Version 5.3

There is a new version 5.3 build 139 available for download.

The new version addresses two significant issues that were introduced with Version 5.0.

Issue 1

The first problem was a FSX load error after the libraries were installed that prevented FSX running.  The problem here was that I had accidentally created a reference to the latest version of the DX10 DirectX libraries (June 2010).   Most customers had this version installed either by

·         downloading and running a recent Microsoft DirectX installer

·          installing FSX Steam which ships with  a post 2010 DirectX installer

·         Installing another game which ships with a post 2010 DirectX

and so were not affected by this.

Unfortunately if you had for example a fresh install of windows and had then installed FSX from the original DVDs the DirectX installer on the DVDs dated from 2006 and did not contain the 2010 version.  This missing library prevented the Fixer library and hence FSX loading.  The small number of customers affected plus the similarity of the symptoms to a previous issue where some antivirus products prevented the library installation completing properly meant that this issue took longer than I would like to identify and fix.

Issue 2

The second issue concerns legacy models (FS9 scenery/FS8 Aircraft).  From version 3 to 4 and then to 5 I have made significant advancements in improving the accuracy with which legacy models are displayed.  Unfortunately the new logic in version 5.0 was only initialised when the shadow shader was initially loaded. 

So if the current time in the timezone of the default flight in the free flight window was night-time and the first flight loaded as a night-time flight then this initialisation did not occur as FSX had no need of shadows(!) and legacy items could then be displayed sub optimally – e.g AI aircraft tail lighting.