Vancouver+1 version 1.1 released to the beta team

We released the beta today, thanks to Ken Peters who did a lot of work on improving the installer. I’ll let you know how it goes!

This release will be for FS9 only.

Last building of VictoriaPlus

I’ve completed the model for the last building of VictoriaPlus, the Regent Hotel adjacent to the Hyack Floatplane terminal.  Just need to do low-LOD and night textures.  In this shot, you’ll note West Coast Air equipment parking at the Hyack dock because the West Coast Air dock was full.  This is mostly traffic included in Vancouver”.  Although VictoriaPlus does not include AI aircraft, it does have some flightplans for Vancouver+ aircraft.  As well many of the aircraft from Vancouver+ fly into the Victoria region.

VictoriaPlus is almost ready for beta.  Just one or two bugs to iron out and a couple of minor details to add.

Kudos to Webshots

A while ago we were having trouble with Webshots.com: some images downloaded correctly, many stalled.  Customer service was prompt, and we interacted a bit, including lots of technical questions and information they asked us.  In the end they determined it was a bug in how the app interacted with IE. Worked fine with FireFox which gave us a workaround.

So although they didn’t resolve the issue, they convinced me that they were serious about diagnosis and solving the issue in the future. 

The Tail Wags the Dog: Spammers outwit Spamcop

The ManKind Project uses a list server to broadcast emails to members throughout the world, and has something like 750 lists, 120 list administrators, and thousands of subscribers.  Spamcop is a service that helps out Internet Service Providers (and individuals) to weed out spam by blacklisting IP (Internet Protocol) addresses that source spam.  Unfortunately, Spamcop’s system is not smart enough to differentiate between real spammers and legitimate list servers.  In this case, somehow Spamcop’s spam trap email addresses are getting email from our servers.  This may be because someone has spoofed the MKP address well enough to fool Spamcop, or it may be that someone has compromised our list administration system. 

It’s creating difficulties across the world for our international organization.

In this round (and I know there are many), it seems that the spammers have outwitted Spamcop and the ISPs who use this service.  More damage is being caused by using Spamcop than would be caused by additional spam.  The tail is wagging the dog.

My ISP (who uses Spamcop) offered to whitelist the MKP servers, and further was able to effectively stop filtering emails to my addresses

In my opinion, this situation represents a failure to adequately serve some subscribers: it seems the focus on fighting spam is taking precedence over meeting my subscriber needs.

The source of the issue is the spammers, who persist I suspect because of those folks who respond to spam, who actually click on links or reply to emails.  I have published some info on dealing with Internet issues here.  Meantime, please don’t respond to spammers!  And be aware of how your ISP tries to block spammers: they may be blocking legitimate email.

For those who are trying out their FS9 scenery in the FSX beta

I’ve posted some of the implications of trying FS9 scenery in FSX below.  Although it looks like a long list of stuff that doesn’t work, no need to panic, the results could be very different in the final release.

EDIT: This post is superseded by the October 5 preliminary evaluation of the FSX retail version.  See that entry.

What works:

• support for the current method of land-water-mask (LWM) polygons
• landclass
• elevation mesh
• object placement and day textures

What sort of works:

• aircraft AI work fine, although there is an issue with 1 foot water runways showing up, ie no longer invisible.  This may or may not be fixed in the FSX final version
• water AI works, but there is an issue of conflict with the default water traffic.  Default traffic wanders at will and cannot be selectively disabled: either it’s enabled or the global water traffic file is disabled
• CYVR has been significantly improved in FSX, but there may be some conflicts to be resolved
• a number of very nice building models have been added to downtown Vancouver.  Some we may use, some not.  Regardless a bunch of new exclusion work needs to be done.
• we haven’t seen bridges yet

What doesn’t work: (we’ll get all this stuff to work, which may mean creating FSX-specific files, and this could take a while, or not):

• alpha channels work differently now: which means that a number of objects that use transparency may not show up properly.  This include windows, but also the girderwork of bridges, like the Second Narrows
• some ship models have been changed: they look good, but are a different size
• this beta version does not support VTP lines, meaning that coastlines, roads, railways and other features that use this method will not work in the FSX beta.  It is expected that this will be supported in the final release, but we will see this at the same time as everyone else, so cannot guarantee or test functionality until then
• there are some other unsupported features, like untextured gmax objects, that may or may not be supported in the final release
• the flight folder structure has been changed.  This may prove a challenge for addon developers to allow easy access to flights intended to match with a particular scenery
• FS9 elevated platforms do not work, so elevated helipads don’t work.
• night textures (LM maps) on objects do not work

Vancouver+1 Version 1.1 Release Update

It turns out that despite their best efforts of Microsoft, we will not know how compatible FSX will be with legacy FS9 scenery like Vancouver+ until the official FSX release. And it may be some time after that for us to untangle and adapt. So we’re back to the original plan: releasing an upgrade for current FS9 users as soon as possible. Holger and I are almost finished our changes, and Ken should be able to start working on the configurator shortly.

Here’s a tentative list of the changes you’ll see with this free upgrade:

Aircraft and AI

• additional floatplane aircraft: DHC-3 Otter (and turbine Otter) and DHC-6 (Twin Otter), including new repaints for Seair and Salt Spring
• extensive real-world floatplane traffic for Baxter Air, Harbour Air, Salt Spring Air, Seair and West Coast Air
• removed ground effect from AI heli
• changed contact points on floatplanes for more realistic leaning

Airports

• eliminated hold short markings from all floatplane bases
• eliminated hold short markings on grass from CAK3, CAL3, CBQ2, CBT6, CSK8, CYHE, CYLY, CYSE
• removed any CYYJ files
• fixed occasional blurry issue on CBC7 heliport
• fixed direction of hold short marks at CAM3
• eliminated texture fragments at CSK8
• fixed taxiway texture issue at CYPS

Buildings

• added “The Melville” to downtown
• added “Bentall V” to downtown
• added HR Macmillian Space Museum (including the Planetarium)
• added Flying Beaver building to CAM9
• added Park Place building to downtown
• excluded buildings at North end of Queensborough bridge
• added buildings and smoke effects to Woodfibre on Howe Sound
• more detailed logo on RBC Bentall building

Structures

• added SkyBridge (transit bridge between New Westminster and Surrey)
• corrected signs on Mission Bridge
• added strobes to Alex Fraser Bridge
• fixed texture mapping on light poles on Alex Fraser Bridge
• added textures to nautical light models

Boats

• included missing wake effect for Cruise Ship
• improved effects on small boats
• changed boat config so they don’t show up in aircraft list

Configuration/Compatibility

• renamed UT Box to “Ultimate Terrain Canada/Alaska”
• fixed UT configuration/exclude issue
• added UT night light option
• fixed issue where scenery entries were not always added to the configurator
• fixed memory leak issue with UT

Terrain

• fixed double shorelines north of Ganges on Salt Spring Island

The Flying Beaver

The last building addition to Vancouver+1 V1.1 is the Flying Beaver at the Vancouver International Airport Seaplane Base.  It serves as a Bar & Grill, and Harbour Air Terminal.  Here’s a few screenshots.  Still to do: night textures.

 

 

 

Power of Persuasion - The Melville

I was a little stuck on modelling the new Melville building in Vancouver, currently under construction.  Luckily my friend Bill intimidated me with threats of boolean spline lofts, and I realized I was blowing the issue out of proportion.  So in 1/2 hour or so I had my pointy curvey bit, and could complete the model.  Thanks, Bill!

 

So nice to be free!

So after months of being cooped up in a virtual pen, several hundred FSX beta testers including myself have been released from our NDA. What a nice feeling! For some of the implications on FS9 scenery compatibility, please see http://forums.simflight.com/viewtopic.php?t=54540 .  Note that these implications apply to the beta only, and the results for the final version could be quite different. 

It’s been a heck of a lot of work for many folks to support Microsoft in creating the best product possible, while learning to understand the implications on current scenery and future scenery design.