"That should have all of them working fine"

I confirm all models are working fine when D22 and D23 models are both aliased to the D20 the way you told me. Thank you very much Mark !

Concerning the <!-- Station position (x,y,z) meters, angle of incidence, ammo units quantity --> I'm a bit lost. For example :

<Station name="Left Wing Outer" params="-4.0,0,-0.5,0,-0.017,0,200" />

it makes a total of 7 different values where :
x=-4.0m
y=0m
z=-0.5m
AoA = 0
ammo units qty = -0.0017 ??
next value 0 ??
last value 200 ?? (guess 200 is the ammo units qty)

what am I missing ? how can I get those values x,y,z, and AoA for a specific a/c ?

           

thanks, it's now crystal clear

How and where can I get those data and measurements that are aircraft specific ?

It works on most (if not all) aircraft that already have a HUD. The "polygon" that the original HUD is displayed on, is also used for the Weapon for FSX HUD.

You remove the original 3D HUD (fa-18!MFD) and replace it with the Weapon for FSX HUD (CSWeapon!hud3d).
The example I used above is the CS_F/A-18, which uses the default Acceleration FA-18 VC and therefore it will use the HUD "poly" that comes with it.

Hope this makes sense.

Here is the difference between the another company F-16 information and the co-ordinates required to get it working.

\\gauge00=..\panel\HUD!HUD,            0,46,254,264 <- default another company setting
gauge00=CSWeapon!hud3d,                 2,-20,254,400 <- Actual setting for the Weapon HUD to be displayed

eyepoint                  = 10.79, -0.015, 3.230 <- the eyepoint in the aircraft.cfg

The <CollimationData></CollimationData> is this <CollimationData>0.0,31.5,-4.5,6.0</CollimationData>

Credit for the HUD CollimationData for the AS F-16 goes to Lost in Isaan

So it is a combination of location in the panel.cfg and the CollimationData settings. There is a lot of blood, sweat and tears involved!

Just take note of all the changes you make and the results to the HUD upon making them. I had the HUD appearing away off in the distance. Upside down. Mirrored. Off to the left. Off to the right. You name it, I had it happen. It gave me a headache trying to do it. I did not know at the time to finish it, as I found that Lost In Isaan had already done it, so I used his results and quit trying it. I have started to do it in the Iris F-14 Tomcat, but because I needed to uninstall, then reinstall FSX, I have not gone back to finish it. I think that the last time I messed with it, it was either upside down, or mirrored. If memory serves me, you are using meters in one, feet in another, so you need to continually convert between them as well. Very frustrating indeed!

I'm asking if someone is willing to make a tutorial for VC HUD INSTALLATION with 3rd party a/c. This person should be some kind of an expert of such things cause it seems not that simple. The SDK manual gives some info but, in my opinion, it's not enough :

1. In CSWeapon.xml <GaugeInfo> section set <Collimate>0 аnd <TestFrame>1. That will bring a fixed test pattern to HUD:
2. In panel.cfg place hud3d gau as required. For example : .............
3. In CSWeapon.xml <GaugeInfo> section set aircraft specific collimation data. F/A-18 sample : ..............
Where to get the numbers for my aircraft ? HUD center position X and Z can be taken from aircraft.cfg [Views] eyepoint = -17.0, 0.0, 3.358. The Y you can get in two ways: a) From the model source files b) or playing with aircrft.cfg eyepoint Y value until the eyepoint will lie in the same plane with HUD. Then record the findings to <CollimationData> and set the aircrft.cfg eyepoint back to initial condition.
4. In CSWeapon.xml <GaugeInfo> section set <Collimate>1 аnd <TestFrame>0.That will remove fixed test patern from the HUD.
5. Run FSX, load the aircraft. If HUD appears to small ........... If HUD appears to big............
6. Pless Ctrl+Shiftt+0 or Ctrl+Shift+9 to check HUD calibration.

I tried at the very beginning and I got the fixed test pattern to HUD described above : the pattern appears in the 2d cockpit. Guess it's normal...
But I did not go ahead cause I do not really understand "until the eyepoint will lie in the same plane with HUD" What does that mean ? how can I see the eyepoint in the pattern HUD ? if I can where the eyepoint should be located in the pattern HUD ? at the center of the pattern ? anywhere in the pattern as far it's inside the pattern ?

well, I think all those questions deserve a tutorial to benefit the Weapon full fonctionnality

Thanks for considering

1. When adding the Weapon for FSX to the IRIS A-10 Warthog, it does not change the VC 3D hud that is installed with it. It only adds the Weapon Control Panel, 2D HUD and 2D HUD Glass. I don't think you can get the guns to fire to where you point the gunsite. Only directly towards a specific direction (by changing the x, y, z coordinates and angle of incidence).

2. The M61 (6 barreled), only really has a rate of fire. You do not see the barrels rotating so whether it has 1, 6 or 7 barrels is not going to change anything. You can change the rate of fire, the range and the damages per shell to match the GAU-8 as well as adding a sound for it as well (if you can get your hands on it).

3. Changing the amount of ammo is done in the CSWeapon.xml. So open the CSWeapon.xml file with Notepad. Find the following section:

       <Weapon>
           <Gun>M61 Vulcan</Gun>
           <Shell>Vulcan Bullet</Shell>
           <Unlimited>1</Unlimited>
           <Station name="Nose" params="0,9,0,0,-0.039,0,1200" />
           <Mode name="AUTO" shotrate="100" setshots="0" sequence="1" skipFrm="0" />
           <Mode name="X10" shotrate="100" setshots="100" sequence="1" skipFrm="0" />
           <DefaultMode>AUTO</DefaultMode>
       </Weapon>

Change the 1200 to 1150 so it looks like this:

       <Weapon>
           <Gun>M61 Vulcan</Gun>
           <Shell>Vulcan Bullet</Shell>
           <Unlimited>1</Unlimited>
           <Station name="Nose" params="0,9,0,0,-0.039,0,1150" />
           <Mode name="AUTO" shotrate="100" setshots="0" sequence="1" skipFrm="0" />
           <Mode name="X10" shotrate="100" setshots="100" sequence="1" skipFrm="0" />
           <DefaultMode>AUTO</DefaultMode>
       </Weapon>

For the effective range, you need to change the <TargetRange>1500</TargetRange> to <TargetRange>4000</TargetRange>

       <Gun>
           <Type>MachineGun</Type>
           <Name>M61 Vulcan</Name>
           <Desc>M61 Vulcan six-barreled cannon</Desc>
           <HudString>GUN</HudString>
           <Pix />
           <ConeAngle>0.0015</ConeAngle>
           <TargetRange>1500</TargetRange>
           <Delay>0.0</Delay>
           <FxFire />
           <Sound name="..\..\..\Captain_Sim\Weapon\Sound\VulcanCannon.wav" loopBeg="0.5139" loopEnd="1.3059" finishLoop="0" gain="1.0" />

to this:

       <Gun>
           <Type>MachineGun</Type>
           <Name>M61 Vulcan</Name>
           <Desc>M61 Vulcan six-barreled cannon</Desc>
           <HudString>GUN</HudString>
           <Pix />
           <ConeAngle>0.0015</ConeAngle>
           <TargetRange>4000</TargetRange>
           <Delay>0.0</Delay>
           <FxFire />
           <Sound name="..\..\..\Captain_Sim\Weapon\Sound\VulcanCannon.wav" loopBeg="0.5139" loopEnd="1.3059" finishLoop="0" gain="1.0" />

4. Moving the guns position is in the same place as where you set the amount of ammo. It is not all that easy and it's fiddly. Not easy, but once you achieve the result, it is satisfying.

       <Weapon>
           <Gun>M61 Vulcan</Gun>
           <Shell>Vulcan Bullet</Shell>
           <Unlimited>1</Unlimited>
           <Station name="Nose" params="0,9,0,0,-0.039,0,1200" />
           <Mode name="AUTO" shotrate="100" setshots="0" sequence="1" skipFrm="0" />
           <Mode name="X10" shotrate="100" setshots="100" sequence="1" skipFrm="0" />
           <DefaultMode>AUTO</DefaultMode>
       </Weapon>

The parameters are: the first three are x,y,z in meters.  The next three are the angle of incidence (yaw, pitch, bank or bank, pitch, yaw). The final set of numbers is the ammo quantity.

5. I don't think it's possible. You have either the IRIS A-10 HUD or the CS 3D HUD. Setting up the CS 3D HUD is a whole new ball game and requires more tweaks and messing around to get it right. Take a look at the changes required for the another company F-16 by Lost in Isaan.

I only ever added Weapon for FSX to the IRIS A-10. I did not tweak the location of the guns, rockets and missiles. I had planned to do it, but never got around to it. Not only that. I have a bad habit of deleting all my hard work when I run into problems with FSX or the addon aircraft. When that happens, I have a hard time going back and completing it.

If you mess something up in the process, you will know when you open the Weapon Control Panel and turn it on. Your ammo will read all zero's (000 or 0000). So backup the CSWeapon.xml in the aircraft folder before you start making changes (if you decide to do it).

If you know the dimensions of the aircraft, then you can get a close estimate of where they go. If I don't know them, I move them one meter, to see how far it moves, then I can take a more "educated" guess for the next move. The hard part is the Angle of Incidence! If my scalp wasn't so tough, I would be bald from tearing my hair out over them (them AND figuring out the CS 3D HUD).

I keep a pen and paper (Windows Notepad actually) when making changes so as not to lose what I have done or which change does what and in what direction.

I forgot that I had given the information on Location and Angle of Incidence in a reply above (http://www.captainsim.org/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1297264482/226#226) to help someone else, so take a look at that for more help.

ok I'm getting frustrated in regards to the VC 3d hud!!
I've tried this on the
Iris Fulcrum K,
the AlphaSim SU33 and the
vitrivia / alpha F4 package 3
Swapped the standard hud in the panel.csweapons/panel.cfg file for the csweapons hud using pos:x and Pos:y from the standard hud and dimensions of 550 x 550  (I assume I should keep it at 550x550)
upper left corner of hud starts where it should but VChud size is wrong  it's is huge!!!

Sooo go to csweapons.xml in the mentioned aircraft folder and changed the vchud FOV from 17 to 8  This gives multiple results;
no change at all, (most often)
mirrored hud same size (large),
mirrored hud low and to the right (like it starts at 550 in and 550 down
right size right orientation and right position but the font is so mushy and pixelated it can't be read

I have acquired the x and z co ordinates from the aircraft.cfg and got the y co ordinate from moving the eye point.

Sooo reset the csweapons.xml to stock
went back to panel.csweapons  panel cfg changed the hud size to match the original hud dimensions  got a good size well placed but unreadable hud

what is the magic combination?
how do I un-mirror a hud?
How do I get a clean hud?
where do I find smart pills?

Is hud radius; the 4th entry realative to the aircraft model size or the computer generated image?  4" (.307 feet) seems a bit small for a hud in relation to the size of the aircraft

I have found that FSX needs to be closed when editing the csweapons.xml on an individual aircraft

Collimate need to be set to 1 (turned on) to see the changes


(edit)after a few hours and setting x y and z correctly!!! I still have a huge hud or a mirrored hud