Graying Eyebrows and Switch Animation Problems

[lionheart]

Hey guys,


I am getting stressed out. I have tried all that I know to get this bank of 'darn' switches to function. Some do, but some dont! I swear I have everything correct on the codes, but still no joy. I dont know how much I can take of this. My eyebrows are going to harden up into steel tigs and shed off...


I have 2 light switches, which are knobs animated to rotate (rotary switch, rotating perhaps 180 degrees. They are special animation codes (FS9 XML), and 'should' work. The mouse overs dont allow them to, but they do read the tooltip_text, however, they read, 'vertical speed+/- ' if you can believe that, (both switches, and they do operatie the VS controls quite well, but not the switches)....


Question one; What is the name 'size' limit of a switch? Can it be long or do they have a cutoff point? Does anyone know?

Question two; Can one have switches that have 'commands' (toggle_landing_light) in multiple custom switches and thus cause some to 'not' function? These have different 'switch part names' but the commands are identicle.

When flipping the original switch (landing lights) the other switch will animate, but will not even activate the mouse 'hand' symbol nor a tooltip_text.


Here is a typical switch code that is not functioning...

<part>
	<name>lhc_switch_rear_cabin_lights</name>
	<animation>
		<parameter>
			<sim>
				<variable>LIGHT WING</variable>
				<units>bool</units>
				<scale>1</scale>
			</sim>
			<lag>400</lag>
		</parameter>
	</animation>
	<mouserect>
		<cursor>Hand</cursor>
		<tooltip_text>AFT CABIN LIGHTS</tooltip_text>
		<event_id>TOGGLE_WING_LIGHTS</event_id>
	</mouserect>
</part>

What on EARTH!!! arrghh...



(puts healing ointments on gray, damaged, overstressed eyebrows).







Bill

 

[lionheart]

Here's another...

I have prop deice, and innertial (turboprop) seperater (keeps ice out of the intakes.

switch_anti_ice_prop
lever_innertial_seperator


Now, these are 'base' animations (stock FS9). Only one will work, the other works though when you click on Innertial Seperator. Not even a tooltip code will appear...


Whats going on with that?




Bill

 

[n4gix]

Note for future readers... Ignore the following because it only applies to gauge XML syntax, and Bill was asking about MakeMDL XML syntax...

You can NOT use <tooltip_text> for a custom tooltip!

<tooltip_text>AFT CABIN LIGHTS</tooltip_text>

use only <tooltip> instead...


<Tooltip>AFT CABIN LIGHTS</Tooltip>

 

[lionheart]

AAAKH!!!!!!





I knew this.... I knew this...


Thank you for sparing my eyebrows Bill.. They thank you.




Bill

 

[lionheart]

hmmmm...


I must have a different kind of FS9 then you Bill. When I do that, the tooltips no longer show that were showing before when I take out the '_text' from tooltip_text

<--- continues the journey to get these darn things working..



Bill

 

[n4gix]

I shouldn't post so late, as I just noticed you are asking about the MakeMDL XML syntax:

<tooltip_text>Your Custom Text Here</tooltip_text>

For gauge XML, the syntax is quite different:

The first letter must be a Capital...

<Tooltip>Your Own Text Here</Tooltip>

Now, back to your animation issue, you have specified a <scale> of ONE for a boolean variable. Now, how many keyframes does 1x1 equal???

<variable>LIGHT WING</variable>
<units>bool</units>
<scale>50</scale>

The above will produce 50 keyframes when the bool variable is set to on (ON), which is what the default switch code examples use.

 

[lionheart]

<---- smacks self..







I was parusing some of my other codes, trying to figure out what was going on. I found one that had <scale> at 1, so I tried that. I wasnt thinking...

I wonder, can I leave out scale? I'll try it and see what it does.


Thanks Bill for seeing that.






Bill

 

[lionheart]

Works perfect! Thanks for that Bill.

I had never realised that Scale was for the animation scale measure. I thought it was for animation speed, lol..

Learn something new every day.



I did try it without 'scale' string, and the switch 'worked' the lights, but moved so slight that it was hardly noticeable, (perhaps one notch of scale).


Why on earth are all switches (and throttle) only mapped at 50%? I figured 100 was the mainstay for a round figure of animation track time...




Bill

 

[FelixFFDS]

Why on earth are all switches (and throttle) only mapped at 50%? I figured 100 was the mainstay for a round figure of animation track time...




Bill

Just because - and now there's no one left at ACES to ask!!!

 

[lionheart]

Roger that Felix.. How true..


I have another question for 'captain of the gauges people'.


If I have a VC, and if I have two switches, or perhaps even 3, that have the same call up code or 'command', will that cause only one to work and the others to fail or go non-operational?


Example string; <event_id>TOGGLE_RECOGNITION_LIGHTS</event_id>

If I had 2 switches, totally diff, but each had that string in their part code, would this cause one to not function? (Not be 'clickable' and would have no tooltip_text, but yet would move when the other switch was activated).




Bill

 

[n4gix]

There are a number of reasons why a mouse point might "fail" in a VC...

...there might be a scaling error. Add an XForm modifier and "Reset Scale"

...the might be a poly in the way

...FS is having a bad hair day.

As for the <scale> and <bias> the "formula" is at the top of the MakeMDL.parts.xml file:

<sim> Converts L:simvar,units to keyframes:

L:simvar,units * scale + bias = keyframes