ATC enhancements, more realism?

[BobKK47 2]

I wonder what improvements will be made to the on-board ATC in MS Flight as compared to FSX. I would suspect that with 5 years between the release of the two versions, there should be quite a lot of improvements, specifically in the area of realistic procedures. And, as a current user of RC4, a big question for me is, will RC5 be compatible with MS Flight? I would guess that the RC developers are highly interested in seeing what MS Flight ATC will encompass.

[vololiberista 205]

I wonder what improvements will be made to the on-board ATC in MS Flight as compared to FSX. I would suspect that with 5 years between the release of the two versions, there should be quite a lot of improvements, specifically in the area of realistic procedures. And, as a current user of RC4, a big question for me is, will RC5 be compatible with MS Flight? I would guess that the RC developers are highly interested in seeing what MS Flight ATC will encompass.

None!!vololiberista

[tgibson 11]

During FSX development, the MS bloggers said that they considered the canned ATC to be a "legacy" item that is no longer really needed, since they have enhanced the Multiplayer experience. I.e. if you want to fly with other planes, do it online. Because of that, they said that they would make no further changes to the ATC for FSX except for a few fixes (which is what they did). Therefore, unless they have changed their minds (which I consider unlikely, considering the move to Windows Live), I assume there will be little or no improvements to the ATC.Sorry,

[Virtual Reality 0]

In my opinion, ATC improvements would be a great feature to have in the uprising title 'Flight' as it probably has very little impact of frames and yet add's great detail and accuracy.If the development team at at the studios were to do any improvements, I think they would split it into two parts which could be accessable through the options menu in the game. One "Standard" ATC, which would be no different than that of FSX and the other being "Professional" which added some improvements, like STAR's and a greater user input needed.The only problem I have with this idea is that nowdays people cram a lot of AI onto their simulator's, far more than the default ATC was designed for. If you add in more serious ATC speech, I think the simulator would simply crash, as it wouldn't be able to cope with all the amount of aircraft flying around. I mean at the moment when your at a busy airport with lots of traffic, it sometimes takes a while for me to talk to ATC, with all the other aircraft asking for takeoff permission, getting clearance to land, asking for taxiing instructions etc..Now think of that, but with AI now asking for holding patterns, SID's / STAR's, telling what part of the circuit they are on for landing etc.. it would be a nightmare to get through to ATC, and by the time you finally get through ATC would cancel your IFR ATC seeing as it has taken you so long to reply.With the likes of VATSIM and IVAO around, which try to hit ATC on the nail in terms of use and professionalism. Do we really need to have an improved ATC, when we already have two great resources for it?Virtual Reality

[MarcUAL 2]

Can I fly without voice on vatsim/ivao? Some people are deaf and need the text based format that MS gives.I remember years ago we had the option to interact VIA text on vatsim, is it still that way today?

[garwig3 0]

I think when they started FSX they were thinking the built-in online ATC would be a hit and many people would use it. Has anyone here used it? I know I haven't because I don't want amateur ATC, I want realistic and want many other planes in the sky. So when I fly it's either Vatsim or single-player with the default ATC. I think they must include single-player ATC and there should be improvements to it. I will not fly with other players as ATC unless I know they will be professional quality, like on Vatsim.

[jwenham 1]

In my opinion, ATC improvements would be a great feature to have in the uprising title 'Flight' as it probably has very little impact of frames and yet add's great detail and accuracy.If the development team at at the studios were to do any improvements, I think they would split it into two parts which could be accessable through the options menu in the game. One "Standard" ATC, which would be no different than that of FSX and the other being "Professional" which added some improvements, like STAR's and a greater user input needed.The only problem I have with this idea is that nowdays people cram a lot of AI onto their simulator's, far more than the default ATC was designed for. If you add in more serious ATC speech, I think the simulator would simply crash, as it wouldn't be able to cope with all the amount of aircraft flying around. I mean at the moment when your at a busy airport with lots of traffic, it sometimes takes a while for me to talk to ATC, with all the other aircraft asking for takeoff permission, getting clearance to land, asking for taxiing instructions etc..Now think of that, but with AI now asking for holding patterns, SID's / STAR's, telling what part of the circuit they are on for landing etc.. it would be a nightmare to get through to ATC, and by the time you finally get through ATC would cancel your IFR ATC seeing as it has taken you so long to reply.With the likes of VATSIM and IVAO around, which try to hit ATC on the nail in terms of use and professionalism. Do we really need to have an improved ATC, when we already have two great resources for it?Virtual Reality

+1I am new to VATSIM and have been having a blast with it especially last weeks London Heathrow event and again tonight with the Toronto/Boston shoot out. The other reason I love VATSIM is that it has stopped me from tweeking and all I have been doing now is having fun flyin. If VATSIM is having a slow night I will fire up a flight using RC4 still with UT2 traffic.Jim

Can I fly without voice on vatsim/ivao? Some people are deaf and need the text based format that MS gives.I remember years ago we had the option to interact VIA text on vatsim, is it still that way today?

Yes you can. I use SquawkBox 4 and it allows for either voice or text.Jim

[Guest veeray]

I can understand if you just want to run AI Traffic.... but if you want ATC VATSIM is the only way to go.

[Christopher Low 5,408]

During FSX development, the MS bloggers said that they considered the canned ATC to be a "legacy" item that is no longer really needed, since they have enhanced the Multiplayer experience

That is an incredibly naive viewpoint. Why on Earth should we have to go online to get realistic ATC? Now, I'm taking a wild stab in the dark here, but.....I suspect that the vast majority of flight simmers do their flying offline. That being the case, decent AI ATC would seem to be one of the most important attributes that MS Flight could have.

[Mike... 7]

During FSX development, the MS bloggers said that they considered the canned ATC to be a "legacy" item that is no longer really needed, since they have enhanced the Multiplayer experience. I.e. if you want to fly with other planes, do it online.

That reasoning makes no sense at all. Some like one, some the other. If they think that somewhere in the future everybody will be online and multi-playering, with no need for offline ATC and AI, they're sadly mistaken.They really need to address some longstanding issues with the ATC/AI system. And (or) provide unparalled documented access to those systems for third party devs. It is essential that when looking at the default ATC, one looks at the AI system as well. Any addon must replace both, instead of only the ATC system. If MS cannot think outside the cloud, then at least let third party devs do...And finally, if MS had addressed some of the issues going from FS9 to FSX, maybe more of us would be inclined to migrate. The same remains true for Flight. Just think about what people have been complaining about for years. Many things, including a fair share of gripes about the ATC/AI system... It's easy to make Flight a big success, just address the problems instead of adding things very little people have asked for.You can do it, MS!:(

[sky_walker 0]

i think ms atc is tied to scenery (bgl's like bvcl.bgl), AI Aircraft,that large sound file in sounds folder and many other parts of fs without a core of its own which will make a SDK difficult to release.For me the default atc gives the sim a sense of purpose in free flight, without it fs will be naked and bare. MS should improve on it or leave the 'canned' atc in place. What is aviation or flight without ATC. They should focus on improving FS as a whole and not just eyecandy like scenery. Its the little things that make FS an imersive game.

[simmerhead 885]

What is aviation or flight without ATC?

Freedom! You're not a bush flyer I suppose :)

[sky_walker 0]

ok 3 modes thenmissionsfree flight with atctotal freedom (just uncheck atc from options)just like we've always had. Status qou. No harm done.

[tf51d 284]

I think when they started FSX they were thinking the built-in online ATC would be a hit and many people would use it. Has anyone here used it? I know I haven't because I don't want amateur ATC, I want realistic and want many other planes in the sky. So when I fly it's either Vatsim or single-player with the default ATC. I think they must include single-player ATC and there should be improvements to it. I will not fly with other players as ATC unless I know they will be professional quality, like on Vatsim.

EditVoicepack has done a great job at making the phraseology much better. It also allows user modifications some I made available in the FSX/Sound library here, and a couple I'm still working on. There is no denying though that there is room for improvement, but it brings it closer. Here's an example of a flight from start to finish using it.

[HoratioWondersocks 4]

Freedom! You're not a bush flyer I suppose :)

I used the default ATC for years ,and have no real gripes with it. However I now fly without it. I choose my flight ,create a plan with FSNav, export it into FS9. I use ASKy for weather and to determine what conditions are at my destination airport. I then select my dept and arr runways depending on wind direction (don't always get that right ,but you can change as you near your destination (either default ATIS or using ASKy own FLIGHTWATCH ). I then fuel up and do all the necessary pre flight business.I use both M1 and M2 options of FSNav (various auto semi auto options) and of i go.I do like the peace and quiet of not having ATC prattling all the time ,and it also reduces the occurrences of sound stutters as well.I try to observe decent flight rules and don't taxi through over or under other aircraft.or land on top off ,through , or under them as well.All is peaceful on my flights, and i can concentrate on the one thing I STILL!! don't always get right the landing.PS I sometimes tune to centres just to hear a bit of chatter ,but that is the the extent of my ATC use (apart from taxi instructions and the enhanced taxi mode at my destination)PS My flying is nearly all passenger aircraft.cheers Andy