Pete Dowson

Yes, I know. I made changes specifically for the French version and it was tested for me, a week ago. Please download the latest version (1.48, released on the 8th September) with all those changes in -- it now gets the final folder from FS's own Language.DLL, which is where FS itself gets it from. Regards, Pete

Can you send me an email on petedowson@btconnect.com so I can send you a Beta FSUIPC as an attachment. I need to get more information. I have changed it so that it does the same as 3.06 did, so it shouldn't muck anything up (but keep 3.06 just in case), but also logs some extra information for me, so I can understand why the 3.07 mod failed on your system -- I've stared and stared at it (only two lines of code) and I just don't understand how 3.06 could work and that 3.07 change not. I would understand it better the other way! Thanks! Pete

Ouch! :cry: There is a change in 3.07 which was designed to fix a problem on one users system whereby the Joysticks tab didn't appear. I believe the same problem would have prevented the FS controls from being assigned too. This change did make this all work on that user's system, and as far as I can see should not actually mess anything up on any other users system either. Evidently I was wrong. I don't understand this at present. It works on the original problem system, and it works on the three different systems I have tested it on hereso it is a puzzle. I will get back to you on this when I have some more ideas. Sorry for the inconvenience. Regards, Pete

The post in "Important" about black screen problems has been there for some time. I only updated it on release of 3.07. When you say it wouldn't go into full screen at all, do you mean you've never run it in full screen mode? If so it is more likely that there's something wrong with the Options - Settings - Display Hardware options. Not necessarily. Only if you want to retain whatever options you liked in FS2002. Some won't apply in any case, but things like keyboard and button assignments, joystick calibrations, some of the hot keys, and so on, will apply, if you used those and you want them to operate similarly in FS2004. The INI file is just where all the options in FSUIPC's dialogues are remembered, that's all. Regards, Pete

When you rename it, do you rename it to "FSUPIC" as you keep calling it, or what? The correct name is "FSUIPC.DLL" and it needs to run with that name. Are there FSUIPC.INI and FSUIPC.LOG files in the Modules folder? Can I see them if so? Your problem is very strange, I've had no other such report. But I need to know more. I don't like the sound of this "renaming" business. what is that all about? Regards, Pete

All I did was link the offset 3BA0 to the position of the "double" which seems to be called "Tailhook position" in the SIM1 data. Maybe it isn't a double after all? Did you see what it meant as an int (DWORD)? Did you try it in FS2004 or FS2002? If one, try the other too. I've no idea what I'm doing with such values. I don't know how to operate it, nor to tell if it is working or not. All I can do is follow clues in the code. And that takes many hours of tracing through disassemblies. It might have helped if I could have seen it changing, but every aircraft I tried only ever had 0.0 in there. And, sorry, but there's no way I can determine more before Monday. If that isn't the right place it could be a week's solid work trying to retrace through the code, assuming I could start with something I knew did something to it. :cry: Regards Pete

Most if not all menu options presumably set something somewhere inside FS which may, if changed directly, have the same effect as using the menu items. However, I'm afriad I really don't know where they are. I did manage to find the one affecting dynamic weather changes, but I couldn't find any of the others in the ordinary weather menu. In any case, judging by my findings in FS2004's Weather DLL, it is more likely to be a lot more complicated. In FS2000 and FS2002 I could find where to write something to change stuff like winds, pressure, and so on, just by changing data. In FS2004 there's no way I can see to do that. It's all procedural -- I can change data and it no effect whatsoever. After changing the data several functions have to be called with the right parameters to make it effective. Even just to clear the weather, which used to be one call, is now three calls. Why? I don't know. I only found out how to do the few things I do by tracing through the code, watching what it did, then by trial and error trying to do the same till I hit on the right combination or sequence. The part you mentioned is actually to do more with graphics settings than weather generation, and I don't know where any of those are at all. I know that Lago's top programmer did master many graphics things in FS2000 (hence "FSAssist"), but I never got very far with any of that stuff. And that was with FS98/2000 when things were a lot simpler. As more and more of FS has been re-coded in C++ with a load of object oriented "black boxes" it's been getting harder and harder. Regards, Pete

In that case Windows will not stop you deleting the DLL unless you had deliberately protected it -- e.g. made it read-only. It sounds as if you made a small error somewhere trying to delete it. All you need to to it select it in Windows Explorer and press the delete button, then Ok for for it to go into your recycle bin. I don't know, sorry. Maybe. I only suggested that as a possibility because, as I said, there is nothing in FSUIPC which deals with views nor which, by default, makes key assignments. And in an unregistered copy of FSUIPC there are no key assignments possible in any case. Once you register FSUIPC you have access to all the options. If you still have your FSUIPC.INI file from version 2.xxx then the options set in that will apply if you copy it into the modules folder (before loading FS, of course). Regards, Pete

It will only ever not let you do that if it is being used -- i.e. if FS is running. You have to shut down FS first, that is all. you cannot delete a file which is being used by a program at the time. Regards, Pete

First there's cloud turbulence AND wind turbulence, and the random options are separate. Second, as in previous versions of FS, the FSUIPC options only operate on Global weather or weather injected by external programs. I don't know where you are getting your weather from, but most sources of FS weather, other than external programs, will give you localised weather, not global. Even if you set it globally, it gradually becomes localised (see notes on this in the "Important" announcement above). This localisation happens even faster if you have dynamic changes enabled, which it probably is by default. Third, if you are only using FS2004 sources of weather, FSUIPC doesn't touch them now UNLESS you enable this by checking that option on the "Technical" page. This is because otherwise selected local or themed weather always reverts to "user defined" if FSUIPC changes anything. Really, most of the weather options provided by FSUIPC are for use with external weather programs, where they all work well. The exceptions are the three visibility options marked ***, which are implemented rather differently and apply to all weathers. Regards, Pete

That's to do with the FS Multiplayer interface. FSUIPC is not involved in that part at all. I hope someone else can help -- I don't use Squawkbox or Multiplayer, and don't know anything about it. Sorry. When you enter a program registration into the FSUIPC dialogue it is simply added to the FSUIPC.KEY file. Unless you lose or delete that file, it will still be there each time. All FSUIPC does when a program connects to it is look it up in the KEY file. You can actually edit the latter directly, but you must be careful to get the details exactly right. Regards, Pete

Don't set anything at all in FSUIPC's Winds page. That will just confuse you if you don't know how to use FS's Weather dialogues. Make sure nothing is checked in that page. There is nothing there to help you do what you want in any case. FSUIPC does not set any layers, and for FS settings it doesn't even touch them in any case (unless you've selected the change FS weather option in the Technical page, which I wouldn't advise). See if FS Help tells you how to use FS weather dialogues. I must admit I've always found their manual weather layer setting method very confusing -- it's always been so in my opinion. It's not only the wind layers, also clouds and temperature layers. Sometimes you think you've set some layer correctly only to find FS has replaced your carefully selected values with zeroes. I expect there's a method of using the dialogues which works consistently, but, sorry, I am not the one to advise how, as it confuses me too! :( Regards, Pete

No, FSUIPC doesn't have anything at all to do with views. Sorry, you have something else going on there. In fact in an unregistered version really does nothing at all except provide the interface for other programs. Really? What message exactly is that, please? FSUIPC is uninstalled simply by deleting the FSUIPC.DLL file from the FS Modules folder, exactly the reverse of installing it. What exactly can't you do? Sorry, I don't understand. There is nothing magic about FSUIPC installations, it is deliberately kept very very simple. If the DLL is in the modules folder, it is loaded by FS, if it isn't there, then it isn't loaded. You can only change these things when FS isn't running, of course. No, how does FSUIPC know what you've done? Anyway, you don't need to purchase an FSUIPC registration to run the latest version of Radar Contact. FSUIPC is not doing anything at all with FS views -- but maybe the hot keys assigned by Radar Contact are the same keypresses you want to use in your cockpit (Shift+1 2, 3 etc)? You can re-assign keys in Radar Contact. This is not specifically an FSUIPC function, Radar Contact assigns its key presses, the ones you choose through its options, and they would then take precedence over the functions otherwise assigned in FS. Regards, Pete

Yes. It's all in the timing somehow. The change was not a cure, it just lowers the probability a little. Regards, Pete

SoftIce is one tool I use, yes, but I also have to disassemble a lot of the modules and trace through the code by hand. I use the IDA disassembler, one I've had a long time I'm sure there are better ones now, but I have got used to it. There will be SDKs coming out from Microsoft in due course, and certainly some of those can help. Regards, Pete

Do NOT put FSUIPC into OldModules please. What version of FS is it? Please go to Help-About and write down the Version and Build. What other add-in modules are there in the Modules folder? What other programs are running in Windows when you load FS2004? I've not had any other reports like this, so one suspicion is a corrupted DLL file. It may be a good idea to download it again -- or wait till tomorrow when version 3.07 should be available. Regards, Pete

Why not just pay for a User key for FSUIPC, just as you would pay for a compiler or other development tool? I do provide the SDK and full support for free, though I must admit I am a bit late coming out with the FS2004 update for the SDK. Still, if you do have any programming questions fire away. If you then produce an application for distribution, you'd apply for an access key for it then -- not for access on your own system, but on other, unregistered users' systems. You can easily test the program access key system by temporarily removing your FSUIPC.KEY file, making your own FSUIPC unregistered, so there is no preoblem either way. Regards, Pete

Registering an application with an access key allows that application to use the interface through FSUIPC into Flight Sim. The User Facilities in FSUIPC are optional and purchased with a User registration at SimMarket. This is explained in the documentation. Regards, Pete

The FS PC is a 3.2GHz P4 on an MSI 875P mobo with 2 x 512 Mb PC3200 memory sticks running dual channelled (so giving double speed -- 800 MHz, same a Rambus 800's). I run FS2004 plus the Project Magenta MCP and SimKits TRClink on that PC. FS2004 is only displaying the outside view -- no panel at all. I currently run it at 2400 x 600 x 32, with the zoom set at 0.50. All the FS options are turned up to maximum, but I am using Chris Wiliiis's faster clouds. The frame rate limiter is set to 20 fps which is high enough for me and ensures a good smooth operation of the client WideFS PCs running Project Magenta gauges and CDU. The only times frame rates dip below that maximum are at detailed airports where it might go down to about 12 fps in heavy weather conditions. The Parhelia isn't the prime choice for performance, and I wouldn't advise it for panels, but if you can set up a system with it only driving the outside view in three screen stretched mode, then in my opinion it is a superb choice and once you fly with that wide view you won't want to go back! Hope this helps. Regards, Pete

I really don't know. It's certainly something which is affected by timing. I got no such problems at all until upgrading from a 2.4GHz P4 to a 3.2 GHz P4. Then I found a situation in FS2004 where I could reproduce it at will -- this is the one I describe in one of my Announcements above. After many experiments I managed to "fix" that one, at least on my setup -- several small changes to three of my modules, and my particular "black screen" is fixed, just provided I don't have the Lago DLL ViMaCore2004 installed. But all these changes meant was that some installed DLLs then contributed less time, some microseconds, maybe as much as milliseconds, to the processing of messages in FS. There is no logical reason why changing that time should really fix anything. It doesn't seem to make any sense. In my example, the problem only happened if FS lost focus to another process first. Why should that make any difference? It's really weird. As it happens, I can still get them, just not in the same way. It must be something between FS and DX9, or maybe DX9 and video drivers - but the latter seems less likely as it happens with Matrox, nVidia and ATI. Maybe it is in that area, and there's a common misunderstanding among them all of something in the DX specification? I don't know. It isn't my area of expertise I'm afraid, and really I wouldn't know how to go about finding out. But my suspicions still fall strongly on DX9. You say there's somewhere where Microsoft list such problems in programs. Could you point me there, please? I'd be interested to read more. BTW the black screen things I get aren't actually hangs -- pressing ALT brings up the FS menu and if I go to the Options-Settings-Display Harware tab and change something, it all comes back and you can continue. Some folks do, however, get real hangs, or even a complete CTD (crash to desktop -- no messages, no nothing, FS just disappears!). Sorry, that about sums up all I know and theorise. Regards, Pete

The free registration for Squawkbox allows it to access FS through FSUIPC. The other facilities you ask about are the User facilities in FSUIPC, over and above the interface for applications like Squawkbox, and, yes, you would need to obtain a user registration from SimMarket for those. Regards, Pete

I assume you mean FSUIPC? What is the actual symptom -- is there a message, or what? What happens? Which version of FSUIPC are you trying to use in FS2004? To find the version, right click on the DLL, choose Properties then Version. For FS2004 you need version 3.00 or later. The current version is 3.06 and hopefully 3.07 will be released tomorrow. I hope you don't mean in "[OldModules]"! Please do not ever add any of my FS modules to that section in the CFG file. If FS says the module is not correct, then believe it. All my modules need changing for each new version of FS, you cannot use older ones, and only the older ones will cause FS to produce that message. Regards, Pete

Okay, thanks -- but I managed to muck it up for FS2002 and before, so 2.122 is now out -- see different thread. Ah well, all's well that ends well! :o Regards, Pete

Version 2.122 is just released. DLL only appended to this message. Regards, Pete AdvDisplay2122.zip

I'm sorry, the FSUIPC implementation doesn't provide support for the SYSKEYDOWN message. Did you try sending a WM_KEYDOWN with the VK_MENU virtual key code? I don't actually send WM_ messages at all internaly -- that doesn't actually work properly, it doesn't generate correct sequences that are recognised by applications. I use the "SendInput" API in Windows, which only provides KEYDOWN and KEYUP emulation. Can you tell me a bit more about what you are trying to do? You do realize I suppose that once the menu is opened FSUIPC is no longer able to do very much? Why would you want to open an FS menu from another program? In Version 3.07 of FSUIPC, which I am hoping to release tomorrow, I provide new facilties for "imaginary" joystick buttons to be operated through the FSUIPC interface. These aren't buttons to be seen by FS, but to be programmed in FSUIPC's buttons pages. Maybe something there will be more suitable? I can provide details, in advance of the SDK, if this is of interest. Regards, Pete