1 hour ago, Virtual-Chris said:

So to follow up on this thread after a week of trying out different solutions, this is what I’ve found…

Good summary! Yes, it is a pity the not sanctioned method isn't adopted by the devs... I am sure everyone would be using AIG then and no one would even think about ST. Shame. 

1 hour ago, Virtual-Chris said:

I’m looking at other ATC solutions as well so a solution that can similarly interact with the AIG traffic in some way will have an advantage. I think my shortlist is down to Pilot2ATC and Pro ATC. But I’m not getting into airliners again for a few weeks yet so that decision can wait

Well, you do know that P2ATC and ProATC only have limited interaction with AI... Only FSHud has full interaction since it takes care of AI itself. And btw afaik FSHud can somehow even look at the AIG flight plans (so not only the models and textures).

I did compare default AI (using AIG models and tectures), AIG AI (Controller) and FSHud (using all AIG data) and they all have the same problems with traffic moving in an odd way somehow... I also notice the airport coverage is about the same (not every spot is filled). Which surprised me a little. So I am sticking with FSHud. I like its ATC, the interface, ease of use and now, with AIG data, also the AI. And it will only get beter (because it somehow depends on how the MSFS engine handles traffic). 

19 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

I’m prepared to put the effort in because it’s the finest Ai package there is and is completely free

Agreed! Once you know the drill it is easy to use indeed and it's the best! But imho it gets even better with an addon like FSHud that uses the AIG data to control everything AND actually interacts with it. (And doesn't take ages to load LOL) Which is a HUGE bonus. (Even though, as I stated numerous times already, it is in some sort of bèta right now.) 

EDIT 

The dev of FSHud posted some interesting information and tips in this topic concerning the use of FSHud and AIG! Specially his (up to now) last two posts! 

Edited August 26, 20223 yr by tup61

for those who have issues installing/setup stuff because of the UI of AIGAIM:

Remember this is a BETA Version at the moment, it is basically even just a technical beta, to check if the added functions/features do work. Based on the feedback we see that there are no mo major errors left so I have started to rework the design/UI completly incl. some new features for a faster install. In summary this includes:

- New extra Page for OCI related stuff (setup, install all airlines, update all airlines, verify setup)

- New extra Page for "OCI-Presets", so users no longer need to filter themself to get a basic AI setup

- Reworked UI layout and colors (Theme)

 

AIMOCI was designed for a small group of AI users in P3D, with the release of MSFS we saw a major increase of request to get it released for MSFS so we had to decide: Put out a Beta that works like in P3D and brings content (even it it is not as wasy as Plug&Play) or not releasing any OCI till we upgraded all parts to the new user-group 😉 Personally I think we choose the right way - seeing the number of users we have in MSFS.

For those whoe like to compare AIGOCI to ST or any other all in one package (incl. the copyright violations) you might consider reading this article to learn how OCI works and why we can not provide such all in one package: https://www.alpha-india.net/2022/01/25/how-does-one-click-installer-work/

Thanks for the info 🙂

I've just gone through the basic setup in the last few days and got AIG models into my sim for use with MSFS Live traffic and ATC - it's made a huge difference, so many thanks for releasing this beta. 😀

Setup wasn't hard once I'd got the basic idea, what would have been really useful would have been a few 'major-airline' subsets to select - hopefully this is the' extra Page for "OCI-Presets"' you mention.

Next step Traffic controller...

7 minutes ago, keithb77 said:

hopefully this is the' extra Page for "OCI-Presets"' you mention

I think it is. But in the end... if you want good coverage everywhere you fly you should download ALL airlines anyway.

4 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

I’m prepared to put the effort in because it’s the finest Ai package there is and is completely free although I have made two donations exceeding what I would pay for a rival product. The efforts of all involved deserves applause.

Couldn't have said it better! Once past the initial hurdle everything is a breeze. I've also donated. 

4 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Whilst the major airlines will include Boeing’s and Airbuses and those are invariably based on free to use aircraft models there are others behind a paywall. Unless you buy those aircraft they won’t show in the sim. They are identified as NO PAINT. I use AIFP to check each BGL and make changes where I can.

So far I've only downloaded the freeware flightplans. The missing liveries don't bother me too much. I had a quick look at the AIFP website. If I understand you correctly - are you checking the AIG flight plans with AIFP to identify the missing liveries, then downloading these as payware?

4 hours ago, tup61 said:

I did compare default AI (using AIG models and tectures), AIG AI (Controller) and FSHud (using all AIG data) and they all have the same problems with traffic moving in an odd way somehow... I also notice the airport coverage is about the same (not every spot is filled). Which surprised me a little. So I am sticking with FSHud. I like its ATC, the interface, ease of use and now, with AIG data, also the AI. And it will only get beter (because it somehow depends on how the MSFS engine handles traffic). 

I've been on the fence with FSHud since I first heard about here on Avsim a while ago. I'm getting to the point that I think I'd like to give it a try. 

1 hour ago, Kaiii3 said:

Based on the feedback we see that there are no mo major errors left so I have started to rework the design/UI completly incl.

That's excellent news. Thanks again for an outstanding product!

4 hours ago, tup61 said:

The dev of FSHud posted some interesting information and tips in this topic concerning the use of FSHud and AIG! Specially his (up to now) last two posts! 

Now this is very interesting! 

6 hours ago, Phantoms said:

I've made a free GA AI Traffic mod from the MSFS stock planes. You can find it at https://ufile.io/qlbzk3h7 for now. If nobody finds any faults with it then I will upload it to flightsim.to.

Thanks a lot for this! It seems to be working fine. Tested it at 50% with AIG also at 50%. First whilst parked at EGCC, EGMC and EGPH. Then a flight from EGPH to EGCC. I get plenty of GA traffic on the comms (they're not easy to spot in the air) and some parked ones. Since I have parked aircraft set to 0% I don't get more than a few per airport - so far I've seen King Air and 172s. 

Edited August 26, 20223 yr by Cpt_Piett

47 minutes ago, tup61 said:

I think it is. But in the end... if you want good coverage everywhere you fly you should download ALL airlines anyway.

Whilst bearing in mind that some aircraft are payware so unless you buy those they will not be visible in the sim.

I haven’t purchased those payware aircraft but still have Ai at many minor airports.

1 minute ago, Cpt_Piett said:

If I understand you correctly - are you checking the AIG flight plans with AIFP to identify the missing liveries, then downloading these as payware?

First part is correct. Where I don’t have the matching aircraft (not livery)  I look at the cruise speed and if an existing one has a similar speed I replace it using AIFP and recompile. Where there isn’t a suitable alternative I either abandon that airline or delete the plans associated with that aircraft. Then recompile.

I did investigate buying the Ai models but felt the price asked was rather too much given you never fly them yourself.

7 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Whilst bearing in mind that some aircraft are payware so unless you buy those they will not be visible in the sim.

I haven’t purchased those payware aircraft but still have Ai at many minor airports.

You don't really need to acquire the payware models. They are there mostly for those who prefer them for aesthetic reasons as there are freeware liveries that can be used in stead ( and honestly the model quality is not really inferior either).

As you say, there's really no need to install each and every airline available. Installing the major airlines should suffice to provide plenty of traffic even for non major hubs.

we are currently planing following presets:

Global Major (PAX), Global Major (GA), Global Major (Cargo)

NA Major, EU Major, AS Major, AF Major, SA Major, AUS/NZ Major

 

maybe later:

Gov and Military

 

Edited August 26, 20223 yr by Kaiii3

38 minutes ago, ha5mvo said:

You don't really need to acquire the payware models. They are there mostly for those who prefer them for aesthetic reasons as there are freeware liveries that can be used in stead ( and honestly the model quality is not really inferior either)

But it’s not freeware liveries I need, it’s the actual aircraft. The livery is painted onto the aircraft but without the aircraft there can be no livery.

If you mean freeware aircraft then that’s an aspect I haven’t investigated. I’ve looked at AIFP and its options for substituting another aircraft but it’s probably something I’m doing wrong as I haven’t got it to work.

20 minutes ago, Kaiii3 said:

we are currently planing following presets:

That will be very welcome Kai. Looking down the list of available airlines it can be difficult to spot the more obscure ones.

I hope this will be for P3D users as well as MSFS ones. 😉

9 hours ago, Virtual-Chris said:

and flaky (prone to crashing and all AI planes suddenly vanishing) that it's not ideal either.

Try running the app in windows 8 compatibility mode. That has made it crash less for me and others. I honestly can't remember the last time it crashed.

9 hours ago, Virtual-Chris said:

I’m surprised the default ATC is interacting with the AIG AI traffic. Not sure how that works, as AI Traffic is necessarily set to OFF

The AI injected by TC is using the sims own AI system. TC isn't controlling where the aircraft goes, it's just injecting it's own flightplan files.

There are a couple workarounds TC does to stop a couple issues, like if a AI aircraft has to go around it forces it to go back to the correct approach, instead of just circling the airport forever.

  

7 hours ago, tup61 said:

I did compare default AI (using AIG models and tectures), AIG AI (Controller) and FSHud (using all AIG data) and they all have the same problems with traffic moving in an odd way somehow... I also notice the airport coverage is about the same (not every spot is filled).

The airport parking issue is base sim problem regarding parking spaces, and something asobo did regarding airport services that they don't seem to want to undo.

  

3 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Whilst bearing in mind that some aircraft are payware so unless you buy those they will not be visible in the sim.

I haven’t purchased those payware aircraft but still have Ai at many minor airports.

There's no payware AI models for MSFS yet AFAIK. But I believe there are some coming soon.

Edited August 26, 20223 yr by Tuskin38

15 minutes ago, Tuskin38 said:

There's no payware AI models for MSFS yet AFAIK. But I believe there are some coming soon.

Yeh, sorry about that. I had my P3D hat on briefly forgetting I was in the MSFS forum. 😉

3 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

But it’s not freeware liveries I need, it’s the actual aircraft. The livery is painted onto the aircraft but without the aircraft there can be no livery.

Yes, I understand that (and yes, we're talking p3d here). There's an option with AIG AIM not to use payware and install the freeware model instead. ALL models to the best of my knowledge have a freeware version and most liveries available for the payware models also exist for the freeware ones.