A couple of general questions |
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Quentus
Check-In Staff Joined: 11 Jun 2014 Location: United States Points: 6 |
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Posted: 11 Jun 2014 at 5:27pm |
I just picked up T360 and read the manual, updated the software and started up TCC. First, I noticed that if I make changes in the TCC, they are not there when I start it at a later time. I have read the forums and from what seems to be the case, this is because once you compile, the additions/changes to FSX AI traffic are always there in the sim until you go back into TCC, make changes in the menu, and hit the compile button again, correct? So in other words, I only need to start TCC once, but not again until I want to make changes to TCC. Again, is this correct?
Is there a way to tell whether or not T360 is actually working. I have flow in the past with just the default FSX AI traffic, which was limited. And now that I have the sliders for FSX turned all the way up, I cannot tell if what I am seeing at KRDD is traffic created by T360 or it is FSX traffic. Are they the same thing? The reason why I ask is because with T360 slider all the way to 200% and the FSX sliders all the way up, all I saw at KRDD was 3 GA planes in the sky and 2 AA jets on the ground (one eventually took off after about 5 minutes). Shouldn't there be more? Or is this because of how small of an airport KRDD is? Let say I enable only United States VFR traffic "jf_VFR_USA" and then compile and start FSX. If I go to KRDD I should only see those VFR planes that I have checked in the Traffic Generator for VFR, right? I should not see anything else like a 747 even though I have the Airline slider in FSX maxed out? Any help is appreciated. Thanks. |
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freddy
Chief Pilot Joined: 29 Nov 2008 Location: Melbourne, Aust Points: 1339 |
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TCC should be keeping/saving your changes. You make changes in TCC, apply/save those changes, compile the AI traffic, run FSX. Your changes should be in FSX. Then, when you run TCC again, those changes that you made should still be there (because you applied/saved them). If your changes are not applying/saving, then it could be due to having Traffic X installed in a folder in Windows that has restrictions placed on it ... in which case remember to run TCC using the "Run As Administrator" option in Windows which should, if that is indeed the reason, allow your changes to be applied/saved. (And, in case it's a question you're thinking of, no, you don't need to have TCC running when you run FSX.)
The Traffic 360 installer, as part of the install process, should make appropriate changes which stop the default AI planes from appearing in FSX ... so, no, you should NOT see any Orbit, Global Freightways, Pacifica, etc. You should only see actual real-world airlines. Regarding the number of aircraft and the number of AI traffic movements etc, don't forget to make sure that your Traffic 360 has been patched with the v1.09 patch. See this link here for details: Traffic 360 Service Pack - (Version 1.09 Aug 2013). Traffic 360 has AI airline traffic and, SEPARATE TO THAT, also has AI general aviation (GA) traffic and AI business traffic. The Traffic Generator is only for GA and business aircraft. Therefore, the Traffic Generator does not affect the AI airline traffic in any way. So, if you enable only United States VFR traffic ("jf_VFR_USA"), compile, and then start FSX, you will still continue to see AI airline traffic, AND, as well as the AI airline traffic, you should also see (from your example) USA AI VFR traffic (and none of the other types of AI VFR traffic). |
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Quentus
Check-In Staff Joined: 11 Jun 2014 Location: United States Points: 6 |
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Thanks Freddy. last time i flew I noticed a United flight taking off, so it looks as though I am seeing T360 AI traffic. However, in terms of GA planes, I limited the type to just a few, such as Grumman, Robinson and Maule in the Traffic Generator. I then generated the traffic, compiled and started up FSX. I saw Grumman's taking off but also saw a Mooney and a Piper Cup. Why would these AI planes be included when I did not put a check mark by them in the Traffic Generator? Is FSX generating them?
This is not a eye sore by any means, I'm just trying to figure what planes I am seeing and to which flight plan they are flying. I think the first thing I need to figure out is the times. Like, when I look at the random GA flight plans that are generated for "jf_VFR_USA" I see times like 7:06, 7:24, etc. but is this local time or GMT? For example, I saw a flight plan that listed a departure time of 8:23, but when I was in FSX, and went to the departure airport at 8:23 (local time), I did not see the plane take off. When changing the times in FSX, should I be using GMT or Local in order to see the planes take off based on their flight plan. I figured it was not GMT because at 8:23 GMT it is dark, and not really a good time for VFR. Is this due to daylight savings time? I appreciate your help on this. This is my first AI aircraft add-on to FSX and I can see that I am struggling hard against the learning curve. I was not aware that T360 did not tailor to beginners like myself.
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freddy
Chief Pilot Joined: 29 Nov 2008 Location: Melbourne, Aust Points: 1339 |
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I don't know the answer to your first question. Suffice to say, if you UNCHECK (remove the tick) from next to the "Mooney Bravo" and the "Piper Cub" planes in the list, generate traffic, AND THEN COMPILE (this is key; if you make ANY changes in TCC that you want to see reflected when you run FSX, then you must do a COMPILE), you should not see Mooneys or Piper Cubs.
Now, I have Traffic X, not Traffic 360, but I will assume what follows is the same ... in Traffic X I can EXPAND the various aircraft selections in Traffic Generator list by clicking on a little [+] sign next to each aircraft type. For example, there is a [+] next to "Mooney Bravo" in the list and if I click that [+] I see the different variations of Mooney Bravo aircraft (ie, two types, Mooney Bravo White Black, and Mooney Bravo White Blue). Be sure that you are unchecking the UNEXPANDED Mooney Bravo (ie, MAIN root Mooney Bravo in the list) so that (in the case of the Mooneys) BOTH of the aircraft variations are unchecked. Perhaps in your case, because you are still seeing Mooneys in the skies, ONE of the Mooney's two aircraft variations remains checked (or you simply forgot to do a compile)? The times in AI Traffic programs are "tricky". I don't know how other AI programs do it, but certainly for Traffic X (and therefore I assume Traffic 360) I've read Just Flight documentation which suggests the AI are using GMT time. But, when I've done my own flight plan updates, and compiled, often I do not see the aircraft at the GMT time, but instead see it at the local time. And sometimes the opposite is true. So, I am never really sure. A good rule of thumb is simply to start looking for a plane at the LOCAL time and then, if you do not see it, go BACKWARDS from that in ONE-HOUR or HALF-HOUR increments until you do see it. Failing that, begin again at the local time and then go FORWARDS from that in ONE-HOUR or HALF-HOUR increments until you do see it. Note that even though you do this you may STILL NOT SEE IT. This is because whenever you do flight plan work in TCC, and then compile, a RANDOM NUMBER gets generated for each and every AI plane (even the airliners). That RANDOM NUMBER corresponds to the FSX TRAFFIC PERCENTAGE slider. If the random number just happens to be LESS than your currently set TRAFFIC PERCENTAGE slider value in FSX, then you will NOT see the plane. For example, you do some flight plan work in TCC and then compile ... a Mooney Bravo that you're working on gets given a RANDOMLY generated number of "48" during the compile process to be used for traffic percentage purposes. If your FSX's Traffic Percentage slider is set to "60", then you won't see this Mooney (because 48 is less than 60). If you make NO CHANGES in TCC and instead simply compile AGAIN, then, this time, the random number generated for this Mooney might be, say, 83. And now when you run FSX, you WILL see the Mooney (because 83 is more than 60). Note that, annoyingly, you cannot see this randomly generated number. It is hidden away inside the compile process and the generated files and is not shown to you anywhere. This RANDOMLY generated number is there probably to keep things (pardon the pun) random so that each time you compile, things are indeed a little bit different in your FSX each and every time. Whilst I understand that thinking, what it really means is that particular planes and airliners that you get used to seeing at an airport, may now NOT be seen at that airport due to doing a new compile (for example, a Qatar Airlines A380 that you got used to always seeing at Heathrow, may now NOT be seen at Heathrow any more). Personally, I think it is annoying because if *I* am adding plane to the AI, then I should see it each and every time. And I still want to enjoy seeing that Qatar A380 at Heathrow. Similarly, I used TCC last week to add a Beech King Air and I want to keep seeing that as well. Hmmm. So, anyway, here's a little trick ... after doing TCC work and then compiling, not only should you go BACKWARDS and FORWARDS using the TIME to try to see your plane(s), but you should also ALWAYS set your FSX's Traffic Percentage slider to 100 percent. This will GUARANTEE that you see the plane(s), regardless of the random number generated for it/them during the compile process. Then, once you find and see your plane(s), you can set that slider back down to your normal value (60 in my example) and see if the plane(s) is/are still there. If not, RE-COMPILE and try again. Finally, I doubt that Traffic 360 cares about DARK (night time) or not. Similarly, I doubt it cares about DAYLIGHT SAVINGS times either. I mentioned that I have Traffic X, not Traffic 360. With Traffic X, VFR planes will still take off in the dark. Traffic X doesn't take this in to account at all. All VFR and IFR settings are for is to tell FSX's ATC how to talk to the plane when calling it out over the ATC radio chatter. If you want "true" VFR (that is you don't want planes that are set as VFR in your flight plans to be taking off in the dark), then you will have to MANUALLY edit their flight plan times yourself. Now, as I said, I have Traffic X, not Traffic 360 ... and THAT is what I have had to do. Maybe Traffic 360 is different and Just Flight have corrected that in some way. Personally, I doubt it. We are talking here about Traffic X (and Traffic 360), but I think I've read about other AI programs which do take the times (day versus night) in to account for VFR traffic. Each AI traffic program on the market has its own PROS and CONS. |
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RayM
First Officer Joined: 15 Nov 2012 Location: Luton, England Points: 384 |
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Hope this helps a little with the time problems.
When you create files in the TCC, the times are in LOCAL. When the new flightplan is compiled, the BGL file actually contains times in GMT (not even BST note) but you don't have to worry about that. A problem occurs in that the time zones in Traffic X/Traffic 360 are NOT always the same as the ones used by FSX. This means that some flights may be an hour different from what you expected. I have never discovered a method of altering either of the Traffic X/360 time zones or the ones in FSX. Life is complicated but interesting! |
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A long time FSXA and Traffic X user
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quick
Ground Crew Joined: 12 Sep 2012 Points: 80 |
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It would be nice if someone discovered how to correct this. Great information Freddy |
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freddy
Chief Pilot Joined: 29 Nov 2008 Location: Melbourne, Aust Points: 1339 |
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