Unless you want to build your own MFD's there has only been one choice of MFD until now, the Quickshot MasterPilot. Whilst this is a great piece of kit it has several flaws for the serious pit builder and even the casual pit builders like me. It has too many buttons (6 per row instead of 5), it needs an old pc to program it, it can't be programmed in 2K/WinXP, and it is too big for anyone building a pit to realistic dimensions. Fortunately we now have another choice thanks to RealSimulator and the release of their MFD's. I've been putting a set of those MFD's through their paces over the last few weeks.
Before I talk about the MFD lets have a look at the CCD (Cockpit Control Device). Rather than plug directly into the PC the MFD's plug into the CCD which then plugs into the PC. This is a good idea because it means that several devices can be plugged into the CCD and you still only require a single USB port for the CCD itself. The reason behind this is that whilst the MFD's can be used on a desktop, they are geared towards pit builders.RealSimulator will be releasing a number of other modules including an ICP, MISC/Threat Warning Panel, a DED, F-Lights, and Flight controls. Their awesome ACES II seat will also plug into the CCD allowing you to operate the seat in game by operating the actual seat in your pit. The CCD is made in metal and is very sturdy, it has a USB port for connection to the PC, and 8 standard network cable ports to connect to the different modules. Each port is clearly labeled so that you can tell which module goes where. There is also an expansion port on the side so that it can be upgraded to take new modules in the future. It also has four mounting holes to enable you to secure it to your pit.
The RealSimulator CCD
The MFD's are replicas of those found in the F16. There are 5 buttons one each edge, plus 2 position GAIN BRT SYM and CON rockers in the corners. This gives you a total of 28 buttons on each MFD, but with the programming that I will discuss a little later each button can have several "shifted" functions programmed giving you far more than the 28. There are also 2 programmable LED's. The buttons and rockers are all microswitched and have a very firm feel to them making it hard to press one by accident. The buttons give a good click when pressed. On my first look at the MFD's I was very impressed, but once out of the box I felt slightly dissapointed because RealSimulators previous work had left me with very high expectations. The MFD had a few rough edges and didn't have that smooth plastic look of a new PC peripheral. Don't get me wrong here, the MFD's look good and are very authentic looking, and in fact the type of plastic used adds to the authentic look rather than detracting from it. The MFD's are wedge shaped which makes them usable on a desktop for those without pits, it's also the perfect shape for my Akers Barnes pit because if I attach the MFD to my front panel with velcro the MFD faces me square on rather than being angled back like the front panel itself, I find them more comfortable to use in this position. Another thing that initially disappointed me was that there are only 2 mounting holes and these are at the bottom. But if you look at photos of real F16 MFD's you can see that this was done to retain the authentic look, and as the units are very light and, are pushed in use rather than pulled, these mounting holes should be more than adequate to attach the MFD's to a pit. The screen is non functional and uses a semi transparent plastic, one minor criticism here is that you can just about see a ribbon cable through this panel although any serious pit builder is likely to overlay this with radar images which will instantly solve this problem. There is plenty of room behind this panel to add backlighting to the screen to give a more authentic look, and if you are confident enough to wire led's off from the existing led's you could actually control the backlighting with the MBM programming, although such modifications would be done at your own risk.
The RealSimulator MFD
Side View
Mounted on a MasterPilot to compare the size
Mounted in a Cockpit
Currently the units only work with Windows 2000 and Windows XP, there are no drivers available for Win9X. I had several problems with installation but received excellent support from RealSimulator. It turned out that the problems were caused by a driver conflict with the TrackIR. This is something they hope to have fixed in the next version and work on both the software and drivers is continuing at breakneck speeds, in fact while working on this review the drivers were updated once and the software was updated twice. The software itself is quite simple to use, simply select the profile and hit start. There is also a Developer control bar which allows you to edit, compile or test your profile. It also has a variables button that displays all the available variables and allows you to modify their values. A script editor called ScriptEd 2.0 is also included for editing your profiles but you can use any text editor for the job. The profiles control all of the units attached to the CCD, so you would use a single profile to control both MFD's, the ICP and any other devices attached.
The FCenter Software
Programming the units is done via a scripting language called MBM. For anyone used to programming with a C like scripting language this will be a breeze, but if you have no programming experience then a little study time might be needed. Fortunately the language is not overly complex and is very well documented. The documentation includes a very good tutorial and a lot of tutorial scripts are provided. The documentation was not written by a native speaker of English and this shows at times but does not make the documentation any harder to understand. There is also a full realistic script for FalconSP3 provided so if you are a Falcon flyer you can just plug in and go. To say that the flexibility of the MBM language is impressive would be a massive understatement. Even after a few weeks with the unit I am still only just scratching the surface of the capabilities of these units. I could write a whole article just on the functionality offered by this scripting language, but instead I'll just cover some of the highlights that you may wish to use with the MFD's. You can assign a button to activate a key or a series of keys, you can program mouse events onto a button, you can even control the led's with the MBM language. Another thing about the CCD is that it can access Falcons shared memory, not so much applicable to the MFD's but will come into play when RealSimulator released the DED unit. You can even use the MBM to launch programs and so you could write a profile that replaces your desktop shortcuts with MFD buttons. To ensure compatibility with a wide variety of sims you can program keystrokes in a number of ways including ascii codes and scan codes. Each key can also have a massive number of shifted functions, far more than you will ever need. To give you an idea of the functionality though, imagine you Fly Janes F/A-18 and can only afford a single MFD, that may seem restrictive with the F/A-18 having 3 MFD's. Not a problem, after some deft programming, the MFD is controlling the left MFD and the left LED is on, a quick push of the CON UP button and now we are controlling the right MFD and now only the right LED is lit to indicate this. Another push of the CON UP button and now we are controlling the centre MFD and now both LED's are lit to indicate this. Pretty cool eh? And this is only a simple indication of the flexibility of these units. Mind you, it wasn't all plain sailing, I did find that whilst the unit worked flawlessly in Falcon 4 there was a delay between hitting the button and the keypress being activated in Janes F/A-18. The same problem existed in Search and Rescue. Fortunately it was very easy to resolve. After running the FCenter software and loading the profile, I then went to the processes tab in the windows task manager, right clicked on FCenter.exe then changed the priority to realtime, I then launched the sim and everything worked perfectly. You can make the program start with the priority set to realtime by creating a batch file with the following command "start /realtime FCenter.exe" in the FCenter folder and running this instead of the FCenter.exe. RealSimulator say that the next version of the software will allow you to control this within the program. Increasing the priority of the FCenter software did not appear to have any effect on the FPS in the sim.
At a total cost in the region of 600 Euros for the CCD and a pair of MFD's these may seem quite expensive. But then you have to consider the specialised nature of the product. These are aimed at pit builders which is a niche within a niche. They are not high volume mass produced units like the Quickshot MasterPilots were. Whilst this review has focussed on the MFD's the CCD is the heart of the system and will also control several other modules including the awesome looking ICP.
Final Beta ICP
The CCD can also control gauges, lights and the DED, it offers many of the advantages of an epic board without requiring the same level of electronic know how. For the casual simmer these may be considered a luxury item, but for the serious pit builder they really are an essential purchase.That is not to say that you need to be a pit builder to make these worth while. If you fly combat sims regularly then you will find that these massively add to the immersion. I never give scores in reviews but these units definately get 2 thumbs up :)
