2D panels and wide monitors

PRB

PRB

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Staff member
Ok, this has been bugging me ever since I bought a wide screen monitor.

The bmp files for the 2D panel backgrounds in FS9 have to be 1024 x 768 pixels, right? But what if you have your sim set to a different dimension? Well, FS will stretch and squeeze it to fit, that's what. Before the advent of these fancy-pants wide screen digital monitors, this wasn't a problem because the aspect ratio of the monitor pretty much matched that of a 1024 x 768 sized file.

But now I have a monitor which I have set to 1920 x 1200, which is an aspect ratio significantly different (“wider”) than that of a 1024 x 768 file. Still, FS will stretch and squeeze the panel bitmap so that it “fits” the FS screen dimensions, and now it looks all stretched out in the X axis. I hate that! I still like my 2D panels, occasionally, and I can't stand looking at them anymore!

So here's what I did.

The difference in aspect ratio between 1024 x 768 and 1920 x 1200 comes out to 0.833. Meaning if you have a 1024 x 768 file with a circle on it, that you know is going to be shoved into a 1920 x 1200 sized box, you need to “squeeze” your circle in the x axis by 0.833. So your 100 x 100 circle should now be a 83 x 100 oval in order that it look like a circle after the 1024 x 786 file its in is stretched to 1920 x 1200.

So, I took my panel bitmap, and squeezed it by 0.833, and stuck this new cockpit image onto a new 1024 x 768 file with a black background. Then I used FS Panel Studio and adjusted all the gauges in the the X dimension by X * 0.833. Then I re-arranged all the gauges so they fit on the panel, which they did, perfectly, because everything in the X axis has been shrunk by the same amount, see?

I dropped the new panel in the sim and all was right with the world again! Of course, once you drop your shrunken panel image onto your panel background file, you might have to do a little “artwork” to extend the sides of the canopy rails to the left and right sides of the image. I had to do that here, and as you can see, I'm slightly “artistically challenged”, and so it's kind of rough, but you get the idea.

Here is what the panel looks like in FS Panel Studio, before making any adjustments.

asp_ps_normal.jpg



But here's what the 2D panel looks like in the sim. Yuck!

asp_inflight_bad.jpg



Now, here is what my new panel looks like in FS Panel Studio.

asp_ps_squeezed.jpg



And here's what it looks like in the sim. Awesome!

asp_inflight_ok.jpg
 
nice technique! might have to try this on some unsuspecting panel, mwahaha.
Are ya thinkin RTW for this cockpit per'aps? looks speedy enough.
 
bpfowler said:
nice technique! might have to try this on some unsuspecting panel, mwahaha.
Are ya thinkin RTW for this cockpit per'aps? looks speedy enough.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's dcc's P-38, always fueled and ready for action in the RTW race!
 
Funny it's never bothered me.
I think I told myself "you are looking down at the gauges, and they will flatten slightly!"
(My monitor is below eye level)
To get that much, of course, you'd need to be looking down about 35 degrees, so the truth would be somewhere between the two extremes.

Neat solution though!
 
Every once in a while, I see an addon panel with options for widescreen monitors, but those are rare. FS default is for 4:3 monitors. I run a 1280x1024 LCD, which is 5:4, so I get my gauges streched vertically, although it's not as drastic a stretch. I'm so used to it I don't even notice it anymore.
 
Yup, the widescreen formats really throw the ugly stick at most 2D panels built for 4:3 aspect ratio.
I've been meaning to rework a few of my favorites to fit my new 1920x1080 monitor but never get the time. Plus, I spend most of my time in VC mode using TrackIR anyway so that's another reasons the 2D conversion always gets pushed to the back burner here.

You did a good job on DCC's P-38 panel though!
 
I did a different approach to it:
My 2D panel for the RealAir Spitfire bases on a screenshot of the VC (yes, it's this awesome!).

spit_bentwaters.jpg



The BMP was kept to my screen resolution (1680x1050).
The panel.cfg starts like this:

[Window Titles]
Window00=Spitfire Main
Window01=GPS
Window02=Radios
Window03=Switches
Window04=Throttles
Window05=Fuel Status

[VIEWS]
VIEW_FORWARD_WINDOWS=40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48
VIEW_FORWARD_ZOOM=1.000
VIEW_FORWARD_DIR=6.000, 0.000, 0.000

//--------------------------------------------------------
[Window00]
file=Main7.bmp
size_mm=1680,1050
window_size_ratio=1.000
position=7
visible=1
ident=41
render_3d_window=0
window_size= 1.000, 1.000
window_pos= 0.000, 0.000

This way, I can keep the aspect ratio of the gauges at 1:1.
No "eggs" on this panel!

Cheers,
Markus.
 
Now that's cool. See? I knew somebody would come along with an easier method!
:ernae:
 
That is a smart solution.
But I have a question: why would you?
If the VC is that good, why not fly with it?
With the Realair Spit, I use the mini-panel for takeoff and landing.
If I really don't want to be able to see where I'm going, I switch to the VC :d
 
Well, inspired by Wild Bill, I set about to make myself a 2D bitmap that I could use in my 1920 X 1900 setup. It looks pretty good, except it's "shifted" a bit along the X axis. One way in the sim, and the other way in FS Panel Studio! But if you select "position window" in FS Panel Studio, it thinks it's set correctly. A bit aggravating so far, for I can find nothing that might be causing this. The window size values are correct in the panel.cfg for Wondow1, everything at 1920 x 1200, and thats the exact size of the file. :isadizzy:
 
Figured it out (sort of). I used Flash to draw black shapes to fit over the windows, then saved the whole thing as a bitmap. It's easier for me to do that sort of stuff in a vector program. Those pen tools that allow you to draw curvy lines in Paint Shop Pro drive me nuts. So, upon saving the file from Flash as a bitmap, I got the wierd shifting. If I imported the file into PSP, then saved it again as another name, it played nice with FS. Go figure. I tried this again with a different panel file, and got the same results. Anyhow, here's the result. Just have to mess with the window size a bit (I think) to fix the bottom black line, but otherwise a success.

Thanks, Wild Bill!
 
Glad I could help, Paul!

Wing_Z said:
But I have a question: why would you?
If the VC is that good, why not fly with it?
Click to expand...
Good question! :icon_lol:
That's just because I love a customized desk with some useful avionics such as HSI and RMI. So I left the VC "as is" and fiddled on the 2D for my personal needs.

Cheers,
Markus.
 
An other solution to get a 'panoramic panel' goes like this:

beech18_pan.jpg



The left and center part were taken from the Aerosoft Beech18.
I created a new BMP of 1228x768 (height from the original file, width set to get the requested aspect ratio) and pasted the Aerosoft dashboard on the left side. The new 'right side' was filled with radios from Derek Palmer's amazing DeHavilland Dove and an autopilot from I-don't-know-where.
The throttles and window frames were contributed by Miltons timeless Twin Beech.

One day, the jagged window braces need to be ironed out, too bad that anti-aliasing won't work in the 2D panel.

The panel.cfg entry reads like this:

[Window00]
file=Beech18main_wide.bmp
size_mm=1228,768
window_size_ratio=1.000
position=7
visible=1
ident=0
window_size= 1.000, 1.000
window_pos= 0.000, 0.000

As payware parts are included (BMP and gauges), I can't share it with you, but maybe it's inspiring...

Cheers,
Markus.
 
Some good stuff in here. I'm moving it down to the Panels forum so the FSX and CFS guys can get in on the action too.
 
Thanks, Markus! I was thinking of doing a similar thing, now that I know how to use bigger bitmaps for the panels.
 
:bump: ity:bump:

i knew this subject was around here somewhere!
i've been searching in the FS9 forum for hours.

those dadgum oval holes in 2D panels
have been making me crazy,
(among other things)
especially with round gauges over them.
arrrgh
 
well, fudge...i spoke to soon.
enlarging the main panel bmp
did not solve the problem.
i am still getting oval holes
where gauge placement is "recommended"
the problem is, my gauges are round,
so the alignment with the background,
shall we say, bites.

any suggestions?
 
Smilo,
You're going to need to either do some cropping on the top and bottom of the panel bitmap or "expand" the canvas on the sides and either do some freehand artwork or creative clone brush work to fill in that extra real estate that you added.

Your original panel bitmap is most likely in 4:3 ratio format...800x600, 1024x768 or similar.
You'll want to pick a widescreen format size to convert to, like 1920x1080, 1600x900, 1200x720, etc.
 
As Markus stated, way back when: If your plane has a VC, take a screenie of it fullscreen.
Just manipulate the view until it is what you want for your 2D. I usually also set my weather so I can have either a pure blue sky, or heavy overcast, to make it easier to "paint in" the transparent areas...Don
 
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