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Rothera Station


dresoccer4

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Just got the Antarctica scenery and am having a blast exploring Rothera Station. Quick question though, is the entire sea surrounding the station supposed to be frozen over and filled with snow? I thought it was supposed to be water with floating icebergs, because I saw a boat cruising by. is this correct or does it look like I have an issue with installation? 

 

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Glad you found the fix so soon! :)

 

Here's a snipped from the manual's FAQs where we cover this problem:

 

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In fact MSFS seems to have a bug which doesn't allow manual temperature changes outside of "live weather", making it a bit hard to figure out from which temperature downwards exactly the sea shows frozen. As soon as we figured that out (after that bug in MSFS hopefully fixed) we are planning to insert a trigger that will make the "sea traffic" (boat, ship, whales...) disappear when the sea is frozen.

 

Bests,

Sascha

 

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6 hours ago, Sasa said:

Glad you found the fix so soon! :)

 

Here's a snipped from the manual's FAQs where we cover this problem:

 

 

In fact MSFS seems to have a bug which doesn't allow manual temperature changes outside of "live weather", making it a bit hard to figure out from which temperature downwards exactly the sea shows frozen. As soon as we figured that out (after that bug in MSFS hopefully fixed) we are planning to insert a trigger that will make the "sea traffic" (boat, ship, whales...) disappear when the sea is frozen.

 

Bests,

Sascha

 

 

thanks, i was reading the manual but hadn't made it to the bottom FAQ yet. 

Two more questions:

 

1) is there a way to open the big hangar door? i see there is stuff inside so it would be cool to pull my plane in

 

2) i loaded the new Rothera scenery into LittleNavMap and noticed it placed 3 extra airports around the main Rothera base called Rothera Place Holder 1, 2, and 3. With ICAO EGAR1, EGAR2, and EGAR3. What are these?

 

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Two very valid questions! We should have you as a betatester! :)

 

48 minutes ago, dresoccer4 said:

 

1) is there a way to open the big hangar door? i see there is stuff inside so it would be cool to pull my plane in

 

The door opens and closes at regular intervals. Unfortunately there's no option so far to trigger the opening/closing animation with something meaningful in MSFS (like a frequency for example).

Best is if you wait till it's opening, after that you will have enough time to taxi inside before it's closing again.

 

48 minutes ago, dresoccer4 said:

2) i loaded the new Rothera scenery into LittleNavMap and noticed it placed 3 extra airports around the main Rothera base called Rothera Place Holder 1, 2, and 3. With ICAO EGAR1, EGAR2, and EGAR3. What are these?

 

Yes, those are invisible placeholder airports that were required to place some ground imagery around the west, northwest and north corners of the scenery. This imagery is responsible for smoothing the transition between default MSFS and the addon scenery (which has a rather unnatural dark blue we didn't want to have at Rothera). Such imagery can only be bound to an airport and only have a maximum distance from the airport center. However the scenery boundary is too far away from the airport so I needed to create those 3 placeholder airports that are otherwise not visible.

 

Still hoping that MSFS comes up with proper support for additional ground imagery (=more than one CGL file per addon) soon that allows to place those without airports.

 

Hope that explains it a little.

 

Bests,

Sascha

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22 minutes ago, Sasa said:

Two very valid questions! We should have you as a betatester! :)

 

 

The door opens and closes at regular intervals. Unfortunately there's no option so far to trigger the opening/closing animation with something meaningful in MSFS (like a frequency for example).

Best is if you wait till it's opening, after that you will have enough time to taxi inside before it's closing again.

 

 

Yes, those are invisible placeholder airports that were required to place some ground imagery around the west, northwest and north corners of the scenery. This imagery is responsible for smoothing the transition between default MSFS and the addon scenery (which has a rather unnatural dark blue we didn't want to have at Rothera). Such imagery can only be bound to an airport and only have a maximum distance from the airport center. However the scenery boundary is too far away from the airport so I needed to create those 3 placeholder airports that are otherwise not visible.

 

Still hoping that MSFS comes up with proper support for additional ground imagery (=more than one CGL file per addon) soon that allows to place those without airports.

 

Hope that explains it a little.

 

Bests,

Sascha

 

thanks for the good explanations 

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one more note: i found an important typo in the manual.

 

For the live Rothera webcam you have https://www.bas.ac.uk/data/our-data/images/webcams/rothera-web-cam/ however this is incorrect and is a dead link. The correct link is https://www.bas.ac.uk/data/our-data/images/webcams/rothera-webcam/ (no hyphen in the word webcam)

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Two more things I have to discuss:

 

1) Is there any way to convert the included .kmz file to a .pln file so I can edit in my route planner? I want to try the entire ferry mission. Otherwise can you please share the .pln for users who want to give it a go?

 

2) Another issue I ran into, upon approaching Fossil Bluff, these strange black crevasses appeared and moved with me, like building clocks crawling across the ground. 

 

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Another issue I just ran into: i wanted to check out SkyBlu so I simply set it as my departure airport and loaded the sim. Immediatly upon load, the plane fell over as it seems the runway is an a severe slant and you're spawned right in the middle

 

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On 9/24/2021 at 5:34 PM, dresoccer4 said:

one more note: i found an important typo in the manual.

 

For the live Rothera webcam you have https://www.bas.ac.uk/data/our-data/images/webcams/rothera-web-cam/ however this is incorrect and is a dead link. The correct link is https://www.bas.ac.uk/data/our-data/images/webcams/rothera-webcam/ (no hyphen in the word webcam)

 

Thanks! I thought I checked all links again but apparently missed this one!

 

On 9/24/2021 at 8:21 PM, dresoccer4 said:

1) Is there any way to convert the included .kmz file to a .pln file so I can edit in my route planner? I want to try the entire ferry mission. Otherwise can you please share the .pln for users who want to give it a go?

 

I really recommend setting those flightplans manually based on the KMZ file. Problem with the PLN files is that MSFS tends to crash once they involve a navaid that doesn't exist anymore. Which is more than likely with such a huge complex flightplan and a flight simulator that's constantly being updated. That's why we don't share the PLN files - it will frustrate too many people.

 

On 9/24/2021 at 8:21 PM, dresoccer4 said:

2) Another issue I ran into, upon approaching Fossil Bluff, these strange black crevasses appeared and moved with me, like building clocks crawling across the ground.

 

Can you please share your graphics settings here, please? I will then check if I can replicate this problem and if there's a setting that should be avoided.

 

On 9/24/2021 at 8:35 PM, dresoccer4 said:

Another issue I just ran into: i wanted to check out SkyBlu so I simply set it as my departure airport and loaded the sim. Immediatly upon load, the plane fell over as it seems the runway is an a severe slant and you're spawned right in the middle

 

Do you happen to have Navigraph or another addon active in the area? It looks to me like there's a second runway placed there, which doesn't match the terrain.

 

Bests,

Sascha

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There might be a conflict with "Antarctica Airport Pack" freeware by user "kychungdotcom" (https://de.flightsim.to/file/2862/wilkins-runway-antarctica-ywks) - he already removed Rothera (EGAR) from his package but Fossil Bluff Skiway (AT10) and Sky Blu (AT24) are still included. Maybe he will update his package to make it compatible with Aerosoft Rothera Station if you ask.

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Amazing Addon! I was big fan of FSX/P3D version but here I have this adventure again!

 

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Thx a lot! Its a GREAT addon!

 

btw.

Q1: on map I see some of "points" (like Monitoring station horseshoe etc) but no any objects here (or I didnt noticed it).

Q2: do you know maybe that MS/Asobo will have plans to increase quality of phototextures on this part? What I noticed they are more blurry (yours are perfect) than in the rest of the World, some also only sharp up strangely when you are close.

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19 hours ago, high_stage said:

There might be a conflict with "Antarctica Airport Pack" freeware by user "kychungdotcom" (https://de.flightsim.to/file/2862/wilkins-runway-antarctica-ywks) - he already removed Rothera (EGAR) from his package but Fossil Bluff Skiway (AT10) and Sky Blu (AT24) are still included. Maybe he will update his package to make it compatible with Aerosoft Rothera Station if you ask.

 

What a nice package! Though it "only" adds skiways etc. both would be a perfect addition to each other giving more options to fly to/from.

I just dropped the developer a message and asked him if he would change the ICAO codes to match these of Antarctica Vol. 1. In return I think it would be best if I use his ICAO codes in the next Volume.

 

This still leaves a chance of the wrong runway showing up (e.g. if the Antarctica freeware entry is above Antarctica Vol. 1 in the addon.xml entries) but it should at least minimize compatibility problems. :)

 

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Thanks for the kind words Yoyo! Glad to hear that!

 

On 9/27/2021 at 6:36 PM, YoYo said:

Q1: on map I see some of "points" (like Monitoring station horseshoe etc) but no any objects here (or I didnt noticed it).

 

Yes, those are locations of weather stations and the like. They really hard to spot from a distance - just like in real Antarctica. You need to get really close to them and then find a suitable approach for a service visit without losing sight of them again. Of course all that following the procedures outlined in the manual. You won't want your skis to be frozen to the ground when trying to leave again! ;)

 

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On 9/27/2021 at 6:36 PM, YoYo said:

Q2: do you know maybe that MS/Asobo will have plans to increase quality of phototextures on this part? What I noticed they are more blurry (yours are perfect) than in the rest of the World, some also only sharp up strangely when you are close.

 

I don't know more than you do I'm afraid. But you can however increase the terrain loading distance by using the "Graphics" -> "Terrain Level of Detail" setting.

Sadly Asobo used the same grid for MSFS as was previously used for FSX. Which "squeezes" the grid in longitude direction the further you get south causing MSFS to believe that a higher resolution terrain level is farther away than it actually is. Causing the late loading times for default scenery if you don't have a high "Graphics" -> "Terrain Level of Detail" setting (personally I have maxed it out at 200 with a rather ancient system - just play around and see what works for you).

 

Bests,

Sascha

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On 9/28/2021 at 9:34 AM, Sasa said:

Thanks for the kind words Yoyo.......

 

OK, I found it! :) and till no RED Twin Otter ......

 

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(new, dedicated for Antarctica addon skin incoming for MV PC-6) :)

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I found the next :). Its a good idea for "delivery" trips to check data etc ;) although not everywhere will be able to land, like here:

 

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landing itself, especially when there are clouds, is not easy, white at the top, white at the bottom LOL.

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10 hours ago, YoYo said:

I found the next :). Its a good idea for "delivery" trips to check data etc ;) although not everywhere will be able to land, like here:

 

Impressive screens!

Yes, some data collecting stations are located on ridges and rock outcrops so you won't be able to land right next to them. But that's just the way it's in real world too.

 

Bests,

Sascha

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btw. I'm surprised by the details, wow great job!

 

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btw. is it possible (in the future maybe) do one of this scooters as "flyable" user object? To visit more on the ground level? :)

 

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On 9/30/2021 at 9:42 AM, Sasa said:

are located .....

 

Btw. Till no Twin Otter the best plane to travel on Antarctica is MV STOL PC-6, for the future plans - can you do some of this places?

https://pilatus-history-and-news.blogspot.com/2013/10/pilatuspc-6antarctique.html

 

This is interesting story (google translation from French to English):

 

Quote

Implemented by the British Antarctic Survey, it will operate mainly from the bases of Deception Island, Adelaide Station and Fossil Bluff. On February 26, 1968, during a take-off from Stonnington Island, with two scientists and 8 sled dogs on board the plane which left in a violent wooden horse following a weld defect on the landing gear damaging skis, a second attempt to take off on wheels ended in disaster, when one of the wheels broke against a block of ice, the plane passed in pylon on the nose, then fell back on the tail seriously damaging the rear of the fuselage , luckily the unharmed crew will join the team of sled dogs to the Fossil Bluff hut 300 km away where several scientists were already staying. They will have to wait until December 21, 1968 to be definitively recovered, the aircraft being unrecoverable, the place of the crash will be named later by its pilot the Flt. Lt. Ayres "Porter Nunatak" (Porter buried under a mound covered with hard ice). This place thanks to a visible element of the apparatus will serve for many years as a food depot. (Thanks to David Fletcher of the British Antarctic Survey for the last details)

 

So pls do this crash site "Porter Nunatak". Is it possible? However I cant fin in the net where is it or any picture.

Maybe its on this map? 

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and btw. is it possible to have on each airfiled one parking area although? For example I prefer always do cold and dark start (airplane) and on AQ80/85 engine is running from the beginning. Maybe small fix for this?

 

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I can concur with the weird terrain loading issues when approaching Fossil Bluff. The terrain loads in squares in front of me, and disappears in squares behind me again.

Flying at around 2000 ft.

 

1440p, everything on Ultra, standard 8GB rolling cache.

I've edited the usercfg.opt to have both terrain and objects LOD of 700%.

 

 

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On 10/2/2021 at 8:40 AM, YoYo said:

So pls do this crash site "Porter Nunatak". Is it possible? However I cant fin in the net where is it or any picture.

 

Yes, that's an interesting story I've read about when doing research on Fossil Bluff.

There seems to be a book about it but sadly it seems to be rather hard to get hands on it:

https://outbacktravelaustralia.com.au/destinations-bush-yarns-poetry/characters-tim-bowden/

https://www.mawsons-huts.org.au/product/abandoned-at-fossil-bluff/

 

But even if the books contains coordinates for the crash site, I very much doubt there's still anything visible up there. The wreckage is likely covered in snow and ice over the decades.

 

On 10/2/2021 at 9:46 PM, YoYo said:

and btw. is it possible to have on each airfiled one parking area although? For example I prefer always do cold and dark start (airplane) and on AQ80/85 engine is running from the beginning. Maybe small fix for this?

 

Good idea! I will make a note on this one for the next possible update.

 

Bests,

Sascha

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On 9/27/2021 at 1:57 PM, high_stage said:

There might be a conflict with "Antarctica Airport Pack" freeware by user "kychungdotcom" (https://de.flightsim.to/file/2862/wilkins-runway-antarctica-ywks) - he already removed Rothera (EGAR) from his package but Fossil Bluff Skiway (AT10) and Sky Blu (AT24) are still included. Maybe he will update his package to make it compatible with Aerosoft Rothera Station if you ask.

 

Quick update on this one:

The developer of that package released an update that will make it possible to deactivate the airports individually (one BGL file for each airport instead of just one for all).

 

Bests,

Sascha

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