a few people here use il2 with a matrox triple head2go, but looking the specs for their digital version its max resolution is only for 3x 19' monitors (using 3 times 1280 x 1024)

is it possible in il2 to use one big widescreen monitor as the center monitor, and use 2 smaller 19' monitors in landscape mode on either side ? this would mean you in effect run at 2 times 1920 x 1200, but the 2e widescreen resolution is divided over the 2 smaller monitors on either side (tilted into landscape mode)

some high end gaming hardware companies show gaming setups with 3 large widescreen monitors (1920 x 1200) being sold for driving/shooting/flightsim games, so using 2 or 3 high end gfx cards should be able to push two or 3 times 1920 x 1200. with these specs i doubt those gaming setups use a matrox triple head2go unit.

has anybody tried to do this multi monitor setup in il2 without using a matrox tripple head ? are there other hardware addons similar to the matrox unit that make multi monitor setups easier ?

i suspect those high-end gaming setups might use 3 or 4 top of the range gfx cards, with one card driving each monitor (some mb's have up to 3 or 4 slots for gfx cards).

has anybody tried this in il2 recently, or know if it is possible ?

You are probably not getting any replies because this is more of a tech question. I'll move this over to the community help section. Those guyz are usually right on the ball.

Fritz

The problem I forsee is that when you set use3renders=1 it divides the view into 3 equal 4:3 ratio screens. This is not a monitor specific setting, in fact you can implement this on a single monitor if you set it up just right (would only be for testing purposes, no practical use on 1 monitor). So you would need 3 equal 4:3 aspect monitors for use in il2.

I suspect that to use dedicated gfx cards for each monitor would require that the game be specifically coded for this. I'm fairly sure IL-2 isn't in this camp. Wasn't TH2Go introduced as a (relatively) low-cost way to get multi-monitor viewing in games not designed to drive 2+ dedicated gfx card/monitor sets? (But what do I know? )

quote:

Originally posted by Lurch1962:
Wasn't TH2Go introduced as a (relatively) low-cost way to get multi-monitor viewing in games not designed to drive 2+ dedicated gfx card/monitor sets?

i was wondering about that exact point, but am not sure.
i hope somebody who has tried to do this can confirm or deny it

quote:

Originally posted by Urufu_Shinjiro:
The problem I forsee is that when you set use3renders=1 it divides the view into 3 equal 4:3 ratio screens. So you would need 3 equal 4:3 aspect monitors for use in il2.

i dont know what exactly "use3renders=1" does, but if this was the case, triple monitor users wouldnt need to use the matrox triplehead2go and could just put up with the same limitation widescreen users already do on their single displays, by just having a small strip cut off the top and bottom of their multiple screens.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: grifter2u,

Ok, I'll try to take a crack at this. Matrox triple head to go will connect three monitors to a pc in such a way as to fool the pc into thinking only one very widescreen res monitor is connected, eliminating the need for multiple vid cards or awkward multiscreen software issues.

The use3renders option in Il2 is a setting that will split a 3xwide display into three equal 4:3 aspect screens that show the forward view, and the two side views at 90 deg. from each other. It looks like this http://www.e-335thgr.com/Athos/TripleHead2Go_01.JPG (the screens are tilted out for the picture, thats why the wings look like they are pointing forward). Now this view setting must be done with three 4:3 monitors of the same size, this setting does not detect monitor sizes or anything like that so will not addjust to different size forward displays to side displays.


EDIT: Lol, I'm a slow typer, Quazi got two posts in before I got one

Hi Grifter2u,

I have been using the TH2G with IL2 for about 2 years now and I like it. The info I see posted here is pretty much spot on but I thought I leave my 2 cents.

First and most important - the 3 View feature in IL-2 is not dependant on any hardware or monitor solution. The 3 view option in IL-2 is coded into IL-2 as a part of the game software.

IL-2 does not know or care whether you have a single monitor or 3 monitors, whether you have a TH2G or not.

When using the 3 View mode in IL-2 it is going to display a game view that is divided into 3 equal parts. Each part represents a 90 deg FOV, left, center, and right.

This 3 View display from the game has to be 3 equal 4:3 aspect ratio views. So typical options are 3 x 800x600, 3 x 1024x768, or 3 x 1280x960.

You could display this on a single monitor but you would need to choose a resolution that 3 x the width would fit on your monitor and still be a 4:3 aspect. To run on a single 1024x768 monitor for example, you would need to run in Windowed mode and use a res like 3 x 320x240 (height=320 width=720 in config). This would be a ridiculously small view.

The thing to keep in mind is that IL-2 is the one that creates the 3 Views, not other hardware or software.


The next thing then is how do you display the 3 Views from IL-2. This can be done in many different ways. One way that is easy is to use the TH2G. It can string three 4:3 aspect ratio CRTs together and this will match up exactly with the three 4:3 outputs from IL-2 so you wind up with a different view on each monitor.

A warning with 3 View mode on LCDs, because IL-2 will only output 3 views in a 4:3 aspect ratio you will want to make sure your LCD looks good in that res. For many LCDs the display looks very bad when running a non native display res. That is why I replaced my LCD with some cheap large CRTs when I went with the 3 View mode in IL-2.

You can use other options than TH2G to provide the screen space for the IL-2 3 View output. I have seen Ultramon used with a PC that had multiple video cards and three monitors. As long as you use Ultramon to create a single desktop with a res that equals 3 x 4:3 aspect display res then IL-2 will fit onto it just fine in 3 View mode.

IL-2 in 3 View mode will only display on a single monitor so that is why you need a TH2G or Ultramon solution to make 3 monitors appear as one large monitor.

Another warning about 3 View mode. This greatly increases the amount of graphics processing required so you will need a very powerful system and video card. Also there is a graphics bug in IL-2 when using 3 View mode in Perfect Mode, you will see a small flashing black box in the far left corner of the left monitor.

striker-85,

thx for the detailed answer, i think that clarifies the main issue.

this means that if il2 has the multi monitor function already built in, then the only reason people have been using the matrox TH2go for il2 is so they can use the vga output connector from their single gfx card, and then split that signal into an output for 3 monitors (as long as their gfx card is powerful enough to run those 3 monitors at that resolution with decent fps's). and the max resolution of the matrox unit not being all that high, a decent modern gfx card would be good enough to drive 3 crt.

so if you have a pc with several video outputs from your multiple pci-e gfx cards instead, you could connect these outputs directly to your 3 lcd widescreen monitor's (or one central widescreen monitor in the middle, with 2 smaller lcd's on either side), and use some nifty little software util (like ultramon) to create your virtual "il2 desktop" across the 3 monitors instead. if those "virtual side by side 4:3 monitors" could then be seamlessly displayed across whatever monitor sizes you have connected to your pc, then it has the added benefit that ....

- even if your 3 monitors are not 3:4 ratio, i presume you can still edit your config ini in the same way you do for a single monitor, and now use a 16:9 resolution on all 3, with the minor inconvenience that a strip is cut off from the top and bottom.
- then your lcd monitors can still run at their native resolution, as long as your gfx cards are powerfull enough to push that higher resolution on all 3 displays.

- if its true that il2 doesnt mind how many displays you use and what the resolution is (as long as you can edit the ini, and are willing to put up with a few minor strips cur of to get a widescreen view working), then i could use my 27' lcd in the middle, and place two 19' monitors on either side(set into landscape mode so they have the same size in hight). i would then be able to run my central display at 1920 x 1200, and each of the 2 smaller 19' monitors on either side at half of a 1920 x 1200 resolution. all my ultramon util then needs to do is run my virtual desktop in il2 as an integrated display device (needing my hardware to push the equivalent of two 1920 x 1200 monitors), and BoB is my uncle so to speak, i end up with a much wider view and can still get the displays at their native resolutions.

- setting it up that way with a central monitor at 1920 x 1200 and the 2 smaller 19' on either side in landscape mode would have the odd side effect that using the 1920 wide horizontal resolution x2 approximately (3968 basically, being 1920 + 2 x 1024), the vertical "virtual resolution" would have to be set at 992. the large central monitor could display 1200 high and would have a small black strip at the top and bottom, and the landscape tilted 19 displays on either side would be 992 high instead of a potential 1024 which is a negligible loss.but all 3 would run the displayed image at its native resolution.

- if you'd run 3 widescreen monitors in their native resolution side by side, the horizontal resolution would be 1920 x 1200 times 3, with each having a virtual vertical resolution of 1440, which would fill the screen on all 3 monitors but it would need about 30% more grunt from your gfx card (most of which you wouldnt see because a significant strip would be cut of the top and bottom of the image being display).

- so in both those above examples all 3 displays would run at their native resolution and you get a much wider view (peripheral vision being the main issue lacking in the way we fly il2 right now).

correct ? or did i go wrong somewhere in my logic

This message has been edited. Last edited by: grifter2u,

quote:

even if your 3 monitors are not 3:4 ratio, i presume you can still edit your config ini in the same way you do for a single monitor, and now use a 16:9 resolution on all 3, with the minor inconvenience that a strip is cut off from the top and bottom.
- then your lcd monitors can still run at their native resolution, as long as your gfx cards are powerfull enough to push that higher resolution on all 3 displays.

This is incorrect. Each one of the three views WILL be 4:3 no matter what. if the center monitor is widescreen the you will simply have part of the left and right view on the center, which would ruin the effect.

quote:

Originally posted by Urufu_Shinjiro:

This is incorrect. Each one of the three views WILL be 4:3 no matter what. if the center monitor is widescreen the you will simply have part of the left and right view on the center, which would ruin the effect.

it cant ruin the effect if what striker-85 said is true ("that the 3 view feature in il-2 is not dependant on any hardware or monitor solution"), because the 3 side by side images should blend into one large image without gaps.

if your il2 ini or your gfx card do not know, and cant know, what monitors are connected to your gfx cards, the 3 side by side "virtual 4:3" monitor image should blend seamlessly (ie without any sign on your widescreen that it is three 4:3 images joined into one big desktop). i would presume it will simply output the three 4:3 resolution you have specified, and like with a single widescreen monitor will clip whatever part of the monitor surface isnt available.

if you have tried to do that exact thing with 3 monitors and found it didnt work, and that there are onscreen vertical lines where the 4:3 images are joined, then plz explain what you observed because we dont really know till it is tried. i think if what striker-85 said is correct, then theoretically it should be possible.

This is simply my inability to communicate effectively . The use3renders will work with a single monitor. What it will display (when set properly) is a wide rectangle split into three equal 4:3 pieces.


------
| | | |
------

Now if the center monitor is 16x10

--------
| |I I| |
--------


But the image is still displayed as in the first picture (the "I") so at theose "I"s would be where the image turns into the 90 deg. to the right or left view.

Your monitors should be positioned like this
__
/. \

So part of your left and right views will still be on the center monitor.

I hope that makes more sense.

P.S It's friday and I've had a few....

i think the main issue is going to be if there is a "seam" or line visible at the point where the 3 seperate views meet, or if they indeed blend "seam-less" into one big desktop (which is the way programs like ultramon work i think). if it is seamless you should not see any gaps or lines where the virual 4:3 monitors are joined together on the central widescreen monitor.

using a central large widescreen with 2 smaller landscape monitors on either side would probably look more like this ...

..____..
/........\

having the smaller monitors at an approximatly 45 degree angle on either side wouldnt look that bad imo, our brain to adapt to this perspective more easily then having a 30' flat screen in front of our eyes representing 90 FoV.

so if each virtual 4:3 monitor is set to a 35 or 40 FoV the total virtual FoV would be about 100 or 120 degrees, which would give decent peripheral vision. if the monitors are forced into a 90 FoV each, then it would look very odd, like the tie fighter wing forward distortion from that photo posted earlier.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: grifter2u,

Grifter,
Not having used nor even seen a TH2Go system, my comments must be taken with the proverbial grain of salt...

My impression is that if you use a non-4:3 aspect monitor, i.e., wide screen, it will have black bars on the L and R sides. I doubt that you can set it up so as to "expand" the view to fill the screen horizontally, even if you're willing to lose the top and bottom portions of the view.

If the foregoing is true, then you can't use non-4:3 monitors nor "mix 'n match" monitors differing in aspect ratio without suffering larger-than-normal gaps in the display. Of course, given that the monitors already introduce gaps due to the physical lateral extensions of their plastic housings, extra "gappage" caused by the L/R black on-screen bars may not be so objectionable for some.

quote:

Originally posted by Lurch1962:
My impression is that if you use a non-4:3 aspect monitor, i.e., wide screen, it will have black bars on the L and R sides. I doubt that you can set it up so as to "expand" the view to fill the screen horizontally, even if you're willing to lose the top and bottom portions of the view.

that indeed is the question

since it is possible to do on a single il2 view, i would have hoped that the same would apply if you used 3 monitors, but that is pure speculation on my part at this point.

has anybody tried this ?

quote:

Originally posted by striker-85:
This 3 View display from the game has to be 3 equal 4:3 aspect ratio views. So typical options are 3 x 800x600, 3 x 1024x768, or 3 x 1280x960.

You could display this on a single monitor but you would need to choose a resolution that 3 x the width would fit on your monitor and still be a 4:3 aspect. To run on a single 1024x768 monitor for example, you would need to run in Windowed mode and use a res like 3 x 320x240 (height=320 width=720 in config). This would be a ridiculously small view.

and does anybody know if displaying the 3x view on a single monitor produces gaps between those 3 side by side displayed 4:3 images, or if those 3 images are fused into one seam-less image without gaps ?

Ok, there isn't a single 3 screen wide view. There is the forward view, then the two side views are from completely different angles, 90 degrees from the forward view. This is where the problem lies, it it was all a single forward looking widescreen view then it wouldn't matter if one was 16:10, but there are three separate views being rendered, directly forward, directly left looking out over the wing, and directly right looking out over that wing.

Study this pic:


See how the left and right view is directly over the wing, the outside monitors were spread out to take the pic, normally those two monitors would be at a sharper angle so it looks like you are in the cockpit with the two wings going out to either side in you peripheral vision. Now do you see where a wider screen in the middle would cause a problem, you'd have a portion of the view all of a sudden turn 90 degrees but still be on the forward monitor. There's no gaps but the point where the view turns 90 degrees would be very noticeable I think.

quote:

Originally posted by grifter2u:
and does anybody know if displaying the 3x view on a single monitor produces gaps between those 3 side by side displayed 4:3 images, or if those 3 images are fused into one seam-less image without gaps ?

Yes, I have done this. It produces a single seamless image without gaps. It's easy to do, try it yourself, it would take you less than 5 minutes to modify your conf.ini and then launch the game. Post your current single screen res and I'll show you the lines to change here.

The image put out by IL-2 is just one seamless image of 270 deg of view. That is why it looks weird when you see photos of screens that are lined straight across. In reality I don't line my monitors up in a straight row, but it is easy to take a picture when like that.

It was designed to be split across three 4:3 monitor but it would be interesting to see if you could use Ultramon to display it across different size monitors.

The IL-2 game is always going to output the display in a seamless three by 4:3 view no matter what, but you might be able to use Ultramon to split this unevenly across multiple monitors.

quote:

Originally posted by striker-85:

Yes, I have done this. It produces a single seamless image without gaps. It's easy to do, try it yourself, it would take you less than 5 minutes to modify your conf.ini and then launch the game. Post your current single screen res and I'll show you the lines to change here.

thx for the clarification, that is good news

i am using 1920 x 1200 in il2 at the moment on a 27'.

quote:

The image put out by IL-2 is just one seamless image of 270 deg of view. That is why it looks weird when you see photos of screens that are lined straight across. In reality I don't line my monitors up in a straight row, but it is easy to take a picture when like that.

but does il2 force a 90 FoV on each "monitor output" ?

that would be a major problem in that case. i would have presumed you can still adjust the FoV like you do for a single monitor.

quote:

it would be interesting to see if you could use Ultramon to display it across different size monitors.

the 2e dvi output of my current gfx card has a 19' lcd in landscape mode connected right now. i might try and see if i can spread the image to that at the same time as using my main one, but i'll need to look into what the ini edit has to be. it could be it only works for 3 or 1 video output, and has no option for 2. it would be good to get it working on 2 just to see if it is possible as a concept (combining different sized widescreen monitors).

Urufu_Shinjiro,

i dont see that as a problem at all, but i wont know for sure till i see it working the way i intend.

in fact on the picture you posted i think it would look better if all the cockpit struts would be seen on a wider central monitor, and the 2 19' or 20' monitors i plan to use on either side could represent the 10 and 2 o'clock views. i am not trying to get a 3 x 90 FoV with my setup, i am just hoping to increase the peripheral vision by adding 2 smaller monitors on either side.



Lurch1962,

can you have another look at this post on gunsights in the other forum section sometime ?
http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/23110283/m/2481093716

quote:

Originally posted by grifter2u:
but does il2 force a 90 FoV on each "monitor output" ?

IL-2 doesn't know you have multiple monitors, it just creates a single seamless view where each 1/3 of the image is a 90 FoV 4:3 apsect display.

There is no way to change that, IL-2's Use3Views REQUIRES a 4:3 aspect 90 FOV, no exceptions, on each 1/3 of the displayed image. Of course you can toggle your FoV in game, but for config purposes you have to have equal 3 x 4:3 setup for 3 View mode to work.

quote:

Originally posted by grifter2u:
thx for the clarification, that is good news i am using 1920 x 1200 in il2 at the moment on a 27'.

You can run a single 1920 x 1200 monitor at max in 3 x 640x480 mode. 3 x 640 = 1920 which will make the width exactly the width of your monitor. Based on a 640 width per section the height will need to be 480.

The IL-2 Game menu stays on the center screen. You will need to actually Fly a plane to see the 3 Views.

[window]
width=1920 <-- Set this value to 3 x the width of each display
height=480 <-- This value is set to the height
ColourBits=32
DepthBits=24
StencilBits=8
ChangeScreenRes=0 <-- Must be 0 here or IL-2 will not start because you can't force your monitor to change to this screen resolution (1920x480)
FullScreen=0 <- I prefer 0 here (Window mode) when testing on single monitor.
DrawIfNotFocused=1
EnableResize=0
EnableClose=0
SaveAspect=1 <-- Must be 1 or Use3Renders will be Ignored! Makes each display 4:3
Use3Renders=1 <-- Must be 1 to enable 3 View mode

If you change SaveAspect to 0 or change the width/height to anything other than a 3 x 4:3 then you will only get a single view, not a 3 View.

quote:

Originally posted by striker-85:

IL-2 doesn't know you have multiple monitors, it just creates a single seamless view where each 1/3 of the image is a 90 FoV 4:3 apsect display.

There is no way to change that, IL-2's Use3Views REQUIRES a 4:3 aspect 90 FOV, no exceptions, on each 1/3 of the displayed image. Of course you can toggle your FoV in game, but for config purposes you have to have equal 3 x 4:3 setup for 3 View mode to work.

if i can still alter the FoV in the game thats the main thing.

quote:

Originally posted by striker-85:
You can run a single 1920 x 1200 monitor at max in 3 x 640x480 mode. 3 x 640 = 1920 which will make the width exactly the width of your monitor. Based on a 640 width per section the height will need to be 480.

thanks for the further information, that is very clear. i'll try it out on the WE

one last issue, when you change your FoV in the game with the 3 monitor setup, do the 3 views still stay in a continues display of the scenery, ie 3 monitors set at 30 FoV side by side will still give a 90 degree forward FoV, or is it then a fragmented view with gaps inbetween ?