Sharedcockpit in P3D with someone

[captain420 3,099]

Hello, can we connect to someone on here without joining OVPA and doing all those steps? I understand security is an issue, but for those of us who choose to not go that route, can we simply choose to fly with a member on AVSIM without having to join OVPA?

 

Also, with shared cockpit, we don't need to purchase any special add-on to get this to work, I see only a few planes are supported. I'm sad that PMDG 737/777 is not on the list. But at least the Aerosoft Airbus is. I'm guessing this sharedcockpit is a feature that is built directly into the plane itself? Which requires no additional software.

 

Is shared cockpit not the same thing as P3D's multiplayer menu where you can directly connect to someone?

 

I would like to join a sharedcockpit with someone as a "student", watch and speak to the pilot if I have questions, and assist if needed. But basically like to try it out and see how it works. 

 

I prefer to use Discord as my primary communications app. It's awesome. for you guys who don't know or have never heard of Discord, check it out at http://discordapp.com

 

It's basically the teamspeak and Skype killer.

 

Well anyone interested in flying together, let me know.

[DaveCT2003 1,820]

Aaron,

 

OVPA is a private group which is largely responsible for the shared cockpit genre in flight simulation by working with developers behind the scenes for over 10 years and by educating flight simulation enthusiasts on this incredible feature.  Today OVPA continues to consult and work with many leading developers in many different areas of flight simulation (not just Shared Cockpit).

 

As a private group, we are not open to just anyone joining. One can petition to join OVPA and from time to time we invite someone in the community to join (see the last paragraph for a potential change). In my 30+ years in flight simulation, I have never seen or been part of any group or organization like OVPA.  But it takes a certain level of involvement, and members must truly believe in team and teamwork in order to be successful in the group. To be honest, I believe most people in our hobby are better suited to joining a Virtual Airline where they will be part of an organization but don't have to be devoted to working with a team, at least not at the level we do at OVPA.

 

I know that's taking the long way around the horse, but in short, nobody has to join OVPA or adhere to our security standards to fly shared cockpit.  It's nice to know that everyone in a group adheres to the same security standards, it makes life a heck of a lot easier and less risky.

 

It takes less than 30 minutes, no cost whatsoever, and very little effort or knowledge (we've put that into the guide for you) to implement the computer security that I recommended in our guide - which is the same level of security that anyone connecting to the Internet should maintain. I just don't see any downside of implementing the level of computer security we recommend.

 

Being very active in the shared cockpit community, I can tell you that you'll easily find someone to fly with who won't care about computer security.  But I'll also say that the last person I would ever connect my computer to would be someone that who chose not to implement computer security, especially in this day and age - and that is not only based on my knowledge and background in networking, but from personal experience of seeing malware easily transferred between two computers connected via shared cockpit, both of which were running some level of computer security.  The risks are too great, as I explained in our guide.

 

Finally, I'm toying with the idea of opening up the OVPA voice server and creating a public forum for the shared cockpit community.  This would not constitute joining OVPA, but might help even more people to explore, experience and learn more about this incredible way of enjoying our hobby.  The only thing holding me back in the amount of time I have available to do this.

 

Forgive me from being long winded, but I hope I've answered your questions and perhaps convinced you to implement the computer security as recommended in the OVPA guide.  Either way, my best wishes for a great experience with Shared Cockpit.

[captain420 3,099]

Thanks for the information and I appreciate it. May I recommend using Discord over the ancient and outdated teamspeak or Skype. It's a modern version of teamspeak and it's an excellent and extremely easy to setup.

[DaveCT2003 1,820]

I haven't tried Discord yet, but it certainly looks interesting.  I've give it a try, and will be happy to include it in our Shared Cockpit Communications Guide (currently being revised) if it meets or exceeds the capabilities of Skype.  We do not recommend TeamSpeak for Shared Cockpit.

 

What needs to be checked?

 

1.   Non-VOX open communications.

2.  The ability to bind mute command to the same transmit key/button for VATSIM or IVAO.

3.  Used bandwidth does not exceed that of Skype.

 

 

I'll test all the above, and will report back.

 

 

Thanks for the info!

[captain420 3,099]

You can check it out here Dave, I highly recommend it over Skype and Teamspeak... I've been using it for over a year now. http://discordapp.com

 

It's very easy to setup your own server, and invite people. And it even has a free app for android, and iOS users as long as a web version for people who don't want to download or install any apps. The developers at Discord are awesome and always coming up with great updates and features and they listen to their customers. Very modern, clean and great user interface as well. If you need help, let me know. But I'm sure you won't. It's extremely easy to setup and maintain. You don't need to install any software to run and maintain a server, it's completely done on their end, doesn't cost a thing, and is totally free. 

 

Yes you can bind buttons for voice, push to talk, and other things too.

[Angelo Cosma 61]

Thanks for the information and I appreciate it. May I recommend using Discord over the ancient and outdated teamspeak or Skype. It's a modern version of teamspeak and it's an excellent and extremely easy to setup.

I use TeamSpeak all the time. I am curious what the benefits of Discord are?

 

Okay read above, neat I will have to try it out. 

[DaveCT2003 1,820]

Thus far it looks promising, but it also appears that each server has a limited bandwidth, which may be problematic in a large setting like the event that Aerosoft and I are working on.

 

What I need to do is test this with as many people over a long period.  You guys can help.

 

I've set up an open server. and if you would I would appreciate having as many people (interested in Shared Cockpit) use it as we can get in order to fully test it.  We're planning a large Shared Cockpit group flight with Aerosoft and VATSIM in the future, and may be we'll use Discord... just have to really test it first.

 

I'd appreciate you guys using this as a meeting place for flights or just discussing flight simulation and shared cockpit.  What I usually do is log into a voice server anytime I'm in front of the computer, even when I'm not looking for a flight, so I can meet people with similar interests (Flight Sim, Shared Cockpit, etc.), help them with technical issues or explain things about shared cockpit.  Doing this also helps to get group flights going. I'll be happy to help you guys add more immersion to your flights - there is a LOT of things people don't know about that I've learned in the past 10 years and 6000+ hours years of Shared Cockpit flying.

 

The server is "OVPA - FSX\P3D Shared Cockpit".

 

I hope everyone interested in Shared Cockpit will use it.  I won't be online until later today, though I'll try logging in from my phone from time to time.

 

Best wishes.

[captain420 3,099]

Dave, are you setting this server up on Discord? If so you can provide us a link to your server. Once you set a default voice channel or text channel that you'd like people to directly connect to, there should be a share icon to the right of each channel. Just provide us with that link, and once we click on it, it should take us right into the designated channel.

[shadyowl2 3]

Dave,

The link is stating it is no longer valid.

[DaveCT2003 1,820]

Okay, learning more all the time... here is a non-expiring link:  https://discord.gg/x4UfqZa

Edited July 22, 2016 by DaveCT2003

[captain420 3,099]

The link will expire after a few days... just send a new one.

[DaveCT2003 1,820]

You can change the link to NEVER expire... I've done that.  The link above is correct (https://discord.gg/x4UfqZa).

 

Thanks everyone.

[captain420 3,099]

Oh cool, I didn't know you can do that

[shadyowl2 3]

Great...Link worked. :smile:

[OSJJ1985 134]

I will join in, too later on. I've sent you a message captain420