Version: 1.5.27.0
Description:
I’ve tried putting together a small stack of simattachments, and I’ve discovered some issues and inconsistencies across the various units as it pertains to lighting and emissives.
The only unit in this stack that works as expected is the GNS 530. It’s implementation is documented, the screen follows an auto-brightness setting that works properly, and the emissive decals are able to be hooked to a lighting potentiometer and function adequately.
GMA 350 (simattachments\instruments\asobo_audiopanel_g350)
The GMA 350 is undocumented in the SDK. Looking at the behaviour parameters, it does allow for a setting called ‘EMISSIVE_INTENSITY’. This can be hooked to a static number or a simvar. Hooking it up to a lighting potentiometer without adjusting the value does not work well, however, since it requires a much lower value than the GNS 530 (approx. 1/10 the amount in the above pic). That said, it’s actually nice to be able to have that greater level of control over the lighting, since it provides more flexibility then if it were hard-coded to a potentiometer. The primary issue is that the green indicators of which channels are active are also tied to the same code as the decals, and an emissive value which works well for the decals at night are unsuitable for the indicators in the daytime.
GTX 330 (simattachments\instruments\asobo_transponder_g330)
The GTX 330 (also undocumented in the SDK) has an issue where the lighting potentiometer is hard coded to a value of 1 and not exposed as a behaviour parameter. Otherwise it works as expected, and the screen has auto-brightness.
KR 87 (simattachments\instruments\asobo_adf_as87)
The KR 87 (undocumented in the SDK) does not expose a potentiometer setting as a behavior parameter; in fact, it doesn’t look to even have any emissive settings connected to the buttons or decals at all. The screen has functioning auto-brightness, but since the buttons or decals cannot be lit, this attachment is not usable at night.
KAP 140 (simattachments\instruments\asobo_autopilot_as140)
The KAP 140 (undocumented in the SDK) does not feature any auto-brightness for the screen nor feature or expose a method for controlling screen brightness. It does seem to expose a potentiometer value for the buttons as a behaviour parameter, but the code used in the behaviours does not seem to have any effect. Both these issues combined means that this attachment is not usable at night.
KAP 140 code from it’s behavior file:
(A:LIGHT POTENTIOMETER:[POTENTIOMETER], Percent over 100) 0.2 * (A:CIRCUIT AUTOPILOT ON, Bool) *
In the above code, I can verify both that the lighting potentiometer is valid and set correctly (it’s used in the other gauges in my pic) as well as that CIRCUIT AUTOPILOT ON is true (if not true, the screen will turn off).
Overall, I’m very impressed with the possibilities that the simattachment system brings, as well as the ability to bring in working avionics units that require a minimum of setup. It would be very good if the issues explained above could be fixed.
