Prepar3d V6 Compatibility

[d.tsakiris 423]

Hello everybody,

is MCE officially P3D V6-compatible? Has anyone tested it?

[anzac1977 140]

Thinking of buying MCE, does it work with P3D v6?

[FS++ 715]

Assuming V6 has the same folder structure as V5, and Since we don't perform any graphics operations inside the "prepar3D.exe" process, there is no reason whyt MCE wouldn't work with V6 the same way it does with the previous version.

Nothing to loose by having a go at the Demo

http://www.multicrewxp.com/Downloads.html

The installer should add the following files and folders to \Prepar3D v6\ installation folder

fsInsider64.dll

fsInsider.ini

A folder named <MCE dlls> with about 40 dlls inside it.

No P3D files are modified inside the root folder.

Assuming you ran the app wizard which will automatically edit "dll.xml" to add refrences to the "fsInsider64.dll" file, P3D should load it and MCE will be able to connect to the sim.

From experience, the few things that occasionally break from one version to another, sometimes even between two patches are the following

The spoken speech commands may not be displayed in Prepar3D.

Integration with GSX needs to be tweaked a bit.

Rarely, but may happen, the dll cannot workout the content of the ATC window. One way to check is to open the ATC window and ensure some options are available, then ask co-pilot "confirm ATC options". If the dll is able to work them out, should hear a voice spelling out those options. If not, some work will be required.

We will be looking at V6 sometime next month and eventually sort out what needs to be.

Don't forget, that same Demo can connect to MSFS, FSX, or even FS9

 

[BerndB 349]

I have installed MCE again whilst V5.4 and V6 are both present, and it automaticly add the fsinsider and the MCEDLLL folder into both SIMS. For 5.4 everything works as usual, but in V6, MCE does not appear in the Add-on Menu and if i start MCE in V6 it can´t retrieve the data of the aircraft and terminates. In 5.4 the same aircraft is recognised by MCE as usual. Could it be, that the dll of V6 isn´t edited correctly?

[FS++ 715]

3 hours ago, BerndB said:

I have installed MCE again whilst V5.4 and V6 are both present, and it automaticly add the fsinsider and the MCEDLLL folder into both SIMS. For 5.4 everything works as usual, but in V6, MCE does not appear in the Add-on Menu and if i start MCE in V6 it can´t retrieve the data of the aircraft and terminates. In 5.4 the same aircraft is recognised by MCE as usual. Could it be, that the dll of V6 isn´t edited correctly?

fsInsider64.dll being in the folder isn't enough.

the "dll.xml" file for V6 needs to be edited to include references to the dll so V6 can load it. Only then will it appear in add-ons menu and MCE will be able to connect to it. To edit the file automatically, just run the app wizard briefly, without going through speech training and other bits. Just exit the wizard after the UI appears.

if all goes well, it is expected to add the following lines to "dll.xml" found in C:\Users\your_user_name\AppData\Roaming\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v6\ folder

    <Launch.Addon>
        <Name>Multi Crew Experience</Name>
        <Disabled>False</Disabled>
        <ManualLoad>False</ManualLoad>
        <Path>fsInsider64.dll</Path>
    </Launch.Addon>

If missing, manually add them right before the last line showing

</SimBase.Document>

Would appreciate some feedback..

See what I wrote in previous post on this thread. Just need a heads up. It will be eventually looked at very soon.

 

 

[BerndB 349]

13 hours ago, FS++ said:

fsInsider64.dll being in the folder isn't enough.

the "dll.xml" file for V6 needs to be edited to include references to the dll so V6 can load it. Only then will it appear in add-ons menu and MCE will be able to connect to it. To edit the file automatically, just run the app wizard briefly, without going through speech training and other bits. Just exit the wizard after the UI appears.

if all goes well, it is expected to add the following lines to "dll.xml" found in C:\Users\your_user_name\AppData\Roaming\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v6\ folder

    <Launch.Addon>
        <Name>Multi Crew Experience</Name>
        <Disabled>False</Disabled>
        <ManualLoad>False</ManualLoad>
        <Path>fsInsider64.dll</Path>
    </Launch.Addon>

If missing, manually add them right before the last line showing

</SimBase.Document>

Would appreciate some feedback..

See what I wrote in previous post on this thread. Just need a heads up. It will be eventually looked at very soon.

 

 

Hi Gerald, 

this is exactly what the dll.xml in both (5.4 and V6) contains. In 5.4 MCE shows up in the add-on menu, but not in V6. Now, with the latest version of MCE, the aicraft can´t be retreived even in 5.4 anymore and MCE terminates, but it was never an issue in the fromer versions with the same aircraft. I´am, unsing the A320 by Project Airbus. 

[FS++ 715]

2 hours ago, BerndB said:

Hi Gerald, 

this is exactly what the dll.xml in both (5.4 and V6) contains. In 5.4 MCE shows up in the add-on menu, but not in V6. Now, with the latest version of MCE, the aicraft can´t be retreived even in 5.4 anymore and MCE terminates, but it was never an issue in the fromer versions with the same aircraft. I´am, unsing the A320 by Project Airbus. 

To check whether dll is loading, change <ManualLoad>False</ManualLoad> to <ManualLoad>True</ManualLoad> in "dll.xml" file related to V6.

Restart V6  and it should then prompt for permission to load it. If it doesn't, the dll.xml hasn't been edited properly. If it prompts and you agree, then nothing appears in menu, it's no go for now, until a new dll comes out.

MCE will typically look for "aircraft.cfg" files in P3D folder first, then \My documents\Prepar3D v5\ folder for those planes that install outside P3D.

What is the path to <SimObjects> folder in A320 by Project Airbus?

I don't know of any issue connecting to V5.4 (dll was updated recently) to planes like iFly737 MAX or default?

 

 

[BerndB 349]

20 hours ago, FS++ said:

To check whether dll is loading, change <ManualLoad>False</ManualLoad> to <ManualLoad>True</ManualLoad> in "dll.xml" file related to V6.

Restart V6  and it should then prompt for permission to load it. If it doesn't, the dll.xml hasn't been edited properly. If it prompts and you agree, then nothing appears in menu, it's no go for now, until a new dll comes out.

MCE will typically look for "aircraft.cfg" files in P3D folder first, then \My documents\Prepar3D v5\ folder for those planes that install outside P3D.

What is the path to <SimObjects> folder in A320 by Project Airbus?

I don't know of any issue connecting to V5.4 (dll was updated recently) to planes like iFly737 MAX or default?

 

 

Hi Gerald,

The dll part:

i´ve tested the manual load as you said, and P3D is then prompting at startup for permission to load fsinsider64.dll. If i permit MCE does not appear in the Menu in V6 but it does as usual in 5.4. The dll is contains in both Versions exactly the same as you have mentioned above how it shoul contain off. It seems V6 doesn´t handle the dll in the same way as it did in 5.4. At least this isn´t a big issue, because i can start MCE in both versions via the Windows Start menu anyway.

Aircraft issue:

When i have loaded my Airbus at the gate and start MCE, it´s terminates because it can´t retrieve the aircraftdata. But if i load a standard ac like the Herculkes for instance MCE loads and finds the ac data. If then i change the ac to my A320 again, while MCE is running, MCE then changes to the A320 as normal without any issues. If then i restart MCE, again it can´t retrieve the ac data. This behavior is the same in both P3D versions (5.4 & 6).

This is what the XML for the aircraft looks like in \My documents\Prepar3D v5 add-ons\ folder:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<SimBase.Document Type="AddOnXml" version="4,0" id="add-on">
    <AddOn.Name>JeeHell FMGS</AddOn.Name>
    <AddOn.Description>JeeHell FMGS addon paths</AddOn.Description>
    <AddOn.Component>
        <Category>SimObjects</Category>
        <Path>c:\A320FMGS\Aircraft</Path>
    </AddOn.Component>
    <AddOn.Component>
        <Category>DLL</Category>
        <Path>c:\A320FMGS\SimPatch\SimPatcher.dll</Path>
    </AddOn.Component>
    <AddOn.Component>
        <Category>Effects</Category>
        <Path>c:\A320FMGS\Aircraft\A320-214\Effects</Path>
    </AddOn.Component>
        <AddOn.Component>
                <Name>ExteriorLightsEffects</Name>
        <Category>Effects</Category>
        <Path>c:\A320FMGS\ExteriorLights</Path>
    </AddOn.Component>
        <AddOn.Component>
        <Name>ExteriorLights</Name>
        <Category>DLL</Category>
                <DLLType>PDK</DLLType>
        <Path>c:\A320FMGS\ExteriorLights\ExteriorLights.dll</Path>
    </AddOn.Component>
</SimBase.Document>

It always worked in the former MCE builds. So could it be that MCE may search the wrong folder, because you wrote 

Quote

\My documents\Prepar3D v5\ folder

but the correct folder name is \My documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\

[FS++ 715]

11 hours ago, BerndB said:

but the correct folder name is \My documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\

Correct, that's the path for V5 and where MCE expects to look for aircraft.cfg files, in addition to main P3D folder.

There is another way.

Go to C:\Programdata\Lockheed Martin\\Prepar3D v5\ folder and open "SimObjects.cfg"

You'll see a number of add-ons listed with their respective paths.

Add a new section that follows the sequence and provide the path to Jeehell

Example

[Entry.10]
Title=Jeehell A320
Path=type_path_to_Jeehell_A320_Simobject_folder_here
Required=True
Active=True

MCE should then find it

[Entry.10] assumes previous entry was [Entry.9] (will be different in your file).

Will be downloading the massive P3D V6 tomorrow. It will take a few days to work ou the differences.

Edited August 9, 2023 by FS++

[BerndB 349]

On 8/9/2023 at 10:36 PM, FS++ said:

Correct, that's the path for V5 and where MCE expects to look for aircraft.cfg files, in addition to main P3D folder.

There is another way.

Go to C:\Programdata\Lockheed Martin\\Prepar3D v5\ folder and open "SimObjects.cfg"

You'll see a number of add-ons listed with their respective paths.

Add a new section that follows the sequence and provide the path to Jeehell

Example

[Entry.10]
Title=Jeehell A320
Path=type_path_to_Jeehell_A320_Simobject_folder_here
Required=True
Active=True

MCE should then find it

[Entry.10] assumes previous entry was [Entry.9] (will be different in your file).

Will be downloading the massive P3D V6 tomorrow. It will take a few days to work ou the differences.

Hi Gerald, 

i have added that entry to the simobjects.cfg with the correct path, but it´s still that MCE can´t retrieve the aircraftdata. Though it makes no difference. 

[FS++ 715]

8 hours ago, BerndB said:

Hi Gerald, 

i have added that entry to the simobjects.cfg with the correct path, but it´s still that MCE can´t retrieve the aircraftdata. Though it makes no difference. 

Please open Jeehel A320 "aircraft.cfg" and post the various [Fltsim.X] sections. Thanks

 

[BerndB 349]

25 minutes ago, FS++ said:

Please open Jeehel A320 "aircraft.cfg" and post the various [Fltsim.X] sections. Thanks

 

Here you are:

// Flight model for JeeHell FMGS
// A320-214 - CFM56-5B4
// modified by BB 19/05/2022

[fltsim.0]
title=FMGS A320-214 SL Lufthansa New Livery
ui_variation=Lufthansa New Livery
sim=CLEANcfm56_5B4
model=cfmshark
panel=
sound=
texture=nlh
checklists=
description=Airbus 320-214 CFM Sharklet
atc_id=A320NLH
atc_airline=Lufthansa
atc_flight_number=DLH2EP
atc_parking_codes=DLH
atc_parking_types=GATE, RAMP
ui_manufacturer=Airbus
ui_type=A320-214SL
visual_damage=1
atc_heavy=0

[fltsim.1]
title=FMGS A320-214 SL Eurowings
ui_variation=Eurowings
sim=CLEANcfm56_5B4
model=cfmshark
panel=
sound=
texture=ewi_D-AIZR
checklists=
description=Airbus 320-214 CFM Sharklet
atc_id=A320EWG
atc_airline=Eurowings
atc_flight_number=
atc_parking_codes=DLH, EWG
atc_parking_types=GATE, RAMP
ui_manufacturer=Airbus
ui_type=A320-214SL
visual_damage=1
atc_heavy=0

[fltsim.2]
title=FMGS A320-214 SL EurowingsDiscover
ui_variation=EurowingsDC
sim=CLEANcfm56_5B4
model=cfmshark
panel=
sound=
texture=ewi_D-AIUY
checklists=
description=Airbus 320-214 CFM Sharklet
atc_id=A320EWG
atc_airline=Eurowings
atc_flight_number=
atc_parking_codes=DLH, EWG
atc_parking_types=GATE, RAMP
ui_manufacturer=Airbus
ui_type=A320-214SL
visual_damage=1
atc_heavy=0

[fltsim.3]
title=FMGS A320-214 SL Lufthansa NL Black Window
ui_variation=Lufthansa New Livery BW
sim=CLEANcfm56_5B4
model=cfmshark
panel=
sound=
texture=nlh_D-AINZ
checklists=
description=Airbus 320-214 CFM Sharklet
atc_id=A320NLH
atc_airline=Lufthansa
atc_flight_number=DLH0034
atc_parking_codes=DLH
atc_parking_types=GATE, RAMP
ui_manufacturer=Airbus
ui_type=A320-214SL
visual_damage=1
atc_heavy=0

[fltsim.4]
title=FMGS A320-214 SL Lufthansa New Livery StarAliance
ui_variation=Lufthansa New Livery Star
sim=CLEANcfm56_5B4
model=cfmshark
panel=
sound=
texture=nlh_D-AIUA
checklists=
description=Airbus 320-214 CFM Sharklet
atc_id=A320NLH
atc_airline=Lufthansa
atc_flight_number=DLH0034
atc_parking_codes=DLH
atc_parking_types=GATE, RAMP
ui_manufacturer=Airbus
ui_type=A320-214SL
visual_damage=1
atc_heavy=0

[fltsim.5]
title=FMGS A320-214 SL EurowingsTeam
ui_variation=EurowingsTEAM
sim=CLEANcfm56_5B4
model=cfmshark
panel=
sound=
texture=ewi_D-AIZS
checklists=
description=Airbus 320-214 CFM Sharklet
atc_id=A320EWG
atc_airline=Eurowings
atc_flight_number=
atc_parking_codes=DLH, EWG
atc_parking_types=GATE, RAMP
ui_manufacturer=Airbus
ui_type=A320-214SL
visual_damage=1
atc_heavy=0

[fltsim.6]
title=FMGS A320-214 SL Eurowings AVIS
ui_variation=EurowingsAVIS
sim=CLEANcfm56_5B4
model=cfmshark
panel=
sound=
texture=ewi_D-AEWS
checklists=
description=Airbus 320-214 CFM Sharklet
atc_id=A320EWG
atc_airline=Eurowings
atc_flight_number=
atc_parking_codes=DLH, EWG
atc_parking_types=GATE, RAMP
ui_manufacturer=Airbus
ui_type=A320-214SL
visual_damage=1
atc_heavy=0

//----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
//----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[General]
performance=
atc_type=Airbus
atc_model=A320
Category=airplane
 

[BerndB 349]

Gerald, could it be, that MCE get´s may confused about where to look at to get the aicraft data, because there are two parallel SIMs (5.4 and 6) with nearly the same structure?

When i installed V6 first time, without the installation of MCE, MCE worked flawless in 5.4. Then after the re-installation of MCE, and when MCE found 2 seperate installs of P3d, where it put´s the MCE DLLS and so on, it started that MCE can´t retrieve the ac data anymore in V6 nor in 5.4. 

Just as if it´s not sure which is the right.

[FS++ 715]

1 hour ago, BerndB said:

Gerald, could it be, that MCE get´s may confused about where to look at to get the aicraft data, because there are two parallel SIMs (5.4 and 6) with nearly the same structure?

When i installed V6 first time, without the installation of MCE, MCE worked flawless in 5.4. Then after the re-installation of MCE, and when MCE found 2 seperate installs of P3d, where it put´s the MCE DLLS and so on, it started that MCE can´t retrieve the ac data anymore in V6 nor in 5.4. 

Just as if it´s not sure which is the right.

It's possible.

One thing is sure, fsInsider64.dll will need to be adapted to V6. Just finished downloading yesterday and will be looked at today.

The code that detects airplanes config files  locations hasn't changed since V5.0 where it required adjustments.

Go to C:\Users\your_user_name\Appdata\Roaming\Multi Crew Experience\ folder.

MCE will typically generate a "ConfigPaths.dat", which is just a text file. The content will vary depending on which sim you are running, including all P3D variants and even FSX.

Assuming the last sim you ran was V5, it should list all the paths to "aircraft.cfg" files it knows about.

MCE reads the title of the aircraft from the sim and goes through all [fltsim.x] entries in each "aircraft.cfg" file to determine the exact livery that has been loaded and identify the plane properly. If it can't find it, you'll get the error you reported earlier.

Open "ConfigPaths.dat" in Notepad and check whether the Jeehell folders are included.

Otherwise, it needs to get the path (that can't be found in either main installation folder or folders in \Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\ folder in \My Documents\ folder from the file in C:\ProgramData\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v5\ folder (assuming a new section has been entered and in the correct format)

[BerndB 349]

18 hours ago, FS++ said:

It's possible.

One thing is sure, fsInsider64.dll will need to be adapted to V6. Just finished downloading yesterday and will be looked at today.

The code that detects airplanes config files  locations hasn't changed since V5.0 where it required adjustments.

Go to C:\Users\your_user_name\Appdata\Roaming\Multi Crew Experience\ folder.

MCE will typically generate a "ConfigPaths.dat", which is just a text file. The content will vary depending on which sim you are running, including all P3D variants and even FSX.

Assuming the last sim you ran was V5, it should list all the paths to "aircraft.cfg" files it knows about.

MCE reads the title of the aircraft from the sim and goes through all [fltsim.x] entries in each "aircraft.cfg" file to determine the exact livery that has been loaded and identify the plane properly. If it can't find it, you'll get the error you reported earlier.

Open "ConfigPaths.dat" in Notepad and check whether the Jeehell folders are included.

Otherwise, it needs to get the path (that can't be found in either main installation folder or folders in \Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\ folder in \My Documents\ folder from the file in C:\ProgramData\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v5\ folder (assuming a new section has been entered and in the correct format)

Hi Gerald,

the ConfigPaths.dat on my system doesn´t contain any reference to Simobject folders outside the P3D root folder, all entries refer to \P3D V6\Simojects. So it seems, that MCE can´t find simobjects, which are located in add-on folders and are added via xml method or hardcoded in the add-on.cfg, even if the format is correct. 

I have added the Jeehell Airbus into the Simobjects folder at the root location of P3D and then MCE finds the Aircraft as usual and everything seems working properly. This can be used as a workaround for the moment, until you may adapt MCE, that it can find add-ons outside the Rootfolder again as it did in V5.

The weird thing is, that MCE shows the exact same issue if i run P3D 5.4. Though it´s may not an issue caused by a different structure in V6, rather then it´s confused about two SIM versions in parallel. I could imagine, that MCE would work properly, if i wipe V5 out of my system, but i won´t do that for now. 

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by BerndB