It's maybe better to wait a bit until the dust settles down with this add-on, it seems.

I just had my first MSFS CTD in a while, while using GSX for the first time on a proper flight (i.e. while not just testing the tool itself).

Windows Event Viewer has logged a few (cryptic - to me at least) details about the cause of the crash:

Faulting application name: Couatl64_MSFS.exe, version: 4.8.0.4797, time stamp: 0x62fd088f
Faulting module name: Couatl64_MSFS.exe, version: 4.8.0.4797, time stamp: 0x62fd088f
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x000000000019add8
Faulting process ID: 0x2838
Faulting application start time: 0x01d8b3c72a373508
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Addon Manager\couatl64\Couatl64_MSFS.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Addon Manager\couatl64\Couatl64_MSFS.exe
Report ID: b77bf35a-1727-43f3-b943-ca9ab387118a
Faulting package full name: 
Faulting package-relative application ID: 

And...

Activation context generation failed for "C:\Program Files (x86)\Addon Manager\couatl\Couatl.exe". Dependent Assembly Microsoft.FlightSimulator.SimConnect,processorArchitecture="x86",publicKeyToken="67c7c14424d61b5b",type="win32",version="10.0.61259.0" could not be found. Please use sxstrace.exe for detailed diagnosis.

 

I never owned P3D, but I know that couatl had a really bad reputation, and was blamed by many for causing the sim to crash. I've also read a very detailed response to those complaints from @Virtuali stating that couatl was simply the messenger when a crash happened, and was unfairly blamed, and incapable of crashing the sim.

I'm also vaguely aware that there's a bug in SimConnect, fixed in SU10 (whose beta I'm not running) which would cause the sim to crash from time-to-time.

Anyway, not sure if anyone else has experienced this (it was only 20 minutes into my flight - about an hour into the session) or whether the above log is at all useful to help find the culprit?

13 hours ago, Bill A said:

via the gsx menu in msfs 

 At least you have a menu. 😉

 

Apparently my "node" still hasn't updated and I have old, bad files that don't even allow GSX to run.

 

Once I got through the download issue, it was smooth sailing. 

Jeez, I thought this program was mostly plug and play apart from the odd customization. Frankly, it so far sounds very convoluted to get it working correctly and requires considerable time to customize. And then there's the marketplace airport addon issues which is rather frustrating as I have quite a few. I owned the original GSX for FSX years ago and don't remember it being this tricky. I had been really looking forward to this but might hold off if it's so messy.

Some thoughts/brickbats: I've been an avid user of GSX for years and on switching to MSFS, it was quickly apparent that the Asobo pushback was a hot mess and none of the alternatives that have come along since have been very satisfactory. Toolbar pushback is simple but buggy and FS2Crew PBE needs tweaking at every gate, plus is next to useless for anything other than a simple 90 degree push. Trying to get out of a cul-de-sac or a gate at an angle will end in tears.

In FSX/P3D the default GSX push almost always worked - even if the tug swung around a bit funkily - but you'd end up in the right place. You'd be on the line or close enough to it for government work, as an old colleague of mine used to say.

However I tried 3 different airports at several different gates with GSX in MSFS and unfortunately in none of them would the pushback work without manual editing with the PMDG 737-700. First UK2000 Jersey EGJJ I discovered was using the default airport BGL because I bought it from the Marketplace which GSX can't read, so the parking positions, wing spans, spawn distances of the steps etc were all wrong. in fact the wing span of the 737 was too wide for any of the gates in the default BGL, which is obviously incorrect. Ignoring the fact that the steps were therefore spawned and parked inside the wingspan radius of the aircraft (bye bye winglet), the default push nose left/tail right was straight back into the grass. 

Okay so then off to Pyreegue Belfast which I bought from Orbx Direct and goes in the community folder, so GSX can see its custom BGL. However the left/right push was not really a left tight push at all (around a 40 degree turn) into the grass. 

Finally off to Flytampa Corfu, bought from Simmarket, so the BGL is also readable. I didn't get pushed into the grass, and I got a 90 degree turn onto the taxiway but the final stop position was a good couple of metres off the taxiway centreline. Even for a stressed out Corfu pushback driver in summer, I'd suggest not quite good enough for government work. 

Integration on the ground is a bit clunky too, with it opening overwing exits on the 737 (whoops, better called maintenance) and closing the passenger doors when they should be opening and I gave up when the GSX fuel truck showed up even when trying to use the PMDG one. When the pushback ends and the bar is removed, the nose of the 737 drops down in a rather alarming way, like the nose wheel has just fallen off. I know all of this stuff is down to the way the sim works and the doors are down to the config files etc, but I found it a bit frustrating. 

The other thing I would say is that at custom airports in particular, all the GSX stuff just gets in the way and breaks the immersion. Almost always the baggage carts, stairs, pushback tug and loaders conflict with scenery objects around the gate and they park half in and out of walls etc. I'd love an option in the config where the GSX stuff spawns remotely, drives up and does its stuff and then drives off, leaving the gate area uncluttered. Similarly the tug could spawn directly in front of the aircraft but unconnected, meaning it doesn't need to do Tokyo drifting to connect but simply drive a couple of feet forward. As stated above, the tug is often connected very early in the pushback so that option would be good too. 

During the turnaround things are busy - I just want to peek out of the window now and again to keep an eye on progress so I'm unlikely to see where the ground vehicles come from or go to and I must admit that the PMDG approach is a tidy one. Once the vehicles have driven away they de-spawn. From the flightdeck where I'm spending 99% of the time I'm probably going to be heads down in the FMC when this is happening, so it works. 

That said, once the teething issues are worked out and integrations into PMDG and Fenix etc are refined then this will be a fantastic program, as it was in FSX/P3D. Integration into the FSL Bus in particular was absolutely perfect back in the day and you could literally fire and forget GSX and let it get on with it. I'm sure we'll get there. 

 

I haven't bought GSX at this time. All of my Addon sceneries are from the in-game marketplace.

What will happen if I use GSX there. On the one hand, GSX seems plug and play, on the other hand it's not working with marketplace airports.

3 minutes ago, AviationFriend said:

I haven't bought GSX at this time. All of my Addon sceneries are from the in-game marketplace.

What will happen if I use GSX there. On the one hand, GSX seems plug and play, on the other hand it's not working with marketplace airports.

It's been explained if you had read through the topic, Market place airports are encrypted and cannot work. Hence yet another good reason never to buy from there.

10 minutes ago, AviationFriend said:

I haven't bought GSX at this time. All of my Addon sceneries are from the in-game marketplace.

What will happen if I use GSX there. On the one hand, GSX seems plug and play, on the other hand it's not working with marketplace airports.

Marketplace airports are encrypted so GSX can't read them. There is an API addition coming with SU10 SDK that may allow GSX to read AFCAD data from encrypted airports.

 

If you own any FSDT airports on the marketplace they will work, as the installer will download basic BGL files for them if it detects them in your Official folder.

It will be up to other developers to make their own basic BGL files for GSX if this SU10 API update doesn't work out.

 

the MSFS Drone camera makes airport and aircraft customization so much easier compared to FSX/P3D.

Edited August 19, 20223 yr by Tuskin38

6 minutes ago, Nyxx said:

It's been explained if you had read through the topic, Market place airports are encrypted and cannot work. Hence yet another good reason never to buy from there.

I know that, but I will surely not buy all airports again, as there are many!

I ask myself if GSX is now from the table for myself.

The problem is atm like @bennyboy75 stated it doesn't seem to read any non encrypted airports from the normal comm folder either. If you check the couatl debug window it will show only loading of default airport files from official folder. In addition even testing fsdt airport its showing official asobo Zurich loaded instead of installed fsdt Zurich. I'm confused. Either the own products log output is wrong or it's still not working as expected.

Cheers

T.

3 minutes ago, Torsen said:

The problem is atm like @bennyboy75 stated it doesn't seem to read any non encrypted airports from the normal comm folder either. If you check the couatl debug window it will show only loading of default airport files from official folder. In addition even testing fsdt airport its showing official asobo Zurich loaded instead of installed fsdt Zurich. I'm confused. Either the own products log output is wrong or it's still not working as expected.

Cheers

T.

There's a feedback thread on this on the support forums

http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,26489.0.html

So far it has read all my community folder airports that I've tested, but I haven't tried all of them yet.

Edited August 19, 20223 yr by Tuskin38

11 minutes ago, Tuskin38 said:

There's a feedback thread on this on the support forums

http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,26489.0.html

Thx heading over and commenting there, too. The more reports and info perhaps the sooner the problem can be narrowed down.

Cheers

T.

Anyone get the GSX fuel truck to connect visually to the PMDG 737-700? Or does it just fuel the plane with the driver inside and no hoses attached? I enter the fuel in the flight computer the and the counter starts on the truck, but visually the truck is just sitting there with the driver behind the wheel

51 minutes ago, edpatino said:

It's maybe better to wait a bit until the dust settles down with this add-on, it seems.

And maybe get some first updates for GSX - seems not everything is working like it should..

 

cheers 😉