AI Traffic?

[jcomm 6,096]

Does anyone know if LR is planning to introduce some sort of online/real-world - injected traffic for XP12, with the ability to be controlled by the default in-sim ATC robot?

This would be great to have!

 

[Bjoern 1,189]

All the data sources for ADS-B based traffic require paid subscriptions and involve lots and lots of data when multiplied by sim users, so I very much doubt that real world traffic will be supported natively by X-Plane. Besides, how is the default ATC..."AI" supposed to control aircraft whose actions are determined beyond X-Plane's domain anyway? All it could do would be generating dialogue based on speed and position, but that's it. If you're in the way of whatever ADS-B puts in front or behind you, ATC just is unable to have it actively deconflict.

An ATC API for multiplayer should be doable though. Just have ATC data stored in multiplayer datarefs and trigger the corresponding phrases upon a state change. Thinking about it, it wouldn't be the worst ideas as even amateurish human pilots on multiplayer are better than whatever X-Plane's AI does (which is not much besides takeoff, land and spam COM1).

Edited December 20, 2022 by Bjoern

[blingthinger 676]

Oh boy...there's huge gaps in ADS-B data, too, and that's just based on my own raspberry pi receiver. That said, isn't that what Global Traffic uses to some extent? I've never used it, but don't see any other way of getting to that information even if you have to delay it to clean it up and smooth it out.

I personally enjoy watching the AI in a stiff crosswind 🙂

[jcomm 6,096]

It is surely ADS-B/ADS-C, like that of:

ADS-B Exchange - track aircraft live (adsbexchange.com)

and the many like it, but a simulator I also use managed to get it's ATC robot interacting with it 🙂

Trying an approach to Lisbon during prime time can be tricky because the ATC robot in that sim will try to get you in the mid of two approaching aircraft, or more, and if you fail to get your way bwteen them you'll be invited to go around...

It's funny, to say the least 🙂

Edited December 20, 2022 by jcomm

[Bjoern 1,189]

1 hour ago, blingthinger said:

That said, isn't that what Global Traffic uses to some extent?

Traffic Global uses fixed flight schedules, as does World Traffic and (server side) AutoATC.

Only LiveTraffic uses ADS-B data.

 

1 hour ago, jcomm said:

and the many like it, but a simulator I also use managed to get it's ATC robot interacting with it 🙂

That other simulator shelled out some money to get 24/7/365 access to live data and has capacity for some server side cleanups before sending the data to you. Either there's some start/stop going on between live positioning and local processing by the AI/ATC engine or the AI engine simply reads departure, destination and occasional position and treats traffic as if locally installed.

It's generally not a matter of technical feasibility, but a matter of commercial viability. If some of the folks here had their way, X-Plane would have to turn into a $100/month subscription fest because Laminar would have to run huge global server farms to stream all the ortho, live AI and individual cloud position data. Imagine the resulting uproar.

[FlyingGoose 405]

Yeah it doesn’t make sense for a company the size of Laminar to try and incorporate all these features that require payments (live traffic, streamed ortho, multiplayer etc) natively into the sim.
 

It would simply cost too much - and if they tried to make some features “subscription only”, that would lead to a massive outcry. 
 

Multiplayer is perhaps the exception here. It might be possible to add that in without a lot of investment (servers and hosting costs) but only Laminar knows for sure. It would definitely be cheaper than licensing live traffic or streaming satellite data. 
 

The way it is now, it is possible to have live traffic (payware and freeware options exist) so those who want live traffic can get it. Similar with ortho - if you want it, you can make it happen. 
 

At the end of the day, the reality is that the other sim is backed by a Trillion dollar company that also owns the second largest cloud service in the world along with a satellite mapping and ortho generating division. 
 

Laminar cannot and should not compete on things like that. Rather, keep the focus on flight model and so forth and serve the target market.
 

It’s nice to have a sim that is self contained (no online required) and cross platform. 
 

Also, while some here don’t seem to be able to do it, it IS possible to run both sims on the same computer (not at the same time obviously!!). 

[mSparks 2,139]

14 hours ago, Bjoern said:

(server side) AutoATC.

I have ADSB traffic, the problem isn't the cost so much as the data quality and what's involved in turning the data into a reliable live real time track, similar to ATC comms, there are lots of "black holes" where transmissions don't get received and those gaps need filling, it mostly works but because it had a habit of exploding the server its not active on production.

One day I'll write all about it.

EDIT:This is an example from a proof of concept track viewer I did when I was looking into it (JFK), in the end it was just a lot easier to just go with 100% AI aircraft.

Edited December 21, 2022 by mSparks