UK Private pilot and flight instructor with CPL/IR/FI/IRI approx 2000 hours offering remote flight instruction via Zoom
See my FlyerDavidUK.com website for trip reports around Europe/US, my training experience and services offered
I messed with just this when I first started out with AM but decided that one I like the custom extras I put on the panels and two it’s the working out where you want the cutout that takes what time there is in this and you still need to do that using this method. The actual creation of a panel in whatever colour and with one or more cutouts takes literally seconds.
I can quite understand your approach, and for those with a lot of experience and skills in graphic formats and tools, and where the positioning doesn't change much then it makes sense.
However when I first started out, it took me a while to get to grips with all that. I was particularly confused by the panel background settings and how to create a partly transparent image with alpha channel etc. I also got the calculations wrong sometimes or wanted to move things around a little afterwards. So this gives beginners and others another option.
I still find students struggling to setup Reality-XP or G1000 panels and have to create panel backgrounds with cutouts for them, and advise them what options to tick on the bottom of the panel configuration menu.
Perhaps we need a new category of instruments called Tools, independent of any specific aircraft type which could include those for graphics and debugging etc.?
UK Private pilot and flight instructor with CPL/IR/FI/IRI approx 2000 hours offering remote flight instruction via Zoom
See my FlyerDavidUK.com website for trip reports around Europe/US, my training experience and services offered
Totally get the thought process. I should of added the caveat that it takes seconds once you know what you are doing. I agree that it’s not instantly easy if you have no prior graphics experience. However it’s not at all difficult to learn. The other thing I thought of after my initial post was that this method makes the panel background as an instrument rather than a layer. For most this is probably no big deal and if it was you could always use this as the generation tool only. Once you set it to what you want take a screen capture and save it as a .png for use as a proper panel layout.
As you say perhaps more of a tool than a specific instrument.
Generic - Black Hole.siff