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The Staff of SOH
Alphasim Lightning FSX upgrade
- Thread starter sammach
- Start date
OK, I have had a quick look.
I assume that you put Pack 1 into FSX and then used the Lightning Pack 1 FSX update - overwriting all files?
If so, then I assume that the F1 and the F1A are OK, but the panel issue is with the F2?
Can you confirm please before I look further.
Cheers
Paul
Hmmm................... I tried a fresh reinstall. The gauges were fine on the F1 and F1A for me, but a few were missing (as you suggested?) on the F2.
I don't really know why you are seeing something different. I am not sure what to suggest now. I assume that you have both pack 1 and pack 3 gauges (cab files) in your FSX gauges folder?
View attachment 39685
Done it! Many thanks Paul, I left out the Pack 1 Gauge cab. file, originally I had them in the gauges folder, thats why they all showed before, for some reaon don't ask why I removed them, I misunderstood the instructions.
Please anyone reading this for the first time, both Pack 1 and Pack 3 cab.files must be fitted to get a full show of Gauges on the F1's and Trainers. I also have a full show on the F2.
Thank you Paul for your time interest and above all patience I will now start doing afew queaks and check through the EELightning thread.
Can I ask one more question, Paul can you suggest an Image converter or whatever to convert the F3 and F6 textures
And again many thanks
Done it! Many thanks Paul, I left out the Pack 1 Gauge cab. file, originally I had them in the gauges folder, thats why they all showed before, for some reaon don't ask why I removed them, I misunderstood the instructions.
Please anyone reading this for the first time, both Pack 1 and Pack 3 cab.files must be fitted to get a full show of Gauges on the F1's and Trainers. I also have a full show on the F2.
Thank you Paul for your time interest and above all patience I will now start doing afew queaks and check through the EELightning thread.
Can I ask one more question, Paul can you suggest an Image converter or whatever to convert the F3 and F6 textures
And again many thanks
Hi,
Although not specific for this addon, maybe the following helps in understanding how FSX deals with gauges.
This is just generic info, since (IHMO) "An idiots guide to ...." is never the solution.
Because even the slightest copy/paste/typing error leaves you scratching your head because it doesn't work, while you don't have a clue why.
So my suggestion is always to invest some time in grasping "how it works"; sounds complex, but once you get the hang of it, a next time you'll know ...
Here it goes ... (info I posted a few times before)...
************************************************
23. About gauges in FSX: types, versions, locations, etc...
===========================================================
Since there are many questions on gauge types, where to install a gauge, how to deal with gauge versions, etc. here's an explanation.
First of all, the word is spelled "gauge", not "guage"
A very commonly made mistake, causing FSX not to recognise a gauge definition in the panel.cfg file...
Types of gauges
===============
FSX uses two types of gauges: "C/C++"-compiled gauges (.gau or .dll files) and XML-interpreted gauges (.xml files).
- .gau/.dll files may contain several sub-gauges, and also includes the bitmaps for these gauges.
- .xml files are pure text files using XML-syntax (interpreted by FSX) which refer to external bitmap (.bmp) files.
Multiple .xml gauges plus their bitmaps can be bundled into one .cab file by a MS-tool called Cabdir.exe.
Note that Winzip can extract files from a .cab file, but NOT pack them into a .cab file.
Examples (see the panel.cfg of the default FSX Boeing 737-800)
--------
gauge00=B737_800!pfd_screen, 189,548
This line refers to the gauge pfd_screen.xml in file B737_800.cab in folder 'FSX'/SimObjects/Airplanes/B737_800/Panel/
gauge00=737-400!Comm 1, 0,159, 68
This line refers to the sub-gauge "Comm 1" in file 737_400.dll in folder 'FSX'/Gauges/
Location of gauge files
=======================
If you specify in the panel.cfg
gauge00=aaa!bbb, ......
With this definition line, FSX tries to find the gauge in the following order of priority.
1. Gauge bbb.xml in folder "FSX"/SimObjects/Airplanes/"youraircraft"/panel/aaa/
2. Gauge bbb.xml inside a file aaa.cab in folder "FSX"/SimObjects/Airplanes/"youraircraft"/panel/
3. Sub-gauge bbb inside a file aaa.gau in folder "FSX"/SimObjects/Airplanes/"youraircraft"/panel/
4. Sub-gauge bbb inside a file aaa.dll in folder "FSX"/SimObjects/Airplanes/"youraircraft"/panel/
5. Gauge bbb.xml in folder "FSX"/Gauges/aaa/
6. Gauge bbb.xml inside a file aaa.cab in folder "FSX"/Gauges/aaa/
7. Sub-gauge bbb inside a file aaa.gau in folder "FSX"/Gauges/
8. Sub-gauge bbb inside a file aaa.dll in folder "FSX"/Gauges/
A few notes
===========
1. As you can see, with the same panel.cfg definition, you can choose to place your gaugefile either in the main ..\gauges\ or local panel folder.
Avantage of ../gauges/:
- Only one, shared gauge file (saves diskspace)
- Installing a newer version of the gauge, you only have to overwrite one file for all panels using it.
Advantages of the local panel folder:
- Allows for multiple versions of a gauge.
- You never (accidentally) overwrite a gauge with an older version.
- Easy maintenance if you decide to remove a plane with it's panel: you simply delete the whole .../"youraircraft"/ folder (and panel subfolder) without leaving (potentially unused gauges) in the ..\gauges folder; or accidentally delete a gauge that is still used by another aircraft panel.
- Faster loading of the panel, because of the seach order and the size of the gauge folders. Allthough you probably won't notice a difference, unless your main gauges folder contains 10000's of gauges.
So you can decide yourself which "strategy" best suites you.
2. For XML gauges, you can decided to unpack the .cab file (e.g. using WinZip) into a subfolder with the same name as the .cab filename.
Adavantage:
- Easy change/replacement of a single .xml or .bmp file, without bundling/replacing the whole .cab file.
- Much faster loading of the panel with very large .cab files (because the file needs not to be unpacked first)
And these are only the main options and advantages
To name three other possibilities:
1. You can put gauge files into a subfolder of .../gauges/.
E.g.
gauge** = foldername/filename!gaugename, ..,..
when the gauge file is placed in folder ..../gauges/foldername/
Not very usefull given the other options, especially since if it's wasn't setup this way by the designer, you have to modify all gauge definitions in the panel.cfg.
2. Use panel aliasses, i.e. a common panel folder (with gauges) for more aircraft (or aircraft models).
The panel.cfg only needs to contain the line "alias=......", where ..... specifies the path of the actual panel folder (which can be anywhere in the FS tree)
3. Modify the bitmap of an xml gauge for a specific panel.
Suppose you want to adapt the bitmap of an XML gauge in a .cab file, for one specific panel.
What you do: Extract the .bmp file from the filename.cab file, eg. with Winzip, to folder "FSX"/SimObjects/Airplanes/"youraircraft"/panel/filename/ and modify it.
Now this particular panel will use the modified bitmap and NOT the bitmap from the .cab file.
**********************************
Hope this clarifies a few things.
:ernae: Rob
Although not specific for this addon, maybe the following helps in understanding how FSX deals with gauges.
This is just generic info, since (IHMO) "An idiots guide to ...." is never the solution.
Because even the slightest copy/paste/typing error leaves you scratching your head because it doesn't work, while you don't have a clue why.
So my suggestion is always to invest some time in grasping "how it works"; sounds complex, but once you get the hang of it, a next time you'll know ...
Here it goes ... (info I posted a few times before)...
************************************************
23. About gauges in FSX: types, versions, locations, etc...
===========================================================
Since there are many questions on gauge types, where to install a gauge, how to deal with gauge versions, etc. here's an explanation.
First of all, the word is spelled "gauge", not "guage"
A very commonly made mistake, causing FSX not to recognise a gauge definition in the panel.cfg file...
Types of gauges
===============
FSX uses two types of gauges: "C/C++"-compiled gauges (.gau or .dll files) and XML-interpreted gauges (.xml files).
- .gau/.dll files may contain several sub-gauges, and also includes the bitmaps for these gauges.
- .xml files are pure text files using XML-syntax (interpreted by FSX) which refer to external bitmap (.bmp) files.
Multiple .xml gauges plus their bitmaps can be bundled into one .cab file by a MS-tool called Cabdir.exe.
Note that Winzip can extract files from a .cab file, but NOT pack them into a .cab file.
Examples (see the panel.cfg of the default FSX Boeing 737-800)
--------
gauge00=B737_800!pfd_screen, 189,548
This line refers to the gauge pfd_screen.xml in file B737_800.cab in folder 'FSX'/SimObjects/Airplanes/B737_800/Panel/
gauge00=737-400!Comm 1, 0,159, 68
This line refers to the sub-gauge "Comm 1" in file 737_400.dll in folder 'FSX'/Gauges/
Location of gauge files
=======================
If you specify in the panel.cfg
gauge00=aaa!bbb, ......
With this definition line, FSX tries to find the gauge in the following order of priority.
1. Gauge bbb.xml in folder "FSX"/SimObjects/Airplanes/"youraircraft"/panel/aaa/
2. Gauge bbb.xml inside a file aaa.cab in folder "FSX"/SimObjects/Airplanes/"youraircraft"/panel/
3. Sub-gauge bbb inside a file aaa.gau in folder "FSX"/SimObjects/Airplanes/"youraircraft"/panel/
4. Sub-gauge bbb inside a file aaa.dll in folder "FSX"/SimObjects/Airplanes/"youraircraft"/panel/
5. Gauge bbb.xml in folder "FSX"/Gauges/aaa/
6. Gauge bbb.xml inside a file aaa.cab in folder "FSX"/Gauges/aaa/
7. Sub-gauge bbb inside a file aaa.gau in folder "FSX"/Gauges/
8. Sub-gauge bbb inside a file aaa.dll in folder "FSX"/Gauges/
A few notes
===========
1. As you can see, with the same panel.cfg definition, you can choose to place your gaugefile either in the main ..\gauges\ or local panel folder.
Avantage of ../gauges/:
- Only one, shared gauge file (saves diskspace)
- Installing a newer version of the gauge, you only have to overwrite one file for all panels using it.
Advantages of the local panel folder:
- Allows for multiple versions of a gauge.
- You never (accidentally) overwrite a gauge with an older version.
- Easy maintenance if you decide to remove a plane with it's panel: you simply delete the whole .../"youraircraft"/ folder (and panel subfolder) without leaving (potentially unused gauges) in the ..\gauges folder; or accidentally delete a gauge that is still used by another aircraft panel.
- Faster loading of the panel, because of the seach order and the size of the gauge folders. Allthough you probably won't notice a difference, unless your main gauges folder contains 10000's of gauges.
So you can decide yourself which "strategy" best suites you.
2. For XML gauges, you can decided to unpack the .cab file (e.g. using WinZip) into a subfolder with the same name as the .cab filename.
Adavantage:
- Easy change/replacement of a single .xml or .bmp file, without bundling/replacing the whole .cab file.
- Much faster loading of the panel with very large .cab files (because the file needs not to be unpacked first)
And these are only the main options and advantages
To name three other possibilities:
1. You can put gauge files into a subfolder of .../gauges/.
E.g.
gauge** = foldername/filename!gaugename, ..,..
when the gauge file is placed in folder ..../gauges/foldername/
Not very usefull given the other options, especially since if it's wasn't setup this way by the designer, you have to modify all gauge definitions in the panel.cfg.
2. Use panel aliasses, i.e. a common panel folder (with gauges) for more aircraft (or aircraft models).
The panel.cfg only needs to contain the line "alias=......", where ..... specifies the path of the actual panel folder (which can be anywhere in the FS tree)
3. Modify the bitmap of an xml gauge for a specific panel.
Suppose you want to adapt the bitmap of an XML gauge in a .cab file, for one specific panel.
What you do: Extract the .bmp file from the filename.cab file, eg. with Winzip, to folder "FSX"/SimObjects/Airplanes/"youraircraft"/panel/filename/ and modify it.
Now this particular panel will use the modified bitmap and NOT the bitmap from the .cab file.
**********************************
Hope this clarifies a few things.
:ernae: Rob
Can I ask one more question, Paul can you suggest an Image converter or whatever to convert the F3 and F6 textures
And again many thanks
Good to hear that it is working for you now.
For textures I use two programmes - Paint Shop Pro 7 and Martin Wright's DXTbmp. DXTbmp is a good texture conversion programme.
Cheers
Paul
Alphasim Lightning upgrade
Many thanks for your info. Paul and Rob, it is appreciated, I will print out the info on gauges as reference, whenever I have to change any thing eg, F2a,F3 and F6.
I have Photoshop Elements I will check , now I am resonabley sure I know what I am doing, I will also invetigate the Martin Wright programme, no rush, patience, patience, patience, at the end of all this I will be a wiser man.
I have a problem, I have a 64 bit PC, Windows 7 FSX Acceleration , the F1's in VC cockpit on the front windscreen you cannot see through, the side views are fine, I believe there is a reference to a Tutorial In the SOH Library I did read it but did not understand what the readme was refering to, now I think I do, I will not bother you blokes again unless I am totally baffled, but I will post pictures in Triumph when I complete all the models, All my 32bit PC's I have three, all with FSX so far so good
Many thanks for your info. Paul and Rob, it is appreciated, I will print out the info on gauges as reference, whenever I have to change any thing eg, F2a,F3 and F6.
I have Photoshop Elements I will check , now I am resonabley sure I know what I am doing, I will also invetigate the Martin Wright programme, no rush, patience, patience, patience, at the end of all this I will be a wiser man.
I have a problem, I have a 64 bit PC, Windows 7 FSX Acceleration , the F1's in VC cockpit on the front windscreen you cannot see through, the side views are fine, I believe there is a reference to a Tutorial In the SOH Library I did read it but did not understand what the readme was refering to, now I think I do, I will not bother you blokes again unless I am totally baffled, but I will post pictures in Triumph when I complete all the models, All my 32bit PC's I have three, all with FSX so far so good
Just to let you know that W7 64 bit FSX Acceleration should not make any difference. I have that set up. No problems with the F1's in VC view.
Josh Patterson
SOH-CM-2023
Easy FSX EE Lightning conversion.
I finally got this conversion to work. Here are the steps on how I did it.
1) Find, purchase and download the FS9 version of the Lightning. It is now bundled so F.1 through F.6 and the T.4 and T.5 are included. (Got mine from PCAviator.com.au. Seems to be the only store that still has it.
2) Use the installer as normal, but direct it to your FSX file. (Mine is in programs(86)/Microsoft Games/Microsoft FSX.) The models won't install in your FSX "Airplanes" folder. A new one called "Aircraft" will be in the root folder.
3)Download the three FSX fix packs from here. To keep it organized for myself, I put them in three folders on my desktop.
4)To do the conversion (let's use the "ALPHA EE Lightning F1_F1A_F2" from the first file as an example) open up the "aircraft" folder from you root directory and move the window off to the side. Open the pack one folder and find the file "ALPHA EE Lightning F1_F1A_F2" and open it. Copy the contents of this folder into the "Virtavia EE Lightning F1_F1A_F2" file in the "aircraft" folder in your root file that you moved off to the side. If it asks to overwrite, say yes.
5)Do the same thing with the F2A, F3 and F6 files from pack two. When you get to the CAB folder, copy the 640, 1024 folders and all the gauges into your "Gauges" folder in your FSX root directory.
6)Pack three is different. The T.5 folder is hidden in the T.5 Civilian file. That is where you will put the "ALPHA EE Lightning_T5" folder contents. Otherwise it's just copy, paste and overwrite like all the other files. Once again copy the contents of the CAB file into your gauges folder.
7)Once everything is set up, move the contents of the "Aircraft" folder to your FSX "Airplanes" folder. (Don't forget to pull the T.5 file out of the T.5_Civilian file and place it with the other planes.) To find the planes in your menu, the F.1 though T.4 and the T.55 are under "English Electric". The T.5s are under "Alpha" and the single T.5_Civilian is under "Virtavia". Hope this helps. I will also be doing an install on YouTube so others can follow along. (Wish I had a tutorial, as this took me a few tries to work it out!)
I finally got this conversion to work. Here are the steps on how I did it.
1) Find, purchase and download the FS9 version of the Lightning. It is now bundled so F.1 through F.6 and the T.4 and T.5 are included. (Got mine from PCAviator.com.au. Seems to be the only store that still has it.
2) Use the installer as normal, but direct it to your FSX file. (Mine is in programs(86)/Microsoft Games/Microsoft FSX.) The models won't install in your FSX "Airplanes" folder. A new one called "Aircraft" will be in the root folder.
3)Download the three FSX fix packs from here. To keep it organized for myself, I put them in three folders on my desktop.
4)To do the conversion (let's use the "ALPHA EE Lightning F1_F1A_F2" from the first file as an example) open up the "aircraft" folder from you root directory and move the window off to the side. Open the pack one folder and find the file "ALPHA EE Lightning F1_F1A_F2" and open it. Copy the contents of this folder into the "Virtavia EE Lightning F1_F1A_F2" file in the "aircraft" folder in your root file that you moved off to the side. If it asks to overwrite, say yes.
5)Do the same thing with the F2A, F3 and F6 files from pack two. When you get to the CAB folder, copy the 640, 1024 folders and all the gauges into your "Gauges" folder in your FSX root directory.
6)Pack three is different. The T.5 folder is hidden in the T.5 Civilian file. That is where you will put the "ALPHA EE Lightning_T5" folder contents. Otherwise it's just copy, paste and overwrite like all the other files. Once again copy the contents of the CAB file into your gauges folder.
7)Once everything is set up, move the contents of the "Aircraft" folder to your FSX "Airplanes" folder. (Don't forget to pull the T.5 file out of the T.5_Civilian file and place it with the other planes.) To find the planes in your menu, the F.1 though T.4 and the T.55 are under "English Electric". The T.5s are under "Alpha" and the single T.5_Civilian is under "Virtavia". Hope this helps. I will also be doing an install on YouTube so others can follow along. (Wish I had a tutorial, as this took me a few tries to work it out!)
Josh Patterson
SOH-CM-2023
Just like to add a huge thank you to those who took the time to convert these files. I basically just wanted a T-bird to go with my Areosoft and JF Lightnings. Now I even have a 74 sq F.1 in the stable! That said, the T.4 is the better looking of the two T-birds. The AB effect looks amazing and the cockpit is nicer. (The T.5 has some gaps in the panel which will go opaque if you switch a light on.) Now if I can just find (or make) a texture for XS422!!!!