Cargo loaders with PMDG and P3D 4.3

[ahuimanu]

Hello,

Since updating to 4.3, the UDL cargo loaders/unloaders will go to the port side of the PMDG 744 or 777, despite starting on the starboard side, and then go UNDER the aircraft to align with the door.  Then, they will pivot 180 degrees and start unloading.

Needless to say this is terribly unsatisfying from a realism standpoint.  Is there some thing I can do settings wise?

I did a fresh install with 4.3 (not a update to the client, etc.).

Thank you.

[virtuali]

Since updating to 4.3

Not possible. *NOTHING* in the update of the sim could possibly have any effect on this. You probably already had this problem, and you only noticed it now, after the update, but the update doesn't have anything to do with this.

[quotge], the UDL cargo loaders/unloaders will go to the port side of the PMDG 744 or 777, despite starting on the starboard side, and then go UNDER the aircraft to align with the door.  Then, they will pivot 180 degrees and start unloading.[/quote]

The only thing that affects where the loaders go, is the location of the cargo doors in the airplane configuration file and the configuration that we supplied GSX with for the PMDG 777/747 (and any other airplane, except very few with a cargo door on the right, like CRJs), has the cargo doors on the right side, with the Freigther variants having an additional main cargo door on the left side.

This means, you have edited/downloaded a configuration for these planes, which is wrong for any reason, and result in loaders going on the wrong way.

Since your own custom configuration will always take precedence over the one that comes with GSX, you should be able to fix this using the "RESET" button in the airplane configuration page, which will remove your custom configuration and restore the one that comes with GSX.

[Er!k]

I also have seen this behaviour a few times with the QW787... P3Dv4.3 and JustSim Antalya a few minutes ago. Only changed the AFD file, nothing done with the GSX config.

[virtuali]

I can only repeat and confirm the only thing that can affect where the loaders go, is the airplane configuration. We don't supply any configuration for the QW787, which means we cannot vouch for the one you are using.

[ahuimanu]

Thank you, I'll try the reset.  I do not have a customization, but no matter, if there is a reset, I'll try it.

Related (sort of): is there any way to tell what has been updated (if anything) when I run the updater?  I run it before just about every flight, but I have no way to tell if it has any impact.

[virtuali]

Thank you, I'll try the reset.  I do not have a customization, but no matter, if there is a reset, I'll try it.

The airplane configuration page will tell you if you have a custom configuration to Reset (before resetting it, of course)

Related (sort of): is there any way to tell what has been updated (if anything) when I run the updater?  I run it before just about every flight, but I have no way to tell if it has any

There's an option to read the release notes. Updating before every flight is really overkill.

[ahuimanu]

Thank you for your replies.

I did the reset that was recommended and the behavior persists.  The loaders will travel around the aircraft (the PMDG 777F and the 747F), move under the cargo door, and then pivot 180 degrees.  I did not observe this behavior with P3D 4.0, 4.1, or 4.2.  However, upon installing 4.3 from scratch, including all FSDreamTeam products, this behavior persists.

I realize that you don't see it on your end, but perhaps you might some some thoughts on what could be going on?

Is it a SODE thing?  Should I completely reinstall FSDreamTeam stuff first?

Regarding my question about updates.  I ask because, based on what is mentioned to this user - http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,18065.0.html - it seems that some small change could be present at any time (which is why I run the program so often) and these changes don't seem to be documented regularly for us on the user side.

FSDreamTeam products bring a lot of value to my simming experience, but it wouldn't be completely hysterical to point out that the couatl ecosystem can be quirky.  I'm a long-standing customer, so I've had a long view of the matter.  I accept that flight simming on the ESP platform is very complex, but some sort of update log on our end could perhaps help us to look into our own problems more thoroughly, which can, in turn, assist in the trouble-shooting processes that we commonly engage in on this forum.

Is there an update log I am missing other than the html file that was last updated in May?  BTW, I have the same problem another user has in that, on the hard drive, that file hasn't been updated since 2017.

This is so even with a fresh install.

Any guidance is appreciated.

Thank you.

[virtuali]

I did the reset that was recommended and the behavior persists.

Could be you also had a GSX.CFG file in the Simobjects\Airplanes\AIRPLANE_NAME folder, maybe because you downloaded from somewhere (not required, since GSX comes with its own configuration) and is still there ?

When you "RESET" the airplane configuration in the GSX airplane configuration page, it will only reset your own custom configuration, which is located under %APPDATA%\Virtuali. It will NOT reset a configuration that is located in the Simobjects\Airplanes\AIRPLANE_NAME and this is intentional, since that location is supposed to be used only by airplane developers to put their GSX configuration so, we assume those configurations are correct, which is why the Reset won't remove them, so you can still customize it, but you can always go back to the configuration that came with the airplane, and not with a "blank" configuration, which would be the case if we Reset everything.

But of course, if you downloaded a configuration made by someone, and perhaps followed the (wrong) suggestion to put it under Simobjects\Airplanes\AIRPLANE_NAME, this one will never by Reset AND it will always take precedence over anything we do internally in GSX so, if that one is wrong, there's no way to fix it, until you remove the GSX.CFG file manually.

So, check if you have a Simobjects\Airplanes\AIRPLANE_NAME\GSX.CFG file, and remove it.

Of course, the GSX airplane customization page will TELL YOU if you are using a custom configuration or the GSX internal configuration so, you could simply have checked this, without searching around for files.

I realize that you don't see it on your end

No, it doesn't happen here. See this video I just made:

but perhaps you might some some thoughts on what could be going on?

Could be you customized the vehicles starting positions for that Gate ? If yes, try to Reset them too, maybe you put the vehicles in a starting position that would force them to appear on the wrong side (they appear exactly where you told them to appear) and make a 180 to be in the correct position.

Is it a SODE thing?  Should I completely reinstall FSDreamTeam stuff first?

No, SODE doesn't have anything to do with this.

FSDreamTeam products bring a lot of value to my simming experience, but it wouldn't be completely hysterical to point out that the couatl ecosystem can be quirky.

Your problem doesn't obviously have anything to do with "Couatl"...it's just a matter of understanding where GSX is reading its configuration from and why it works in some way or the other, and the final answer is there's always a REASON why it does that.

Is there an update log I am missing other than the html file that was last updated in May?  BTW, I have the same problem another user has in that, on the hard drive, that file hasn't been updated since 2017.

The Release notes shows the last update was July 11th:

https://www.fsdreamteam.com/couatl_liveupdate_notes.html

[ahuimanu]

Thank you for the reply, I'll look into all of your suggestions.

That file is not being updated by Live Update.

On a related note:

NEW: GSX is now disabled when flying above 10.000 ft or faster than 250 kts. This should prevent crashes due to corrutped Airport/Navaids database.

Thank you for doing this.

[bryn]

I am recently seeing this behaviour too. The cargo unloaders are in the correct position, but they come around to the port side of the aircraft and then proceed through the body of the aircraft and do a magic 180 to then line up with the cargo doors. I've seen this on 2 of my last 3 flights - first with the PMDG 777, and second with the QW 787. If I reset Couatl (and don't change anything else) and start the deboarding again, everything works fine and the loaders approach the doors correctly.

[virtuali]

If I reset Couatl (and don't change anything else) and start the deboarding again, everything works fine and the loaders approach the doors correctly.

This is very strange, and it's the first time someone ever reported it this way. I have no idea why or how this could possibly be happening, but we'll try to check it.

[ahuimanu]

I do a couatl reset now just after pushback to avoid other types of crashes.

Virtuali, would you consider a mode where just a given route (really origin and destination) airports are used for GSX?

I'm glad to hear I'm not exactly alone with this.

[virtuali]

Virtuali, would you consider a mode where just a given route (really origin and destination) airports are used for GSX?

Not sure what this would achieve, other than forcing to create a flight plan and not being able to land on a different airport than the one you planned.

If you are referring to the issue of the sim crashing because of corrupted navigational databases, it should be fixed now, since GSX is now entirely disabled (doesn't check for airports nearby), when flying over 10.000 ft or faster than 250 kts.

[ahuimanu]

Hello,

The behavior on the ,PMDG B777F in particular persists. The rear cargo loader (for the large cargo door) will start off on the correct position, travel across the fuselage, and then go around the tail and then connect.

I've run the updater a few times since posting.

[virtuali]

The behavior on the ,PMDG B777F in particular persists.

As you can see in the video I posted earlier, it doesn't do that.

However, someone later said the problem went away by restarting Couatl so, is this happening to you too ? Does the problem happens only on arrival ? If yes, does a Restart Couatl before soon before lading fixes this ?