FSX Time display oddity

[geoffco]

This is very strange and I cannot work out what is doing it. I noticed that one of my stopwatch gauges had stopped working, so I put all it's variables into a text element for debug. Turns out that the time variable has gone crazy!

The following code should just give the P: / E: absolute time values, as per the SDK, but instead the returned values are .(-*,( in each case. The same is returned for any calculations that use those terms so if anyboby knows (excusing my language) WTF is going on, please give me a clue?

<Gauge Name="GC_DEBUG" Version="1.0">

<Element>
<Position X="0" Y="0"/>
<FormattedText X="240" Y="300" Font="Arial" FontSize="14" Adjust="Left" Color="red" BackgroundColor="Black" 

VerticalAdjust="Center" Bright="Yes" LineSpacing="5">
<String>
DEBUG DATA\n
\n
Logic P00 = %((P:ABSOLUTE TIME,seconds))%!5.5f!%\n
Logic P01 = %((E:ABSOLUTE TIME,seconds))%!5.5f!%\n
\n
</String>
</FormattedText>
</Element>

</Gauge>

Geoff

Edit: I should add, the same gauge quite happilt shows all manner of other variables and even long strings...

 

[tgibson]

What if you use %!d! instead of %!5.5f! ? Or %!2.2f! ?

 

[geoffco]

What if you use %!d! instead of %!5.5f! ? Or %!2.2f! ?

Still getting nowhere with this

%!2.2f! gives the same as %!5.5f!

%!d! gives "-"

If I set

(P:Absolute Time, seconds) (>L:DebugTime, enum)

and display that, I also see the same returns, depending on formatting, and not the numbers I expect. Other variables are displayed as expected.

A few more tests:

• I have a clean install of FSX SP2 on my laptop, and this does the same there -> not something from my settings.
• Removing all the other gauges from my panel and re-loading the sim doesn't fix it -> not a problem from another gauge.
• Placing only the string viewing gauge in a default panel (A321) has the same result -> not something to do with my user aircraft.

I'm out of ideas. I assume others are not seeing the same, so could someone please post some code that correctly displays the Absolute Time (seconds) variable and I'll then test that here?

Geoff

 

[geoffco]

Update:

It's not the fact that it's absolute time - FSX simply cannot handle really big numbers it seems?
In a test any number much greater than 2147450000 will have this effect / will not be read properly...

(P:Absolute Time, Minutes) 1058500000 - 60 * gives a timestamp that does seem to work...

Geoff

 

[taguilo]

FSX can handle big numbers, is the numeric format "f" (or "d") specifier that cannot deal with them.
As you've already noticed, only 32 bit signed numbers are supported.

If you want to see the actual value, just use !s! and it will be expressed in exponential form ie 4553.34343e10.

Tom

 

[geoffco]

FSX can handle big numbers, is the numeric format "f" (or "d") specifier that cannot deal with them.
As you've already noticed, only 32 bit signed numbers are supported.

If you want to see the actual value, just use !s! and it will be expressed in exponential form ie 4553.34343e10.

Tom

Ah, ok. That would explain why some functions still worked, only the ones that displayed something or did a calculation on the time were messed up.

Geoff