SoftTH - A software alternative to TH2G [Archive]

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BHawthorne

01-01-2008, 09:22 PM

Not sure I saw anyone mention this, but there is a software solution to the TH2G out that is free. Here is a quote from another thread I posted to on it:

Another option I'd like to mention is SoftTH. It's a TH2G, but done free via software. It has more resolution possibilities than the TH2G does too. You can mix and match 16:9 and 5:4 and different resolution screens with SoftTH. Only downside is it's a software solution and not hardware, hence it's gonna be slightly slower than TH2G. If you have one of those new PCIe 2.0 mobos with good cards I wouldn't think you'll notice much difference though.

SoftTH: http://www.kegetys.net/SoftTH/
How it works: http://www.kegetys.net/SoftTH/diagram.png
SoftTH Forum: http://www.kegetys.net/forum/index.php?board=1.0

Youtube also has a few examples of SoftTH in use, just search SoftTH. :)

BHawthorne

01-01-2008, 09:27 PM

Here is a proof-of-concept example of me using both TH2G and SoftTH at the same time in the same game:

5X Dell P1110 TH2G+SoftTH 6400x1024:
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/9389/6400x10245screenki6.jpg

DAoC MMORPG at 6400x1024: (Too bad DAoC is a -vert FOV game) :(
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/820/daoc6400x1024tn001vi1.jpg

Info on how I did this:
SoftTH Forums: http://www.kegetys.net/forum/index.php?topic=84.0
WSGF Forums: http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12358

I probably could of also added in the overhead projector in the proof-of-concept with the last free video port, but it wasn't a part of what I was testing at that moment.

rottenlungs

01-15-2008, 08:58 AM

Hi

Im really impressed with your demo rig there. Looking at the SoftTH site it sounds like FSX doesn`t play very nicely with it. However, do you know if it is any good with FS9? Have you had a chance to run any Flight Sims on it yet?

My pit is being built on FS9 and I am looking at options around the visual system

Thanks

James

Arry

01-16-2008, 02:33 PM

Hello,

is there anybody, who succeded in having work FSX with SOFTTH ?

As I have deleted all the FS9 from my computers, it would be nice, to try it with FSX.
Unfortunately I wasn't successful.

Happy landigns

Arry

BHawthorne

01-16-2008, 06:12 PM

I'm mostly a MMO gamer. I've not tried it with any sims yet. I've been following sims for awhile now, just not gotten into using them much yet.

GSalden

01-18-2008, 03:08 PM

Maybe anyone could try this with Fs and let us know how it performs :grin:

Paul Thomas

01-18-2008, 03:54 PM

This looks like something real interesting, well worth looking deeper into.

dcutugno

01-18-2008, 04:50 PM

It still have problems with FSX, but i don't know if FS9 works i will gonna try it tomorrow.

GSalden

01-19-2008, 03:09 AM

If the mouse is an issue then Wideview outside view pc might be the solution.

On the other hand : I uses one monitor for everything and when flying I uses a KVm switch to transfer though my DualHea2Go to my 2 projectors ( unfortunately Vista does not support expanded desktops )

So for me a mouse on one monitor would be enough.

Westozy

01-19-2008, 03:27 AM

Arry, your signature pic looks great, do you have anymore in the gallery?

Gwyn

Bob Reed

01-19-2008, 12:42 PM

andarlite

01-19-2008, 12:42 PM

Gwyn

You can see more pictures of Arry cockpit here:

http://www.mycockpit.org/forums/showthread.php?t=11037&page=2

Scroll down a bit.

Regards,
Henry

nricky

01-20-2008, 07:02 AM

Hi Evreyone

Has anyone git the software working with FS2004?? Would be great to now, I have tried it and could not make it go. Thanks for your help.

Cheers Norbert

GSalden

01-23-2008, 09:06 AM

Has anyone tried it with FSX jet ?

Arry

01-24-2008, 09:56 AM

Hello,

I have tried it, but not successful :-x

If anybody gets the FSX running with it, please tell us, how to do it.

Happy landings

Arry

Tomlin

08-21-2008, 12:25 AM

What about FS9? I have just been given 2 additional projectors and now I'd like to try this out.

Thanks,

AndyT

08-21-2008, 02:32 AM

Right now I'm using a dual head AGP card.
As soon as I can get a pair of dualie PCI cards, I'll put SoftTGo thru its paces. Should be in a couple of weeks. (Hopefully)

Tomlin

08-21-2008, 08:40 AM

AndyT

08-21-2008, 01:47 PM

Its my understanding that it actually requires 3 screens in order to work correctly.

BHawthorne

08-21-2008, 06:03 PM

Okay that sounds good to hear back from you on this. I have a monster PCIe card w/ two outputs and Im wondering if I can check it that way with just two projectors to get an idea of how well it works.

Just use horizontal-span mode in XP. SoftTH can also do dual by setting the right display to -1, but horizontal-span mode would work better.

AndyT

08-22-2008, 04:15 AM

After a bit of searching, I discovered that ATI users need to go into Catalyst Control Center and switch to the BASIC mode and use the Wizards. You can not access the Horizontal span mode from the advanced panel. I wonder why ?

AndyT

08-22-2008, 04:32 AM

Ok, Wow. How incredible was that. I oinly have 2 monitors working right now so I had the bezel split right down the middle of my plane, but HNL looked more like HNL than it ever did even with add-ons. I could almost feel the difference.

Now I feel the severe need to go and get me a pair of dual head PCI cards at the soonest opportunity.

Tomlin

08-22-2008, 12:59 PM

Just use horizontal-span mode in XP. SoftTH can also do dual by setting the right display to -1, but horizontal-span mode would work better.

Since I dont have a TH2G at this time but I do have the projectors, I would still like to try this software.

How do you suggest to set up the hardware?

Tomlin

08-22-2008, 01:00 PM

AndyT

08-22-2008, 01:46 PM

Actually, I got Horizontal Stretch working on ATI. It does almost the same exact thing as SofTH. It was beautiful!
All these years, I've been flying on a single monitor. What a HUGE difference!

The only difference between SofTH and HS mode is SofTH actually requires more pixels to fill the screens where HS Mode just stretches everything across. But get rid of the interior cockpit and WOW.

Tomlin

09-05-2008, 04:46 PM

Okay, I have the hardware to try the Horizontal Span this weekend and Im hoping that it will be a nice way to have wider visuals till I get the $$ for a TH2G. However, are there any tricks required for zoom levels or anything?

AndyT

09-05-2008, 11:34 PM

Tomlin

09-06-2008, 07:19 AM

No tricks. The only drawback I've found so far is it will not let me run fullscreen. I have to leave it in windowed mode. Not a big deal if I manually make the screen slightly larger then center it. Same effect.

New video card is on the way !!

Hi Andy, I tried it out last night for the first time and discovered the same thing you mention- it wont run in full screen :-(

Anyhow, what you said is a good way to try it and maybe that's what the Finnish guys did with their (very nice) glider sim. That's where I actually realized that I should try this...it was first posted here yesterday at :

http://www.mycockpit.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13400&highlight=glider

777

09-18-2008, 09:51 AM

I am looking at building a new system. So, does this mean I should get a motherboard that can have two pci-e 2.0 video cards (non-sli)?

I am aiming for the nehalem cpus so I guess that's the newer x48 motherboard (ddr3 1600 and above)? http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200280%20107172333&name=Intel%20X38%2fX48

AndyT

09-18-2008, 01:29 PM

The rule for hardware is always buy the fastest / best you can afford. That way it will last you that much longer.

I would get a board that could hold 3 vid cards SLI or Crossfire. FSX may not take advantage of it, but I bet FS11 will. And unless you plan on buying a new computer for it when it comes out, you need to get this one as fast as you can. I'd reccomend Vista 64 also. It gives you a much larger memory profile.

joseottawa

08-18-2009, 11:56 AM

I just wanted to share my widescreen view in FSX with NO Matrox TripleHead2Go at all using SofTH and two video cards in XP. I have FSX working in span mode on three monitors with two video cards thanks to the amazing free software SoftTh version v1.09 rc1 on Windows XP with NO Matrox TripleHead2Go at all. With the hat switch I am able to switch to different views and the three monitors work just like one big monitor. My computer has two Nvidia cards: one is a 6200 PCI card and the second a 8500 PCI express card. Both cards have two video outputs: a DVI and a VGA. So I have 4 video ports and I am using only 3. I got 3 x 19” LCD monitors that I bought used second hand with a max resolution of 1280x1204 eachand I was able to get a span of 3840x1024. The panoramic view in Flight Simulator X looks just amazing.
These are the steps I followed:
-For a three monitor setup configure the monitor properties in such way that the central monitor be the primary monitor "Use this device as the primary monitor".
-Make sure that the "Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor" be selected for the other two monitors.
-Match the screen resolution to be identical on the three monitors. I use 1280x1024.
-In my setup, Windows detects the PCI card first therefore my monitor 1 is the PCI video card. Monitors 3 and 2 are attached to second card 3 in the DVI and 2 in the analog port.
-Apply the settings.
-Locate the file FSX.cfg in
C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\Microsoft\FSX\FSX.cfg (replace USERNAME with whatever your XP login is) open FSX.cfg with a txt editor (i used notepad) and under the [Display] section locate the line
WideViewAspect=False
Edit this line to read
WideViewAspect=True
save the file and close it.

-Download the free utility SoftTh version v1.09 rc1" from www.kegetys.net/SoftTH
Unzip the files (there are 3 dlls and a cfg file) and copy them onto the FSX main folder and edit the SoftTH.cfg (I used notepad).

These are my SoftTH.cfg file settings:
---------------------------------------------------------
;
; SoftTH 1.09 configuration file
; by Kegetys, http://www.kegetys.net
;

[config]
; deviceIDLeft/right: Direct3D device ID's of left and right monitor, or 'auto' for

automatic
; secondaryWidth/Height: Left&right monitor resolution, or 'auto' to use same as middle

screen resolution
; secondaryRefresh: Refresh rate of left & right monitors, or 'auto' for automatic
; secondaryFormat: Secondary device image format: 'RGB32', 'RGB16', 'RGB16D' or

'RGB32CUDA'.
; uploadMethod: Method used to upload image to secondary card(s): 'blit', 'D3D' or

'D3DCUDA'
; forceAffinity: Set to 1 to force process affinity to all processors/cores.
; borderSize: Size in pixels of frame border between monitors that is discarded
; sideExtraWidth: Width difference between middle and side monitors, or 'auto' to

autodetect from desktop resolution
; noHotkeys: Set to 1 to disable all hotkeys
; noOSD: Set to 1 to disable on-screen display when changing settings
deviceIDLeft=auto
deviceIDright=auto
secondaryWidth=auto
secondaryHeight=auto
secondaryRefresh=auto
secondaryFormat=RGB16D
uploadMethod=blit
forceAffinity=0
borderSize=0
sideExtraWidth=auto
noHotkeys=0
noOSD=0

[Direct3D]
; ** Advanced setting for Direct3D games **
; lensCorrection: Lens correction, set to 1 to enable support. >1 to enable by default
; lensCorrectionEdge: Lens correction edge offset
; hideNondefaultDevices: Hides all but the default adapter from the game
; forceHorizontalFOV: Forces horizontal FOV to be three times as wide
; forceResolutionWidth/Height: Forces device to be created with this resolution
; force16bitDepth: Force game to use 16bit depth buffer, can improve performance and

reduce memory use
; sleepBeforeRead: Time in ms to sleep before reading back buffer data from video card
; useMultihead: Uses multihead features of primary card if available, can increase

performance and reduce memory use
; delayedPresent: When useMultihead enabled, delay primary monitor present to sync with

secondary head
; d3d8dll: Path to D3D8.dll/D3D9.dll to use or auto for automatic (system32 dir)
; altResetBehaviour: Do not reset lost main device after secondary device initialization

(WDDM crash workaround)
lensCorrection=0
lensCorrectionEdge=0
hideNondefaultDevices=1
forceHorizontalFOV=0
forceResolutionWidth=0
forceResolutionHeight=0
force16bitDepth=0
sleepBeforeRead=2
useMultihead=1
delayedPresent=0
autoSquash=0
altResetBehaviour=0
d3d8dll=auto

[hooks]
; Win32 API hooking settings - Used for some extra compatibility and game-specific fixes
; doHooking: Enable/disable hooks in Direct3D, with OpenGL hooks are always enabled
; doScaleMouseCoordinates: Scale mouse coordinates for getCursorPos to fix games which do

not handle negative screen coordinates properly
; doScaleFromLeftScreen: Spread out mouse coordinates from left screen to full width
; doScaleWindowRects: Scale focus window WindowRect
; doScaleClientRects: Scale focus window ClientRect
; mouseXoffset: Number of pixels to offset mouse cursor position in X axis, to fix

misplaced cursor due to negative screen coordinates. auto = use X resolution
doHooking=1
doScaleMouseCoordinates=0
doScaleFromLeftScreen=0
doScaleWindowRects=1
doScaleClientRects=1
mouseXoffset=auto

; Triplehead screenmodes to add to resolutions list (width multiplied by three and border

added)
; width x height x refresh rate in Hz
; 'auto' adds current primary monitor desktop resolution
; Must be last in this file
[modes]
1280x1024x60
auto

---------------------------------------------------------
You can copy and overwrite these seetings onto your SoftTH.cfg file.

-Start FSX.
-Center the FSX window in the middle monitor.
-Go to Settings and select the resolution 3840x1024x32 click OK.
-Start Flying. FSX may start in windowed mode. Press Alt+Enter to select Full Screen.
-The two monitors on the side will show the SofTH logo in blue and the central monitor a black screen. This is normal while SofTH spans the image accross the 3 monitors. After few seconds you will see the panoramic image accross the the 3 monitors. See my screenshots. If the span image does not look right you may need to swap monitor positions.
If you have questions there is alwasy the SoftTH forum:
http://www.kegetys.net/forum/index.php?board=1.0

Enjoy the view.
Jose

lysa elec

12-20-2013, 04:13 AM

---------------------------------------------------------
You can copy and overwrite these seetings onto your SoftTH.cfg file.

-Start FSX.
-Center the FSX window in the middle monitor.
-Go to Settings and select the resolution 3840x1024x32 click OK.
-Start Flying. FSX may start in windowed mode. Press Alt+Enter to select Full Screen.
-The two monitors on the side will show the SofTH logo in blue and the central monitor a black screen. This is normal while SofTH spans the image accross the 3 monitors. After few seconds you will see the panoramic image accross the the 3 monitors. See my screenshots. If the span image does not look right you may need to swap monitor positions.
If you have questions there is alwasy the SoftTH forum:
http://www.kegetys.net/forum/index.php?board=1.0

Enjoy the view.
Jose[/QUOTE]

i have a problem
for me The two monitors on the side will show the SofTH logo in blue and the central monitor the cockpit

Danny van Wijk

10-16-2014, 04:16 AM

SoftTH is great and gives my a nice widescreen view in FSX.
I'am using SoftTH 2.08b, 3 monitors 19" with 2 videocards for the widescreen view in FSX. If you change the softTh.cfg file you can get a widescreen view on as many monitors you want.
My problem is to undock the 2d panels and bring them to the 4th monitor.
Does anyone solved this problem yet or has a neith solution?