Prepar3D 2.5 is out now

[Kevin Farnell]

Absolutely it helps, Kevin, thanks very much indeed.

Glad to be of help Paul, but credit must go to DaveG, as I was just following his advice.

I'm hoping that the great advantage of the new file structure is that all 3rd party add-ons can be installed outside of P3D. If a re-install of P3D is required, it should then be a simple task of replacing the new simobects.cfg file with a backed up one from the previous install. This should have all add-ons working in seconds.
With this in mind, I decided to install Dino's MB326 into my P3D Addon Files folder that I created om my D drive.
This has subfolders

Addon Scenery
Ai Aircraft
Effects
Fonts
Gauges
SimObjects with further sub folder Aircraft
Sound
Texture

and the following paths added to the simobjects.cfg file

[Entry.0]
Path=SimObjects\Airplanes
[Entry.1]
Path=SimObjects\Rotorcraft
[Entry.2]
Path=SimObjects\GroundVehicles
[Entry.3]
Path=SimObjects\Boats
[Entry.4]
Path=SimObjects\Animals
[Entry.5]
Path=SimObjects\Misc
[Entry.6]
Path=SimObjects\Submersible
[Entry.7]
Path=SimObjects\Weapons
[Entry.8]
Path=SimObjects\Countermeasures
[Entry.9]
Path=D:\P3D Addon Files\AI Aircraft
[Entry.10]
Path=D:\P3D Addon Files\SimObjects\Aircraft
[Entry.11]
Path=D:\P3D Addon Files\Effects
[Entry.12]
Path=D:\P3D Addon Files\Gauges
[Entry.13]
Path=D:\P3D Addon Files\Sound
[Entry.14]
Path=D:\P3D Addon Files\Texture


The mb326_V100.zip file was extracted to a new folder and then the folders/files manually transferred to the relevant folders in my P3D Addon Files folder.
On starting P3D, I was able to see the MB326 in the 'Select Vehicle' window, to which I clicked OK. Then OK in the Prepar3D Training Scenario setup.
At this stage I got an error message stating

'Config File Not Found
D:\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D V2/SimObjects/Airplanes/MB326E/Modules/Sound.ini

Using Default:
D:\P3D Addon Files\SimObjects\Aircraft\MB326E\Modules\dsd_fsx_xml_sound,ini'

Obviously as I haven't installed the MB326 directly into P3D, the path that it is searching for is incorrect.
How do I change it to look in my P3D Addon folder?

Sorry this post is a bit long, but I think that it is of value to learn these steps with LM's new file structure.

Regards

Kevin

[Henk Schuitemaker]

Kevin, the sound.ini path is hardcoded inside the aircraft's panel.cfg file:

// Custom sound gauge
gauge49=..\modules\dsd_fsx_xml_sound!Sound,0,0,0,0,./SimObjects/Airplanes/MB326E/modules/Sound.ini

You need to update the folder path in that gauge line.

BTW: I don't think your newly added simobjects.cfg file entries 11 - 14 will work, these should point to simobjects only, not to effects or gauges...
To point the sim to different/additional effects folders, the effects.cfg file should be used.
The paths to gauges/sound/textures are controlled by the addon aircraft.cfg / texture.cfg / panel.cfg / sound.cfg files.

[DaveG]

Yep, Henks right about your cfg entries. The effects entry should go in the effects.cfg. There's a fonts.cfg as well, so I've added a user fonts folder to that as well. Actually I'm surprised there isn't a way to specify a user gauges folder in the same way as effects etc, other than setting a specific path in the panel.cfg.
Haven't tried Dinos MB326 in 2.5 yet, but there's a similar issue with the Aerosoft F14 that needs a path editing.

[Kevin Farnell]

Thanks, Henk.

I now have this entry in the Panel.cfg file -

// Custom sound gauge
gauge49=..\modules\dsd_fsx_xml_sound!Sound,0,0,0,0,.D:\P3D Addon Files\SimObjects\Aircraft\MB326E\modules\Sound.ini

But I still get the same error message.

Thanks also for your advice on the other folders set up. I have added a path in the Effects.cfg file and now have working lights on the MB326. I hadn't noticed they were not working, as I had been concentrating on the sound.ini problem.

Regards

Kevin

[Henk Schuitemaker]

Kevin, you are welcome. Assuming your sound.ini file lives in D:\P3D Addon Files\SimObjects\Aircraft\MB326E\modules\ , I think you should get rid of the dot in front of "D:\....".

Try this:
gauge49=..\modules\dsd_fsx_xml_sound!Sound,0,0,0,0, D:\P3D Addon Files\SimObjects\Aircraft\MB326E\modules\Sound.ini

[Kevin Farnell]

Thanks Henk.

I finally fixed it. Both the dsd_fsx_xml_sound.ini and the Sound.ini files are in the same folder, so I replaced

gauge49=..\modules\dsd_fsx_xml_sound!Sound,0,0,0,0,./SimObjects/Airplanes/MB326E/modules/Sound.ini

with

gauge49=D:\P3D Addon Files\SimObjects\Aircraft\MB326E\modules\dsd_fsx_xml_sound!Sound,0,0,0,0, D:\P3D Addon Files\SimObjects\Aircraft\MB326E\modules\Sound.ini

but still got the same error

Looking back, I found that there is not only a 'Panel' folder but also a 'Panel.unarmed' folder.
Also replacing the line in this folder did the trick.

Many thanks

Kevin

[Paul K]

Kevin, Henk, Dave G - thanks for all this. Still not sure about the move to v2.5, but there is a good knowledge base building here, which is encouraging.

[Kevin Farnell]

Seems that the Flight 1 Islanders KLN90 GPS is broken in P3D v2.5 (at least after the Hotfix).
I had it working in P3D v2.4, but the same method gives an error in v2.5

Kevin

[DaveG]

Not tried the Islander yet. Was it a proper install, or a cut 'n' paste job?

[Kevin Farnell]

Hi Dave

It was a cut and paste job, same as I did in v2.4. In v2.4, I found that as long as I had a copy of FSX.EXE in the main P3D folder the KLN90 GPS would work fine. In v2.5 with FSX.EXE in the P3D folder, I get the message -

Err: Install Error:!!
Unable to start KLN90a GPS.
Check install settings.

in the KLN90a display panel.
I only installed the Islander after I applied the Hoftix, so don't know if it worked in P3D v2.5 prior to this.

Cheers

Kevin