View Full Version : 2/3 screens in a game
cool_dude
03-04-2005, 23:51
hi all,
im wondering if i can have 3 screens while playing a game. Basically i want to have 3 screens for FS2004.
So;
Center Screen - Shows the normal front of the c.0.c.k pit (sensored that)
Left Screen - Shows Left Window/Left Side
Right Screen - Shows Right Window/Right Side.
Basically i dont want the same display on 3 screens i want them all to be diffrent.
How can i do that?
Cheers All !
it is possible but you will eed two or 3 pcs if i am corect, (each with a copy of FS2004)
these pcs need to be networked and connected to a seperate moniter.
this type of gamings is very unpracticle though.
I think that FS2004 is one of the only games that allows you to play across multiple monitors (if i remember rightly).... which would be easy from a decent graphics card (normal monitor connection, dvi output and s-vid out).
Is there nothing in the options for the game regarding it?
I think that FS2004 is one of the only games that allows you to play across multiple monitors
Not so true...
I remember watching a program that was based in America, about a bunch of guys that had so serious passions to be a pilot.I think they where using FS2000 at the time. They where crazy!! one guy had a real ****pit of a airplain in his garrage and there where other guys that had them in there basements (fighter jet ****pit) if i remember rightly, and there where others that turned rooms of there houses in to exact replicas of ****pits.
Anyway they where doing what cool_dude wants to do with the multiple monitors as part of the windows to play there games........
Useless piece of info but thought id just tell ya :p
Edit:
just re read what you said jooster :rolleyes: that would be alot easier ay
trouble is that would only enable 2 moniters.
uuhh']trouble is that would only enable 2 moniters.
No:
1 monitor on VGA input
1 monitor on DVI input
1 monitor on S-Vid input
cool_dude
04-04-2005, 14:14
yes :) wont i need a pci card for the second monitor though? cos a crt/tft cant run off s-video can it?
Anyway this isnt for me its for my dad, hes thinking of getting a SLI setup if he is able to do this (loves his FS games :p) So the more help i get the better :D
Cheers so far!
cool_dude
p.s: i cant see any options in Fs2004 where you can have multiple screens... :confused:
i didnt know a moniter could run of Svideo, oh well. :)
cool_dude
04-04-2005, 14:24
uuhh']i didnt know a moniter could run of Svideo, oh well. :)
neither did i.... :p
my mate has a monitor that can also be used as a TV, which has, amongst other things, an s-vid input...
it needn't be a monitor, but it would be a 3rd screen
i was under the impression that, unless its the matrox parhiella(sp) card, it will only support 2 outputs, even if the card has 3 possible output connections.
i thought that too. i know my laptop and my x800 only supports 2 screens. eventhough they have 3 outputs. (lapto pscreen,VGA,Svid)
slartiBardfarst
04-04-2005, 18:21
the s-video output is not a 3rd display, it's a clone of one of the other 2 outputs, it is not a separate display in it's own right.
you could hook 3 screen up using it but you would have 2 screen with the same picture.
cool_dude
04-04-2005, 18:33
im sure ive seen a guy using like 10 monitors for this....
:(
its possible alright just you would need a lot of cash and a few nice expensive graphics card made by matrox.
Cooldood, you have. he didnt use one PC, he used several all networked together.
http://www.6v6gt.com/humor/flightsimulator.jpg
cool_dude
04-04-2005, 20:22
thats the pic.Surley Dual 6800gt's shoud cope with 3 screens splitting diffrent images ?
My dad said he'd possbily get SLi if I/He knows this is capable :)
slartiBardfarst
04-04-2005, 21:03
i guess technically 2 cards could work, but i don't think the drivers are up to sli across 3 monitors yet.
He spends all that time and effort putting together that setup and then has 2 dinky little speakers?!? :eek:
* Fat Jez walks away shaking his head in disbelief *
Cheers,
Stephen
i wonder if buying a little cessna would be cheaper.
Depends how good you really want it :)
I know for a fact there are a few virtual pilots lurking around these boards ;) We tend to not talk in the open of such things :p
To undock a window in FS2004, go into windowed mode, undock, then back to full screen. There was some issue with it in FS2004 if i recall. FS2002 undocks no problem to other monitors, though.
Really, for authentic EFIS operation, it's worthwhile looking into Project Magenta (http://www.projectmagenta.com/) software. Network a few machines, one running FS2002/2004, and the slave machines running the add-ons, and you begin to really get a feel for how close you can make your "sim" feel like a modern flightdeck.
Guys like Matt Wietlispach (http://members.aol.com/wietlpachm/howto/pics.htm), Ted Deller, Matt Ford (http://www.737sim.com/Updates.htm), and James Price (http://www.737simguy.com/Updates.htm) are amongst real pioneers of the home built sim. Along with software from the likes of Peter Dowson (http://www.schiratti.com/dowson.html), complete with EPIC programming with switches/levers/controls, a realistic interface can be built up.
Specifically, with regard to monitor setups, i am a fan of the projector for outside world display. Then build up instrumentation from CRT/TFT displays with MDF overlays. Remember most aircraft with glass cockpits are simply CRTs/TFTs with Symbol Generators, so the PC instrumentation solution can be made very realistic.
If the expense or impracticality of a projector is daunting, then using a fresnel lenses in front a CRT like the BugEye (http://www.bugeyetech.com/avsim_files/fse.html) solution should give a good sense of depth to the 3D image. Not too costly to make at home, either.
Homebuilt sims are very popular these days, but if you chase the accuracy and complexity of these guys, it doesn't take long for the cost to become prohibitive. However, if enough time and thought are put into the project, there is no reason why a smaller scale sim will be any less fun, or any less impressive. Outrageous as it may seem, i think these pics from James Price are tremendous:
http://www.737simguy.com/SheFlies.htm
I have a number of projects on the go right now, and may put up a log of some of it someday.
Some other links of interest if anyone hasn't nodded off already:
http://www.bavirtual.co.uk/
http://www.vatsim.net/
http://www.fsgateway.com/
Some MDF, a bloody big saw, a couple of CRTs, and you'll soon get the bug for it :o
He spends all that time and effort putting together that setup and then has 2 dinky little speakers?!? :eek:
* Fat Jez walks away shaking his head in disbelief *
Cheers,
Stephen
lmao...just noticed that :D
some dodgy generic 2W speakers
Depends how good you really want it
I know for a fact there are a few virtual pilots lurking around these boards We tend to not talk in the open of such things
To undock a window in FS2004, go into windowed mode, undock, then back to full screen. There was some issue with it in FS2004 if i recall. FS2002 undocks no problem to other monitors, though.
Really, for authentic EFIS operation, it's worthwhile looking into Project Magenta software. Network a few machines, one running FS2002/2004, and the slave machines running the add-ons, and you begin to really get a feel for how close you can make your "sim" feel like a modern flightdeck.
Guys like Matt Wietlispach, Ted Deller, Matt Ford, and James Price are amongst real pioneers of the home built sim. Along with software from the likes of Peter Dowson, complete with EPIC programming with switches/levers/controls, a realistic interface can be built up.
Specifically, with regard to monitor setups, i am a fan of the projector for outside world display. Then build up instrumentation from CRT/TFT displays with MDF overlays. Remember most aircraft with glass ****pits are simply CRTs/TFTs with Symbol Generators, so the PC instrumentation solution can be made very realistic.
If the expense or impracticality of a projector is daunting, then using a fresnel lenses in front a CRT like the BugEye solution should give a good sense of depth to the 3D image. Not too costly to make at home, either.
Homebuilt sims are very popular these days, but if you chase the accuracy and complexity of these guys, it doesn't take long for the cost to become prohibitive. However, if enough time and thought are put into the project, there is no reason why a smaller scale sim will be any less fun, or any less impressive. Outrageous as it may seem, i think these pics from James Price are tremendous:
http://www.737simguy.com/SheFlies.htm
I have a number of projects on the go right now, and may put up a log of some of it someday.
Some other links of interest if anyone hasn't nodded off already:
http://www.bavirtual.co.uk/
http://www.vatsim.net/
http://www.fsgateway.com/
Some MDF, a bloody big saw, a couple of CRTs, and you'll soon get the bug for it
geez..someone likes flight sims then ;)
lmao...just noticed that :D
some dodgy generic 2W speakers
geez..someone likes flight sims then ;)
haha,
I know for a fact there are a few virtual pilots lurking around these boards We tend to not talk in the open of such things
And let that be the last you ever speak of such thigns in public!
lol
He's running all that through about 6PC's? Oh my god, i hope the games good. Seeing an enemy aircraft fly across them would be quite cool. I think that would be the daddy for something like Battlefield 1942, dakka dakka dakka!
I do think pilot lessons may be a far easier and more enjoyable experience.
doesnt the matrox parhelia have 3 vga outputs?
I do think pilot lessons may be a far easier and more enjoyable experience.
Many would say the same about off-the-shelf PCs...... where's the fun in that? Building up a sim rig and a decent environment to simulate the flight can give a surprising result. And it's not time limited, restricted by hourly rates, or buying into a flying club. Granted, it also won't pay the mortgage if you pursue it in ernest!
Many sim enthusiasts are already pilots (PPL/CPL/ATPL) or in the industry. You'd be surprised how many pilots use flight sims to help in their Instrument Rating.
doesnt the matrox parhelia have 3 vga outputs?
Indeed, the Parhelia was a triple head in its day (2 x DVI, one of which split to 2 x VGA):
http://www.nvnews.net/reviews/matrox_parhelia/page_6.shtml
The BugEye link in my earlier post utilised the Matrox card with Fresnel lenses in front of the monitor.
slartiBardfarst
06-04-2005, 23:39
doesnt the matrox parhelia have 3 vga outputs?
it's a shame they are 2x as much as a current card and are absolute poop for 3d games, otherwise they'd be great.
matrox parhelia are only Workstation cards im afraid.
Yes, in comparison to a modern setup the Parhelia may not cut it (some said they didn't cut it at the time either) but for such a specific use such they can be a useful card, and many benchmarks at the time did prove they can be adequately used for gaming, just don't expect outstanding framerates. My nvnews link above has FS2002 benches in amongst the usual Quake3/Wolfenstein tests, all linked at the bottom of the page.
A quick look at ebay may reveal a bargain from time to time, to a potential buyer of a Parhelia.
Betty_Swallocks
07-04-2005, 16:36
It's not all that difficult to achieve. Your primary card will support 2 displays using any combination of the three outputs DVI, VGA and TV out. Even a SLI 6800GT combo won't drive more afaik. It's down to the drivers.
I have a single 6800GT outputting to my 17" TFT and a 4" LCD screen that is mounted on the front of my PC. I tried to connect a second TFT but as someone said before it just showed a clone of the other screen.
You will need a PCI video card to drive the third screen. Probably best to have that one displaying the instruments as it will be the less powerful card so use the better one for any 3d display.
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