Active Camera will be Sorely Missed in FSX

[OHN 1]

Your hardware is broken because it works just fine on my system.

[curt1 79]

I totally agree!!! I have saved virtual cockpit views with Active Camera in FS9 and cannot duplicate them within FSX. I don't want to have to constantly adjust zoom and my virtual seating position every time I load an aircraft. Having the ability to hit Control+1 or Control+4 and get the EXACT view I want was tremendous.I glanced at the SDK for cameras and it is obviously not something I can handle. As I said in another post, Microsoft got 80% of the camera thing correct, but really missed bad in this area. If Active Camera is not going to be updated for FSX, then I beg for someone to create a utility that will do this. I will pay for it!

[n4gix 4,956]

>Hi Bill,>>How do you move about in FSX? Say.. I want to recede a few>feet from the front panel. Just from the VC panel.. not>outside view. How would I do that. ( + and -) doesn't cut it..>+ and - does for everything. The front panel and the outside>view.>>How would I move a little to the right within VC?Manny, all of that works just like it did in FS9, and is in the keyboard reference:Shift+Enter = move upShift+Backspace = move downCtrl-Shift+Enter = move rightCtrl-Shift+Backspace = move leftCtrl+Enter = move backCtrl+Backspace = move forward>>How would I simply walk about in FSX?"Walk around" is one feature that cannot (at this time) be done.>I too miss the Taxi and Take off roll VC.. AC had it right on.>Like the movement when the front wheel strut moves down a>little more than normal because of a dip or something. with>AC, I had a strut on my front wheel of my Cessna and other>aircrafts."Head latency" (head movement) reacts to all dynamic axis changes, including ground bumps, acceleration/decelleration, banks, climb and descent.

[n4gix 4,956]

>There is no vibrations or>rattling effect i have been able to detect.Oh, you are referring to the "sound effects" of vibration, which AC provided. That isn't replicated in FSX as it's not technically part of the camera system.>read it again...because ive found no explanation from the>learning center which would explain how to save a customized>vc view (wherever you want to place the camera and then assign>a custom key to it) on the fly when in the sim. There is a way to do so, but it's available through SimConnect. The devs had to leave something for third-party folks to do... ;)There's already a dev hard at work building a plugin module that will provide the ability to "spawn" custom cameras "on the fly." >on a personal note, I dont really know why you think its>acceptable to speak to me in such a "tone of voice", but i can>assure you it is not. I HAVE read the docs, have YOU?...or>have you simply misinterpreted the features from AC i was>actually referring to thereby confusing the issues?I apologize if my "tone of voice" offended you, as it was intended to be a friendly gesture. :-wave As a professional developer for flightsim, I have to have read - and understood - all of the available information with regards to the product. It's a never ending process, and I discover something new every day... ;)FSX has a lot of new ways of accomplishing old and familiar tasks. It is inevitable that during the transition period there will be a bit of angst and outright nostalgia for the "old ways" things were done. It took me several months during testing to get used to the new "View Categories" and "View-Subcategories" system (the S and A keys). Now, when I fly FS9 I find myself wondering what the dickens is wrong with the "A" key! *:-*

[hangar 661]

>Oh, you are referring to the "sound effects" of vibration,>which AC provided. That isn't replicated in FSX as it's not>technically part of the camera system.>no actually, i know what you mean but im referring to the "ground turbulence" feature (i think thats what its called?)...and the effect are more easily seen in a video than in trying to explain it..its really a nice effect when adjusted just right!...your head doesnt move up or down or back and forth...its a subtle "shaking" effect of the cockpit around...before i got my buttkicker i relied heavily upon it for greater immersion...but used in conjunction with buttkicker the feeling and look is just fantastic i must say. If i had a server to upload i would give you a link to view a couple videos i made so you can see exactly what i mean.>There is a way to do so, but it's available through>SimConnect. The devs had to leave something for third-party>folks to do... ;)ahh, ok...so its not something that can be done yet from the live cockpit while flying.>>There's already a dev hard at work building a plugin module>that will provide the ability to "spawn" custom cameras "on>the fly." this is great news and ill definately be looking out for it!...so its not that the active camera folks CANT do it, its that they dont want to i suppose. I wonder if the new plugin will also offer custom tower view spawns as well?, if you hear anything let us know.>As a professional developer for flightsim, I have to have read>- and understood - all of the available information with>regards to the product. It's a never ending process, and I>discover something new every day... ;)well if you ever discover a way to add/adjust any of the features i mentioned "on the fly" from within the sim let us know.>>FSX has a lot of new ways of accomplishing old and>familiar tasks. It is inevitable that during the transition>period there will be a bit of angst and outright nostalgia for>the "old ways" things were done. It took me several>months during testing to get used to the new "View>Categories" and "View-Subcategories" system (the S and A>keys). Now, when I fly FS9 I find myself wondering what the>dickens is wrong with the "A" key! *:-* yep, hehe...the "A" key sort of threw me for a loop the first day as well, LOL...a little weird getting used to it at first but then it becomes habitual eventually :-)Dave

[n4gix 4,956]

>no actually, i know what you mean but im referring to the>"ground turbulence" feature (i think thats what its>called?)...Try playing with some/all of these settings to find your own 'sweet spot' for the vibration/shaking effect you seek.{DynamicHeadMovement} // 'square brackets' in the .cfg file!LonAccelOnHeadLon=-0.020000LonAccelOnHeadPitch=-0.010000RollAccelOnHeadLat=0.010000YawAccelOnHeadLat=-0.100000RollAccelOnHeadRoll=0.100000MaxHeadAngle=5.000000MaxHeadOffset=0.300000HeadMoveTimeConstant=1.000000BTW, you are aware that there's a "padlock view" option with the new camera system, right? You can "padlock" the view to any AI a/c in the area, or a specific runway, the latter of which is very handy when flying a downwind leg and beginning your base leg to final... ;)On one of my aircraft, I have a 'tail cam' and 'nosegear cam' set up and displayed as a set of spawned page overlays on my 2d panel's MFD, which nicely replicates the views you'd see in the Airbus's MFD... ;)

[hangar 661]

>Try playing with some/all of these settings to find your own>'sweet spot' for the vibration/shaking effect you seek.>>{DynamicHeadMovement} // 'square brackets' in the .cfg>file!>LonAccelOnHeadLon=-0.020000>LonAccelOnHeadPitch=-0.010000>RollAccelOnHeadLat=0.010000>YawAccelOnHeadLat=-0.100000>RollAccelOnHeadRoll=0.100000>MaxHeadAngle=5.000000>MaxHeadOffset=0.300000>HeadMoveTimeConstant=1.000000>On one of my aircraft, I have a 'tail cam' and 'nosegear cam'>set up and displayed as a set of spawned page overlays on my>2d panel's MFD, which nicely replicates the views you'd see in>the Airbus's MFD... ;)you keep proving my point Bill, lol...none of this is possible yet in a quick easy fashion from within the sim as when using AC. But in anycase, since i dont have the space (or do i?, how big is it?) to install the sdk would you have an idea which of those settings would effect only the "shake" of the cockpit?...i have no clue.>BTW, you are aware that there's a "padlock view" option with>the new camera system, right? You can "padlock" the view to>any AI a/c in the area, or a specific runway, the latter of>which is very handy when flying a downwind leg and beginning>your base leg to final... ;)yea, hehe ive tried that :-)...im really liking alot of the new features fsx has brought us.PS - dont forget to let me know how big the sdk install is...if i can do it i may opt for spending my time with that instead of here in the forum, hahaha.Dave

[Guest pem227]

I too ran AC under FS9 so I am having to adapt to FSX but I can already see the potential of the new camera system. Right now there is a lot that can be done by manually modifying a few files. As Bill indicated we just need someone to create a plugin to do the file hacking for us whether it be payware or freeware.Its really not too difficult to understand the basics of how things work. If you have the SDK installed you can read up on the camera configuration doc's. If not have a look at your C:Documents and SettingsusernameApplication DataMicrosoftFSXCameras.cfg file. This file defines the different views and the "S" key toggles for your FSX user profile. You can easily reorder the views and make changes to each one. In FS9 many people asked for a way to hide tower views from the view cycle but afaik it couldn't be done. Now its as simple as adding "CycleHidden=Yes" to the view options. I've now disabled the 2d panel and tower views so I can easily cycle between VC and spot views on my CH yoke! The other views are available from the onsreen rightclick menu if I ever want to use them.For each installed Aircraft there are camera view definitions in the aircraft.cfg file. For example, C:Program FilesMicrosoft GamesMicrosoft Flight Simulator XSimObjectsAirplanesC172aircraft.cfg. With these entries you can customize the external and cockpit views accessed from the "A" key toggle. You can add/remove views, change default zooms, angles, position, etc.Hope you find this explanation helpful. Phil

[hangar 661]

phil...how much install space do i need for that sdk?...and does it have to reside on the same partition as fsx?many thanks!Dave

[I132 0]

Alex,Make sure that you are not hitting the F12 button by accident. It will simulate the mouse wheel being held down. If this happens, just hit F12 again.Scott

[Guest pem227]

Its only 173Meg and 50meg of that is the gmax installer which you can delete if you don't want it. The SDK can be installed elsewhere and it will point itself to your FSX location during the install. Phil

[Guest christianholmes]

Ok,I apologize- the FSX mouselook is not broken- it just, well, kind of sucks :)Here is the problem:I want to mimic the classic Active Camera method, where you press and hold the middle mouse button to pan, and use the wheel to zoom. It was very intuitive and work great.With Microsoft's Default- You have to press the spacebar- so basically, when I am turning final, and would like to glance over and look at the threshold, I have to take my hand off the yoke, press the spacebar, and then move the mouse with my other hand. Who thought this was a good idea? I don't get it. I'd love to hear Ace's explanation on why they implemented it this way. Maybe I am missing something.So I tried to recreate the AC way of doing it- unfortunately you can't assign mouse buttons UNLESS you have selected 'mouse yoke' or 'mouse look'. So basically- none of the assignments you make will work unless you are ALREADY IN those modes. So there is no way to use the middle mouse button to activate mouse look- you would have to use either a joystick or keyboard press. And for some odd reason, if you assign it to a joystick button, it becomes a toggle (press for on, then press for off) instead of a modal button (press and hold).Once you are IN mouselook mode, and assignments you made with the mouse buttons will work.So basically, you have to press the joystick button to activate it, then you can pan/zoom, then press the middle button to deactivate it.That solution, however, is clumsy and sloppy- just not acceptable.So I have officially given up on the built in mouse look- I really hope somebody will release a plug-in to mimic active camera. Not too mention the saved views...

[Guest B1900 Mech]

Christian,I was able to activate vc panning with my Microsoft trackball scroll wheel push function, by going to start/settings/control panel/mouse,and assigning the wheel push function to activate a keyboard press,then going to FSX controls,and assigning the same key press to mouse view direction on/off.Unfortunaly,I cannot figure out how to disable the zoom function as in Active Camera:-(

[Guest]

I hope so too... I really really really really really really really really really really miss those Ctrl-# views and specially the smooth transitions. I've been flying the Mooney with the G1000 today for the first time and liked it but you really need to zoom in on the screens a lot to get things done: AV would have been PERFECT for the job... The way to set up views now is way too hard for me: I just don't get all those numbers and it takes ages before you can get something right (if you can get it right at all). I've been trying to create a new view for the Ultralight (zoomed out to 0.40 and looking down a little) but I cannot get it done. With AC this would have taken me 2 seconds...Well, let's indeed hope someone clever comes up with a nice tool for this all!