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Thread Number: 624
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Original Message
"Info on FS and Matrox Parhelia"
Posted by PeteDowson on 09-28-02 at 11:38z
Hi folks,For all those interested in the use of the Matrox Parhelia card with three screens. I've now checked this with Microsoft, and here's the situation:
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The resolution is limited by the DirectX 7 APIs used within the current version of Flight Simulator. This limitation is within the FS graphics pipeline and upgrading versions of DirectX on your computer will not fix the problem. We still use the DirectX7 APIs. DirectX 7 APIs were all that was available when FS2002 was developed, and are limited to 2048 pixels in any one dimension. Hence the two screen widths at 1024x768 and the 2.5 screen widths at 800x600.
Newer programs will be written using DirectX 8 or even 9 APIs and will not suffer this limitation, so we have this to look forward to.
The Matrox card is actually built for DirectX 9.
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So, I guess this means that anything written explicitly with DirectX8 or later in mind will not have this resolution limitation on the three screens. Combat simmers should be in for a treat with the forthcoming CFS3, but us Civil flyers will have to wait till FS2004 it seems. I suppose that, by then, the Parhelia will be superseded or at least in its 5th incarnation with 5 times the speed and 4 times the memory, for something like half the cost!
Ah, what a price we pay for being pioneers!
BTW in case any one thinks the changes needed in FS to move it from DX7 to DX8 are something I can "patch" from FSUIPC, please think again. It is quite a big change affecting a lot of code in FS in ways which no one could work around.
Regards,
Pete
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- RE: Info on FS and Matrox Parhelia,vgbaron, 17:06z, 09-28-02
Messages in this discussion
"RE: Info on FS and Matrox Parhelia"
Posted by vgbaron on 09-28-02 at 17:06z
Doggone it Pete! And here we thought you could do ANYTHING from FSUIPC <G>.Vic
> BTW in case any one thinks the changes needed in FS to move it from DX7
> to DX8 are something I can "patch" from FSUIPC, please think again. It
> is quite a big change affecting a lot of code in FS in ways which no one
> could work around.
Of All the Things I've lost, I miss my mind the most!
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