbers separated by colons. The first number is the priority of that gauge in the panel.cfg file. If you want the 530 to be your GPS#1 then that first number should be 1, just like in the above example. So, that means in the above example, I have the 430 as my GPS#2. The second number of the 5th parameter is the instance of that gauge in the panel.cfg file. Important note here: if you have both a VC and a 2D instance of either gauge, the VC entry will almost always be '1' and the 2D entry will almost always be '2'. Finally, the 3rd number of the 5th parameter. For VC entries, this is always '-1'. For the 2D entry, the third number should equal the number following ident=... If you see ident=GPS_PANEL then the third number is 225. Hopefully this helps folks get started. It really is straight forward once you look over that C172 panel.cfg file. Todd

Bill, what about the the C310 VC that includes both the 530 and 430? They don't line up perfectly, which does create some issues with the knobs and buttons, but it is close: Todd

Lots of questions about VC integration. Here's the big picture: Bill is correct in saying if RXP works, Mindstar should work by just making the necessary substitutions in the panel.cfg file. Do understand, however, this isn't always the case with every developer. Some developers, like RealAir, have designed their VC specifically for the RXP units. I emailed them about that and they were respectfully adamant the Mindstar gauges will not work. So, with RealAir, you are left with a 2D option only at this time. But, perhaps if enough customers email the RealAir guys requesting Mindstar compatibility, they would listen. They did suggest that in their reply to my emails. So, it's up to all of you to make it known to them you want it. I would love it if the Turbine Duke allowed VC integration. Regarding the Twin Otter, I want to make sure we are talking about the same version. You cannot integrate the Mindstar or RXP units into the VC of the extended version. I believe you can in the older version. If someone has figured out how to make RXP work in the Extended Otter VC, I'd like to see it. That would be a good thing, because I couldn't do it. I PM'd the Aerosoft guys and was told they would not be supporting 3rd party avionics from now on. Period. Again, maybe we customers can change their minds. I don't know how well the GNS 53o or 430 fits in the MilViz B55, as I don't have it. Maybe Bill can chime in about that. In the C310, the gauges almost fit, but almost means the knobs and buttons don't align so you have to open the 2D to use the knobs and buttons. I would assume the same issue exists in the B55. Bill said in another thread that he would look at adjusting the VC gauge dimensions at some point, when and if time allows. But none of us want that to interfere with the progress of that sexy KA 350 now would we? B) The A2A cessna 172 only gives you the option to use either the GNS 430 or 530, but not both. Eric, since P3D1.4 and 2 do not have a default C172, the gauges aren't installed in any aircraft. Migrate to your Program Files (x86)/Mindstar/Flight Sim Addons folder and you will see a series of zipped folders of default MSFS aircraft. Unzip the C172gns.zip and look at the panel.cfg file to get a good idea on how to edit the panel.cfg file of any aircraft you have. Todd

It worked. Changing the texture resolution is the solution. Oh, and it looks like my post at Lockheed Martin was in triplicate too, which is strange. Certainly not what I had intended. Todd

Well, first, you'll note the triplicate post was an accident if you read the end of my post above. I thought the 'submit' button wasn't working, as I later discovered I was grossly mistaken. Secondly, I am not posting in triplicate on multiple forums. I also posted this question on Lockheed Martin's forum but submitted only once. So, if it is in triplicate there, that us news to me, and I haven't a clue why. Todd Thanks for the tip, Phil. What texture setting are you specifically referring to? Todd

Here's a strange one for you. Starting about 2 weeks ago, I started seeing these strange structures with odd textures littered across the landscape. The textures appear to be from other sceneries and 3rd party aircraft, and they are different every time I load P3Dv2. I have no idea why this started and what caused it. Todd Oops, I don't know how my thread posted 4 times. Could the mods kindly get rid of the duplicates? Thanks! Todd

A2A Cessna 172 with Mindstar GNS 430: A2A Cessna 172 with MS GNS 530: MilViz C310: Aerosoft Twin Otter: RedBird full motion simulator at local flight school: Todd Says who? B)

If by 3D you mean the virtual cockpit, yes. The A2A C172 panel.cfg file has entries for both the VC and as a 2D popup that you can open by clicking the hidden click spot on the VC gauge screen. Simply put, wherever you see the RXP entry, just replace that with the Mindstar entry. The key with the A2A C172 is you have to create a dummy rxpGNS.dll file and place it in your gauges folder in order to activate the portion of the panel.cfg file containing the Mindstar GNS entry. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// OK, I realize a lot of you are confused about how to edit the panel.cfg file using the Mindstar entries, so here's a good way to grasp how it is done. Migrate to your Program Files (x86)/Mindstar/Flight sim addons folder. You'll see a series of zipped folders of default aircraft. Extract the contents of C172gns.zip and find the panel.cfg file. If you study that panel.cfg file, it will give you an example of how to integrate the Mindstar units into both the [windows] and [virtual cockpits] sections. Replacing an existing GPS entry with the Mindstar equivalent is pretty self-explanatory if you have done any panel.cfg editing. If you have never edited a panel.cfg file, then I would go learn how to do that first, as a certain knowledge of panel.cfg file editing is assumed. 1) Aircraft that have both VC and 2D GPS entries but the VC is not compatible (probably the most common scenario) In the case of aircraft like the Aerosoft Twin Otter or RealAir Turbine Duke, where you cannot integrate the Mindstar gauges into the respective VC's, you can just replace the default GPS gauge in the [window] section with the Mindstar entries. You then need to disable the default GPS entry in the VC, as you don't need it, plus the default GPS doesn't always play nice when something better is being used, and your sim will likely crash. 2) Aircraft that have no GPS in either the VC or as a 2D popup If you have an aircraft like the Razbam Metro III that has no Garmin GPS unit modeled in either the VC or as a 2D popup, then obviously you can't have a VC entry. You can, however, add a single unit or a combination of 2 of the units as a 2D popup window. Simply copy the [window] entry from the aforementioned C172 panel.cfg file and paste that entry into the [window] section of your aircraft's panel.cfg file. Again, be sure to disable the GPS in the VC (by placing '//' in front of the default GPS gauge line in the [virtual cockpit section].) 3) Aircraft that have a Garmin GPS in both the VC and as a 2D popup. These are the ones we hope become more and more prevalent as time passes. These panel.cfg files are probably the easiest to edit. A quick how-to and the 5th parameter As you study the panel.cfg file of the default C172 contained in the Mindstar folder, you notice the 5th parameter entry that comes after the 4 coordinates of the Mindstar GNS entry. Let's say you have an aircraft that you can integrate both a 530 and 430 into both the VC and as a 2D popup window. The 5th parameter should read like this: [virtual cockpit.x] 3-4 lines of stuff here MSI_GNS!GNS530, w,x,y,z, 1:1:-1 MSI_GNS!GNS430, w,x,y,z, 2:1:-1 [window.x] ident=y or GPS_PANEL MSI_GNS!GNS530, a,b,c,d, 1:2:y (or if ident=GPS_PANEL, then y=225, which is the standard code for GPS_PANEL) MSI_GNS!GNS430, a,b,c,d, 2:2:y So, the fifth parameter is the 3 numbers separated by colons. The first number is the priority of that gauge in the panel.cfg file. If you want the 530 to be your GPS#1 then that first number should be 1, just like in the above example. So, that means in the above example, I have the 430 as my GPS#2. The second number of the 5th parameter is the instance of that gauge in the panel.cfg file. Important note here: if you have both a VC and a 2D instance of either gauge, the VC entry will almost always be '1' and the 2D entry will almost always be '2'. Finally, the 3rd number of the 5th parameter. For VC entries, this is always '-1'. For the 2D entry, the third number should equal the number following ident=... If you see ident=GPS_PANEL then the third number is 225. Hopefully this helps folks get started. It really is straight forward once you look over that C172 panel.cfg file. Todd

I love P3Dv2. I also enjoyed v1.4, which is what I jumped to from FS9. I don't blame any FSX user who has invested a lot of time and money getting FSX running smoothly to take a wait and see approach regarding P3Dv2. If, you are not one of those people, then just go P3Dv2. I just upgraded my GTX660 Ti to a GTX 770 and am very happy with my decision. I felt the 4GB memory I get with the 770 was a better investment than the little performance gain I would have gotten from a GTX 780 with 3 GB memory. It's another debate you'll get lots of heated opinions about. Another option is to just wait for the 800 series GPU's to be released in the Spring. I'm not one to jump on the new technology bus right out of the gate, but some do. Just a thought. Todd

Considering the RXP units cost $50 a piece, plus another $100 to get crossfill, not to mention no AIRAC updates past 2011, the Mindstar units are a bargain. They're not for everyone, for sure, but neither were the RXP units. And remember, you can't port RXP into P3D. So, if you plan to spend $200 for RXP, for the same amount you get 2 Mindstar gauges, crossfill, and almost 4 years of nav data. Or spend just $90 for the Mindstar gauges, which include crossfill, and only one year nav subscription if you don't care about having to update your navdata. Or skip the navdata subscription and use the default FSX/P3D navdatabase (so spend only $50). Having an updated nav database is nice, especially if you use your sim to practice IFR. The Mindstar package is very flexible and really caters to both casual and serious GA simmers. Just food for thought. Todd

Razbam is working on a PC-12NG for FSX/P3Dv1.4 and v2. Todd

I haven't noticed any performance hit. That being said, I also don't watch my FPS like a hawk like some do, so I haven't a clue if FPS drops or not. I do know that my sim stays very smooth with it in use and have had zero OOM's. Todd

Get over yourself, Jeff. Ed made no such blanket statement or judgement about RXP or any other developer. He was asked point blank: why is it that RXP can drive the default autopilot and Mindstar cannot? He answered the question both truthfully and tactfully. No one is being an "armchair lawyer." To those who have purchased or are thinking about purchasing the Mindstar GNS pack: the units work well as a 2D gauge in every aircraft I use. However, the only aircraft that I have been able to successfully integrate the units into the VC so far are the old Carenado addons like the C208B, and the A2A Cessna 172. It is my understanding that the new Carenado models do not support integration. Unfortunately, unless their position has changed, Carenado has told me multiple times by email they have zero interest in making their addons compatible with either the Mindstar G1000 (which has been out for several years) or the GNS530/430. The MilViz C310 VC (and I assume the B55 VC) are mostly compatible, meaning the buttons and knobs don't align perfectly. Because of that, the knobs don't work as they should and the night textures are off. Hopefully adjustments will be made at some point, but do understand MilViz has many a nice project coming down the pipe so adjusting those VC's may not be their top priority right now. I am crossing my fingers for a compatible MU-2, though. MilViz, right now, is the one developer who seems to be on board with Mindtstar compatibility. I asked Aerosoft about making the Twin Otter compatible, but I was told they have zero interest in accommodating 3rd party gauge developers in their future add-ons. The 2D gauges work just fine, though. RealAir has told me if enough people express interest, they will consider making the VC of both the Duke and Turbine Duke compatible. Until then, the 2D version of the gauge works fine in the Turbine Duke (and I assume piston Duke as well). Lastly, the 2D gauge also works in the Razbam Metro. Unfortunately, Razbam will not be making the VC compatible since it has modeled the VC with a Trimble GPS. So, right now, you have only a few VC integration options. If you don't mind using a 2D gauge, the GNS units work in just about everything. If enough people petition the developers respectfully to make their VC's compatible, then I think we'll see more and more developers jump on board, as they once did with RXP. Just remember, today is only the first day of release. Todd