impressed - with some newbie questions

[ther45k9 1]

Really impressed with realism of Opus Live Weather.

 

Quick questions:

 

1). Spy window shows errors 9 & 14 --- I'm guessing this is because I have chosen not to install FSUIPC ?

2). Noticed big wind shift when climbing to new altitude. Would DWC help with this - or does DWC only influence lateral variation in winds ?

[Opus Software 84]

Setting all defaults in all weather dialogs will help especially enabling the Adjust Sim Friendly GRIB Data option. Also DWC will help a great deal by you will need FSUIPC4 installed for that option. You will also need FSUIPC4 installed if you ever fly with accelerated time as FSX cannot load the weather 100% correctly when in accelerated time.

 

Best do the above and consult the Recommended Practices which will describe the use of the Opus weather reports etc, so you can first see that you have valid GRIB data in use, and secondly to see that your sim is maintaining the desired wind targets.

 

I will make a note to double check those error numbers next time I'm at the computer.

 

Regards

Stephen :-)

[ther45k9 1]

after disabling DWC I do not see those error 9 & 14 anymore. Makes sense.

[Opus Software 84]

It does even though I haven't had a chance to check those error codes yet (suffering with a bit of man flu at the moment). You could try installing the latest OpusFSX release version and FSUIPC4 (free version), then enable DWC. The latest release automatically disables DWC in gusting surface layers to prevent problems with multiplayer mode. But enabling DWC might help you keep those ambient winds under control.

 

Always follow Recomended Practices and have the Adjust Sim Friendly GRIB Data option enabled. Then use the Local, Lower, and Upper reports to monitor how well your ambient wind is kept under control with DWC.

 

Regards

Stephen :-)

[ther45k9 1]

not interested in installing FSUIPC at present.

 

BTW:

am trying to understand the concept of Opus camera views and why I would want it.

I have different views and can pan around within FSX (don't need Opus for this), so why would I want to create [re-create] my views using OpusFSX ?

In other words, what does Opus give me i.t.o. views that I don't already have in default FSX ?

 

I've been reading the manuals but still trying to see the whole point. Yes, I understand DHM.

[Opus Software 84]

DHM of course is a big plus as you can enable it for certain cameras and not others. For instance you can enable it for the Captains and First Officers views but disable it for a close up view of the MCP, Overhead panel, pedestal, or throttle quadrant.

 

The next major plus is you can create many useful views that simply are not included as standard, and fine tune these to precision. You can also control the transition between views. As indicated above I create a number of VC cockpit views which I can selected and use to fly and control the aircraft or just change the perspective a little. Each view fine tuned for my personal taste and using my preferred smooth transition speed.

 

Next of course is that you are not limited to VC cockpit views, you can also create superb external aircraft views and specify a smooth transition between those. I have about five or so external views configured, all much better than the default views. I have also specified a slower transition between them and assigned them all with the same key (key X). I can use the key to cycle between them using my specified transition speed to slowly and smoothly fly from one view to another.

 

I have the same key assigned to all my VC views, so when inside the cockpit I can also cycle them. With external views and using the latest slow transitions you can create walk around sequences and nice fly around sequences.

 

This all coupled with LCC and a dedicated 6-axis GamePad controller to wander or float around the cockpit or exterior to my hearts content.

 

Also note your standard hat switch will work fine as before since it alters PBY and does not interfere with XYZ, so DHM will not be affected.

 

Finally of course, you can assign joystick buttons to each view so you can switch from one view to another very efficiently and a far lot easier than using the default view cycling. I jump from Captains view to Overhead and back again, or directly to the pedestal etc..

 

In short, of course the options are endless and infinitely more flexible than the default views which seem quite bland and awkward after you get used to using and switching between your own specified cockpit views. The sim is just not the same after you get it configured up with a good selection of cameras and can efficiently switch between them, or just sit off the wing tip for fun.

 

The benefits are such that I would never go back to using the defaults, my own cameras are far superior than the rather basic defaults, and the LC views are not only suited to my tastes but I am in total control of them.

 

Of course without the RW DHM and RW Live Weather the sim to me is nothing more than an unrealistic game. So for me at least LC + LCC with RW DHM and the LWE are all essential.

 

Stephen :-)

 

 

I forgot to mention the ability in a second or two to use LCC to correct for the well known axis shift bug in the sim. Something you cannot do without LC and configured VC camera views.

 

Stephen :-)

[ther45k9 1]

thanks very much Stephen. I'm getting the big picture now. I did my first flight yesterday with DHM enabled and it is a very nice effect making the flight so much more real. The DHM makes it like being in a real cockpit - and of course the effect is direclty linked to the real weather conditions courtesy of LWE.

[dgraham1284 92]

Fsuipc is your friend. You can get a free version too....

[ther45k9 1]

Created some VC views & assigned them to various buttons.

Having trouble creating external aircraft view. I can only create a single additional ext view, and a key/button assignment doesn't work for that - I have to instead use the menu to click 'OpusFSX Aircraft View'. The list on the right are stock external views included in the PMDG777 with an additional entry at the bottom created by Opus.  I cannot get to that Opus view using a button and I can't seem to add more external views. Adding more ext views causes them to appear in the Opus Camera config dialogue but they don't all appear when I cycle thru the ext views - only one of them shows.

 

[Opus Software 84]

First, upgrade to the latest release version. I have created 20+ views this morning with no problem. You should not select the views via the menu as that is not selecting the camera you created, it is just changing the view mode and nothing else.

You can easily create more external views in the Camera dialog. First select your external camera view you have currently created, the use the Add or Clone Camera option, then edit the camera view as described in the guide. Don't forget to give it a suitable name.

Not all key sequences can be used or assigned. You cannot use any reserved keys and shouldn't use any that are already assigned. Try X and shift-X. Normally best to assign a view with a uniquque button, it can be reused for different aircraft. Then assign a key, I use the same key and use it to cycle the cameras.

Just follow the guide. Use the Add or Clone Camera option and don't forget to click on Save each time. It should not take too long to create several external views, reorder them and assign transitions speeds etc. to create a variety of great external cameras and walk arounds.

Please read the Live Camera guide though and use the step by step guide described there.

Stephen :-)

Please do not try and cycle through your created OpusFSX cameras using the S or A keys. That will never work. They are NOT FSX views, they are OpusFSX cameras and so you need to use the assigned button and keys to select or cycle them.

As I said, I use buttons to select and the same key 'X' to cycle through them.

Stephen

All button and registered key events are displayed within the Spy window when the button or key is pressed. Keyboard events do not appear in Spy whilst editing cameras, only after they have been saved and edit mode is exited. If they are not displayed then the joystick or button is invalid, either not registered within FSX, already assigned elsewhere (i.e. FSX, 3rd party add-on etc), or just an illegal entry.

A joystick must be enabled in FSX for it to be recognised and its button press events to be forwarded on to OpusFSX.

The numeric pad keys 0 to 9 can be used but they must be assigned with the Num Lock ON (for recognition), and used with the Num Lock OFF within FSX/P3D. This is a quirk of the simulator and not the OpusFSX software.

Make sure you are assigning the key/button assignments in the correct camera dialog box. Button assignments go in the top box and key assignments in the bottom box in the camera dialog.

When you create camera views you can assign them either to a particular aircraft, or group of aircraft, or "all aircraft", if the views are assigned to specific aircraft then one of those aircraft must be loaded in FSX/P3D.

Your FSX main window must have focus before using the key.

For correct operation your views should cycle (S key) between,
VC - Spot - Tower - Aircraft - External
OpusFSX sets each of these view types as CycleHidden=No. You should ensure you have not hidden any of these views by setting their CycleHidden field to Yes in the aircraft.cfg or cameras.cfg files. Also ensure these files are not write protected.

Cheryl

If in doubt just email me your CAM file and I will add a few for you to see how they are configured. But please read the documentation, add or clone a view, name it, position the eye point, assign the button and key (noting that not all keys are allowed), then Save Cameras (most important).

Did you create your view for All Aircraft or assign a set of aircraft to it?

After assigning any key and saving and exiting the dialog. You should see the key event in the Spy window if its been accepted and registered in the sim. Make sure the key has not been assigned to a different function in the sim and be weary that not all keys can be used.

And don't try and use the FSX menu, that's not selecting any camera, its just changing the view mode.

Stephen

[ther45k9 1]

OK, the issue with my setup is that I removed TowerView from the FSX view cycling group...and this is what prevents me from creating OpusFSX external camera views.   But the Opus VC views work great!

 

I had removed the TowerView (before installing Opus) because it was causing FSX to crash on long oceanic flights (refer PMDG777 manual).

 

Also I really like that PMDG777 FMC can easily with one click import the OpusFSX winds aloft data.

[Opus Software 84]

Many thanks ther45k9,

 

Perhaps you could re-enable the tower view now as Opus will allow you to create all the external aircraft views you need and the avoid using the S and shift S keys during flight, or even disable the FSX view cycling controls.

 

I will also have a think about what else can be done for those who prefer to remove tower views.

 

Stephen :-)