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1. Check the file in the root CFS directory, combatfs.cfg (C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Combat Flight Simulator is where mine is) There is an entry there called 'panel_masking='. See that it is set to '0'.
2. Your imported plane has a pixel other that the color black in the 0,0 position (first pixel in far upper left hand corner) of the bitmap picture for the panel. This pixel must be black (true black where red=0, green=0, blue=0), as the CFS program checks this pixel to see what color is to be transparent. If you think this might be the problem, and it is a lot of the time, fire up your paint program (I use Paint Shop Pro), open up the bitmap file in the panel folder of the plane you are trying to fix (i.e., c:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Combat Flight Simulator\Aircraft\P51d\panel\Panel_Background_640.bmp) zoom way up, and check the color of the first pixel. Just 'cause it looks dark don't mean it's black; you need to be using a program that will properly identify the 'true' color, reporting r,g, and b values. All must be zero. If it ain't, your program should let you choose a tiny, tiny brush, chose the 'true black' color, and paint that sucker black. Trust me, that one tiny pixel makes all the difference. Save it. That'll fix that, if it was a problem. Check all of the bitmaps in the panel folder, there may be others that have a problem.
3. Lastly, the panel.cfg file may need tweaking. Here's the deal: Again, open up the panel subfolder in the folder of the plane you are trying to fix. Open up the panel.cfg file using Notepad (Hint: Let Notepad become the default for .cfg files. Saves a lot of fussing). You will see all the used windows defined first, under [Window Titles], and then 'window00=p51.bmp' or some such, and below that, all of the windows are mapped out. You'll find a paragraph something like this:
[Window00] file=miljet1.bmp size_mm=1000 window_size_ratio=1.0 position=7 visible=1 ident=0
This relates to the Cockpit Panel Window. What you'll need to do is to add the lines CFS wants to see, and remove the 'window_size_ratio=1.0', so that it reads like this:
[Window00] file=miljet1.bmp position=7 size_mm=1000 window_pos=0.0,0.0 window_size=1.000,1.000 render_3d_window=1 pixel_size=0,0 sizeable=1 visible=1 ident=MAIN_PANEL
Add the necessary lines to all of the defined windows in the file. The panels should now work without the black windows. However, if there were operating buttons and switches on the original panels, the line 'render_3d_window=1' killed it. If this bothers you, change the entry to '0'. In addition the lines 'window_size=1.000,1.000' may blow up some windows too large, usually the extra panels [window01] or [window02] or whatever else there is besides the main panel. Same goes for the 'window_pos=0.0,0.0'. Some windows are not meant to be placed here (top left). Lastly, the 'window_size_ratio=' may be necessary for some smaller supplimentary windows to be displayed properly. If you suspect a particular line may be causing more problems, remark it out, like this:
//window_pos=0.0,0.0
At the bottom of the Panel cfg under [Default View] you'll see these two lines:
SIZE_X=8191 SIZE_Y=5000
The numbers identify where the Combat Flight Sim Gunsight (and therefore the scenery horizon) lines-up on screen. If your gunsight is too high, or if you can see that the window is not stretched down all the way in any of the views from the cockpit (check 'em all) then you need to increase the Y numbers. If it is too low, then you need to decrease the Y numbers. The above numbers seem to place it dead center, but that may still leave black bands at the bottom of some views. The value "SIZE_Y=6150' stretch the window all the way down to the bottom of the screen and will fix any black bands that may exist in the alternate views from the cockpit (L,R, and rear). You cannot get the gunsight centered with every imported plane, as these planes were not designed specifically for CFS. Remember, FS98 has no guns. Planes designed for CFS are done from the ground up with the gunsight in mind (panels and *.mdl files). So you end up compromising with imported planes. If you set 'render_3d_window=0', then you can fly the plane using all the cool controls with the mouse (if there are any), and 'drag' the panel down just like any other window to expose the gunsight and do your dogfighting. If all this don't fix it, you have a problem I ain't seen yet.
Glenn McDonald
Colorado Springs, CO
EchoWars@Worldnet.att.net
