CONFIGURING AND USING WIDEVIEW
WidevieW is loaded automatically each time that FS starts, and it appears into the FS's "Modules" menu as follows:
It is very simple to operate with WidevieW. Just open the "Modules" pull-down menu of the FS's menu bar, then select "WidevieW". Each item of the menu is explained into "Using WidevieW" section.
Configuring FS for operating with WidevieW
Important information about how to configure the PC and the Operative System
Each item of the menu works as follows:
Start
|
By default WidevieW does not establish a communication
between the PCs until it isn't manually started. The Start command can
be used only on the server, and once issued it starts the communication
on the server itself and on every client connected to the same socket
number. The clients must be "ready to fly" when WidevieW is
started on the server. From now, if everything is working fine, the clients
will "follow" the server according to the selected data to transfer.
(please see the "Configuring WidevieW" section). |
Stop
|
This command terminates the communication between
the PCs, and it can be used in order to prevent a General Protection Fault
that may occur while FS quits on the clients. "Stop" can be
used on the server only and it automatically stops every client connected
to the same socket number. When the cockpit must be stopped, you have two possible commands: the first is "Stop", the second is "Shutdown remotes". The first simply stops WidevieW so that the clients can be still used for other purposes, while the second shuts down the operative system up to a point for which it is safe to turn off the PC. If you attempt to exit from FS on a client without have issued one of the above commands on the server, some GPF error may occur and the system may stop to respond. |
Pause / resume
|
Suspends and resumes WidevieW. Can be used on the server and locally on a client too. |
Update remote date / time...
|
Can be used to update the time / date on the clients or on the server,
indipendently. |
Config...
|
It can be used to modify the current configuration of WidevieW using an user-friendly configuration dialog. (Please see the "Configuring WidevieW" section). It is operative on every PC of the network. |
Shutdown remotes
|
Once issued on the server, this command terminates FS and shuts down the operative system on all the clients, up to a point for which it is safe to turn the computer off. |
About
|
Shows basic information about the installed version of WidevieW and how to contact the author. |
Quick steps on how to operate with WidevieW once configured:
1) When all the systems of the network (clients + server) are "ready to fly" (FS started and waiting for user's input), then issue the "Start" command on the server. It will establish the communication and will begin to synchronize the clients with the server.
2) If needed, use the "Update remote date / time..."
to synchonize the calendar on the clients. The following, quite self-explanatory
box, will open:
3) If you need, you may also pause and resume WidevieW on the server and/or on any client, all the times that you you want.
4) You may also use the "Config..." command on every PC, if you want to change or to experiment some parameter while the flight is in progress.
5) After a safe and a soft landing you can use the "Stop" or the "Shutdown remotes" command on the server in order to terminate the WidevieW. The first command simply terminates the communication, while the second shuts down the operative system. Do not exit from FS if the transmission has not been terminated, otherwise GPF errors may occur and the system may stop to respond.
To open the configuration dialog box, click on the "WidevieW" menu, then select "Config...". The following window will appear (the actual settings may be different):
IMPORTANT: When a setting is changed on a client, please remember to always restart WidevieW from the server !
All the parameters can be tuned through this dialog box, and there is no need to manually edit wideviewlt.ini. The three buttons at the bottom of the dialog are self-explanatory. -OK- saves the changes and exit, -Default- restores the factory's default values for network's parameter according to the current role, and -Cancel- closes the dialog without saving the changes.
The "Role" parameter sets the role of the current PC. Click "Server" if the PC is a SERVER, otherwise click CLIENT. Usually the server is the PC where the input peripherals are connected, where the instrument panel is displayed, and where you actually fly. The clients are the PCs that "follows" the server and where the auxiliary views/panels are displayed.
The parameters included in the "Network" frame are used to set the options for the communication.
"Priority" can be used to set the priority of WidevieW over the other running processes. WidevieW is a time-critical application: this means that its code MUST be executed at a very regular interval and many times per second. If this condition is not satisfied, the clients will not be smooth. WidevieW is an application that share time and resources with many other running processes (including FS itself). The priority can be:
Min - minimum: WidevieW's code is executed only when the other running applications are not performing any other important / heavy task
Norm - normal: WidevieW's code is executed with the same priority of all the other "normal" applications with which it shares time and resources. FS and almost any other application runs using this priority.
High - high priority: in this case all the other running processes having a lower priority are suspended when WidevieW have to execute its code. This ensure that WidevieW is executed at regular intervals, even when some other application needs to complete or to begin an important task
Max - maximum. This is the highest possible priority. In this case the entire operating system could be suspended when WidevieW needs to execute its code. When this option is used, WidevieW is executed at very regular intervals, and the operating system will suspend its activity, even if it needs to perform other vital tasks, such as flushing the disk's cache, or updating the mouse's position.
The best setting for most cases is "Max" on all the PCs.
"Socked ID" is the channel on which the server and the clients will communicate between them. This value MUST BE THE SAME on every networked PC. If the server sends the data on the channel #8000, the all clients MUST listen on the channel #8000 . Usually the value of 8000 works on every PC, but if you own a software that already use this channel, WidevieW will be unable to connect and an error message will be displayed. In this case try with a different value (in the 1000-9999 range) and DON'T FORGET TO UPDATE EVERY PC TO THE SAME VALUE.
"Buffers" sets the size of the network's buffer. An higher value should decrease the number of unprocessed packets (smoother motion), but it may delay the client's response. I've found that a value of 5 is fine for both the server and the clients.
"Update rate" sets the update rate in milliseconds. The default value is 15: this should ensure up to 60 packets per second if both the server and the clients PCs are fast enough. This parameter is very important: on the server it sets the transmission rate, and on the clients it sets the "listen" rate. On a client, when the blocking mode is enabled. the Update rate's value is ignored (unused).
"Blocking Mode" is available on the clients only. When the
blocking mode is enabled, WidevieW will permanently wait for a packet. While
the PC is waiting , it can perform all the other important tasks, but as soon
as a new packet is detected, WidevieW (according to the priority setting)
will immediately take the control again in order to process the incoming data.
This cycle occurs in background many times per second (depending on the server's
send rate), it is totally transparent to the user and it gives the highest possible
performance for the current configuration (also reducing the risk of "unprocessed"
packets). The only drawback of enabling this feature is that the clients are
"locked" until a new packet is received, so WidevieW may stop to respond
if the server ends the transmission abnormally.
The behaviour of this parameter is extremely system-related. Just try on you
clients to see what is the best setting.
"Don't show IPX errors" is self-explanatory: if enabled it suppresses the warning messages that appears when some network error occurs. The default value is DISABLED (errors are notified).
The "Data to handle" frame is used to define what kind of data should be processed. The server must send all the data used by each client. Each client can receive a different combination of data depending on its function. To speed up a client, please never select to process useless data. Furthermore, never handle data not supported by the current aircraft (for example Engine 3 for the 737).
Each parameter of the "data to handle" frame works as follows:
Lat, Lon, Alt..... | Aircraft's position |
Lights | All the external lights (land, taxi, strobe) and the panel's light |
Control surfaces | Gear, flap, spoiler, trim, rudder, elevator, aileron, parking brake |
Accept time / date update | If enabled, the client will accept and process the time / date information sent from the server |
Fuel - Engine 1 | Tanks' capacity, fuel quantity, engine #1 (all the gauges + throttle pos., mixture, RPM where applicable, etc) |
Engine 2,3,4 | Same of above, but works on engine #2, #3 and #4 (does not handle fuel) |
Clouds - visibility - prec. | All the clouds layers, including thunderstorm, visibility, and precipitations. These information will be updated automatically during the flight without the need to issue the "Update remote weather" command from the server each time that the weather changes. |
Winds / temp / press. | Winds, temperature and pressure. These information will be updated automatically during the flight without the need to issue the "Update remote weather" command from the server each time that the weather changes. |
The "Follow me mode" frame, is active only when the current
role is client and the parameters contained here can be used to fine tune
the "blurry scenery" issue and to fix several behaviours like rain
not falling and weather not updating. The recommended settings are: Use Pause
(active) , Force SLEW in case of rain (active), Force texture / weather updating
(active), Every: 20, For: 2000. If your clients work fine with those settings,
please avoid to change them.
The "Use PAUSE" parameter is usually the best setting, but
the water effect (and other effects) will not work. If you want to have all
the effects active, please select "Use SLEW" instead, which
is usually less smooth (depending on the PC) but supports all the effects.
The "Force SLEW in case of rain", automatically switches
to SLEW when a precipitation (rain / snow) is detected and PAUSE is in use.
This lets the precipitation to actually fall. The modality is automatically
switched back to PAUSE as soon as the precipitation finishes.
"Force texture / weather updating" should be always enabled,
and can be used to automatically load the scenery while the flight is in progress
(necessary when Use Slew is selected) or to update the weather when it changes
on the server (necessary when Use Pause is selected). The Every and
For boxes contains respectively every how many seconds the refresh
should be performed (in seconds) and for how long time (in milliseconds).
The default values of 20 and 2000 are usually fine for most systems.
IMPORTANT: When a setting is changed on a client, please remember to always restart WidevieW from the server !
Default / recommended configuration on the server for most situations
Default / recommended configuration on the client for most situations
Configuring FS for operating better with WidevieW
As soon as WidevieW is fully installed, configured, and operative, you can configure FS on the server and on the clients in order to better optimize it for the multiple monitor support.
The settings should be saved on the startup flight. Before saving the startup situation, it is better to temporary stop WidevieW, issuing the "Stop" command on the server. As soon as the startup situation has been saved, WidevieW can be restarted again issuing the "Start" command on the server.
My suggestion is to make a client the most possible similar to the server. Always install the same scenery and the same texture; if you install some patch on the server, repeat the installation on every client. Make sure that all the add-ons installed on a PC are of the same version used on the others. Set the same degree of realism and the same aircraft's options on every PC (very important !!!). Use the advanced weather on ALL the PCs. Try to keep your FSs always smart, clean and very similar between them.
How to optimize FS2002
1) "Target Frame Rate" option in preferences->display->hardware: use the most proper setting depending on your hardware's speed and power (between 15 and 25 for a 1.0Ghz and 1.7Ghz CPU respectively). Avoid to use "unlimited". This parameter is used to determine the amount of time for which the computer should load the scenery and draw it, instead of doing other things. Setting a value too much high may produce blurry scenery after several minutes of flying, problems with scenery loading and also instability in WidevieW and FS2002.
2) Dynamic scenery and AI Traffic: currently WidevieW doesn't support dynamic scenery and AI Traffic, at least the "randomly" generated (only the "on-schedule" traffic is supported, if the clients are on the same date / time and have the same traffic database). If you are not interested in AI-Traffic, just leave the setting to off. Furthermore you may delete the "traffic.bgl" file from the hard drive, in order to actually eliminate any trace of AI aircrafts, gaining some additional performance. Instead, if the AI Traffic is desired, set the slider as appropriate, but, in order to avoid system's crashes and instability, please make sure that when WidevieW is started from the server, either the server and the clients are at the same airport / gate and on the same date / time.
3) Reorienting the outside views: all the commands used to perform this task has been removed from WidevieW and everything is carried out by editing the "panel.cfg" file of the aircraft in use on the client (it is usually located into FS's \aircraft\my_aircraft_name\panel). Toward the bottom of the file, you should find something like this:
[Views]
VIEW_FORWARD_DIR=3.0,0.0,0.0
In order to reorient the view, just change the last digit to the desired view
angle, for example 45.0 (note the 1/10th degree of precision !), then save the
panel file and select that aircraft from FS. Positive numbers rotate to the
right, negatives to the left. If the above lines are not contained in the panel.cfg
that you are using, you can still copy them from the default Cessna or Lear
(avoid to type them directly to prevent errors) and they will work.
In addition to view's reorientation, adjusting the zoom factor can be still
required in order to properly make a "continuous line" between the monitors.
This task can be performed from FS's view menu and saved in the startup flight.
Finding the proper view angle and zoom setting is VERY system's related and
may require several hours of work and a lot of experiments. To know more details
about this topic, please see this section.
4) Removing the on screen information (PAUSE, SLEW, etc): the english.fll file included in WidevieW can be used as a replacement of the FS's default and removes "SLEW", "SIMULATION PAUSED", "BRAKES", "PARKING BRAKES" and "SOUND OFF". This file can be used only in the English version of FS2002 and DOESN'T work under Windows XP. To remove the slew's coordinates from the top of the monitor, just save the default flight with the coordinates disabled, or open the ".FLT" file with Windows Notepad and search for the following statement:
SlewDisplay=bla bla bla...
To remove, just write Off in place of bla bla bla...
5) Sound: in order to get additional performance on the clients, it is advisable to switch the sound off from FS.
6) If the server is used for gauges only, make sure that the outside view is as small as possible and put all the scenery's quality sliders to the minimum. This will increase the number of packets sent by server.
7) If a client is used to display a "spot plane view" or a "tower view", in order to avoid stutters, please make sure that under FS2002's View options, the "Gradual Transition" box is DISabled and "Type" is FIXED. Furthermore, if you want to see the landing lights and the external mobile parts working properly, make sure that the aircraft active on the server is the same active on the server, and that WidevieW is configured to support Lights and Control surfaces. Finally, make sure that WidevieW is configured to "Use SLEW" on that client.
Important information about how to configure the PC and the operative system.
All the general suggestions used for optimizing a system when flying stand-alone, also applies to WidevieW, but the most important are:
1) If you want to start FS automatically as soon as the Operative System starts, just put a shortcut to FS.EXE in the Windows Start Menu. The procedure and the menu's names are different depending on the version of the OS and its language. Please consult the documentation of your OS in order to know more.
2) When a client is used only for displaying the scenery and anything else, avoid to keep the resources busy with useless things. Disable any antivirus and scheduled operations, use only "light" OS like Windows 98 SE, avoid to use resident software. Also, disable all the unused peripherals like, for example the Sound board (very important !).
3) If Windows XP is in use, it is very important to disable the "system restore" option in order to avoid blurry scenery and system's instability.