Jump to content

Flight Simulator 2000 Instrument Panels Issue


rfnagel

Recommended Posts

I'm running Windows 10 and Flight Simulator 2000 (Professional Edition, if that matters).

 

A problem that I'm having is that the top edge of the instrument panel is BEHIND the main 3D view window. I can resize the instrument panel, or the main 3D view window, but of course that looks really bad. (See attached screenshots)

 

Several days ago I read SOMEWHERE on the Internet about someone who found a fix for this, but to save my #$%^&*& LIFE and I can't find it ! Does anyone have ANY idea how to overcome this problem? IT'S DRIVING ME NUTZ!

 

FS2000_Panel_Issue_1.jpg

 

FS2000_Panel_Issue_2.jpg

 

FS2000_Panel_Issue_3.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You and me both! This problem is just bizarre, and I have tried to get around this in a lot of ways to no avail.. The only way it shows the full panel is in windowed mode, which gets tiresome after a while. It worked fine in windows 7, but nothing seems to cure the issue in 10.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been experimenting with various DirectDraw wrappers (dgVoodoo2, nGlide, etc...) and recently found DDrawCompat -> https://github.com/narzoul/DDrawCompat/releases/tag/v0.4.0 . I have quite a bit more testing to do with DDrawCompat to see if it causes any bad side effects, but on my first quickie test it seemed like that it SOLVED the problem! :) I need to also check if there is any hit to the framrate in the game.

 

Anyhow, download DDrawCompat-v0.4.0.zip (not the debug version) from here -> https://github.com/narzoul/DDrawCompat/releases/download/v0.4.0/DDrawCompat-v0.4.0.zip , unzip the single "DDraw.dll" file to your FS2000 directory on your hard drive, and see if it helps. To uninstall, simply delete the "DDraw.dll" file.

 

I saw over at the DDrawCompat web site that the DLL can be configured via an INI file -> https://github.com/narzoul/DDrawCompat/wiki/Configuration , but I haven't delved that far into it yet.

 

Anyhow, this might be the fix :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is a great discovery, thanks for the tip! I actually already have some Narzoul's ddraw compatibility DLLs as they work wonders for other games too, I seem to remember having tried it before without luck in FS2000. However, I see he released a new version 23 days ago, so if that fixes FS2000 it is awesome!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I use an older version of that DLL (as well as the previously mentioned ones) for quite a few other older games as well. Papyrus Software's NASCAR Racing 3 and NASCAR Legends, Sierra's Trophy Bass 4, JetFighter III: Platinum Edition for DOS (3DFX Voodoo version) running under a DOSBox SVN Daum build, Hard Truck 2 and King of the Road, and Microsoft Midtown Madness... LOTS of fun! :)

 

P.S. I STILL play single-player CFS2 quite extensively today. Me and my buds used to play CFS2 multiplayer games several times a week (2014-2021), but slacked off only about a year ago. Several months ago we decided to get back into CFS2 multiplayer again, but could NOT connect... NO WAY, NO HOW !. I have NO IDEA WHATSOEVER what the 'eff is up with that: SAME PCs, SAME OS (W10), SAME ISPs, and SAME installs of our copies of the game.

 

We STILL have not had any luck with it. Didn't matter who hosted either.

Edited by rfnagel
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It appears that DDrawCompat is working GREAT for FS2000... no more 3D view window problems like I mentioned above. I ALSO think that it's boosting the framerate a wee bit. For me FS2000 gets a bit choppy on my old clunker with all of the detail settings maxed out.

 

BTW, you can change DDrawCompat's ingame overlay that hotkey if you wish. In FS2000 I have several custom modules that use SHIFT+F11 (as well as SHIFT+F12) for their hotkeys. A simple fix: I added "ConfigHotkey = CONTROL+F11" to DDrawCompat's INI file, so now i can use that hotkey :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FWIW, I posted this in another message thread here in the forums:

 

The problem is due to running FS2000 fullscreen under Windows 10. If you switch to a fullscreen window, the problem disappears, but of course you're left with the windowed titlebar .

 

Anyhow, I had previously experimented with a Direct3D wrapper called "DDrawCompat", but after a lot of twiddling around with it found that it really affected my framerate a LOT... LOTS of stutters and such. That being said, I HAVE finally found a workaround, all without suffering from the framerate problems when using DDrawCompat.

 

Download the utility "AutoHotkey" from https://www.autohotkey.com . After installing AutoHotkey, create a plain text file with the file extension of ".AHK" with the following contents:

 

LWIN & LButton::
WinSet, Style, -0xC00000, A
return

LWIN & RButton::
WinSet, Style, +0xC00000, A
return

 

...and save it to the filename "Windows_Titlebar_Remover.ahk". After loading the AHK script into AutoHotkey you can press the left Windows key and the left mouse button simultaneously to remove the Windows titlebar. Press the left Windows key and the right mouse button simultaneously to display the Windows titlebar.

 

Note that if you run FS2000 as an administrator, or have any of the various Windows compatibility modes enabled, you will need to execute the AutoHotkey script as an administrator for it to function when running the program.

 

You can also go a step further and compile the AHK script into a standalone EXE :) I had a ZIP that I was going to upload as an attachment to this reply, but the forum was giving me an error message "Invalid file" or some such nonsense .

 

Anyways, this fix works PERFECTLY... you can run FS2000 in windowed mode, all without the titlebar, and without any of the performance issues that DDrawCompat (or any other Direct3D wrapper) may introduce :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

(re: invalid file error message for attachment) I went ahead and uploaded the ZIP here to the FlightSim.com file libraries, it should be available for download after it's approved :)

 

 

The file is now live here in the Flightsim.com file libraries, snag it from right here -> https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/fslib.php?do=search&fsec=0&fname=fs2kwtbr.zip :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I use an older version of that DLL (as well as the previously mentioned ones) for quite a few other older games as well. Papyrus Software's NASCAR Racing 3 and NASCAR Legends, Sierra's Trophy Bass 4, JetFighter III: Platinum Edition for DOS (3DFX Voodoo version) running under a DOSBox SVN Daum build, Hard Truck 2 and King of the Road, and Microsoft Midtown Madness... LOTS of fun! :)

 

P.S. I STILL play single-player CFS2 quite extensively today. Me and my buds used to play CFS2 multiplayer games several times a week (2014-2021), but slacked off only about a year ago. Several months ago we decided to get back into CFS2 multiplayer again, but could NOT connect... NO WAY, NO HOW !. I have NO IDEA WHATSOEVER what the 'eff is up with that: SAME PCs, SAME OS (W10), SAME ISPs, and SAME installs of our copies of the game.

 

We STILL have not had any luck with it. Didn't matter who hosted either.

 

Cool! Papyrus made the best racing sims back then! I also fly JetFighter III in DOSbox Daum with 3dfX! One of the best combat sims of its time, sadly overlooked. The feeling of speed in that game is better than any of its peers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It appears that DDrawCompat is working GREAT for FS2000... no more 3D view window problems like I mentioned above. I ALSO think that it's boosting the framerate a wee bit. For me FS2000 gets a bit choppy on my old clunker with all of the detail settings maxed out.

 

BTW, you can change DDrawCompat's ingame overlay that hotkey if you wish. In FS2000 I have several custom modules that use SHIFT+F11 (as well as SHIFT+F12) for their hotkeys. A simple fix: I added "ConfigHotkey = CONTROL+F11" to DDrawCompat's INI file, so now i can use that hotkey :)

 

Indeed, it works perfect for FS2000. I can confirm that there are no more panel issues :D I did not know about the ingame overlay, good tip!

 

Thanks a lot for the explanation on the titlebar fix, this seems like an excellent workaround for getting FS2000 in the air problem-free! I do however not have any significant stuttering issues or slowdowns in full screen mode, either with or without narzouls DDRAW.DDL. Maybe some versions of FS2000 are more prone to this than others.

Edited by flightnerd86
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also fly JetFighter III in DOSbox Daum with 3dfX! One of the best combat sims of its time, sadly overlooked. The feeling of speed in that game is better than any of its peers.

 

Yes, it definitely makes you "I feel the need... the need for speed!" :) P.S. If you're on Facebook, a recent little JF3 video that I uploaded several months ago -> https://www.facebook.com/RFNagel/videos/500957954720572/ . Also, scroll to the bottom of my FB "Games and Programs" photo album here -> https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1852431908256&type=3 ... lots of JF3 pics in that album.

 

Along the same topic, I used to play the hell out of JF1 and JF2 back in the day as well :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks a lot for the explanation on the titlebar fix, this seems like an excellent workaround for getting FS2000 in the air problem-free! I do however not have any significant stuttering issues or slowdowns in full screen mode, either with or without narzouls DDRAW.DDL. Maybe some versions of FS2000 are more prone to this than others.

 

Or maybe your PC is faster than my old rig LOL.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...