FS2004 Installation Day - Essentials

[Guest cw1011]

Of a VC in your current airplane is not clickable, it will not be when you port it into 2004. The switches etc. need to be coded into the airplane model.

[Dillon 2,197]

Your wrong, the VC in it's crudest form has nothing to do with the interactive ablility of various gauges. If the guage itself has clickable points in 2D, it will use those same contact points in FS2004's VCs. FS2002's VC would just display the gauges, FS2004 takes all the gauge information and makes it just as interactive as it would be in 2D. This meaning you can click the same exact spots in 3D as you would in 2D.

[Guest Captain Barfbag]

I want Traffic Tools and AFCAD. The scuttlebutt is that Lee is working on these, but the FS2004 internals (like .bgl files) are significantly different, so it may take a while. The first dollars I spend will be for FSUIPC. Airport For Windows will almost certainly need an upgrade to work with FS2004.

[Dillon 2,197]

Your right the AFCAD and bgl files are a little different but that's about it and that's subject to change in the final release since so many are opposed to the new system MS wants to put in place...

[barryward12345 0]

>Based on what beta testers have told me, products like PSS's>A320, CaptainSim's 727 and Eaglesoft's Business jets will have>no problems with FS2k4 and clickable VC's. All VC's will>automatically become interactive in the new sim. So no matter>if your using the old Falcon50 or Yeodesign's first 737 with>the generic VC, all VC's will automatically become interactive>(this is contingent on the fact that the gauges in question>can be manipulated with mouse clicks to begin with). The VC's>in the new sim actually allow you to use the whole gauge>instead of just displaying it. This is VERY interesting!!But the problem is that "mostly" we click on SWITCHES - not gauges. (although I know that a switch is a gauge in Fsim) - And how many VCs have cockpits with switches in them??Barry

[Rottenlungs 0]

I will be pretty desperate to see the ole` SF-260 flying in FSACOF.Also any phototextured scenery addons, eg Oshkosh, Mr Bernstein`s excellent Wa airfields, top marks for Harvey Field btw. Gary Summons Uk Scenery series as well, when I`m homesick for Englands Green and Pleasant airstrips.Squawkbox would be good too, as long as its on top of the 3d view, before hostsb.dll came out and fs2k2 was stuck with SBhost.exe it was unusable, unless you like your cockpit to have a windows title bar across the top (yuck!!).I am definitely prepared to revert to fs2k2 if a lot of stuff doesn`t work, though those clouds are looking pretty nice in most of the screenshots I`ve seen..No doubt New Zealand will get FSACOF in November, if the US gets it in July, even after Helen Clark inexplicably apologised to Mr Bush!!Cheers nowLungs

[Guest Pardue802]

Hmmmm... well personn'ly I'm usually fine with a "clean" sim... not too many add ons (payware or freeware) to junk up my interface and lose consistency. I'm an oddball, but I've never been able to really find those freeware "jewels" that people are talking about with a good flight model, visual, and panel/VC. Even the few payware things I've bought over the years have failed in some point of consistency or another.As far as I'm concerned, FS-ACoF will have everything I need right out of the box. GA aircraft that are slow for when I want to take it easy, GA aircraft that are fast when I want to do cross country/continent flights, various commerical airliners that I'm not that interested in in the first place, and the now-beautiful weather.If anything, the only thing I'm looking forward to trying my hand at in FS-ACoF is Ultimate Traffic. Even though I'm a GA buff, I think it's a fascinating concept to be flying in such real-world traffic conditions, whether close to big airports or on those cross country flights where you hear real world airlines referenced all the time.Kenneth

[Guest Javis]

>Based on what beta testers have told me, products like PSS's>A320, CaptainSim's 727 and Eaglesoft's Business jets will have>no problems with FS2k4 and clickable VC's. All VC's will>automatically become interactive in the new sim. " Always look on the bright side of life. Peedom, peedom,peedom,peedom... " :-sun1 Dream on, DillollO

[Guest Astrojet 112]

I don't think that I am going to move anything over from 2002.I think that PSS will be developing new versions for 2004.I WILL look forward to making the Precisionmanuals 737NG my first add on for 2004.I have high expectations for both :)Astro

[Guest Van]

I agree with Astro, I'll purchase COF after it's been out for a bit and do as I did with FS2000/FS2002, Install it, but keep using FS2002 until there are enough new releases and patches (for existing packages)available to make COF worth using. I've spent the last two years customizing my FS2002 with various types of add-ons and many of my own creations that I couldn't get much entertainment out of a flight sim right from the box as MSFS is quite sterile without all the add-ons. I also couldn't even think of using those horrible panels that come with the default aircraft and with many of the screen shots I've seen so far, it doesn't look like much has changed in that department. The biggest improvement should be ATC as it will support step climbing etc. , but then Radar Contact v3 also has all the features one would want from ATC so it will be a slow migration over to COF for me and by the time I get COF where I have FS2002 it will be time for the next MSFS to appear...lolRegards,Van LatendresseYeoDesigns/AFG GroupPanel/FDE Designer

[Guest jason2112]

From what I've read I guess you're right. BUT most current VCs don't include any gauges for switches, only bitmaps. That's why a lot of FS2002 VCs won't be fully clickable ...VOlker :]

[Guest jason2112]

I will spend the first days with just a clean FS2004 install, trying to find the best config for my rather low end system and flying the beautiful historical planes. I'm especially looking forward to that cute Piper Cub, and the Robin R22 looks extremely cool as well. only after I have tried all the planes, weather situations and detailed airports will I try to install some 3rd party planes (SF.260 will be the first). Until then it will be clear if RealityXP's Garmin 530 and the German Airports series are compatible, or will need a patch.Unfortunately I will be working on my diploma thesis when FS2004 comes out, so I won't have too much time for flying anyway ...VOlker :]

[Dillon 2,197]

VOlker your missing the point... The VC has nothing to do with the capability of the gauge itself, FS2k2 just displays it and FS2k4 will let you use it. If a panel's gauges can be manipulated in 2D with mouse clicks, they'll do the same in FS2k4's VC. The only way this will not work is if the gauges themselves can't be manipulated with mouse clicks. Most developers aren't designing gauges like this anymore especially if they've designed their product to have a VC included. Gauges without click spots went out back in the days of FS95/FS98...

[Dillon 2,197]

The gauges that you see in the VC are the same gauges you see in the 2D panel. Those same gauges have "switches" that you can adjust. Now if you go into any of your aircraft's panel.cfg files and look under the VC portion, you'll see the same gauges are being used/displayed in the VC. Think of the VC as a larger 2D cousin. It's basically a larger panel. What FS2k4 does is allow you to fully manipulate the click spots (switches) on the gauges the same way you can in 2D in the VC (all FS2k2 aircraft are already using the gauges found in the 2D panel in the VC the only problem is now you can't manage them from the VC). I said this earlier that panels designed with gauges that have no switches went out with FS95/98. All gauges that you see active in the VC now will become interactive in FS2k4. I could see CaptainSim updateing their 727's VC to allow the second officer's panel to be interactive. For anyone who has that aircraft knows that the second officer's panel is a whole static bitmap (no live gauges are present), that's the kind of thing that will have to be updated with many aircraft which is not a big concern because we don't use them now... It's a very easy concept if you think about it....

[Dillon 2,197]

Well Javis,The dream I guess you think I'm speaking of is now reality and you'll see what I'm talking about in another month... "Peedom, peedom,peedom,peedom... " Welcome to the future, hope your coming with us....