2D-VIP AVIONICS
SimSamurai has always maintained a sharp focus on affordable flight simulation. This is achieved by being “fleet flexible” in allowing one simulator to replicate at least 10 to 20 aircraft with as much high fidelity that any generic multi-purpose simulator can allow. While exact replica sims serve a very useful purpose in professional training centers where commercial pilots regularly fly that aircraft as part of their job, the reality is that for more informal training, or basic procedural training for IFR flight and practicing emergencies, it’s not always necessary to have a simulator that wholly provides every single bell, whistle and switch of any particular aircraft. Regardless of that, we have a commitment to do our best to provide full aircraft functionality and fidelity wherever possible. Throughout our time of building cockpits for people around the globe, this has always been accomplished with 2D virtual gauges as shown throughout the website. We call these panel sets 2D-VIPs or Virtual Instrument Panels.
The original Microsoft Flight Simulator (which ended with FSX support in 2010) as well Lockheed Martin’s Prepar3D, both used countless 2D cockpit gauges that were, unfortunately, very outdated in terms of professional usefulness, complexity, and mainly their graphical presentation. These gauges were originally coded in C+/C++ and then later XML in FSX which proved easier to modify for the end user. While most older gauges such as this were “ok” for a home gamer market and many home cockpit builders, we saw the immediate need for redevelopment of these gauges for more professional application and for modern computer displays which have a much higher pixel count. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, both Microsoft and Lockheed wholly ignored this fact and continued to use old, dated gauges, some as old as 2000, that were packaged with old stock aircraft and Lockheed continued to use them up to and including in Prepar3D v6. And while most are still functional, they have all looked very dated for over 20 years and are especially pixelated whenever used on HD displays which first began with LCD monitors using 1920 x 1080 resolutions and then the issues grew ever worse with larger and more dense displays from 2010 onward. As an example, many of the original 2D gauges use embedded artwork that may have been at best 100×100 pixels when CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) displays, still widely in use up to 2010, were commonly 1024 x 768 pixels. Once LCD based HD and UHD displays came to market from 2010 and beyond, these gauges desperately needed to be re-coded with graphics that are at least 500 x 500 pixels, if not even larger in many cases, especially if being displayed on larger “4K” UHD displays. It was (and is) the only solution to retain their usefulness. The functions of the gauges still work.. their graphical artwork does not.
From 2010 to 2020 SimSamurai (and a few others in the sim community at large) had taken many of these old gauges and remade them to give an extended shelf life with our modern computers and larger display resolutions. This allowed for creating what we call our VIPs or Virtual Instrument Panel Sets. These are comprehensive panel sets for a variety of aircraft that allow cockpit gauges to appear very realistic in true 1:1 scale accuracy. This means for example that if any airspeed or heading indicator or HSI is 3″ x 3″ (7.62cm) in the real world, we updated coding and graphics so that so you could see the gauge in the same exact real world size without any pixelation or degradation. These updated gauges look more professional, more clear and ultimately “lifelike”. All of the panel sets we created contain multiple windows of gauges for the Pilot, Copilot, Central Radio Stack, GPS, FMS, etc. Most sets also include the old school VFR “Main Panel” (as referenced in config files) where, if needed, you could still use the main panel on a single display and have your windscreen’s exterior view set on the top 1/3 over the dash. This standard layout was commonplace with Microsoft Flight Simulator for over two decades, long before developers began to heavily focus on Virtual Cockpit creations for future use with 3D virtual reality headsets as is detailed on our Virtual Reality page.
Unfortunately, both Microsoft and Lockheed couldn’t be bothered to see the greater value and importance of existing 2D gauges. It became a “forest for the trees” issue. And why they did this is anyone’s guess. Was it money? Was it laziness? Was it the sole intent of only moving to the Virtual Cockpits and VR? Maybe it was all three. Regardless, it was simply unfortunate that some people like us in the sim community would have to take on the task of redeveloping 2D gauges in order to build professional quality cockpits and which could be used with dual seat training simulators. And unfortunately it became a long, arduous task.
To currently use any of the VIPs we created means you must use Lockheed’s Prepar3D v5/v6 but we are hoping to change that soon and we do offer other similar options for the new Microsoft sim software titles. Because most people in the sim community have, as of 2020, moved on to the new re-imagining of Microsoft Flight Simulator designed by Asobo, it means that all of the older 2D redesigned gauges we discussed, and all the time spent over a decade recreating them, has really been for nothing. That is unless some people are still willing to use Prepar3D for building a professional quality simulator or are willing (like we are) to once again begin the conversion process to a new coding language. However, as of 2025, we doubt most people will do so, especially because Virtual Cockpits have become so prevalent. It is what it is and in many respects is understandable. And while Prepar3D may remain a valuable option to some for cockpit creation, there is no denying that the graphical user interface, as well the aircraft quality and terrain graphics of the new Microsoft simulator is inherently better. The only major drawback however is that as of their newest 2024 release, it does not have nearly as much flexibility for cockpit builders in the way of gauge creation and modification, panel set implementation, and view management. Prepar3D, despite its major failings to update gauges and it’s user interface, dramatically excels at view screen management. If only they could combine the two. If only…
Regardless, we still offer 2D-VIP panel set options to cockpit builders, both for the home and commercial market to use with their simulator. And as requested or purchased will provide files, data, and instructions to our customers for use, but for now, this is specifically for Prepar3D v5/v6 only. You can explore other options for Microsoft Flight Simulator on our Equipment page.
If you are interested in building a simulator cockpit and want to use realistic full scale 2D virtual gauges with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020/2024 then your two main options to explore are the limited amount of default stock 2D “pop out” panels that come with some of the stock aircraft (as well possibly some 3rd party add-on aircraft available for purchase), or, you will mainly have to look at the 3rd party program called Air Manager which served Prepar3D and X-Plane for over a decade, and now MS2020/2024. As of 2025, there may be some other newer options in the marketplace (hopefully) but as of posting this web page we are unaware of any to include here.
If you know of any other good options for 2D virtual instrumentation, please let us know by shooting us an email to simsamurai@gmail.com
