Looking to commission someone to write a .lua

PREAMBLE :

Good morning everyone,

I'm new to the forums, but have lurked for a while. I have been playing DCS for a while and own several of the modules and have pre-ordered the supercarrier.

Recently I have taken up getting better peripherals including TM Warthog Throttle/Grip (now upgraded to F/A-18 Grip), MFG pedals, modified Playseat AirForce, Vive Pro (currently on the shelf gathering dust, Cougar MFDs w/ 8" non-touch LCDs, TrackIR, Streamdeck -XL as a multifunction button box.

THE OBJECTIVE :

I tried following several online guides and tutorials on how to get the LCD screens to show the information from the left and right MFDs (F/A-18 ) , several times I got close but I could never get over the last hurdle of making it actually work fully. The closest I cam to it showing up was being able to see the little yellow cross used when turning knobs or pushing buttons in the cockpit.

THE SETUP :

One primary 50" (?) monitor set to 3840x2160 , to 8" (?) LCD screens set to 800x800.

After reading through several posts, tutorials, and watching a couple out-dated videos, I have confused myself as to where the screens need to be set ( in Windows Display Settings), but this is how I have it .

THE REQUEST :

I am looking to commission the creation of a working .LUA file that will allow the export of left and right MFD for the F/A-18 Module. Working with code is not a skill I possess, and will gladly pay for the expertise that someone on this forum must have. Having tried messing with it I can see the difficulty and complication involved and will gladly pay to have the file made. This is skilled work, with time and knowledge involved, and after devoting 12 hours to trying to figure it out and deep personal inflection, they are skills I don't have

THE PAY :

PayPal , electronic transfer, etc. Will be discussed privately with whoever is going to write the .LUA. The file writer can determine what is fair.

PREAMBLE :

 

Good morning everyone,

I'm new to the forums, but have lurked for a while. I have been playing DCS for a while and own several of the modules and have pre-ordered the supercarrier.

 

Recently I have taken up getting better peripherals including TM Warthog Throttle/Grip (now upgraded to F/A-18 Grip), MFG pedals, modified Playseat AirForce, Vive Pro (currently on the shelf gathering dust, Cougar MFDs w/ 8" non-touch LCDs, TrackIR, Streamdeck -XL as a multifunction button box.

 

THE OBJECTIVE :

 

I tried following several online guides and tutorials on how to get the LCD screens to show the information from the left and right MFDs (F/A-18 ) , several times I got close but I could never get over the last hurdle of making it actually work fully. The closest I cam to it showing up was being able to see the little yellow cross used when turning knobs or pushing buttons in the cockpit.

 

THE SETUP :

 

 

 

One primary 50" (?) monitor set to 3840x2160 , to 8" (?) LCD screens set to 800x800.

After reading through several posts, tutorials, and watching a couple out-dated videos, I have confused myself as to where the screens need to be set ( in Windows Display Settings), but this is how I have it .

 

 

 

THE REQUEST :

 

I am looking to commission the creation of a working .LUA file that will allow the export of left and right MFD for the F/A-18 Module. Working with code is not a skill I possess, and will gladly pay for the expertise that someone on this forum must have. Having tried messing with it I can see the difficulty and complication involved and will gladly pay to have the file made. This is skilled work, with time and knowledge involved, and after devoting 12 hours to trying to figure it out and deep personal inflection, they are skills I don't have

 

THE PAY :

 

PayPal , electronic transfer, etc. Will be discussed privately with whoever is going to write the .LUA. The file writer can determine what is fair.

I’d help you for free if you want to pick a time to meet up.

I’d help you for free if you want to pick a time to meet up.

Same here.

In my experience, there's a factor that complicates things, exporting Hornet's (and Viper's) displays comes with a degree of fuzziness which depends ALSO on the resolution of your main monitor and your secondaries, so there's some "fine tuning" needed "in presence" (cannot be done remotely).

And this is why numbers that work for somebody won't work for other people. I myself have a 28inch at 1440p, and export on two 8" and a touch 7" all in 1024x768, getting the fuzziness right on all screens (including the main) has not been trivial.

Tl;dr: it is a long process and hardware-dependant, which is why ED doesn't do it out of the box.

I'm sure somebody here could coach you, an I would go with that, otherwise it is just like asking somebody to tune your custom bike remotely sending you the parameters without actually trying it with the engine running.

Thanks for reaching out to me! I didn't realize the forum doesnt automatically let you know when so.eone replies to your thread. I really insist on some form of payment for the help! I will PM both of y'all later today! Thanks again!

You're going to have to manually tweak whatever someone writes because I'll bet your MCDs don't sit perfectly at one corner of those tiny monitors. Here's my setup, and the comments include the math to make it work.

The little monitors sit to the right of the main screen, aligned on top.

_ = function(p) return p; end;

name = _('Some NameHere');

Description = '3 Cockpit Displays'

-- monitor setting: 5632x1440

Viewports =

{

Center =

{

x = 0;

y = 0 ;

width = 2560;

height = 1440;

viewDx = 0;

viewDy = 0;

aspect = 1.77778;

}

}

-- Baby monitors set to 1024x1280 portrait mode.

--

-- MON 3

LEFT_MFCD =

{

x = 2590;

y = 85;

width = 940;

height = 860;

}

-- MON 4 x=2560+1024=3584

CENTER_MFCD =

{

x = 3620;

y = 55;

width = 940;

height = 860;

}

-- MON 2 x=4608

RIGHT_MFCD =

{

x = 4648;

y = 75;

width = 940;

height = 860;

}

GU_MAIN_VIEWPORT = Viewports.Center

UIMainView = Viewports.Center

<edit> Left out the last couple lines </edit>

You're going to have to manually tweak whatever someone writes because I'll bet your MCDs don't sit perfectly at one corner of those tiny monitors. Here's my setup, and the comments include the math to make it work.

 

 

The little monitors sit to the right of the main screen, aligned on top.

 

Just to help with a little visual (Example only).

You set this up in windows also, then keep adjusting / moving screens positions to suit Y=** etc.

I am happy to report that due to the immense support from the community I was able to get them to work! However, it REQUIRED a re-install of the F-18 module. A sanity check was suggested, and proved that the .lua files would work with F-16 and A-10, indicating a problem with the F-18 module. I reccommend trying to "reset" the module, asI had got it as soon as it came out, and it seems something fundamentally changed. Just a tip to try! Fly safe, and if you can't be safe, be dangerous!

You are now officially a display export master, and can help the next person. I'm not sure who originally came up with that (the link I used is over 10 years old and for the A-10), but none of it was my doing.

I too would like to get my MFD's to work behind my TM Cougar MFD buttons. I would gladly just buy the 2 screens (if told what to buy) and pay someone to just tell me exactly what to do to within DCS for these to work. Only flying the Hornet so no issues with other planes. I have never written code (I'm old).

I have 2 27" monitors now but only use 1 for DCS. Not certain I could hook 2 more monitors to my video card (I know it will handle at least 1 more).

Had the idea of buying a tablet and having the MFD's on there where the actual touch screen would work and not use the TM Cougars. But would have no idea how to do that either.

Even BETTER idea would be to buy a small-ish (18" or so) touch screen monitor..if THAT would work....

Any ideas for someone who knows nothing of how to do this?

I was sure you wouldn't have to pay for this. This is a really helpful group of guys.

I too would like to get my MFD's to work behind my TM Cougar MFD buttons. I would gladly just buy the 2 screens (if told what to buy) and pay someone to just tell me exactly what to do to within DCS for these to work. Only flying the Hornet so no issues with other planes. I have never written code (I'm old).

 

I have 2 27" monitors now but only use 1 for DCS. Not certain I could hook 2 more monitors to my video card (I know it will handle at least 1 more).

 

Had the idea of buying a tablet and having the MFD's on there where the actual touch screen would work and not use the TM Cougars. But would have no idea how to do that either.

 

Even BETTER idea would be to buy a small-ish (18" or so) touch screen monitor..if THAT would work....

 

Any ideas for someone who knows nothing of how to do this?

Touch screens would probably be the hardest. You can use USB->video boxen (about $50 each) if you're out of hard monitor ports, but they get a little wonky on restarts and might require reconfiguration. Dedicated ports are always best.

Easiest answer is small LCDs behind Cougar MFDs. Bad news, no matter what anyone hands to you, it has to be tweaked for your exact setup. No getting around it, because you're going to have to shift things around by pixels or ten at a time.

We can get you started and tell you where to make the changes, but you're about to become an old guy who writes code. Sort of.

Touch screens would probably be the hardest. You can use USB->video boxen (about $50 each) if you're out of hard monitor ports, but they get a little wonky on restarts and might require reconfiguration. Dedicated ports are always best.

 

 

Easiest answer is small LCDs behind Cougar MFDs. Bad news, no matter what anyone hands to you, it has to be tweaked for your exact setup. No getting around it, because you're going to have to shift things around by pixels or ten at a time.

 

 

We can get you started and tell you where to make the changes, but you're about to become an old guy who writes code. Sort of.

I'm game. But someone will have to walk me thru step by step. Let me say what I have.

I have a GeoForce GTX 1660 GPU. I am using (2) Display Ports for my (2) 27" monitors. It also has another Display Port and an HDMI port.

My monitors are both 27" 1080p and 1920 x 1080.

I only use 1 of them for DCS...the other is just a side monitor I use for extra web pages and such.

So I guess 1st thing is I would need to buy (2) displays. (although I really like the idea of using (1) larger touchscreen display...not a tablet...an actual touch screen monitor big enough for both MFD's....but if this is not doable I understand)

What do I need to buy.....before i start changing files in DCS? (Ebay or NewEgg please)