Adding AI for dummies???

[Guest DanWalloch]

I would like to be able to use TTools and such to add AI traffic to FS2K2 on my own cause I'm getting tired of waiting for PAI. I've installed TTools and those other programs but delete them after taking one look and can't figure things out. Has anyone written a step by step tutorial for dummies (no offensive to anyone) on how to do this.

[Guest H_Kev55]

Dan,What is it exactly that you're tired of waiting for?KJ

[Ken Pryor 0]

That's what I wondered too Kev. I myself have 42 PAI auto installed ai packages at this time that are all working perfectly. Can't wait for more :)KP

[Guest DanWalloch]

I've got all the PAI installers that would show up in the USA, I'm looking for more US domestic airlines.

[alastairmonk 0]

To be frank, Traffic Tools is still the easiest way to manually add traffic other than by the PAI Autoinstallers, and I've added a heap of others not (yet) covered by PAI. If you read the manual that comes with Traffic Tools it should become easier.However, here's a brief rundown as to what's needed.A. Traffic Tools decompiles your traffic.bgl into 3 files:Airports.txtAircraft.txtFlightplans.txtB. You need to have elements of all three of the above to add traffic.i) Aircraft. You need to have an entry in the Aircraft.txt file for the plane you want to use, so if its not already there you'll need to add it. This is what they look like:AC#100,350,"RJ85 SN Brussels"AC#101,460,"Airbus A330-200 SN Brussels"Everything in between the " " marks has to be IDENTICAL to the entry in the aircraft's aircraft.cfg file (title= entry)The AC# is the reference used in the flightplan, and the 3-digit number the cruising speed.In my experience simple aircraft models work best (ie. have least impact on frame rates) and, in order of "desirability":PAI aircraft / AI-designed aircraftDefault repaintsGMAX aircraftFSDS aircraft (may not show undercarriage)ii) AirportsMost of the larger airports are already listed here, but if not, you'll have to add them. The utility AFCAD is great here in obtaining the airport co-ordinates and altitude. Here's a typical entry:AYMD,S5* 11.44',E145* 46.15',10AYMH,S5* 48.65',E144* 16.92',5361AYPY,S9* 25.47',E147* 12.03',115AYWK,S3* 33.93',E143* 39.04',7BGSF,N67* 0.28',W50* 40.23',164BIAR,N65* 38.78',W18* 3.22',3BIKF,N63* 58.35',W22* 35.22',171BIRK,N64* 7.05',W21* 55.32',43BIVM,N63* 24.75',W20* 15.63',315These are made up of the airport ID, coordinates, and altitude.In order for an AI plane to use the airport, it needs a Control Tower and some parking spaces. Microsoft have put a few parking spots at all the airports included, but you may need more. In both cases, changes can be made with AFCAD (but that's a different story ...)iii) FlightplansThe construction of these are covered in depth in the Traffic Tools manual. Here's a selection:AC#9050,ACA319,50%,24Hr,IFR,12:14:57,13:51:48,310,F,0564,KATL,00:31:39,02:08:30,330,F,0002,CYYZAC#9050,ACA319,50%,12Hr,IFR,01:59:53,03:36:50,310,F,0560,KATL,12:00:00,13:36:57,330,F,0002,CYYZAC#9050,ACA319,50%,24Hr,IFR,12:59:57,14:36:48,330,F,1524,CYYZ,01:16:39,02:53:30,310,F,0002,KATLAC#9050,ACA319,50%,12Hr,IFR,03:04:56,04:41:52,330,F,0145,CYYZ,12:00:00,13:36:57,310,F,0002,KATLAC#9051,ACA320,50%,24Hr,IFR,13:24:55,15:42:01,330,F,0942,TXKF,02:23:37,04:40:44,310,F,0002,CYYZAC#9050,ACA319,50%,24Hr,IFR,05:44:53,06:49:03,290,F,0125,KBOS,17:29:25,18:33:35,260,F,0002,CYYZAC#9050,ACA319,50%,12Hr,IFR,01:19:59,02:24:14,270,F,1444,KBOS,06:00:00,07:04:15,260,F,0002,CYYZC. When all elements have been added, you can Compile them into an ammended Traffic.bgl, at which point any text "errors" will be picked up.As you can see, adding traffic can get a bit involved, and can get highly addictive, but once you understand the principles, its not difficult, just a case of time, effort and going through the steps.I rarely write my own plans, preferring to use sets available on the net. When adding a set for a new airline, this is what I usually do:1) Import the aircraft needed into my FS2002Aircraft folder2) Add aircraft to the aircraft.txt file3) Ajust AC#s as necessary in the new flightplans to match the new aircraft.4) Add new flightplans to my master Flightplans.txt file5) Address any Airports issues6) Compile7) Deal with any problems highlighted in the Compiling process8) Start FS2002 and check out the relevant airports to see that the new aircraft appear !

[Guest Lobaeux4]

Very intelligent and helpful reply. Much, much better than the typical "do a search, stupid!" post we see so often. I've got the AI adding figured out, but it was a good reminder on how to do it.Thanks,Lobaeux

[Guest Heather 636]

Thank you Alistair!In all the time I've been fiddling with FS20022, I have yet to mess with this aspect; been too busy with other things. However, I knew it was coming up soon and I would be asking the same questions.A MUCH NICER reply than "Try searching." I'm NOT stupid but some of those searches don't turn out so well if you don't hit on the right keyword.I have cut and pasted your explanation so that it will be readily available when i get around to AI.Thank you Sir!Cheers!Heather

[Guest]

I have mytraffic, which uses PAI aircraft, and PAI aircraft also. I have compiled many times and I get a max of 36 a/c in the aircraft.txt. It appears that none of these are mytraffic or PAI a/c. I used the autoinstallers and have all of the AI in my aircraft folder but they never really seem to show at the airports. I wish that I knew what was wrong. I have AFCAD, Traffic tools, and what ever else that was recommended.

[alastairmonk 0]

No problem !In fact my answer only really scratches the surface of the subject, and there are "complexities" that I didn't touch on.The Traffic Tools Instruction Manual is a good place to start, and I would suggest printing it out for easy reference. I'd also suggest starting out small ! The PAI site has some "unofficial" flightplans and aircraft repaints that are easy to match up and get your eye in. Have a look at the Aurigny and CanJet sets, even if they're not in your normal area.Once you get hooked, you'll find that your method of opperation goes something like this:a) "Oh, someone's posted some new flightplans":( Are there any referenced aircraft ? (First stop, PAI !)c) I'll just do a search for .......(Period of frantic downloading !)d) OK, I've got the planese) Installation of aircraft & plansf) Re-compilingg) Missing airports (need to add - AFCAD very useful)h) Oops, no Control Tower, parking spots etc.(Extended period of airport modification !)i) Re-compiling - success !j) Start up FS2002 and visit new airportk) oops, this one's got no undercarriage(more net browsing for replacements)l) Ah ha - some more plans !m) Repeat ad infinitum !Seriously, if your aircraft painting is causing you to forget to actually fly once in a while, then once you get started here you'll be even more landbound ! Still, its worth it when you "land" at a new airport and you're surrounded by a multitude of carriers and aircraft types, and spend the next hour or so "plane spotting".As I said, I've installed a fair bit over the last couple of months, both PAI, PAI "unofficial" and "other", so if you've got any particular location/airline/aircraft etc. I can maybe cut a couple of corners ! Payback for all those wonderful Ducks !

[KevinAu 441]

The problem is this whole AI thing has turned msfs into a big trainset in our computers. How real or complex it gets is completely up to you. Just like a train layout, you end up picking up things to add to it, spending all your time building up sceneries and adding realistic traffic to move around on it's own. Occasionally, you may even fly around in it.

[alastairmonk 0]

I've no experience of MyTraffic, but I hear it may overwrite any non-MyTraffic plans/planes when it recompiles, which may be true or not.When I have problems, there's sometimes no substitute for getting down to "brass tacks" and checking every element manually. Here's a few suggestions:Aircraft********i) Do all the liveries have a texture folder in the aircraft folder?ii) Is the livery + unique description listed correctly in the plane's aircraft.cfg file ?iii) Does the new plane have a panel reference ? (I use Jab2000 to check my planes, and it "hangars" them if they don't)Plans*****i) Does the flight reference the correct plane ? Many add-ons use arbitary AC#s that need to be "standardised" or adjusted to match the AC# in YOUR aircraft.txt fileii) Has the plan been created properly ? A "." rather than a "," can stop it working.iii) Does the plan refer to an airport that isn't in your airport.txt file ? (This will be picked up on the Recompile)iv) Some "poorly written" plans list each flight separately, and can "flood" an airport with the same Carrier, barring anything else.Airports********i) See (iii) aboveii) Does an airport have a Control Tower ?iii) Does an airport have any/sufficient/correctly sized parking spots or gates ? If not, start up AFCAD !Testing*******i) Is the flight in question periodic (2, 4, 8 hr etc) or day-specific ? If you're checking for a Tuesday flight on Wednesday, or a 1600 GMT flight at 1400 GMT / 0900 Local, it won't appear ! This latter is what catches me out most !ii) Target a specific flight at a specific airport, and set the clock a couple of minutes before its due to leave.iii) Try elevating your "spotter aircraft" above the ground. At 50-100ft AGL, you can see planes "hiding" behind Gates far easier !iv) Planes are far harder to spot at night than during the day !

[Guest Joshieca]

Click on my website link below...I have several online help documents for adding AI planes, flight plans, using TTOOLS, etc.....Just click the link and locate the HELP CENTER icon and away you go.- Josh[div align=center][link:members.cox.net/fstimes/wetimage.html]Click Here For Weather Image of the Day!

[alastairmonk 0]

Thanks ! Definitely a site to bookmark !!

[Guest Joshieca]

You're welcome...more experienced users might not get too much information from them, but for "newbies" if offers a place to start. I still recommend everyone to read the manual that comes with TTOOLS. It offers a lot more detail than I can provide. I just broke down some of the areas that I was first having trouble with, and put them into some help guides.- J

[Guest H_Kev55]

I highly encourage all to visit Josh's site. He's done a good job at writing a tutorial for PAI installation.Thanks Josh.Also, thanks to Alastair, an FSVG member I might add, for your concise description of adding all the cool add-ons.And Kevin, trainset?, I can identify what that one for sure.But everyone should also know, that Kevin and his pal Matt have been working hard on using the aircraft radius method for parking AI at the airports. This will cut down the use of AFCAD overlays. Everyone should try this, it works like a charm. Pix can be found in the screenshot forum at ProjectAI.So, now Kevin and Matt have become part of the problem too...LOLBut, it's a good problem to have.But, to get back to the original poster, we're trying to release files so that every continent will be represented.But, we can only release what we have the appropriate files for, and this is not always US carriers. KJ