Simviation Forums

I've gotten this idea after being fed up with a lot of panels for FS9 missing all of the old default gauges in FSX.

I did it.. and in theory it will work. What you NEED to do though.. is go throught the panel.cfg files on the FS9 panels and change the names of the gauges..

example:   Mooney_Bravo!Altimeter     to   MooneyBravo!Altimeter  (I removed the underscore ..Any change is fine)

And then when you copy the Mooney_Bravo.gau file into the gauges folder.. rename it MonneyBravo.gau



The reason for this is that there are some subtle differences between some FSX and Soma FS9 gauges and they  share the same name. I can't remember the troublesome ones, but if you don't change the names; the FS9 gauges files will over-write the FSX gauges and the differences don't match up well... Especially in the VC.

I've gotten this idea after being fed up with a lot of panels for FS9 missing all of the old default gauges in FSX.  I am thinking about re-installing FS9 and then copying the main gauge folder into FSX's gauge folder.  Has anyone tried this, or think I will throw the Earth off of its axis by doing this?
Also, if anyone's done this with bad results PLEASE tell me.
Thanks

This, IMO, would be a VERY bad idea!

The FS9 gauge file will most likely contain alot of FS98 gauges which are NOT compatible
with FSX.  Only gauges created  for FS9 or XML gauges ( and I believe CFS gauges )
will work in FSX.

When importing FS9 aircraft into FSX it is best to copy the gauges into the aircrafts
panel folder. This way you won't clutter up your main FSX gauge folder and if you
find the gauges aren't compatible, or you don't wish to keep the aircraft in FSX,
it's easier to replace the "bad" gauges or remove the whole installation.

   Paul

Absolutely, a lot of FS9 default gauges are NOT compatible with FSX. Transfering them in the FSX directory will have not effect but new error popups for incompatible gauges.

The only valid trick is to edit the panel.cfg to use the FSX default gauges. Not a great deal, actually, by looking at the default FSX planes cfgs, anyone can easilly understand how it works.

No need to reinstall FS9. If you wish to try it most of the default gauges can be found in MSGAME3.cab on FS9 CD-2 (I think).

A lot of the FS9 default gauges WILL work fine in FSX. The only one I've had problems with so far is Boeing777-300.gau. It won't give error messages but the included gauges don't display.

This, IMO, would be a VERY bad idea!

It can create problems.. and it's best to know what you're doing, and why. If you haven't found (or don't know how to find) suitable replacements for for the REALLY old gauges, then there's no point.

My Mojave used a lot of FS9 guges and the FSX equivelants didn't look right. And obviously, the FSX planes wouldn't like the FS9 gauges (of the same name). Renaming the old FS9 gauges and then editing the panel.cfg was much easier than redesigning the VC to use FSX gauges.

In that case, it's a VERY good idea  :)

No need to reinstall FS9. If you wish to try it most of the default gauges can be found in MSGAME3.cab on FS9 CD-2 (I think).

A lot of the FS9 default gauges WILL work fine in FSX. The only one I've had problems with so far is Boeing777-300.gau. It won't give error messages but the included gauges don't display.

The gauges of the FS9 Bell 206 won't work as well.

No need to reinstall FS9. If you wish to try it most of the default gauges can be found in MSGAME3.cab on FS9 CD-2 (I think).

A lot of the FS9 default gauges WILL work fine in FSX. The only one I've had problems with so far is Boeing777-300.gau. It won't give error messages but the included gauges don't display.

The gauges of the FS9 Bell 206 won't work as well.

Fair enough but it does no harm to try these things. Any gauges that don't work are easily removed if you install them to the Panel folder of the appropriate aircraft first as Paul & others suggested.

Absolutely, a lot of FS9 default gauges are NOT compatible with FSX. Transfering them in the FSX directory will have not effect but new error popups for incompatible gauges.

The only valid trick is to edit the panel.cfg to use the FSX default gauges. Not a great deal, actually, by looking at the default FSX planes cfgs, anyone can easilly understand how it works.

All of the FS9 gauges that Microsoft published are in fact completely compatible with FSX.  They are however dependent on the file msvcr70.dll.  If this file is not located in your main FSX folder, or in your Windows\System32 folder, then the gauge will not appear.
Solution is to copy the file from your FS9 main folder into one of these two other folders.  The FS9 gauges affected are:
737-400.gau
Bell_206B.gau
Boeing777-300.gau
Cessna172.gau
Cessna182ifr.gau
Cessna182s.gau
Kingair.gau
Lear_45.gau
Mooney_Bravo.gau

Doug Dawson

[quote]All of the FS9 gauges that Microsoft published are in fact completely compatible with FSX.

They are compatible.. but I'm here to tell ya.. there are some differences (in gauges of the same name)... mainly (but not exclusively) dimensions.

I still suggest renaming the FS9 gauges before using them in FSX

They are compatible.. but I'm here to tell ya.. there are some differences (in gauges of the same name)... mainly (but not exclusively) dimensions.

I still suggest renaming the FS9 gauges before using them in FSX

That's a sensible precaution & I'll take your word for it. I don't have the full version of FSX so don't know if there are any conflicts with default gauge names from FS9. The fact that a lot of the gauges seem to be in the Panel folders of individual aircraft makes it more difficult to check the gauge names. I would have thought that this problem would have been anticipated with any new versions of default gauges being renamed to avoid possible conflicts. Any experienced panel designer would do this but nothing surprises me with FSX. I would also have expected the FS9 default gauges (& that missing DLL file to make them compatible) to be already included as they have been throughout the MSFS series until now.

It's funny.. one of the things I do miss about FS9 is the aircraft diversity. I've been so removed from managing a big hangar, that I forgot all the tricks. Namely; keeping special gauges aircraft specific (in THAT aircrafts panel folder). THat "could" resolve many issues.

Does FSX look first in the plane's panel folder, making it possible to go ahead and not change gauge names ?

Does FSX look first in the plane's panel folder, making it possible to go ahead and not change gauge names ?

I'm not certain but that's the way it works with textures in CFS2 & previous versions of FS. One way to confirm it would be to experiment. You will be in a better position than me to try it.

Checking gauges out by pasting them into the Panel folder is a good idea when trying a new aircraft/panel for the first time. I've been doing this as a matter of course ever since discovering it was possible soon after FS9 was released. However, I would prefer all common gauges like the defaults to be in the FS Gauges directory. This makes installing aircraft so much easier.

I'll experiment later today and post results...  :)