DickB

First - apologies if this is in the wrong forum. Please feel free to move ! One for the technical gurus I think - while using Task Manager to investigating an unrelated problem, I noticed that with my a/c sitting on the ground, no traffic, while the FSX CPU load was running mainly at around 12-14%, every 37 seconds (really) it would shoot up to 70-90% for a period of about 25 seconds, and then return to normal. 37 seconds later it would do it again. And again. That's a fair chunk of processing. Does anyone have any idea what would be doing this ? I have the following main add-ons: Opus - not running MCE - not running ASE - not running The PC runs offline. Thanks for any help !

First - apologies if this is in the wrong forum. Please feel free to move ! One for the technical gurus I think - while using Task Manager to investigating an unrelated problem, I noticed that with my a/c sitting on the ground, no traffic, while the FSX CPU load was running mainly at around 12-14%, every 37 seconds (really) it would shoot up to 70-90% for a period of about 25 seconds, and then return to normal. 37 seconds later it would do it again. And again. That's a fair chunk of processing. Does anyone have any idea what would be doing this ? I have the following main add-ons: Opus - not running MCE - not running ASE - not running The PC runs offline. Thanks for any help !

MCE support via email is excellent. You need to contact them via support@multicrewxp.com

MCE provides voice recognition for default ATC and RC (and PFE ?).

My thoughts exactly. I'm puzzled by the unholy haste that some have to get UTX and other products off their systems on the mere promise of a new product from the folks down under. As a UTX user, I will surely keep an eye on OpenLC and Global Vector, and if the (more general) feedback is good I may well buy and install them, but not before I have taken a full disk image of my existing system first !

If you DO decide to revert to GEX, then you should uninstall FTXG first. It changes more than just textures, and you could find that your GEX doesn't look quite the same as it used to. ORBX have now provided a FTXG UnInstall tool which is said to "work flawlessly", though I haven't tested it myself. So far I'm happy with FTXG where I fly.

I moved from GEX to FTXG and can recommend it too. No major difference in FPS as far as I can see. I do have problems with some of my freeware airfields (trees on runways etc). Suggest you check the feedback on the ORBX FTXG forum also.

This list may not be exhaustive: AutogenDescriptions.spb - default.xml - lclookup.bgl - RoofDescriptions.spb - terrain.cfg I also noticed there is a thread on the FTXG support forum for users to report airfields with trees in the runway. http://www.orbxsystems.com/forum/topic/62900-trees-on-the-runway-report-here-please/

Glad to hear it - shame it wasn't there on day 1 though. . It's a pretty fundamental requirement. Think I'll still put my faith in Acronis though :smile: I agree. As long as everything else works, I'm happy.

I agree - you can uninstall FTXG manually, but only if (a) you know which files it has changed and you backed them up before install. In the case of FTXG, the initial implication was that it only replaced textures (like GEX), and these could be backed up as part of the installation. Not quite true. As a result, there will be those out there who cannot remove it completely if they wanted to. But hopefully they won't want to ! The only problems that I have seen personally so far have been with some freeware airports, where trees have suddenly started sprouting from the runways and taxiways. I'm told this is because ORBX changed a texture that is commonly used by developers for airport pads, so quite possible it will turn up elsewhere.

I don't have chapter and verse to hand, although if you hunt around the various threads on FTXG on different forums you will pick up more detail. The only file I can recall offhand is lclookup.bgl, which (I believe) determines what texture is loaded for a given landclass. But there are others too. .Moreover, these files are not (or certainly were not) backed up by the FTXG installation process, so although you could restore your textures, you couldn't remove all traces of FTXG, unless you had a separate system backup to restore from. ORBX have now provided an un-install program, but I'm not sure how/whether that can restore the files that were not backed up in the first place. Hopefully they have changed the backup process too, so everything can now be backed up and restored, but I don't know that for sure.

Absolutely agree all of that. I only mentioned it to make people aware. IMO any product which breaks any of the 'rules' should carry a health warning to that effect. And clear instructions as to how to reverse the install process if necessary. That's the one thing that lets the ORBX folks down - their install/uninstall processes seem to be either problematic or in some cases even non-existent !

Very curious (and scary !) I haven't seen anything like that over here in Europe.

You mean the FSGenesis mesh ? I've heard this, but I haven't seen the problem where I fly. BTW I am not using the FSG NextMap mesh, just the previous lower resolution version. I did see some issues with NextMap.

One thing you should be aware of is that FTXG makes changes to base FSX files which may cause problems with other scenery. They have (rather late) released an uninstall program, but I would highly recommend that you do a full system backup before you install, just in case. Apart from that health warning, I would certainly recommend it.

I was (and still am for that matter) a massive fan of GEX. I think those guys have done a terrific job. And I'm not bothered about product price differentials (am I really going to buy scenery just because it's cheaper ?) or fancy lighting. But I can't deny that FTXG (combined with UTX and FSGenesis mesh) gives a much more realistic view of the area that I fly in, which is northern Europe. The one thing that wasn't mentioned in the OP review, but has been discussed at great length elsewhere, is the fact that GEX 'plays by the rules' as far as FSX is concerned, whereas FTXG modifies base FSX files, which can lead to problems with other scenery products. And until recently, there was no FTXG uninstall capability, so anyone installing it would be well advised to take a full system backup first.

I'll be interested to see how it looks. I'm probably alone in this :smile: but I'm a little concerned to see that they are increasing the size of the lights by 40%. Lovely lights, and they look great from the air, but they already look enormous at ground level e.g where the FTXG urban scenery borders an airport. (Just goes to show you can't please everybody !)

Did I see that you were able to take-off with the tie-downs still on ? Great video, just goes to show developers that when we get our hands on a new plane, the manual is the last thing we look at :smile:

I really shouldn't try to use my memory :rolleyes: I checked my code and that line looks correct. It does need to match the size of the bmp file though. The gauge itself needs to have this code at the top: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <Gauge Name="yourname" Version="1.0"> and this code at the end: </Gauge> Where "yourname" is the name of the gauge as referenced in SaiFlightSimX.xml in Saitek/DirectOutput e.g. <Gauge Timeout="100" RootFolder="Relative" File="Gauges\yourname.xml"> </Gauge> I'm assuming your gauge xml is in the Saitek/DirectOutput/Gauges folder, and the bmp file is in Saitek/DirectOutput/1024 folder. Is your problem that you can't get the gauge to display at all, or is it not moving as expected ?

A vote here for FSGenesis mesh. (Though I have no experience of FSGlobal for comparison). Works very well with FTXG where I fly, which is northern Europe . And no flying airfields that I've seen :smile:

Sorry - I misread the code. Didn't see the operators at the end of the line. Not sure the syntax is correct (I will check), but still probably worth getting it working with a simple value and then add the calculation.

Couple things I noticed immediately: I'm assuming this is a fragment from within a gauge. If not, then it needs a <Gauge and </Gauge> statement at least. <Postion X="106" y="108 should be <Position x="106" y="108"> I think Imagesizes="85,3,85,3" should be Imagesize="85,3" You may not even need that at all. Make sure your image is the size specified. I've not seen multiple values used in Shift/Rotate statements before. Not saying you can't, but might be worth trying with just one value instead of three just to get it working. I've had problems with rotate and radians (or was it degrees) in FIP gauges. xml for the FIP is not quite the same or as comprehensive as it is for regular FSX panel gauges. If you like to PM me with your email id I can send you some examples and a few other hints.

I too noticed a performance improvement with the later releases of GEX. I know they put a lot of effort into balancing the autogen load so the processing peaks and troughs should be evened out. I've moved to FTXG now because I prefer their representation of northern Europe, and I reckon performance is very similar.

Take a look at this site: http://fsxtimes.wordpress.com/tag/flight-instrument-panel/ The site owner, Tom Tsui, has created lots of panels for the Saitek FIP (which is what I think you are referring to), and is very helpful. Alternatively, I'd be happy to look over your code and see if I can spot anything obvious. I don't have Tom's experience, but I have successfully created a few FIP panels myself in the past.

I agree. Same could be said about the control centre, once you're dialled into it. There is an option in the ATC section of the GUI to tell mce whether or not to check for an accurate callsign. That might be helpful. I run with it unchecked and rarely have any problems with the call sign. Then again I don't use RC.