Concept of a "Mod" cfg files

Please consider the concept of a MOD .cfg files Very often it is desirable to
change just a few parameters in an existing .cfg file, without having to
define all of the others that are already there. (one particular example is
when creating Liveries, and only wanting to say, change the color of the tail
Number Registration" without having to reproduce or define all the other
parameter in the existing panel.cfg file. A Mod cfg file would typically
load last, after all other normal Simobject’s .cfg files, and overwrite
individual parameters that have already been set by the other .cfg file. This
could be further extended, to optionally define (some numeric) parameters with
Variable,( L:vars ? ) that could be changed dynamically when the simobject is
running. Example of a panel_mod.cfg file that just change the Tail Number
color of a Livery, without having to define (or re-define) all the other
parameters . [VPainting02] size_mm = 1024, 256 texture =
$RegistrationNumber
location = exterior
painting00=Registration/Registration172X.html?font_color=0xecebec, 0, 0, 1024,
256
ie The existing panel.cfg file would load as define in the original
simobject, and the the panel_Mod.cfg, defined in the MOD, would load and
overwrite any matching parameters that were previously set.

Great idea!

I would add that I think the tail number parameters should be in texture.cfg,
not in panel.cfg. But I think that is unlikely to change.

Life is strange . yesterday I make this post with a suggestion, and then I
start looking at Liveries, and I see some informed Livery makers are already
doing something similar in their Livery addons,. to add/overwrite to an
existing pane.cfg file (instead of trying to reproduce the whole original
panel.cfg file with their changes) panel.cfg [VARIATION]
override_base_container = 0
[VPainting01] size_mm = 256, 64 texture =
$RegistrationNumber location = interior
painting00=Registration/Registration.html?font_color=white, 0, 0, 0, 0
[VPainting02] size_mm = 1024, 256 texture = $RegistrationNumber location =
exterior painting00=Registration/Registration.html?font_color=0xd6d7d6, 0, 0,
0, 0 I must assume this is a few technique as so many of the older livery
Mods, are still inclundging panel.cfg files with ALL the original content,
just to say, chage the outside Registration number to the color they want.

I believe the [VARIATION] command has been there since MSFS came out.

Thanks … I have only recently started looking at Liveries, when I found so
many of them break a plane if that plane has been Modded Very much a Livery
NOOB at the moment !! If the [VARIATION] command has been there since release
date, it is suprising that so many Livery devs, are not using it, and putting
a copy of the plane’s (now outdated) .cfg file into their Livery !!

Yes, it has been in the code since MSFS came out. But it was undocumented.
Kind of hard for people to use it if they don’t know it is exists. The use of
Variation override base container is now documented in the livery project
section of the SDK, but how to turn off the registration for liveries is still
undocumented in the SDK. Please document it. Using the above method is causing
MSFS to CTD when used with the SR22. I’ve tried all sorts of combinations of
the items within VPainting01, and it always crashes the sim. I can see that
many combinations of what I did do when displaying the plane in the hangar, so
the Registration is getting turned off, but, when I try to enter the sim, it
CTD’s just before it displays the plane in the animation of the airport after
you select fly, but before you actually enter the sim. I wonder also if it’s
related to the stroke bug caused by developers using their own copies of the
html_ui…Registration.css etc…

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Yes I had similar CTD issues with the SWS Kodiak - had to duplicate the entire
panel.cfg.