GSX traffic yield to moving Aircraft

[cowings1588]

Just wondering if you program the GSX traffic to yield to moving aircraft.. Such as on pushbacks & coming into the gate area, if a grnd vehicle was driving & I'm getting pushback, will your ramp agents throw up an x to the driver & they yield to oncoming aircraft for pushbacks & arrival into gate area ?? 

Right now FSX traffic you have to watch out for traffic.. Thats why I was wondering if you would make it so they will yield to aircraft moving in & out of the gate area.. Meaning for pushbacks & arrivals into the gates..

[virtuali]

I'm not sure to have understood your question, have you asked if GSX would work with AI traffic ?

This has been already discussed, no, it won't work for AI traffic, even if *theoretically* could, but it would just kill fps, there's no way FSX would be able to cope with multiple service vehicles over many different AI.

GSX will work for the user aircraft only.

[Bruce Hamilton]

He's asking if the traffic will stop when it encounters aircraft, instead of driving through them.   

[cowings1588]

Yes Sorry Umberto. I thought I made it clear sounding.. Sorry if I confused you.. Yes will your ground unlike FSX traffic stop for our aircraft.. My understanding once we have your GSX traffic vehicles it will temporary remove fsx's ground vehicles..

But like what I was trying to ask is unlike FSX default grnd traffic, will your GSX grnd traffic yield to oncoming aircraft traffic especially during pushbacks & arrival into the gate ?

[virtuali]

Sorry if I confused you.. Yes will your ground unlike FSX traffic stop for our aircraft.. My understanding once we have your GSX traffic vehicles it will temporary remove fsx's ground vehicles..

The default FSX vehicles does stop for your aircraft, but not all of them ( I think the fuel truck behave differently ).

However, we'll not touch anything of the default FSX ground vehicles, since default vehicles will be used for AI planes and also because the user himself can do it using the slider. Of course, when a parking stand is being selected all default ground vehicles at that stand will be removed automatically.

[cowings1588]

Ok That sounds fair enough.. Thanks Umberto..

[Bruce Hamilton]

...when a parking stand is being selected all default ground vehicles at that stand will be removed automatically.

Now you've got me curious... I thought the default push cars had their own bgl file, baggage carts had their own, etc.  How can you selectively remove one and not all of them?

[virtuali]

Now you've got me curious... I thought the default push cars had their own bgl file, baggage carts had their own, etc.  How can you selectively remove one and not all of them?

Default ground vehicles are ground Simobjects, and we can remove them at a specific parking stand, using undocumented FSX calls, because it's not normally possible with Simconnect.

Push back it's an exception, because it's handled differently, so it requires a different treatment which means, as long as GSX is installed, the default Push back vehicles will not appear anymore.

[JamesChams]

Now you've got me curious... I thought the default push cars had their own bgl file, baggage carts had their own, etc.  How can you selectively remove one and not all of them?

Default ground vehicles are ground Simobjects, and we can remove them at a specific parking stand, using undocumented FSX calls, because it's not normally possible with Simconnect.

Push back it's an exception, because it's handled differently, so it requires a different treatment which means, as long as GSX is installed, the default Push back vehicles will not appear anymore.

Now, this is interesting...
Virtuali,
1). Are these "undocumented FSX calls" methods/functions in one or more C++ classes?  (i.e. .dll's)
2). Can you use these methods to create custom Push backs for AI (no static ones); since you are eliminating them entire from the scenery when GSX is installed... ?
3). Can you build addon packages for Military Marshallers/ground crew as well?  

[Bruce Hamilton]

Can you use these methods to create custom Push backs for AI

AI don't even call the default push cars, and Umberto has already mentioned that GSX would not interact with AI, so I'm guessing no. 

[virtuali]

1). Are these "undocumented FSX calls" methods/functions in one or more C++ classes?  (i.e. .dll's)

There are many hundres of C or C++ undocumented function calls in FSX, the fun is trying to understand what they do without any source code or documentation.

In some cases, we even have to do direct memory access, which is not really news, we are doing like this since years, especially on FS9.

However, the general rule is, we first try to do it in the "official" way as much as possible, and use reverse-engineering derived features as sparsely as possible.

2). Can you use these methods to create custom Push backs for AI (no static ones); since you are eliminating them entire from the scenery when GSX is installed... ?

I guess we could, GSX by itself, doesn't really care if an airplane to be serviced is user controlled or AI. However, when servicing AI, even performance issues aside, it would open a new can of worms regarding the interaction between AIs and user airplane against AIs (eg. two push-backs could run into each other), which are simpler to deal with if we *know* it's only the user airplane that is going to be assisted.

So, the technology behind, doesn't have any limitation in principle, but we would like to release GSX this year, which means we'll focus on servicing the user airplane only, at least for the initial release. If the product will be well received, the obvious next evolution would be extending it to AIs as well.

3). Can you build addon packages for Military Marshallers/ground crew as well?  

We could build anything, it's just a matter of market: if GSX will sell very well, it's just normal to expect all sort of expansions, like a Cargo package or a Military package.

[virtuali]

AI don't even call the default push cars

Yes, they do, but not always, and the AI model must be native FSX with correct contact points, and the scenery complexity level should be enough to have a push back truck appearing in that parking.

[JamesChams]

Virtuali,

2). Can you use these methods to create custom Push backs for AI (no static ones); since you are eliminating them entire from the scenery when GSX is installed... ?

I guess we could, GSX by itself, doesn't really care if an airplane to be serviced is user controlled or AI. However, when servicing AI, even performance issues aside, it would open a new can of worms regarding the interaction between AIs and user airplane against AIs (eg. two push-backs could run into each other), which are simpler to deal with if we *know* it's only the user airplane that is going to be assisted.

So, the technology behind, doesn't have any limitation in principle, but we would like to release GSX this year, which means we'll focus on servicing the user airplane only, at least for the initial release. If the product will be well received, the obvious next evolution would be extending it to AIs as well.

3). Can you build addon packages for Military Marshallers/ground crew as well?  

We could build anything, it's just a matter of market: if GSX will sell very well, it's just normal to expect all sort of expansions, like a Cargo package or a Military package.

GSX PUSH-BACK vehicles for AI seems like a challenge that perhaps you might not go into, but if you do intend to do GSX for AI in subsequent versions, I believe that most of us will receive it well.

Also, since no one but you'll can ultimately make that decision.  And judging by all the Military related activities that go on in these forums, it seems that there would be a great level of interest (IMHO), but ONLY YOU know how much that interest would motivate your agenda's.  In your opinion, is that (Military package) something you'd be willing to do?

Grazie!

[cowings1588]

Virtualli & Umberto.. While GSX is still being worked on & made.. Make sure to test to see if the belt loaders will reach the Boeing 757-200 & 300 cargo Bins..

I just ran into a wee bit small problem with AES belt loaders.. They don't go up high enough to reach the 757 cargo bins.. They leave a big gap far as height goes from reaching near the cargo door..  I can't make it go past 2 or it changes into the Hi-Loader.. So while yours is still in production.. Please make sure to test your GSX against the 757 cargo door.. In reality the bumper on the belt loader should be an inch away from the door.. Alot of ramps will lower it a tad bit for the offload to make it easier on the ramp agent inside unloading because bags tend to get stuck on the belt loader. So if its a tad lower than the door thats cool.. But it should be atleast close to the cargo door unlike what I can get AES to go..

Just letting you know a heads up while its still in production.. Helping you guys prevent any problems after the release.



By coabrewer788 at 2011-06-29

[Silverbird]

Virtualli & Umberto.. While GSX is still being worked on & made.. Make sure to test to see if the belt loaders will reach the Boeing 757-200 & 300 cargo Bins..

I just ran into a wee bit small problem with AES belt loaders.. There' don't go up high enough to reach the 757 cargo bins.. They leave a big gap far as height goes from reaching near the cargo door..  I can't make it go past 2 or it changes into the Hi-Loader.. So while yours is still in production.. Please make sure to test your GSX against the 757 cargo door.. In reality the bumper on the belt loader should be an inch away from the door.. Alot of ramps will lower it a tad bit for the offload to make it easier on the ramp agent inside unloading because bags tend to get stuck on the belt loader. So if its a tad lower than the door thats cool.. But it should be atleast close to the cargo door unlike what I can get AES to go..

Just letting you know a heads up while its still in production.. Helping you guys prevent any problems after the release.



By coabrewer788 at 2011-06-29

That is true I think the problem is the scale of the aes belt loader I never really thought about checking out the scale of all the vehicles I'm sure Umberto will double check the scale of all the vehicles only problem is that some aircraft models might be out of scale to make the problem worse lol. but I find this a good question.