[Nuke]

the more research i do the more i seem to realize that streaming out render targets would be a major pain in the ass (not to say it cant be done but it would suck, a lot). so im looking at other ways to get content out of the engine to display on other screens.  so i did a quick google search and found this article. now the article kinda makes it sound easy, but im not sure if freespace is set to handle this kinda thing. im definately gonna read through the render code tomorrow. if my brain comprehends anything i might consider working on this (since my other project at the moment requires waiting for hardware). but would it be worth the effort or would it just be a futile lesson in insanity?

[Astronomiya]

That article is kinda old.  Both Nvidia and ATI have implemented multi-monitor solutions in their current GPUs (NVSurround and Eyefinity, respectively);  I don't think coding a separate multi-monitor rendering path into FSO would really be worth the effort.  I use NVSurround, and it works perfectly in FSO with no extra coding necessary on the SCP's part, except to fix the HUD (which Antipodes 7 did) and the menus/main halls, which stretch across the entire visible area.  This is really, really annoying, and should probably be fixed at some point if one of the coders has any spare time (however, to my knowledge, I am basically the only person on the board that uses three monitors, so...). 

[Redstreblo]

I use dual monitors on my computer and I really enjoy games that use both of them. So if FreeSpace works with dual monitors with proper aspect ratio, correct hud layout and the main halls look good on multiple displays then I have one word of you: JOY.

[Nuke]

i dont think those allow for arbitrary xform per screen.

[Tomo]

Correct me if I'm wrong Nuke, but I think you're trying to do things like render the Radar, Target View and other HUD items to various separate monitors, to be built into a physical cockpit mockup?

Having a 'surround view' where there's a centre monitor for 'dead ahead' plus left/right views can be done already using the NVSurround option with a custom HUD layout and adjusting the field-of-view.
I doubt you could bastardise that enough into splitting out Radar/Target view etc without making the main halls and briefings unusable.