Back in FSX and older you could add a gauge to an aircraft. Either from another aircraft or completely custom.
I’ve been hunting around google and the 'net seeing if this can be done in MSFS as well.
My goal:
I’m working on building a G1000 with some 10" LCDs, arduinos, switches and knobs. There are quite a few projects out there as well as some ready made options.Here is the rub, if I want to use the “Pop Out” method (Yes, I know about the FPS drop issues with pop-outs that are being experienced, don’t need to be reminded) that would assume the aircraft I chose has a G1000 gauge. But what if I want to fly an aircraft that only has “steam” gauges in the sim, BUT still would like to have my hardware G1000 working by adding the G1000 gauge to “pop out” in an aircraft that doesn’t normally have one. Yes, yes, yes, I know, not totally realistic but bear with me.
I haven’t really found anything clear on adding a gauge. I’ve seen a couple of mentions about replacing a gauge by compiling a new one and dropping it in the community folder. Well, at least that is what I understood from the info I did find.
MSFS is pretty darn impressive so far, but some things are just about clear as mud. I DO like the community folder layout though. Installing/Uninstalling/Activating/Deactivating add-ons are a breeze now!!!
Please consider joining the DevSupport forum as noted in the pinned post for this SDK forum. You’ll get to interact with both Asobo and Third Party devs who may be able to point you to more detailed assistance. Thanks.
I have not tried myself yet so i do not know if this will work.
You can check the panel folder and backup the panel.cfg,
Here you find the gauges maybe it is possible to swap with other gauge.
This is what I do // in front of the html gauges rather than // the whole section out and leave me with holes in my cockpit, like i said i have no further experience in this.
Maybe it is possible to swap the whole panel,cfg with one from another plane, but i suppose there is more modding required in other file also to accomplish.
Good luck and always backup before you start modding.
I totally get the desire to have this level of customization. I can give you the breakdown of the good and the bad news.
It’s very possible to modify unencrypted aircraft to add, remove or modify just about any part of it. There are available mods that do this already. But, due to the way MSFS aircraft are authored, instruments are built into the 3D model files. Because the model file format is an industry standard, there are tools and techniques to edit these files. But this process is not user-friendly, it’s the same type of workflow professional modelers use. So unless you already know what you’re doing or spend the time to learn and experiment, it will beyond the capabilities of most people.
That said, if you wanted to whack a PFD screen into a steam gauge aircraft and didn’t care if it looked perfect, this would be something that is within reach of someone who is reasonably adept at technical things. If the aircraft already has some kind of computerized instrument, it’s even easier and can be done through text-based configuration files as long as the aspect ratio of the screen is close enough to the target instrument.
I’m a freeware developer and my latest project aims to offer some variations and customization options to allow people to fly a more personalized aircraft. I can provide the source model files and have a repository of instruments so developers can swap out gauges or make other modifications.
If anyone has a real desire to modify an existing aircraft and is willing to put in some work, I extend an invitation to contact me and I will assist where I can.