PRELIMINARY INFORMATION ABOUT WIDEVIEW


 

1 - OVERVIEW

WidevieW is a powerful freeware utility for Microsoft(r) Flight Simulator(tm) 2002 (FS). It can be used to create a multi-monitor virtual cockpit using networked PCs. Each PC should run FS: usually one of them is configured as "Server" and the others as "Clients".

The server is the PC where you actually fly and where the input peripherals are connected. The clients will "follow" the server in real time using an high reliable "network slew mode" and they can repeat most of the variables affecting the "visual" environment of the simulator.

The remote PCs can be configured as "virtual outside windows", or to show maps, GPS, spot camera view, tower view, etc.

 

2 - A CONFIGURATION EXAMPLE

I own 6 PCs - one server and five clients. On the server I have all the instruments on a big, full screen panel (no switching between panels !) and a permanent FMC / Moving map as well as a complete overhead panel, on a total of four monitors (multiple graphic boards are installed in the server)

On the five clients I have the front view, the front left view, the front right view, right and left views. All the views are in full screen mode and are rendered by a GeForce 2 card. The monitors are all 17 inches sized and are configured at 1024x768. I like very much this configuration because it give me a very wide angle of view without cutting-out the quantity of the on screen instruments and their size.

 

3 - WHY I'VE CREATED WidevieW

I have tested the possibility to run multiple video boards in the same PC: this lets an user to drag and drop a view into an adjacent monitor connected to the same PC.

With today's hardware and OS this tecnique basically works quite well. Anyway, I also have to say that usually a PC is still slow with just ONE full screen view open... you can imagine with two... or three... or four.... perhaps using slower PCI cards (we only have one AGP slot and most video cards supports only one video output).

My conclusion was that the multiple graphic boards are excellent to install large panels (as explained before, I have four monitors connected to my server) but still insufficient to run multiple outside views (especially if more than two). This because it seems that the scenery is far more power-hungry than the gauges.


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