Is there hope that VoxATC generated AI will ever use traffic schedules?

[bmaik 11]

I love VoxATC because of its ability to control AI Traffic but because it only uses the aircraft models of Traffic Packages (UT2, Traffic6) etc. and not their schedules it confuses other add-ons which rely on schedule information about the AI aircraft. The best example is Super Traffic Board which can't display meaningful information about the VoxATC generated AI aircraft. All (traffic-addon induced) flights predicted on the board never materialise in VoxATC and get cancelled leading to a very unrealistic situation where all flights but the user flight get cancelled. I would be in simulator heaven if VoxATC could implement foreign schedules or as a second best solution at least make its own generated schedules readable for other addons. Is there a slight chance that this will be possible in the near future? To be honest I thought that VoxATC is no longer in development since the homepage hasn't changed for years but now that Version 7 will be released there is hope again!

 

draci

[jabloomf1230 2,445]

The author keeps tinkering with how he takes the AI BGL traffic files and generates realistic traffic within the user's reality bubble. It looks like presently the 7.2 beta selects one time of day, parses the BGL traffic files and attempts to emulate the traffic at the user's location based on that snapshot in time taken from the traffic BGL files.

 

Unfortunately, it is pretty complicated to both use the original AI schedules intact and also both control and communicate with each AI aircraft.  Basically, the sim controls the AI aircraft using the traffic BGL files and VOXATC would have to duplicate the way that the sim controls the AI aircraft.  Or possibly, the sim could control all the AI aircraft but as soon as one entered the user's realty bubble, VOXATC would be delete and replace it with an identical aircraft with the same schedule. In any case, it is a major challenge. 

[vp49p3 216]

The author keeps tinkering with how he takes the AI BGL traffic files and generates realistic traffic within the user's reality bubble. It looks like presently the 7.2 beta selects one time of day, parses the BGL traffic files and attempts to emulate the traffic at the user's location based on that snapshot in time taken from the traffic BGL files.

 

Unfortunately, it is pretty complicated to both use the original AI schedules intact and also both control and communicate with each AI aircraft.  Basically, the sim controls the AI aircraft using the traffic BGL files and VOXATC would have to duplicate the way that the sim controls the AI aircraft.  Or possibly, the sim could control all the AI aircraft but as soon as one entered the user's realty bubble, VOXATC would be delete and replace it with an identical aircraft with the same schedule. In any case, it is a major challenge.

 

+1

[bmaik 11]

Thank you. So is this way of generating the traffic in 7.2 Beta different from what it was in current stable version 6.52?

[jabloomf1230 2,445]

http://voxatc.com/Home.aspx/Beta

 

 

Version 7 Beta

A public beta test version of VoxATC 7 is now available. The main additional features are:

Individual installers for each of the different types of simulator VoxATC supports, more than one simulator version can be installed on a system if multiple simulators are installed

Support for P3D V3.

Can run over a network.

Improved audio system with proper mixing of audio if two radios are active.

Parallel runway operation.

Improved AI generation enroute and on approach.

I can't say that I've compared the two versions, though. To me, the only problem with the AI that I've seen is that some don't seem to end up at the correct gates and ramps, based on their parking type (military, cargo, etc.) but this could be due to some airports not having enough specific types of parking spaces for a matching type of aircraft. This creates "overflow" where you get UPS planes and military jets at passenger gates. Since VOXATC controls all AI movement, it is probably something that needs to be fine-tuned a bit more.

[mikced76 57]

VoxATC AI traffic is just a mess to me with the beta (and almost as much in version 6) GA traffic is never generated if their is commercial activity at your airport (although that problem has been there since forever). Traffic keeps running in to my aircraft with the beta version when I hold like I am not even tjete (.....I have default AI disabled). Taxi bahaviour seem strange, unlike default ATC where aicraft hold when another is backtracking to start on runways that does not have paralell taxiways (only a taxiway connecting halv way to the runway). VoxATC AI does not care.

 

Mike

[jabloomf1230 2,445]

Yeah it's quirky alright. I keep the VOXATC AI Traffic level at 40% and the FSUIPC traffic limiter at 100 aircraft. This seems to cut down on the confusion for me.