Tuesday 22nd May ProATC 1.9.2.3 will (finally) be released. Let's hope that after the (imho) failed 1.9.2.2 release this one will actually work as advertised.

One thing that caught my eye was this remark: "ONLINE ACCESS IS REQUIRED to RUN v1923". I wonder if there still are simmers out there that do not have internet on their simming rig? In that case it seems you are out of luck. I myself do have internet on my simming PC but still don't like this requirement. What if my internet is down? Or what if the ProATC server (that apparently checks something online during startup) is down?

How many other addons require online access? I know ChasePlane does but afaik the new beta offers an offline option. I am a bit amazed ProATC is suddenly coming with this requirement now. And I also wonder what consequences this may have for current or wannabe ProATCusers.

Another issue: the update will be automatic if you are using 1.9.2.2. No way to stop it from updating. If you don't like 1.9.2.3 for some reason you are out of luck and stuck with it. You also can't use old data (from previous versions) with it.

It is unsure right now what will happen if you are currently use an older version: I am awaiting a reply on the question I posted on the ProATC forum about that. It seems to be a wise thing to at least make a backup of your current version.

http://www.pointsoftware.de/proatcxforum/forum/index.php/topic,3558.msg18109.html

Edited May 21, 20188 yr by Guest

Options>  Untick 'Automatically check for updates' will stop the update and/or backup your current installed version. If you decide to not update, then ProATC/X will continue to run as normal.

 

 

I find it ironic that an offline ATC program would require Internet access. Hopefully, it is for updates only. 

2 hours ago, J van E said:

Tuesday 22nd May ProATC 1.9.2.3 will (finally) be released. Let's hope that after the (imho) failed 1.9.2.2 release this one will actually work as advertised.

One thing that caught my eye was this remark: "ONLINE ACCESS IS REQUIRED to RUN v1923". I wonder if there still are simmers out there that do not have internet on their simming rig? In that case it seems you are out of luck. I myself do have internet on my simming PC but still don't like this requirement. What if my internet is down? Or what if the ProATC server (that apparently checks something online during startup) is down?

How many other addons require online access? I know ChasePlane does but afaik the new beta offers an offline option. I am a bit amazed ProATC is suddenly coming with this requirement now. And I also wonder what consequences this may have for current or wannabe ProATCusers.

Another issue: the update will be automatic if you are using 1.9.2.2. No way to stop it from updating. If you don't like 1.9.2.3 for some reason you are out of luck and stuck with it. You also can't use old data (from previous versions) with it.

It is unsure right now what will happen if you are currently use an older version: I am awaiting a reply on the question I posted on the ProATC forum about that. It seems to be a wise thing to at least make a backup of your current version.

http://www.pointsoftware.de/proatcxforum/forum/index.php/topic,3558.msg18109.html

I saw  the answer to your questions on the forum this morning , but after reading the answer several times, I still couldn't figure it out so I asked again on the forum.

 

I am not using the current beta version 1922 because it caused major problems with my P3D V 3.4. I am using PATC 1919 at present which works about 95%. I want to try 1923, but I am making a backup of 1919, so that if 1923 also causes problems for me, I can revert back to something that works. Apparently there is not a full installer for 1923, so it has to upgrade a current version. Does that mean that I have to install 1922 and start it up  in order to get 1923 installed, or will 1919 be OK for installing the 1923 update? That is not made clear on the PATC forum.  

By the way, in order to safely backup your current working version in case you want to revert back to it, make a copy of the Pro ATC X folder, and then rename that folder, Pro-ATC-X- XXXX  ( XXXX for your version number) 

Edited May 21, 20188 yr by Bobsk8

You can have two different versions installed side by side as I do currently with 1.8.7.9 and 1.9.2.2.

Edited May 21, 20188 yr by Nemo

Ok, what is clear by now is that ANY version of ProATC will be updated to 1.9.2.3 as long as you have the option 'Automatically check for updates' enabled. So it's not only 1.9.2.2 that will be updated (as the original information seemed to imply). So that's good news.

It's kind of odd though that there won't be a full installer for 1.9.2.3. So if you want to do a reinstall or if you want to buy ProATC you will have to download and install and OLD version which will be updated at the first start. Very odd. This will defenitely lead to confused posts of new users who (obviously) will expect to get the latest version when they buy the addon. I also wonder if this means there will be obsolete files on your hard disk. Odd decision to not release a full installer.

The question about the required access to the internet for USE of ProATC hasn't been answered yet.

Edited May 21, 20188 yr by Guest

51 minutes ago, J van E said:

Ok, what is clear by now is that ANY version of ProATC will be updated to 1.9.2.3 as long as you have the option 'Automatically check for updates' enabled. So it's not only 1.9.2.2 that will be updated (as the original information seemed to imply). So that's good news.

It's kind of odd though that there won't be a full installer for 1.9.2.3. So if you want to do a reinstall or if you want to buy ProATC you will have to download and install and OLD version which will be updated at the first start. Very odd. This will defenitely lead to confused posts of new users who (obviously) will expect to get the latest version when they buy the addon. I also wonder if this means there will be obsolete files on your hard disk. Odd decision to not release a full installer.

The question about the required access to the internet for USE of ProATC hasn't been answered yet.

I agree, with all the versions of PATC out there now, not having a full installer so one can do a clean install of the latest version is rather strange. 

Edited May 21, 20188 yr by Bobsk8

J Van E, I did not know you flew IFR. Though like me you were a low and slow VFR buff 🙂 From my understanding ProATC is IFR only? I am still looking for that great VFR and IFR ATC solution. Have had this hobby for over 20 years and tried them all and still my nr 1 VFR preference is default ATC with Edit Voicepack and MCE for voice communication.

Mike

12 minutes ago, mikced76 said:

J Van E, I did not know you flew IFR. Though like me you were a low and slow VFR buff 🙂 From my understanding ProATC is IFR only? I am still looking for that great VFR and IFR ATC solution. Have had this hobby for over 20 years and tried them all and still my nr 1 VFR preference is default ATC with Edit Voicepack and MCE for voice communication.

Mike

PATC is the best for IFR, for VFR you may want to try PF3.

Mike,  correct ProATC/X is IFR only, have you tried Pilot2ATC?

Surprised you haven't tried Pilot2ATC, Bob?

Edited May 21, 20188 yr by alpha117

5 minutes ago, alpha117 said:

Surprised you haven't tried Pilot2ATC, Bob?

Tried it a couple of times. Didn't like it and couldn't afford the voices at around $50 a pop to have some variety in controller voices.  Why do you ask?

 

Edited May 21, 20188 yr by Bobsk8

Just wondering what you thoughts were about it

15 minutes ago, alpha117 said:

Just wondering what you thoughts were about it

 The voice expense was a big negative for me. I also found that it used a fairly high percentage of CPU cycles when running, for me at least. I think that was mainly due to the detailed moving map. I also don't care for voice commands and flying with a headset on either. All just personal opinions. YMMV.  

Edited May 21, 20188 yr by Bobsk8

50 minutes ago, mikced76 said:

J Van E, I did not know you flew IFR. Though like me you were a low and slow VFR buff 🙂 From my understanding ProATC is IFR only? I am still looking for that great VFR and IFR ATC solution. Have had this hobby for over 20 years and tried them all and still my nr 1 VFR preference is default ATC with Edit Voicepack and MCE for voice communication.

Mike

Yes, I do both. Whenever I get tired of flying IFR, mainly focusing on the instruments, I start flying VFR again, which might entertain me for a few hours or a few months. And whenever I get tired of that again I switch back to flying high and dry. Which also might entertain me for a few hours of a few months. 😄 Flying IFR is like a totally different game to me than flying VFR. Lately I fly IFR much more because of the superb Majestic Q400: I simply love how it keeps me entertained during the entire flight. It needs a lot of manual input. It is also suited for shorter domestic flights. It somehow magically combines the best of both worlds (IFR and VFR) in one plane, at least for me.

But anyway, I also prefer and use default ATC (or none at all) with (pure) VFR. For IFR ProATC is king imho. I seriously can't imagine flying IFR without ProATC.

EDIT
It also has been confirmed an internet connection is required if you want to use ProATC. Not something I like but I can live with it. But it will definitely be something some users (which don't have internet on their simming PC) will have to take into account!

Edited May 21, 20188 yr by Guest