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Retro's EECHCommserver
Posted By: GlynD
Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/13/07 04:54 AM
Hiya all, looked long and hard for the above to use with UDPspeed - can anyone help please (or even the MFD export program)? Does UDPspeed work with all the helos in EECH? Got a spare monitor and PC and would love to get MFDs and dials on a seperate screen...
Cheers in advance...
PS Many thanks to the devs for an amazing labour of love that beats the pants off many commercial releases! I'm hooked - arghhhh...
Glyn
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/14/07 08:06 PM
Nope it just works with an outdated version, and just with (iirc) two helicopters (the havoc and the comanche). Basically it was just a proof of concept that's been neglected by me
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/14/07 11:33 PM
No probs - thanks for replying. I guess it's already on the wishlist for future mods!
Was trying somthing different for Gunship - image capturing the part of the screen that the MFDs were displayed on and then transmitting that data to a network connected display program. Got a proof of concept coded by a Russian coder on rent-a-coder! He did a damm good job - but he wanted $150 to complete it and I just don't have any spare cash...
Ah well don't they say "patience is a virtue"
Posted By: Fufunka
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/26/07 12:22 AM
Retro> I've found it quite unfortunate that after we managed to invite DickDastardly (designer of UDPspeed frontends) and Hruks (the coder) overhere, nobody helped them with EECH comm output..Not to mention all that posts which went into detailed info about the connection to OpenCockpits SIOC etc..
Perhaps we can re-evaluate this idea of hiring a "pro coder", there were several individuals interested in those features, so the pricetag could be split up among several parties. But with this forthcomming release of Lockon BS where all these I/O functions are already implemented incl. SIOC compatibility I'm not sure it is worthy the efforts..
Pls. don't take it as criticism, I'm glad we had even this brainstorming sessions which will be of use in buildings pits for another more advanced sims - you are right that as put it Mr. Zorg, "If ya want something done...do it yourself!!"
Posted By: GrizzlyT
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/26/07 01:38 PM
...Perhaps we can re-evaluate this idea of hiring a "pro coder", there were several individuals interested in those features, so the pricetag could be split up among several parties.
I'm in!!!
Although, my priorities are a SIOC UI, for the Comanche indicators and such, first.
Then, looking into UDPspeed (or whatever?) to solve the MFD porting.
Still.......
Also, I would like to hear from Retro first.
- Will/does he have the time (or desire), to continue?
- What kind of time frame?
- Would he be willing to offer up what he has so far, to a hired gun?
- Would paying him directly provide the requisite motivation, to speed it's completion???
Pit builders speak up!.....How much real interest is there?
Posted By: Fufunka
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/26/07 02:57 PM
Yes, I'd agree that among the top priorities might be the various warning/status lights and gauges/instrument data export, preferably by some "industry standard" like IOCP. Full MFDs if ever might come as the last step. It has been debated in detail over and over again within the "simpit ideas" thread.
In fact there is quite a new development with regard to the free glass cockpit gauges (Gauge Composer) for Lockon and other sims via IOCP protocol.
So, that's an open format too, we can bypass the UDPspeed problem completely where you need three coordinated parties: "EECH comm" export, UDPspeed frontend, and UDPspeed code support, and since all those three have been maintained by different coders with different priorities we were stuck.
Check this thread and links for the latest IOCP/SIOC goodies:
http://forum.lockon.ru/showthread.php?t=19708&page=2
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/26/07 04:20 PM
I'd definitely be willing to part with some cash to help fund a project like this...
Or help with the testing
Or sing "The Star Spangled Banner" - whatever it will take!
Posted By: GrizzlyT
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/26/07 05:59 PM
KC - I checked into GlynD's idea a bit. Rent-a-coder has multiple coders.
Basically, you post a request for bids that includes as much detail as possible and then, any interested coders submit their rates (bids).
The more expensive coders are probably more experienced and better rated, on the site. Meaning they have successfully done more jobs.(Good option when time is a factor.)
The less expensive coders are newer and don't have their ratings, from past jobs yet, to act as their resume. (Good option when cost is a factor.)
I was going to put in a request but I thought we should wait until everyone gets their 2 cents in. (And to avoid multiple requests, for the same thing.)
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/26/07 06:38 PM
Probably the best thing to do is to create a new project at http://www.rentacoder.com and see who answers the call! If I set one up and then post the username and password for the account then as required people can login and see what is happening...Does that sound like a good idea?Whoops teach me not to refresh the page before posting...
Griz, that sounds excellent - what would you need from people who are interested?
How much they were willing to contribute?
What they wanted it to do in a bit more detail?
Cheers
Posted By: arneh
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/26/07 07:16 PM
Before you go on hiring someone, someone sent a patch this weekend for a fix which does exports MFDs to a second monitor. Maybe that does what you need?
Haven't had time to look at it and try it out myself yet, but he claims it works, and reduces framerate by about 5 FPS, which I guess is acceptable.
Posted By: Fufunka
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/26/07 07:28 PM
arneh and glynd> thanks and pls. check this patch out.
But in terms of the topic of this thread now refer to the discussion page #1 (the priorities have been identified in many threads during past several months already):
1. Warning/status lights and warning text lcd -> data export
2. Dynamic flight data export:
for gauges (incl. compass and waypoints), weapons/ammo, 3D/g-forces flight data etc.
..
..
X. MFDs export
And preferably using some open comm. standard like IOCP
which is also described in linked material page #1 of this thread:
>> Check this thread and links for the latest IOCP/SIOC goodies:
>>
http://forum.lockon.ru/showthread.php?t=19708&page=2---
Details here in this thread "Simpit ideas" (go few months back):
http://www.simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=320719&page=4&fpart=42
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/26/07 10:05 PM
Arneh any idea what the thread was please? I've searched and I can't find the patch...
Fufunka - are they are collated in one place? That way if geting an external coder in it will be easy to give them a list of exactly what is wanted.
Cheers
Posted By: arneh
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/27/07 10:16 AM
Arneh any idea what the thread was please? I've searched and I can't find the patch...
It wasn't a thread here, it was posted on the dev-mailinglist. I don't know if the author hangs around here on the forums.
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/27/07 11:08 AM
Ah I'm not a member of the dev-mailinglist... How do I get on that please?
Cheers
Posted By: arneh
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/27/07 11:13 AM
Ah I'm not a member of the dev-mailinglist... How do I get on that please?
send an e-mail to eech-dev-subscribe@bollocks.net.nz
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/27/07 11:41 AM
Just subscribing now...
Thanks
Posted By: _mue
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/27/07 11:44 AM
I don't know if the author hangs around here on the forums.
Yes, the author read this forum. ;-)
The patch i wrote is very experimental. I couldn't test it on
other multimonitor systems. But on my system (notebook with
external vga-port) it works.
Maybe someone from the dev-mailinglist can host a patched .exe
for testing purposes, since i haven't any webspace.
Bye mue
Posted By: GrizzlyT
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/27/07 05:11 PM
mue - Awesome!!!....Welcome!!!! (Another brain to pick.)
I'm curious about this experimental patch. Past assumptions were if we ever figured this out, we would be on our way to two pilots in one cockpit. (Or was it vice versa?) Regardless, I wonder how close this idea comes to advancing that, too?..........Any thoughts Arneh?
Also, does it have the potential to span multiple monitors one day? Is it a wide view screen capture of the lower half, or is it displaying a seperate MFD view? Can it someday port each MFD to it's own monitor? DETAILS, MAN....DETAILS!!! (We're like a pack a rabid dogs here....we need more scraps!)
Fufunka - I agree. MFDs weren't our immediate priority but far be it from me, to look a gift horse in the mouth!
I think
both would suit me nicely.
You're absolutely right, though. Our primary focus still should be on the "Shared memory reader"/UI direction.
GlynD - Yes. Eventually we will need to know how much cash we have to play with and what people are willing to agree on. I think Fufunka's opinions, as well as mine, are pretty well defined. (We've been the most vocal.) So far there is only three or four of us. If that's all there is....so be it. But maybe a degree of patience is in order, to give everyone who doesn't live on these boards time to speak up.
I still want Retro to weigh in, too. While I'm more than willing to run point on this, I'm no programmer! We may need access to someone with more skills than me.
(There are bound to be questions that come up, that will make it seem like I rode the short bus to school.
LOL) I can
build it....I can
wire it.....but I'll be damned if I can
code it!!!
As far as the most consise thread?.....maybe the Simpit Ideas thread??? There was alot of talk about it there, although that thread is getting encyclopedic in size!
I say we wait for a final head count. (And by that I
do not mean let this idea slip away, either!!!)......Get Retro's input......Then, toss a request out there and see what it's going to cost.....Finally, see if we can scrape up enough dough.
And just so everyone has an idea, where I'm at financially....
I could probably part with at least a couple hundred, to make this happen. (I'll leave the singing to GlynD!
"O'er the land of the freee<crack>eeee....")
Posted By: _mue
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/27/07 11:10 PM
mue - Awesome!!!....Welcome!!!! (Another brain to pick.)
I'm curious about this experimental patch. Past assumptions were if we ever figured this out, we would be on our way to two pilots in one cockpit. (Or was it vice versa?) Regardless, I wonder how close this idea comes to advancing that, too?..........Any thoughts Arneh?
Also, does it have the potential to span multiple monitors one day? Is it a wide view screen capture of the lower half, or is it displaying a seperate MFD view? Can it someday port each MFD to it's own monitor? DETAILS, MAN....DETAILS!!! (We're like a pack a rabid dogs here....we need more scraps!)
Sorry, no "two pilots in one cockpit". The assumption was vice versa.
The patch only exports mfds from comanche and hokum.
What I have done is: copied the mfd-bitmap-data from the
videomemory of the first adapter to the videomemory of the
second adapter. On my system its one graphic card with two
adapters (notebook with external vga port). The mfds
are exported separately, not the whole lower half of the
cockpit. And yes, it should be able to export each mfd to
its own monitor. But I'm not sure how much devices/adapter
directx7 can handle. The whole directx7 and multimonitor
stuff is new to me. I'm still learning/experimenting.
Posted By: Fufunka
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/28/07 09:06 AM
_mue> thanks for the description..
Would it be realistic to pursue these two options or any derivates of them>
1/ feasibility of converting those videomem snapshots into several (quality compressed) video feeds which would be distributed over the LAN. The front end could be a player which can play/distribute video streams over LAN such as "VLC player"
2/ multi monitor setup ala MS FS series (WideView), basically several PCs running EECH copy in sync over LAN (one PC in control), each PC exporting a different outside view or in this case rather different MFDs. The code for this could be looked up at the website for FlightGear simulator, they have this capability already and it's open source..
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 02/28/07 10:27 AM
I'm still around and have a bad conscience about letting this slide.. I'll promise to get back to at least the avionics state shared mem stuff. For MFD video export mue's approach might be more promising.
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/01/07 09:31 PM
No worries Retro - you've been doing a damm good job!
OK I've subscribed to the EECH-dev mailing list, requested 123-145 and got an email with a load of .ezm files attached, eh what on earth are those??*! How on earth do I get the patch to try this multi-monitor system please? Sorry if I'm being dense...
_mue can you send it to me please?
Posted By: GrizzlyT
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/02/07 05:24 AM
No worries Retro - you've been doing a damm good job!
Retro - I totally agree with GlynD....You
are doing a damn fine job. So fine in fact, that we are all obviously chomping at the bit, to get a hold of this shared memory app.
I'm glad to see that you picked up on this thread and from the sounds of things, you are interested in finishing it yourself. So, hopefully I won't come off as being pushy but could you address some of the questions brought up earlier in this thread?
- Do you have a rough time frame?
- Would you be willing to share your knowledge and assist/consult with whoever we find to write the UI?
- Since we were willing to pay for expedience, would that help you out?
Fufunka - We are still going to have get the IOCP/SIOC UI written. Do you have contact with opencockpits guys? (Thus far, I'm just lurking.)
We may still have to contract this but I would like to see if any of them are open to helping us out?
Hi all,
I've been focussing on building hardware recently so apart from a bookmark which takes me to straight to the "Simpit ideas" thread, I haven't been following this forum too closely and missed this new thread. It sounds like there've been interesting developments though whilst I've been away :). I'm really looking forward to hearing more from _mue about the MFD exporting -as I understand it, your current implementation has the MFDs on one monitor and exterior view/virtual cockpit on another, but both are connected to the PC running EECH. Would it be possible to export the MFD images to an app running on a 2nd networked PC instead? (I imagine this would help minimize any fps impact on the main sim PC).
As for standby instruments and warning lights: I'm still very willing to help out any way I can with the graphics side of things but in the absence of any more exported data from the sim my efforts are kinda stalled. Retro made a great start with his EECHcommserver, if he could update that to include all the necessary variables I could easily finish off a panel of all the warning lights in an evening (and those of you who followed the Simpit ideas thread will remember we already have working
standby gauges, although I need to update the images from the current BF-109 set to something more chopper-ish).
If _mue's MFDs can be displayed on a networked PC (and are resizable) then we should be able to have UDPSpeed displaying the standby gauges and warning lights on the top third or so of a monitor and two MFDs taking up the bottom two thirds of the screen i.e. a more or less complete cockpit with everything fully functional.
Cheers,
DD
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/02/07 07:05 PM
_mue has very kindly emailed me a patched EXE and some instructions this morning! So as soon as I've had my dinner, I will be firing the patched EECH up and seeing what happens...
Excellent - let us know how you get on m8.
Cheers,
DD
EDIT: You're waiting till AFTER DINNER to try out working MFDs??? Surely you can operate a joystick with one hand and cram food into your face with the other simultaneously?
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/02/07 10:27 PM
OK the results are in - it does export the MFDs to a seperate screen.
However only half of each of each of them! Try as I might I could not get the full MFDs to display - damm and blast
Set up both screens to be the same res (1024 x 768), checked that both the displays were set to 16 bit, ensured that the second monitor was set as an extended display.
I reset the screen size of the second screen, changed the refresh rate and tried setting different positions for the MFD locations - still didn't work. My last set of extra entries in the
eech.ini file are below:
export_mfd=1 # EXPERIMENTAL! mfd export on multimon systems (0 = off (default), 1 = on
export_mfd_adapter=0 # EXPERIMENTAL! graphicadapter for mfd export(0=first, 1=second, ...)
export_mfd_screen_width=1024 # EXPERIMENTAL! resolution of export screen (width)
export_mfd_screen_height=768 # EXPERIMENTAL! resolution of export screen (height)
export_mfd_left_pos=10,10,350,350 # EXPERIMENTAL! left export mfd position
export_mfd_right_pos=10,360,350,710 # EXPERIMENTAL! right export mfd position
I have a 128MB ATI AIW 9600 PRO (7.1 Drivers and CCC) if that is any help...
Cheers
Posted By: _mue
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/03/07 02:13 AM
OK the results are in - it does export the MFDs to a seperate screen.
However only half of each of each of them! Try as I might I could not get the full MFDs to display - damm and blast
Set up both screens to be the same res (1024 x 768), checked that both the displays were set to 16 bit, ensured that the second monitor was set as an extended display.
It sounds as if the main screen still runs in 32bit mode. The bit depth is set by the game. So ensure that in the eech.ini 32bit rendering is disabled: "
32bit=0".
The resolution and bit depth you have configered in windows doesn't matter.
HTH mue
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/03/07 04:15 AM
OOOH, OOOH, OOOH! It works (the 32bit switch in the ini was the problem) - got 2 MFDs on top of each other! Ab fab _mue! Will give it another bash tomorrow...
There are certain constraints - I think use of the F3 and F4 keys lock up the MFDs for that position i.e. if you are in the pilots position and use the above keys then the MFDs are locked but when you switch to the gunner those ones are still functioning...
This is fabulous though - excellent work! Will you be able to get them working for the Apache by any chance, pretty please? Much wants more sorry - lol
Cheers
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/03/07 02:00 PM
This is way cool - thanks again _mue
Just had another bash with this, the parameters below on a 1024 x 768 second screen, give 2 (approx 5" square) screens side by side:
export_mfd=1 # EXPERIMENTAL! mfd export on multimon systems (0 = off (default), 1 = on
export_mfd_adapter=0 # EXPERIMENTAL! graphicadapter for mfd export(0=first, 1=second, ...)
export_mfd_screen_width=1024 # EXPERIMENTAL! resolution of export screen (width)
export_mfd_screen_height=768 # EXPERIMENTAL! resolution of export screen (height)
export_mfd_left_pos=0,100,500,600 # EXPERIMENTAL! left export mfd position
export_mfd_right_pos=510,100,1010,600 # EXPERIMENTAL! right export mfd position
You can jump out to chase mode, auto action or missile view and the MFDs just halt and then when you use the F1 key to come back into the cockpit they start again and your position on the moving map is updated...
Now how do I make an overlay for my screen to look like 2 MFDs to go in the pit? Something slightly larger than a 1024 x 768 screen would allow for the correct size and spacing of the real MFDs I think...
Cheers
Posted By: homeracer
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/03/07 04:48 PM
Hi GlynD,
you have PM.
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/03/07 05:28 PM
Mike if you give me your email address I will send you the mail I got from _mue...
Cheers
If I enable export_mfd=1 with _mue's executable then when I start up the game I get a message saying "Error: Unable to access video card. Please ensure you have the latest drivers for your 3d card and have installed directX 6" and the game doesn't load at all.
I'm running both screens from a single AGP nvidia 7600GS (with directX 9.0c) and I've tried with the desktop set to cloned, horizontal span and vertical span, and with export_mfd_adapter set to everything from 0 to 5. 32bit is set to zero in the eech.ini and I've even tried setting my desktop to 16 bit mode too, but no joy. Any ideas what I might be doing wrong?
Cheers,
DD
EDIT: Figured out the problem was that I needed to select the Dual View option in nvidia display settings so that the screens are labelled 1 and 2 rather than 1a and 1b. Works great now: functioning MFDs on a separate screen - the holy grail of flightsimming! Nice job _mue! I'm off to play with them some more :).
BTW I use the following (slightly tweaked) version of Glyn's layout:
export_mfd=1 # EXPERIMENTAL! mfd export on multimon systems (0 = off (default), 1 = on
export_mfd_adapter=0 # EXPERIMENTAL! graphicadapter for mfd export(0=first, 1=second, ...)
export_mfd_screen_width=1024 # EXPERIMENTAL! resolution of export screen (width)
export_mfd_screen_height=768 # EXPERIMENTAL! resolution of export screen (height)
export_mfd_left_pos=0,0,500,500 # EXPERIMENTAL! left export mfd position
export_mfd_right_pos=524,0,1024,500 # EXPERIMENTAL! right export mfd position
...which draws the MFDs at the top left and right corners of the second screen with a 24 pixel border between them.
Posted By: _mue
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/05/07 02:33 PM
do you think that each mfd could be exported to a separate monitor if I had 3 monitors? one mfd on each side of the main screen? mue?
I don't know, what your multimonitor setup is. Is it
a) 3 monitors connected via th2go on one graphicadapter on the pc
or
b) each of the 3 monitors has its own graphicadapter on the pc?
In case a) No.
In case b) Yes. But the current implementation draws the two main mfds an one monitor.
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/05/07 09:15 PM
- Do you have a rough time frame?
No
- Would you be willing to share your knowledge and assist/consult with whoever we find to write the UI?
Of course
- Since we were willing to pay for expedience, would that help you out?
No. I wouldn't take money for any of this work. Seeing it being put to good use is good enough. This way I also do not have to answer any timeframe questions :p
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/05/07 09:28 PM
I might be wrong but so long as the secondary monitors are set up in the "Extend my windows desktop..." mode (monitors are numbered 1, 2, etc. in the Display Properties) - you have a seeting in the ini file that reads "export_mfd_adapter=0". Setting that to the desired monitor might do the trick...
Posted By: _mue
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/06/07 10:09 AM
I have an AGP card running 2 monitors. The I have a PCI card running two monitors. The AGP runs a center monitor and a lower "panel" monitor while the PCI card runs a view on each side of the center. Fs9 configuration gets that use.
For EECH, I would like to export one MFD to the left monitor and 1 to the right, if possible.
Simply, can you assign the MFD exports to a particular monitor if you have more than 2?
Just curious if it would be a simple edit.
I had to read up on dual-head-graphiccards. I found an article from 2004 so some information may be outdated.
As far as I understand this, dh-cards can be run in different modes:
-clone mode: both monitors shows the same
-dual view: two independent screens that can have its own resolution and depth
-h(v)-span: two monitors acts as one big screen
User with only one dh-card have to set it in dualview mode to export the mfd to the second screen. I think nvidia cards have an option "dual view". On ATI cards dualview mode is enabled with "extend my windows desktop...". This is NOT the same as h(v)-span on nvidia cards. Ati cards dont do h(v)-span.
In your case (two dh-cards, one mfd on each monitor of the second card) you must set the second card to h-span, so that windows sees it as one big (logical) monitor. To this (logical) monitor you can export the mfd. With proper positioning it should be able, to have one mfd on each (physical) monitor.
Sorry for my bad english. I hope you understand what i mean.
Posted By: GrizzlyT
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/06/07 10:21 AM
KC - I'm waiting for the same thing. I don't need overlays or anything either. (My MFDs are the overlay.
) I just need to get each one on a seperate screen.
I think mue kinda already answered it...."Yes. But the current implementation draws the two main mfds on one monitor."
Also, look at the .ini parameter. It's
export_mfd_adapter =. (That only allows for one adapter choice.)
In order to put each one on a seperate adapter, the left and right would need to differentiated, in the .ini, wouldn't it?. Something like...
export_Lmfd_adapter =export_Rmfd_adapter =We'll both have to wait patiently for that change.
(Although, mue did refer to it as the
current config. Which bodes well for us, that it might happen.)
EDIT: I didn't refresh and see mue's last post, before posting my response. I guess I should say that us ATI users will need this change.
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/06/07 03:29 PM
I have an ATI AIW 9600 card so I have the "Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor" for the second screen. This is an old 14" CRT monitor. If it were a 15" (or possibly 17") one I reckon the MFD displays could be as near as dammit in size and position to the real thing.
You could then mount the monitor (it would probably need to be a TFT) in your pit behind a mock up of the pilots control panel... That's what I would be aiming for with the MFDs - steam gauges and upfront display are another matter for another day!
Cheers
Maybe someone from the dev-mailinglist can host a patched .exe
for testing purposes, since i haven't any webspace.
File available
here . I encourage everyone to try this out -It's so damn cool being able to see your MFDs properly on a separate screen :). I also have 10 of the buttons on my cockpit set up to allow fast switching between five pages for each MFD and I can't remember the last time I enjoyed pushing buttons so much :).
To install just backup your cohokum.exe and replace it with the file in the zip. Then open your eech.ini, check the "32bit=" line is set to 0 and then paste the following text just above the [end of file] line:
export_mfd=1 # EXPERIMENTAL! mfd export on multimon systems (0 = off (default), 1 = on
export_mfd_adapter=0 # EXPERIMENTAL! graphicadapter for mfd export(0=first, 1=second, ...)
export_mfd_screen_width=1024 # EXPERIMENTAL! resolution of export screen (width)
export_mfd_screen_height=768 # EXPERIMENTAL! resolution of export screen (height)
export_mfd_left_pos=0,0,500,500 # EXPERIMENTAL! left export mfd position
export_mfd_right_pos=524,0,1024,500 # EXPERIMENTAL! right export mfd position
That config should produce two 500x500 MFDs on a 1024x768 black background, one in each top corner of your second monitor (if you're using a single graphics card with two outputs set to dual view like me).
For those with Kimchoc's setup, I think the following text should give a 768x768 MFD (with black borders either side) on each of two separate screens if the MFD screens are set to horizontal span and are both connected to your second video card (though I can't test this myself):
export_mfd=1 # EXPERIMENTAL! mfd export on multimon systems (0 = off (default), 1 = on
export_mfd_adapter=1 # EXPERIMENTAL! graphicadapter for mfd export(0=first, 1=second, ...)
export_mfd_screen_width=2048 # EXPERIMENTAL! resolution of export screen (width)
export_mfd_screen_height=768 # EXPERIMENTAL! resolution of export screen (height)
export_mfd_left_pos=128,0,896,768 # EXPERIMENTAL! left export mfd position
export_mfd_right_pos=1152,0,1920,768 # EXPERIMENTAL! right export mfd position
Cheers,
DD
Posted By: Fretless
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/06/07 11:15 PM
DD you are a star .
I had to rename the exe from cohokum_mfd to cohokum to run it but it works like a dream .Nice one
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/07/07 10:20 AM
Hiya _mue
I can only echo DD's comments - this is an excellent mod which many, many people will find exceedingly useful!
I do have 2 questions please...
1. Would it be possible to have this for the Apache as well please?
2. Why the switch to turn off the 32bit rendering?
Many thanks
Posted By: _mue
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/07/07 11:44 AM
Hiya _mue
I can only echo DD's comments - this is an excellent mod which many, many people will find exceedingly useful!
I do have 2 questions please...
1. Would it be possible to have this for the Apache as well please?
The code for drawing the apache cockpit is different from those for the comanche/hokum. It seems more difficult to export the apache mfds. I will have a look to it, but i can't promise anything.
2. Why the switch to turn off the 32bit rendering?
My system runs in 16bit mode and this (first) version of mfd export patch is more a proof of concept hack. So the 16bit are "hard" coded. The next version will support 32bit mode. But in 32bit mode the framerate will be reduced a little bit more because twice as much data must be copied.
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/07/07 12:58 PM
_mue, thanks for having a look at the Apache export, brilliant can't wait for the 32bit mode.
I must say for a first version of a proof of concept hack, you have done a very good job...
Cheers
PS To the other modders and devs out there - thank you as well for your excellent work.
I'm not sorry if I sound "gushing" either, I know this is only "a game" but without their hard work, time and energy this project would never be as good as it is. So there!
I must say for a first version of a proof of concept hack, you have done a very good job...
Cheers
PS To the other modders and devs out there - thank you as well for your excellent work.
I'm not sorry if I sound "gushing" either, I know this is only "a game" but without their hard work, time and energy this project would never be as good as it is. So there!
Couldn't agree more m8 - it never ceases to amaze me how many cool features all the EECH code gurus manage to add. BTW if anyone still hasn't tried the MFDs yet, here are a few shots of them in my cockpit:
(Apologies for the quality - they were taken with a camera phone in a dark room as the external image is from a projector).
Cheers,
DD
Posted By: GrizzlyT
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/08/07 02:43 PM
DD - I agree with KC. Very cool and yes, please....turn on the lights.
Hmmmm....I don't remember seeing any pics of your progress, in the simpit ideas thread. 
Somebody's been holding out on us.
whoooaaaaaaaaaaaaa !!!! This is one of the coolest things I have seen in this forum!
Dick, we need some more pics of your pit. With the lights on.. I'd like to know more about your projector/video card setup too. How much of a FPS hit/if any, what are your specs?
Glad you guys liked the pics :). Sorry but no more just yet - atm the pit's a bit of a mess - I designed it round an old 12" laptop screen which I've replaced with the 17" TFT you see above. However, I've yet to incorporate the new screen into the pit so it's currently just sitting in front of it on my desk. Right now the pit has about 100 functions, including landing gear and flaps levers, toggle switches, illuminated push buttons, momentary toggles, a key switch, a couple of rotary switches and a numeric keypad. There's also a plastic electronic project box sat on my desktop which is also wired up - I've been using that to test rotary encoders for tuning radios/gps/bombsights etc (In EECH I use em to adjust TSD and radar range and stuff like target priorities).
The new version will have closer to 250 functions including some analogue axis (atm it's all digital) and metal rather than wood front panels, and should be a bit more photogenic. As soon as it's done I promise you'll be bombarded with photos :).
As for the computer side of things, my main PC is an athlon xp3000+, with a 512Mb nvidia 7600GS and a coupla gigs of ram. That's connected to an Infocus X3 projector which is also compatible with my 3D shutter glasses. This means that in sims in which they work (like FSX and LOMAC) my virtual cockpit struts etc appear to be between me and the projector screen whereas the terrain appears to be hundreds of feet away - a pretty amazing effect which really adds to the immersion. I also use a TrackIR which sits on some shelves behind me under the projector.
My second PC (which I normally connect to the cockpit TFT) is used for gauges and also for displaying my FSX position in Google Earth (thanks to Luciano Napolitano's FS Earth utility). It's a bargain box I picked up from ebay (an athlon xp2600 with an onboard cheapo ATI card) and, whilst not blisteringly fast, suffices for what I use it for.
In EECH I just connect the TFT to the second video out slot on my 7600 so the 2nd PC isn't involved. I haven't done any FPS benchmarks, but I don't notice any degradation in performance when using the MFDs apart from when the FLIR/DTV is on (when things do slow down a bit).
Are you thinking that the gauge export program will eventually go on the bottom of the MFD monitor?
I might have to say this again, EECH/Deux fanboys, eat your heart out . LOL
Yep, my hope is that _mue might be able to work some coder magic to enable the MFDs to be exported to a 2nd PC and run in a non-fullscreen mode. Then if we could get a cohokum.exe which combines the MFD exporting with a new version of Retro's data exporter, I could make some UDPSpeed standby gauges and warning lights to fill the third of the screen not taken up by the MFDs. Then it's just a matter of having a metal cover panel laser cut with holes for the MFDs, lights and gauges and the end result should be pretty spectacular :).
Hmmmm....I don't remember seeing any pics of your progress, in the simpit ideas thread. Somebody's been holding out on us.
I actually did add the pics to that thread too but they're on page 44. Having said that, when I look at the EECH forum index the thread only seems to go up to 43 for some reason - I think we may have killed the forum software with the size of it lol. (You can still get to them by clicking on 43 then next, though).
Cheers,
DD
Posted By: GrizzlyT
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/08/07 08:01 PM
I think we may have killed the forum software with the size of it lol.
Nah. Just how many it's willing to show you, aparently.
Although, I got tired of constantly loading pages and changed the posts per page, in my preferences, a while back.
Simpit Ideas only shows up as 9 pages, for me.
Yeah, I saw these pics posted there. I was hoping to egg you into posting some more.
(But that's cool! I get the whole "man of mystery" thing.)
Posted By: Kassie
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/08/07 08:21 PM
Dick, good to see you again! How are you mate?
Nice pics! Albeit, I don't really get the picture. I'm eager to see daylight pictures!
Quick Question .... I often set-up the different seat positions with MFD settings that are useful for each (IE: Pilot seat with MAP and Radar and the Gunner seat with FLIR and Weapons loadout/mission intel). Lets me flip between tasking easier. If you shift seat positions, does that MFD MOD compensate?
In the Commanche the MFDs freeze when you switch positions and start functioning again when you switch back. (I presume this is because the game only generates data for one set at a time due to the tandem configuration of the cockpit). In the KA-52 they continue to function when you switch seats, although they always display the pilot's MFDs, not the gunner's.
mmm, we need to continue this discussion over in the simpit thread. I'd hate to see it buried in here. good stuff DD.
Yeah we're straying a bit from MFD/data exporting - let's keep this thread focussed on that and I'll post a bit more about my cockpit in the simpits thread, I might even throw in a coupla bonus pics :).
Dick, good to see you again! How are you mate? Nice pics! Albeit, I don't really get the picture. I'm eager to see daylight pictures!
Hi m8, I'm in good form, thanks. I'll explain the pics more in the Simpits thread.
Cheers,
DD
Posted By: _mue
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/08/07 10:42 PM
DickDastardly]
Quick Question .... I often set-up the different seat positions with MFD settings that are useful for each (IE: Pilot seat with MAP and Radar and the Gunner seat with FLIR and Weapons loadout/mission intel). Lets me flip between tasking easier. If you shift seat positions, does that MFD MOD compensate?
In the Commanche the MFDs freeze when you switch positions and start functioning again when you switch back. (I presume this is because the game only generates data for one set at a time due to the tandem configuration of the cockpit). In the KA-52 they continue to function when you switch seats, although they always display the pilot's MFDs, not the gunner's.
Exporting the gunners mfds is already on my todo list.
Exporting the gunners mfds is already on my todo list.
Fantastic - thanks very much m8 :). Whilst you're here, any idea of the feasibility of exporting the MFD images to a window on a second networked PC? This would be a huge bonus for cockpit builders as it would hopefully enable us to display warning lights and standby gauges in addition to the MFDs without bringing fps on the main sim PC grinding to a halt.
Cheers,
DD
Posted By: _mue
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/09/07 03:45 PM
Fantastic - thanks very much m8 :). Whilst you're here, any idea of the feasibility of exporting the MFD images to a window on a second networked PC? This would be a huge bonus for cockpit builders as it would hopefully enable us to display warning lights and standby gauges in addition to the MFDs without bringing fps on the main sim PC grinding to a halt.
Sorry! Since I only have a single computer i have no plans on it.
In my opinion, preparing/compressing the mfd data for sending it to a second computer takes (a lot) more time (and so the framerate would be decreased more) than my approach (just plain copy from videomem to videomem).
Sorry! Since I only have a single computer i have no plans on it. In my opinion, preparing/compressing the mfd data for sending it to a second computer takes (a lot) more time (and so the framerate would be decreased more) than my approach (just plain copy from videomem to videomem).
I understand. In that case, would it be possible to add some more options to eech.ini to control non-fullscreen display of the MFDs? These might look something like this:
export_mfd_background_width=1024
export_mfd_background_height=524
export_mfd_background_position=0,0
If export_mfd_background_width or height differ from export_mfd_screen_width or height then the MFDs would be drawn in a non-fullscreen mode (enabling warning lights etc to be drawn in the remaining part of the screen by something like UDPSpeed via Retro's eechcommserver).
Another worthwhile addition might be something like:
export_mfd_background=C:/Games/Razorworks/CommancheMFDBG.bmp
The picture listed in this line could be drawn behind the MFD images and scaled to fit the specified background dimensions, allowing MFD bezels and buttons to be drawn around the exported MFD displays themselves.
Many thanks,
DD
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/13/07 03:59 PM
OK I put what I have into the CVS, so the next EECH release should have it included [dynamics and avionics data, NOT MFDs] now I just need to get an EECHCommServer executable going that makes use of the data..
DD, I tried the last beta you sent me again (UDPSpeed_Hokum_Beta01.zip) but get 3-4 "Primary Surface cannot be made" message boxes - any idea what's up with that?
There's also
something to download but only try this if you're feeling lucky :p
Posted By: Fufunka
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/13/07 07:45 PM
Thanks Retro, your renewed input is very much appreciated!
Would it be possible to have a run down list of supported dynamics and avionics data at least for the major helicopters in the current release of "memexport3"?
- Are headings (compass) and (currently selected) waypoint supported?
- What about status for specific type of ammo remaining (gun, gun HE, rockets, vikhrs, etc.)?
Is that technically possible?
Posted By: Fufunka
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/13/07 07:55 PM
As we memtioned earlier with GrizzlyT, the holy grail would be to have EECHCommServer->LUA/IOCP server/protocol extension. But lets finilize the first step th plain EECHComm first.. Thanks again
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/13/07 09:45 PM
Dynamics:
int
version,
current_gunship;
float
time_of_day,
pitch,
roll,
heading,
indicated_airspeed,
indicated_slip,
vertical_speed,
barometric_altitude,
radar_altitude,
g_force,
left_engine_rpm,
left_engine_torque,
left_engine_temp,
right_engine_rpm,
right_engine_torque,
right_engine_temp,
combined_engine_rpm,
combined_engine_torque,
fuel_weight;
I guess with arne's changes more is needed. Most in-cockpit lamps are also exported, what's currently missing is weapon and waypoint information.
Guess we'll put a header describing the shared memory layout into the next installer, so that people can start accessing the shared memory on their own - no need to wait for a dev to get off his arse (see sig :p)
Posted By: GrizzlyT
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/14/07 05:32 AM
Thanks Retro, your renewed input is very much appreciated!
Most in-cockpit lamps are also exported, what's currently missing is weapon and waypoint information.
Retro - Does this mean the Comanche lamps are being exported, too?
To review....The Memexport is grabbing the variables for
all helos but the CommServer app is still mostly non-functional and the VarDisplay app only works for "red" helos.
Is that a fair summary?
As we memtioned earlier with GrizzlyT, the holy grail would be to have EECHCommServer->LUA/IOCP server/protocol extension.
Indeed!
OK, here's where (as a pit builder) I show my ignorance (as a programmer).
I just need to try and wrap my head around this. So....
>EECH data is exported via the memexport.
>Then, an app (EECHCommServer, or whatever) needs to read that data and pump it out, over a network.
>Then, IOCP (on a 2nd PC) interprets that data.
>Then, (from the 2nd PC) we use SIOC to control the IO cards, with the IOCP data.
Is that the correct overview of the process?
Is that data interpretation done by IOCP, or does the CommServer have to pre-format it,
or is another UI app still needed to bridge the gap?
I realize the "red" helo guys need alot more info, for analog guages and such and there are those who want to recreate all this stuff on a 2nd display with UPDspeed. However, since the Comanche is a digital cockpit, all I need (for now
) is to get the indicator lamps, warning lights, and stealth indicator working. (mue's MFD export has
that problem addressed and I don't need guages or any UDPspeed type stuff, since all my lamps are real.)
So I guess the real question is this...
What is the process chain, from EECH to working lamps and what links are still missing?
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/14/07 05:48 AM
To review....The Memexport is grabbing the variables for all helos but the CommServer app is still mostly non-functional and the VarDisplay app only works for "red" helos.
Is that a fair summary?
Yes. VarDisplay is really just for show (and I guess it won't be further improved).
OK I put what I have into the CVS, so the next EECH release should have it included [dynamics and avionics data, NOT MFDs] now I just need to get an EECHCommServer executable going that makes use of the data..
Fantastic - cheers m8
DD, I tried the last beta you sent me again (UDPSpeed_Hokum_Beta01.zip) but get 3-4 "Primary Surface cannot be made" message boxes - any idea what's up with that?
Sorry, I'm not sure what that's about - I've never seen that error message before. Did you use the version of UDPSpeed.exe which was in the zip? (It's possible you might get an error if you used an older version of the .exe with dials which contain syntax designed for a newer version).
Speaking of error messsages...I've installed the Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Runtime Package, but when I launch the EECHCommServer.exe I get a message saying:
"The application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix the problem."
Any idea what I might be doing wrong? I've tried just double clicking on EECHCommServer.exe, and I've also tried making a shortcut to it and editing the target so it points to the full path and the IP address of the host, in my case:
C:\Dials\UDPSpeed\EECH\EECHCommServer.exe 192.168.0.0.1:2800
...which iirc is how I launched the previous version. Both ways I get the same error message. Any help would be much appreciated cos I'm itching to try the new light export vars. I've worked out a layout in UDPSpeed for them and I'll get cracking on modelling them all now, but I'm a bit stymied for testing them until I can successfully run the new eechcommserver.
Cheers,
DD
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/14/07 08:21 PM
Humm... the error message is what I'd expect if you had not installed the runtime package.. could you check in your computer's event log (system or application) for a hopefully more detailed error message?
You need to run the EECHCommServer on the host PC (the one that runs EECH), it only expects one command line argument, the port it should listen on. It will retrieve the client's IP address from the UDP packet it receives on the specified port and respond to that, so there is no need to explicitly set it in the command line.
Run UDPSpeed on the client, and specify the host's IP and port (the same you launched the commserver with).
I get three errors in the system log each time I try to start eechcommserver:
Generate Activation Context failed for C:\Documents and Settings\Mike\My Documents\My Downloads\EECH\eech_memexport3\EECHCommServer.exe. Reference error message: The operation completed successfully.
Dependent Assembly Microsoft.VC80.CRT could not be found and Last Error was The referenced assembly is not installed on your system.
Resolve Partial Assembly failed for Microsoft.VC80.CRT. Reference error message: The referenced assembly is not installed on your system.
The installation of the Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable seemed to go okay (it appears in my add/remove programs list). I also have "Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition -ENU" in the add/remove programs list - could this be causing some kind of conflict?
Cheers,
DD
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/14/07 08:52 PM
No this should actually be beneficial.. hmm.
I'll take a look at this.
Thanks m8. I'll push on with modelling some warning lights in 3DSM in the meantime.
Cheers,
DD
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/14/07 09:36 PM
I've created a (rather simple) installer that should pull all needed dependencies from the internet (.NET Framework 2.0 and maybe some other naughty things from MS), it's only for the CommServer though. It also dumps a shortcut on the desktop that starts the server listening at port 10000. Get it
here, hopefully it fixes the problem.
We're getting there!
Using the installer seems to have worked - my UDPSpeed VSI, Altimeter, Speedo etc are now all functional again. Having said that, none of the warning light variables (1001-1030) are working for me - their values all seem to remain zero whatever I do.
Cheers,
DD
P.S. I've finished the images for the main part of the Hokum warning lights panel. It should look something like this once everything's working:
More to follow
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/15/07 06:06 AM
Hmm.. duh.. the indizes changed, maybe that's it.. sorry. In my debugger the lights (eg. rotor or wheel brake) seem to work correctly..
Hokum
1001 (R/1001) - master_caution
1002 (R/1002) - left_engine_fire
1003 (R/1003) - apu_fire
1004 (R/1004) - right_engine_fire
1005 (R/1005) - altitude_hold
1006 (R/1006) - fire_extinguiser
1007 (R/1007) - hydraulic_pressure
1008 (R/1008) - oil_pressure
1009 (R/1009) - oil_temperature
1010 (R/1010) - rotor_brake
1011 (R/1011) - overtorque
1012 (R/1012) - fuel_low
1013 (R/1013) - rotor_rpm
1014 (R/1014) - wheel_brake
1015 (R/1015) - navigation_lights
1016 (R/1016) - hover_hold
1017 (R/1017) - altitude_hold
1018 (R/1018) - auto_pilot
1019 (R/1019) - radar
1020 (R/1020) - laser
1021 (R/1021) - radar_jammer
1022 (R/1022) - ir_jammer
1023 (R/1023) - auto_counter_measures
1024 (R/1024) - ase_auto_page
1025 (R/1025) - gear_damaged
1026 (R/1026) - gear_status
1027 (R/1027) - gear_red
1028 (R/1028) - pilot_lh_mfd_focus
1029 (R/1029) - pilot_rh_mfd_focus
1030 (R/1030) - co_pilot_lh_mfd_focus
1031 (R/1031) - co_pilot_rh_mfd_focus
Comanche
1001 (R/1001) - master_caution
1002 (R/1002) - left_engine_ignition
1003 (R/1003) - apu_ignition
1004 (R/1004) - right_engine_ignition
1005 (R/1005) - left_engine_fire
1006 (R/1006) - apu_fire
1007 (R/1007) - right_engine_fire
1008 (R/1008) - left_engine_fire_extinguiser
1009 (R/1009) - right_engine_fire_extinguiser
1010 (R/1010) - hydraulic_pressure
1011 (R/1011) - oil_pressure
1012 (R/1012) - oil_temperature
1013 (R/1013) - overtorque
1014 (R/1014) - rotor_rpm
1015 (R/1015) - fuel_low
1016 (R/1016) - rotor_brake
1017 (R/1017) - wheel_brake
1018 (R/1018) - navigation_lights
1019 (R/1019) - hover_hold
1020 (R/1020) - altitude_hold
1021 (R/1021) - auto_pilot
1022 (R/1022) - radar
1023 (R/1023) - laser
1024 (R/1024) - radar_jammer
1025 (R/1025) - ir_jammer
1026 (R/1026) - auto_counter_measures
1027 (R/1027) - ase_auto_page
1028 (R/1028) - config_stub_wings
1029 (R/1029) - config_bay_doors
1030 (R/1030) - config_gear
1031 (R/1031) - config_gun
1032 (R/1033) - gear_damaged
1033 (R/1033) - gear_status
1034 (R/1034) - gear_red
1035 (R/1035) - gear_transition
1036 (R/1036) - pilot_lh_main_mfd_focus
1037 (R/1037) - pilot_rh_main_mfd_focus
1038 (R/1038) - co_pilot_lh_main_mfd_focus
1039 (R/1039) - co_pilot_rh_main_mfd_focus
Shared dynamics (some of arne's stuff is missing)
20 (R/20) - time_of_day
30 (R/30) - indicated_airspeed
32 (R/32) - vertical_speed
34 (R/34) - indicated_slip
40 (R/40) - barometric_altitude
42 (R/42) - heading
46 (R/46) - roll
48 (R/48) - pitch
50 (R/50) - fuel_weight
52 (R/52) - g_force
501 (R/501) - radar_altitude
502 (R/502) - combined_engine_rpm
503 (R/503) - combined_engine_torque
Multi-engine stuff, where you have to specify the engine
64 (R/64\0) - left_engine_rpm
64 (R/64\1) - right_engine_rpm
72 (R/72\0) - left_engine_temp
72 (R/72\1) - right_engine_temp
1000 (R/1000\0) - left_engine_torque
1000 (R/1000\1) - right_engine_torque
I guess the indizes might change again, maybe I'll have all hokum vars between 1000 and 1200, the comanche vars between 1200 and 1400 etc (if UDPSpeed really can work with that).
Well I've finished all the Hokum's main warning panel lights:
...but I'm still not having any luck with the new codes for the variables - UDPSpeed always reports their values as zero. I'll zip em up and mail them to you and hopefully they'll be some help in tracking down the cause of the problem.
Cheers,
DD
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/15/07 06:40 PM
Yes please.
Sent
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/15/07 10:00 PM
Yeah got it, thanks. Seems to be a problem with the IDs in UDPSpeed.. ID < 1000 -> light lights up, ID > 1000 -> light stays off
Gonna rearrange the IDs so that they fit in and will make a new installer.. but that's for tomorrow
Posted By: Kassie
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/15/07 10:08 PM
Dick, can you post pictures of your simpit by daylight?
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/16/07 02:46 PM
clickThis is just an updated .exe
All lamp IDs simply got shifted by 500, so "1001 (R/1001) - master_caution" is now "501 (R/501) - master_caution" etc.
I'll get an updated list ASAP but that should be hopefully enough for a test. Sadly I don't have a second PC here and running both apps on the same PC is murdering frame rate, so I couldn't do much more than a quick test (which seemed to work though).
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/17/07 01:20 AM
Damm you guys are good! (We're not worthy, we're not worthy - lol) Is there anything us mere mortals can do to help out please?
<Echo KC's comment "Thanks...">
PS Can the VarDisplay program be run from a seperate PC please?
Cheers
Posted By: GrizzlyT
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/17/07 09:37 AM
I'm starting to get tingly in all my happy places.
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/19/07 05:54 AM
New list of IDs for updated exe (which I'll upload this evening, no time now)
//shared
20 (R/20) - time_of_day
30 (R/30) - indicated_airspeed
32 (R/32) - vertical_speed
34 (R/34) - indicated_slip
40 (R/40) - barometric_altitude
42 (R/42) - heading
46 (R/46) - roll
48 (R/48) - pitch
50 (R/50) - fuel_weight
52 (R/52) - g_force
64 (R/64) - left_engine_rpm
64 (R/64\0) - left_engine_rpm
64 (R/64\1) - right_engine_rpm
72 (R/72) - left_engine_temp
72 (R/72\0) - left_engine_temp
72 (R/72\1) - right_engine_temp
451 (R/451) - radar_altitude
452 (R/452) - combined_engine_rpm
453 (R/453) - combined_engine_torque
453 (R/454) - left_engine_torque
453 (R/454\0) - left_engine_torque
453 (R/454\1) - right_engine_torque
454 (R/454) - left_engine_torque
454 (R/454\0) - left_engine_torque
454 (R/454\1) - right_engine_torque
// havoc
501 (R/501) - master_caution
502 (R/502) - weapons_management_lh_outer_pylon_green
503 (R/503) - weapons_management_lh_inner_pylon_green
504 (R/504) - weapons_management_rh_inner_pylon_green
505 (R/505) - weapons_management_rh_outer_pylon_green
506 (R/506) - weapons_management_armour_piercing_cannon_green
507 (R/507) - weapons_management_high_explosive_cannon_green
508 (R/508) - weapons_management_lh_outer_pylon_red
509 (R/509) - weapons_management_lh_inner_pylon_red
510 (R/510) - weapons_management_rh_inner_pylon_red
511 (R/511) - weapons_management_rh_outer_pylon_red
512 (R/512) - weapons_management_armour_piercing_cannon_red
513 (R/513) - weapons_management_high_explosive_cannon_red
514 (R/514) - weapons_management_chaff_green
515 (R/515) - weapons_management_flare_green
516 (R/516) - weapons_management_chaff_red
517 (R/517) - weapons_management_flare_red
518 (R/518) - warning_1
519 (R/519) - warning_2
520 (R/520) - warning_3
521 (R/521) - warning_4
522 (R/522) - warning_5
523 (R/523) - warning_6
524 (R/524) - warning_7
525 (R/525) - warning_8
526 (R/526) - status_1
527 (R/527) - status_1
528 (R/528) - status_1
529 (R/529) - status_1
530 (R/530) - status_1
531 (R/531) - status_1
532 (R/532) - status_7
533 (R/533) - status_8
534 (R/534) - status_9
535 (R/535) - status_5
536 (R/536) - status_11
537 (R/537) - status_12
538 (R/538) - status_13
539 (R/539) - status_14
540 (R/540) - status_15
541 (R/541) - status_16
542 (R/542) - status_17
543 (R/543) - status_18
544 (R/544) - threat_warning_radar_type_1
545 (R/545) - threat_warning_radar_type_2
546 (R/546) - threat_warning_radar_type_3
547 (R/547) - threat_warning_radar_type_4
548 (R/548) - threat_warning_radar_type_5
549 (R/549) - threat_warning_radar_type_6
550 (R/550) - threat_warning_bearing_lh_rear
551 (R/551) - threat_warning_bearing_rh_rear
552 (R/552) - threat_warning_close_range_1
553 (R/553) - threat_warning_close_range_2
554 (R/554) - threat_warning_close_range_3
555 (R/555) - threat_warning_close_range_4
556 (R/556) - threat_warning_close_range_5
557 (R/557) - threat_warning_close_range_6
558 (R/558) - threat_warning_close_range_7
559 (R/559) - threat_warning_close_range_8
560 (R/560) - threat_warning_close_range_9
561 (R/561) - threat_warning_close_range_5
562 (R/562) - threat_warning_close_range_11
563 (R/563) - threat_warning_close_range_12
564 (R/564) - threat_warning_close_range_13
565 (R/565) - threat_warning_close_range_14
566 (R/566) - threat_warning_close_range_15
567 (R/567) - threat_warning_bearing_lh_90_close_range
568 (R/568) - threat_warning_bearing_lh_67_close_range
569 (R/569) - threat_warning_bearing_lh_45_close_range
570 (R/570) - threat_warning_bearing_lh_22_close_range
571 (R/571) - threat_warning_bearing_rh_22_close_range
572 (R/572) - threat_warning_bearing_rh_45_close_range
573 (R/573) - threat_warning_bearing_rh_67_close_range
574 (R/574) - threat_warning_bearing_rh_90_close_range
575 (R/575) - threat_warning_bearing_lh_90
576 (R/576) - threat_warning_bearing_lh_67
577 (R/577) - threat_warning_bearing_lh_45
578 (R/578) - threat_warning_bearing_lh_22
579 (R/579) - threat_warning_bearing_rh_22
580 (R/580) - threat_warning_bearing_rh_45
581 (R/581) - threat_warning_bearing_rh_67
582 (R/582) - threat_warning_bearing_rh_90
583 (R/583) - threat_warning_missile_below
584 (R/584) - threat_warning_missile_above
585 (R/585) - threat_warning_missile_lh_lock
586 (R/586) - threat_warning_missile_rh_lock
587 (R/587) - threat_warning_bearing_lh_rear_close_range
588 (R/588) - threat_warning_bearing_rh_rear_close_range
589 (R/589) - radio
590 (R/590) - lh_engine_oil_pressure_normal
591 (R/591) - rh_engine_oil_pressure_normal
592 (R/592) - lh_engine_oil_pressure_low
593 (R/593) - rh_engine_oil_pressure_low
594 (R/594) - lh_engine_oil_temperature_normal
595 (R/595) - rh_engine_oil_temperature_normal
596 (R/596) - lh_engine_oil_temperature_high
597 (R/597) - rh_engine_oil_temperature_high
// comanche
501 (R/501) - master_caution
502 (R/502) - left_engine_ignition
503 (R/503) - apu_ignition
504 (R/504) - right_engine_ignition
505 (R/505) - left_engine_fire
506 (R/506) - apu_fire
507 (R/507) - right_engine_fire
508 (R/508) - left_engine_fire_extinguiser
509 (R/509) - right_engine_fire_extinguiser
510 (R/510) - hydraulic_pressure
511 (R/511) - oil_pressure
512 (R/512) - oil_temperature
513 (R/513) - overtorque
514 (R/514) - rotor_rpm
515 (R/515) - fuel_low
516 (R/516) - rotor_brake
517 (R/517) - wheel_brake
518 (R/518) - navigation_lights
519 (R/519) - hover_hold
520 (R/520) - altitude_hold
521 (R/521) - auto_pilot
522 (R/522) - radar
523 (R/523) - laser
524 (R/524) - radar_jammer
525 (R/525) - ir_jammer
526 (R/526) - auto_counter_measures
527 (R/527) - ase_auto_page
528 (R/528) - config_stub_wings
529 (R/529) - config_bay_doors
530 (R/530) - config_gear
531 (R/531) - config_gun
532 (R/533) - gear_damaged
533 (R/533) - gear_status
534 (R/534) - gear_red
535 (R/535) - gear_transition
536 (R/536) - pilot_lh_main_mfd_focus
537 (R/537) - pilot_rh_main_mfd_focus
538 (R/538) - co_pilot_lh_main_mfd_focus
539 (R/539) - co_pilot_rh_main_mfd_focus
// hokum
501 (R/501) - master_caution
502 (R/502) - left_engine_fire
503 (R/503) - apu_fire
504 (R/504) - right_engine_fire
505 (R/505) - altitude_hold
506 (R/506) - fire_extinguiser
507 (R/507) - hydraulic_pressure
508 (R/508) - oil_pressure
509 (R/509) - oil_temperature
510 (R/510) - rotor_brake
511 (R/511) - overtorque
512 (R/512) - fuel_low
513 (R/513) - rotor_rpm
514 (R/514) - wheel_brake
515 (R/515) - navigation_lights
516 (R/516) - hover_hold
517 (R/517) - altitude_hold
518 (R/518) - auto_pilot
519 (R/519) - radar
520 (R/520) - laser
521 (R/521) - radar_jammer
522 (R/522) - ir_jammer
523 (R/523) - auto_counter_measures
524 (R/524) - ase_auto_page
525 (R/525) - gear_damaged
526 (R/526) - gear_status
527 (R/527) - gear_red
528 (R/528) - pilot_lh_mfd_focus
529 (R/529) - pilot_rh_mfd_focus
530 (R/530) - co_pilot_lh_mfd_focus
531 (R/531) - co_pilot_rh_mfd_focus
All light bits are transmitted as floats, 0 is off, 1 is on (imagine that..)
Posted By: Fufunka
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/19/07 08:33 AM
Retro> Great progress thanks!
Btw. the waypoint and especially ammo/counter meassure parameters (remaining stock) will have to wait till Arneh's support, is that right?
A detailed overview of WCS panel is here:
http://www.simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.ph...true#Post320976
You guys know you are working on a breakthrough don't you? For the price of a second monitor or an old one laying around the house, guys can have a new "experience" when flying EECH. Thanks to both of you guys for working so hard.
Retro deserves all the credit, for getting this stuff working in the first place- tbh anyone with a copy of photoshop could have pretty easily replicated my contribution.
DD
P.S. Another lil Hokum teaser - every light and gauge in the picture below is now fully working with the exception of the overtorque, laser and (possibly) oil temp lights:
Posted By: Fufunka
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/21/07 08:36 AM
Hi DD, did you get your hands on the latest version which Retro announced [#2163180 - March 19, 2007 00:54] ?? But without public link. Or is it some older version?? Thanks
Btw. How to possibly best fit in one plane _mue's MFDs and UDPspeed frontends?
Perhaps 15-17-19" lcd for the former and some tiny 7-10" lcd for the latter, right?
Btw. with that small 7-10" touchscreen (be it native or addon overlay) the Master caution button
could be mapped.
Speaking of Photoshop and also good compromise might be having Touch Buddy profile for EECH so you don't have to build the entire pit (I'm more into the Ka-50 single seater from BS next year):
http://www.touch-buddy.com/forums/Nice Touch Buddy Profiles/designs for various sims flight and racing
(Falcon, Lockon, MSFS, Il2, Rfactor, LFS):
http://www.touch-buddy.com/forums/local_links.php?catid=4&sort=d
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/21/07 08:14 PM
PS Can the VarDisplay program be run from a seperate PC please?
Why would you need it to do that? It's not really usable for anything other than debug..
Hi DD, did you get your hands on the latest version which Retro announced [#2163180 - March 19, 2007 00:54] ?? But without public link. Or is it some older version??
Yeah we've been exchanging executables via email - not much point in sharing buggy betas..
Retro deserves all the credit, for getting this stuff working in the first place- tbh anyone with a copy of photoshop could have pretty easily replicated my contribution.
DD
Well I'm hopeless with photoshop and had no idea about udpspeed - so all credit to you :p
Another teaser:
The picture is a 50% scaled down screenshot from UDPSpeed running on a second PC, not just an in-game shot. So far the radar altimeter, speedometer, slip indicator, artificial horizon, altimeter, VSI, compass, clock, and digital fuel gauge are all responding correctly to data from EECH, as are the master caution, left engine fire, right engine fire, radar, autopilot, hover hold, radar jammer and IR jammer warning lights.
More to follow
DD
Can anyone let me know what exactly the stuff I've marked in red does/should do?
Posted By: arneh
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/21/07 09:50 PM
The one in upper left is a G-force gauge.
Two two green lights I think is some sort of engine lights. Possibly they just show that the engines are running normally (when green), and some something wrong with corresponding engine otherwise.
The gauge below that is rotor RPM and NP RPM for both engines.
The gauge at the bottom with a green light in the center is a fuel gauge.
The little bars to the right of the torque gauges are probably temperature and oil pressure for the engines.
The others I'm not sure about.
Posted By: Fufunka
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/21/07 11:29 PM
oops double post..
Posted By: Fufunka
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/21/07 11:32 PM
Arneh> great you are passing by again this thread.
What about the support for the remaining dynamic data output we are after mainly,
- weapons: {ammo (normal/HE), rockets, vikhrs, counter meassures (C/F)} remaining
- waypoint
Thanks
-----
DD> great work thanks! Would it be possible to have the Ka-52/Hokum warning lights and gauges more to scale? It seems to me that the gauges on the right are too small in comparison to the warn. light panel, is that correct?..
http://www.rotorhead.org/military/zips/ka52-2.ziphttp://www.rotorhead.org/military/zips/ka52-3.zip
great work thanks! Would it be possible to have the Ka-52/Hokum warning lights and gauges more to scale? It seems to me that the gauges on the right are too small in comparison to the warn. light panel, is that correct?..
Yeah the Hokum stuff is as big as possible for clarity so they're not to scale. If you particularly need them to be then you'll be able to resize my set as you like with any art package.
A bit more progress (scaled down by 50%):
In addition to the stuff I mentioned before, I've now got the G-force gauge, engine RPM, analogue fuel gauge and fuel warning light all working (thanks Arneh). Also, all the warning panel lights except overtorque, and all the status panel lights except HMS and wheel brakes. The engine torgue and engine temp sliders are working too (but only for engine 1 so far). Just need to finish off the engine stuff and then I've only got the RWR left to tackle.
Cheers,
DD
Posted By: Fufunka
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/22/07 08:56 AM
DD> Pure beauty, thanks!
Now if only could we can have some sort of inner "tunnel" window from your frontend into the _mue's MFD window, hah.. Another crazy idea (don't demand it) - the HUD switches could be sliding as well since the new EECH code provides for starting with all these off - but such a feature is not a priority or that much necessary for immersion.
But pls. Arneh or others try to resolve the above mentioned ammo/waypoint dynamic data quest.
DD those "C/F: 16" above the digital "Fuel: 1115" gauge are not connected to the dynamic data as of now, this is just your preparation for it, right?
DD> Pure beauty, thanks!
Now if only could we can have some sort of inner "tunnel" window from your frontend into the _mue's MFD window, hah..
Yeah that'd be fantastic - I really hope it's possible. The problem is that UDPSpeed has no impact on framerate if run on a 2nd PC, but cripples fps if run on the same PC as the sim. _Mue's stuff , on the other hand, only works if run on the sim PC atm. Getting both running on a 2nd PC is the last big hurdle to overcome.
Another crazy idea (don't demand it) - the HUD switches could be sliding as well since the new EECH code provides for starting with all these off - but such a feature is not a priority or that much necessary for immersion.
But pls. Arneh or others try to resolve the above mentioned ammo/waypoint dynamic data quest.
DD those "C/F: 16" above the digital "Fuel: 1115" gauge are not connected to the dynamic data as of now, this is just your preparation for it, right?
Yeah the Chaff and Flares counters aren't wired to anything atm but they're ready for when there is something to connect em to. As for toggle switches, I'll prolly try to get them working too once the more important stuff is all sorted.
Cheers,
DD
PS Just got another exe from Retro - RPM, Torque and engine temp are now all working for both engines.
I'll try and zip up everthing we have so far for everyone else to try later today.
Posted By: Fufunka
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/22/07 09:44 AM
Uh ah thanks! That's gonna be crazy testing weekend all day long..
As for the "_mue's tunnel vision" on UDP frontend idea, one approach could be to compress that shared video mem image - the output of MFDs into some "lossless" video format and play it over LAN inside the window of UDPspeed. There are some applications like VLC player and others with available source code for LAN streaming, so it might be utilized. Or some different approaches could be explored.
As this smells CPU/fps intensive, perhaps the ideal solution would be to have two synchronized
installations of EECH running over LAN, where the second PC would feed the UDP and MFDs exports only. How to synchronize mutli PC over LAN for flight sims is documented for instance for the open source FlightGear simulator.
Posted By: GrizzlyT
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/22/07 02:18 PM
Fufunka - You posted a while back that you had a developer standing by, to help with interfacing with the IOCP/SIOC protocols. Is that still the case?
It seems that Retro's CommServer is functioning well enough to start working on that, too.
Do you agree?
GlynD, KC, (& anyone else interested) - Is there still interest out there to fund this end of it, or is everyone content with the UDPSpeed solution?
I myself, need need to get real lamps to light (not on a monitor), so I'm still eager to see this furthered.
Where do we go from here???
Posted By: Fufunka
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/22/07 02:52 PM
GrizzlyT> Hehe my canceled very next comment this morning was meant to be just about this topic!
Exactly, the Retro's and DD's new push means we can start thinking in realistic terms about SIOC connnection.
Now, the french guys at 3dwing&Opencockpits forums are finalizing the english version of their Lockon IOCP/SIOC editing software "LOSIOC", you can DL the betas (XML, javascripts) and from what I've seen it might be feasible to adapt it to EECH or at least used as an guide.
Now with this SIOC connection you can test most of the functions even without connected control pcb boards, that's very good for development of the more advanced switchology functions (there are not that many in EECH).
At least in terms of Hokum I was thinking about simpiting/opencockpiting for test purposes these areas:
-real compass hack
-warning lights panel plus master caution push button
-WCS panel (if Arneh/Retro make the ammo/C&F data output available)*
-2x MFDs (left side) via _mue's hack
-some basic MFD/HUD/Shkval TV display controls
(bellow HUD, bellow MFDs and those in the center "yellow panel")
-jettison panel/switches
-those top 4x gauges either via UDPspeed or the opencockpits equivalent or real ones
-navigation panel basic mockup (as this is not incl. in EECH)
-diy HUDs are possible but that I'll leave till BlackShark were it's already done
(the data export via simmeters)
-more general buttons, plus perhaps landing gear and turbine engine action
-some buttons on colective/cyclic/interior panels
--
* this could be also good training for possible future BlackShark pit - the WCS in Ka-50/52 are almost identical as I have posted with the help of russians
PS also don't forget we need at least rudimentary Touch Buddy profiles for the game play/views as well
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/22/07 04:45 PM
Yes I am still interested Griz. I would like to see what the IOCP/SOIC can drive.
For the Apache it only needs to do 4 gauges (whisky compass, altimeter, airspeed indicator and attitude indicator), a few lights (engine/apu fire) and maybe some text for the upfront display.
Don't think there's anything else in the Apache that flashes or moves (apart from the MFDs...) that needs a IOCP/SOIC interface. I am planning to eventually get Leo's gizmo for the the switches, knobs and toggles.
(Quietly hoping that _mue manages to get the MFD display working for the Apache and patiently waiting, as I know you guys do this kinda stuff in your spare time - bless all you devs and modders)
Cheers
Posted By: GrizzlyT
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/23/07 04:48 AM
Yeah, I too am only interested in the "blue" side and to be even more specific....only the Comanche.
Building the bridge between EECH and opencockpits will be like having FSUIPC type access, to this sim.
Both sides win!!! It not only opens the door to working lamps and working guages and instruments but also opens the door to motion platform development and all sorts of stuff.
All of the cool toys and fringe development, of this hobby of ours, caters to MSFS. Partly because of it's popularity but mostly because of it's accessability.
I think it's about damn time some of us rotorheads got to use the cool toys!
Well if this doesn't persuade you guys to try flying red, I don't know what will
WORKING STUFF
=============
Analogue gauges:
G-force, radar altimeter, left engine rpm, right engine rpm, speedometer, sideslip indicator, artificial horizon pitch/roll, altimeter, VSI, compass, clock, fuel gauge (with colour changing central light),
Warning lights panel:
Left engine fire, right engine fire, radar, autopilot, hover hold, radar jammer, IR jammer
RWR:
10 outer threat-bearing lights, 6 threat-type lights, missile launch above and below lights, red central light
Digital display:
Fuel weight remaining
Status lights panel:
Radar, flir, llltv, lsr, radar jammer, ir jammer, nav lights, comm, rws, hud, hms, tv, twd, nvg, fire extinguisher, rotor brake, wheel brake, auto c/m
Engine bars:
Left engine torque, right engine torque, left engine temp, right engine temp
NOT WORKING (YET)
================
Rotor rpm, waypoint needle, 2 mystery engine-related lights, overtorque light, chaff counter, flares counter, remaining RWR lights and other engine bars. (There may be bugs with some of the status panel lights too).
INSTALLATION
===========
-Download Retro's stuff
here and unzip it to your main EECH PC. Replace your cohokum.exe with the one in the zip (having backed up the original first). Then run setup.exe and follow the prompts. You should end up with a shortcut to eechcommserver.exe on your desktop.
-Download my Havoc UDPSpeed set
here and unzip it anywhere on your second PC. Inside you'll find the UDPSpeed executable (there's no installer). Set the second PC's desktop res to 1280x960 or 1280x1024 and launch UDPSpeed.exe. The instruments should appear on screen.
-Start EECH on your main PC and get in a Havoc cockpit. Then ALT+TAB to the desktop and launch eechcommserver.exe from the shortcut. Finally ALT+TAB back into EECH and you should be ready to fly -Enjoy!
DD
Posted By: Fufunka
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/23/07 04:22 PM
DickDastardly]
-Download my Havoc UDPSpeed set
here and unzip it anywhere on your second PC. Inside you'll find the UDPSpeed executable (there's no installer). Set the second PC's desktop res to 1280x960 or 1280x1024 and launch UDPSpeed.exe. The instruments should appear on screen. UUOO very nice, thanks.
EECH_Comm_server now in
v5? Hmm, ah good!
UDPspeed - but what about the resolution?
I've been using old IBM T-series laptop with 1024x768 res so am I screwed in this version?
I'll give it a try tonight! EDIT: Ok I gave it a quick run - there is a little overscan on my res so I'll get refurb 19-21" CRT or LCD to drive it externally.
Kim> Well, Wolfenstein has been silent for almost a week so I don't know perhaps we can ask some other guardians of the code to insert those higher resolution and compile the cohokum .exe for us..
So we can pursue further the triplehead - Soft TH tests
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/23/07 09:49 PM
Do you OR anyone have any plans to do the Blue cockpits?
I did the Havoc pit first as it has far more analogue gauges and warning lights than any of the other choppers. I'll try and finish off the Hokum one too and then I may have a go at one of the blue ones.
UDPspeed - but what about the resolution?
I've been using old IBM T-series laptop with 1024x768 res so am I screwed in this version?
I'll give it a try tonight! EDIT: Ok I gave it a quick run - there is a little overscan on my res so I'll get refurb 19-21" CRT or LCD to drive it externally.
A new monitor would be the easiest solution. Failing that, you can resize all the bitmaps in my 1280 UDPSpeed set to 80% of their original size. One problem you'll have is that UDPSpeed uses magenta to indicate transparency and some blending of the magenta parts will occur round the edges of each needle upon resizing. You'll therefore need to repaint these areas pure magenta again.
You'll also need to edit the ini file in each subfolder and look for lines beginning with any of the following:
PosX=
PosY=
DataSlideN=
Change the number after the "=" to 80% of it's original value. Don't change any lines beginning with "CenterX=" or "CenterY=".
Cheers,
DD
Hi all,
I'm still not sure of the stuff I've marked in red below. Can anyone tell me exactly what each does/should do please?
I particularly need the variables which the two engine related lights (marked 1) and the four bars (marked 6) respond to as they're all functional in the virtual cockpit. The other stuff is less important as it doesn't work in the VC (but would be nice to have working in UDPSpeed if possible).
Cheers,
DD
EDIT: Also, does anyone know what the white double headed arrow on the HSI points to? (The yellow arrow seems to point to the next waypoint, but I can't figure out what the white one indicates).
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/28/07 06:17 PM
(from the EEAH manual)
(1) is (left) chaff and (right) flare status light..
unlit - none available
green - available
red - dispenser damaged
(6) is rpm and temp.. white bar is rpm, orange bar is temp (one for each engine)
HSI - yellow (seems) direct heading to waypoint, white needle is heading from last waypoint to current waypoint.. if both needles are overlaid, your're on the correct route (not merely on the correct heading) to the next wp... it's a bit hard to describe :/
The others are not described (so I guess not implemented either)
Cheers m8, guess I should have RTFM
EDIT: Actually it turns out I don't seem to have an AH manual, just the CH one - not sure why as I installed both games. Is there an online version somewhere?
Also, you're definitely right about the chaff/flares lights - I've just tested them and they seem to work fine, but I'm not sure about the 4 engine related bars (#6 in the pic). The bars don't seem to match RPM or temp - I've a feeling that what they show changed when the full engine startup stuff was added (one pair may be related to throttle settings). I seem to remember seeing a picture which explained them, but I can't find it anywhere on eechcentral.
Posted By: arneh
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 03/28/07 10:20 PM
DickDastardly] I'm not sure about the 4 engine related bars (#6 in the pic). The bars don't seem to match RPM or temp - I've a feeling that what they show changed when the full engine startup stuff was added (one pair may be related to throttle settings). I seem to remember seeing a picture which explained them, but I can't find it anywhere on eechcentral.
There was a picture and explanation on eechcentral before the crash. I don't have the picture anymore, but uploaded the text again when eechcentral came back up again. But Kassie has restructured it, so I don't know where it can be found now.
Anyway, I explaination is: torque to the left [i.e. to the left of 6 in your pic], and on the right [i.e. 6] the red bars are temperature and the yellow are NG RPM.
With the engine mod both NG and NP RPM are modelled (as previously mentioned NP RPM can be found together with rotor RPM). But I don't think both are exported yet.
Thanks arneh - it was the NG/NP distinction which threw me. NP works fine, so it must be NG which we're missing.
Cheers,
DD
A bit more progress on the Hokum:
Most of the warning lights are working, as are all the analogue gauges. The left MFD is mostly functional but the right one is just a dummy at the moment. The MFDs are nowhere near as good as _mue's as they only show one page each, but they're better than nothing. Hopefully it may ultimately be possible to combine the UDPSpeed stuff with _mue's MFDs to get the best of both worlds.
Cheers,
DD
Posted By: GCsDriver
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 04/11/07 12:20 PM
Juhu,
got a TFT on the easter flea market for 10 and started to experiment with _mue`s patched exe as soon as I hit home.
Just in case anybody else experiences problems :
-Using nView in normal mode with a 2048x768 resolution didn`t work as expected
-Switched to dual monitor mode
-Although nView would correctly mark CRT as primary and TFT as secondary monitor in dual monitor mode the game would run on the TFT and either mfd`s or nothing showing up on the CRT.
-Changing the adapter nr in eech.ini resulted in D3D errors
Resolution :
After changing cables on the video card output the CRT was still nr.1 and the TFT nr.2 and now everything`s working as a charm. So primary monitor is now on DVI with VGA adaptor and TFT on VGA out. Big monitor shows cockpit view and CRT MFD`s. Just wondering how the PC determines what`s nr 1 and 2 if not by output port...
Big thanx to _mue for his effort, hope You continue Your work as it`s way better than having to buy and run a second PC for us budget flyers :-)
Fly low, hit hard & keep on, mate
EUREKA!!!!!!!!
The (scaled down) screenshot below shows _mue's fully functional MFDs running in combination with UDPSpeed on a second PC:
The MFD screens are being sent to the second PC (from the main PC which is running EECH) using a utility called
MaxiVista. This basically fools the main PC into thinking it has an extra screen attached and transmits the video data which is sent to that virtual screen to the second PC via the network. There it can be displayed fullscreen or in a window.
The warning lights, analogue gauges and MFD bezels are all drawn by UDPSpeed on top of the Maxivista window, leaving two holes through which the MFDs can be seen (with the Maxivista window minimized it looks like this):
I haven't done any kind of benchmarking yet, but fps impact on the sim seems fairly minimal and the update rate of the MFDs is excellent. The only catch at the moment is that since Retro's data exporting code and _mue's MFD code are contained within separate executables it's not currently possible to have both the UDPSpeed stuff and the MFDs responding to data at the same time. If you guys can merge both bits of code then EECH will be the first military PC flight sim I know of to have the ability to display a fully functional cockpit including working MFDs on a second PC, which would be a pretty damn cool achievement.
So how about it guys?
Cheers,
DD
(Feeling like a kid on Christmas eve)
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 04/17/07 03:52 PM
Excellent. Not sure on the status of _mue's stuff, don't think it made it into the CVS yet.
Another mini-update: I've fixed up the MFD bezels to match the square exported images better, so everything's now ready to roll - we just need _mue's code so that it can be merged with Retro's.
I've also just received a new version of UDPSpeed from Hruks that removes a limitation which was preventing me from finishing off the remaining lights on the Havoc's RWR so expect an update on that soon too.
Cheers,
DD
Posted By: _mue
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 04/18/07 07:34 AM
DickDastardly]Another mini-update: I've fixed up the MFD bezels to match the square exported images better, so everything's now ready to roll - we just need _mue's code so that it can be merged with Retro's.
Nice work!
I'm a little bit busy at the moment. So there isn't much progress on the mfdexportpatch yet.
I think I can find some time at the weekend to compile a new executable which contains both Retros and my code.
I think I can find some time at the weekend to compile a new executable which contains both Retros and my code.
Excellent - thanks very much m8.
Cheers,
DD
Posted By: SwedeX
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 04/18/07 10:43 PM
Geez, i guess it's time to Get out the discs and install this baby once again when you guys have done this amazing work..
*all three thumbs up* :P
Lol :). Added a weapons/payload panel to the Havoc:
The indicators light up green if the hardpoint has weapons/ammo remaining or red if damaged, and flash on and off for the currently selected weapon.
Cheers,
DD
On a not totally unrelated topic
does anyone have any good photos of the real Commanche cockpit?
Cheers,
DD
Woohoo!! Just received a new executable from _mue which combines his MFD exporting with Retro's data exporting, and adds support for the gunner's MFDs too:
INSTALLATION
===========
1. Download Retro's stuff
here and unzip it to your main EECH PC. Run setup.exe and follow the prompts. You should end up with a shortcut to eechcommserver.exe on your desktop.
2. Download my latest Hokum UDPSpeed set
here and unzip it anywhere on your second PC. Inside you'll find the UDPSpeed executable (there's no installer). Open the file UDPSpeed.ini with notepad and change the IP address to match that of the PC running EECH. Create a shortcut to UDPSpeed.exe (by right-clicking and dragging it onto your desktop).
3. Backup your existing cohokum.exe file and replace it with the one in
this zip file.
4. Add the following text to your eech.ini file just above the [end of file] line:
MEMEXPORT=1 # enables export of cockpit information to a shared memory area
export_mfd=1 # EXPERIMENTAL! mfd export on multimon systems (0 = off (default), 1 = on
export_mfd_adapter=0 # EXPERIMENTAL! graphicadapter for mfd export(0=first, 1=second, ...)
export_mfd_screen_width=1280 # EXPERIMENTAL! resolution of export screen (width)
export_mfd_screen_height=480 # EXPERIMENTAL! resolution of export screen (height)
export_mfd_left_pos=80,0,560,480 # EXPERIMENTAL! left export mfd position
export_mfd_right_pos=720,0,1200,480 # EXPERIMENTAL! right export mfd position
5. Download and install the MaxiVista demo from
here . (The demo is limited to a 14 day trial, but it's only $30 if you decide to buy it).
6. Set the second PC's desktop resolution to 1280x1024.
HOW TO RUN
==========
1. Start MaxiVista Demo Server on your main PC and MaxiVista Demo viewer on your 2nd PC. Select a virtual resolution of 1280x480 on the server and position the viewer window on the 2nd PC so that its bottom is just above your task bar.
2. Start EECH on your main PC and get in the cockpit of any heli, then ALT+TAB back to the desktop and launch eechcommserver.exe.
3. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL on your main PC and end the cohokum.exe process.
4. Launch cohokum.exe again and get in a Hokum cockpit.
5. Launch UDPSpeed on your second PC. The lights, gauges and MFD bezels will appear but you'll still be able to see the MFD displays through the two holes in the UDPSpeed stuff. You can fine tune the positioning of the MaxiVista window by dragging its title bar up so that its just concealed by the upper MFD bezel.
...and that's it! You should now have warning lights, analogue gauges and MFDs all responding to data from the sim. Many thanks to Hruks, Retro and _mue for all your hard work making this possible.
Cheers,
DD
P.S. I'll try and release something for you Commanche pilots too in the next couple of days
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 04/24/07 03:09 AM
And us Longbow ones???
Damm flipping fine work chap - looks like I might have to venture over to the <gasp> red side sometime soon!
Cheers
And us Longbow ones???
Sorry m8, but atm neither MFDs or data are exported for the Apache so there's not much I can do right now. If _mue and Retro can get the exporting working for it then I'll have a crack at making an Apache pit too, but I want to finish off the Havoc and Commanche first.
Cheers,
DD
Posted By: GrizzlyT
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 04/24/07 05:00 AM
Very nice.!!!
DD - Alot of great progress made!
I have some Comanche pics (you may already have??) that I've been using as reference, for my pit. You're welcome to them....Let me know.
mue - I'm guessing this combined .exe is of the same version already released?
It seems the MaxiVista app has eliminated the need for you to have separate adapter assignments for each MFD, in the .ini, correct? Any progress on getting it to run in 32 bit?
Fufunka, GlynD, KC - I haven't had a chance to put together a submission for a "hired gun", to get SIOC listening to Retro's app yet. (I've been really swamped with work recently. Sorry.)
There is one person we should try to talk to first, though. The German coder Michi. He's the guy that created FAST (FAlcon-Sioc-Transfer) and got the opencockpits stuff working with Falcon's data memory. Maybe we can convince him to get with Retro and lend us a hand???
Fufunka, you were researching this pretty heavy a while back. Ever talk to this guy?
Very nice.!!!
DD - Alot of great progress made!
I have some Comanche pics (you may already have??) that I've been using as reference, for my pit. You're welcome to them....Let me know.
Yes please m8 - I've only found a couple myself and they seem to differ considerably from the layout in the sim so anything you've got would be very useful. You can mail me at mikejsteven AT hotmail.com (replacing AT with @) or just post em here.
mue - I'm guessing this combined .exe is of the same version already released?
Actually _mue included some fixes so the gunner's MFDs are now exported too.
It seems the MaxiVista app has eliminated the need for you to have separate adapter assignments for each MFD, in the .ini, correct? Any progress on getting it to run in 32 bit?
Personally I'm not too bothered about the current 16 bit limitation as doubling the amount of data sent by moving to 32 bit is likely to reduce fps too much on my fairly modest rig. The number one priority fix for me would be adding the ability to export the Havoc's MFD too then we'd have 3 out of the 4 main helis fully functional.
Cheers,
DD
Almost finished the Commanche:
The layout is a combination of the one used in the sim, and photos of real Commanche prototype cockpits (thanks GrizzlyT). Everything that works in the VC is now working in UDPSpeed, except the ALT HLD light.
Cheers,
DD
Gentlemen start your engines....
You can download the pictured Commanche set from
here. To install just follow the instructions further up the thread (
here). Just about all the stuff which works in the virtual cockpit is also functional in the UDPSpeed version including the Stealth indicator screen. The one exception is the ALT HLD light, the value for which doesn't seem to be exported correctly from the sim atm.
You may also notice the red digital heading readout gives odd values. If you want to get rid of all the red readouts on the top left screen, just delete the folders beginning with the number 99. (Ultimately I want to make the text green to match the other MFDs, but that's not technically possible in the program currently).
If you're using multiple sets e.g. for the Hokum and Commanche, make sure each UDPSpeed zip file is unzipped to a separate folder, and lastly don't forget to set your graphics to 16 bit in eech.ini.
Enjoy!
DD
Posted By: GrizzlyT
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 04/27/07 10:37 AM
Outstanding DD!!!
All the hard work you, Retro, & Mue have done has made the idea of working EECH simpits finally a reality.
This will be awesome for those considering making starter pits and should also fit into KC's current "instruments monitor" type of set-up very nicely.
I may even use it for awhile, until we get SIOC talking. Just to get the cockpit out from behind the fresnel lens.
Posted By: Mapi
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 04/28/07 07:39 AM
Man - looks good !!!
What about MFD3 and MFD4?
Man - looks good !!!
What about MFD3 and MFD4?
They aren't exported atm, and even if they were I think the reduction in size of everything else which would be required to fit them all onto one screen wouldn't really be worthwhile. Also, I've just made some improvements to the small top left Commanche screen so it now displays a heading tape and combined engine torque (in addition to indicated airspeed, vertical speed, barometric altitude, radar altitude, G-force, fuel and time), so I don't really miss the other MFDs.
On the subject of the digital readouts, thanks to some code changes from Hruks I've been able to change their text and background colours to match the main MFDs which looks much better:
I should have the new version ready for download in the next day or so.
Cheers,
DD
I've released new UDPSpeed sets for the Commanche, Hokum and Havoc. Rather than bury the links at the end of this thread, I've started a new one
here. I'll keep the first post updated with the latest links to all the exporting stuff.
Cheers,
DD
Posted By: arneh
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 05/28/07 03:19 PM
- Are headings (compass) and (currently selected) waypoint supported?
- What about status for specific type of ammo remaining (gun, gun HE, rockets, vikhrs, etc.)?
I added export data for waypoint (name, range and bearing), engine NG RPM for each engine and weapons load. Should be in next (regular) release.
Since the export data has changed, the program reading the values will have to be changed as well. So here's the changes:
- version has been increased to 2, so you can use that to see if it's got the new or old format.
- NG RPM (as a float) has been added after NP RPM for each engine.
- waypoint data has been added at the end (after the lamps), it's a struct consisting of:
char waypoint; // capital letter of selected waypoint
float waypoint_range; // in meters
float waypoint_bearing; // absolute bearing to waypoint in degrees
- weapons data has been added after that. It's an array of 14 weapon_data elements, one for each position a weapon can be loaded (usually weapon pylons). The data in the array are two ints, the first one is the type, the second is the number remaining on that weapon pylon. For the type what number represents what weapon type you will just have to reverse engineer, I don't know myself Also which position in the array represents which stores position you will also have to reverse engineer, it's different for each helicopter. But it seems to be first chaff and flare postions, cannon (several if it has several ammo types) then the wing pylons in some order.
That's great news m8 - thanks very much. Am really looking forward to getting the new vars added to the UDPSpeed sets.
Cheers,
DD
Posted By: arneh
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 05/28/07 06:41 PM
It's been released in 1.8.5 now.
Posted By: ColinC
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 06/13/07 04:05 PM
This is great stuff! One question: is there any way to display this on a second monitor i.e without a second PC? I seem to recall a thread about exporting the mfds separately but I can't locate it now. Thanks guys.
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 06/13/07 06:50 PM
Yeah I just need to get off my arse again and put this into the commserver.
ColinC: I did play around with this maybe a year ago but it did prove not to be practical, so it is not included in current releases.
Posted By: ColinC
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 06/13/07 07:32 PM
Thank you sir. I have one question on how it's done over the network. From what I've read, a 3rd party utility is used to export the video to the secondary PC. Please understand that I know nothing whatever about this, but wouldn't it be better to just export the raw data and generate the picture on the receiving PC? Thanks for your patience on this.
Posted By: ColinC
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 07/17/07 06:05 PM
This is truly fantastic. I'm using it to display the mfds on the external monitor connected to my laptop: export_mfd_adapter=0
I'd like to try it the other way around but export_mfd_adapter=1 just gives me a black laptop and nothing on the external monitor. Just mentioning it. No big deal
Great work!
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 07/18/07 10:19 PM
I tried it on my system and got the same result - mind you the only secondary card I can lay my hands on at the moment is an old 4MB Matrox Millennium II! That might explain a bit...
It works fine if I connect the monitor to the secondary display on my ATI 9600 Pro and use the "export_mfd_adapter=0" option.
Still hoping for the MFD export for the Apache - any news?
Cheers
Posted By: AMRAAM
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 07/19/07 12:48 AM
ColinC & GlynD : Just to confirm what you are saying to my addled brain. Are you saying that you are running two monitors of the Same PC and displaying the telemetry on the second monitor?
Edit: Check that. I just read the other link and I can see that it is indeed what you are talking about. Please ignore my ramblings.
Posted By: GCsDriver
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 07/19/07 09:30 AM
ColinC, GlynD, check this
http://www.simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2136680&page=1&fpart=13#Post2181611 , worked for me. Essentially, run Your card in dual mode and switch cables instead of adaptor-nrs
Posted By: _mue
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 07/19/07 10:56 AM
I tried it on my system and got the same result - mind you the only secondary card I can lay my hands on at the moment is an old 4MB Matrox Millennium II! That might explain a bit...
It works fine if I connect the monitor to the secondary display on my ATI 9600 Pro and use the "export_mfd_adapter=0" option.
On my system I tested it with three devices/adapters: internal notebook tft, external monitor (both on mobile radeon 9200) and an usb-svga-adapter(8MB). I can display the main screen on the notbook tft or the external monitor.(The usb-svga-adapter lacks 3d capabilitis). The exported mfds i can display on all devices.
You have to explicitly select the device (no automatic or primary device) for the main screen in the game option menu while the mfd export is disabled. Then quit the game an restart it with enabled mfd export feature.
Still hoping for the MFD export for the Apache - any news?
Yes. Works fine here.
If version 1.9.0 will be released i will provide an patched executable with mfd export for probably ALL helicopters.
Posted By: arneh
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 07/19/07 11:16 AM
If version 1.9.0 will be released i will provide an patched executable with mfd export for probably ALL helicopters.
Why don't you try and get your code into the main branch, instead of releasing patched exes yourself for every release?
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 07/19/07 11:40 AM
Ah I understand now - thanks for clearing that up. I'll give that a go later on today when I finish work...
Oooh, oooh! <Hopping up and down in anticipation> Even more reason to anticipate version 1.9! I just can't wait - that is damn fine news chap - thank you very much!
Still hoping for the MFD export for the Apache - any news?
Yes. Works fine here.
If version 1.9.0 will be released i will provide an patched executable with mfd export for probably ALL helicopters.
That's great news m8- am really looking forward to using your Apache and Havoc MFDs. The UDPSpeed set for the Havoc is basically finished, but the lack of a working MFD atm makes it much less fun than it could be. If Retro can get the Apache data exported too, I'll have a go at making another UDPSpeed set so we'll then have working MFDs, gauges and lights for all four main helis.
Why don't you try and get your code into the main branch, instead of releasing patched exes yourself for every release?
Yeah, that'd be handy - the simpler we can make the process of setting all this stuff up, the better.
Cheers,
DD
EDIT: Just been thinking about the Havoc's MFD - will it be possible to define a different size and position for it in eech.ini? (For the Commanche and Hokum sets I deliberately positioned the MFDs in the same place to avoid problems, but obviously this isn't possible for the Havoc's single screen and it would be a bit of a pain if we have to save the game, exit EECH, edit the eech.ini and restart the game every time we switch from a Hokum to a Havoc or vice versa. Maybe something like the following in the eech.ini would avoid this problem:
MEMEXPORT=1
export_mfd=1
export_mfd_adapter=0
export_mfd_screen_width=1280
export_mfd_screen_height=480
export_mfd_commanche_left_pos=80,0,560,480
export_mfd_commanche_right_pos=720,0,1200,480
export_mfd_apache_left_pos=80,0,560,480
export_mfd_apache_right_pos=720,0,1200,480
export_mfd_hokum_left_pos=80,0,560,480
export_mfd_hokum_right_pos=720,0,1200,480
export_mfd_havoc_pos=500,0,780,280
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 10/26/07 06:08 PM
Retro or DD - I was just wondering if there was any way for a VB program to get the output of the CommServer please? I have just designed a VB program for the ASI to sit on another PC and display the speed...
The reason for this I would like to have a small (approx 10-12") screen on another PC displaying the ASI, Altimeter and HSI.
Altimeter and HSI next if VB can grab those variables too!
Cheers
PS If anyone wants the VB code or EXE just drop me a pm...
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 10/27/07 08:20 AM
What VB version?
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 10/27/07 02:36 PM
VB6...
Cheers
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/03/07 06:29 AM
Done a couple of little VB exe's. Link is below if you want to try them - need to get them able grab the data from the commm server next...
http://www.uploadcomet.com/download.php?file=01a709c498af6431c48ce2ed481b70baCheers
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/03/07 08:54 AM
Duh, sorry this just fell off my radar - are you reading data from the shared memory already?
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/03/07 01:15 PM
No worries Retro
No I need to put some code in there to listen for that data...
Is the VarDisplay coded in C/C++? Problem is I have never worked with C just VB6... I can send you the VB source code if you would like to have a look at my 2 efforts?
Cheers
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/03/07 01:30 PM
So you want to talk with the commserver (via the network I presume)? Hmm I'm not sure if there are some (freely available) VB6 libraries that can do this, otherwise I guess you'd need some C DLL that would do the tcp talking and that would offer a nice VB interface..
I finally got rid of my MSVS6 and would rather not reinstall it, so I am afraid I could not do anything with the code. Just out of interest, why do you want to use VB6? It is ancient..
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/03/07 04:29 PM
Yes chap via the network would be the best solution.
The other option is to run it on the same PC that EECH is running - I will be running a multi-monitor setup and have a screen spare to display the MFDs and gauges.
VB6 is the language that I know the best. Not needed to use VB.Net yet...
Cheers
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/04/07 02:11 AM
Retro
Where can I get the code for reading stuff out of the shared memory please? I'll put the free edition of VB.Net onto the PC if needed...
Cheers
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/04/07 07:03 PM
Well, if you want to work with the CommServer then you do not need to access that shared memory at all - you will just ask the commserver for the values you need and it will return them via TCP. This solution can work local and via the network.
You can only access the shared memory if your program runs on the same PC as EECH, however the MFD drawing will likely slow down EECH too much to be enjoyable. I'll see if I can post the shared memory definition for EECH 1.9 in any case, but please note that its layout may still change a bit as new stuff is added.
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/05/07 12:08 AM
Working with the CommServer seems to be the best option, as I can then offload the work for updating the ASI and ALT gauges to a spare PC...
Next question is how do I go about asking the CommServer for the values (air speed, altitude) I need please?
Once I have got those I would like to build two other seperate items - Upfront display (switchable between target and nav data - possibly others depending on the into presented by the CommServer and actual use in real life) and Attitude indicator if possible!
Cheers
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/05/07 07:38 PM
The commserver uses the IL2 "devicelink" protocol, see
hereThe last version of the CommServer should know the following IDs (there are some bugs in this list IIRC) -
IDsIt might be a good idea to get DDs udpspeed program to see it working before you try programming something yourself - so you can make sure it actually works, and what values to expect.
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/07/07 03:03 PM
I popped a version on a spare PC, fired up EECH and the CommServer (once I was in the cockpit) and it worked - not all correct data for the Apache! Thanks also for the links to the bits of info, they will be very useful whichever solution I choose.
I may have a bash with UDPSpeed to see if I can get it displaying just the 3 or 4 analog gauges I need.
However I might continue rolling my own, we'll see if I can get info out of the CommServer using the MS Winsock control (it does UDP as well as TCP).
One thing I will say, is that it is a tiny bit of a pain having to ALT + Tab out of the cockpit, fire up the CommServer (via a batch file) and then launch UDPspeed on the remote PC - I wonder if it were possible to run a batch file automatically once you were in the Cockpit? If the file were edited before flying to point to the CommServer location, it could automatically run the CommServer when you entered the cockpit - just a thought...
Might put that in the EECH future requests if Arneh thinks it's possible and useful.
Cheers
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/08/07 01:51 PM
Last night I did some more coding and came up with a little program that can connect to a running CommServer across the network. What I found is that for the Apache the data coming out of the CommServer is incorrect for the most part!
If anyone else wants the program just drop me a PM...
Cheers
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/08/07 06:07 PM
Yeah for now you should try comanche+hokum.
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/10/07 12:01 AM
Tried DD's Comanche UDPspeed and lots of the data for that is incorrect as well!
The CommServer version I have is 1.8.5.3 and I'm running the custom 1.9 version of the EECH Exe with Mue's exporting in...
Are there planned updates to fix the data exporting please? Is there anything I can do to help, that doesn't involve C/C++ coding - I just don't have any experience with that language...
Cheers
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/11/07 06:24 PM
Rgr I'll install these and take a look
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/16/07 12:00 AM
Any joy please chap?
Just that I might be purchasing a 4 x 20 LCD module (I know it's not as many lines as the real thing - doubt I could afford the MilSpec version lol) that I can pop into the pit as the UpFront display... Would be great if I could write some VB code to display stuff out of the CommServer on it!
Cheers
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/18/07 02:29 AM
UpFront panel progress for simpit...
http://flickr.com/photos/glyndavies/2041347203/in/set-721576014480953494 x 20 USB LCD module is on it's way - woo hoo! Thank you
eBay and Andy...
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/19/07 05:29 PM
Hmm which data? I see that for the apache all lamp bits are missing but most of the other data (flight info..) should arrive correctly..
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/20/07 09:57 PM
Retro
Fired up my little EXE to grab the data coming out of the CommServer and this was what I got (from the Apache):
R/30 - Indicated airspeed
EECH 50kts CommS data - 91
EECH 100kts CommS data - 185
R/40 - Barometric Alt
EECH 0ft CommS data - 60
EECH 100ft CommS data - 91
EECH 200ft CommS data - 131
R/451 - Radar Alt
EECH 0ft CommS data - 0.1
EECH 100ft CommS data - 30
EECH 500ft CommS data - 152
Compass data is OK - just reads minus value from South > North and plus value North > South i.e East = 90 and West = -90
The engine data RPM/temp/torque I can't get my head round yet...
I would like to try and recreate screens on the UpFront display but I need to decide which 4 lines (or less) to display in each group - I am assuming that the "View" rocker switch on the UFD switches to different groups of data.
The real one looks like it has about 10 lines of data by a damn site more than 20 characters wide!
Cheers
Posted By: arneh
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/20/07 10:59 PM
R/30 - Indicated airspeed
EECH 50kts CommS data - 91
EECH 100kts CommS data - 185
That's obviously km/h for the CommS data.
R/451 - Radar Alt
EECH 0ft CommS data - 0.1
EECH 100ft CommS data - 30
EECH 500ft CommS data - 152
And this is obviously meters.
R/40 - Barometric Alt
EECH 0ft CommS data - 60
EECH 100ft CommS data - 91
EECH 200ft CommS data - 131
Meters again, but why it starts at 60 I don't know...
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/20/07 11:54 PM
Thanks very much for that Arneh. When I get back from my travels in a couple of days I'll look up some conversion rates and apply them to the data coming out of the CommServer.
Are there any plans to include the CommServer in the main code please?
I will have a go at creating a batch file that will launch EECH, wait for a few seconds then fire up the CommServer so you don't have to do the ALT + TAB thing...
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/24/07 01:16 AM
Ah ha!
Here is the code to paste into a batch file that will allow you to start EECH and then after a 10 second delay it will fire up the CommServer (minimised) - no more of this Alt + Tab malarkey!
START C:\Razorworks\cohokum\cohokum1_9_0b.exe
SLEEP 10
START /MIN C:\EECH_CommServer\EECHCommServer.exe 10000Couple of things - the 2 paths on the first and third line need to point to where your EECH and CommServer EXEs are residing. Plus you have to pop the sleep.exe file in the same location as the batch file. You can get the
DOS Sleep file from
this page on the excellent ComputerHope.com site (third one down in the list)...
Hope this is useful to someone else besides me (who hates alt-tabbing, as it seems to upset my keyboard for a short while)!
Cheers
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 11/24/07 11:59 PM
Thanks go to Arneh for kindly pointing out the error with my data conversion rates! I have now finished a stand-alone VB6 UDP Altimeter gauge that can grab the data for the radar altitude from Retro's excellent CommServer (across the network and display it on another PC).
flickr photo page Cheers very, very much guys for giving me the tools and info I need to create. Damn you guys are good to us!
(If anyone wants the EXE just drop me a PM...)
Posted By: homeracer
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 12/16/07 09:10 PM
Hi,
where I find the current files for the Exe 1.90b? I have all stuff installed, and MFD-Export itīs ok. But no other Data transmitted. Who can help me please?
best regards
Mike
Posted By: homeracer
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 12/19/07 07:32 PM
hi, cannot help me for my problem? or don't they understand my problem?
cu
Mike
Posted By: GrizzlyT
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 12/19/07 08:45 PM
If you have MFDs exporting, then you have mue's "hacked" exe. If you are looking to run the UDPSpeed overlays, then you need the overlays from DickDastardly and the Commserver app, from Retro. See DD's post back, on April 23 (in this thread). It has the instructions, as well as links to everything you need.
Hope that helps.
Posted By: Retro
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 12/22/07 10:47 AM
If you have MFDs exporting, then you have mue's "hacked" exe.
Hmm... didn't we have an 'official' release that includes his features?
Posted By: GlynD
Re: Retro's EECHCommserver - 12/22/07 06:11 PM
No not yet...
Cheers