WideView question

[Sean Patrick Martin]

Hoping someone can help.

Can WideView display two windows from a single client? I want to run the right and left view from a single PC. Each view will use a separate monitor but a single graphics card. The FAQ alludes to this but I can find any information on how to configure this.

[Nat Crea]

You can run a dozen if you want, WideView doesn't care what you display,
it only syncs client computers.

Nat

[Sean Patrick Martin]

Ok thats good.

So if I create say 2 views on the same fsx instance how do I configure WideView to change the angle on each view. The interface just seems to alter the deafult view - not the new views.

Hope this makes sense. Sorry I would post this on the WideView forum but you have to have bought the product first. I want to test before I buy.

[blueskydriver]

Hi Sean,

Maybe there is some confusion, but WideView normally is used when you have multiple PC's connected to one display each, be it CRT or LCD Monitor, or Projector. So, in a setup like some builders, where they have 5 high end PCs with each one connected to a large LCD screen monitor (TV), WideView is what syncs the PCs up to each other.

On all PCs they would have FSX and any add-ons setup exactly the same, and then each PC would be used for one angle. Thus, in a 5 PC setup you would set the single window view (not full screen view) per machine as follows:

1. Left side view
2. Left center view
3. Front view
4. Right center view
5. Right side view

Now, you could set each of those views by moving the view on screen with your keyboard, or the other way is in the config files. Either way, you must save everything on the PC in question in a .FLT file, and then you normally reopen that saved file to fly it again or as a start point. For example, I have a .FLT file saved that is at KMSP at Gate C10 and I always load that file first, then I either decide to fly from KMSP or change my location to somewhere else via the menus and goto airport. The point is that you start from the same .FLT file, so that views you setup stay where you wanted them...

Hopefully, you're still with me here, so I'll answer your question. You say you want to setup a PC with two views using one video card, which is not a problem. You must setup both views or you can call them windows, since you need to use window mode and not full screen mode. So, on your PC you have your primary monitor (display or projector, or whatever you're using) that is setup to be 1. Left side view and on the secondary monitor (display) it is set to be the 2. Left center view. Therefore, you would only need 2 more PCs instead of 5 PCs to finish the remaining views as in my example. You must understand WideView will be used just to coordinate the timing of your views together, but your PCs abilities will come into play at this point. (Note-I used the views from my example above, you could choose whatever you want yours to be).

In other words, WideView tells each PC where they should be in the simulation world and in doing so all the views will be linked to show them correctly. Consequently, if you have 2 high end PCs and 1 PC that is a little slower, and you use the two high end ones to show views 1-2 and 3-4, and then view 5 is on the slower PC it might not be able to keep up. The problem is not WideView it is your PC being to slow. Heck, your high end PC might be fast at one view, but slows down with two views, and thereby, not able to keep up either. When I say keep up, imagine that on two PCs the views look coordinated, but the other is just behind a little, now imagine that in a turn...that slow view will show an angled horizon offset of the faster views...it will not be a pleasant experience to fly.

Finally, are you sure you need WideView? You are planing to use "more than one PC" with a single or multiple views right? Because if you're only asking how to setup a single PC with more than one view or window in FSX, you can find that info in the FSX help files. So, remember WideView is just a coordinator or syncing program, and like Nat says, it doesn't care how many views you use per PC, it only cares about how many PCs are being used...

Best Regards

John

[tennyson]

That is a really good explanation.
I am currently setting up 3 high def projectors on 3 separate PC's. I want to use P3D, but there is a problem with it, I believe.

Can Nat or someone explain it, please, as P3D is streets ahead of FSX in my view.


Frank Cooper

[Sean Patrick Martin]

Thanks for your comments and sorry for the late response.

My main driver has been to minimise the number of PC's for the sim. Currently using 4 pcs - 1 touchscreen pc for overhead and planning, 1 avionics, 1 for the flight sim and forward view and the 1 for side views. The poor little sim room is getting hot from all the screens and pc's.

I figured it all out in the end. Created some external views in the aircraft.cfg. Undocked the two views and viola. It worked on the WideView demo but I ended up using OpusFSX as I had a license.

[sluyt050]

Thanks for your comments and sorry for the late response.

My main driver has been to minimise the number of PC's for the sim. Currently using 4 pcs - 1 touchscreen pc for overhead and planning, 1 avionics, 1 for the flight sim and forward view and the 1 for side views. The poor little sim room is getting hot from all the screens and pc's.

I figured it all out in the end. Created some external views in the aircraft.cfg. Undocked the two views and viola. It worked on the WideView demo but I ended up using OpusFSX as I had a license.

I have almost finished my B737 NG Flight Sim project and will report here later. I use 6 PC's, FSX, ProSim, FSUIPC/WideFS and WideView. 1 FSX/WideView server and 3 FSX/WideView clients for scenery only. Furthermore a 5th machine for ProSim and driving most of the hardware, and number 6 for utility software (Instructor Station, FSGRW, PFPX, Topcat, EFB etc.). The FSX server & ProSim machine each drive 4 2D display's, so in total 6 cockpit and 2 service display's.

My experience is that WideView does a very good job (Intellismooth!) provided that every single FSX scenery view has its own PC & display/projector. In the beginning I used the WideView server for producing 1 highres 3D view but that gave synchronisation problems. According to the WideView manual the best result is obtained if all FSX scenery sliders are set to minimum on the server and the FSX window is kept small.

With OpusFSX I had bad results in terms of network synchronisation. Weather generation was perfect.

Presently I'm replacing FSX by Prepar3D (4 licenses!) and still using WideView. I believe this should work as it does now. Correct me if I'm wrong.