Simviation Forums

Okay I know this has been posted before but here goes again. I am sick and tired of aircraft and panels that will supposedly work in FSX as well as FS9, that don't work in FSX at all. So my question is this: since it it usualy the panel that doesn't work, what is the difference between FS9 panels and FSX panels? What has to be done to an FS9 aircraft/panel to make it work in FSX?

It could be aliased to a non-FSX aircraft, like the FS9 Lear.  Check the panel CFG amd see what if it's aliased. If it is, alias it to an FSX that's similar and works.  The same goes for the sound CFG if the "FSX compatable" is strangely silent under full throttle.

Which aircraft is it?

Okay I know this has been posted before but here goes again. I am sick and tired of aircraft and panels that will supposedly work in FSX as well as FS9, that don't work in FSX at all. So my question is this: since it it usualy the panel that doesn't work, what is the difference between FS9 panels and FSX panels? What has to be done to an FS9 aircraft/panel to make it work in FSX?

==> The GAUGES !
FS9 panels use mostly old format .gau gauges. The most recent .gau gauges are compatible with FSX (but you will get a warning anyway), but unfortunately 80% of them are completely incompatible.

The most recent FS9 planes use XML gauges. Those are completely compatible with FSX, that's why you get no warnings.

What has to be done to make a FS9 panel compatible with FSX ? Make sure it uses compatible gauges.

So you're saying that some of the most recent .gau type gauges will work but ALL .xml type panels should work, right? Okay, this is probably a stupid question but how hard is it to change a .gau type gauge to an .xml type gauge, or can it be done at all? I have played with .xml gauges a little and they don't seem that hard. But the programs I have to edit .gau gauges make them seem incredibly complex and confusing. Should I just look for an .xml gauge/panel and not even bother trying to convert one from .gau?

.gau files are compiled. What you see in the .gau file is not what the creator wrote in it, it is "translated" into understandable stuff for FS (but no more understandable for you). It's exactely like a normal program. The developper writes the program in a certain language, and then it gets "translated" into an exe file, that only Windows can read.

That basically means that you should forget about editing .gau files.

About the only thing to do is see if there is an .XML version and swap them in the panel.cfg. (Keep the four columns of numbers behind the gauge the same.  They are the possition and size of the gauge)