EZDOK -- rocks!

[STUART_H 12]

Stuart, EZCA is much more than just CFG file tweaking. There is a whole engine at work here, just take a look at the manual (there is a link on the Flight1 page for EZCA) and look at the screenshots! Also, if you fly in virtual cockpit, that is exactly where EZCA shines (although it does have some cool external view effects also)! It simulates G's moving your head around (as in, acceleration/deceleration, lateral Gs, etc), the shock of a hard touchdown, the random slight bumpyness of a typical flight, turbulence tossing you around inside the cockpit, etc. And best of all, it's all tweakable to your liking. You can fine tune literally everything, or if you aren't feeling up to it, then just use the default settings. There is also a simple "gain" you can turn up or down which acts as a simple way to increase or decrease the amount of the effects if you find them to be too weak or strong.Have you seen this video of EZCA in action?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkLTb4jYWm4I'll agree that the price seemed high when I was trying to decide to buy it, but afterward I was more than happy with it, and the support seems really good so far.

Many thanks for the clarification. Having seen the video, it will defintely go on my 'wish list' of add-ons.Cheers,Stuart

[tf51d 284]

Nope, if the computer has to process another viewpoint of a 3D object, as it would when a viewpoint changes due to head movement, then it would obviously have to do some work to achieve that than if not doing so, and EZDOK loads up too, so that too takes up some RAM. Therefore it is not correct to say that there is 'basically no change at all'; if there is a change, then there is a change, simple as that, minimal though it may be, which is the point I was making. So all I was pointing out is that it would require some more small effort from a computer than if the effect was not happening, nothing more than that. I'm not trying to say it is in any way going to bog down the system, as should be apparent from the video I posted where the FPS counter is barely affected.Try upping the head vibration settings in EZDOK and it will be more than apparent that a different viewpoint of the 3D object (i.e the cockpit coaming etc) will need to be processed. I'm not suggesting it is a massive weight of work on the computer by any stretch of the imagination, and that, as noted, is apparent in the video I posted. But it is still your computer having to do work. That is all I was saying, so I failed to see the need to jump on a mere off the cuff simplified description that was clearly meant to be a general passing comment rather than a technical appraisal of what is involved.In any case, semantics aside, I don't wish to derail this thread. so that's me done on that topic.Al

I agree, except FSX already has this head movement and momentum effect, EZDOk just does it more intelligently! So from a graphic standpoint I don't think there is more of an overhead doing it with EZDOK vs FSX, there is some (minimal I would think) with the calculations EZDOK has to perform to achieve this.

[Drumcode 1,893]

I like the EZDOK vibration effects but I spend almost all my time in the VC using TrackIR so if I understand the various discussions, I'll have wait until (if) a TIR compatible version is made.

So I understand EZCA is not compatible with TrackIR? Also are there any videos of the heavies using EZCA?

[757FO 143]

you can get it to work with TrackIR, but in mouse emulation only, and you only have 2 axis working (left/right, up/down)1) Start TrackIR2) Click on start programs, TRackIRx, Mouse Emulation (you will see the mouse emulation program pop up)3) start FSX, load a flight4) Click Shift+O, From the VC, you can pan up/down, left/right with TrackIRIt is very limited but works, In my case I just go back and forth betwen EZDock and TrackIR, mostly use EZDock when landing, etcHope this helps!

[curt1 79]

I have most of the concerns expressed by cmpbellsjc above. The responses have alleviated these to a large extent, but let me ask a question - from my reading of the manual, it seems to me that, apart of installation of the EZCA executable, the only changes to FSX files made in setting up this product are to the aircraft.cfg files of each aircraft (to set up the EZCA cameras). I believe the changes are additions rather than changes, but maybe backing up these before installation might be prudent. Then of course you have to disable any View controls in FSX, which will change the controls.xml file, so maybe a good idea to back that up also.If I'm correct, then in the event of any problem, it should be possible to revert to the previous settings by restoring these files.Or did I miss something ?

That's pretty much it, your aircraft.cfg file will have one additional camera setting added. So if your plane currently has 13 camera views, after EZdok installation you'll have 14. To be honest, you won't really desire those old camera views as you can duplicate or create superior views with EZdok...and do it in a matter of seconds. To restore settings, you can use the program for that, or do it manually by deleting the extra camera.Curt

[cmpbellsjc 2,963]

I'm still scared of this addon but I am going to pay for it and install it in a few minutes. What the heck right?I will report back and let you guys know how it went.

[cmpbellsjc 2,963]

Well, I bought it, installed it, and sure enough, my fears were realized. :( When I start FSX and the main window opens and error box pops up that says something like "Failed to read from file" and then when I close the error box FSX closes as well, but remains running in the process tree. So now I can even use the sim until I figure out how to fix this.It's so ironic that I was worried about something like this happening and then it happens.Oh well, I am sure I will be able to get it fixed. Not sure exactly what it installs that is causing FSX to crash. I am still on 32 bit XP, which I thought was pretty safe for this addon.

[cmpbellsjc 2,963]

Well, now that I have been up most of the night I got it fixed. For whatever reason I had to uninstall, clean everything up and reinstall. Seems that everything is now working.As far as the camera goes it is pretty neat but is going to take some adjusting and getting views set up. Some of the default a/c already have a bunch of default views installed, but since I dont ever fly those I will need to do my own for my addon a/c.Overall, I would say its a nice addon, but I think it is going to take more work and tweaking to get set the way I want the views to be, which is not what I really wanted, but nothing worth while usually comes easy.

[Dean_EGTC 57]

Don't forget to add your latest addition to your signature.I would somehow feel personally hurt, as I'm sure others would also, that you'd increased your impressive plethora of computing paraphernalia, without keeping the rest of Avsim community publicly informed.Are you sure you don't have a cat or dog? It would add for a nice finishing touch.

[cmpbellsjc 2,963]

Don't forget to add your latest addition to your signature.I would somehow feel personally hurt, as I'm sure others would also, that you'd increased your impressive plethora of computing paraphernalia, without keeping the rest of Avsim community publicly informed.Are you sure you don't have a cat or dog? It would add for a nice finishing touch.

Thanks for reminding me I will add it in the moring as well as Approaching InnsbruckX that I got a few days ago.Not sure why you needed the wise crack about my sig, but having everything listed has saved me time in the past when I post a question and the first response is to list my system or what addons I am using. Now its already there and I dont have to type it all out. It's meant as nothing else. BTW, I am not the only member on Avsim that list their specs and such in their sig, and frankly, I am not sure what it matters to you.

[brucets 94]

Don't forget to add your latest addition to your signature.I would somehow feel personally hurt, as I'm sure others would also, that you'd increased your impressive plethora of computing paraphernalia, without keeping the rest of Avsim community publicly informed.Are you sure you don't have a cat or dog? It would add for a nice finishing touch.

EDITED BY ADMINPlease don't use this kind of language here

[ramprat 8]

I just installed EZDOK. It installed without a hitch on my Vista 64 machine. So far, I can't detect any significant performance hit. For me, EZDOK adds A LOT to the total realism in FSX. I never fly any of the default aircraft. But, with EZDOK, even the default Cessna is now fun to fly. The downside to this software is the complexity. It will take some time for this old brain to get a grip on all the adjustments etc. But I would recommend EZDOK to any of my fellow sim pilots who are looking to make our money-pit hobby a significant step closer to "As Real As It Gets".

[Guest Nils79]

It's a fantastic add-on but i'm wondering if anybody wants to share his settings? :)

[DickB 6]

So far I've only seen (I think) comments/evidence/feedback on how this product works with fairly small a/c, which appears to be generally favourable. Does anyone have any feedback on how well it works with heavies ? I don't fly big jets, but I fly WWII heavy bombers, and I'm curious to know what it adds to that kind of flying.

[Chock 17,769]

I tried it with the A2A B-17G Flying Fortress, and it did add to the experience, so yes, it does make heavier aircraft more fun too, although on high settings it can make clicking small switches in the VC a bit tricky, but nothing you can't solve with either zooming in, backing the settings off, or pausing for a sec. However a minor caveat is that EZDOK does make shifting the VC viewpoint a bit more of a hassle, and when the B-17G loaded up, the eyepoint was a bit too high in the seat, so I did have to sort that out.What I will say about EZDOK, is that I would not fly without it now, and that is not simply because I like the visual effect, but rather because it is a great indicator of low level turbulence on approach, and that is absolutely worth having when you go through a wind gradient. One thing I really do miss in FS compared to when flying for real, is the tactile seat of the pants sense one gets from a real aircraft through your &@($* and through the stick, and in fact when I fly for real (which is mostly on gliders), I use that sense all the time, since it is a good indicator of thermal activity when you feel a wing lift as it flies through the edge of a thermal. I also use the buffet on the elevators that one feels through the stick as a guide to when I am approaching a stall when banked over in steep turns (which are common in gliding), and EZDOK is good at picking that kind of thing up and conveying it visually.Being able to feel that kind of thing is vital when flying for me, and it has actually saved my &@($* for real on occasions where I've had emergencies, notably once when I had a cable break at a really awkward altitude during a winch launch and had to make a low level steep turn back for the airfield to land downwind. Without the ability to feel the onset of pre-stall buffet on the elevators, I would not have been able to safely pull that off, since I was banked over almost vertically at less than 200 feet above some trees when making the turn back.I suspect that in combination with the Buttkicker, EZDOK would really take FS to the next level, and because of that, I'm seriously considering buying one of those things as a complement to it.Al