12 replies to this topic

[Bulau]

I'm having a look at missions as a way to try to implement airborne starts in multiplayer sessions. I notice when going through the process of hosting an existing FSX mission, that there are several player "slots" presented at the briefing room, e.g. MindenXC mission has 16 of them.

I started by editing one of Ian's missions, the AustrianSoaring2 one, I've added several Player Objects and setting them up the same way I see in the MindenXC mission, even grouping them in the same way, but when I host it, I don't get my player slots presented. When I fly it, I get the message about not being able to place me in the location specified, and get spawned near the host (which is me), using the airborne start location that Ian's mission normally gives. Obviously I'm missing a detail but can't figure out what.

[B21]

Writing single-player missions isn't for the faint-hearted, and hadly anyone has ever written a multi-player mission. Where's the minden mission you mentioned ??

Rather than starting with the Austrian Soaring 2, my suggestion is start with a sample multi-player mission, i.e. here:

http://msdn.microsof...ExampleMissions

Of my missions (http://carrier.csi.c...m/fsx/missions/) the ones before the Mifflin soaring competition actually use Mission Objects for thermals and ridge lift and that approach is obsolete now we use CumulusX - so if you start with a single-player soaring mission my suggestion would be Mifflin Day 1 - the mission file isn't obscured with dozens of 'lift' objects as in Austrian Soaring.

B21

[Bulau]

The MindenXC mission is found here:
...\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\Missions\Racing\MindenXC\

It uses an .SPB file, but you can find the original .XML file in the SDK:
...\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK\SDK\Mission Creation Kit\Mission Samples\Racing\MindenXC\

Yes, the clutter is an issue, especially using Notepad. I've decided to start from scratch, using one of my own flight plans as a basis, so there is not so much clutter. Also, I need to get an understanding of placing the objects for start/finish gates, and maybe turnpoints. I used AustrianSoaring2 because it is a soaring mission, and has an airborne start already.

I'm really not interested in all the other bells and whistles, just a few things to force some soaring specific actions. I'm expecting pilots to navigate the task the way they normally would, with the soaring instruments you and Max have given us. I'm just after the start height enforcement, and the airborne starts...so far. Thanks for the advice, Ian, I'll have a look at those missions.

[Bulau]

I've discovered one more thing, the RaceInfo object, which adds another checkbox to the Host Options screen:
Still no Roles displayed though, but I think it is some little thing I'm missing.

Attached thumbnail(s)

• 

[Bulau]

I've resolved this problem, or avoided it, by starting from scratch. In a new mission, which contains only the Scenario Metadata, link to a flight plan, and three Player Objects, it correctly shows up at the Multiplayer Host Options pane with the three "Roles" for selection.

Perfect!

I think it may be something to do with feet versus meters for the heights, which is that old FSX thing where one or the other is used in different spots without apparent rhyme or reason. In my new mission, I just happened to spot this as I was inputting the locations for the Player Objects, and I changed it to use feet for those data. I think I may have used meters when I edited Ian's mission, which would place those Player underground!

Attached thumbnail(s)

• 

[Bulau]

Just discovered that these Player Objects I'm using are unique to the Acceleration Pack SKD. I wonder if that will be a problem for players who don't have the AP installed. In fact there are a number of race related things which are in the AP mission features. I think I will leave the Player Objects in for now, but build the rest of the mission without using any of these AP items.

[B21]

Good job Bulau - nice effort pioneering this stuff. AFAIK multiplayer missions are Acceleration-only and I would think a non-Acceleration FSX wouldn't be able to interpret the new objects in the XML mission file.

B21

[Bulau]

Am I pioneering? More like reinventing the wheel.
You've made missions, and I don't think there is fundamentally much different with multiplayer.

Anyhow, I have an odd thing going on with my starting gate, a RecangleArea, but it has too many "lines"...I'll have to post a screenshot...to hard to describe...

        <SimMission.RectangleArea InstanceId="{DCBE8179-A75B-493D-807C-ED5697D57CC6}">
            <Descr>RectangleArea1</Descr>
            <Orientation>0.000,0.000,10.000</Orientation>
            <Length>6000.000</Length>
            <Width>50.000</Width>
            <Height>1300.000</Height>
            <AttachedWorldPosition>
                <WorldPosition>N35° 41' 30.35",W82° 1' 0.07",+002766.46</WorldPosition>
                <AltitudeIsAGL>False</AltitudeIsAGL>
            </AttachedWorldPosition>
        </SimMission.RectangleArea>

[EDIT] OK, I got rid of the extra edges by doubleclicking on the AttachWorldPosition and AttachWorldObject parameters, neither of which I understand. Also noticed the same phenomenon in your Mifflin Day 1 mission, so apparently, it is normal. Finally I found your mission building page here:
http://carrier.csi.c...x/dev/lift.html
Although describing ridge and thermal objects, the explanations were spot on and applicable in general. Very helpful!

Attached thumbnail(s)

• 

[Bulau]

Another discovery: During testing last night, we found that it's not enough for players to merely have the same mission as the host, but also it must be in the same path. I originally had the mission folder located in \Missions\Soaring\, a new subfolder which my friend DC did not have, so he put it in \Missions\Racing\. Attempts to connect were unsuccessful, a brief message popping up so quickly we couldn't even read it. After I moved my folder to Racing folder, connection was successful.

I was pleased to find that the airborne starts worked perfectly. I have arranged eight Player Objects in line abreast, 200' apart, heading towards the start gate, and that's how it turned out for both of us.

Next steps: add the Turnpoint and Finish Area Rectangles, and tie them all together with some Proximity Triggers, Dialogue Actions, and I don't know what else...maybe Goal Resolution Actions? I'm not planning to use any Point of Interest objects, with rotating beacons and flashing marquees...pilots will be expected to navigate the task with cockpit instruments. The foregoing items will merely augment that, with real time verification of start, waypoints, and finish.

At least, that's the plan.

[B21]

well done - trust me the word pioneering is going to be apt for your multiplayer stuff. There's a lot of stuff to learn on basic mission building though and there aren't really short cuts - like finding out that some numbers are feet and others meters, or that the FSX ridgelift mission object has a bug rotating its effect 90 degrees that makes it almost useless.

the WorldPosition coordinates are the lat/long/altitude location of the mission object, so if you deleted them I'm assuming the object editor put something sensible back.

The 'multiple lines' in my missions as in the image are possibly there because there are a couple of 'RectangleArea's stacked on top of each other there (I think, from my fading memory) - it looks like a start gate. The other possibility is the multiple lines are because the box is starting way above the ground - you still have the rectangle representing the 'footprint' of the rectanglearea, plus the box in the sky. It is normal in my missions to have a 'you started too high' rectanglearea above the kosher start area - there are even subtleties there to cater for the possibility for the pilot starting correctly in the main start area and then pulling up into the 'too high' rectanglearea... All that stuff is better being checked retrospectively in the IGC file from sim_logger now, IMHO, but before we had that the mission checks made sense.

If you use rectangleareas with triggers though (why?) the basic technique is to use 'ObjectActivation' triggers appropriately throughout the mission (e.g. a 'good start' deactivates the 'too high' area, or a good turn in the last turnpoint activates the finish line etc.)

There are two kinds of FSX mission builders: those that have put in hours of work and then had FSX turn around and choke on the mission file without any error message leaving few options than to rub it out and start again, and those mission builders that still have this to look forward to. (hint: wayyyy the most common error in building missions is to delete a mission object that *another* object refers to - e.g. a trigger firing a dialogaction - FSX just quietly core-dumps when the mission loads and the only way to recover is hand-step through the XML or start again.

Ian

[Bulau]

Thanks, I think I've fumbled through most of this now. The extra lines are the difference between the AGL and ASL...for some reason, when you set the flag AGL=False, you get two rectangles displayed, one ASL and one AGL.

On Saturday, I spend some time looking at your Mifflin Day 1 mission in the Object Placement tool, getting a handle on the relationships of the bits and pieces. I did find, and implement in my own mission, the way you use the ObjectActivation to arm the next waypoint proximity trigger, and so forth. The need for this became obvious in one of my early test, where shortly after starting, I happened to pass through the Finish Area Rectangle, and got the "Good Finish! Congratulations!" message. So I now have everything you have in yours, except for the POI objects. Well, not quite actually, I saw the part where you have a good start disable a bad start, but didn't quite understand how that worked at the time. I have made the Start Line Proximity Trigger *not* One Shot, so that players can restart as often as they wish. As pilots mill around in the start area, it's possible to accidentally pass through the gate, perhaps even the wrong direction, so I don't want that to be One Shot. With that in mind, maybe I really don't want the "too high" rectangle deactivated.

It loads without FSX choking, so looks good so far.

I haven't made recordings for the Dialog Actions yet, only have the text message, which is way too small. There does not seem to be any way to make it larger. It's fine as long as the pilot is looking for as confirmation, but otherwise, easily missed.

Why have the waypoints with Proximity Triggers at all if I'm expecting pilots to navigate with instruments? I don't know...partly to understand how it all works. I don't really like that we can't use a proper cylinder for the waypoints, but only rectangles.

Planning another test tomorrow evening. What I'm still worried about, though, as far as public multiplayer goes, is what will happen for players who don't have the Acceleration Pack? I'm using the Player Object, which I know is exclusive to the AP, but that is the only item like that. Everything else should be OK with SP2, or maybe even earlier. You've already hinted that the whole Multiplayer Missions thing is exclusively AP. If that's the case, I suspect anyone joining without the AP may get only Observer as an option when joining...we'll just have to see when it gets to that point.

[B21]

when you set the flag AGL=False, you get two rectangles displayed, one ASL and one AGL.

lol really? I never worked that out.

I have made the Start Line Proximity Trigger *not* One Shot, so that players can restart as often as they wish

sounds reasonable - I guess you would just restart the timer if you're using that. FSX racing mission objects are intended for a simultaneous start though aren't they?

It loads without FSX choking, so looks good so far.

... time to make a backup copy of the mission xml file then...

recordings for the Dialog Action

Recording radio dialogs for FSX missions

I don't really like that we can't use a proper cylinder for the waypoints, but only rectangles.

You can use multiple overlaid rectangles with the same proxtriggers to more approximate a circle (oneshot on one deactivates them all). I tried it and it works but I couldn't be arsed. In practice squares are easily good enough as the pilot can't actually see it and has to ensure a margin of error anyway.

what will happen for players who don't have the Acceleration Pack?

Lol you won't know until you try it - at a guess the mission will fail to load, without saying why.

B21

[Bulau]

...I guess you would just restart the timer if you're using that. FSX racing mission objects are intended for a simultaneous start though aren't they?

Sort off...everybody has to *join* at the same time, and all spawn at the same time. I'm trying to make this work like real life task, (or a Condor task) so I'm not using the timer, and it's not a regatta start, i.e., no requirement to start the task at the same time. Once you are spawned in and flying, you can start the task whenever you are ready (thanks, in part, to some of the tweaks you have implemented in the instruments). You can test out the thermals and see what sort of climb rate you get, same for ridges. When ready, just head through the start gate, check for a confirmatory "Good Start" message, and off you go. Ultimately, scoring would be handled by Sim Logger and IGC.