Black gate numbers

[DVA12924]

Last issue (everything else I've reported thus far has been fixed, big thank you)

Random gate numbers are showing black. No real method to duplicating it. I thought at first it was when using the editor to change a large number of gates settings at the same time was perhaps corrupting the INI file, but I deleted the current INI file (after copying it), let Couatl restart and rebuild giving a new INI file and immediately the gate I am sitting at has a black gate number with the new built INI but the other gates near by are displayed correctly. I pasted the info from the old INI file to the newly created one but no luck.

Attached are some screenshots of the issue, the INI file and the AFCAD file (if you didn't delete the FSX version of the AFCAD you had to make for the last issue I had reported http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,19135.0.html then you can use that one since all I've done with the attached one here compared with the attached one on the last thread was adjust parking to match where the plane is when setting GSX gate settings).

http://prntscr.com/l19z5j - In the Gate number section, the settings are correct but the display preview is blacked out
http://prntscr.com/l1a067 - middle gate (334 is where I am at) is black in the sim while the ones to the left and right are displayed correctly
http://prntscr.com/l1a0su - better view of 333 and 334 with 334 blacked out

It isn't just this airport I've noticed this at, and not just this gate. For my current ZBAA project, I've found about 20 other gates at random that are showing the same.

In the documentation that comes with GSX, black gate numbers are only mentioned on page 42 under the "Gate Number (Prepar3D 4+ only)" section where it states: "IMPORTANT
There’s an option in the Addon Manager to disable RTT. By default it’s enabled,
but it can be disabled in case there are issues with some video drivers. Be sure that
option is Enabled (it’s the default), otherwise the Gate Number will appear all black."

I have not disabled that and if that had become disabled, it would seem that ALL gate numbers would be black, not just random ones here and there. It wouldn't be an issue with my video card or driver since I have Nvidea GeForce 1080 with latest drivers installed.

[DVA12924]

I did find a topic with the same issue here http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,18936.msg131467.html#msg131467

You had mentioned a suggestion of allowing time for the editor to recreate the jetways after editing. I'll admit, this was most likely the culprit, but how do I go about fixing it at this point? I reset the whole airport (with back up saved) and immediately gate 334 is still showing a black gate number while 333 and 335 are perfect.

[virtuali]

how do I go about fixing it at this point? I reset the whole airport (with back up saved) and immediately gate 334 is still showing a black gate number while 333 and 335 are perfect.

You should select all jetways (there's a button to do just that now), and reconfirm the font color/background again, and wait for all jetways to be recreated.

[DVA12924]

I tried this fix 3 times

1) with the old INI, used the editor to select all jetways, used the options to select to same options that were already set, applied, and waited 5 minutes after making changes. No resolve
2) reset the airport in the editor and deleted the old INI file allowing GSX to create a new INI file with no changes on it, selected all jetways and again used the options to select the default fonts and color options, applied, waited 5 minutes, no resolve
3) using the new INI, selected all jetways, removed the gate number from all jetways, applied, waited 5 minutes (didn't see gate numbers after a few seconds), selected all jetways again, changed the font style BG color and text color, applied, waited 5 minutes (gate numbers stopped showing up after a few seconds with gates having the new font style and colors), no resolve.

http://prntscr.com/l1hbwc - screenshot showing gate 334 with still a black gate number while other gates around have the newly applied font style.

If I were to try the "fix" that isn't really a fix that the other user reported in the thread I linked in comment 2 by uninstalling and reinstalling GSX and GSX L2, would I be able to just copy paste and save the old INI files to new INI files so I haven't lost more than 2 weeks of work with the edits? I'd rather not lose that work. since its a lot of work already put in.

I've been running the Live update a lot over the past few days to be sure that any minor changes made to the program have been received in hopes that it would help in resolving the issue, but it doesn't seem there are any new files to be received.

[DVA12924]

here is something intresting

In the %AppData%/Roaming/Virtuali folder, there is a PNG image file called "jetwaynunmber_preview" and when I open it, its a black box exactly as I'm seeing at random gates. Would this have anything to do with it? The date and time stamp for the last edit for that file is also the last time that the simulator was running and changes to gate numbers in editor were applied

http://prntscr.com/l1hizy - file and location
http://prntscr.com/l1hj3b - image

Can anyone with fully functional gate numbers confirm if they also see an empty black box when opening that file? Or does it show the correct font and colors?

[DVA12924]

Tried every troubleshooting I can think of in addition to the request from Umberto. Last effort was a full uninstall and a full reinstall of GSX and install using the lastest installer from the website. Loaded up the sim at ZBAA gate 334 and guess what? Its still EXACTLY the same issue.

[virtuali]

Can anyone with fully functional gate numbers confirm if they also see an empty black box when opening that file? Or does it show the correct font and colors?

That image will always have the correct font and colors, because that's is what the preview shows.

That image is created by the Addon Manager using DirectX code using the simulator own Render To Texture feature of the 4.0x SDK and, as I already explained in another post, something wrong with DirectX, like a video driver issue or settings, might affect it.

However, it should *always* affect it, not just a some gates, not random ones.

A problem with random gates seems more like a communication problem between the two programs, the GSX editor, which runs under the Couatl Python interpreter, and the Addon Manager, which does the actual DirectX code, and there's no alternative to this method, since the only way to use the Render to Texture feature is by means of an in-process .DLL (like the Addon Manager). Couatl, being an external .EXE, doesn't have such access level to the sim so, a communication between the two is required.

Some things that might affect this communication (which of course happens only using 100% standard Windows method) are:

- system overloaded with too much stuff running. Even non flight-sim related.

- antivirus interference

- a problem with Directx itself.

- using the editor too quickly, like changing many jetways at once without allowing enough time for all of them to be updated.

I'm only listing what I know can *theoretically* happen, that doesn't necessarily mean this is YOUR problem or these are the *only* possible causes, they are only the ones I can think of, now.