JoinFS multiplayer

[Jessica Bannister-Pearce 120]

Peter, I trials this with a friend and you sir are a genius. Super smooth, lightweight and simple modelmatching. I love it. I'm hoping to do a much bigger test on Sunday, but after issues using FSCloud and DafSIM, this fits the bill perfectly.

 

Jess B

[Peter Memmott 9]

Sounds good.

 

My last question then..

 

Are all aircraft able to be shown on the default FSX radar and if so is all info included like squawks etc?

 

Id like to test this if you have a beta version and need testers.

 

Yes, I think they will show on the radar. I use an external tracking program normally and they are shown on there. You should be able to see the aircraft callsign. Good point about the squawk codes, I will add this to the next version, thanks.

 

I'm going to start a separate development version soon that you'll be able to get from http://pmem.uk/joinfs/development.html

The stable version will still be here http://pmem.uk/joinfs/install.html

 

Thanks,

Peter

[Peter Memmott 9]

Peter, I trials this with a friend and you sir are a genius. Super smooth, lightweight and simple modelmatching. I love it. I'm hoping to do a much bigger test on Sunday, but after issues using FSCloud and DafSIM, this fits the bill perfectly.

 

Jess B

 

Hi Jess,

 

that's great. Thanks. I shall be interested to know how your bigger test goes. I'm looking at ways to reduce the stress on SimConnect for large numbers of pilots, but it will be interesting to see how far it can be pushed with the current version.

 

Peter

[Robert455 15]

Id like to test this if you have a beta version and need testers.

 

Hey Roo, you can just go to the JoinFS website and download it from the Install menu item. It's free though there is also a donate button...

 

I was just recording flights and overdubbing in VR and this is exactly what I was looking for. Very smooth!

[ark 1,288]

Peter,

I created a JointFS session and can see my friend's a/c, but he can't see me. Is it only the 'host' that needs to forward port 6112?

Thx,

Al

[Jessica Bannister-Pearce 120]

Try opening the aircraft box and selecting 'broadcast' on your aircraft. That might help.

[Peter Memmott 9]

Peter,

I created a JointFS session and can see my friend's a/c, but he can't see me. Is it only the 'host' that needs to forward port 6112?

Thx,

Al

 

Hi Al,

 

Yes, it only needs to be the person who creates the session that needs to have port forwarding. If you can see him then it is likely that the connection has been made.

 

I've had this situation a few times. Often, it may be to do with model matching or just that the aircraft isn't where you think it is, because labels won't show on grounded aircraft until they start moving.

 

First thing that your friend could try is to have a look at the aircraft list from the JoinFS menu, View|Aircraft. If he can't see your aircraft in the list then it's likely to be network related, otherwise it may just be the model matching that needs setting up. To do model matching you just need to select 'File|Scan for models' from the menu and choose the FSX install folder, and then in the aircraft list, click the 'Edit' button to select a replacement model.

 

If the aircraft does appear in the list then another method of elimination is to right-click on the FSX main window and view the aircraft in 'Air Traffic', so the view changes to the other aircraft. This will save you having to search around for the aircraft.

 

The other thing that comes to mind is to allow JoinFS through the Windows firewall when prompted, which usually happens when you first run JoinFS.

 

Hope this helps,

Peter

[TXHills 17]

I can connect to a session but in the 'Create' section instead of my IP address I have something that looks like a Mac address - 2602:302:d1f9:80c0:c904: ... etc, etc

 

I cannot change this to my actual IP address.  The address box is cannot be edited.

 

Dan
 

[ATC_Roo 1]

I've just had time to test this with around 7 other players.

We were all using a mixture of simulators (STEAM, BOXED, P3D) and all seemed to work very well with no lag issues detected.

Very nice program.

 

The default tower did not show any aircraft on radar.

I have a program that I created to solve this problem using an FSD network.

I ran this program and all the traffic then showed on the radar.

 

If you would like the code to implement into your program let me know as it would then allow for us ATC to control aircraft using this software and the default FSX radar.

It's a small amount of code around 2 lines that uses Simconnect.

 

Let me know,

 

Roo

atcroo@gmail.com

www.msflights.net

[TXHills 17]

 

 

First thing that your friend could try is to have a look at the aircraft list from the JoinFS menu, View|Aircraft. If he can't see your aircraft in the list then it's likely to be network related, otherwise it may just be the model matching that needs setting up. To do model matching you just need to select 'File|Scan for models' from the menu and choose the FSX install folder, and then in the aircraft list, click the 'Edit' button to select a replacement model.

 

That was it - but interestingly the only difference was that Al was in a Cessna 172 with a special paint that I had not yet loaded on my computer.  So, I simply selected one of the other paints and he appeared.

 

So the question here is - can you structure the logic so that if the paint (or, for that matter the entire aircraft) is not included in another person's livery that something (even a basic default aircraft) would substitute so you could at least see that person and then be able to change the model matching?

 

Dan

[Randy_Cain 2]

I was really impressed with the smoothness of JoinFS.  I was even more impressed with how easy it was to change the planes of those players that are flying a plane you don't have.  It reminded me of how easy FSHost was to use, only FSHost was neither fast, nor smooth...at least til the planes were a mile or more apart.
I echo the sentiments of those here expressing an interest in FS2004/FS9 compatibility!  I still use FS9.  I use it because there are many aircraft that I still enjoy flying that were never developed beyond FS9.  Many of the KBT Team and Bill Lyons models are in FSX in some form, but they don't work as intended, and/or have many of the original model features removed for compatiablity reasons.  Also, Golden Wings and Silver Wings never went past FS9.  They are art, not just a flight simulator.
Thank you so much for your hard work on this interface.  If you need a beta tester, count me in, too.

[Peter Memmott 9]

I can connect to a session but in the 'Create' section instead of my IP address I have something that looks like a Mac address - 2602:302:d1f9:80c0:c904: ... etc, etc

 

I cannot change this to my actual IP address.  The address box is cannot be edited.

 

Dan

 

Hi Dan, that looks like an IPv6 address. This has been noted a few others. JoinFS doesn't actually use this address as it's purely for you information. So you can still tell others your IPv4 address if you know it. JoinFS is IPv4 only at the moment, but I'll see if I can get it to show the right version.

 

Thanks,

Peter

I've just had time to test this with around 7 other players.

We were all using a mixture of simulators (STEAM, BOXED, P3D) and all seemed to work very well with no lag issues detected.

Very nice program.

 

The default tower did not show any aircraft on radar.

I have a program that I created to solve this problem using an FSD network.

I ran this program and all the traffic then showed on the radar.

 

If you would like the code to implement into your program let me know as it would then allow for us ATC to control aircraft using this software and the default FSX radar.

It's a small amount of code around 2 lines that uses Simconnect.

As far as I'm aware that's the best test scenario I've heard of so far. Great, I'll be interested in how far JoinFS can be pushed. There are no built-in limits and it uses minimal resources. It just depends how many aircraft the simulator can handle, I guess.

 

I'm wondering if the radar issue is because it doesn't send any transponder information at the moment. However, I've fixed that for the next version.

 

Ah, JoinFS uses Simconnect, so yes please! if you could message me the 2 lines I'll get it in for the next version. Thanks!

 

Peter

So the question here is - can you structure the logic so that if the paint (or, for that matter the entire aircraft) is not included in another person's livery that something (even a basic default aircraft) would substitute so you could at least see that person and then be able to change the model matching?

 

Dan

Yes, there may actually be a bug here, because JoinFS should use the default Cessna 172 if it can't find the model/paint. And failing that it uses the first one in the list. So it's meant to always show something. I shall look into it, thanks.

I was really impressed with the smoothness of JoinFS.  I was even more impressed with how easy it was to change the planes of those players that are flying a plane you don't have.  It reminded me of how easy FSHost was to use, only FSHost was neither fast, nor smooth...at least til the planes were a mile or more apart.

I echo the sentiments of those here expressing an interest in FS2004/FS9 compatibility!  I still use FS9.  I use it because there are many aircraft that I still enjoy flying that were never developed beyond FS9.  Many of the KBT Team and Bill Lyons models are in FSX in some form, but they don't work as intended, and/or have many of the original model features removed for compatiablity reasons.  Also, Golden Wings and Silver Wings never went past FS9.  They are art, not just a flight simulator.

Thank you so much for your hard work on this interface.  If you need a beta tester, count me in, too.

To be honest I didn't know how many people use FS9 compared to FSX version/XPlane as I only got into flight sims quite recently (I wish I had discovered it earlier...) I do know that FS9 doesn't use SimConnect, so it's likely to be quite a big job, however I will investigate to see if it's possible.

 

You are very welcome to test JoinFS :smile: There will be a separate test version available soon at http://pmem.uk/joinfs/development.html

 

Thanks,

Peter

[Randy_Cain 2]

Hi,

 

In my FS9 installation, I have both a registered version of FSUIPC v3.999w, as well as SimConnect.dll v10.0.61355.0.  I've used FSHost, FSInn, Dafsim/DafWings, and now VPilot as ways to connect in multiplayer sessions before...since about 2004.  At least those are the ones I remember.  I don't know for sure which one's used FSUIPC and which used SimConnect to hook up, but at least 2 of them had the option of using one or the other as a user selected option. 

If there's anything I could do to help work this out, please drop me a note.

[ATC_Roo 1]

I've sent you a PM Peter.

 

I notice there are users from lots of different communities here.

 

So if a large test is needed could we not specify an IP, Time and Airport in which we could all get together as FS enthusiasts and push this to its limits to find any potential issues?

[TXHills 17]

 

 

Hi Dan, that looks like an IPv6 address. This has been noted a few others. JoinFS doesn't actually use this address as it's purely for you information. So you can still tell others your IPv4 address if you know it. JoinFS is IPv4 only at the moment, but I'll see if I can get it to show the right version.

 

Thanks Peter.  We'll test that out.  I know my IP address and will use that.

 

Great little connection utility.  One thing I am not certain of - will an application like Plan-G show the others on line as well as the user's aircraft?  (This issue might be related to ATC_Roo's issue / solution regarding aircraft showing up on radar).

 

And Roo:  Greetings.  Hope you have been well.  Great idea to see if we can get a large group together to pressure test the application.  Will watch this site to see what gets pulled together.

 

Dan