Simstarter for P3D?

[Jack_Sawyer 4,600]

I thought I saw something in the introduction where it said programs like SimStarter would not be recommended.  I did a search here and found some people using but I didn't want to hijack the VAS thread someone started so I thought I'd start a new post.

 

Will SimStarter be compatible with PMDG's Queen?

 

Thanks for any replies, I appreciate it.

 

 

[downscc 1,327]

It's not tested and it's not supported.  You're on your own.

I just read the product sale pitch at SimMarket and it's not something I would put on my computer.  If it does anything to aircraft.cfg files then I'd say do not use it.

[Jack_Sawyer 4,600]

Ok, thanks.

[RichieFly 728]

OTOH, I use it. I find it quite useful for having differing config files for different aircraft.

 

For example, the FSL A320 need extra care to not run out of VAS, where the PMDG aircraft are more VAS friendly. I can add more stuff and higher settings. You pick a profile and off you go. Likewise, you can load module items you only need for a given aircraft, further optimizing your configuration. If you fly a variety of aircraft each with its own DLL.XML and EXE.XML needs, this tool is a godsend.

 

Is it without problems? No. But largely it works very well. It can be qwerkie; for example, one profile consistently set my time/date wrong even though I have set that profile to not set the date/time.

 

Yes. You would be 'on your own' but really, aren't we all already on our own?

 

Note: I'm talking about the payware version. The freeware is no longer supported and using it would be a bad idea.

Edited February 6, 2017 by RichieFly

[Jack_Sawyer 4,600]

Thanks Richard!  I just watched Froogle review the NG version and he likes it and he uses it for the NGX so it can't be all bad.  I was mainly wondering about decreasing VAS by shutting some Orbx areas off not modifying aircraft.cfg files in any way manner shape or form.

[RichieFly 728]

Jack,

 

This feature I haven't tried. But there's a means of shutting off certain scenery and using that modified scenery set in a given profile.

 

I should try this out; last night I was flying EGCC to LOWW in the A320x and ran out of VAS just as it was getting interesting (TOD). I had installed Orbx Europe the day before. Wonder if this was the cause? Or flying too close to LFPG...

 

Nothing worse that running out of memory after a 2 hr flight 

[Jack_Sawyer 4,600]

Thank you Richie, you have been most helpful, kind, and gracious. I appreciate it.

[guenseli 1,591]

I don't know why they do not recommend it ... really?

 

simStarter does just make an edit in the aircraft.cfg if you use its livery editor to change the order or to switch off liveries.

What does also do no harm, beside PMDG OC will complain about their lovely original paints (something I never understood why you couldn't uninstall them.)

 

I use simStarter for every single flight and have never had a PMDG problem. In opposite: saves VAS and Frames when switching off unneeded stuff when flying airliner instead of VFR

[rdtv91 73]

I use it with FSLabs Airbus, PMDG 737/777/747 and majestic as well as a few a2A planes, I have a profile for each aircraft I fly and use custom controls file so my 2 throttles are actually 2 levers in 737/777 but in 747 the 1 throttle controls 4, it's such a handy utility

In addition I have different autopen settings depending on the flying with extremely dense for VFR and only dense for 737 and normal for slabs - likewise scenery library with a2a profile I have full orbx regions but airliners I have it using OpenLC only really.

 

One additional handy feature is it also loads up ActiveSky, TrackIR, vPilot (Vatsim) and Chaseplane then closes them afterwards, it's like a one click solution for all my add ons!

[Woozie 732]

Personally, Simstarter is one of my 5 best addon purchases i ever made, i couldn't fly without it anymore.  It makes switching between addon aircraft a breeze, and as already mentioned, the profile based scenery configs help to keep VAS usage in check. 

 

I've set separate profiles per addon, this is what happens when i switch from PMDG 747 to the FSLabs A320 and launch P3D via Simstarter:

 

• It changes my prepar3d.cfg to a slightly toned down version to cater for the higher system load of the FSL320
• It slightly changes AS16 settings for the same reason as above
• It sets my DLL.ini and EXE.ini according to the aircraft i'm using to keep the system tidy and reduce loading times. If i run the PMDG it will disable all the FSL DLLs including FSL Spotlights and any other addons i dont use with that particular plane
• It changes the PAX weights for PFPX, TOPCAT and FSCaptain from 195lbs to 185lbs using reg files and pre-set ini-files
• It changes the GSX max boarding time according to the typical turnaround times for this aircraft type (747 = 17 minutes / A320 = 12 minutes)
• It sets the scenery config to only use Airports, Landclass textures and Mesh for the region i'm flying in
• It launches external addons based on the profile with the ability to launch an addon with P3D or once P3D has loaded the scenery. You can also set affinity masks per addon
• It kills all unecessary background tasks (set manually) and optionally restarts them after P3D closes

 

In its most recent version you can even set different settings for FSUIPC's traffic manager, which can also help to deal with VAS hungry addons (didnt try this yet)

 

It takes some time to set everything up and adjust it to your personal preferences, but once thats done its something you dont wanna miss anymore

 

I dont use the aircraft livery switching though, so dont know if can cause issues by corrupting aircraft configs, however it usually always creates a backup of an existing file if it changes anything 

[Jack_Sawyer 4,600]

Personally, Simstarter is one of my 5 best addon purchases i ever made, i couldn't fly without it anymore.  It makes switching between addon aircraft a breeze, and as already mentioned, the profile based scenery configs help to keep VAS usage in check. 

 

I've set separate profiles per addon, this is what happens when i switch from PMDG 747 to the FSLabs A320 and launch P3D via Simstarter:

 

• It changes my prepar3d.cfg to a slightly toned down version to cater for the higher system load of the FSL320
• It slightly changes AS16 settings for the same reason as above
• It sets my DLL.ini and EXE.ini according to the aircraft i'm using to keep the system tidy and reduce loading times. If i run the PMDG it will disable all the FSL DLLs including FSL Spotlights and any other addons i dont use with that particular plane
• It changes the PAX weights for PFPX, TOPCAT and FSCaptain from 195lbs to 185lbs using reg files and pre-set ini-files
• It changes the GSX max boarding time according to the typical turnaround times for this aircraft type (747 = 17 minutes / A320 = 12 minutes)
• It sets the scenery config to only use Airports, Landclass textures and Mesh for the region i'm flying in
• It launches external addons based on the profile with the ability to launch an addon with P3D or once P3D has loaded the scenery. You can also set affinity masks per addon
• It kills all unecessary background tasks (set manually) and optionally restarts them after P3D closes

 

In its most recent version you can even set different settings for FSUIPC's traffic manager, which can also help to deal with VAS hungry addons (didnt try this yet)

 

It takes some time to set everything up and adjust it to your personal preferences, but once thats done its something you dont wanna miss anymore

 

I dont use the aircraft livery switching though, so dont know if can cause issues by corrupting aircraft configs, however it usually always creates a backup of an existing file if it changes anything 

 

Is there any way you could PM me your profiles so I can look at how you did and maybe to modify them for my setup?

 

Thanks.

[Woozie 732]

Is there any way you could PM me your profiles so I can look at how you did and maybe to modify them for my setup?

 

Thanks.

 

Sure, i'll put the files together next time i'm on my sim rig. Might be Friday though. 

[Jack_Sawyer 4,600]

Sure, i'll put the files together next time i'm on my sim rig. Might be Friday though. 

 

Thanks woozie!  I'll very much appreciate it.