Multi-monitor set-up guide & help (unofficial)

[Gliptal]

So is VR viable? Mainly about the HUD and MFCDs readability, since I know the DK2 made it really hard to use them. Sorry for the derailing.

[hansangb]

Gliptal, check out the newly formed VR Subforum in the Input-Output forum. There are new threads there so you don't have to go reading through 800 posts to get your answers! :)

 

ED Forums » English » Sim Topics » Input and Output » Virtual Reality

 

 

Edited April 18, 2016 by hansangb

[Gliptal]

I didn't even know that subforum existed, thanks!

[Doughboy]

Still struggling guys. Any advice?

[C6_Hellfrog]

Hi

comming back after 4 years out of sim.

passing from 1.27 to 1.53 and 2.0 alpha

 

had relative success adapting monitorconfig and mods to 153, but no success with 20

add it working last night, but no way to have it again today, tried many manners, no result...

 

on 127 and now on 153 my config is like that :

3 x 1920x1080,

with display GUI on center screen only,

display sim on second half (right part) of left mon, full center mon, and half left part of right mon.

To avoid too low FPS, and have some place to locate screens exports and helios profile.

working as it was with 127 on 153, almost, but having issue with fullscreen on/off no change and drastic fps reduce with helios on, don't seem to have the sofTH way of bypassing that as in 127...

 

exports of ka50 working in 153 but freeze or fatal bug when I quit the mission. Edit : cured

Edited April 19, 2016 by C6_Hellfrog

[hansangb]

Hellfrog,

Take a look at this post: http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=2616874&postcount=799

 

Just modify the CENTER to the resolution that you want. Leaving the far left and far right for your other view ports.

 

Thought I'm not sure if you're still having the problem or not, given the "EDIT: cured" part at the end.

[gmelinite]

Hey Hansangb, I followed your link above ( http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?...&postcount=799) and I was finally able to get my 2 lilliputs up and working in 2.0! Thank you!!!!! I modified your .lua file, and things finally worked!

 

2 Quick questions:

 

1st- any idea why when I modify other .lua files and place them in my config\monitors folder, they will not show up in game, but your .lua file WILL show up in game when I place it in my folder? I couldn't get the sim to recognize any other files, but your .lua shows up in config as an option, and I am able to tweak it.

 

2nd- on the MFD displays I can see a "repeat" or ghost of the main screen behind the displays....any idea how to get rid of that? Does it matter if it is there from a performance perspective?

 

Thanks in advance! I was really frustrated until I saw your post.

 

GC

[hansangb]

Hey Hansangb, I followed your link above ( http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?...&postcount=799) and I was finally able to get my 2 lilliputs up and working in 2.0! Thank you!!!!! I modified your .lua file, and things finally worked!

 

2 Quick questions:

 

1st- any idea why when I modify other .lua files and place them in my config\monitors folder, they will not show up in game, but your .lua file WILL show up in game when I place it in my folder? I couldn't get the sim to recognize any other files, but your .lua shows up in config as an option, and I am able to tweak it.

 

2nd- on the MFD displays I can see a "repeat" or ghost of the main screen behind the displays....any idea how to get rid of that? Does it matter if it is there from a performance perspective?

 

Thanks in advance! I was really frustrated until I saw your post.

 

GC

 

 

Glad it worked out for you. If you have errors, they will not show up in the game. So you need to check for missing brackets, mismatched parenthesis, etc. I would suggest using an editor that understand LUA syntax to help you. I use UltraEdit but I believe Notepad++ understand LUA. In my experience, the missing commas after the } is quite common, again having an editor that can highlight syntax helps *GREATLY* Also, make sure you're declaring the name of the config via: name = _('3 Screen');

 

the name of the LUA file doesn't matter, the game uses the above declaration to read the name.

 

Hmm, I'm not sure what you mean by ghosting. Do you mean you see the game in the Lilliputs? Maybe if you post your screen layout (like I did) and your LUA file, we can take a look?

Edited May 10, 2016 by hansangb

[hansangb]

hansanb,

 

I've been messing around with this since Sunday. I've tried following your earlier post (799 I believe) and I've been able to get it to work like you've shown. I however don't like the single 5760 screen setup as it distorts quite badly when I look over my shoulder and I have to zoom all the way out to have a decent FOV. I can't figure out how to get this to work with the primary displays functioning like in the "3 Screen" or "3 Cameras". Can you give me some pointers and get me back on track please? Thank you in advance for your time. Here is my screen setup:

 

 

Hey Doughboy, sorry, looks like you got lost in the shuffle!

 

OK, so let's nail down a few things. In the Game, the resolution you need to use is (just type it in) of 5760 X 1680. The extra (1080 + 600) to account for the Lilliputs on the bottom. And make sure you line up the left Lilliput monitor so that it's flush with the left edge. And the left edge of the right Lilliput is flush with the right side of the left Lilliput. In other words, make sure the two Lilliputs are lined up with the left edge of monitor 2. This way, the X and Y coordinates don't get messed up.

 

 

And you LUA file should look something like this. I'm assuming here that you *not* using the entire 8" Liliput because you are overlaying the Thrustmaster MFDs. If that is *not* the case, you have to adjust the width of LEFT and RIGHT MFCD part. When I measured the number of pixels across the MFDs, it came out to about 525. That's where the number comes from.

 

I can't test this because I took one of my monitors off as I'm getting ready to test Vive and CV1 when it shows up end of the month. But certainly, it should point you in the right direction.

 

If the Left and the Right screens look skewed, play with the ViewDX setting to adjust the viewing ange. Negative number for the left, and positive number for the right monitor. So -.8 and .8 are valid left and right monitor ViewDX settings.

 

 

_ = function(p) return p; end;

name = _('Custom3ScreenMFCD');

Description = 'Configuration with 3 identical monitors each with its own camera and MFDs'

 

Viewports =

{

Left =

{

x = 0;

y = 0;

width = 1920;

height = 1080;

viewDx = -1;

viewDy = 0;

aspect = 1.77;

},

 

Center =

{

x = 0;

y = 1920;

width = 1920;

height = 1080;

viewDx = 0;

viewDy = 0;

aspect = 1.77;

},

 

Right =

{

x = 3840;

y = 0;

width = 1920;

height = 1080;

viewDx = 1;

viewDy = 0;

aspect = 1.77;

},

 

 

LEFT_MFCD =

{

x = 0;

y = 1200;

width = 525;

height = 525;

},

 

RIGHT_MFCD =

{

x = 800;

y = 1200;

width = 525;

height = 525;

},

 

}

 

 

UIMainView = Viewports.Center

LEFT_MFCD = Viewports.LEFT_MFCD

RIGHT_MFCD = Viewports.RIGHT_MFCD

[Doughboy]

hansangb:

 

That did not work. The DCS logo appears at the bottom of my main center monitor then when DCS loads up all the way all screens go black. I selected the lua profile adjusted the res and aspect (auto selected) before clicking "OK" or whatever it is. These things are killing me! Thank you for the help though!

[hansangb]

Doughboy, Can you post the lua file that you are using? And you moved the MFDs over like I asked?

[Doughboy]

Hans,

 

Here is the .lua and the current display setting. I can't bump the lilliputs any closer together. If I move the right one to the left it will push the left one. Also I just copied and renamed the .lua text from your last how-to but you'll still find it below as I have it now.

 

 

 

 

6_ = function(p) return p; end;

name = _('Moneys');

Description = 'Configuration with 3 identical monitors each with its own camera and MFDs'

 

Viewports =

{

Left =

{

x = 0;

y = 0;

width = 1920;

height = 1080;

viewDx = -1;

viewDy = 0;

aspect = 1.77;

},

 

Center =

{

x = 0;

y = 1920;

width = 1920;

height = 1080;

viewDx = 0;

viewDy = 0;

aspect = 1.77;

},

 

Right =

{

x = 3840;

y = 0;

width = 1920;

height = 1080;

viewDx = 1;

viewDy = 0;

aspect = 1.77;

},

 

 

LEFT_MFCD =

{

x = 0;

y = 1200;

width = 525;

height = 525;

},

 

RIGHT_MFCD =

{

x = 800;

y = 1200;

width = 525;

height = 525;

},

 

}

 

 

UIMainView = Viewports.Center

LEFT_MFCD = Viewports.LEFT_MFCD

RIGHT_MFCD = Viewports.RIGHT_MFCD

[feefifofum]

Doughboy,

Looks like the issue is your center display (which would change the UI position ) has the draw coordinate on the Y instead of the X axis

Code for the center monitor in that configuration should read:

 

Center =

{

x = 1920;

y = 0;

width = 1920;

height = 1080;

viewDx = 0;

viewDy = 0;

aspect = 1.77;

}

Edited May 14, 2016 by feefifofum

[Doughboy]

OMG IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much! I've got to fine tune the MFCSs but I can do that. DCS is supposed to display only in my center monitor (#1) and it is slightly offset to the left (running into monitor #2). Any ideas on that? Also, we need to debrief on the things you wanted me to ask that Eagle driver. I was able to get some good info out of him!

[feefifofum]

X=1921? I don't triple screen, just have the MFDs.

You'll be happy to find the ABRIS, Skhval, F-15 RADAR, Flanker RADAR, MiG 21 RADAR and Mirage RADAR in your MFDs now too. :) For the Mirage you must assign a key to "VTB Viewport On"

Aspect ratio will be a little off for some but you can set up custom positions for each unit's displays.

Man, I totally spaced on that AA work we were supposed to do, sorry! Things have been a little hectic. I'll shoot you an email and we'll find a time to meet up, maybe next week?

And I'm about to mic up a Blue Angel at a corporate event, I'll see if I can get a question or two in. :)

Edited May 14, 2016 by feefifofum

[baltic_dragon]

If all goes well you guys will meet on 27th or 28th anyway :))

[Ragnarok]

hi guys

 

do you any known how to make F10 map screen on second monitor, main monitor is 1920x1080 - 16/9, second monitor is 1280x1024 - 5:4.

 

thanks

[feefifofum]

If you mean to have the F10 map open at the same time as you are viewing the cocnpit, I don't think this is possible. The ? is definitely above my pay grade though. :lol:

 

You might be able to do something with the UIMainView line, but it looks like you would need to define a custom viewport, and I'm not sure this can be done. (Or how to do it if it is possible)

[hansangb]

I figured it was something simple. Glad it worked out.

[Mr_Burns]

Please can someone advise why only the MFDs export?

 

 

_ = function(p) return p; end;

name = _('A10 Profile');

Description = 'A-10 Profile'

Viewports =

 

{

Center =

{

x = 0;

y = 0;

width = 2048;

height = 1152;

viewDx = 0;

viewDy = 0;

aspect = 1.77777777777778;

}

}

 

 

RIGHT_MFCD =

{

x = 1513;

y = 1286;

width = 445;

height = 442;

}

 

LEFT_MFCD =

{

x = 76;

y = 1292;

width = 449;

height = 451;

}

 

ED_A10C_UHF_FREQUENCY_STATUS =

{

x = 688;

y = 1892;

width = 134;

height = 32;

}

 

ED_A10C_CLOCK =

{

x = 503;

y = 2029;

width = 143;

height = 141;

}

 

ED_A10C_CMSC =

{

x = 912;

y = 1298;

width = 243;

height = 57;

}

 

ED_A10C_RWR =

{

x = 636;

y = 1318;

width = 194;

height = 198;

}

UIMainView = Viewports.Center

 

 

 

Thank you.

[alpha7-bravo4]

A very special question about multi cam setup for my home cockpitwith

 

Hi Folks,

 

normally I'm able to solve my things with a lot of reading and try and error engineering but in this case I'm out of ideas and hopefully the community power can help me.

 

Description of my problem:

I'm working on a self build cockpit (it's still in a early stage but slowly I make some progress) and at the moment I try to define the exports for the additional displays. So far so good. Now you have to know that my screen setup is a bit special. I use a tripple (ATM maybe later more) projector and multi cam setup. My Screen is a cylindric curved screen (ATM maybe later it will be a partial dome). You can see the dimensions on the posted image below:

This is my Windows Screen setup (the right screen is a 800 x 600 display in portrait mode attached via a USB to VGA Converter. The left and main screen contains 3 x Benq Projector connected via a Displayport to HDMI box on a AMD R290x :

To get an undistorted image on the curved screen I use a warping and image blend software called Immersive Display Pro with the addtional modul Immersive Calibration Pro.

In the calibration software is also a feature which creates a monitor.lua file für DCS. This workes perfect fine and the result is impressive.

Here is for example the generated monitor.lua file for my setup look at the special values useAbsoluteFOV = true and useAbsoluteAnglesShift = (I never saw this before) :

 

_ = function(p) return p; end;

name = _('alpha7-bravo4_0_0_5760_1080');

Description = 'Exported configuration with 3 projectors'

Viewports =

{

P1 =

{

x = 0;

y = 0;

width = 1920;

height = 1080;

aspect = 1.777778;

useAbsoluteFOV = true;

useAbsoluteAnglesShift = true;

FOV = 1.047626;

viewDx = 0.900171;

viewDy = 0.015453;

},

P2 =

{

x = 1920;

y = 0;

width = 1920;

height = 1080;

aspect = 1.777778;

useAbsoluteFOV = true;

useAbsoluteAnglesShift = true;

FOV = 1.021786;

viewDx = 0.008284;

viewDy = 0.014791;

},

P3 =

{

x = 3840;

y = 0;

width = 1920;

height = 1080;

aspect = 1.777778;

useAbsoluteFOV = true;

useAbsoluteAnglesShift = true;

FOV = 1.021786;

viewDx = -0.869907;

viewDy = -0.000721;

}

}

UIMainView = Viewports.P1

 

 

and now finally my problem as long as I use this monitor setup without any customization all is good but if I try to export a additional display (for tests I use the HDD of the SU27) the perfect screen is broken. What I can say for the moment is that the problem starts when I change the custom resolution in the DCS options in my case from 5760 x 1080 to 6360 x 1080 regardless if I define a MFCD export or not.

Here are two links to pictures I've made for a better illustration same settings the only thing I've changed was in the DCS resolution in the options from 5760 x 1080 to 6360 x 1080. The view angle I used for the pictures was intended to illustrate that the perspective works also when you look down or up:

5760 x 1080 perfect aligned and undistorted image

6360 x 1080 corupted image remember I've only changed the resolution in DCS :cry:

I've also contacted Fly Elise before I started this post about this issue but the answer was I have to ask ED how I have to define the settings to prevent a aspect ratio change of the main display ^^.

 

I hope really someone can help me.

I will wait a bit to see if someone with a similiar setup has a solution if not my next step and last chance will be to open a ticket at ED support.

 

In any case thanks in advance.

greets from alpha-bravo aka alex

Edited May 23, 2016 by alpha7-bravo4

[hansangb]

When you change your resolution in DCS, it auto calculates the Aspect Ratio. What happens if you change that back to 1.777778?

 

Considering it breaks when you only change the resolution, I figure it's worth a shot.

[BravoYankee4]

Another comment, doesn't it take a huge fps loss to have three viewports for the spanned screen instead of one (that is wider)?

Perhaps it has to be like this in order to use the warp software...? If so, ignore my comment.

[alpha7-bravo4]

When you change your resolution in DCS, it auto calculates the Aspect Ratio. What happens if you change that back to 1.777778?

 

Considering it breaks when you only change the resolution, I figure it's worth a shot.

 

I will try this out and report back the result. Thank you.

 

@BravoYankee4 of course it takes some additional fps but I'm satisfied with the current result.

[klem]

I will try this out and report back the result. Thank you.

 

@BravoYankee4 of course it takes some additional fps but I'm satisfied with the current result.

 

I am running 3 screens in three viewports too. Please can you explain:

useAbsoluteFOV = true;

useAbsoluteAnglesShift = true;