Installing MAIW packages in FSX

muppi · Post by **muppi** » 28 Aug 2008, 16:52

MAIW,
You have excelled in your latest packages, NAS Meridian is fantastic it works great in FSX no glitchs at all, apart from a slight frame rate drop, considering most of the ramp is full I'm not complaining.
Congratulations to the MAIW team great job and thank you.
Dave.

danatedrummer · Post by **danatedrummer** » 03 Sep 2008, 04:48

I am pretty new to the forum and am also new to addons to fsx. I have got a lot of the packages converted and installed. The aircraft show up and they fly but the scenery isnt working right. Planes are parked half way through the hangers and trees are on the taxiways. Can someone tell me exactly how I need to install the scenery properly. also many of the packages have these *.woai.encfiles that I cannot open. how do you install these?

Thanks
Nate

Firebird · Post by **Firebird** » 03 Sep 2008, 06:56

Hi Nate,
I can't answer the questions on the scenery, as I don't have FSX, however i can answer the question on the packages that you can't open.

This is because the early packages were released in partnership with World of AI and uses their installer. There is no other way of getting at the goodies inside. The readme file will give you directions to the installer.

Hope this helps.

Ford Friendly · Post by **Ford Friendly** » 03 Sep 2008, 09:50

Nate, I've installed numerous MAIW packages using MAIW afcads into my FSX installation. Like you I have noticed some parking issues with those afcads and FSX.

You need to remember that MAIW is FS9-oriented and FS9 uses a "flat-world" model while FSX uses a "round-world" model. Add to that the differences terrain mesh can make and things can get really messed up when using FS9-based afcads in FSX. Also, when they made/updated-from-FS9, the locations of numerous airports and other geographic features was changed (from slightly to significantly) by Microsoft. So, someplaces in flat areas where their locations weren't changed can use FS9-based afcads with no/few problems; other locations are best served by new, FSX-"tuned" afcads.

The solution? Pretty easy in most cases. Open up the afcad causing the problem in Afcad (the same program used to make airports in FS9), AFX, ADE or FSX Planner and simply move the "offending" parking spot so that the plane doesn't stick its nose through a wall. AFX and ADE allow you to view the parking spot "circles" in FSX itself as you make the change so nearly as foolproof as it is easy. I'm not sure if FSX Planner has this feature; Afcad certainly doesn't.

Exclusion files will eliminate most "misplaced" buildings and trees in the area of the airport. Landclass files can also be used to clean up the autogen-related objects in/around the airport. There are a number of tools and ways to accomplish this clean up. ADE and AFX, for example, can create exclusion files from within their programs!

Hope this helps.

danatedrummer · Post by **danatedrummer** » 03 Sep 2008, 20:47

Ford friendly and Firebird, Thanks for your help! Can we start at the basic computers for dummies and tell me what afcads are and where I find them and how to edit them. I would really like to get into this and figure out how it all works.

Feel free to e-mail me at danatedrummer@gmail.com also.

Thanks

Ford Friendly · Post by **Ford Friendly** » 03 Sep 2008, 22:13

"The Basics"

afcad221.zip on avsim
This is a CAD-style editor for FS2004 airports. Airports consist of visible scenery and invisible facility data used to control airport operations. AFCAD 2 can add or modify almost all facility elements and several visible elements. This includes runways, taxiways, aprons, parking and communications. By Lee Swordy

afcadtrt.zip on avsim
Afcad Tips and Tricks - an Illustrated Tutorial. Although Lee Swordy's indispensible program includes very complete documentation, this tutorial illustrates several of the less obvious things you can do with the program. Topics include creating a quick flatten, decorating the edges of a runway, use of the polygon feature to enhance terrain adjacent to an airport, drawing "roads", creating invisible taxiways, moving or removing the Helicopter "H" and use of the "jump here" command. Even if you are an experienced user of Afcad, you will likely find some useful ideas in this tutorial. Compiled in .doc and .pdf formats for your flying enjoyment by David "Opa" Marshall.

Guides link
http://www.flightsimulatorguide.com/guides.htm

AI traffic - flightplanning
....Traffic Tools by Lee Swordy
ttools202.zip on avsim .... Very important to read the Read Me.

muppi · Post by **muppi** » 23 Sep 2008, 16:53

Hi,
Thank you MAIW for the two versions of the deadly AH64, I have ten parked at KRDU, I didn't use the MAIW default AF2.KRDU also the exclude
bgl's.
Instead I used AFX to modify the fsx AF2 with mil parking which has worked well'ish I say that as I seem to have an MAIW F15 messing up the AH64 line, also I have yet to see the helicopters fly.
Other than that the AH64 package looks very good in FSX great job guys,
and thanks again.
Dave.

Ford Friendly · Post by **Ford Friendly** » 23 Sep 2008, 17:31

To see the 'copters fly, take a look at the flightplans.txt file and note the time that a takeoff from KRDU begins. I checked beginning at 19:00 GMT on Day 0 - Sunday for FSX - and saw them fly a bit later. Day 0 for FS9 is a different day - either Saturday or Monday, I forget which.

I usually set the simulation speed to 4x and "show up early" (like 15-30 minutes) to ensure I don't miss what I am looking for - either a takeoff or an arrival/landing. This not only gives the AI time to "spawn" at an ATC-arrival boundary if necessary, but gives me a chance to orient myself to the airport/direction I want to look via "slewing".

Hopefully, this helps.

cpt-robie · Post by **cpt-robie** » 13 Oct 2008, 18:29

Hi,

First off, thank you for documenting the process as I found it very helpful.

Would you mind, for my own clarity, expanding on what needs to be done if one decides to modify the existing AFCADs (Document's option #3)? I'd like to know whats needed.
i.e. is it a matter of changing some/all the ramp parking spots on KADW to MIL_CARGO? and assigning them to their respective squadron/wing

TIA,
Michael

Ford Friendly · Post by **Ford Friendly** » 13 Oct 2008, 19:34

cpt-robie wrote:Would you mind, for my own clarity, expanding on what needs to be done if one decides to modify the existing AFCADs (Document's option #3)? I'd like to know whats needed.
i.e. is it a matter of changing some/all the ramp parking spots on KADW to MIL_CARGO? and assigning them to their respective squadron/wing

Not sure which "(Document's option #3)" you are referring to. But, to answer the question generally, FS9 and FSX allow you to assign 2 different "this spot will accomdate or 'is for'" codes.

They are: atc_parking_code and atc_parking_types.

Following is quoted from the afcad2.21 READ ME

Parking Code
Enter a parking code (e.g. AAL for American Airlines) in this box to designate which parking spots the aircraft should use. The aircraft will use parking spots with matching codes in preference to others. This corresponds to the parameter "atc_parking_codes=" in the aircraft.cfg file.

Parking Types
You can enter one or more parking types. These can be entered in full, such as "Gate,Ramp,Cargo", or in short form such as "G,R,C" or "g,r,c". Usually it is only necessary to enter one parking type. Aircraft will use the supplied parking type in preference to other types, if codes are not used or are equal. If there is more than one Parking Type then it will use the second or third parking types only if there are none of the first type parking available. This corresponds to the parameter "atc_parking_types=" in the aircraft.cfg file.

Parking Codes are more specific than parking types and take precedence over parking types.
-That is, if you have a parking space in afcad labelled as follows: parking_code = DAL B737 and parking_type = Gate, then ANY Delta aircraft that can fit in that spot can/go there if it is open. (Wingspan entry in the plane's aircraft.cfg file must be equal to or smaller than the wingspan radius/diameter setting for the parking spot in afcad.) Delta B737s will spawn into this spot before being assigned to another space at system startup if there is more than one open parking space.
- If the aircraft landing is an American Airlines B737 and there is no other size appropriate spot coded for AAL open, the plane will go to this spot - based on the B737 coding. ((The plane might be assigned to an AAL Ramp spot instead but why is more complicated than I can explain.))
- If the plane is NOT Delta AND NOT a B737 AND if the aircraft.cfg wingspan entry is equal to or smaller than the wingspan entry in afcad, then the plane COULD go to this parking spot IF the atc_parking_type = GATE in the aircraft's aircraft.cfg file.

Another thing to consider is that FS9 and FSX allow a different number of atc_parking_code entries in the aircraft.cfg file. FS9 only allows 3 while FSX allows 4. There seems to be some question about whether FS9 actually uses ("respects") all 3 code entries........ I have found numerous threads around the net which discuss this - most are a couple years old.

I do know that it has been confirmed that FSX CAN and DOES respect the use of 4 entries in the "atc_parking_code -" entry.

So, in my FSX system, I use entries like this in an aircraft.cfg file:
- Parking size entry = 1 tenth of 1 foot more than half the real world wingspan of an A10. (I make sure that the aircraft.cfg file wingspan entry is equal to the real world wingspan.)
- atc_parking_type=MIL_COMBAT
- atc_parking_code = 11TS 343W A10 M001
11TS = 11th Tactical Air Support Squadron
343W = 343 Wing
A10 - generic A10 entry
M001 - generic fighter entry

Order of precedence to try to park is left to right. The system will try to park this plane in a squadron spot first, then a wing spot, then an A10 spot, then any open generic fighter spot. If none of that is available, then the system will try to find any open MIL_COMBAT spot. If that fails, then the system will look for any open RAMP or CARGO spot that might normally be assigned to a civilian aircraft. Finally, if that fails, the plane might be assigned to a GATE.

For FS9, the entries I used would have been:
atc_parking_type=MIL_COMBAT
atc_parking_code = 11TS A10 M001
Parking size entry = 1 tenth of 1 meter larger than the A10 aircraft.cfg wingspan entry.

The order of aircraft code listings in the Parking Codes entry for the afcad parking spot doesn't seem to make much difference - whatever is listed means "fair game" if an aircraft fits any of the codes listed there.

Lots of words.... but it's not really as complicated as the number of words written. And I could be slightly off on a couple things.

Hope this helps.

John Glossop · Post by **John Glossop** » 09 Nov 2008, 03:31

Hi,
Just my 2c worth.
A good tutoria - just a couple of changes I might like:
1. get yourself tinypdf - it's free, and quick, and nowadays, .pdf is still a lot more acdcessible to Joe Public than MS Word (you install Tinypdf as a printer, and just print to it. It gives you a pdf file that's easy to upload, and use.
2. ADE at the link location that you mentioned is the original release version. It is still under development, and the preferred (temoprary) location for it is http://www.scruffyduck.org.uk/ade/. Jon's having ISp problems, so It'll move from there, but in the mean time, once you have installed the tool, it will auto-update for you. The version that you are pointing to is VERY old - current version is 1.37, and it has a lot more goodies than the original version (anyone wanting to build a fairly good FSX military type aerodrome will find that nowadays, ADE makes that a breeze, as you can do all the AFCAD things, plus load scenery at the same time. A very nice piece of kit. Hint, hint).

John Glossop · Post by **John Glossop** » 09 Nov 2008, 03:37

muppi wrote:Greetings all,
Would someone be good enough to explain the usage of TTOOLS in FSX as I have been trying for a while populate North Island NAS.
I have a small AI pack (KNZY) for fs9 with AI Aircraft and flightplans.
Thank you.
Dave.

Another tool that might be of use is a little program called AI Flight Planner, which can be found at http://members.shaw.ca/aifp/. It combines a flight plan converter (FS9 to FSX, and FSX to FS9) with a flight plan creator, with a traffic file generator (for both FS9 and FSX), and if you are using FSX, you aren't left with just seeing the FS9 traffic generated using TTools (and that includes shipping, too, BTW) which happens when you mix traffic files generated for FS9 and traffic files generated for FSX

John Glossop · Post by **John Glossop** » 09 Nov 2008, 03:55

danatedrummer wrote:Ford friendly and Firebird, Thanks for your help! Can we start at the basic computers for dummies and tell me what afcads are and where I find them and how to edit them. I would really like to get into this and figure out how it all works.
Feel free to e-mail me at danatedrummer@gmail.com also.

Thanks

Hi danatedrummer,
If you are going into FSX, personally I'de suggest that you forget AFCAD and AFCAD2, and head straight for ADE. It's what we all expected AFCAD2.2 to develop into, but which didn't eventuate, in that it allows you to do just about everything around your airport, from parking spots, to moving ground traffic, to scenery buildings, to individual trees, to replacement control towers, to car parks, to... well, if you want to do it to an airport, there's a fairly good chance that you can do it with ADE (including taking buildings from one airport and placing them at another airport).

I've been playing with it, and attached is a sample of what I've been able to accomplish with just one small corner of YMML. It's a work in progress, but every time i add something, i find that there are other things to add, and it just keeps on getting better.

CelticWarrior · Post by **CelticWarrior** » 09 Nov 2008, 18:07

Hello John,

Thanks for your comments. I haven't really updated the document for some time.

My intention with the original release was to get people up and running and then let them get on with tinkering for themselves. And to provoke discussion amongst FSX users on better ways of achieving things. It seems to have done the trick judging by the amount of advice that's been given out here so far.

If I find some time I'll have a look at updating it and converting it to PDF.

At the moment I'm up to my eyeballs with work and I'm also studying for my commercial pilot license.

There is a better guide out there on gsnde's Owl's Nest website, you'll find a thread pertaining to that elsewhere.

Thanks again for your input.

jgibson_sniper · Post by **jgibson_sniper** » 23 Nov 2008, 23:17

need help on step #4 of the tutorial , what do I "substitute FSX for FS9"?

gsnde · Post by **gsnde** » 03 Jan 2009, 16:00

I have updated the tutorial on how to use MAIW packages in FSX. It now describes the steps to correct some MAIW installer errors (for FS9 as well) and contains a list of all MAIW textures and effects.

Then I have released Version 2.0 of my Propeller Texture Replace Tool.

The purpose of this tool is to replace the propeller texture prop-hs.bmp, which is displayed in FSX as a solid disk due to an FS9 compatible (white) alpha channel.
Different than in Version 1 where only one replacement texture was used the current version replaces all 24 different prop-hs.bmp textures with the individually corrected file. Have a look at the included Read-Me.txt if you have used version 1.

You can download tutorial and tool in the MAIW section of The Owl's Nest.

ranger352 · Post by **ranger352** » 22 Jan 2009, 18:14

I have downloaded the instructions for using the packages in FSX several times and all I get is a 13Kb file which I can read in notepad but doesn't make much sense to me. I have another tutorial from Owls Nest but that one involves creating a file and renaming it, I know how to create a folder and rename but not a file, can anyone help me out please. Also in the Owls Nest tutorial when there is a reference to insert below a folder does that mean inside the folder?

cheers Mike

CelticWarrior · Post by **CelticWarrior** » 22 Jan 2009, 19:36

Mike,

I just downloaded the file and got all 82kb worth and opened it in OpenOffice as a Word document with no issues. I'm not sure what the problem is there, does anyone else have any difficulty either downloading or opening the document?

I'm sorry to hear that it doesn't make much sense to you.

I'm sure Martin will answer any questions you have about his guide.

ranger352 · Post by **ranger352** » 22 Jan 2009, 23:46

Hi Cary

Thanks for prompt reply, I think my download manager was messing with the download, I closed the manager and downloaded to desktop and got the 82Kb, thx again

Mike

gyedema · Post by **gyedema** » 30 Jan 2009, 16:07

**I already asked the same in support area; not sure what to post where...**

Hi there!
First of all: kudos for all the great work!

Then a question (or problem?) I downloaded and installed the simmons package. Converted everything to FSX, but can't get it to work. No traffic shows up whatsoever. Furthermore, I have made my own flightplans for EHLW (I live there). I tried to add ONE CH47, but it won't show up anywhere.

I followed the install instructions, and the conversion instructions found on The Owls Nest. But again: no traffic shows up, and while the aircraft (ok, choppers) are visible in the AI Flight Planner from Don Grovestine, all I see is military airbuses, F16's, C-130's: all planes I added, but NO chinook. Nowhere. Zippo...

So... WHAT... am I doing wrong???

Installing MAIW packages in FSX

.enc files

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Install into FSX