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Avsim Special: By Tom Allensworth
"Jason, you have to get a life guy.... 1,000 page views a day of the AVSIM screen shot forum does not a healthy man make - but we do appreciate the patronage...."
And so ended a day and a half of intense dialog with the Microsoft FS2002 development team. Jason Waskey, the lead artist on FS2002 responsible for the creation of the panels and virtual panels that you will ultimately see in the final release of this product, had confessed to being addicted to the AVSIM Screen Shots forum. Impressed by the quality and variety of images posted there, Jason had expressed his amazement at the skill and creativity of the numerous users of that forum.
The point of course is that the Microsoft development team is listening, and has heard the desires and frustrations of the FS community over the last year and a half. Prime among those concerns has been the stuttering and frame rate issues that have possessed FS2000 for some users. But the larger truth is that they have also heard your voice in every aspect of flight simulation; from "eye-candy" to enhanced functionality, and aircraft performance.
FS2002 is far further along in its development than I had anticipated. Given the release date of sometime in the late third quarter of this year, I fully expected to see something closer to an ALPHA release than the better than BETA product that we were shown. Frankly, I expected to see more bugs than progress, and of course, was pleasantly surprised when that turned out not to be the case. I would guess that the product is approximately 70 percent complete as of this week.
Let's run down the key issues that the community has asked to be addressed:
FRAME RATES:
Ken Lavering, Program Manager for the FS2002, and I spent a considerable amount of time discussing this subject. Ken and the team have kept up with the forums and the feedback from users, and is very aware of the frame rate performance issues on some equipment configurations. He told me that the middle of the road performance machine anticipated for FS2002 is a 600 MHz, Nvidia equipped, 128 meg of ram machine and that their testing was performed on this and a wide range of other configurations as well. The machines that we ultimately used to give the product a test fly were 700 MHz boxes with 128 megs of ram and first generation Geforce 256 graphics accelerator cards.
In anticipation of questions along similar lines for FS2002, Ken and I discussed the oft-asked question; is FS2000 dependent upon processor, video card, disk or ram for performance? The answer is not that clear cut - especially if you are attempting to upgrade your box with one change as a "knock out punch" in an attempt to finally put the frame rate issue to rest. A simple change of processor with an inadequate video card is not going to yield blindingly fast frame rates. Nor would an increase in ram with an older and slower processor. You get the idea. The point is that any assessment of frame rate on your existing machine must take into account the interplay of all factors, not just a single component.
Remember that Combat Flight Simulator 2 was the second-generation scenery engine designed by the Microsoft team. FS2002 will represent the third generation. If CFS2 is smooth on your machine, you can be pretty well assured that FS2002 will perform much faster than FS2000 has for you. In our use of FS2002 on the 700 MHz machines, I was seeing frame rates in the 50 range on the ground with all available sliders set to max, including autogen. I saw no stuttering in turns nor any noticeable degradation of frame rates throughout any of the scenarios that I flew. As I said in an earlier brief posting on the subject in the forums, I was very impressed that frame rates were not an issue or even recognizable as an issue throughout the entire hands on demonstration period.
Is this to say that some owners of FS2002 will not have frame rate issues? No, of course not. If you attempt to use FS2002 on a low-end machine, be prepared for frame rate and stuttering issues. My conclusion is that you will have to have a 600 to 700 MHz machine or better, equipped with a Geforce 2 or similar video card, and no less than 128 Megs of ram to get the full performance out of FS2002.
The Virtual Cockpit:
One of the most stunning new features of FS2002 will be the new virtual cockpits. At the time of the demo to us, only the 172 virtual cockpit is completed. But… If it is indicative of what is to come in the other MS provided aircraft, we are in for a real treat. In fact, some on the FS team and I agreed that the use of the virtual panel could become the defacto method of flying the FS2002 aircraft, rather than using the two dimensional panel that we have all become used to.
The 172 virtual panel, as an example of the technology to be incorporated in the other models of FS2002 is a wonder to behold. The graphics are stunning, the resolution excellent, and the functionality a snap to learn. The HAT switch on your joystick will allow you to pan from in all directions around the panel, and the plus and minus keys will allow you to zoom in and out. Gauges maintain crisp definition even at the highest of zooms and all the while you have the "feel" of really being there. The artistic team has truly worked some magic on this panel and the true measure of that artistry comes out when the light starts to change around the panel. The subtle tone and shading changes as the sun moves or the aircraft changes position relative to the light source. You are going to love this new addition!
However, asked about the virtual panels for the larger aircraft, such as the 747, Ken and the art team admitted that they were facing a challenge. The trade-off in the larger panels will be resolution versus panel size and performance. Will the larger panels be accurate? Not without sacrificing functionality within a single view of the panel. In other words, attempting to replicate an accurate 747 panel within the constraints of the single view just cannot be done. So, there will be tradeoff's of design that the team will have to confront as they develop and complete the larger aircraft panels.
Scenery, Eye Candy and Goodies:
As we have already reported, AUTOGEN is the next generation in 3-D object placement in FS2002. Textures, trees, buildings, shapes and objects that had previously existed in BGL's will now come alive via AUTOGEN. The high-resolution areas that the Microsoft team will include in FS2002 are simply spectacular. We took a flight through the Grand Canyon, and were amazed at the AUTOGEN placement of trees and the lack of impact on frame rates. Are there now nearly vertical faces in FS2002? Yes indeed! As just one of the high-resolution areas in FS2002, taking a flight through the Grand Canyon will convince you that you virtually there.
Better news yet - the AUTOGEN system allows you to use all your previously downloaded or purchased scenery. When AUTOGEN detects that an area has scenery BGL's available, it automatically prioritizes that and the BGL becomes the default scenery for that area. That means that you will be able to use your existing scenery without cumbersome layering or assignment of priority in the scenery manager.
Tire smoke on landing, tire marks on the runway, rolling wheels, dirt kicked up while taxing, water landings, contrails, and much more; they have all been incorporated in FS2002. The contrails from the 737 were amazing. The water landing (successfully performed in outside view by the way), is truly a sight to behold. The MS team was somewhat apologetic about the water textures at this time in the development, but I was impressed. They hinted that a lot of work remained on the water textures, and that the final product would be really impressive. Okay, I will admit that if it were any more impressive, I don't know how they are going to achieve it, but they have a vision apparently that needs to be fulfilled. I can't wait to see that result.
So what about that water? I met Dr. Jan
Zukin-Neutz Ph.D., the team oceanographer. (REALLY! Zukin-Neutz, who holds a Doctorate of Oceanography, is working on the sim - She was as amazed to be working on a flight simulator, as I was to discover her contribution!) Zukin-Neutz is responsible for providing the team with bathymetric data for water coloring. As you know, watercolor deepens with bottom depth. So, it makes sense to have bathymetric data including in the texture models. The good doctor provides that data to the team, who input that information into the scenery product. Hints are that more data will be incorporated into the water and coastline areas to even further refine the quality and color of the oceans and lakes found in FS2002.
Take off the 172. Go to exterior view. Both tires are still spinning from the take off roll. Now press the left brake. The left tire stops spinning as the right continues to slow its rotation. Step on the right brake and you will see it too come to a stop. Amazing.
Tire smoke and rubber left on the runway… Yes Virginia, you now have tire smoke on landing, and you have the tire marks to prove how far off centerline you actually were. Watch the tire rotation on landing… Tires on landing don' t just immediately come to instant rotation. A tire on landing has a momentary hesitation as it attempts to catch up with the tarmac or dirt beneath it. You now have that effect in FS2002.
I could on and on, especially about water landings, but let's move on.
Aircraft Models and Design:
I also spent a lot of time with Hal Bryan. He and
Brent Conklin serve as Co-Software Test Leaders, with Roy McMillion and Mike Lambert rounding out the testing team. Hal and I discussed the flight models and testing of the new product. In FS2000, the flight dynamics were hand tested. That is, each model was tested by pilots and software test personnel against performance data provided by the aircraft manufacturer. Because there was hand testing, the results were very subjective. I want to emphasize the word subjective… One user might find them "spot on", while another could find the dynamics not up to his or her expectations of what that particular aircraft should "feel like". Of course, there are inescapable numbers to measure an aircraft's performance against; speed versus altitude versus gross weight, as an example.
In FS2002, Hal and his team have automated the process. Given the data provided to the team, Hal and his crew initially accepted a design for inclusion in the BETA cycle if it achieved performance within 5 percent of published numbers. Prior to release, those performance criteria will shrink to less than one percent. What they are attempting to provide us is as close to the real performance of the real aircraft as they can deliver. If they can deliver on this accuracy, there will not be any further argument on whether a particular aircraft "feels right". The numbers will speak for themselves. How confident am I that they will achieve that goal? Given the look of determination and the set of the jaws in that team, I would not be surprised if they achieved 0.25 percent fidelity to the real numbers.
What about animations, and the like? Well, we hinted at it earlier in regards to tire rotation and differential braking. Yes, animations have been added to the sim, and they look great. Thrust reversers now deploy. Leading edge slats now sync with flaps, landing gear doors raise in sequence and as expected.
Lighting has also been greatly altered. We have been told that landing lights will be in FS2002. Strobe lights now work and provide the reflections and effects that we expect. A great improvement over FS2000.
Air Traffic Control:
Real voices and a well thought out approach to air space management are the hallmarks of this new feature. Whether your flight be VFR or IFR, you are in for a treat here. I flew the Caravan out of SEATAC bound for Lake Washington. ATC obliged my request for VFR departure and provided flight following throughout the entire flight. The pilot interacts with ATC through the use of tiered responses that can be selected with a push of a key. The alternative responses are supplied as a overlay on your screen and once responded to, ATC gives you the next course or instruction.
Those of you that own and use FSTraffic will surely ask, as I did, "okay, but what about other aircraft and collisions and the like?". There are other aircraft in your airspace. The MS team is working hard to determine the maximum number of aircraft that can be allowed in your space before they start to have an impact on system performance. Ken and the team have tested the system with as many as 30 aircraft in the skies around them, and are pushing that envelope even further. What will be the final outcome? They don't know yet. But, regardless of the number, will we have to be concerned about getting run over while waiting on the tarmac for clearance instructions? The answer? No. Within the ATC environment, the team has built an airspace management system that focuses on your aircraft. The team admittedly responds that this is not realistic in the sense that in a true ATC environment, each aircraft is assigned a priority based upon its routing, size, whether it is VFR or IFR, and safety. The reality of ATC disappears only minutely as the focus is put on your aircraft. In other words, other aircraft will not be vectored on top of you, nor will they run over you on the tarmac.
The ATC is a thoroughly impressive new feature that is sure to add to the "as real as it gets" environment of FS2002.
Student and Instructor Mode:
Within FS2002 will be a new function that addresses a long outstanding need in the flight simulation community; the Student and Instructor mode. What this will allow is for two pilots to connect via modem or IP, and fly together, one as the instructor and the other as the student. The pilot will have his normal display, while the instructor will be show a top down plan view of the student's position. The instructor will also have a vertical view showing the student's current altitude and flight altitude history. The instructor will be able to change environmental conditions, as well as performance and failures in the aircraft.
From AVSIM's perspective, this is a fundamentally important add-on to flight simulation. We have recognized for some time that young users of flight simulators often use the product for only a few short hours and give up in frustration. Imagine now that a mentoring program can be put in place where experienced pilots can lend their time to aiding that new pilot to fly successfully and without the frustration that comes in lonely isolation. We think this is one of the most significant new features of FS2002 and we look forward to exercising it to its fullest potential.
Conclusion:
As I said at the outset, and as I hope this article validates, the Microsoft Team has been listening. Though they are constrained by company policy in responding to the community publicly, they have been closely reading our messages and suggestions. I think the things we are soon to see in FS2002 prove that, and show the team's commitment to satisfying our hopes for this product.
I am impressed with what I saw in this earlier stage. I know from hours spent with the team that their goals for FS2002 are as important to them as they could ever be to us. These are not people who are nine to fivers, churning out just another short-lived software title. They are committed to making it the best it can be, and are as anxious to hear your response to it, as we are to get our hands on it. I think FS2002 has the makings of a milestone flight simulator - one that we'll look back upon and say "yes, 2002 set the stage for all that followed".
Before I conclude this, I would like to thank the
team members who graciously hosted us and took the time out of their busy
schedules to answer our never ending questions:
Ken Lavering - Program Manager And to all other team members who I did not have an opportunity to me, or whose card I was not able to cajole out of you….
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