PF3 and any other ATC programme would have to have an enormous database of every altitude constraint at every waypoint on the planet. Speed restrictions and so on. A mamoth task and not credible.

Er... isn't all that included in the navdata you can get everywhere? Doesn't seem like a mammoth task at all and hence very credible: PF3 'only' has to read the available data. Does this mean PF3 doesn't work with for instance Navigraph?

You can change the traffic advisories. Mine is set to 4nm. Set yours to higher than 7 and ATC will go and make another cup of cocoa instead of reminding you!

 

Thank you but that didnt help still no headings other than the first two from atc - when I contact atc all I get back is your altimeter is at 984 over and over something is not right - maybe some other switch in PF3 gui

Jeroen,

 

PF3 has no link to Navigraph or any other third party database.  It can only use the FSX/P3D internal database (obtained through makerunways) and whatever waypoints are specified in your flightplan (which can be created by PFPX or another flightplanner that has access to Airac).  IMHO, SIDS/STARS are implemented poorly in PF3 (just as they were in PFE); but if you're flying GA IFR or VFR that doesn't rely so much on terminal procedures, PF3 may be a good choice.

 

MD

Bear in mind that ProATC is not ICAO compliant. Voice sets must have rigorous control. For example alpha charaters are never spoken on RT.

Actually I see POATC-X more ICAO centric then FAA. It uses terminology like Control instead of Center.  decimal instead of point, or holding position vs hold short.  As for it using Alpha Characters vs Phonetics, that is optional, you can change it in the sound options to alpha, phonetic, or a combination. The one term that is FAA is Gate instead of  Stand. There is only 2 issues I have with PROATC-X at the moment. One is the inconsistency of the voice packs especially with airline callsigns. This was primarily caused by opening the creation of such to the public. In an effort to increase the variety of voices to the product, Pointsoft provided a utility for users to create and distribute voice packs themselves.  While on paper this sounds like a good thing, in practice, this resulted in loss of quality control, leading to these inconsistencies. The other, which is more serious (IMHO)  is a current bug which they are working on correcting. At high cross winds at cruise like you see with the jetstream, PROATC has trouble compensating and will incorrectly vector you to the approaching waypoint, and it keeps nagging you until you comply, doing so though, you'll never reach the waypoint. Interestingly if you just ignore the nagging, PROATC does recognize you  reached it, and moves on to the next waypoint. Hopefully they will fix this soon, otherwise PROATC does a great job of getting you from gate to gate.

Well got a little better had 3 heading changes then contacted atc and it said 7 miles off of airway and never heard another thing - I was using default maul hoping I would get heading all the way to destination runway guess not - oh well

 

You will get initial vectors (unless you are using a SID), then told to continue your own navigation. If you go off track atc will tell you and expect you to correct it.

You will get initial vectors (unless you are using a SID), then told to continue your own navigation. If you go off track atc will tell you and expect you to correct it.

 

Ok I give up - getting silly hours of fiddling around - gives me maybe one or two headings after that nothing

 

Also I believe you can just let the program do it by putting in a dep runway and arrival runway but it looks like you cant use that feature in demo as you cant connect to flight simulator button is grayed out

Also noticed there is no chatter - is that due to it being a demo ?

Chatter is going to depend on how much AI traffic is nearby... there is no "canned" chatter, it is PF3 talking to actual AI aircraft.  Flying out of Moscow this evening, I had all kinds of chatter while I was climbing out.  I actually prefer this to the pre-recorded chatter that usually has no relation to where you are and what facility you're talking to.  Despite some of the criticisms, I find the majority of the voices in PF3 to be very well done (and you can disable the ones you don't like)... although one of the enroute controllers tonight thinks Lima is pronounced "Lye Ma", it gave me a chuckle.

 

I don't have the demo, but I'm thinking if the Connect to Simulator button is greyed out, you are not using ProFlight at all.  Are you sure you have the flightplan loaded?  PF3 has a bad habit of clearing the flightplan if you change any options, so you need to reload it.  To echo what was said before, if you designate a DP (i.e. a SID), PF3 will clear you via the DP and expect you to fly it after departure, it will not provide vectors.  If you do not designate a DP, PF3 will provide initial vectors and eventually tell you to resume own navigation.

 

MD

The more I am reading about this software, the less hope I have for it. I'll try the demo later this week when I have a chance, but it honestly doesn't sound too hopeful.  I don't like the idea of having to put in all the altitude restraints and such for a SID or STAR.  It should be able to access the navigraph data that almost all other addons can use and then use that. 

No one is asking for ATC to write my flight plan for me. I plan and file my plans on my own everytime I fly.  All IFR.  And 99% of the time I get a reroute of some sort, or a direct-to (mainly due to the lack of traffic at FL240-280).  Looks like I will continue to looks elsewhere for an ATC program, or continue to wait for the "holy grail"

Ok I give up - getting silly hours of fiddling around - gives me maybe one or two headings after that nothing

 

Also I believe you can just let the program do it by putting in a dep runway and arrival runway but it looks like you cant use that feature in demo as you cant connect to flight simulator button is grayed out

I noticed in your screen shot, that your flight plan has the cruise altitude 14000, but you set 6000 for all waypoints that had 14000. I have never tested if this might be a problem, because if I want my cruise alt at 6000, I would set that in the flight plan. PF3 might still wait for you to reach your cruise altitude at some point.

Regarding the grayed out button: If it is grayed out, PF3 did not load your flight plan (or discarded it, which happens if you enter the options screen). You need at least one waypoint between your departure and destination airports.

 

Before giving up or spending further hours of fiddling around, I suggest you try such a simple flight plan: One waypoint, do not change altitudes in PF3, use Co-Pilot mode 2 so you only have to make the initial contact to clearance or ground.

Also noticed there is no chatter - is that due to it being a demo ?

Oh, maybe you were on the wrong frequency? See above, VCP mode 2 might help you here to get started. If you are familiar with what PF3 expects from you, you can go to VCP mode 1 or 0.

To echo what was said before, if you designate a DP (i.e. a SID), PF3 will clear you via the DP and expect you to fly it after departure, it will not provide vectors.  If you do not designate a DP, PF3 will provide initial vectors and eventually tell you to resume own navigation.

And this is very important: If you use a SID, PF3 will not talk to you until you have reached the end of the SID, so you can fly it the way you want (hopefully the way it is shown in the charts :smile:, but PF3 will not nag you if not).

Jeroen,

 

PF3 has no link to Navigraph or any other third party database.  It can only use the FSX/P3D internal database (obtained through makerunways) and whatever waypoints are specified in your flightplan (which can be created by PFPX or another flightplanner that has access to Airac).  IMHO, SIDS/STARS are implemented poorly in PF3 (just as they were in PFE); but if you're flying GA IFR or VFR that doesn't rely so much on terminal procedures, PF3 may be a good choice.

 

MD

Ok, thanks. Think I will do with the default ATC. I mainly fly GA VFR but like to use approaches (if possible RNAV) which I select when I get near my destination. I do look at departure and arrival charts but I don't always follow them completely. I mainly use them to get going or to get a good approach to FAF. I do like to use ATC flight following to make the world come alive a bit. Saturday I did a flight at night and so it had to be IFR and default ATC immediately vectored me all over the place and I had to disconnect from ATC. I was hoping that PF3 would give me a more realistic experience but for my regular flights I think I am better off with default ATC. I don't see any benefit in PF3 right now.

so you can fly it the way you want (hopefully the way it is shown in the charts :smile:, but PF3 will not nag you if not).

Er... isn't it the task of ATC to nag when you deviate from the path?

Tried the demo with P3D 3.1, works as advertised.

But the Controller voice... uh, oh. E.g. the clearance got fired at me so fast, it was impossible to understand without looking at the text display. There doesn`t seem to be any pause between the words.

I`m not a native english speaker, but never had a problem with that so far. Currently I use MCE + RC4.

 

Hm, normally one would think, the best voices have been chosen already for the demo. Anyway, is that more or less the same with the other voices ?

 

I might wait for a complete video as well.

 

Mike

The more I am reading about this software, the less hope I have for it. I'll try the demo later this week when I have a chance, but it honestly doesn't sound too hopeful.  I don't like the idea of having to put in all the altitude restraints and such for a SID or STAR.  It should be able to access the navigraph data that almost all other addons can use and then use that.

You don't have to enter all of it!

Look at the PFE (PF3's interface is mostly the same for this) video on SIDs and STARs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qi6bZ5jVA0

If you want, you can stop at second 12 of this video. Then PF3 will call your SID "Delta Papa" (departure procedure) and your STAR "Sierra Tango". Fly whatever procedure you like from your charts/GPS/FMC.

 

As soon as you want more, I suggest starting with SIDs. Select the departure airport, enter a SID name for the most likely runway to start from, optionally enter the Alt Comp so ATC's clearance matches the altitude you expect. Again optionally mark certain runways as closed (X) or landing-only (L) if you want to make sure that PF3 does not let you take off from there.

 

Similar for STARs at your destination: Enter the STAR names you want, optionally mark runways as closed, optionally enter altitudes for missed approaches.

Again optionally enter STARs for your alternate destination.

 

-> All this information is saved, so you only have to enter it once! And just enter what you need right now, you don't have to add everything!

 

Having Navigraph data would be nice, but as PF3 only needs a fraction of it, this would add a layer of complexity that is not really needed.

Hm, normally one would think, the best voices have been chosen already for the demo. Anyway, is that more or less the same with the other voices ?

In my opinion there are much better (and slower) voices in PF3. I was surprised by the selection, but this is probably a matter of taste ... and it matches the speed I have heard in real-world ATC.

And if you really do not like certain voices, you can disable them in PF3's settings (I did this with three of the 119 voice sets)

I noticed in your screen shot, that your flight plan has the cruise altitude 14000, but you set 6000 for all waypoints that had 14000. I have never tested if this might be a problem, because if I want my cruise alt at 6000, I would set that in the flight plan. PF3 might still wait for you to reach your cruise altitude at some point.

 

This is an excellent point.  Rich, suggest you change the cruise altitude in your flight plan from 14000 to 6000, and re-attempt.

 

 

do I need a commercial 'voice recognition' software, or is there one built into Windows 10?

 

The Windows voice recognition is not ideal as it is basically listening all the time.

A better option is a voice recognition program that allows a button for push to talk, VAC can send a button press via Fsuipc and this is what I use with PFE and Radar Contact.

A Google search will throw up many more options for voice control for games, some of them free