I have been evaluating various AI Traffic options for msfs and i think i have found a winner. I started out with the default AI Traffic but it just wasn’t very good. Very little activity. Terrible liveries. It wasn’t immersive.

So then i tried Aerosoft Simple Traffic. It does populate more planes at the airport, using built-in sliders in msfs, but all it really does is populate airports. I didn’t see much activity. Simple, yes. Immersive, no. Plus the planes it adds makes no sense for the airport you are at. 

So then i gave AIG a go. Spent hours installing it. It just constantly crashes. I know, not AIG’s fault. It’s a msfs issue. Still, didn’t work well in the current state of msfs. It did populate the airports nicely, but plenty of liveries were poor quality. Plus, the ATC software took way too long to load. Easily the hardest installation of the bunch. 

Okay, next up is FSLTL. This one actually did a few things pretty well. Easy to install, loads fast, and the models were good quality. The jetways seemed to work also. But there isn’t that much activity at the airport, as you have to allow things to get moving. It isn’t an “alive” airport when you arrive. It needs to wake up.  Still, i would give this a B rating, as it was easy to use and was an improvement over stock msfs. When Asobo fixes the AI traffic issues this will be worth another look. 

Lastly, i tried PSXT+RealTraffic. I also used the liveries/models from FSLTL. This provided the most immersive experience, and best performance, but Real Traffic costs $10 per month. Cheaper if you buy longer periods. The airport is alive from the get go. Planes taking off. Planes landing. Plenty of taxiing. The airport just feels way more alive the minute you get there. Also, i am getting about 70 fps in the air and i can always see an AI plane or two while flying to my destination. If you set the injection range to auto it actually varies the range as you fly. When i took off the range was 8nm. After flying for a bit it switched to 10, 20, then 40nm. Works great. 

Of course, this package isn’t perfect either. The AI planes are jerky, either flying or on the ground. Some planes move into buildings, land in the grass, etc. Jetways don’t seem to work at all (like they do with FSLTL). But, it is the most immersive, if you are okay parting with $10 each month. 

I never tried an ATC package with any of these, but that could be a serious consideration depending on which 3rd party ATC solution you use.  As i understand it, PSXT+RealTraffic does not work with any ATC programs. FSLTL is supported by FSHud. 

Waiting for FS Traffic to arrive, so we’ll see. For now, PSXT+RealTraffic is the best option I’ve found. 

 

Edited November 12, 20223 yr by RobJC

19 hours ago, RobJC said:

As i understand it, PSXT+RealTraffic does not work with any ATC programs.

That's right.

Contrrary to other AI packages, PSXT aircraft in MSFS represent real live aircraft that are controlled by real live air traffic controllers.

You may listen to a live ATC channel (if available for your location).

Edited November 13, 20223 yr by kiek

The whole AI situation is basically a mess. Wouldn’t it be better if AIG, FSLTL and the like all got together and Asobo communicated with them and they all came up with a good working AI system? 
Now I am dreaming ain’t I? Still seems like the most logical solution for me. All these separate programs all working off a broken AI system. 

1 hour ago, Ianrivaldosmith said:

The whole AI situation is basically a mess. Wouldn’t it be better if AIG, FSLTL and the like all got together and Asobo communicated with them and they all came up with a good working AI system? 
Now I am dreaming ain’t I? Still seems like the most logical solution for me. All these separate programs all working off a broken AI system. 

Totally agree it is a complete mess. Easily one of the weakest parts of msfs. What do you really want from AI traffic?

1. Show me the actual planes that are at the airport at that specific time. This includes those landing, taxiing, parked and taking off. 

2. Show the correct liveries for those planes.

3. Show those planes using the correct gates and taxiways.

4. Connect them all to the built-in ATC. 

5. Show the jetways connected when parked after arrival and before departure, if applicable. 

6. The AI should fly the correct waypoints to and from. 
 

I imagine it will take a complete rewrite of all these elements to put it together. 

Edited November 13, 20223 yr by RobJC

A satisfactory solution to the AI traffic challenge would be of the greatest interest to the FAA, Eurocontrol, etc., even as a starting point for their own studies. Anyone who thinks that this is possible should sign on to VATSIM as a trainee controller. You may be surprised how hard it really is.

I agree with the OP.  I've experimented with them all and keep coming back to PSXT with Real Traffic.  Even the issues the OP notes can vary by airport, meaning there are many airports where you won't see those issues at all (just depends on where you are).  For all around immersion, it really is the best of all options or the lesser of all evils depending on your perspective.

2 hours ago, kiek said:

That's right.

Contrrary to other AI packages, PSXT aircraft in MSFS represent real live aircraft that are controlled by real live air traffic controllers.

You may listen to a live ATC channel (if available for your location).

Any idea what software i can use to do that?

LiveATC.net is the one I use

1 hour ago, Ianrivaldosmith said:

The whole AI situation is basically a mess. Wouldn’t it be better if AIG, FSLTL and the like all got together and Asobo communicated with them and they all came up with a good working AI system? 
Now I am dreaming ain’t I? Still seems like the most logical solution for me. All these separate programs all working off a broken AI system. 

Kaiii (AIG) does have a communication line with Jorg.

Edited November 13, 20223 yr by Tuskin38

Just to point out anyone from the UK who is new to flight simming that it's illegal to broadcast live ATC from the UK, so we in the UK have to do without it, it's such a shame.

obviously we can listen to ATC from other parts of the world though.

1 hour ago, Amon1973 said:

Just to point out anyone from the UK who is new to flight simming that it's illegal to broadcast live ATC from the UK, so we in the UK have to do without it, it's such a shame.

obviously we can listen to ATC from other parts of the world though.

Make a nice short flight from the UK to EHAM. In The Netherlands we have live ATC.

Edited November 13, 20223 yr by kiek

1 hour ago, Tuskin38 said:

Kaiii (AIG) does have a communication line with Jorg.

and not just him^^ All my contacts are aware of the current AI issues and are working with us to solve the bugs. At this point I guess it is far better to solve the current bugs, before adding new stuff (like in SU11) that contains new bugs as well. Lets see what the next months will bring 🙂

3 hours ago, Ianrivaldosmith said:

The whole AI situation is basically a mess. Wouldn’t it be better if AIG, FSLTL and the like all got together and Asobo communicated with them and they all came up with a good working AI system? 
Now I am dreaming ain’t I? Still seems like the most logical solution for me. All these separate programs all working off a broken AI system. 

It is a mess.  Just as I was starting to have some moderate success with FSLTL along with the AI Flow apps, it gets messed up again with SU11.  I am now just using the FSLTL static aircraft option....

8 minutes ago, Kaiii3 said:

and not just him^^ All my contacts are aware of the current AI issues and are working with us to solve the bugs. At this point I guess it is far better to solve the current bugs, before adding new stuff (like in SU11) that contains new bugs as well. Lets see what the next months will bring 🙂

Kaii3...I would suggest collaborating with Nico (kiek).  The PSXT and AIG are a great combo that works better than all the others I have tried.   I would love including FLSTL too but I cannot combine AIG and FLSTL without a simconnect issue.

5 minutes ago, knich said:

The PSXT and AIG

You can use PSXT and AIG already together. AIGAIM-OCI can provide the content and PSXT injects them into the Sim.

PSXT is using the "live"-data approach like FSLTL, but with more internal control over the airplanes, AIG is using only offline data to inject the data into the Sim while using the internal ATC system. Developing a hybrid solution on this is nearly impossible.