FU3 and AVSIM newbie :-)

[Guest thanOS]

Hello>The official version 2.0 patch should be included on your>install CD. You just need to double click on it, and the>relevant files will be patched.Yes i have seen it. Last time i installed the simulator, applied the patch and then it kept crashing. Now, i assumed that this could be because of the patch...but it turned out to be my graphics card drivers. Anyway, since then (and since the simulator is running) i did not bother with it....i instead focused on the "game" :-)>I have no idea where to get the UK-South scenery, but I am>sure that someone around here must do.........There are three files in the library which claim to be UKS and then there is another one called UK-South with a map and all. Ofcourse there are some more upgrades for smaller and bigger airports or more scenery....but which is the main thing? :-/thanOS

[Guest thanOS]

Hello CaptRolo>ThanOS;>try alt f12 should give a green line to follow for taxi>to/from LG fbo>CaptRoloThats a handy feature but it reduces realism :-)Thanks anyway though...

[Christopher Low 5,342]

ThanOS,You can't get the "main thing" from here, because it is too large (something like 4 or 5 gigabytes) !As for the patch, I strongly recommend that you install it. I don't know why your version of FU3 kept crashing after installing this, but I have never had any problems with it.Chris Low.PS. Do any UK-South users still poke around on this forum ? I would have thought that someone would have been able to help this guy out by now.

[Guest thanOS]

Hello>You can't get the "main thing" from here, because it is too>large (something like 4 or 5 gigabytes) !This is indeed too big!!! I have downloaded the UK related scenery files from the library and i will check what kind of scenery is in there, ASAP.>As for the patch, I strongly recommend that you install it. I>don't know why your version of FU3 kept crashing after>installing this, but I have never had any problems with it.That was in my "secondary" PC running WinXP, i guess there were other problems associated with the software as well since it was not built for this OS. My tiny little piece of knowledge is that if you dont perform the installation in Win-98 compatibility mode you get into a lot of trouble afterwards.>Chris Low.>>PS. Do any UK-South users still poke around on this forum ? I>would have thought that someone would have been able to help>this guy out by now.I appreciate all the help guys...this realy has been a helpful and interesting series of posts.thanOS

[Christopher Low 5,342]

ThanOS,You do not need to be in "Windows 98 compatibility mode" to install FU3 under Windows XP. I have installed FU3 in an XP environment several times, and suffered no problems at all.Chris Low.

[Guest thanOS]

Hello>You do not need to be in "Windows 98 compatibility mode" to>install FU3 under Windows XP. I have installed FU3 in an XP>environment several times, and suffered no problems at all.I dont know, maybe its DirectX then or my previously non-up-to-date drivers...The game did not even started previously, you double click the icon and nothing happened :-?.Anyway, i am glad that it works now and that there is still some "company" around this game :-)thanOS

[Guest fu3]

"The game did not even started previously, you double click the icon and nothing happened :-?."It sounds like the 'movie codec problem'. XP doesn't include some particular AVI codec and it crashes on startup. 1. Go to your FU3 folder (wherever you installed it).2. Find a file called 'flt3.cfg' and open it with Notepad.3. Scroll down a few lines and insert a blank line by hitting [enter].4. Insert the word 'nomovie', save and close.Voila! No crash on startup ;) Regards,Jon PointGlide Distance: Half the distance from the airplane to the nearest landing spot...

[Lars Peter 0]

RE: It really happens like that...Jon's reply here seems an important solution to the problem.Win.XP does not longer include the "indeo codec" by INTEL.The sim starts with a "indeo" movie that needs this codec, and in win.xp it will crash. I have tried it.If you consider this as a must have install, you have to buy this from intel, or you can try to "google" some old free release on the internet.A short fix is as Jon said, to open the flight3.cfg. file and insert:'nomovie'The FU3 patches in the library is the official addon by "Looking Glass company" before they closed down their doors.You only have to pick the valid versioen for your installed sim,-"US"-"German"- or "UK".I will recommend all users to install this because this will fix mutch more than the well known NVIDIA Graphic card issues.I hope this helps.Good luck!Lars Peter.:)

[Guest thanOS]

Hello>"The game did not even started previously, you double click>the icon and nothing happened :-?.">>It sounds like the 'movie codec problem'. XP doesn't include>some particular AVI codec and it crashes on startup. Yeah, i did notice this, the thing is that all of these attempts were done about a month or so ago and i do not remember the exact symptoms with fine details. Anyway, i can see the video now "BOOM, Electronic Arts" (I mean forget your speakers to the "Are you nuts" volume setting and start FU3...you get the goose bumps of your life. :-) )>1. Go to your FU3 folder (wherever you installed it).>2. Find a file called 'flt3.cfg' and open it with Notepad.>3. Scroll down a few lines and insert a blank line by hitting>[enter].>4. Insert the word 'nomovie', save and close.This is an excellent tip, thank you very much. Regarding editing this particular configuration file, previously i was using the "Hardware Acceleration" feature and because of the crashes i decided to fall back to the safe mode of software rendering. So i poke around a little bit in the installation directory, found the cfg file and edited the relevant entries so that the game uses software rendering again. It did not start gracefuly but from what we are discussing here this was probably due to the problem with the Indeo decoder. However, if i switch back to Hardware Acceleration and stil have problems is this the indicated way to get back to software rendering? (By editing the cfg file). Could there be a command line argument for something like this?

[Guest fu3]

"However, if i switch back to Hardware Acceleration and stil have problems is this the indicated way to get back to software rendering? (By editing the cfg file). Could there be a command line argument for something like this?"I don't think you can change it on-the-fly but, just go to...OptionsGraphics3D Acceleration driver...and change it:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/140991.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/140992.jpg:-waveRegards,Jon PointGlide Distance: Half the distance from the airplane to the nearest landing spot...

[Guest thanOS]

Hello>The FU3 patches in the library is the official addon by>"Looking Glass company" before they closed down their doors.>You only have to pick the valid versioen for your installed>sim,-"US"-"German"- or "UK".>I will recommend all users to install this because this will>fix mutch more than the well known NVIDIA Graphic card>issues.I must say, guys, i have now installed the patch that was on the original game CD and it at least corrected the problem with the taxiway lines i am referring to in some previous post.So all in all, the game is running more or less smoothly right now :-)Just a slightly off topic question. I noticed in the text file that accompanies the DASH airplane add-on that "FU 3 does not simulate turbo props"...At the end of the day, a turbo-prop is a "jet core" and instead of a fan or turbine it has a propeler on its shaft. So it can be modelled as a jet (Therefore the pilot can not control mixture but can control throttle and propeler pitch). Is that right? Are there any other controls in a turbo prop engine that need explicit accurate modelling?

[Guest fu3]

Thanos,As I'm the idiot(!) that made the Dash-8 and DHC-6 for FU3, I'll explain!FU3 actually supports only 2 engine types; piston engine and turbofan. Now, a turboprop and a turbofan are not the same thing, although the principle of operation is similar. One thing really distinguishes a prop from a jet; propeller pitch. In a turbofan, the pitch of the turbine blades is fixed and it operates over a wide range of speed. This is because it operates with a highly optimised gas flow. Turbofans' 'fans' operate at higher RPM than props do, as issues of avoiding the sound barrier are easily dealt with using fixed-edge blades inside a cowling.Props have to spin at lower RPM to prevent 'sonic howl', as the blade tips break the sounds barrier. They also occupy a greater arc of air than turbines, so they CAN spin slower however, there is another reason; constant-speed props. In a nutshell, by optimising the prop design for a specific RPM, the prop remains at constant speed but the pitch varies according to the power delivered by the engine - more power, more pitch. Anyway, enough babbling, with FU3 you can either have constant-speed props OR a turbine; you cannot combine the turbo powerplant witha variable-pitch prop :-( So, I had to decide between reverse pitch (most turboprops do it) and a constant-speed prop, since the prop engine sound pitch is indexed to the prop speed, whereas the turbine pitch is indexed to turbine RPM, which varies with power...Phew!Just for example, here's a turbofan engine model detail://number long 0, //diameter float 2.0, //maxPowerRate float 0.20, //thrustRating float 4000.0, //maxPower float 900000.0, //fuelRate float 1350.0, //maxReversePower float 0.70, //reverseEfficiency float 0.80, //minRPM float 2000.0, //maxRPM float 11000.0, //boost float 2.0, //flameOut float 0.45and here's a prop engine://number char 0, //hasCarb char 0, //maxPower float 270, //boost float 2.0, //propMass float 10.0, //propRadius float 1.0, //minPropPitch float 15.0, //maxPropPitch float 25.0, //maxPropSpeed float 2600, //thrustCoef float 0.0000055, //windTorqueCoef float 0.8, //frictionConstCoef float 300.0, //numPropPitchPositions long 0, //fuelUseConst float 0.0000001, //manifoldExp float 1.2You can see how each supports entirely different settings. Preferring the constant-speed prop, I went with that. With the Saab340 I haven't made up my mind(!) yet. Unfortunately, we haven't yet found the source code to insert a new engine type ;)...Unless someone can find a way of looping extra sounds without gaps :-rollPS Start a new thread if you have any more questions, it clutter-up the forum a bit less and lets others know what's happening ;) Regards,Jon PointGlide Distance: Half the distance from the airplane to the nearest landing spot...

[Guest thanOS]

Hello>Thanos,>>As I'm the idiot(!) that made the Dash-8 and DHC-6 for FU3,>I'll explain!I hope my question did not make you feel that way :-)>FU3 actually supports only 2 engine types; piston engine and>turbofan. Now, a turboprop and a turbofan are not the same>thing, although the principle of operation is similar. One>thing really distinguishes a prop from a jet; propeller pitch.>In a turbofan, the pitch of the turbine blades is fixed and it>operates over a wide range of speed. This is because it>operates with a highly optimised gas flow. Turbofans' 'fans'>operate at higher RPM than props do, as issues of avoiding the>sound barrier are easily dealt with using fixed-edge blades>inside a cowling.>Props have to spin at lower RPM to prevent 'sonic howl', as>the blade tips break the sounds barrier. They also occupy a>greater arc of air than turbines, so they CAN spin slower>however, there is another reason; constant-speed props. In a>nutshell, by optimising the prop design for a specific RPM,>the prop remains at constant speed but the pitch varies>according to the power delivered by the engine - more power,>more pitch.So far so good. Just a note. When the blade reaches the sound barrier it starts "not operating" effciently correct? That means not producing the thrust that an "ideal" blade would produce at equal RPM (therefore its not a noise issue).>Anyway, enough babbling, Not at all, go on :-)>with FU3 you can either have>constant-speed props OR a turbine; you cannot combine the>turbo powerplant witha variable-pitch prop :-( So, I had to>decide between reverse pitch (most turboprops do it) and a>constant-speed prop, since the prop engine sound pitch is>indexed to the prop speed, whereas the turbine pitch is>indexed to turbine RPM, which varies with power...This is realy a pitty, from a modeling point of view (and for the purposes of a "game") there should not be a difference between engine types. Generaly there could exist a variable pitch jet, only that when modeling a turbine the pitch would have to remain constant.>Just for example, here's a turbofan engine model detail:......That was a very interesting dump :-)Is this from FU3?>You can see how each supports entirely different settings.>Preferring the constant-speed prop, I went with that. You mean in the DASH? What are the two bottom right controls then? (i dont remember the exact heading right now). When i vary the pitch from the keyboard these go up and down as well...I assumed that this is the pitch after all.> With the>Saab340 I haven't made up my mind(!) yet. Unfortunately, we>haven't yet found the source code to insert a new engine type>;)The 340 is an excellent airplane....By the way, who owns the code right now? The brand is closed isnt it?So how does it work in FU3? (I have downloaded some resources from AVSIM but did not have the time to go through them, some white papers etc) Do you get to actualy compile the model of an airplane to the RES as a binary? (I noticed some header files is this C?). Is there some other scripting language that FU3 uses? Is there a set of predefined controls or commands for interaction with the main simulator engine? (I guess that a compass is somehow reusable right? You dont have to implement it for every aircraft?)And how about some parameters of the models like damping coeffcient (!!!) i mean where do i get this information from? Is it available in some manuals such as Janes for example?>...Unless someone can find a way of looping extra sounds>without gaps :-rollWhere would you need this?>PS Start a new thread if you have any more questions, it>clutter-up the forum a bit less and lets others know what's>happening ;)You know what? I did try in the morning. I put my post and your answers to a new one, written it all down nice and well, hit Post Message and then tried to look at the whole post but it was nowhere to be found :-/. I searched the whole forum just in case i had post to the wrong category (no way, but just in case). I suppose that the forum scripts "moaned" about the length of the text and rejected the whole post altogether. Anwyay, would it be possible to get an admin to move the DASH modeling related questions to a new thread?All the bestthanOS