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Duplicate Aircraft.cfg files

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WarHorse47 View Drop Down
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    Posted: 04 May 2014 at 8:16pm
I recently purchased the Constellation Professional and Upgrade Pack B.  Really nice.
 
I noticed that each aircraft folder has two cfg files.  One is the primary Aircraft.cfg file and the other is labeled Aircraft_.cfg.  I was wondering if there was any difference between the two, such as the 2nd having a more realistic FDE or something??
 
Also, I'm not seeing ground stairs vehicle for all the models - just the passenger models.  I assume this is correct, but didn't see anything mentioned in the manual.
 
Thanks
 
--WH
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BobKay View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobKay Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 May 2014 at 2:36pm
That's an interesting question.  Looking into the JF_L049 directory, I find with the following:

$ ls -l aircraft*
total 56
-rwxrwxrwx 1 1026 users 26578 2009-11-19 10:15 aircraft.cfg
-rwxrwxrwx 1 1026 users 26513 2009-11-17 16:21 aircraft_.cfg

$ diff aircraft_.cfg aircraft.cfg
1c1
< //FINAL VERSION 171109
---
> //FINAL VERSION 191109
783c783
< eyepoint= 28.2, -1.66, 4.10
---
> eyepoint= 28.2, -1.66, 3.75
989a990,992
> fuel_type=1.000000
> number_of_tank_selectors=1
> electric_pump=1

so the files are definitely different, and both date from 2009.  My first guess was the aircraft_.cfg file was some sort of backup when installing other addons such as the L0749 and L1049 and different liveries but after seeing the actual differences I'm not so sure.  Looking in the JF_L1049 directory from one of the expansion packs, I find this:

$ ls -l aircraft*
-rwxrwxrwx 1 1026 users 22755 2009-11-25 12:25 aircraft.cfg
-rwxrwxrwx 1 1026 users 22804 2009-11-17 11:42 aircraft_.cfg

$ diff aircraft_.cfg aircraft.cfg
1c1
< //REVISED VERSION 171109
---
> //REVISED VERSION 191109
641c641
< eyepoint= 40.2, -1.16, 4.10
---
> eyepoint= 40.2, -1.16, 3.75
714c714,717
< //light.2 = 3, -69.09,   0.00,  4.52, fx_navwhih
---
> light.2 = 1,  -7.40,   0.00, 8.30, fx_beaconh
> light.3 = 1,  -12.30,   0.00, -4.35, fx_beaconh
> light.4 =  4, 15.75, 0,   3,  fx_vclighth
> light.5 =  4, 27.75, 0, 1.5,  fx_vclight
716,720c719
< light.3 = 1,  -7.40,   0.00, 8.30, fx_beaconh
< light.4 = 1,  -12.30,   0.00, -4.35, fx_beaconh
<
< light.5 =  4, 15.75, 0,   3,  fx_vclighth
< light.6 =  4, 27.75, 0, 1.5,  fx_vclight
---



so your guess is good as mine.  Perhaps someone from the JF staff can shed some more light?

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WarHorse47 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote WarHorse47 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 May 2014 at 11:03pm
Seems that nobody has an answer or the time to respond to my question.  All the devs must be on holiday.
 
So, here is what I sent to Customer Support:
 
Comments:
I recently purchased the Constellation Pro Base Pack and Expansion Pack B. Despite some research and posting a question on the forum, I am unable to find answers on a couple issues:

1. Each aircraft folder has two cfg files. Why? What is the significance of the aircraft_.cfg file - is that a backup or does it have some performance enhancements??

2. I'm not seeing ground stairs vehicle for all the models - just the passenger models. I assume this is correct, but didn't see anything mentioned in the manual.

3. Do I need to download and install the Service Packs, or are my recent downloads current?

4. Is there a fix for the night lighting? After landing and a full shutdown, I could not turn off the taxi lights despite turning off the taxi light switch and all power. Also, the ground stair vehicle did not look good under dark lighting conditions - it was fully lit up whereas the aircraft was dark.

5. My install resulted in an aircraft folder JF_L749 with no contents other than a panel folder. Is there a faulty install or was that an update to another Expansion Pack?

The only other thing I would add is that the clock does not display the current time.
 
Despite these issues I did go ahead an acquire Expansion Pack A.  The exterior models and textures are very good, sounds are good, VC cockpit is okay.  I'm just surprised not to find any further discussion or fixes on these items since the Connie's release in 2009.  Shame.
 
--WH
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BobKay View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobKay Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 May 2014 at 4:34pm
When you get the answers to your questions, I'd very much appreciate it if you could post them here.  In particular I'd like to see the answer to your question #3.

As for #5, I noticed the same thing; unpopulated directories.  However after installing the rest of the expansion packs the JF_L749 directory had "normal" contents; ie, panel, textures etc subdirectories, aircraft.cfg (and yes, aircraft_.cfg) files, etc.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote WarHorse47 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 May 2014 at 11:20pm
Well, I got my answers.  I think
 

1. It depends on how the developer has developed the product so I don't really have a solid answer but the .cfg file helps to drive the add-on and allows it to perform the way it does.

2. There is a section in the manual that explains how to get the ground services working. Please see page 24 of the manual and on reference no 2.

3. Yes, it appears you will need these service packs.

 
The first response on the two cfg files makes no sense whatsoever.  My guess is that the 2nd cfg file may the the result of the mysterious cfggen.exe program, but nobody seems to know.  My comparison of the two cfg files shows them to be identical, so one my serve as a Master file or a backup.
 
The second response doesn't address my question.  I know how to activate the ground services.  I can get the ground crew to show, but not there are no ground stairs for the military versions.  I haven't seen a single snapshot of a C-121 with any kind of stairs or lift for the main door, and the switch does nothing.
 
The third response seemed like a guess.  I'm surprised that the latest download version is without any of the changes to the SP.  I did install the SP for the base and Expansion Packs A & B.  The clock now reports the correct time and the sounds seem improved.
 
More to check out.
 
--WH
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BobKay View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobKay Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 May 2014 at 4:32pm
Interesting that your .cfg files are identical, while mine are clearly different as shown above.  How did you make the comparison?  I had used a utility (diff) designed specifically to compare files.

I'm guessing, BTW, that the aircraft_.cfg files are backups of the files before modification by whatever editor they used, much as tilde files and .bak files are; if I were to edit an aircraft.cfg file the original would be preserved as aircraft.cfg~.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote WarHorse47 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 May 2014 at 6:19pm
Originally posted by BobKay BobKay wrote:

Interesting that your .cfg files are identical, while mine are clearly different as shown above.  How did you make the comparison?  I had used a utility (diff) designed specifically to compare files.
I did a quick side-by-side, line-by-line look.  I didn't compare all of them as there are multiple aircraft folders. 
Guess I can use another approach, but I really don't want to spend a while lot of time on any comparison.  These type of things should be clearly explained by the developer.

My primary concerns are what happens when I decide to modify the aircraft.cfg with more accurate callsigns?  The original aircraft.cfg had missing atc type and model entries in the [General] section which meant that the a/c were not recognized by the ATC.  I've since corrected that, but made no changes to the aircraft_.cfg file (the mystery cfg files).  We'll see what happens.
 
--WH
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BobKay View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobKay Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 May 2014 at 3:05pm
As long as you made your own backups of the aircraft.cfg files before modifying them, I don't think you should have a problem.  Especially if you placed them in a separate directory.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote WarHorse47 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 May 2014 at 3:54pm
Originally posted by BobKay BobKay wrote:

As long as you made your own backups of the aircraft.cfg files before modifying them, I don't think you should have a problem.  Especially if you placed them in a separate directory.

Always.  Been doing that for years.  That's why I've never before seen two cfg files in an aircraft folder without explanation.
 
AND BEFORE I take the plunge and start editing, I ask support for answers on such things.  So far, nobody seems to have a logical answer to the question as to the purpose of the aircraft_.cfg file for the Connie.
 
And there is no need to place copies in a separate directory.  Typically I just right-click, copy and paste in the same (aircraft) directory so I retain a record of changes.  Comes in handy when having to look at an addon installed 4 years ago to determine the original textures, etc.
 
--WH
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobKay Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 May 2014 at 2:05pm
Still looks to me like they're just backup files.  Many text editors (with notepad being a major exception) automatically create backups before saving changes to a file.  I recall seeing an underscore being added to the name somewhere in the past, but can't recall which editor.  Consider that the aircragt_.cfg almost invariably has a datestamp at the head of the file that's a day or two previous to the aircraft.cfg file.  Agreed, this is speculation on my part, but that's how I'd wager.

As for separate directories, it's possible that some installer/updater may decide to purge any files that "don't belong" in the folder before updating..  Not saying that any of them actually do that, but it's possible and I've seen it done with other applications.

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