Effect of Traffic Scalar in AI traffic?

If I remember correctly it has little or no effect as traffic density is largely based on flight plans to/from the airport, but don't quote me on that.

I think I looked at it when I was putting AI aircraft into AirHauler originally, but one of the scenery designers would have a better handle on what it does, if anything.

Changing an airport's traffic scalar could affect the amount of traffic seen at an airport. Whether a change in the traffic scalar is noticeable would depend upon the number of parking spaces available at an airport as well as the number of AI flight plans that are created for the airport.

All Flight Simulator X stock airports (and Traffic X airports*, too) use a traffic scalar of 0.70. Airports created with or modified by Airport Design Editor default to a traffic scalar of 0.70. The conventional wisdom is to never change the traffic scalar. Keeping the traffic scalar a constant 0.70 at all airports avoids experiencing unexpected differences in airport traffic among airports. There are already enough variables associated with AI traffic. There's no reason to add unnecessary complication by using another variable. It's much better to maintain a constant 0.70 traffic scalar at all airports.

*Decompiling a few Traffic X airport bgl files into xml files showed me that Traffic X airports don't have any coding for traffic scalar. This leads me to believe that Traffic X airports default to the same traffic scalar that is used by FSX stock airports, but I don't know really what traffic scalar FSX uses when no traffic scalar coding is present in an airport file. When opened in Airport Design Editor, Traffic X airports show a traffic scalar of 0.70, but ADE, itself, may be inserting this scalar. Whatever traffic scalar Traffic X airports default to, it is clear that the absence of scalar coding at Traffic X airports means that all Traffic X airports default to the same traffic scalar.

Dan

starling wrote: I just don't like "not knowing". Bruce

Me, too. That's one of the reasons I read the Just Flight forums. I learn both from many of the answers as well as from many of the questions. If the AI-traffic-related forums get quiet for a while, I practically go through withdrawal from not getting to read one of freddy's responses. Of course, there are other exceptionally bright and knowledgeable individuals who participate in the AI traffic forums, but freddy is the most prolific.

Dan