Does ChasePlane use simconnect?

[rooitou 119]

Hi, I'm looking at buying ChasePlane and can't find the answers on the product website, hope someone here can help?

I would like to know:

1. Does ChasePlane use simconnect?

2. Does ChasePlane change/remove any TrackIR files?

3. Does ChasePlane automatically disable (pause) TrackIr when switching to external views and then automatically enable (unpause) TrackIr when switching back to Virtual Cockpit views?

Any help will greatly assist my buying decision.

[Keven Menard 658]

Hi,

1. It does use SimConnect
2. It does rename the SimConnect.manifest files to prevent conflicts with TIR and the sim
3. TrackIR can be enabled and disabled on a per-preset basis. So it's your choice really!

[rooitou 119]

Thanks for the info Keven, so it is quite similar to EZdock then, in terms of its foundation? I was hoping it would not use simconnect, nor change TIR files.

Ever since I got FSX Steam, I've had difficulty in getting TrackIR to automatically disable (pause) so that I can control the external camera with the joystick hat, instead of it swinging around with my head movements. It works perfectly with FSX boxed, thanks to a little utility called JAB_FSX.exe, which runs in the background. It uses simconnect, but it appears that FSX Steam uses a different version of simconnect, because I can only ever get JAB_FSX to work with either FSX Steam or FSX boxed, not both.

I tried EZDock in the hope that it would overcome that and it does, but it is so complicated and convoluted that I got tired of setting up cameras every single time for every single airplane that I fly. I chop & change aircraft all the time, as I like to try out freeware ones etc and it is such a mission in EZDock to do it all over each time.

I even tried to use just one of the sims, eg FSX Steam as my showcase simulator in which I only have a few permanent aircraft with EZDock setup and FSX boxed as the get-in-and-go sim (without EZDock), but because EZDock changes or removes those TIR files, TrackIR doesn't work in FSX boxed, without EZDock also running. So, I'm back to square one.

So, I guess I'm really just looking for a simple quick-and-easy viewing system that will work in both FSX boxed and  FSX Steam, where TrackIR will automatically disable when going to external view and automatically enable when switching back to Virtual Cockpit view. JAB_FSX does that, but only for one of the two sims. I was hoping that perhaps ChasePlane would be the the answer, but if it works similarly to EZDock, then it is not.

[Keven Menard 658]

Thanks for your questions!

SimConnect is the only "official" way to communicate with the simulator from the outside. No SimConnect, no external camera add-ons. Some types of add-ons rely on FSUIPC as well but it does not suit the needs of a camera add-on. ChasePlane operates very similarly to EzDok in the sense that we control the cameras from outside the sim. We made it that way to prevent crashes and eliminate the VAS footprint. 

Now for TrackIR. The original TIR setup communicates directly to the simulator to dictate the camera position. This creates an issue when you run both ChasePlane and TrackIR because they both want a different position for the camera, leading to a constant stutter battle in the sim between both apps. The way we went around the problem is by routing TrackIR to ChasePlane, do the math and combine them into a single output to the sim. This also allows us to give more controls over what view preset uses TrackIR and also more options for the Pause behavior.

There is an option in ChasePlane's Preferences to dictate what to do when TIR looses contact with the lights/reflector or when it's paused. You can either leave the camera in the last known location or return the camera to the view preset's position.

I hope this answers your questions!

Regards,
Keven

[rooitou 119]

Thanks Keven, think you answered one of the important things for me and that is the ability to pause/unpause TrackIR in certain views.

The other thing which I'm looking for is a simple default viewing system (eg default FSX views or just a standard set), so that I can jump into a newly installed aircraft and be flying within 30 seconds. I don't want to spend 10-20 minutes each time I install a new aircraft, setting up cameras. While it is nice to have all that power and options for the occasional showcase, I really don't want to go through that every single time, especially if it is an aircraft I'm just "trying out" and will probably uninstall an hour or a day later.

[Keven Menard 658]

There are multiple ways to go about this.

1. Download presets from the Community page in ChasePlane
2. By default, you have an On-Board and an Outside view configured for you. You can customize this "default" camera with any settings you want in the Camera tabs. Right-click on an option you changed and "Make it Default" for it to become the new default for all your future aircraft. For example: If you want your default cameras to have smooth panning movements, move the slider to your liking and right-click to set as default. Every new aircraft you load will have that setting by default. and you won't have to mess with it again.

We will have a series of tutorials to show you around those features.

[rooitou 119]

Thanks again for the quick and thorough reply Keven, your support is top class!!

ChasePlane sounds pretty compelling.