Traffic add-ons

[Tony H 21]

If I have Voxatc, it's there much to gain in buying another traffic addon?

I've done a search and couldn't find an answer to this. There's loads about Voxatc working with ut2 etc, if you already have ut2, but I wondered about buying ut2 when you already own Voxatc. Thanks.

[agutz 13]

Vox generates its own ai traffic but I don't know where it takes its planes from. I use MTX and I notice that Vox uses the planes MTX provides.

When you use Vox without any tarffic addons, do you just see FSX default planes? If so that would be a reason to use one of ai traffic addons.

[Tony H 21]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

 

I've ordered VoxATC but currently only have the demo.  In that I see the default planes with lots of references to "Pacifica".

 

I was coming round to the idea that it would be nice to have the right:

1)  Types of aircraft

2)  Airline repaints and ATC callsigns

for a particular airport.

 

I understand that with VoxATC, UT2 will do this, and the UT2Bridge has been mentioned as an aid to this.

 

Will MTX similarly do those things for me?  Does it not need a "bridge" program of its own, and if so is there something that UT2 will do with VoxATC that MTX won't?

 

I gather that once the bridge has run, you can run FSX and VoxATC without running UT2 and still get the benefit of the updates.  Is this the case with MTX or is it necessary to run MTX each time?

 

Also if I am flying at smaller mostly GA airports will I lose a large part of the benefit of buying a separate traffic add-on?  Will it make the traffic at the smaller airport more suitable in terms of aircraft type?

 

Thanks again.

[Petraeus 145]

I use MTX and I notice that Vox uses the planes MTX provides.

How do you actually use MTX with VOXATC? I'm using UT2bridge to get UT2 traffic, but have also used MTX in the past and would like to see how this works with VOXATC?

[Tony H 21]

Interesting. Anyone using World of AI with VoxATC? It won't be as good as UT2 for schedules etc, but VoxATC won't use those anyway.

[agutz 13]

I have tried to run MTX with Vox.

 

As far as I know Vox cannot really use MTX, it just takes its plane for its own (Vox's) ai traffic, if in FSX you put the traffic sliders to 0. No more WORLD TRAVEL and PACIFICA! If you put the FSX sliders to anything else than 0 MTX will also generate ai traffic (controlled by FSX). You will see this traffic but Vox will ignore it.

What the UT2bridge seems to be doing is different. Here is something another user put together for thr use of UT2bridge:

"Install the UT2Bridge tool(www.voxatc.net/UT2BridgeSetup.msi).

UT2 Bridge is a utility that you can run after the VoxATC Indexer that converts the UT2 flight plans.
Go to your VoxATC folder (usually C:\Program Files\Internal Workings\VoxATC X) and run
UT2Bridge.exe That will start the conversion running. When it's finished close UT2 Bridge. You should now
have traffic with UT2 aircraft. You should set the UT2 traffic volume to 0, or not even run it at all
(You can disable the auto run of UT2 by editing the the EXE.XML file in the User Profile under the FSX
folder, the same place where the fsx.cfg file is located). Now why did I say that it works on most of the
things but not 100%. That is, the Bridge tool would import the traffic and paint and the flight plan of
the AI, but there are two things you loose.

1) You can't control in VoxATC the density of the AI traffic to be spawned based on how much GA
traffic you like and how much Airliner traffic, like you have in the
UT2 settings tool (also known as Daily schedule and weekly schedule in UT2 tool)

2) although it imports the planes and flight plan(s) of the AI Traffic, but it doesn't import or
utilize the Schedule. i.e. if you are at an airport the traffic you would see is random as far as time
table and not based on the schedule even though  the plane would fly to it's destination, based on the
UT2 Flight plan but just at the wrong time of the day. Personally it is something I am willing to live with.

Every time after, for whatever reason, you have been running Vox's Indexer you have to run UT2Bridge again."

Just my personal opinion: I wish Vox would have left ai traffic control to FSX like the other ATC programs.

[Tony H 21]

Thanks for quoting that. I'd seen it before but it's a relevant post.

What I'm not clear on still is what ut2bridge gives you more than using MTX or WOAI. They'll both presumably give the liveries and callsigns.

Does ut2bridge do a better job of putting the right aircraft at the right airports? Thanks again.

Edit: what I am wondering is: maybe UT2 stores traffic in a different way to MTX, Woai and default FSX. Maybe ut2bridge is needed to make UT2 as compatible with VoxATC as MTX is by default. Any idea if this is the case?

[agutz 13]

If I observed things correctly UT2bridge makes planes and flight plan(s) of UT2 AI Traffic usable for Vox. Vox then spawns and controls all AI traffic.

 

 

As far as I see there is no way to make Vox use MTX AI traffic. It's just using the planes. If you have MTX installed you put the FSX traffic sliders to 0. If set to anything else you will see "parallel" AI traffic not controlled by Vox.

[Tony H 21]

Sorry I might be misunderstanding but I thought it would be the case with any add on traffic that the sliders would be at 0? Vox runs the traffic after using ut2bridge doesn't it?

[Tony H 21]

Here's a quote I found on another forum which may be accurate:

WoAI creates AI based on using a traffic file holding the flightplan information.

UT2 does not use traffic files. It uses it's own internal database to 'inject' AI into the FS session. In this UT2 is unique among traffic programs.

---

I wondered if ut2bridge 'sucks' the data out of the db, and creates a traffic file that VoxATC can use. This would make UT2 plus ut2bridge as compatible as MTX or WOAI without a bridge.

Sorry if that's incorrect, I'm just trying to understand this.

 

[Tony H 21]

The truth is I'm having trouble getting the demo of UT2 working on my computer.

I'm talking with support about it but its making me wonder if (when used with VoxATC) the difference will be worth the effort.

 

a- I'd like planes of suitable types, with suitable liveries and suitable call signs at suitable airports.

b- I'd like them to park at the right kind of gates and flying to the right schedules might be nice. It might also be nice to have the skies and other airports populated.

 

From what I can work out, when I'm using VoxATC, pretty much any traffic program will give me the items in 'a'.

Can you confirm that UT2 will give me the items in b) whilst I'm using VoxATC? The quote posted by "Agutz" above seems to suggest not (you don't get the schedules apparently for one thing).

 

So is there anyone using UT2 who gets the items in 'b' above? Or someone using another product who is happy with their traffic?

 

Thanks guys. I'm not looking to say bad stuff about UT2, the internet does seem to rate it as the best traffic program. I'm just wondering if, when used with VocATC, other programs will do the same thing. Thanks.

[agutz 13]

I think we are a bit in the dark about what exactly Vox can do with AI traffic add-ons. We're just guessing.

It would be nice if the developer did show up here from time to time.

 

Let's face it: AI Traffic is mostly eyecandy. Its main function is to fill airports with traffic while we are on the ground, and to make us feel less lonely while up in the air. All add-ons do this.

 

Again: My understanding ("guess") is that Vox with UT2bridge uses some data of UT2 while with other add-ons (MTX, WOAI) Vox only uses their planes.

 

 

BTW: UT2 has a major bug Flight1 is unwilling/unable to fix: http://forum.avsim.net/topic/402527-ultimate-traffic-2-traffic-disappearing-over-water/

[Tony H 21]

What I'm hoping is that the AI in all cases with VoxATC is provided by VoxATC (unless you run additional traffic alongside it). VoxATC uses the eye candy from the traffic add on, and assigns aircraft and liveries to airports based on the bgl files from the add on. I'm giving woai a go as the add on.

[Tony H 21]

Okay, I downloaded the WOAI installer and installed all the packages for Shoreham, Farnborough and Gatwick airports.

Shoreham's a comparatively small airport with Cessnas etc., Farnborough gets business jets and Gatwick obviously gets the heavy stuff.

I got my dvd today so I gave it a go.  The traffic seems good, you get the eye candy and ATC takes account of it.

But at Shoreham there was soooo much of it.  My FSX traffic sliders are at 0 and the VoxATC one is at the default 50%.  I could hardly get a word in edgeways at Shoreham (the planes were visible as well).

 

Is it simply that most people don't fly from the smaller airports, and that if they do then they turn the traffic slider down?

I was using WOAI, but I imagine that the traffic density was down to VoxATC?

[Insurrection_and_Stupidity 9]

In my opinion, VoxATC is good as a standalone product. I tried the interaction with UT2 and was utterly disappointed, so much so that I uninstalled UT2bridge. The traffic it generated was sporadic and I believe it only read the Weekly database from UT2, not any addon schedules. VoxATC has been consigned to the occasional use only

 

Ken Brattey