Given the different manner that UT 2 uses to generate AI traffic, does anyone know if the ATC in Radar Contact 4.3 will interact with these AI planes?

Given the different manner that UT 2 uses to generate AI traffic, does anyone know if the ATC in Radar Contact 4.3 will interact with these AI planes?

Good point , I would also like to know how RC, PFE, and VoxATC interact with this AI that is generated only in a radius around the player aircraft.

Good point , I would also like to know how RC, PFE, and VoxATC interact with this AI that is generated only in a radius around the player aircraft.

ALL AI traffic, either traditional .BGL files or the UT2 method, is only generated for a set radius around the user aircraft - about 120nm or less. Once the UT2 traffic is generated, it flies according to normal FSX ai_player.dll instructions.The reason you see aircraft flying in airways rather than great circle routes is how UT2 maintains the grid database of where aircraft should be. When a UT2 aircraft is landing or taking off, it flies according to normal AI standards, though the UT2 program can have additional waypoints to vary the course. This would apply to takeoff AI rather than landing AI. Once the landing AI aircraft is assigned an approach, its flightplan is no longer used and only the ai_player.dll coding controls the vectors.Transiting AI aircraft from traditional .bgl files will be generated on the edges if the active AI zone with a target exit point on the great circle route.UT2 apparently generates the aircraft based upon the flight plan which looks a lot like a user FP - and the aircraft will be flying between two waypoints, not between two airports. Those waypoints should put the UT2 AI aircraft on an airway.This is how a traditional flight plan looks in the database

# DataSet: 0# TrafficId: FFFFFFFE# Tail #: N7718P# Type: B350-1# Departing: KSUS at 03:36Z + every eight hours# Arriving: KADS at 05:10Z + every eight hours# Duration: 1.6 hours# Distance: 455 nautical miles# IFR/VFR: IFR# Altitude: FL220# Density: 67%-90.65204456 38.66211947-91.08837292 38.29697829-91.52032218 37.93024454-91.94797438 37.56194759-92.37141055 37.19212334-92.79071069 36.82080689-93.20595378 36.44803254-93.61721776 36.07383379-94.02457952 35.69824343-94.42811489 35.32129350-94.82789867 34.94301530-95.22400459 34.56343946-95.61650532 34.18259590-96.00547248 33.80051390-96.39097666 33.41722208-96.77308739 33.03274842-96.83644742 32.96855852

This is how a grid looks in a traditional flight plan.

# U=94 V=73-91.87500000 37.96875000-91.87500000 38.67187500-90.93750000 38.67187500-90.93750000 37.96875000-91.87500000 37.96875000

I would think the UT2 interface provides basically the same information. But the coordinates in that FP from KSUS to KADS are based upon great circle routing in a traditional AI flight plan.It is not difficult to imaging that UT2 uses different coordinates based upon a user type .PLN file, which would put the UT2 aircraft on airways.So, I would expect addons like Radar Contact and such to work the same - unless they have some specific coding which interacts directly with the AI aircraft. Then it would be a case of having to experiment and see what works and does not work.

Sorry if it has been covered but can UT2 run on a seperate pc via network?

RFields5421,I'm a little confused about the parking with UT2. If we have installed modified airports that have more parking, will UT2 populate these extra parking spots?

Over a network - I don't know a question for their support forums.Parking - the program runs from schedules. Realistic schedules have always been UT's strongest point.Adding parking may show more aircraft on the airport, only if there was not sufficient parking for the traffic initially.I do not know how the GA is handled, but I do know that several airports which had no parking in the default FSX which I have added parking to like YCBG - do not have UT2 traffic. I have to figure out how to do that.

Reggie, thanks for clearing up a lot of things. My main interest lately has been spotting and taking rides on AI airplanes using Super Traffic Board (an amazing program itself). This has me wondering if the experience of shadowing a UT2 AI plane would be the same or not.EDIT:My suspicions have been confirmed that there are a few problems with using STB with UT2 (http://forums.simflight.com/viewtopic.php?...63e3e33e2a4c600). UT2 has a few features that had me intrigued (mainly flights following airways and their flight display board), but I think I'll stick with WOAI.

Having realized this is actually true, I'm wondering how on earth did they manage to come up with a fairly realistic flightplan for each of those 550000+ flights?? Must have been a helluva manual task or some ingenious data management skills :(

Many years ago we had a product called Ultimate Airlines, which had real-world schedules, and it was before AI traffic in Flight Simulator, so it only had flight plans. Users would pick a real-world flight, and fly the flight plan. Code was created way back then for creating flight plans, and was updated for a flight planner we shipped with Giants of the Sky: The 747 for FS98 or FS2000. We were able to recall this code base, improve it even more, and then Tom simply set it, and let it run, and run, and run, as required.In a sense, we have some of the same product (Ultimate Airlines) in the new UT2. It has been discussed that some of these features can be kind of "activated" in UT2, such as allowing users to export a flight plan they want to fly. Most of the plans are very good and accurate.See http://www.avsim.com/pages/1200/ua/ua.html for a bit of history. Our "Ultimate" series has its roots all the way back to this.

Many years ago we had a product called Ultimate Airlines, which had real-world schedules, and it was before AI traffic in Flight Simulator, so it only had flight plans. Users would pick a real-world flight, and fly the flight plan. Code was created way back then for creating flight plans, and was updated for a flight planner we shipped with Giants of the Sky: The 747 for FS98 or FS2000. We were able to recall this code base, improve it even more, and then Tom simply set it, and let it run, and run, and run, as required.In a sense, we have some of the same product (Ultimate Airlines) in the new UT2. It has been discussed that some of these features can be "activated" in UT2, such as allowing users to export a flight plan they want to fly. Most of the plans are very good and accurate.See http://www.avsim.com/pages/1200/ua/ua.html for a bit of history. Our "Ultimate" series has its root all the way back to this.

Hi Steve,Can you tell me if these real plans are just for the US or for the rest of the world also?Thanks.

Hi Steve,Can you tell me if these real plans are just for the US or for the rest of the world also?Thanks.

UT2 has world flight plan coverage.

Tks to F1 I now have a new part to the 'hobby'...I loaded up the 'Tower' that was posted in the UT2 forum, planted it at KEWR, and sat there and watched dozens of airlines navigating the NYC airspace.I am now looking for the life I used to have, I know I left it around here somewhere!

Tks to F1 I now have a new part to the 'hobby'...I loaded up the 'Tower' that was posted in the UT2 forum, planted it at KEWR, and sat there and watched dozens of airlines navigating the NYC airspace.I am now looking for the life I used to have, I know I left it around here somewhere!

LOL.Same thing happened to me last night after I got installed.The tower utility it great. :(

What is the tower utility?

What is the tower utility?

At their support forum, there is a link to down load an "invisible" tower. Basically, it's placed in your aircraft folder, you select it, and place it anywhere you like at the airport and watch the traffic. I believe it's a rework of one of the tower programs for online (IVAO, VATSIM) as it has a radar screen, monitor the comms etc etc.Very fun to play with.

At their support forum, there is a link to down load an "invisible" tower. Basically, it's placed in your aircraft folder, you select it, and place it anywhere you like at the airport and watch the traffic. I believe it's a rework of one of the tower programs for online (IVAO, VATSIM) as it has a radar screen, monitor the comms etc etc.Very fun to play with.

One place you do NOT want to place the tower is the end of the active runway, I now have LOT of aggravated AI pilots doing missed approach's, go-arounds!!! (FSX treats the tower as another plane) :(