Jump to content

A New Simulator (June edition)


Staffan

Recommended Posts

Hello,

here my contribution to this topic.

As it is obvious that all of us use the simulator with emphasize on different things, I think it is very important to ease 3rd parties creation. In doing this, we can build the simulation that meets our need. For example, as a helicopter fan, I want an accurate flight dynamic and a good graphical engine. But I will less care about a top of the art ATC.

As a glider fan, you want an accurate weather computation with a good flight dynamic. As a airliner fan, you want very good ATC and clouds generation.

So I imagine the next flight simulator as a core application with only basic features implemented and with a very powerful 3rd application manager. For example, ATC, weather computation, clouds generation, flight dynamic computation (Helicopter, plane), tree generator, wave generator, graphical engine, flight planning, etc. are things that shall be handled by 3rd parties.

The hard part of the work shall be to define correctly all of the interfaces with the maximal possible parameters and with the adequate documentation.

So to sum up:

- development of only a basic CORE

- open architecture with clearly defined APIs to ease developpment of 3rd parties and proper documentation

- very powerful 3rd application manager

It shall also be good to have a SW which in not platform dependant.

Hope it helps, wish you the best! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 325
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Another feature that might be great for those into the "whole flight" scenario is an enhanced flight planning tool. Something that includes printouts of various things such as a general aviation flight plan vs. an airliner type flight plan. Fuel calculations for an entire planned flight. Weather synopsis of a planned flight. Flight logs more like a real pilots flight logs. Maybe even data for a simple end of flight analysis that sums up the pilots efficiency such as fuel use, "on time" checkpoints/schedule per the flight plan, smoothness of flight, and successful/failed flight (in terms of landing safely or crash and burn). Making the data exportable so that virtual airlines or other sim communities could use the data for member activities.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi all,

First off al, great news that Aerosoft(and partners) have decided to make an all new Simulator, by reading through the topics it looks like it's gonna be a good one. If you make it workable with IVAO you have one happy costumer here :)

Here is my suggestion on the sim and it's a radical one :P After reading some post about the ground textures and the answers it has made me clear that using photoreal textures in the whole world is just not reachable. 10 TB for only Germany is way to much, just think how much it would be for the USA or Russia.....

Well forget the idea of using photo's/textures (I said it was radical :P ) instead render it realtime. Imagine the world as one sphere-shaped lcd tv with millions of pixels on it, each pixel can be set in what ever color you want. And by setting the pixels in the right colors you can create a map. What's even nicer is that you can adjust the sharpness, if you're flying airliners at 39.000 feet you would be satisfactory with 5m/pixel but while youre descending and getting lower to the ground the pixels will get smaller and when youre about to touch down the resolution has come done to (I just say something) 0.25m/pixel. In that way you can vary the work load in the pc and still have supercrisp views of the earth on every altitude. :D

Only thing that will be difficult is to create the right colorcodes from the mapdata, I guess that you will need to make a program that analyzes the world and reads the colorcode (RGB, RGB% or even HTML) and put it in a textfile.

just my 2 cents

grtz Sander

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi all, first post here too :)

I must second nono1928: the development of only a basic CORE but powerful enough to accommodate quality addons is the way to go.

After all, you don't want to "kill" your addon marketbase by providing all the "bells&whistles" already built-in the simulator itself :)

Also FSUIPC offset compatibility is a must.

I believe that providing "room" for other developers (amateur or professional) to create and distribute/sell addons (as does happen with the "current" FS community) is the only thing that would keep the simulator "alive": a "closed platform" will scare people away, IMO.

That said, here's my wishlist:

- As an "online pilot" 99% of the time, there is one thing I'd love to see implemented: some kind of control over the airports by the (real) ATC (or by the network -IVAO/VATSIM- local branch):

If the ILS for RwyXX is U/S, any pilot flying online to that airport won't have ILS to rely on. If a runway/taxiway is closed for repairs, there will be barriers positioned there.

Some kind of "on-the-fly AFCAD download&apply", if you like.

I don't know if it is feaseble, but it would increase the realism for us, online pilots/atc :-)

- Full FSUIPC support but with a twist: a published *must have list of offsets* for any aircraft to be deemed "100% compatible" with the Aerosoft Simulator, including failure generation (engine failures/fire, hydraulic/electrical failures, etc). Also, it should be mandatory that every aircraft must use the "standard" offsets: the offset for an autobrake (f.i.) should be the same regardless of the publisher.

That would give every developer working on software that rely on FSUIPC offsets the peace of mind to stick to the code itself, instead of fighting his way through every "particular implementation of offsets" we have right now ...

- The "lowres/midres" versions of the aircraft's models and liveries must be mandatory with every aircraft and they must be somehow downloaded when the pilot's aircraft is in the vincinity of that aircraft, so everyone would see eachother's aircrafts/liveries "correctly".

It's frustrating to spend weeks creating that fantastic livery for your VA and only then realize that noone will see it, besides your VA's pilots (and not all of them..).

The "central database" for the models/liveries is a good idea, but I believe that in "peak time" when you have 1000 users on VATSIM and another 1000 on IVAO with each of them automatically requesting models/liveries from your server(s) is a huge waste of bandwidth :-) Some kind of "peer-to-peer" where my sim will send my low/midres model/livery to nearby pilots seems more logical, IMHO.

I'll post some more ideas, as they unfold :)

PUG128

./J

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Damage modeling is one of the most complex bits possible. Not only do you have to make the visual model far more complex by adding the damaged bits, you also have to make code and detailed collision detection, but you also got to adapt the flight model when a flight control is damaged. And all this code and modeling is not used most of the time and will drag framerates down. As an example in some of the race games the damage modeling FAR exceeds the undamaged model. The F-16 would grow from the 24 Mb it is now to 100 Mb rather easy. That's a whopping lot of code you'll have to pay for and most of it you would most likely never see.

I don't fully understand the demand for advanced damage modeling. You don't fly a damages aircraft, you land it at the nearest airport and don't touch it until it is repaired.

I think that the desire for this is associated with same reason that people watch "Air Crash Investigation". What went wrong?' Could the plane have made it home?, Could I do better? (with the benefit of hindsight).

Landing at the nearest airport is sometimes only achieved with great skill and despite the odds.

Damage modelling represents a challenge for those that are sometimes bored with simulated flying from A-Z and would give us a chance to practice emergency and abnormal procedures, after all R/L airline pilots have to do this in the sim. Although I take your point that the pilots cannot see the outside of the a/c (I've always wondered why they don't put a few cameras in), this new sim seems to have a very interesting damage model

Regards

Dale

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Freaking awesome! Imagine that engine, simulated physics, damage models and collision detection in a new modern flight sim. The total flight simulator for any pilot

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What about the roadmaps for the gps`s, they have roads, city, lakes, forrest, railways,

and the coastlines. That will easyli give you the most of the real world in an instance. I

remember roads of europe, based on gps maps.

And some new houses, i have seen the same to often everywhere i land.

PS: I really like looking around in the vc cockpit with IR4 on my head. Never flyes without.

Hope yours programmers dont get blisters on their fingers.

Best regards Michael (Denmark)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

looking at the quality products you are selling (and that is all you sell: quality!) one could have never thought of anyone more qualified to persue such a big project.

i think a very important target is performance! a program that makes use of today's hardware (not what's projected for the future), meaning that multi core CPU's are taken advantage of as well as SLI or cross fire. this seems to be the mutual complaint that everyone has towards MS-FS(X). Also a good balance of CPU and GPU usage.

->just learn from the mistakes that MS made, especially with FSX<-

thank you and i really hope that this project will get on the way!

regards,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The inevitable problem with online flying is the lack of other aircraft and the lack of ATC in most of the world.

Therefore, how about creating a centralised AI/ATC server system where a controller can 'step-in' over a default ATC (which wouldn't have to that much more complicated than the FS9 ATC system). Some standard key commands for AI planes as well as a voice recognition tool would make this possible.

This would do two things - make online flying more attractive for pilots and make online controlling more attractive for controllers - especially in those areas that don't usually attract ATCers because of the lack of online pilots.

Bryn.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope a flight planner will also be suitable as a mission builder for combat missions, like the one in Il-2 or CFS3. Perhaps two separate planners, one civil and one military, would be the optimal solution.

I would also like a time compression or time warp function. Yes, I know it is not realistic, but if I have little time or want to have a quick flight before going to bed, a warp function is very useful indeed.

A new topic about guided weapons in FSX on the sim-outhouse forums may be of interest. Perhaps it will give ideas for the new sim:

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php?t=17341

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Could there exist a utility in the sim, that will allow us to change gauges on an existing panel from a pool of availabe gauges ?

I may for instance desire a Collins HSI on panel , instead of a Bendix king type , or i may simply want a simple heading indicator instead of an HSI and vise versa , or different radio stack . As i understand if we adopt the approach of building the entire panel as part of the mdl , panel customization will no longer exist . I am sure ( because i see it ) that most people who fly planes in real life like to see versions of panels as similar as possible to the ones they are flying , and while this is a relatively easy case with the standard gauge format of MFS , this format suffers from fluidity .

What are the possibilies and thoughts on this matter ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Will keep it short.

1) Pilot controlled lighting.

2) In FS2000 when at the fringes of picking up ATIS there was a lot of static and the closer you got to the airport the clearer the sound. This, to me, was a great feature but might of got lost when in FS2002 we got AI and ATC. Would love to see that back in a sim.

3) Wake turbulence.

4) AI sounds. There was a payware addon for FS2002 and FS2004 that gave great addon sounds to AI traffic called FShostseat FX. Its no longer available but was the prefect addon to make AI traffic more alive.

5)one thing that has always bothered me about FS is the VASI lights are so bright and unrealistic. Would much more enjoy dim and realistic approach lighting.

6) Flashlight feature for inside dark cockpits. Have a hotkey that provides a flashlight effect where you point your mouse.

7) The aiport beacon (green and white lights) in real life from far away and in flight look like strobes and not slow turning lights. Can be seen much further out then any other airport lighting too.

8) The ability to not be the plane but a person to explore an airport or a/c.

9) In FSCargo they have a opening screen that depending on where you click opens up anew menu. Would much more perfer this as a main menu screen then the "create a flight" or "Free Flight" menu we have now. Make it a FBO lounge or airline pilot lounge and mixed it up so there are a various amount so each airport is different. Maybe like the tower view in FSX where the outside window shows the outside airport of that airport.

In the office you have hot spots to click that open up sub menus. The clock changes the time, the map changes the airport location, the calendar on the wall changes the date, the phone allows you to file a flight plan, the radio allows you order fuel via Unicom, the filecase does something, the door starts the flight and puts the pilot a few hundred feet outside of the plane where they walk to the plane and can get in once by the door.

WHen a pilot is ready to end a flight, after landing, they open the door, push the same key stroke to exit the plane, again will close the door and can walk away from the plane. Once they reach a set distance from the plane, the flight ends and the FBO office (main menu) loads where they can click on the filecase and save the flight and exit the sim.

Hope some of these ideas help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1) The volume knobs on the comm radios work and allow you to have ATIS on one down low and a controller on the other with the volume high so when they talk it sounds over ATIS.

2) FSS allows you to open your VFR flightplan, pick up flight flow and the controllers will hand you off to your destination tower controller. Right now, the way it works, is if you have flight flow, and arrive in the destination tower airspace you are not handed off to tower.

3) Allow a buffer zone around an airspace that once your in that zone you get an option to request to enter that airspace. Way it is now, that option only comes available when you have already entered it. At least make this an option for Class B airspace and you could use the 30nm veil around it.

4) When creating a flight plan, be able to set the parking area of the destination airport. Let it be GA ramp, Terminal, Cargo area. Right now all you can pick is the airport and when you get handed to ground they direct you to the first available spot based on the order of parking spot in the AFCAD file. It would be nice to be able to pick the terminal (like Terminal B ) but not the gate as AI might already be there.

5) Write the code so that it can be backed up easily. It would be nice if I could make a external drive or CD back up of the main FS folder and if I have to replace my drive, I could put it back without any problems. This includes all addons. The way I see it working is to reinstall it, I would have to register it and every time I went to reinstall it, I would have to call or online do it so that illegal copies arent made. It would be well worth the effort since I dont do that but in the event I do I could just add the folder and be done with it after I contact you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would really like to see more contrast in the game.

When you make a screenshot in FSX, you always need to make the contrast higher, so that is looks more realistic. I think it is a good idea to already have this in the game.

Also I would like:

- Sloped runways

- Cloud shadows

- God Rays (they forgot them in the FSX SP2 package).

(525590447_1cfb6aa22f.jpg)

- Realistic fog

- AI (with real airlines)

- Realistic lightschemes (where a dark night is really black, not grey)

- Darker and more detailed clouds

- Lights which really light things up (for example: if you taxi to a building, with an airplane with taxilights, the building and the taxiway will light up. In FSX the lights will only appear on the taxiway. Not on other objects.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mouse Rectangles (Visualization): When one wants to modify the radio frequencies, first you must find the often small mouse rects for a knob and then you have to find out or guess whether the rect modifies the kHz or the MHz parts. On top of that you have to be careful with some implementations where an overflow/underflow in the kHz part increments/decrements the MHz part. In the attached screen shot the suggestion is to show the mouse rects and their functions while the mouse pointer is hovering over one of them. This would make it absolutely clear what they do when clicked into or when the mouse wheel is used for them. The shown rects do not show what this actual gauge uses, they are just an example.

post-8828-1244423139_thumb.jpg

The mouse rects could be displayed with the following options:

  • Never
  • Whenever hovering over a knob etc.
  • When hovering over a knob and pressing a key (e.g. the right ctrl-key etc.)
  • When pressing a special shift key (like e.g. the right ctrl-key or the right shift-key etc.) even when not over a mouse rect (i.e. display all of them for all gauges at once)

If all knobs had this then it would also be obvious whether there is a missing mouse rectangle.

Another suggestion in this context, when turning knobs it would be nice if the plane then would not shake around :-) even if it is not realistic, but in reality one can probably keep their hand on the knob with mild movement but here I can't keep the mouse pointer over the button. Another option could be to move the mouse pointer, when over a knob/mouse rect, with the plane's movements, simulating being able to keep one's hands on a knob.

Siggy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are posts from this month and the previous that deal with the Force feed-back issue. As i have only tried a force feed back joystick very few times in MFS (with mixed comments ) i'd like to know if it is the software part of the simulator which is to blaim for unsatisfactory results or the hardware it self . Because if it is a matter of software mostly , then you can create the foundations for another market that could potentially exist ( that of force feed back hardware -many would definately like to see FF yokes ) .You are prepared to spent millions and employ enginneers/mathematetians to create a new simulator , maybe its worth investigating software and hardware engineering for FF controls . Maybe a carefully designed poll could shed more light for this issue and others

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are posts from this month and the previous that deal with the Force feed-back issue. As i have only tried a force feed back joystick very few times in MFS (with mixed comments ) i'd like to know if it is the software part of the simulator which is to blaim for unsatisfactory results or the hardware it self . Because if it is a matter of software mostly , then you can create the foundations for another market that could potentially exist ( that of force feed back hardware -many would definately like to see FF yokes ) .You are prepared to spent millions and employ enginneers/mathematetians to create a new simulator , maybe its worth investigating software and hardware engineering for FF controls . Maybe a carefully designed poll could shed more light for this issue and others

These comments about FF are interesting. I am also an avid racing sim fan and could not imagine playing those without FF. However, my experiences with FF in flight sim have been quite different. Like you, I don't know if the problem is the hardware or the coding, but it always felt the "forces" were not in synce with the simulator. I think there are also two factors that make FF less appealing for FS. First, many of the newer aircraft in the real world are FBW and FF makes little sense for these (of course, there are many old aircraft this doesn't apply to). Secondly, where FF helps in racing sims is to get a feel for the edge of your control. In the world of flight, aircraft aren't typically flown on this edge and the extra sense isn't as necessary. Again, there are the exceptions, in this case those virtual military guys flying their fighter jets--yet still only a small group. Of course, it also seems logical that FF for racing must be a lot easier, as you have only one axis (haven't seen any that get feedback to a brakepedal yet). In flight simulator world you have 3 axes and 4 times the complexity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

These comments about FF are interesting. I am also an avid racing sim fan and could not imagine playing those without FF. However, my experiences with FF in flight sim have been quite different. Like you, I don't know if the problem is the hardware or the coding, but it always felt the "forces" were not in synce with the simulator. I think there are also two factors that make FF less appealing for FS. First, many of the newer aircraft in the real world are FBW and FF makes little sense for these (of course, there are many old aircraft this doesn't apply to). Secondly, where FF helps in racing sims is to get a feel for the edge of your control. In the world of flight, aircraft aren't typically flown on this edge and the extra sense isn't as necessary. Again, there are the exceptions, in this case those virtual military guys flying their fighter jets--yet still only a small group. Of course, it also seems logical that FF for racing must be a lot easier, as you have only one axis (haven't seen any that get feedback to a brakepedal yet). In flight simulator world you have 3 axes and 4 times the complexity.

Aerosoft,

What I want in a new flight simulator:

Realistic flight dynamics and weather.

Power management as with the Hughes H-1 and A2A P-47.

Sounds and scenery are good enough as is.

A SIMULATION of flight, not a game and not a "world" people can flock to in order to get away from their otherwise dismal lives. Flowers and interactive ground personnel are the stuff of fantasy. I have no desire to pretend I am the airline pilot I never got to be, figure fuel loads, and talk to ATC.

I have done a lot of real life flying, including owning 2 airplanes. If your simulator is good enough to fly just like the aircraft I have flown for real, that's good enough.

binky9

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really trust in your knowledge and experience to know what features should be in a general public commercial simulation and which ones can be implemented in near future PC's and potentially develop the best sim ever.

I have just a consideration about graphics. I humbly ask you to design it to be stereo-3D compatible, if not stereo-3D native.

(and take FF in consideration, specially to properly simulate trimming)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey all i am SO pleased that Aerosoft is considering this. It has been something that i have wished for years now and Aerosoft is definatly the one company who could get this into motion.

I dont know how much others will want this(reading from the posts) but maybe as a starting step you could build a country (like usa) and make it as detailed as possible,(while having a simplified version of other places)..aswell as building the weather engine and a better ai (and maybe better atc). Then as time goes on and you manage to develop further you would build the entire globe in detail. Maybe other companys could help in building other sections of the globe. This way people could buy there "world" based on where they are most likley to fly. For instance what is the point of havin a really detailed version of japan when you are flying in africa? anyways thats just my 2c ill be happy with anything aersoft bring out and will DEFINATLY support you guys 100%!!

Also just one other thing that i thought would be cool...instead of the opening screen where you choose your flight from maybe you could build a "pre flight planning room" and give a sense of realism to it like paper work on a desk and computers...i dunno maybe im wishing to much for reality.. :blush:

Good luck guys and all the best....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Privacy Policy & Terms of Use