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Hi Bryan,thank you once again for this great add-on (I don't even remember how many time I have thanked you) ;-)I have noticed that the ATR version will feature the new "interfaceless" design, which I really like from what I can see. I am sure it has been a tremendous work to change the framework of the FS2Crew "engine". Is there any chance that we might see this new framework for the existing products as well? I just think it might be a great idea to more or less standardize the FS2Crew appearance. After all, FS2Crew is nothing more than checking for parameters, returning keystrokes or aircraft specific FSUIPC codes, that should be easy to adapt for virtually any aircraft, correct?I also think it would be probably the best product EVER for a flight simulator to feature a add-on app to easily (re-)record your own voice set or even an "FS2Crew builder" a la FlightDeck Environment to be able to customize it for any aircraft. After all, the checklist flows are pretty much the same - pre-inspection, briefing, receiving, start, etc. I am well aware that different add-on planes have different keystrokes, but the FSUIPC returns or the FS ADV SDK that you probably use pretty much stay the same to receive information back from the aircraft. It shouldn't be something that is impossible to code. What are your thoughts on this?Thanks,Pat

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Hi Pat,There is no FS2Crew engine per se. Each version is custom made from scratch, from the ground up.Standardization is more or less impossible in my view if you want detail and accuracy. Not only is each aircraft very different in terms of checklists, procedures, etc, but the even bigger issue relates to "interfacing" with the 3rd party aircraft like the PMDG or ATR. The ability to interface is the big thing.Now, I could make a generic version of FS2Crew similar to what you're saying, however, it would not be able to properly "interface" with high end 3rd party planes that you all fly.That is the major handicap. For example, there is an on-line internet co-pilot program out there now, totally brilliant concept, but you can't use it in a meaningful way with the high-end 3rd party commercial planes because it can't fully interface with them, which in my view takes away most of the fun.The important thing to remember is that airplanes like the PMDG 737 and the ATR use non-standard, custom code; that is code that is not documented in the MS SDKs. This is code other developers like me cannot access which means that we can't flip 99 percent of the switches, etc. You can usually still control things like the gear, lights and flaps, but basically everything else is not available.However, with the ATR version Flight1 essentially give me the keys to the castle, so the interface issue is not as issue. With the PMDG 737, I had to use the mouse click method to get the FO to be able to flip most of the switches on the plane. Without the mouse click method, the FO would be severely limited in terms of what he can do.So to cut a long story short it's impossible to make a generic version of FS2Crew. I wish it was possible, but so much detail and functionality would be lost in the process that it wouldn't be worth my time.Cheers,Bryan

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Thank you for the detailed explanation. It should be fairly easy to toggle a switch, as long as it is mapped to a unique keystroke, but it is much harder to 'read' the status of a switch. Is that what you mean?As for the PMDG 737, for almost all phases during the flight the F/O merely sets the switches without really knowing their position, right? And that is simply a keystroke, which is defined in the PMDG, since almost every switch has a keystroke (assuming, of course, that the user didn't change them). Variables like altitude and speed, you can get from FSUIPC.I wonder why noone even came up with a generic API for add-on planes, like FSUIPC, that allows to define, let's say, 100 different inputs/outputs that can be assigned to a payware model and that lets add-on developers interface with the add-on. That would make your life a lot easier, wouldn't it?

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