The thing that has prevented me from fully embracing the new generation of MSFS, whether 2020 or 2020, is the difficulty in interacting with 3D cockpits. Yes, they are very realistic looking and beautiful. I want to love them…but I can’t.
My issues-
I setup custom camera views so I can easily see the auto pilot quadrant, the throttle quadrant, cockpit zoomed out, cockpit zoomed in, Raio quadrant, etc. Great views of all. HOWEVER, to adjust anything- heading, altitude, frequencies, using those custom views you can no longer see out the window. Some knobs, like NAV frequency, etc. take time to set. For all I know I could be heading into a mountain or doing a nose dive. Sure, I can zoom out and see my whole cockpit panel but then the switches and knobs are too small to work with (especially if there is even a little turbulence.)
2D cockpits were nowhere near as realistic looking but you could press any button, adjust any knob, without loosing sight of the environment. In the new FS all you see is the specific part of the panel you setup views for. If my joystick/throttle combo had 20 or 30 buttons I could probably program quicker methods for dealing with some things but even then I would be switching around to differet custom views.
So I want to know how folks here deal with controlling things in the 3D cockpit.
If I need to hand fly while also doing a lot of radio tuning, like when I’m flying the Long-EZ into Simventure Oshkosh and being handed off to different controllers, I use my Honeycomb Bravo. There are switches that let me pick which radio I’m tuning, and then the knobs on the top of the Bravo dial in the frequency. I can do this without actually looking at the controls, and then look all around outside using TrackIR head tracking.
I find using the mouse to click on the cockpit far less realistic than having a controller with assigned buttons, even if the controller doesn’t match. It’s more about the process and the tactile feel than it is having it look the same. Everything I need to do while flying is on the Bravo. I’ll go ahead and click on stuff when doing a start-up procedure on the ground though.
There are other controllers that are just knobs for tuning radios, which can be setup for dedicated radios and make it even easier. I might go down that road when I get more into IFR training.
A head tracker (TrackIR in my case), hardware radio, a ton of bindings on my keyboard and yoke / throttle quadrant and flying with a yoke instead of a joystick helps a whole lot. I say this because I can remain in control of the aircraft with my left hand on the yoke and right on my mouse interacting with the cockpit.
That is definitely a nice controller…a bit pricier than I would like but thanks for the recommendation. However, how do you select, for instance, nav radios, so the increase/decrease knob will adjust it. Or Alt or Hdg. I only see buttons to turn them on … am I wrong?
Maki152- that all souinds good too. What a shame though that to get the ease of interacting with a cockpit/panel you now have buy so much external hardware. In FSX it was so easy (and required no expenditure.) Sometimes I think the quest for realism (visually mostly) has taken over the need for functionality. I’d gladly take the current visuals and the 2D cockpit view of FSX. (not to mention the ATC…) But that’s just me, I guess.
There are different ways you can do it. For example, you can throw the first switch, and now you’re in radio tuning mode. The knob on the left that usually controls AP mode, can now select com1,come2,nav1,nav2. The knob on the right does frequency. Another switch on the panel can control whether you’re fine tuning or doing whole number increments, etc.
Again, my problem- I would imagine with enough hardware (I have one computer, 2 monitors) and dedicated flight hardware, many many switches, buttons, etc) it would become easier. But this sim was released for the masses, most of who are problably like me- a long time simmer who has a computer, joystick/throttle combo, and 1 or 2 monitors.
When I find myself in the air and needing to tune radios, adjust heading and altitude in prep for landing, or making changes to the flight plan/procedures, the only way to see those parts of the panel close ernough in order to tweak them is using the view keys, default or custom. When those are visible, the outside environment is not. All phases of flight require an awareness of the environment (of course in severe IFR condidtions of low or no visiblity you sare flying blind…). In all other sims, MSFS or XPlane etc. you could adjust panel knobs and switches withouit losing sight of the surroundings. In addition, MSFS 3D panels always have further obstructions, such as the nose of the aircraft or center strut in the windshield, making the ability to see outside and enjoy the great visuals we all waited for even harder if you want to enjoy the scenery wehile keeping tabs on your instruments. That’s why, if you notice, almost all the WOW screenshots are from spot plane/outside view, not from within the cockpit.
That is my gripe with the sim. The decisuion to do away with 2D panels was, at least as an option, was not wise. I see many, many posts by those who found them more usable. Because FS2020 did not have them, the 3rd party developers are not making aircraft with them.
I continue to try and deal with FS2020 (I’m not ready to take on the glitchy bug-ridden 2024) and find a way to deal with the 3D panels.
Are you using any head tracking? That might solve a lot of your problems. Window frames and pillars aren’t really an issue when you can move your head around. You can also very quickly look at the control you need, grab it, and then return your gaze to the windows while still adjusting the control. As a VFR GA scrub I won’t fly without it really.
Another solution might be to breakout the avionics to a separate window on monitor 2 or setup another view that looks at the panel and put that on monitor 2, while you’re looking out the windows on the primary.
I’m not trying to be mean, but I think the days of 2D panels are, as they say, history.
Good suggestions.
It seems that when I breakout avionics to another monitor not all the switches work and I have to activate them in the main window/monitor. Even then, I like the outside visibility better with the old 2D panels.
I understand that 2D has gone the way of the dinosaurs, which I think is very unfortunate. To make everybody happy (and there are countless posts by others who feel the same, having grown up with FS9 FSX, etc) MSFS should have given the option of 2D or 3D. Since they did not, developers are not including 2D in their addon aircraft. The only advantage I see in the 3D cockpits is purely visual and definitely not ease of function. Just my view (and many others.)
I’ll keep trying to adjust but it is a struggle.
How about putting the main window on the panel then, and breaking out an outside view to a separate window that’s in front of the aircraft/outside the cockpit? You could even move the main window to monitor 2, and put the breakout with the outside view on your primary display.
I remember when the “virtual cockpit” was introduced in FS98. It looked terrible, and I thought it was mainly a gimmick. They basically pasted a low resolution copy of the 2D panel on a crude 3D model of the plane’s interior that looked like 1980’s VR. As simplistic as the sim was back then, and on an 800x600 display, it didn’t make sense to be inside the cockpit pretending it was real.
I stuck to 2D panels for years afterwards, but it eventually became apparent that the virtual cockpit was the path forward.
Nowadays, 2D panels are not only a departure from realism, but a legacy feature that’s a burden for developers to maintain, especially when there are features like dedicated panel views that do effectively the same thing as the 2D panel did.
I can’t recommend TrackIR enough. It really makes using the 3D cockpit realistic, effective, and enjoyable.
I have never had to worry about any of that. My plane isn’t going to go into a nose dive or crash into a mountain if I look away for a few seconds, I know how it’s flying and I’ve scanned the instruments. I’m ahead of the airplane.
Always remember to aviate, navigate and communicate. If you’re aware of what’s happening, looking away for a few seconds won’t hurt. And if you’re not, then you aviate first before messing around with radios or knobs.
Even when I’m landing and I gotta look away for a few seconds (eg. to disconnect the A/P and A/T on the Airbuses), I have a full mental picture of what is going on and where I will be within the next few moments while I do what I gotta do. If I’m not confident I can safely look away, I stay focused on flying the plane (aviating) until I am sure it is safe.
This just depends on what and where you’re flying. Simventure, for example, may require you to fly at about 1000’ agl and tune the radios while hand flying something that may not hold its attitude for more than a few seconds. So this is definitely a problem that needs a solution. In my case, I solved it with hardware: TrackIR and the Bravo.
I am going to try the new (not sure how new but I just heard about it) Beam Eye Tracker software. It’s $30 and looks incredible. No hardware needed. Nothing to wear.
It would at least make it a lot easier and quicker to look at parts of the panel without calling up different views. Not a perfect answer to what I would like…2D panels, but I’m hoping a big improvement. Thanks for the responses.
This is a great review and setup guide…
That will not work in FS2020. You can’t “breakout” the outside view i.e. external view.
Ah, I didn’t mean a separate external camera view, but using the cockpit camera, and moving the cockpit camera location so it’s actually forward of the windscreen/cockpit thus giving you an unobstructed view.
I jhave never been able to move the cockpit camera beyond (in front of) the cockpit. How would you do that?
I found the same thing and was also frustrated by it, especially in aircraft where some of the controls were down low on the centre console or in other less than sensible places. This is why I invested in a MIAP Pro 24 controller, which is an absolute blessing. I can operate the autopilot, set all my radios including transponder, and autothrottle settings, all without needing to zoom in and take my eyes off the window.
I am back , learning more and more as I go. I have made a HUGE improvement to my enjoyment of 2020. I bought a Thrustmasdter T1600 and TWCS Throttle- a package called T1600M FCS Hotas. It has, between the two, about 20 buttons and multiple hat switches. I can now save 10 cockpit views and access them without having to use the keyboard. I can also use hat switches to increase or decrease things like autopilot altitude or heading. What a blessing! I couldn’t deal with 3D cockpits, having to constantly use a keyboard and mouse to get to all the views I needed and trying to turn knobs with the mouse. It’s become as easy as having a 2D cockpit (almost!).
Now I am just watching YouTbe tutorials on using the G300 and autopilot. Glad I stuck with this sim… When 2024 becomes usable (stops hqaving more bug reports than positive comments) I’ll go for it.