Author Topic: INACTIVE customize ground handling menu in gsx p3d p3dv5  (Read 1474 times)

mf_endless

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INACTIVE customize ground handling menu in gsx p3d p3dv5
« on: July 27, 2022, 11:41:35 pm »
INACTIVE customize ground handling menu in gsx p3dv5

is it still not compatible with p3dv5 ?

virtuali

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Re: INACTIVE customize ground handling menu in gsx p3d p3dv5
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2022, 02:55:50 pm »
The ground menu surely is not inactive. Maybe you meant only the custom *texture* browser, which allows in P3D 4 to select a custom texture ? If yes, that's entirely normal and, it's not a bug or something that needs fixing. The custom texture feature used DirectX 11, which is not available in P3D V5, so that feature works only with P3D 4.4 and 4.5.

Of course, you can customize which operators go to each parking by choosing from the list of stock operators supplied with GSX, and particularly for jetways, the number of included variants has been greatly increased, reducing the need of creating custom textures to begin with.

Since DirectX rendering is also not available in MSFS as well, that feature  will remain exclusive to P3D 4.4 and 4.5, and P3D V5 and MSFS (and FSX) will continue to use the standard multi-liveries system.

If you have suggestions about operators missing from GSX, please provide the following:

- some pointers to the operator itself, like website or photos

- a list of airports they normally operates on

chasensfo

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Re: INACTIVE customize ground handling menu in gsx p3d p3dv5
« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2022, 08:57:51 am »
Hmm, so still looks like there is no solution to this? The problem is, most of these logos actually don't even look like the actual jetway logos used by airlines (they are way too rectangular and long, at least for US airports, I know European airports often have big old logos across them but those are almost always just airport or advertisement related). Usually in US airports...I mean I'm sure you've seen them, jetway logos are square, not rectangular, and don't take up much of the jetway. They also aren't usually straight up the airlines logo, they usually are modified and look different.

Take United for example.

Here is the ACTUAL logo United uses at most airports:

https://viewfromthewing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/20160309_085038_zpshswvxjty.jpg

In GSX, it's a big ass GIANT banner type logo that says UNITED and then has the logo next to it.

Southwest?

https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/190225FLL-PRINT023-source-scaled.jpg

Yet in GSX, it's another GIANT banner that says "Southwest" all across the bridge with the heart.

So...yes, I understand that (as much as it sucks), there doesn't seem a way to add custom logos in v5. But...why do the existing logos have to look so unrealistic then? I usually just turn them off entirely because they kill my immersion. Same goes with the GSE logos. Maybe it works for people who travel a few times per year and don't know any better, but I've worked in operational roles at airports my whole life and can assure you that exactly ZERO of the GSX logos for US airlines look anything like their actual jetway logos...

When I could make my own logos in v4, cool, I'd just use the .png to delete the background,and while not perfect, I'd end up with stuff like this:

https://i.postimg.cc/hjs737Hx/2021-8-25-18-27-41-75.jpg

While not perfect, I still think this looks better than a giant fake banner. And note the GSE, that is how United's GSE ACTUALLY looked in the 90s...simple little logo, didn't have a giant banner saying UNITED across it, nor does most of their GSE now.

I do appreciate your product (which is why I bought it), but if already my favorite feature in all of GSX isn't going to be coming to v5, why oh why do the logos have to be absolutely fake and over-the-top? I just don't get it, I'm sorry. What is there to gain from making them FAKE instead of based off of real life? The GSE too, of course. It really bothers me...
« Last Edit: August 10, 2022, 01:21:52 pm by virtuali »

virtuali

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Re: INACTIVE customize ground handling menu in gsx p3d p3dv5
« Reply #3 on: August 10, 2022, 01:42:02 pm »
Hmm, so still looks like there is no solution to this? The problem is, most of these logos actually don't even look like the actual jetway logos used by airlines (they are way too rectangular and long, at least for US airports, I know European airports often have big old logos across them but those are almost always just airport or advertisement related). Usually in US airports...I mean I'm sure you've seen them, jetway logos are square, not rectangular, and don't take up much of the jetway. They also aren't usually straight up the airlines logo, they usually are modified and look different.

You are confusing two entirely different things here:

- The inability to create fully custom logo in P3D V5, due to the lack Render to Texture which requires Direct X11, unavailable in P3D V5

- Fact that, even when you could customize a logo, in P3D V4, the logo had a fixed aspect ratio of 4:1

Those are completely separate and don't have any relationship with each other, and the fixed aspect ratio doesn't have anything to do with the subject of this post, which was JUST about the Render to Texture function missing in P3D V5.

As explained so many times already, the Render To Texture is only available in Direct X 11 and P3D V4. We replaced it in P3D V5 with standard multi-liveries, and adding many more new jetway liveries to choose from. We explained many times the reasons why we are not going to try supporting Direct X 12, let's do it again:

- DirectX 12 is incredibly more complex, way more dangerous if you do mistakes, and the simulator *itself* is not entirely stable on its own, and we don't need to add anything risky that plays with video memory, so the dedicated version of the software for P3D V5 ( bglmanx65.dll ) has been compiled without any form of DirectX support, that to be 100% sure that, if the program crashes because of a DXGI error, it's NOT GSX.

- MSFS 2020 doesn't have any kind of support for Render to Texture, and it doesn't seem it will ever arrive anytime in the future. It uses standard multi-liveries, very similar to what we use now in P3D V5 so, it should be obvious that's the method we'll use from now on so, there aren't any plans to bring back Render to Texture in P3D V5. If you *really* miss that feature...just use P3D 4.5. I hope that's concludes the whole "Render to Texture" argument.

The logo fixed 4:1 ASPECT RATIO is another matter entirely and, even when you could customize the logo, the end result wasn't very good, because the underlying panel was still using a 4:1 aspect, and to "fix" this, we would need a completely different method, that is supplying a different set of jetways calling panels in a different aspect ratio, calling into a completely new set of texture made for that ratio, meaning in addition to supplying those extra models, we would have at least remake ALL existing jetway logos in all the additional supported ratios, for example 3:1, 2:1, 1:1 and, to do a PROPER job, they should be remade manually, to achieve the best possible fit in every aspect ratio, since most of the times logos are *different* depending on the screen proportions they were made for.

So yes, it's possible, and we might consider it, but it's quite a substantial work, considering we now have 318 stock logos just for jetways, so if we wanted to support 3 extra aspect ratio, about a thousand of extra textures must be checked one by one and eventually be remade, in addition to adding all the jetway models in 3 extra variation to call into the different aspect ratio panel.

chasensfo

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Re: INACTIVE customize ground handling menu in gsx p3d p3dv5
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2022, 10:26:21 am »
Yes, most of that I gathered, but since we can't make our own logos and we are 100% dependent on yours, I am wondering why you guys make fictional jetway logos instead of trying to make them look more like the logos the airline actually uses? It is not really more time-consuming to do it right than to fake it...especially now that the customer's only choice in P3Dv5/MSFS is to use the ones GSX provides. That is my point lol, I know it isn't your fault about the DXT 11/12 issue.

If I share the ones I made for v4, are they convertible to v5? Because I really don't mind sharing them at all and they create a "square" like I showed above though the image is the same size as all the others. I only care about seeing realistic logos, and I'm only bothering to complain because I have no choice but to use the ones you provide as it seems the many I made for v4 are useless now lol. Again, by no fault of your own.
« Last Edit: August 11, 2022, 10:29:20 am by chasensfo »

virtuali

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Re: INACTIVE customize ground handling menu in gsx p3d p3dv5
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2022, 01:29:47 pm »
Yes, most of that I gathered, but since we can't make our own logos and we are 100% dependent on yours, I am wondering why you guys make fictional jetway logos instead of trying to make them look more like the logos the airline actually uses?

Jetway logos are not "fictional", they ARE what the airline actually use, perhaps less in the US, but more in the rest of the world. The 4:1 aspect ratio is used  by all GSX vehicles so,  using that was convenient to reduce an uncontrolled proliferations of textures. In fact, lots of jetways around the world use even more longer aspect ratios, like 6:1 or even 8:1 to cover the entire length of the jetway, considering there are many models of different length, if we wanted to do what you are asking, that is an impossible idea of "perfection", we would need THOSE ones, in addition to the 1:1, 2:1, 3:1.

And again, each new aspect ratio would require:

- New jetway model variations, with different backside panels for each aspect ratio

- A number of extra textures for 318 jetway operators, multiplied by each desired aspect ratio. Supporting 5 extra ratios in addition to 4:1 would require adding 1590 new textures. Each one of them checked and eventually adapted to the various aspect ratios.

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If I share the ones I made for v4, are they convertible to v5? Because I really don't mind sharing them at all and they create a "square" like I showed above though the image is the same size as all the others.

You don't need our permission to share something you made.

chasensfo

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Re: INACTIVE customize ground handling menu in gsx p3d p3dv5
« Reply #6 on: August 12, 2022, 04:22:28 pm »
But, they are fictional lol. Where on earth does United or Southwest have a jetway logo looking anything like the GSX versions? Outside the US, neither of those carriers has a jetway logo, and in the US, they look like my 2 examples I posted...that is my point. The ones provided by GSX are fictional, they don't look anything like the ones I posted now do they? LOL, I mean if you can show me one airport where a United or Southwest jetway logo just say UNITED or SOUTHWEST all across a bridge and don't look like my examples, sure, but I don't think this is the case my friend.

Perhaps you don't understand what I am saying. EVEN IF you were to have to stretch out the logos...they are still not the ones used by the airline! They use a different design, not just a different ratio...look at my photos, look at your stock GSX logos. Do you not see it? Let's pretend you take the provided GSX logo and make it the real life jetway ratio used on United's jetways. Does it now look like real life, or is it still a different design? If United doesn't use the GSX logo on a single bridge in the world, then it is fictional...

And what I meant by sharing was it would appear that since I can't add custom logos, the only way to get my own custom logos in my sim (or anyone else's) would be to have them included buy the FSDT team in an update, correct?
« Last Edit: August 12, 2022, 04:26:32 pm by chasensfo »

chasensfo

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Re: INACTIVE customize ground handling menu in gsx p3d p3dv5
« Reply #7 on: August 12, 2022, 04:58:07 pm »
Maybe this will clear things up. Look at the AA standard gate logo in GSX vs real life. Ratio aside, the AA logo is the word "AMERICAN" on the bottom and the logo centered atop the word. The GSX logo has a faded AA logo for some reason, you can barely see the word American (and it is not on the bottom), and the logo to is to the far right. So it is a different design.

https://i.postimg.cc/2SbzP8M5/Untitled-1.jpg

Even so, this one is more similar that United and Southwest which look really nothing at all like real life on the GSX bridges which is why I used them as examples in my first post. I am asking why if you bother to create an American, United, Southwest etc logo at all do you not look at an actual picture of the standard jetway logos and then make THAT logo (but in your required ratio) rather than making a fake fantasy logo that looks nothing like any bridge used by that carrier? Becuase now we are more or less stuck with the stock options, and I can live with a fake ratio, but not a totally fake design that is my point man lol.

« Last Edit: August 12, 2022, 05:44:00 pm by virtuali »

virtuali

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Re: INACTIVE customize ground handling menu in gsx p3d p3dv5
« Reply #8 on: August 12, 2022, 05:48:32 pm »
Maybe this will clear things up. Look at the AA standard gate logo in GSX vs real life. Ratio aside

There wasn't any need to clear anything. And "ratio aside" ? Ratio IS EVERTHING and IS the reason why logos are made this way, which I think I explained quite clearly all the sound reasons why, when deciding for a single ratio, which one to use because, as I've said, while in the US a 2:1 or even 1:1 is more common, in the rest of the world, even 4:1 is not enough, and most logos cover the whole jetway lenghts.

That's why, as I've said already, the 4:1 is the best possible compromise.

Would be nice to have extra ratios ? Sure, and I already explained what the issues would be in case we wanted to have multiple aspect ratios.

Quote
The GSX logo has a faded AA logo for some reason, you can barely see the word American (and it is not on the bottom), and the logo to is to the far right. So it is a different design.

You are not even supposed to see the word American, because that's NOT an AA Logo! It's an American Airlines JETWAY AD!
« Last Edit: August 12, 2022, 06:11:10 pm by virtuali »