The fermented barley has now worn off, but I'm still interested in the rainbows. Does anyone know of a utility for FS?

Is there a utility around that could add the major (visible) planets in their current location into the FS9 Stars.dat file? Maybe a comet or two? ;)Thanks!sg

OOps ...sorry, perhaps the barley hasn't quite worn off!:-lol

This is something you must have tried - would it be better to use 12 small stars instead of just 4 to display the planets? _xx xxxxxxxx_xxor something like that? Make them close enough together that the zoom factor of the screen isn't really important for their separation to become evident. For the five planets, that's a small number of stars compared to the number added by mapping a picture to the sky, or even drawing the ra and dec grid...will have no effect on FPS.Really enjoying the program...I'm going to fix your last link, if you don't mind - its a great shot:http://www.kline.demon.co.uk/AS_4.JPGThanks again.sg

Hello sg, it's done! I've added two new options. The first automatically reads the system clock to get the date. The second is auto-run. If enabled it will automatically create the stars depending on the settings and then call Flight Simulator before exiting. Once you've enabled auto start then you're stuck with it for life - because you can't stop the program to change the settings! For this reason there's a second program you can use to change the settings and in particular switch off auto run (it's actually the same as the main program but with auto run disabled). I'll need to do a few more checks but it should be available tomorrow (Friday). Ken's comments indicate that this could allow it to be used with FS AutoStart. By the way, in the current version the run FS button probably won't work - when I looked at the code I found the path was hard coded to that on my system - ooops.... - it's fixed in the new version. Your suggestion about increasing the number of stars for planets is interesting - I'll take a look at that. Best regards, Chris

Tried any magic mushrooms?Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/as2004proudsupporter.jpg

Please keep us updated!!JimActiveSky Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/as2004proudsupporter.jpg

Here ya go, Bill Lyons Classic Goose

Any way to "soft code" the program path too? My work PC doesn't have a C: drive - I found that's a good way to thwart may virusestrojans which assume your OS to be at c:windowsTHANKS!!!!!!!Best,sg

Hi sg, yes, I was thinking of doing that. Hopefully early next week.... Best regards, Chris

Hello sg, a bit faster than I thought! The update adds three features:1. When enabled, automatically gets the date from the system clock2. Auto run - when enabled, automatically creates the stars and then calls Flight Simulator - it may be possible to use with FS AutoStart.3. Program can now be installed into any drive or directory. Get it here: http://www.kline.demon.co.uk/autostar_update_1.zip Have fun! Best regards, Chris

Hi, Ken, I hope you like it. In my reply to sg you'll see there's an update. There's now an auto-run option, so it should be possible for FS Auto Start to call AutoStar which will in turn call FS. Best regards, Chris

You're a machine! I can't thank you enough, sir - to me, this adds as much realism to night flying as any addon I've ever downloaded.Best,sg

I too want to give you a BIG thank-you for your work!Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/as2004proudsupporter.jpg

Jim, thanks for the kind words. It's appreciated. Best regards, Chris