AI Aircraft appear at some bases but not others

[md11driver44]

SimObjectPaths.9=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\MAIW\Aircraft

[md11driver44]

Changed it to SimObjects\MAIW\Aircraft

[Firebird]

OK, this is what I was hoping.

With FSX you have to specify in the FSX.cfg any specifically added folder that you want it to pick up. It is not like FS9. Anything not specifically cataloged under SimObjects will be ignored.

It might be that it doesn't like nested folders. So alter your entry to 'SimObjectPaths.9=SimObjects\MAIW'
Then move your tanker folder from MAIW\Aircraft to its parent, MAIW, then start up FSX and check to see if there is now a difference.

[md11driver44]

Everything is working now. BTW, how does one go about converting a FS9 model to FSX?

[Jorgen]

I forgot where I saw this (and forgot to bookmark it), but according to what I remember of what I saw (77 years take their toll on memory), there should be a conversion guide here at MAIW - anyone know more about this?

And you'll need Model Converter X, available here: https://www.scenerydesign.org/development-releases/

This is for the development release, which I prefer, the regular one is here: https://www.scenerydesign.org/modelconverterx/

I have used the development version, right out of the box with no bells and whistles or instructions, to convert the FS9 SGAI Falcon 20, and it shows up nicely in P3D. The same with several AI ships.

Jorgen

[Firebird]

Glad that everything is working now.

Now the model conversions are a far more tricky proposition.

Without the original source code you are left with converting each mdl using a tool such as ModelConverterX.
The tool itself is free but the creator, Arno, has made it so that you need a license file from him to open up the full range of options. He does this to ensure that piracy options are limited. It is intended for modellers to convert their own stuff or trusted people to convert for modellers.

Even with this tool it can be a tricky task sometimes due to the nature of the differences between the mdl standards. The biggest being animations and their definitions.

MCX can convert mdls backwards and forwards i.e from FS9 upwards and P3D backwards. I would say that the biggest difficulty is from FS9 to FSX or P3D due to the mdl standards.

I would say that if you are serious then download MCX and try it out. You lose nothing but it will not be a case of loading an mdl, setting the target sim and hitting enter. There will be manual manipulation involved using the program. Each aircraft can need different tweaking.

You will also need to install the SDKs for each sim version that you will work with, so for an FS9 to FSX mod you will need both the FS9 and FSX SDKs installed.

[TimC340]

No f-15's are showing up and I have the parking pads set for them with size and parking codes. I went with Johns number for the parking size (39.37) but still nothing. I have no FS9 traffic files in my sim either.

John's figures were in feet - you've made F15s that have a radius of around 125ft, or about the size of a C-5! All of John's fighters have an FSX/P3D radius of 7m. As I explained (and demonstrated) above, the spot size is less important than the spot allocation.

As Steve has said, you don't have the aircraft in that traffic file on your system - or they're not where the traffic files are looking for aircraft. (EDIT - posted before I saw you'd sorted that!).

[TimC340]

Everything is working now. BTW, how does one go about converting a FS9 model to FSX?

Before you put any great effort into that, almost everything of interest to MAIW users has already been converted for FSX/P3D by the MAIW conversion team. The particular aircraft you're looking for may be in a package that covers several units, and there may be a few units that haven't been converted for some reason or other, but once you've found the converted model, you can apply the older unit paints to it very easily.

[Jorgen]

Firebird, I have a question here - if I want to convert a model that I download from AVSIM from FS9 to P3D, do I then need to have both the FS9 and the P3D SDKs installed? If so, since I don't have FS9, how do I then get and install its SDK?

The conversion of the Falcon 20 I mentioned above seems to work fine in spite of the absence of the FS9 SDK.

Jorgen

[Firebird]

From what I understand is that the short is yes you do as MCX uses tools from the SDKs in its conversion.
In reality you need the one that loads its current format and understands the structure, and the other one to save to the new format. If you were to expand to include FSX mdls then you would need all 3 SDKs installed and have MCX point to all three.
Now it maybe that the simpler FS9 format allows MCX to cope better without the FS9 SDK installed but you would need it to convert to FS9 mdls.

The original FS9 SDKs were on the install CDs. However, I just did a simple google for 'FS2004 SDK' and found several mentions of it - including Avsim. Whether they are still available in these places I do not know.

I couldn't talk about the SGAI Falcon in particular. You may have got lucky in that it was simple enough and generic enough that it only uses default animations and lighting. It might be that some things were dropped because of this. I just could not tell.

What I can say is that there have been numerous posts about issues converting between different formats. If Arno says that you need both SDKs I would err on the side of caution and install them to maximise your chance of success and minimise the chances of problems.

[Jorgen]

The FS2004 SDK was certainly on AVSIM, a whole pack is available here:

https://library.avsim.net/download.php?DLID=170949

I'll see about installing this.

I have sent a message to Arno about the license file.

And then just for fun, I will try re-converting the Falcon 20 and see if it improves.

Thanks for the help -

Jorgen

[md11driver44]

From what I understand is that the short is yes you do as MCX uses tools from the SDKs in its conversion.
In reality you need the one that loads its current format and understands the structure, and the other one to save to the new format. If you were to expand to include FSX mdls then you would need all 3 SDKs installed and have MCX point to all three.
Now it maybe that the simpler FS9 format allows MCX to cope better without the FS9 SDK installed but you would need it to convert to FS9 mdls.

The original FS9 SDKs were on the install CDs. However, I just did a simple google for 'FS2004 SDK' and found several mentions of it - including Avsim. Whether they are still available in these places I do not know.

I couldn't talk about the SGAI Falcon in particular. You may have got lucky in that it was simple enough and generic enough that it only uses default animations and lighting. It might be that some things were dropped because of this. I just could not tell.

What I can say is that there have been numerous posts about issues converting between different formats. If Arno says that you need both SDKs I would err on the side of caution and install them to maximise your chance of success and minimise the chances of problems.

So I think I will let someone else make a FSX model for the F-22's then.

[gavinc]

So I think I will let someone else make a FSX model for the F-22's then.

I did the conversion of the NBAI F-22 to P3D. There was no need to convert to FSX native as the FS9 model works perfectly well in FSX-

Gavin

[md11driver44]

So I think I will let someone else make a FSX model for the F-22's then.

I did the conversion of the NBAI F-22 to P3D. There was no need to convert to FSX native as the FS9 model works perfectly well in FSX-

Gavin

I have only been able to find 2 F-22 Raptors for Hawaii. Do you know where I can find for to make a squadron??

[Victory103]

Download section, both the original HI F-22s are there and update, with flightplans.

[Jorgen]

I have spoken to Arno about MCX.

The license file is only required when you want to convert models to MSFS format, not when you want to convert to FSX or P3D formats.

The FS9 SDK is only required when you want to convert to FS9 format.

Jorgen

[Firebird]

IThe license file is only required when you want to convert models to MSFS format, not when you want to convert to FSX or P3D formats.

I was not aware of the precise nature of the license but I am now educated.

[md11driver44]

I now have no aircraft showing on my sim. Nothing is showing. No military or civilian aircraft. I also wanted to ask about this setup and does it need to be this way for FSX.

Create a folder “Military-AI” that contains the following subfolders:
• Effects
• Scripts
• SimObjects
• Texture
• Traffic

[Jorgen]

The setups can be the same for FSX and P3D, since they basically use the same file structure.

But - and here's the main, all-important thing - all the folders and sub-folders that you create must be visible to FSX or P3D, or nothing will show up.

There is no one rule for how the setup should look, but here's how I personally do it, and this works:

I throw all effects, scripts and textures into the default P3D folders. All traffic files go into \Scenery\World\Scenery as usual. But my AI aircraft - all of them - go into a non-default folder on my J: drive (P3D is on the H: drive). This one then has to be made visible to P3D, and to do that I have added an entry to C:\ProgramData\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D V5\simobjects.cfg that looks like this:

[Entry.10]
Title=Addon AI aircraft
Path=J:\P3D V5 AI Aircraft
Required=True
Active=True

Under FSX, the simobjects.cfg folder if of course located differently, but find it and you can do something similar.

Jorgen

[Firebird]

You are trying to make things too separate for your AI stuff. The folders defined are simple one level elements. To do what you are trying to do will need you to define each individual named folder and add them individually to FSX.cfg.

I don't understand why you would wish to do it that way. Put the traffic in the traffic folder the textures in the texture folder the simobjects folder is redundant and possibly confusing FSX with two active SimObjects folders.

What you had worked.
I just use the default setup with one addition definition, SimObjects\AIAircraft, and all of my AI aircraft folders go in that folder.
That really should be enough separation for most people.

I don't think, from what I have seen and discovered with your original issue that the simobjectpaths folders are recursive, nor do they seem to be able to be more than one level deep.