Could 2006 be my last year with FU3 ?

[Christopher Low 5,324]

I didn't do much flying in 2005. I was too busy developing SanFran 2006 with Jon Point. When that pack was released, I was happy that I could finally take to the virtual skies again in my trusty Beechjet.I completed a few enjoyable flights, and was delighted with all of that impressive new scenery ;-) However, I then started thinking about expanding the pylon/substation network. The SanFran 2006 version is hardly exhaustive, and I had all of the necessary maps to help me.So, I started adding some more pylons.....and that's when I encountered a problem. When I checked out these pylons in FU3, I noticed that I could only see a few pylons in the line. As I moved forward, the next ones "popped" into existence in front of me. This puzzled me greatly, since the existing pylons (those that were included in SanFran 2006) could be seen for miles !I messed around a bit to see if I could solve the problem. I tried deleting the other scenery packages, then using a different modelmip.tag file. No result. I tried splitting the SanFran Pylons package into two separate components, but that didn't work. I tried a few other things, but to date I have not solved the problem.Then I discovered that I had not included the new Byron Municipal runway models in the release version of SanFran 2006. To make matters even worse, I hadn't even copied them to my backup zip disks. Since I recently reformatted the hard disk, these files have been lost. I can only hope that Robert Driscoll has kept copies of these files (he created the runway models), otherwise I am up **** creek without a paddle ! :-eekThese frustrating episodes have made me depressed. I have just completed a quick flight from Moffett Field to Oakland International, but I didn't really enjoy it. I just felt deflated and "empty" :-(So, where does this leave me ? I have to be honest, and say that those screenshots of Flight Simulator X have made me desperate for a NEW flight simulator. FU3 is getting old, and it is LOOKING older by the day (despite the efforts of some talented modelmakers and aircraft builders). I want to fly a plane that has one of those sexy looking virtual cockpits. I want lots of fancy special effects (wonderful sunsets, reflective water, decent autogen scenery). I want photographic scenery of the entire British Isles, with high resolution terrain mesh, very detailed airports, and lots of impressive looking AI planes. I want to see lots of interesting landmarks and identifiable buildings (castles, cathedrals, bridges, ruins, radio towers, lighthouses, wind turbines etc). I want the entire country to be filled with these landmarks, so that I can enjoy "low and slow" flights around Britain. And I want decent flight models that will allow me to do this in a small airliner !Unfortunately, this is going to cost a fair bit of money. Will it be worth it ? Or should I just forget about flight simulation altogether, and do something else instead ?Is it just me, or do others feel like this at times ?Chris Low.

[Guest 455RAAF_Bilbo]

>Is it just me, or do others feel like this at times ?Chris, I have no particular talent for doing anything artistic and greatly appreciate your work int his area. If you do leave this sim then the users are going to miss you a lot!On the frustration side, I get the same way with computers in general. My new one is back in the shop as it gives off electrical emissions that make it impossible to listen to the radio in the house, my last one (the one I am using now) tells me that I have serious errors when I fire it up and that I need a bios upgrade. I even have problems with my old IBM PII/233 that I am formatting and loading FS98 on. Every time I get on the internet I seem to become some sort of unsolicited porn magnet too!! I feel that technology has completely passed me by sometimes and I should give the lot away and take up reading.All that goes away though when I fire up your SanFran 2006 and get up there in my Baron for a flight from Half Moon bay up the coast. You do great work and it is very much appreciated!!! :-)

[agtim 0]

Hi Chris,I see - you want a sim that need a computer with 5 time more power than your currently use and wait 20 minutes for loading the so wonderful scenery. Caution FSX screen shots looks really good, but wait to see what's really behind of it.For myself I will not move. with FU3 I can do what I want and understand the used technique more and more and this is the real challenge. May be you have just build too much pylons and power lines.I feel like this when I build too many megatiles without reaching the end of the region - then I switch to other activities building planes or hangars or analyze an unknown file or try to understand the FU3 code. This is a never ending story.I don't expect too much from the next MSFS :-)And for the pylon problem - compare the region.cfg Sanfran/Seattle it must be different details settings, remember you can overset the values ( more than with the slider ) when entered directly into .cfgI just remember - Jon has demonstrate this long time ago.Take a look at the new Tigermoth - has special views and cool switches (prop) - make a missing quarter view ! :-wave agtim

[Hans_Petter 1]

We still don't know whether FSX will give us more accurate terrain but we do know it will be stunning. In its default state it will look more realistic and the autogen will behave more orderly rather than being thrown all over the place in a haphazard way. However, it may still take a lot of addons to get things right. Good terrain data is expensive and MS may want to avoid paying for the best. We'll see!Regarding pylons (or, objects in general) that pop into view that's a general computer game problem. The game/sim will fail to show far away objects by design to conserve computing resources. More recent games may allow far away objects to show sooner. But then, you say that some lines of pylons do show from afar. This indicates that the FU3 platform will suffice. Hans Petter

[Guest Kestrel 2]

Sounds like you need to take a break, Christopher. I'm looking forward to your progress in SanFran as much as anyone else around here, but there's no need to knock yourself out over it.Also consider this - Often I have found that if I entirely set aside a difficult problem for a short time, I can see the answers more easily. It seems that a fresh perspective clears up a lot of things. I also suspect that the mind subconsciously works on the task even when we are not even thinking about it.FU 1 was the first civilian computer flight sim that I had. It's an old friend. I gladly moved on to the other titles in the series, but they had the same style, so I didn't feel I had wandered from my roots. Other flight sims have come and gone, but they are just not the same. They may have some things that FU doesn't have, but they don't generate that excitement that comes when you hear friendly, familiar sound of the engines at the start. :-)

[Guest twsimfan]

I was really beginning to think MS had given up on a new version of FS... they are after all over a year late on the early hype... and I'd have thought it would have been released August or September of '05 by the way the MS guys were talking at the '05 AVSIM Conference.What with my own problems and Bob's illness I haven't been looking at the main pages of AVSIM or FS.com... when did FSX get announced?Wow those shots look great... and the planes... Beaver on floats... Goose... A321... 737-800... ultralites... WOW!I've been asking MS for a Goose for years.That scenery looks pretty awesome too.It will probably be a long time coming and require a system that hasn't been invented yet but it still looks great.I hope you resolve your midlife crisis with FU3. :)

[Guest fu3]

Chris (and All),I know how you feel about 'reaching the wall' with FU3! I tried your test with the pylons at Vaca Dixon and found another issue! When flying in circles around the area (in any aircraft, bird, or even driving around in the Camaro!), after a few minutes FU3 would lock and go 'ding'!First I tried removing ALL models, just in case it was a missing MIP but no luck - stopped with a ding every time. Then I removed some packages and...No ding :-) Now, problem is, I've got a few more/different packages than you but I tried removing some of them before I remebered my own words(!) and copied Sanfran 2006 (and updates) into my bog-stock 'reference' FU3.No dings :-jumpyNow I have to try adding the pylons tonight and see if the problem returns. We DO have a huge number of packages happening though and I wonder if there may be some limits as to the number of .mod files per tile (you can have 3 packages on the same tile at least but more may be a problem)?Anyway, not having found the will to pursue the MSFS learning curve (and extra hours to pay for it...) and still only skirting the realms of FGFS, I am still having fun with FU3. With the cockpit textures sorted for the S340, I'll beta that soon and I've resurrected the T6 as Bob's hospital stay has jerked my mind ;) Perseverance... I got the gear retracting first go (I stopped work on it because the 3D model wouldn't compile)!And then there's the UK and Switzerland and all those places I've thought of playing with in Seattle and I can't afford a new PC for 2 years and...If I ever DID switch, I still think I'd only concentrate on smallish areas :-roll I DO fly more than I used to and I still find that enjoyable ;):-waveRegards,Jon PointGlide Distance: Half the distance from the airplane to the nearest landing spot...

[Christopher Low 5,324]

Everyone here,I guess that I have just thought about FU3 rather too much lately. I was all enthusiastic until that pylon problem appeared, and then the Byron runways were missing, and one or two other things (not related to FU3) were frustrating me.....it just seemed like nothing was working properly :-(To be honest, there is something else that I should be getting on with shortly that has nothing to do with FU3. It is related to the possibility of a career change (something that I would DEARLY love to do ASAP), but how it will pan out is anyone's guess. I need to learn the basics first before I can begin to see if it is viable or not. Therefore, it is entirely possible that the "pylon/substation network" upgrade will have to take a back seat, even if a solution to the problem is found.I would REALLY like those Byron runway models back, though. I wonder if Robert has responded to my e-mail ?Chris Low.PS.Jon,Did you recreate my pylon problem on your PC ? I tried removing the rest of the scenery packages, but the problem persisted (and the same is true for the Seattle region). As for a limit to the number of .mod files per tile, I had added a line of small pylons up beyond Bodega Bay (and there is hardly ANYTHING up there), but the same problem reared its ugly head :-(

[Hans_Petter 1]

This thread made me ponder what makes me stick to FU3. Actually, it's not my one and only sim -- when I got here several years ago I was an FS98 simmer and now it's FS2004. Still, since I discovered FU3 about 50% of my virtual flight hours have been logged with this sim. Further, FU3 gets close to 100% of what I've contributed to a sim in terms of addons. The reason is simple -- with FLED by Looking Glass and ResViewer/CockpitDesigner by Gideon anyone can add to this sim. Right now I'm having fun creating a few more buildings (thanks to Rob Driscoll) and I can easily put them into the FU3 world and check them out. Flight Simulator has never had a WYSIWYG interface as our FLED and I have no idea how to place objects into the FS world.FLED may be the source of frustration sometimes but think of the alternative -- no developer-friendly interface whatsoever. Two more reasons to hang in here are Ansgar and Agtim. These two have pushed this sim further than anyone thought possible. Switzerland is next :-)Then there's Jon, yourself, a certain person who prefers gliders and all the rest of us who make the FU3 experience worthwhile. I can promise you this -- even if FSX ends up on this computer FU3 will stay put :-)Hans Petter

[Guest markyc]

Stop it guys! You're making me come over all emotional:-violin It's a great sim we have here, but more importantly a great community spirit.Mark:)

[Guest Pieter]

Chris, no nothing serious, one goes through these ups-and-downs with about everything. It's just like, say, your car. Suddenly it just goes bonkers and you realise the fact that replacement is starting to be a serious consideration! I think your problem was/is that you spent so much time fixing the darn old thing just to drive up and down to the mall every so often... It's high time to buy a new car, climb in the thing and start to use it what it was made for - enjoy the driving to far away places without the fear of a break-down!With FU3 you are eventually there where I've been (can you believe it?) already a few years ago! I finally realised the fact that I'm a flyer (and in the case of my car example - not a mechanic). I would say, jump in there, ignore the silly bits of FS2004 and start to enjoy what it was made for: to simulate flying. There are millions of aircraft, the world is covered in excellent scenery - one must just "hunt" around a bit to find what works for oneself with FS! If you like to be the "mechanic" and it's your passion, then it's up to you again... I would say (knowing your approach to flight somewhat ;-)), try to study yourself into the true flight dynamics, like correct trimming, correct approaches and circuits, perfect landings using correct flight control configurations, and all that. Start "playing" (imagining) to be a true pilot and an enticing new world will open before you!RegardsPieterPS ...and a belated happy and prosperous new year to you all! :-)

[Christopher Low 5,324]

Pieter,Thanks for the comments.I am keenly interested in FSX, because I would very much like to upgrade to a flight simulator that is "next generation" (so to speak). Flight Unlimited 3 does many things very well indeed, but it can't go on forever.As for the "learning to fly properly" bit, I do take your point. However, there is a problem.....I LOVE BEING ABLE TO FLY LOW AND SLOWFine, you might think. Just hop into a Cessna or Piper, and go sightseeing. Yes, I could do that. But what if I want to fly a range of planes, from a small piston engined trainer, to a jumbo jet ? How do I get a 747 to fly "low and slow", and yet still try to operate it "by the book" ? What I want to be able to do (and certainly CAN do in FU3) is HAND FLY a Boeing 747 at 180 knots and 3000 feet. To do that, I need to keep the speed as low as possible, and that is effectively TAKE-OFF speed. That means that I can't touch the trim wheel, because doing so will lower the nose, and increase my speed !What I do is reduce power immediately after take-off, so that my speed remains constant, and I climb out slowly and steadily (controlling ascent and descent entirely by using the throttle). By the way, this is a patented flight procedure, so please ask for my permission before you try it out for yourself :-lolYep, I know. That would be a disastrous course of action in the real world. Well, so what ? This is a flight SIMULATOR. All I need is for it to simulate flight dynamics as closely as possible. I can do the rest ;-)Chris Low.

[Guest Seneca60BC]

ChrisWhy dont you consider X-Plane - I have been flying low and slow with a B1900D (http://x-plane.org/home/twinpropflyer/BE1900D_Downloads.html)Beautiful plane to fly, I have been with the plane flying all over Denver, San Fran etc etc, you will love X-Plane.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/139149.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/139148.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/139147.jpgRegardsShelton.

[Christopher Low 5,324]

Shelton,X-Plane would ideally be my preferred flight simulator, since the flight models are based on real world physics. The problem has always been a lack of decent scenery, and also no ATC system. I am aware that the former has been addressed quite significantly recently, and that Austin is working on the latter.Do you have any more information about the ATC ?Chris Low.PS. Are those screenshots indicative of the Global Scenery update (those seven DVDs) ?

[Guest Seneca60BC]

ChrisYes that is (a very tiny) the Global DVD scenery (7 DVDs) - bear in mind that Austin and team are always optimising for frame rates - yes you need to good system, but thats the price for progress.OK, FU3 kills M$FS and X-Plane hands down when it comes to ATC - there is ATC but it is very rudimentary in X-Plane, ie you could be directed into the side of a mountian. However the real fun part is flying 0n-line which I do using the VATSIM plugin - you will have a ball in European Airspace because you will have all the other M$FS ppl flying with you.You know I always fly with charts, and it **ABSOULTELY** amazes me how ACCURATE this Scenery is (I love flying to the mountains and lakes) - i tell you now, you will be *VERY* HAPPY!Believe me I came from FU2 and FU3 - which will always have a place in my (gaming) heart.CheerShelton.PS I will post more screenshots later - i have done so in the screenshot forum - look back at some of the posts.Shelton.