FSX-SE Classic AI package to recommend?

[honanhal 1,420]

Hi guys,

 

I was wondering if anyone can recommend an easy (as in, won't mess up my entire FSX install for any other purpose) way to get classic AI traffic--I'd love to use one when I'm flying my classic airliners like the 707 or Tristar, but so far I'll found is this:

 

http://www.calclassic.com/AIAircraft.htm

 

Which is for 1959 (bit earlier than I'd like), and apparently has a lot of issues in FSX.

 

So, any other recommendations I'm missing? Interested in hearing about both free- and payware. Again, the most important thing for me is being able to easily turn it on and off, and NOT having something that deeply burrows into my install, in corners where I won't be able to find it but where it will still be causing issues.

 

Thanks,

James

[Bjoern 1,153]

The only option for retro traffic is retro AI, but it requires and entirely manual installation.

 

http://retroai.webatu.com/

 

 

Before you ask: No one made an all-in-one package yet because it's just about impossible to get permission from all contributors for planes, paints and plans.

 

 

The only issues with the Calclassic traffic I can think of would be framerate impact due to detailed models and the need to convert the flight plans into FSX format with tools like AIFP. Still, there are people successfully running Calclassic sceneries and traffic in FSX, so the incompaitibilities can't be that bad.

[honanhal 1,420]

The only option for retro traffic is retro AI, but it requires and entirely manual installation.

 

http://retroai.webatu.com/

 

 

Before you ask: No one made an all-in-one package yet because it's just about impossible to get permission from all contributors for planes, paints and plans.

 

 

The only issues with the Calclassic traffic I can think of would be framerate impact due to detailed models and the need to convert the flight plans into FSX format with tools like AIFP. Still, there are people successfully running Calclassic sceneries and traffic in FSX, so the incompaitibilities can't be that bad.

 

Thanks, Bjoern. As I said, Calclassic, aside from any compatibility issues isn't really the period I'm looking for (maybe someday I'll get desperate enough to try it). And sadly, I'm definitely not going to put together even a barebones set of world retro AI all by hand when I'm likely to use it at most a few times a year. Oh well.

 

Once again, this strange tragedy of the commons rears its head where permissions issues from AI traffic/models developers means they're basically hiding their own work in a drawer. Color me still mystified.

 

Anyway, thanks for your help!

 

James

[Bjoern 1,153]

The liberty of free licenses for AI packages has been revoked after a few individuals did not even possess the courtesy of crediting the original authors for their contributions and simply (and falsely) labelled everything as the fruits of their labor.

 

The "keep stuff in a drawer" thing is a bit of an exaggeration. All the models, paints and plans for retro traffic are available around the net. It's just a matter of finding, installing and compiling them.

[honanhal 1,420]

Both points taken, and I'm not in any way trying to excuse unethical behavior by those that don't credit the authors. That said, I know from personal experience how much time it can take to compile AI packages by hand. It's long, tedious work that's also easy to screw up (I understand that it can be a hobby in itself for some people, but not for everyone), and for people with jobs, families, and other demands on their time it's not likely to be a rewarding (or even possible) way to spend their leisure hours.

 

Look at it this way: many WOAI packages have been downloaded more than 100,000 times (and keep in mind that WOAI is still more end-user labor-intensive than a hypothetical all-in-one installer). Is it likely that the number of people who compile their own totally bespoke AI system by gathering flightplans, models, and repaints is even an order of magnitude near that number? So no, maybe not literally in a drawer, and no, it's not impossible to use their stuff, but I maintain they're still shutting out the vast majority of potential users by having such barriers to entry. And maybe they're fine with that.

 

I understand that it's as a result of people not crediting them properly--and it's obviously the authors' decision to make--but even so, it does seem like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

[rigatravel 0]

With such aircraft like the A2A L. 049 "Constellation" and the Boeing 377 "Stratocruiser" or all those aircraft from Just Flight like the Vickers "Viscount", the Douglas DC-6B, or the De Havilland "Comet" it is bad, that we have nearly nothing in AI, nothing on the ground and not really a lobby in the Simulation industry to look at this Retro-market...

I have not the time and the knowledge for search, looking for timetables and compile "my own traffic" ... In my eyes this is a very sad situation. I am not a fan from Airbus and other Nintendo-style-aircraft in the simulation lookimg for more the historical aspect of flying.

[jjf 23]

MyTraffic has a "time machine" option that lets you install and generate AI from bygone eras, with historical aircraft and paints.

[duckbilled 310]

Many years ago I tried to set up a retro world in FS. I had a good deal of retro scenery and I swapped out scenery configs to go back in time. I used a good deal of the stuff from retro ai and cal classic. Project AI also had some stuff. The toughest part is the repaint search. I eventually gave up.

[kiwiflyer45 123]

A compromise I have used in FS9 and should work just as well in FSX-SE is a kind of "limited option" approach. I created a folder of AI retro aircraft and classic flyable aircraft and use flight plans that put me at airports that are either from a bygone era or have not been especially modernized. I disable all the other traffic files. (Just put them in a seperate folder until you're ready to rejoin the modern world...)

 

Here are some examples - fly a 707/727/747-200 between FlyTampa VHHX Kai Tak and Thai Creations VTBD. I don't have to try to populate the entire FS universe with retro traffic but at those particular airports all you'll see are aircraft from the 1970's that I've acquired on AVSIM. There are other, mostly regional airports where it's pretty easy to do the same thing. It's true that you have limited options of routes to fly but you can keep expanding your options when you have the time and inclination to do so - Aerosoft Berlin-Tegel is another example or UK2000 EGPD Prestwick, both of which are largely unmodernized.

 

No need to edit your scenery/cfg file - all I do is swap over the aircraft folder and traffic files for some "golden oldies" flying for a while... Changing over is simply a matter of re-naming the folders with the retro stuff and all my other aircraft and flightplans/AI traffic.

 

Just a suggestion

Ian

[DaeronDragon 0]

On 26/12/2016 at 7:44 PM, jjf said:

MyTraffic has a "time machine" option that lets you install and generate AI from bygone eras, with historical aircraft and paints.

Is that the My Traffic 6 ?