Taxiway Names Do NOT Match Real Life

[FlyingInACessna 656]

I'm reading on the MSFS forums that taxiway names are randomly generated and do not match IRL airports. This is a huge issue for people like me who fly on VATSIM to airports we are less familiar with. I use an AFD while I'm taxiing, but not seeing the correct taxiway lettering is a huge bummer. Even FSX had accurate taxiway markings on first download. Has anyone in the sim been able to confirm that this is the case? My download is progressing at the slowest rate it could possibly be going, so I can't check right now.

Asobo, this is a big item on the list to fix / add - it's really important to a lot of us that these markings are correct. Incorrect taxiway markings are almost like runways being named incorrectly (obviously not quite at the same scope, but it's a big issue)...

There are a few ways to fix this:

(1) Find a way using AI to go through airport charts and match taxiways to their names

(2) Manually have a team rush through each airport file (like they did when they were created) and apply taxiway lettering

(3) Implement a scenery gateway system like X-Plane has where users can modify scenery using a world editor and upload it for MS to approve and publish to the sim

Very excited for the sim, but hearing this is a bit disappointing 😕

Edited August 18, 2020 by FlyingInACessna

[austinrc 5]

Hadn't noticed this yet, definitely a big deal...

[FlyingInACessna 656]

Just now, austinrc said:

Hadn't noticed this yet, definitely a big deal...

Could you maybe check out some larger non-handcrafted airports and see if the taxiway markings match? I've read this in several places but I really would like some verification. It's very hard to tell by watching YT videos, and in most videos I've seen A is the only taxiway shown.

Edited August 18, 2020 by FlyingInACessna

[austinrc 5]

1 minute ago, FlyingInACessna said:

Could you maybe check out some larger non-handcrafted airports and see if the taxiway markings match? I've read this in several places but I really would like some verification. It's very hard to tell by watching YT videos, and in most videos I've seen A is the only taxiway shown.

Will do, give me 10 minutes

[suncoastflyer 685]

You shouldn't be surprised. It was known a long time back that 'generic' airports will have procedurally generated taxiway signage. All it will take is for users to use the SDK to edit the taxiway signage, ideally a simple job.

(At least they didn't launch the sim with flat airports everywhere and relied on the user base to do all the airport developing)

[FlyingInACessna 656]

2 minutes ago, suncoastflyer said:

You shouldn't be surprised. It was known a long time back that 'generic' airports will have procedurally generated taxiway signage. All it will take is for users to use the SDK to edit the taxiway signage, ideally a simple job.

(At least they didn't launch the sim with flat airports everywhere and relied on the user base to do all the airport developing)

My biggest hope is that they at least create a native way to download updated AFCADs (or whatever file system they use now for airport layout) much like XP's gateway system so that we don't have to worry about searching online for every single airport we'd like to have...

[JRBarrett 3,193]

16 minutes ago, FlyingInACessna said:

I'm reading on the MSFS forums that taxiway names are randomly generated and do not match IRL airports. This is a huge issue for people like me who fly on VATSIM to airports we are less familiar with. I use an AFD while I'm taxiing, but not seeing the correct taxiway lettering is a huge bummer. Even FSX had accurate taxiway markings on first download. Has anyone in the sim been able to confirm that this is the case? My download is progressing at the slowest rate it could possibly be going, so I can't check right now.

Asobo, this is a big item on the list to fix / add - it's really important to a lot of us that these markings are correct. Incorrect taxiway markings are almost like runways being named incorrectly (obviously not quite at the same scope, but it's a big issue)...

There are a few ways to fix this:

(1) Find a way using AI to go through airport charts and match taxiways to their names

(2) Manually have a team rush through each airport file (like they did when they were created) and apply taxiway lettering

(3) Implement a scenery gateway system like X-Plane has where users can modify scenery using a world editor and upload it for MS to approve and publish to the sim

Very excited for the sim, but hearing this is a bit disappointing 😕

The reports are correct. At non-handcrafted airports, the taxiways are created “procedurally” from Bing imagery, which is to say that while the physical layout may be correct, the taxiway naming conventions may not be.

Runways are normally correct, because the numbers are usually visible in aerial imagery, and even when the numbers are not clear, airport data records for most countries give detailed information about runways, but very few if any databases exist that have detailed taxiway information. 

Edited August 18, 2020 by JRBarrett

[suncoastflyer 685]

I agree, a freeware tab in the Marketplace would be superb. It would need heavy moderation though to keep up with quality.

[austinrc 5]

11 minutes ago, FlyingInACessna said:

Could you maybe check out some larger non-handcrafted airports and see if the taxiway markings match? I've read this in several places but I really would like some verification. It's very hard to tell by watching YT videos, and in most videos I've seen A is the only taxiway shown.

Yep. Totally random.

[FlyingInACessna 656]

3 minutes ago, JRBarrett said:

The reports are correct. At non-handcrafted airports, the taxiways are created “procedurally” from Bing imagery, which is to say that the physical layout may be correct, the taxiway naming conventions are not.

Runways are normally correct, because the numbers are usually visible in aerial imagery, and even when the numbers are not clear, airport data records for most countries give detailed information about runways, but very few if any databases exist that have detailed taxiway information. 

I feel like there must be a way to invent an AI solution that can scan files like this https://skyvector.com/files/tpp/2009/pdf/00289AD.PDF and name the taxiways accordingly....

 

  

1 minute ago, austinrc said:

Yep. Totally random.

😞

Edited August 18, 2020 by FlyingInACessna

[JRBarrett 3,193]

1 minute ago, FlyingInACessna said:

My biggest hope is that they at least create a native way to download updated AFCADs (or whatever file system they use now for airport layout) much like XP's gateway system so that we don't have to worry about searching online for every single airport we'd like to have...

Something like the XP scenery gateway would be ideal, since end-user edits could be pushed to all MSFS users (after any edited airports are double-checked for accuracy by MS/Asobo). One advantage to having a simulator where content is streamed and easily updatable.

[Emerson67 248]

15 minutes ago, FlyingInACessna said:

(3) Implement a scenery gateway system like X-Plane has where users can modify scenery using a world editor and upload it for MS to approve and publish to the sim

The intelligent way

[OzWhitey 3,353]

6 minutes ago, suncoastflyer said:

You shouldn't be surprised. It was known a long time back that 'generic' airports will have procedurally generated taxiway signage. All it will take is for users to use the SDK to edit the taxiway signage, ideally a simple job.

(At least they didn't launch the sim with flat airports everywhere and relied on the user base to do all the airport developing)

No competing sim has this problem. P3D, X-plane and even FSX-SE have properly named taxiways. The fact that another sim was missing this feature years ago does not excuse Asobo. It’s a surprising design choice that’s going to cause a fair bit of hassle for a lot of people.

[Azapata87 173]

1 minute ago, OzWhitey said:

No competing sim has this problem. P3D, X-plane and even FSX-SE have properly named taxiways. The fact that another sim was missing this feature years ago does not excuse Asobo. It’s a surprising design choice that’s going to cause a fair bit of hassle for a lot of people.

Agreed, love the sim but this is not excusable IMO. Hopefully it is updated as this should not be a community fix. Default airports in old sims had accurate taxiways.

[spearmint_flyer 580]

My biggest one that I was scratching my head on was the Handcrafted JFK has random names for the Gates. Like whats the point of hand crafted if you can't get the gate number right? Also at JFK the taxiway signs are literally in the middle of the taxiway. Like really? Hand crafted?

 

I'm not trying to be negative. I love this sim but makes me feel like I spent an additional 70 dollars for half a** on some things. 

Edited August 18, 2020 by Alcides Segovia