Global AI Ship Traffic FSX and P3D News and Support

[KL791 2,273]

Finally, the beta has been released. It is for the moment available for those who gives feedback Please send me a PM and you will get a download link.

 

Below a few images from todays test flight among the icebergs in FSDG's fantastic new Nuuk Greenland scenery - it arrive just on time to have its' share of the traffic.

 

 

 

 

 

[KORDATC 80]

Looks Great!  Will have to plan a flight on up to Greenland!

 

Cheers,

Rob

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

P3D v2.4

 

First sighting of a ship (in travel)  in eastern Lake Ontario!

Looking great!  This is BETA

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following shot, confirms that marine traffic will use the St Lawrence Seaway!  Here are two ships...the one closest to my aircraft is just entering the head of the St. Lawrence Seaway...and the start of the Thousand Islands. The other ship, further out, has exited from the Thousand Islands portion of the Seaway...and is heading soon, out into Lake Ontario, proper.  Fabulous work, Henrik....simply fabulous!

 

 

 

This shot, shows where that closest ship is heading for...as you can see..into the Thousand Islands, and this particularly large channel...

 

 

 

 

 

I'm now heading myself into the St. Lawrence Seaway (Thousand Islands) to discover other marine traffic in play, as I make my way to Quebec City and beyond to the Atlantic. To my left, is that ship...probably heading out also, into the Atlantic, eventually....

 

 

 

Post Edit:  Well, I flew for hundreds of miles into the Seaway, but did not see other marine traffic. So...only Henrik can tell us, if there is traffic between the Atlantic, and the Great Lakes.  That ship was heading for...so who knows?  

[Christopher Low 5,353]

Any chance of seeing the "three Queens" in this package? You know, the three Cunard liners Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Victoria. Probably quite complex to model, but there is no harm in begging

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

FSX:MS, Steve's Fixer in DX10 Mode

 

Here is a new one for me...a barge, pushed by a tug-boat, having just passed under the bridge viewed, in the Gulf of Mexico...

 

 

 

A Tug-boad, heading out for some work, also in the Gulf.... (the models are very diverse!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, just off Friday Harbor...all new traffic...

 

[KL791 2,273]

Hi Mitch,

Thanks for the screenshots and comments; I must admit I have never been to Canada nor near the Great Lakes so I am not that familiar with the local names, but doing the AI routes is a learning experience, where Google Earth is simply an amazing tool. To do the routes you have to zoom in close especially when you place routes on rivers and in coastal areas - I start to know the quarries, the abandoned industrial harbors, the active industrial harbors, the channels, the bridges, the locks of the Great Lakes...

Basically there should be traffic now from Trois Rivieres to Chicago and Duluth. There is no traffic below Trois Rivieres on the Saint Laurent for the simple reason that Jean-Pierre, who also contributes with several models to the Global project, already made a couple of fantastic freeware sceneries with ships, routes, light houses and much more for the Saint Laurent available here: http://www.jpfil.com/quebecfsx/scenes.php  Jean-Pierre and I have not discussed to include his packages directly in the global project even if some of his ships are, but as his project for the Saint Laurent includes much more than just ships and routes I think it is better that you download his packages for that particular area. They were actually part of my original inspiration for the shipping project.

 

 

Any chance of seeing the "three Queens" in this package? You know, the three Cunard liners Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Victoria. Probably quite complex to model, but there is no harm in begging

 

Well, the Queen Mary is included in the previous package - Jean-Pierre did her in a light version - and there are additional routes for her in this package. There is another more complex model of the QMII available on www.fs-shipyards.org made by Mitsuya Hamaguchi - however I have no rights to use his models and I think he retired and have not been able to get in contact with him, so you have to download that model on your own. There is also a model of QEII by the same author out there - can't remember where I got mine.

Below two screenshots of the routes as they are now for the US and Canada. The routes on the US West Coast have been completely reworked, the routes around Florida also, and of course the Great Lakes have been added.

 

 

 

Apart from that additional routes have been done in other places of the world - more on that later.

[kmkc6403 8]

Seriously, my jaw dropped open when i saw the google earth screenshots showing the routes. Jaw Dropping. Simply wonderful work. Cannot wait for the finished product!

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Seriously, my jaw dropped open when i saw the google earth screenshots showing the routes. Jaw Dropping. Simply wonderful work. Cannot wait for the finished product!

I've been running Beta check for Henrik, choosing as many areas of the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico that I have had time for so far...and I wish to comment, that where for all the years of flight simulation, the largest fresh water reserves on the planet, as well as the salt water oceans, had been barren of any form of real world depiction, is at an end.  My first flight with the BETA, was two days ago, starting off from Toronto, and now in each boat quay, there sits highly detailed freighters. They look simply awesome on the Toronto, Ontario, Canada's sky line, as you take off from CYTZ, eastbound.  I banked right, flying out over the Toronto Islands, and there sat going in different directions, two more depictions of the so many different models, that Henrik and his partners have created, southwest of the Islands...plying their routes.

 

It was just past Dawn, with Active Sky providing the feed...that feed, giving me areas of cloud infused, lightning with accompanying bouts of rain, lightly, to hard driven, and a great mist upon the water/horizon. This mist, fog bank, yet far enough out from my plane, to depict objects upon Lake Ontario. I headed east...curious to see what routes/ships have been created to run the eastern portion...from about 30 miles out, to the start of the narrowing of the lake, that truly starts forming the Thousand Islands around Kingston, Gananoque, etc.

 

 I was at 2,800 feet...when cruising from Toronto, about 3 miles out from the coast...I spotted my first freighter, heading westbound, its bow cutting a wake, with bow waves, the stern churning out a long, long wake, with waves also peeling out, and black smoke coming from the engine stack.

 

 With the haze, some fog...and this ship approaching me through tendrils of mist surrounding it....practically brought a tear to my eye....it was a most real-world visual event, that envelops the mind, into the fact that you are out, flying above a real-world body of water.  You have to experience it, to see how it can emotionally impact you, as a flight simulation enthusiast!

 

When Henrik releases the final non-Beta version of the download files...it will be a day to celebrate, world-wide for all flight simulation fans.  Let me bang the desk, hard upon that statement!

 

I then took off from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and headed south, towards the Niagara River...over flew the Falls...and headed out past, and by Buffalo, New York, towards a fly over of Lake Erie.

 

I was soon not surprised to see this lake come alive with commerce. The effect upon the mind, is impactful, to say the least!  The reader will NOT be disappointed with ANY effort that Henrik and partners (Henrik will name them all, if he pleases to acknowledge their combined efforts!!!) have deployed. I traveled towards the west end of the lake, towards one of the busiest inland waterways...the mouth of the Detroit River...and yes...ships were heading in that direction.  They appear in Lake St.Clair, Lake Huron, and up.  The effort is beyond belief...

 

I then flew (some pics have been posted) out of KJKA (Jack Edwards) from the spot that I had just come back from vacation, Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, Alabama...and headed up the coast...to be met by some fantastic new models....trawlers, oil tankers just leaving the ocean drill platforms, tugs pushing barges (pic..) around the inner banks, tug boats heading out to sea for duty, a Coast Guard cutter, all plying their duties out, upon the Gulf of Mexico.  Simply...can bring a tear to the eye....WOW!

 

I haven't even touched the surface (excuse the pun...  ) of this update/release package...for I have yet to head out upon the east and west coast proper of North America.  I did one quick default flight, where you are flying the lightweight to the west of Friday Harbor...and banking also west...found immediate traffic (pic) a beautiful coast guard sailing-trainer Brigantine, under full sail...heading out from the islands, towards open water.

 

On, and on....was commerce, where there had only been dead, Life-fake, sterile water bodies.

 

No longer....

 

If you have taken the time to tweak both FSX.x and P3D.x's water visuals...the site of highly detailed, effect's laden, marine traffic out upon those water bodies...well...it is simply breathtaking, and will have many, many tuber's...running to their G.A. aircraft, for flights of 2,800 feet or less....for weeks, and months to come!

 

I will post more pictures upon this thread as I go....first to explore, N.A....then crossing the Atlantic to Europe, until Henrik releases the update/Great Lakes/other world location package to the general community.

 

Again...thank you SO MUCH Henrik and crew, for releasing this project for our enjoyment. For doing this, without any thought to monetize, and for personal gain, other than the satisfaction that you have 'finished' off the rest of the 'world'....the part covered by waves, and the reflection of the clouds suspended over them!

 

That this was a gift to the flight community; is NOT under appreciated, by any that have downloaded and installed it (the entire package).

 

Henrik, simply...tear-to-the-eye, for the visual enjoyment of it, amazing!  :Applause:

 

Mitch/Sesquashtoo

[Slick9 24]

Now that, Mitch, is what I call, "one hell of a ringing endorsement"!!!!!!! Sign me up!!!!  I am not beta testing but I have echo Mitch's sentiments from the little that I've seen (I just installed the packages last week and haven't had enough time to dig deep).  One of the coolest sightings I have has so far though, was from 35,000 feet, I was flying the right hand seat in a 777 heading from PANC to KDEN.  As we banked somewhere near Ketchikan, I looked down and sure enough through a hole in the clouds there was a ship with a beautiful wake behind it.  Pretty frickin' cool.

 

Richard 

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Now that, Mitch, is what I call, "one hell of a ringing endorsement"!!!!!!! Sign me up!!!!  I am not beta testing but I have echo Mitch's sentiments from the little that I've seen (I just installed the packages last week and haven't had enough time to dig deep).  One of the coolest sightings I have has so far though, was from 35,000 feet, I was flying the right hand seat in a 777 heading from PANC to KDEN.  As we banked somewhere near Ketchikan, I looked down and sure enough through a hole in the clouds there was a ship with a beautiful wake behind it.  Pretty frickin' cool.

 

Richard 

Richard, drop a few thousand feet, into a G.A....and do a 360 fly-around of the most highly detailed ships...and also...grab a twirly-bird...and LAND upon them (tanker with open deck plates)....shut down...and go for a ride/cruise. Yes...you can do that. Try that on a freighter's deck just outside San Francisco Bay...shut down the rotors...and let the ship cruise you RIGHT UNDER THE GOLDEN GATE!   It is only the level of interest, and imagination of the user, that can extract the full potential of this marine package. ))))))

 

I'm waiting to save $3-5,000.00 by landing upon a Caribbean cruise ship's helo-pad...and stow away on a cruise into port!  :ph34r:

 

Cheers!

 

Ses

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

FSX:MS Steve's Fixer DX10

 

 

 

Here are two ships...one heading (the red one) for, about 5 miles out, to the Blue Water Bridge, at Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, upon Lake Huron. The other...with good wake production, heading out into open Lake Huron. It just left the Sarnia River, outbound from Lake St.Clair.... Love that bow-wave, Henrik! Beautiful.....

 

As you can see in this pic...I am turning and heading back inland, toward the Blue Water Bridge, and the Sarnia River, towards Lake St.Clair...and over that...over the Detroit River...scoping traffic...and then out towards Ohio...  Am simply having a blast....

-----------------------------------------------

 

 

 

 

 

 

This ship was just off the mouth of the Niagara River, near the fort, in Lake Ontario....keeping the marine lanes safe ....

 

 

 

As I was heading in, to the Sarnia River...this boat caught my eye...just west of the inbound red cargo...so thought to fly over and do a snap of her....many diversified craft at any location. This one is heading to the American shoreline, just north of the the mouth of the river....

 

 

 

 

[KL791 2,273]

Hi

Thanks for those extremely nice words. I guess that most of us who do freeware our driven first of all by a creative urge, but also the the feeling of accomplishment when we see our projects grow and being finalized living up to or even exceeding our expectations, and not the least the recognition for a job well done. Your words goes to the great team behind this project - in particular the modelmakers and repainters Jean-Pierre, Knud, Erwin, Kristoffer, Alberto, Antonio, Sébastien, Lagaffe, Robystar, Paul, Manfred, and Bernard, but also all those who contributed with documentation, drawings, pictures, testing, inspiration, and good advice. I think we we will still need a small week to finalize, but luckily your pictures prove that we are getting very close. For those who wants to help with beta tests - your are still welcome - there is already ten persons working on the beta testing, but the world is big so more eyes can spot more things.

Henrik

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

To all Canadians...here is your proud Canadian Coast Guard (salute!), heading out from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada (I have seen her stationed there, as I eat chips under the bridge..and watch the marine traffic in real life), for patrol in Lake Huron! You see the cutter coming out from the mouth of the Sarnia River...and then subsequent shots. The Blue Water Bridge, is in the background, too far out to really see it...but it is there, just beyond the mouth of the river, lol. Click the pics to bring them up larger.

 

Post Edit: Henrik...is that heli-pad functional on the Canadian Coast Guard cutter?  Can you fully land and your helicopter be supported upon it?

 

Cheers!

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KL791 2,273]

Yes, the helipad should be okay - all the models with an H have hard helicopter platforms - it should be close to 80-100 of the models, where you can actually land.

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Yes, the helipad should be okay - all the models with an H have hard helicopter platforms - it should be close to 80-100 of the models, where you can actually land.

Thank you