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tsedge

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Everything posted by tsedge

  1. I think when compared to the cost of X-Plane, some people think $60 is a lot. But the thing is X-Plane is only as cheap as it is because it sells so many copies, if it didn't then it would cost a lot more. Even if the brilliant CRJ sells 1,000 copies, that's unlikely to cover the costs. If it sells 10,000 then that's a different story, and the more it sells the lower the price could afford to be and the price of future planes. So if you want more like the CRJ and lower prices in the future, buy it now so the developers can make a return and get the level of sales that will then give you more planes that cost less. Tom.
  2. Excellent job! Downloading them now. Congratulations and many thanks to everyone involved. Tom.
  3. Great. Glad to hear that it is ok.
  4. Hi guys, Sorry for the slow response on this. Rush: I haven't tested with 10.6 and 9.60 so I do not know if that combination works, though I can't see why not. You could try the earlier 1.1 version if 1.1.1 isn't working - that seems to work better for sone people. Are you using the radio panel, multi panel or both? Visioninaction: I've not written a Windows version yet (still haven't got a Windows box and bootcamp didn't work out), Howevet, I will be doing one, most probably in the new year ad I hope to get a box at Xmas for my own flying and will definitely want it to work on Windows. Tom.
  5. This is a truly great project. Take all the time you need to get it absolutely right.
  6. Saitek products may not be officially supported on Mac with X-Plane but they do work. The yoke, pedals and quadrants work out of the box. The Pro Flight Switch, Radio and Multi panels are supported by X-Plane plugins written by myself and Sandy Barbour. I'm talking with Saitek over the Instrument Panel to see if they will support me writing a plugin for this. Tom.
  7. I've just uploaded a version with Multi Panel support. See the top post for details and a new video showing both the radio panel and the multi panel. A Windows version is next on my list. Tom.
  8. Awesome work guys! With this and the CRJ X-Plane is going to be a lot more fun for me. Tom.
  9. Let me say now that I don't have a particular problem with DRM. I have the MU2 and I am happy. I am struggling with the analogies you use. If I buy clothes, the security tag comes off when I leave the store, the exit sensors only sound in the shop, not at home. These forms of security end at the shop door and don't follow me home. Or to put it another way, DRM is like me needing to get a new set of car keys if I move house, my car only being 'valid' at one address. I think what many people don't like is being dependent on the company for the lifetime of the product. The company who sold me my washing machine went bust 2 months later, but I wasnt dependent on getting new keys from them at some point in the future. I know X-Aviation are committed to providing new keys when needed and putting it in the public domain if the company shuts down. But still there's scope for people to worry: what if they don't! Perhaps what's needed here is an independent body holding key generation under escrow who can step in if needed. Then people might sleep more soundly. As I said, I don't worry about it because the risk is low and it is not an expensive purchase.
  10. I've figured out how I can do a Windows version. I've managed to locate my old XP Pro install CD so I can use Bootcamp on my MacBook to get an installation. It'll take some time to do that and then figure out the Windows USB stuff, but I'll definitely go ahead and do it. No promises on exactly when but Windows support is definitely coming. Tom.
  11. I’ve completed work on my plugin for the Saitek Pro Flight Radio Panel and Saitek Pro Flight Multi Panel. I’m making this available free to the X-Plane community. Future releases of this plugin will support Windows and the Saitek Switch Panel (duplicating Sandy Barbour’s plugin but with some options to remap some switches) and then any other Saitek add-ons that I get. Having seen some videos on YouTube (I don't have FSX), the support with this plugin is actually better than the support Saitek provide. I have done my best to make it as complete as possible. The radio panel is fully supported: - COM1/COM2, NAV1/NAV2, ADF, DME, Transponder active and standby radio display, adjustment and transfer (swap) with both upper and lower radios. - Optional active radio only (no standby, disable XFER button) for planes without standby radios. - Inner/outer knob adjustment to set fractional and integer radio values, exactly as in the real world and X-Plane cockpits, with digit wraparounds. - Digit selector display and individual digit adjustment for ADF and Transponder radios, again mimicing the real world. - Optional support for second ADF radio (if your plane has two). - Optional display of DME distance and time via NAV1/NAV2 or GPS (saves squinting at the EFIS or DME down on the cockpit). - Radios follow individual X-Plane radio power switches and also require battery and avionics on. - Supports multi radio panel units (up to 8!) at the same time for those of you with money to burn. The multi panel is fully supported: - Flaps up/down. - Autothrottle off/armed overrides AP selection. - Elevator trim up/down with trim whell (four selectable levels of trimming: very low sensitivity, low, medium and high). - FD mode selection and display via display rotary switch. - Adjustment of FD altitude, throttle, vertical speed, heading and course via knob (automatic suppression of 'noisy' double-knob-clicks). - AP, HDG, NAV, IAS, ALT, VS, APR, REV modes all supported and fully functional (with X-Plane default autopilot). - Optional flashing mode indicator lights to denote ARMED vs. ACTIVE. - Optional use of IAS to trigger FLCH when ALT is ARMED (useful if you are fond of FLCH). - Optional adjustment knob acceleration to make fast adjustments (detects acceleration automatically and scales adjustments smoothly - tackles one of the key criticisms of the standard Saitek implementation on FSX). - Partial x737 autopilot support. Control of ALT, VS, HDB, AP (CMD/FD A), IAS/FLCH. No support yet for VNAV, LNAV, VOR/LOC, APP. Note that the multi panel is only fully supported when used with the standard X-Plane autopilot. Planes which include a custom autopilot may not work correctly. All plugin configuration options can be found in the Saitek Panels Plugin menu. The supported platform at this time is Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or above. I’ve tested the plugin with X-Plane 9.31. There’s no measurable impact on frame rate with my MacBook. Windows support is coming soon. Linux may follow at some point but is a low priority. You'll find the plugin in the x-plane.org download manager here. I hope people find this useful. Tom. P.S. Here's a video showing off the radio panel and multi panel in use. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpAbpQ4qpps Edit: 12th October 2009 - Uploaded new version 1.1 with multi panel support and support for multiple radio panels. Edit: 14th October 2009 - Uploaded new version 1.1.1 with fix for multiple radio panels and for NAV2 dme distance/time display.
  12. Thanks. It certainly does look good valu so I'll probably buy it in the next few days.
  13. I'm thinking about buying the SeaMax. What changed in version 1.1? Thanks, Tom.
  14. Wow, thanks for all the responses guys. Indi: Thanks for explaining the tools and skills. That's much clearer now. My C/C++ is a bit rusty but I've looked at the Plugin SDK site and it looks straightforward enough to get started, though I'm sure things get much trickier when you get into the fine detail. I'm using a MacBook so could probably use XCode to do the trick there, though I'm not sure about compiling for Windows/Linux. Nils: Thanks for the link. I'll read through that long thread and see what is being discussed to get a better idea and what Kieran needs. Goran: That sounds like a great opportunity but it might be a big ask for me to start my X-Plane work with an FMC. I don't really know how much work that would take. I guess it depends what you need. I'm aware that uFMC and vasFMC have taken years and many people to get where they are. Mind you I have been wondering whether a generic FMC toolkit plugin would be useful to let people easily create their own FMCs and tweak for different models. I suppose it could include a customizable autopilot if there'd be a demand for that. Airbus and Boeing FMC styles are well covered by uFMC/vasFMC, but what about the rest? Do they vary a lot or are their just one or two main types that aircraft manufacturers use? I think I'd best find a small project to get me going so I can learn the basics and all about what's involved. Thanks, Tom.
  15. Hi, There's plenty of discussions I've seen here about 3d modeling, but not much about the programming. Once visuals are done there's often talk of the plane being queued up for programming magic to take place. I am a programmer by trade and so I am curious what is involved. I lack any artistic ability but perhaps could contribute on the programming side. I'm not a pilot though, so perhaps I don't have the necessary knowledge. What is involved? What language(s)? What tools? How much knowledge of aircraft? Many thanks, Tom.
  16. Hi, So after flying for a while on a laptop, I've decided now that I want to build a decent a triple widescreen monitor system for X-Plane, to get decent peripheral vision. Now I am wondering what the best route is to achieve this. I'm going to run Windows or Linux, Macs are too pricey. Ideally I'd like to be able to switch one of the screens to show an instructors station / outside view / map, or I could get a fourth monitor for that. From various forums I have found four possible routes: 1. Buy a high-end graphics card (e.g. GTX285) plus Matrox TripleHead2Go and connect 3 monitors to the Matrox using one card output. Pros: It just works. Cons: This is expensive and limits me to 3 monitors plus max 1650x1050 resolution on each. 2. Put two medium-range graphics cards in each with 2 outputs and connect 3/4 monitors, one to each output. Pros: Cheaper than (1) and more flexible. Cons: Will this actually work? I hear reports that you can only get a 2x2 matrix this way, and some OSes don't support it at all. 3. Use multiple PCs together and network them, each one running a copy of X-Plane. Pros: Most flexible solution of all and splits the loads. Definitely works. Cons: Complicated and most expensive, fiddly to operate and upgrade. 4. Buy two high-end graphics cards and run two copies of X-Plane simulatenously, configuring them to network via the loopback adapter. Pros: Cheaper than 3 and simpler to administer. Cons: May not even work (?) and could choke on CPU anyway. I'm thinking that (1) might be the best bet. What have others done and do you have any advice? Can't wait to get it sorted, though I'll have to save my pennies first. Many thanks, Tom.
  17. tsedge

    iMac or PC?

    Thanks for the advice everyone, I think the iMac is probably the way to go with the 512MB 4850 card. I'll check out the driver support. I simply can't stretch to a Mac Pro, especially as I'd then need to buy a display on top (I have no existing monitor). The Linux/i7 route sounds like a possible alternative. Thanks again, Tom.
  18. tsedge

    iMac or PC?

    Hi, I'm new to X-Plane and am enjoying it a lot, but my 2008 MacBook isn't really up to the job of running it. So, I am weighing up whether to invest in a new dual-core iMac with ATI4850 card or to go for a quad-core i7 PC. I really don't want to buy a PC if I can avoid it as I am not keen at all on Windows. My question is: would a new iMac/4850 be able to run X-Plane at 1920x1200 with very high detail textures at a decent frame rate? I have the MU-2 and expect to buy some scenery/airport packages. Thanks for any advice, Tom.
  19. Javier, judging by your pictures this is going to be absolutely stunning. I can't wait! Tom.
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