Classic AI Package Released

[tgibson]

Hi,

Dave, thanks for the help and the repaint offer. I'll have some time off over the holidays so I might get it done, but no promises at this point - I also have an airport project to finish...

Nigel, hold on before you start uninstalling things! Unless you never want to see the Tantris traffic again, that's usually a bad option.

First thing - I am not familiar with the Tantris package - exactly what does it add to FS? AI traffic only? Scenery too? I need to know before deciding what to do next. Also, do you want to use it again? Next, did you add a layer to your Scenery Library when you installed Tantris, what is the layer called (i.e. what folder is it in), and what files are inside the scenery subfolder of that folder?

Second, in your FS/Scenery/World/scenery folder are there any files starting with traffic... and ending in .bgl? This assumes you have "show extensions" turned on in your Windows Explorer Folder Options - if not, they will just start with traffic and have no extension at all but be called a BGL File type. If so, what are they called?

From the answers to these questions I should be able to let you know how to get Tantris and my files to coexist peacefully.

Hope this helps,

[Nigel H-J]

Hi Tom

Tantris is A1 Traffic only, self installer programme and as far as I am aware it just sits in the aircraft folder in FS9.

Hope this helps.

By the way I have already uninstalled Tantris as would just like to have aircraft of the Fifties and Sixties installed but after uninstalling FS9 A1 has not been restored so presently without any A1.

Nigel.

[DaveB]

Hi Nigel,

I don't have Tantris either but I'd imagine it does rather more than sit in your aircraft folder! It probably replaces the traffic030528.bgl file in scenery\world\scenery too. This isn't a problem though ;-)

What you can do if you don't want to use the self installer to install directly to your flightsim is to have it install to a specified folder.. this is what I did. I then got an idea of the installers file structure and installed it all manually (drag and drop). Tom gives a good guide in the readme found in each zip and if you follow those to the letter.. you won't have a problem. They're not difficult to understand so DON'T WORRY ;-) If I can do it.. anyone can ;-)

Basically.. the traffic files are split into 3 years. One is a mixture of prop aircraft.. the second contains some slightly more modern turbo props and the third is a nice mixture of all 3. These will install (if you use the self installer) into your Addon Scenery folder and they'll show as 3 separate folders. For all your modern stuff, make another folder and call it Modern (for want of something else to call it). Inside this make another folder called scenery. Locate the traffic030528.bgl file which'll be in your main Scenery\World\Scenery folder and move it to the scenery folder you just made inside the Modern folder in Addon Scenery.

Next time you start Fsim.. you'll see it updating it's database (it knows the traffic file has gone). Next.. open the settings\scenery page at startup and add the new traffic area of your choice (don't do all 3) as you would a new scenery area. You can add all 3 areas (4 if you include the Modern folder you've just made.. but make sure only one has a tick against it). Close the sim.. restart and once more, the database will rebuild. Now.. go to your fave airport (or better still somewhere like LHR) and you'll be rewarded with traffic from whichever year you chose to install. If you want to try another year.. close the sim.. reopen it again.. go to settings\Scenery.. tick OFF the year you just tried and tick ON one of the others. Easy peasy

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[Nigel H-J]

Hi Dave

It works...it works exremely well

Many thanks for your help though I do have another question!!

I had selected 100% Traffic at Manchester, there are about seven or eight on the gate with not many flying (I do appreciate that it requires a lot of time and effort for Tom to have achieved all of this in the first placed) but other airports such as Southampton and East Midlands do not have traffic there, is there a way round to ensure that A1 is at all major airports and even ones' such as Southend?

I again appreciate that what Tom has done has taken a lot of time and effort but wonder if I would be able to add more traffic to areas that do not have any.

Regards Nigel.

[tgibson]

Hi,

Glad to hear it's working for you!

Keep in mind that this traffic is for 1957 to 1962, and is pretty faithful to that end. East Midlands was opened as a civil airport in 1965, and I believe Southampton was similar. There is traffic going to Southend but not much, mostly just cross channel traffic at the time. I know there is one Carvair flying there (probably the only Carvair flying in 1962). But only one Carvair will be there just once in a while. One problem might be the AFCAD for the airport - the default AFCAD's for UK airports are notoriously stingy with airliner sized parking spaces. I've updated a few in my AFCAD package, but I didn't get them all (yet). Those that have some UK-wide airport addons may not need them.

One thing that many people might be disappointed in is the relatively low number of aircraft sitting at airports and flying around. The reason is that traffic levels were very much lower in that era than they are now. Seven or eight aircraft at Manchester was pretty typical, if I can go by the Avion video. In fact there were often quite a bit fewer. The other reason is that some of the smaller airlines (equivalent to commuter airlines today) are not represented in the traffic, due both to a lack of pictures of their aircraft, and lack of time... :@

I use a program like AI Traffic Mover's timetable function to get a listing of the traffic in and out of a given airport, and what are the best times to watch traffic there.

You can always add more traffic if you like - I and others can tell you how to do that. Using a program like AI Traffic Mover or similar program you can create new traffic pretty easily. It does take a bit of time to learn the ropes, though.

Hope this helps,

[DaveB]

Hi Nigel,

Glad you dived in mate. It's great isn't it

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[Nigel H-J]

Dave, you are absolutely right....it's really great.

Thoroughly enjoy seeing the old prop airliners around along with the not-so-British but yet very classic 707s' The only things I have not installed are the AFCADs' and Editvoice, are they really needed?

Tom, thank you for your help, these A1 packages of yours are brilliant. Thank you very much indeed.

Regards Nigel

[DaveB]

Hi Nigel,

No.. neither the revised AFCAD's or Editvoicepac are required ;-) If you intend to use your current airfields and are not fussed about M$ ATC.. you can leave as is. The revised AFCAD's are for use with the Classic 'period' airports as advertised on the CalClassic site and Editvoicepac add's some of the Classic airline callsigns

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[Nigel H-J]

Thanks Dave.

Nigel.

[tgibson]

Hi,

Thanks all, I do appreciate the kind words.

BTW, the term is AI, not A1. It stands for "Artificial Intelligence". But sometimes they don't seem very intelligent...

The purpose of the AFCAD package is to backdate some default airports around the world back to classic times. Long runways are shortened, the jetway parking is converted to "terminal turn" parking, and the taxiway and runway markings and lighting are backdated too. It makes an otherwise default airport a little bit more "classic". It won't affect any of the airports that have "real" classic scenery available since these AFCAD files are in a lower scenery layer than they are, and thus they have precedence. If you have a UK airports package or lots of addon airports for where you fly you probably don't need it. They are easily selectible (on/off) from the Scenery Library.

If you ever listen to MS ATC, the callsigns from the EVP package will be used when they control my traffic, as Dave says. There are many callsigns and aircraft types not included in the default voice pack, so this package provides them. If you don't listen in, you don't need it.

Hope this helps,