FS9 Only Douglas A20 Havoc Released
- Thread starter Milton Shupe
- Start date
Now that there is likely a never-ending job! Thank you Sir
It means I can finally upload my Imperial Japanese Navy Scheme.
Mick
SOH-CM-2025
Yes indeed! I second that comment!Thanks for remembering the "Boys and Girls from the Sunny Side" sim, Huub. Your work is much appreciated by the FS9 lot.
BB686
jackryan172
SOH-CM-2025
michaelvader
Members +
Douglas A20 Havoc 2D panels
Hallo,
here again I have released my final panels for the A20.
The may be also work in FSX.
There is at first a panel which should reflect the war time cockpit.For more facility I have placed the radios on a pop up panel simulating the radio operators place. As I have no photo I used the vc view and reworked it a little bit.
The second one shows the cockpit of a restored still flying bird. The modern radios are placed on the right hand console. The gunsight can be switched off.
The third panel is for the russian A20's. I found on a russian site a photo of a russian A20. Even the photo was of poor quality it seemed the cockpit to be equiped with russian gauges. I tried to reflect this by using as possible russian gauges for the primary and engines and radio gauges.
At last I added some effects. They are different from C to G model,
the first are the engine exhaust flames which switch on via the beacon light switch
than I added also weapon effects, the switch on via I an O keys.
I asked in the previous releases for feedback to know what else can be done better. There was just one post telling me about to gauges which would not work in FSX - I tried to fix this, so the panels should also work in FSX.
I have stopped the further development of early A/B, C model cockpits as I feel rhat it would interest no one.
I believe that now I stop there and turn to other works
Yours
Papi
Hallo,
here again I have released my final panels for the A20.
The may be also work in FSX.
There is at first a panel which should reflect the war time cockpit.For more facility I have placed the radios on a pop up panel simulating the radio operators place. As I have no photo I used the vc view and reworked it a little bit.
The second one shows the cockpit of a restored still flying bird. The modern radios are placed on the right hand console. The gunsight can be switched off.
The third panel is for the russian A20's. I found on a russian site a photo of a russian A20. Even the photo was of poor quality it seemed the cockpit to be equiped with russian gauges. I tried to reflect this by using as possible russian gauges for the primary and engines and radio gauges.
At last I added some effects. They are different from C to G model,
the first are the engine exhaust flames which switch on via the beacon light switch
than I added also weapon effects, the switch on via I an O keys.
I asked in the previous releases for feedback to know what else can be done better. There was just one post telling me about to gauges which would not work in FSX - I tried to fix this, so the panels should also work in FSX.
I have stopped the further development of early A/B, C model cockpits as I feel rhat it would interest no one.
I believe that now I stop there and turn to other works
Yours
Papi
Mick
SOH-CM-2025
Panel Question
Well, today I did something I hardly ever do - I took time off from fiddling with planes and scenery and actually loaded the A-20 into the sim for the first time, other than momentary loads in spor view to take screen shots, to go for a short flight. Instead, I discovered an issue that I hadn't seen before.
When I go into 2D panel view the eyepoint is offset to the left and not all of the panel is visible on screen. The right side of the panel - not the whole right half, but more than just the edge - is off the screen, along with all or parts of the instruments that reside on the right side of the panel.
It seems that the panel background is too wide, but the height seems right.
I checked the coordinates in the Default View section and they're in the ballpark when compared to some other planes that have panels that look right. I tries making some adjustments anyway, by way of experimentation, and found that no changes I made in the panel.cfg had any effect. That seems odd - those coordinates are supposed to have some effecft, aren't they?
The VC is fine, with the eyepoint in the middle, right where the pilot's head would be.
In my help and tutorial folder I have a file with come comments about how to adjust the eyepoint in the 2D panel, but the instructions there don't work.
I am very confused.
Does anyone else have this problem? Is there a fix?
Well, today I did something I hardly ever do - I took time off from fiddling with planes and scenery and actually loaded the A-20 into the sim for the first time, other than momentary loads in spor view to take screen shots, to go for a short flight. Instead, I discovered an issue that I hadn't seen before.
When I go into 2D panel view the eyepoint is offset to the left and not all of the panel is visible on screen. The right side of the panel - not the whole right half, but more than just the edge - is off the screen, along with all or parts of the instruments that reside on the right side of the panel.
It seems that the panel background is too wide, but the height seems right.
I checked the coordinates in the Default View section and they're in the ballpark when compared to some other planes that have panels that look right. I tries making some adjustments anyway, by way of experimentation, and found that no changes I made in the panel.cfg had any effect. That seems odd - those coordinates are supposed to have some effecft, aren't they?
The VC is fine, with the eyepoint in the middle, right where the pilot's head would be.
In my help and tutorial folder I have a file with come comments about how to adjust the eyepoint in the 2D panel, but the instructions there don't work.
I am very confused.
Does anyone else have this problem? Is there a fix?
Mick
SOH-CM-2025
My screen resolution is the "recommended" 1280 x 1024. I'm not sure if that recommendation comes from Windows or from the monitor's manufacturer.
What I see is the attached, edited version of the image you posted, and I think I've figured out the problem. Is the panel meant for use with just wide screen monitors?
Does anyone else following this thread have a regular monitor and not see the entire panel?
Mick,
In the panel.cfg, window00 section, try changing this parameter to your size:
size_mm=1920,1080
change to size_mm=1280,1024
MrZippy
SOH-CM-2025
Thanks for the tip, Milton! I wondered why the 2D looked a little offset!
Well, don't know if that fixes the issue but its worth a try.
MrZippy
SOH-CM-2025
Well worth the try! Just a slight adjustment! I did the change to the pixel size.
[Window00]
file=Panel2D.bmp
size_mm=1920,1080
window_size_ratio=1.000,1.000
position=0
visible=1
sizeable=1
ident=60
pixel_size=1360,768 <---------------(My screen resolution)
Last edited:
Mick
SOH-CM-2025
No joy.
MrZrippy, thanks for posting! That tells me that the problem isn't unique to me. I was worried that I'd somehow messed things up!
Milton, I tried your suggestion and the image shows what I got. It looks like it might be the upper corner of the clipboard against a blank black background instead of a view of the world through the windscreen..
I always thought that adjusting the Default View (down at the bottom of the panel.cfg file) would alter the aspect ratio of the panel in the sim. In fact, I've edit that section on a few other planes where the panel showed up oddly, and it worked. But with the A-20, nothing I do in that section makes any difference at all. None!
It occurs to me that the problem is that the panel background image is wider that usual, and therefore not what FS9 expects, so it just displays the part that corresponds to an image with the expected aspect ratio. That makes me suspect that it's a wide-screen-only panel, but even that doesn't really ring true. A regular panel on a wide screen monitor shows the entire panel, it just stretches it a bit i the left-right dimension to fill the screen. It would seem, then (though I'm guessing here) that a wide screen panel on a regular monitor should also show the whole panel, simply compressing it a bit left-right to fit it on the screen. But obviously that's not happening here.
One could easily squeeze the panel background to give it the regular aspect ratio, but that wouldn't affect the instruments, they'd stay where they are. Visually, it would put the eyepoint in the middle of the windscreen and panel, but the instruments would no longer match up with their proper locations on the panel.
I could use Michael's excellent panel, but it doesn't match up with the VC, and I like it when the 2D and VC panels look the same.
This really has me confused!
MrZrippy, thanks for posting! That tells me that the problem isn't unique to me. I was worried that I'd somehow messed things up!
Milton, I tried your suggestion and the image shows what I got. It looks like it might be the upper corner of the clipboard against a blank black background instead of a view of the world through the windscreen..
I always thought that adjusting the Default View (down at the bottom of the panel.cfg file) would alter the aspect ratio of the panel in the sim. In fact, I've edit that section on a few other planes where the panel showed up oddly, and it worked. But with the A-20, nothing I do in that section makes any difference at all. None!
It occurs to me that the problem is that the panel background image is wider that usual, and therefore not what FS9 expects, so it just displays the part that corresponds to an image with the expected aspect ratio. That makes me suspect that it's a wide-screen-only panel, but even that doesn't really ring true. A regular panel on a wide screen monitor shows the entire panel, it just stretches it a bit i the left-right dimension to fill the screen. It would seem, then (though I'm guessing here) that a wide screen panel on a regular monitor should also show the whole panel, simply compressing it a bit left-right to fit it on the screen. But obviously that's not happening here.
One could easily squeeze the panel background to give it the regular aspect ratio, but that wouldn't affect the instruments, they'd stay where they are. Visually, it would put the eyepoint in the middle of the windscreen and panel, but the instruments would no longer match up with their proper locations on the panel.
I could use Michael's excellent panel, but it doesn't match up with the VC, and I like it when the 2D and VC panels look the same.
This really has me confused!
No joy.
MrZrippy, thanks for posting! That tells me that the problem isn't unique to me. I was worried that I'd somehow messed things up!
Milton, I tried your suggestion and the image shows what I got. It looks like it might be the upper corner of the clipboard against a blank black background instead of a view of the world through the windscreen..
I always thought that adjusting the Default View (down at the bottom of the panel.cfg file) would alter the aspect ratio of the panel in the sim. In fact, I've edit that section on a few other planes where the panel showed up oddly, and it worked. But with the A-20, nothing I do in that section makes any difference at all. None!
It occurs to me that the problem is that the panel background image is wider that usual, and therefore not what FS9 expects, so it just displays the part that corresponds to an image with the expected aspect ratio. That makes me suspect that it's a wide-screen-only panel, but even that doesn't really ring true. A regular panel on a wide screen monitor shows the entire panel, it just stretches it a bit i the left-right dimension to fill the screen. It would seem, then (though I'm guessing here) that a wide screen panel on a regular monitor should also show the whole panel, simply compressing it a bit left-right to fit it on the screen. But obviously that's not happening here.
One could easily squeeze the panel background to give it the regular aspect ratio, but that wouldn't affect the instruments, they'd stay where they are. Visually, it would put the eyepoint in the middle of the windscreen and panel, but the instruments would no longer match up with their proper locations on the panel.
I could use Michael's excellent panel, but it doesn't match up with the VC, and I like it when the 2D and VC panels look the same.
This really has me confused!
Did you try Mr. Zippys solution?
[Window00]
file=Panel2D.bmp
size_mm=1920,1080
//window_size_ratio=1.000,1.000 //remove this as the pixel_size overrides it
position=0
visible=1
sizeable=1
ident=60
pixel_size=1280,1024
BTW, the Size x and y at the bottom only affects the view window of the outside, not the panel display.
Mick
SOH-CM-2025
Somehow I missed that until your reminder, despite having seen and read his post. I just tried it and it works, but as we might expect when a wide-angle panel is compressed to fit a regular screen, all the instruments are compressed out of round, squeezed in the left-right dimension.
I should've figured that out myself, since I used the same method to make the clipboard bigger to suit my old, tired eyes.
It should be possible to edit the panel.cfg file to make them round again, hopefully without messing up their locations. But the instruments are painted on the panel background, so the painted ones will probably peek out the top and bottom of each functioning instrument. That would ruin the panel. But rather than abandon hope on a presumption, I will try it with one gauge and see what can be done. If necessary, maybe I can paint out those painted-on instruments and make a bare panel background. If it works, I'll do the whole panel. But I won't get to do it this morning; I have too much else to do and can't stay at my desk for a while.
I will post the results of my experimentation.
If it doesn't work, or turns out to be too tedious, I can always fall back on Papi's panel. It doesn't match the VC but otherwise it's excellent. (And I will use his included weapons effects whether or not I use the panel.)
Thanks for the clarification on the coordinated in the bottom section. It prompted the recollection that I've used it when the view through the windscreen doesn't quite fill the available space, not to affect the panel itself.
Mick
SOH-CM-2025
OK, project started. It's tedious enough that I was tempted to abandon the job and use Papi's panel. Trouble is, Papi's panel is drawn as if the pilot was sitting so far back from the panel that for my old eyes, the instruments were impossible to read, even with my reading glasses on.
So back to work. I have one row of instruments done and they look pretty good. Alas, many of the gauges lose their bezels, which are drawn onto the panel background. I don't think I'll notice that in the heat of combat, but I may try to restore them. I can think of a way, but if it works it could be the most tedious bit of all and may not be worth the time and effort. As they are, they look more natural to me than the elongated shape they take when the panel is simply squeezed. Still, I can get compulsive about this stuff sometimes, so who knows how far this will go.
Well, that's enough of a break. Back to the drawing board. Or to the dashboard, I should say.
So back to work. I have one row of instruments done and they look pretty good. Alas, many of the gauges lose their bezels, which are drawn onto the panel background. I don't think I'll notice that in the heat of combat, but I may try to restore them. I can think of a way, but if it works it could be the most tedious bit of all and may not be worth the time and effort. As they are, they look more natural to me than the elongated shape they take when the panel is simply squeezed. Still, I can get compulsive about this stuff sometimes, so who knows how far this will go.
Well, that's enough of a break. Back to the drawing board. Or to the dashboard, I should say.
Mick
SOH-CM-2025
OK, finished! It went a lot faster than I expected. My idea of how to restore missing instrument bezels turned out to be impossible. So up the pipe it goes. It's not perfect, but at least the instruments are round. All I did was edit the panel.cfg file to change the shape of the instruments and paint over the instrument bezels on the background image. Just those two files are in the upload.
It's interesting to note that nobody mentioned the aspect ratio of the panel until today, and only one other came forward when I posted about the matter. Some people have been flying the plane for months, and many for weeks now. Did nobody else notice the issue? Or didn't they mind it? Or have 6x8 monitors become exceedingly rare now? It will be interesting to see how many folks download this.
It's interesting to note that nobody mentioned the aspect ratio of the panel until today, and only one other came forward when I posted about the matter. Some people have been flying the plane for months, and many for weeks now. Did nobody else notice the issue? Or didn't they mind it? Or have 6x8 monitors become exceedingly rare now? It will be interesting to see how many folks download this.
That looks good Mick. Happy that you got something that satisfies the mind. 