i wanted to spend some time, telling you about the enhancements to version 3 that are done. this is by no means a complete list, but a short list, which might generate some questions/dialog1) departure and descent clearances. very predictable. 15000-230-330 and 350-240-pd-10000. well that has changed. between each of these, we now have "baby" steps. sometimes you get them, sometime you don't. makes it more unpredictable, and more realistic.2) no longer will you be able to traverse the memphis airspace on the same frequency. you will be handed off from controller to controller while in the same airspace3) you will not be able to fly cross country, on the same transponder code, you will be instructed to change it at random intervals4) i never liked the way you had to change runways in version 1.x and 2.x. well it has changed in version 3. when ground tells you what runway to taxi to, you will have the option to accept the runway, or to change the runway. if you choose to change the runway, the list of runways will be displayed, you find the one you want, and when you call back to ground, you tell them what you want. cleaner.5) and here is the v3 menu window. it is sizable, you can change the color, you can move it anywhere on the screen, you can change fonts. it is peter dowson's advdisp.dll that many of you are using now. the first line shows next checkpoint information, heading, distance and frequency. when you are within 15 miles of a checkpoint, the information about the checkpoint after the next one will appear. when you are in approach airspace, two lines will appear, one line about the airport, the second line about the runway. the window will disply 5 menu options, which you can choose by pressing the key associated with that menu option. i chose 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. you can define which key you want associated with menu item 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. at the bottom, a reminder that you can go to the previous menu page by pressing 8, leave this menu by pressing 0, or go to the next menu page by pressing 9. these keys can also be defined by you.

>5) and here is the v3 menu window. it is sizable, you can >change the color Can you make this window transparent as well (no solid background at all) ? It would be a very nice thing to have.Michael J.

no, the consensus between the beta testers, and my own personal opinion, we don't like transparent. might confuse the user, thinking he was talking to fs2002 atc :-loli asked peter a while back, and we wasn't thrilled about making it transparent either.

Guys, we are talking about choice here. If someone doesn't like transparent they can use pink or whetever color they like. This is just one more choice (and one frequently offered by other developers - say vector map in FLY). Unless there is something technical about transparent window that makes extra difficult to do ... I guess I don't get it. But I appreciate replies anyway.Michael J.

and i don't control the feature set of advdisp.dll - if peter doesn't want to do transparency, transparency won't happen. if it was up to me, you would have a choice. maybe if ms releases a few more sdk's, we'll know how to do the transparency window just like they do. but don't hold your breath :-)tell me more why transparency is important. i'd much rather have a little 1 square inch display on my panel than a big transparent block in the middle of the screen. just my personal feelings.

>tell me more why transparency is important. i'd much rather >have a little 1 square inch display on my panel than a big >transparent block in the middle of the screen. just my >personal feelings. jd,It sounds like transparency is a technical issue in which case I understand why we can't have it. Case closed. But since you asked - FS world is full of windows - FMC window, pedestal, overhead, etc .. all already highly unnatural. I don't like all these windows. The fewer the better. So if I can have the relevant ATC information in a small (I love your small size window) through which I can still see some panel texture then it is simply one less window that will drive me nuts. ;(8But I agree, given the choice I rather have one small .. say beige window (to blend with 767) then one big tranparent one.Michael J.

that is what most people are doing. one of the options of advdisp.dll is to make the background color the same as what it is overlaying, in your case the beige of the 767. maybe i should have screen captured the whole panel, with this little window stowed happily over to the side in some dead area of the panel

Michael,You can always write to Peter Dowson and ask him if it's possible to make the AdvDisp window semi-transparent. I know he's not happy with the concept, but as with all things, I suppose if enough people ask for it it might be done. But Peter can be a bit harsh, so don't worry about that. ;-)

> maybe i >should have screen captured the whole panel, with this >little window stowed happily over to the side in some dead >area of the panel The 767PIc panel is very dense but there are 3 such dead areas: left bottom corner, left right corner (in case one does not care for alternate flaps) or just above the round airspeed indicator - this area is "completely" dead and probably the best choice since it is part of the thick glareshield.But as long as the window can be moved around I guess one can place it anywhere.Michael J.

Woo-hooo!!!!!!! I can't wait to have this, well I can and I will[;-)]One nagging question, what happens if I'm talking to a centre controller or tower frequency won't it be the same as the default ATC wouldn't there be some conflict with the default.Oh no I just thought of the answer, if I never bring up the default ATC window I can't interact wiht them but I will be able to hear them talk to the AI (which I will add realistic airlines and stuff with TTools). And RC will give me traffic calls[:-)]

Hi JD,Regarding the keypresses for menu selection in V3, will there be an RC Control Panel, like for 2.2, enabling menu choice without recourse to the keyboard?I'm a real fan of the Control Panel, and never need to touch the keyboard in 2.2. For me, actual keypresses are bad news, as the keyboard is beyond my yoke and throttle, out of convenient reach.Hopefully, Jim H. :-)

i was thinking it would be easier to have the menu choices, be joystick buttons, for those who didn't want to use a keyboard. is that an option for you?

Jim,Actually, using the scrolling functions of the CP, you should be able to maneuver through the menus the same as now. It's a good question, though. Someone will probably check.

I agree I hate keyboard - I often fly at night and can't see individual keys at all.On the other hand I have no more buttons left on my joystick. They are used for key items like flaps, views, spoilers, etc.For me the only sensible option is to use the Game Commander to voice activate ATC menu. Even if I have to say "2", "3", .. etc to do it I think using voice for ATC is the most natural thing. I only hope/pray that one day the menu will be "Game Commander friendly" allowing easy access with nothing displayed on the screen. (C4TO works like this in FLY however it has a very limited set of choices).Michael J.

and therein lays the trouble. it doesn't scale very well. some menus have 25 choices. that is a good thing, very realistic. bad thing, hard to get to things. with 5 menus of 5 each, any option is 4 key strokes away.indeed someday, when voice recognition is perfected, this will be an ideal use for it. but i would hate to ask for a visual approach, and the controller says, roger that missed approach. :-)