Pete Dowson

Doesn't my explanation a couple of messages up cover it, then? Pete

Great! Thanks for letting me know. I'll make a proper release tomorrow, probably, but it will be the same as the one you have. Regards, Pete

So, how come you got "windows say autosave.dll is not compatible with fs2004" before? I need a constent story please. :( Without any more information I'm afraid I cannot progress this any further. It works fine on Win2000 Pro here, and there is really nothing which is Windows dependent until it actualy wants to save something in any case. I did ask for your FS2004 version and build. Can you not find it? (Help-About). Als i asked for the exact title text in FS when it is ready to fly. Can you not tell me that either? Also, if you can get some sort of dump, like DrWatson (*see FSUIPC documentation "If FS crashes ..." near the end) then I can take a look, but there is really nothing in AutoSave to crash FS. Version 1.41 is not compatible with FS2004. You should get a warning from FS telling you so. If you don't, then there is something odd. Sorry, unless you want to give me more details I cannot progress this any further. Regards, Pete

Yes, as I said originally, the problems most definitely seem realted to video drivers. However, I was surprised when I upgraded my motherboard and processor. Using the exact same video drivers I went from not being able to reproduce the problem at all, no matter what I did, to being able to reproduce it at will, by using a specific sequence of actions. So, although it is a driver (+ DX9) issue, it is a timing problem too I think -- my fast processor allowed me to replicate the problem. The benefit of that was that it did allow me to make adjustments in some of my modules to make that timing "better" again! :) Thanks for the feedback! Regards, Pete

In that case I can only think it's the aircraft model itself. Evidently no amount of "fiddling" the throttle input would do the job for you. I suppose you made sure you were heavy enough? Full tanks? Perhaps there are some parameters in the AIRCRAFT.CFG file which you can change which will help, but this is not an area I know enough about to advise on, I'm afraid. Hopefully you can get it sorted if you can find some asircraft modelling experts to chat about it with. Sorry I'm no use here. Good luck, Pete

(1) No, no other reports. (2) All the changes in 3.06 are listed in the History document, and in the IMPORTANT announcement in this Forum. Maybe you had wind smoothing enabled. That does nothing when on the ground, it only tackles the wind once you take off. It only affects the global wind, which, if you were using a weather theme or downloaded weather wouldn't actually have any visible affect. It shouldn't cause stutters (and doesn't here), but it is certainly a possibility. The weather stuff is rather finicky. The change in 3.06 was to default the smoothing action off for FS's own weather (it's only enabled now via the FS weather change checkbox in the Technical page). Regards, Pete

Thanks. I don't think it was an SHFolder missing problem in any caseI get the main folder from that, but add "Flight Simulator Files" to the end. I now think this is only correct for English language versions of FS2004. In the version of AutoSave I sent I obtain the final folder name from FS's own "Language.DLL", so it should now work. When and if you confirm this, I will make a new release. It also affects the FSUIPC facility to load Flights under control from an external program, so when I know AutoSave is okay I will make the same changes to FSUIPC. Thanks & Regards, Pete

No. It only stops YOU moving them. It cannot control where FS puts them. I think what you are seeing is a general complaint with FS2004. I don't think there's an answer. Sorry, what's a "version through PFC"? Regards, Pete

What? Is that the same? You did not mention that before! Can you tell me the version number of your FS2004 -- Help-About. Full build number, please? It sounds like it is NOT the same as the standard Gold release. This would make FSUIPC and most of my other modules incompatible too. Do you load any of my other modules? They all do the same thing on loading. Can you tell me the exact title bar text in FS2004, please? This is the title bar when you are in normal flight mode, in a window or maximised. Pete

Please see the Announcements at the top of the forum. WideFS had this problem in version 6.00 and it was fixed less than three days later in version 6.02. This is actually stated, as follows, in the IMPORTANT announcement under the release of WideFS 6.02 in July: "However, version 6.02 of WIDEFS fixes a problem where WideServer can complain that it isn't registered even though it is. This can happen when there is some delay between WideServer loading and FSUIPC finishing the initial registration checking." Always refer to the "latest versions" list, please. The current supported version of WideFS is 6.10. It would save us both time and trouble if you check these first. It is also advisable to review the "IMPORTANT" announcements occasionally, especially when the date in the title changes. Thanks, Pete

I attach a revised version of AutoSave which uses the SHFolder.dll in the FS2004 folder if there's none provided by the Operating System. Please try it and let me know if it fixes the problem. Regards, Pete AutoSave146.zip

Can you try the attached AutoSave.DLL? This should find the correct folder. But there's no change to fix any "crash" at all as I've no idea what is causing that. I think the only symptom of it not finding the folder is that it would never delete any files, so there would be more and more. Regards, Pete AutoSave146.zip

[quote name="jafred Thank's for the reply' date='I still need to know why it does not work and if there is so that I have to buy this program. [/quote] What does the FSUIPC Log file say? Do you get a Message Box saying that you are trying to run an unaccredited program? I am sorry, but I do not have, and cannot keep track of, every program that is written for FS. I have to respond to requests as they arise. And even then it isn't as if I have nothing to do but wait for these to come so I can jump to it! :( Okay, this means it is reading the location through FSUIPC. If AFCAD is freeware it is perfectly entitled to a free key to access FSUIPC. The only reason it hasn't got one already is that no one has asked for one, and no one has supplied the details for me to make one. If you look near the top of this Forum you will see a "sticky" thread about all this, which invites such application. Fine, but this would not be the case in FS2004, and FSUIPC version 2 is no longer supported. It would benefit folks more to get AFCAD issued with a Key. Normally I'd expect the author to do this, but perhaps he's too busy with the FS2004 version, or maybe no one has even asked him. Regards, Pete

All I need to do is get the "Flight Simulator Files" part from FS2004's own resource strings for this -- they are in its "Language.DLL". It is not a problem, I will do that within the next few days. But I need to know why it is crashing. It should not cause a crash just because the path isn't located. If you do add the "Flight Simulator Files" path it needs to be: C:\Documents and Settings\Administrateur\Mes documents\Flight Simulator Files as all the preceding parts are supplied to me by the system. BTW are you using an English/US edition of Win2000? I am surprised to see "Documents and Settings" on a French system. Regards, Pete

Further on the matter of path names, I've found the string number for the resource string FS2004 uses for the folder "Flight Simulator Files", so I can change AutoSave to get the right folder automatically. I'll do that within the next few days (I'm a bit inundated at present). Meanwhile we need to get more information on why it is actually crashing. I cannot see that getting the wrong path should crash anything. Can you get any more details? Possibly a DrWatson dump? (see the section "If FS crashes ..." in the FSUIPC documentation for how to do that). Regards. Pete

The path will be different in every case anyway, as it is based on your User Name. In a English version of Windows it will be (assuming C is your Windows drive): C:\Documents and Settings\\My Documents\Flight Simulator Files Now, of this my program only has to add the "Flight Simulator Files" part -- the rest is provided by a call to a Windows DLL called "SHFolder.dll" which should exist in your Windows System or System32 folder. Perhaps the French version of FS saves the files in a different subfolder? I'm not sure how I would be able to derive that. I may have to have an extra parameter in the CFG to tell me. If you could check please. However, if AutoSave cannot find the folder, it should not crash. All that would happen is that it cannot get to the correct folder to delete the old saved files when the number you specify to keep has been reached, so the number of files just grows and grows. Regards, Pete

Well, there's been no change in that part of the program. The change to make it work in FS2004 was needed to find the correct path for the FLT+WX files when they get saved, so that the older ones can be deleted. It sounds like it isn't finding that path on your system for some reason. It is quite complicated, finding the path, and involved using new facilities in the Microsoft operating systems. Can you tell me which operating system you are using, please? Maybe there are instances where the DLL which is needed isn't installed. It's called "SHFolder.DLL". Perhaps you could check your Windows System (and System32) folders to see if it is there, please? If not, I recently noticed that FS2004 does actually install an SHFolder.dll into its own folder, so maybe I can change AutoSave to find and use that copy if the System one is missing. Regards, Pete

I don't know, sorry. This is the first report of any problem. Are all the people with problems using Windows 2000? Are there some without problems using the French version of FS2004? The only thing which had to be rather different for FS2004 was finding the correct path for the FLT+WX files, so that the correct cycle can be maintained. That involves a call to a special DLL which is a standard part of Win98 and WinXP, and, as far as I know, also Win2000. But I will test it on an English version of Win2000 to make sure. If you can supply any other details, I'd be grateful. Regards, Pete

You need to write to Customer Services at http://www.simmarket.com. They will be able to deal with this. I don't think anyone here on the Support Forum can help as this is concerned with technical support, not sales. SimMarket themselves deal with all the Registrations. Don't worry, they will have you on record and will be able to re-issue the key if you have lost it. Regards, Pete

I'm sorry, but I know nothing at all about any USB yokes from PFC. All I can suggest is that you contact PFC. They presumably make and support these devices? I've not heard of them. All the PFC gear I have is COM port connected and uses my driver (PFC.DLL) for FS use, but I have nothing to do with any USB drivers. That said, I don't see how any yoke attachment can affect whether a cockpit appears on your screen or not. That's something else entirely. Regards, Pete

Can you tell me what AFCAD uses FSUIPC for? I thought it was for designing and editing airport taxi routes, holding points, and parking areas. If it uses FSUIPC simply for plotting positions then all that data is unchanged, so it should have no trouble. The same data is used widely by other programs without any fuss. Perhaps you have not registered FSUIPC 3 and therefore no program without an access key can use it? Please check the Log file produced by FSUIPC and see what it is telling you in this regard. Certainly no one has yet applied for such an access key. Perhaps you would like to scan some of the Announcements and Sticky messages at the top of this forum to see what goes on in this regard? Also you will find full details of both the payment scheme and the registration system in the documentation accompanying FSUIPC, in the ZIP. Regards, Pete

Currently FSUIPC offers only precise centering, with null zone at centre, and precise end points with null zones there if you wish. Proper calibration first, in Windows, will help precision, sensitivity can be adjusted by the slider in FS. Of course, if you make big null zones, the remaider of the movement has to be more sensitive to compensate, so I suppose you can say the FSUIPC adjustments also affect sensitivity. What you might be referring to, though, is the need for some more gentle arrangement near centre but without compromising the ability to reach the extremes. This can only really be done by a curved, not linear, response, such as the ones I provide as options in the PFC driver, and as made possible in the Joystick program for EPIC axes. I do have on my list some ideas for extending FSUIPC in that sort of direction, but it is a big job and slated for much later, probably next year at this rate. Regards, Pete

I don't think so. The range -16k to +16k is not the input from the hardware in any case. That range is the one that is established by calibration in Windows, and by FS scaling thereafter. You should be doing that anyway before even thinking about using FSUIPC, for example. To take one example, the ISA EPIC analogue inputs are 0 - 255 maximum, and calibrated to that by the EPIC Joystick program. Even then most pots won't give you even as many as 256 discrete measurable positions. The pots used on the PFC equipment (yokes, rudders, throttle quadrants) all give a maximum range of only 0-127 (usually significantly less), and of those there are only about 40 discrete positions (i.e the numbers jump in 3's). Check the numeric input from any joystick, I bet you'll find the same. Even if you got -16000 to +16000 you'll probably find the increment between positions is about 320 or more. In the end, what's important is how many different values your pots can provide The more the better, as that means more precision. It is for precision that many makers turns to optical systems rather than pots in the first place. Regards, Pete

Well the only adjustment you have is the sensitivity slider in FS. But really any throttle setting should be possible with any half decent throttle lever. When you watch the throttle positon on screen, can you see its positon? Does it "jump" from idle to some fast setting? If so it is faulty. Any throttle setting possible from keyboard should also be possible from a throttle lever -- well, almost. A typical lever might have 40-160 different measurable readings, maybe more for optical reading ones rather than potentiometers. There may be more (smaller) increments possible via keyboard, but I wouldn't have thought you'd need finer precision. The only thing I could do, eventually, in FSUIPC would be to provide a facility for setting a curved rather than linear response -- one that was less responsive in the lower area and more responsive in the higher area. (You can't have it less responsive all the way else you wouldn't reach full throttle). But I expect then there would be complaints that fine adjustment of cruise speeds wasn't possible, or some such. You can't have more in one place without less in another. This sort of curved response is useful sometimes for yoke and rudder controls, to give less control surface movement near centre, and more movement to the extremes. In fact I do that already in the PFC driver, via a range of selectable "S" curves. But I've never heard of a need for it on throttles at all, and it would worry me that it would make throttles less easy to use for the reason I just stated. If you use a good aircraft model in FS then there should be a recommended throttle setting for taxiing -- in terms of N1 or N2 or EPR or RPM or whatever the measure might be. You normally have to use a little more to start the thing moving of course, but then bring it back to the set level. On my lst of things to do in the future is a complete analogue axis assignment and calibration facility, by-passing the FS DirectInput system altogether, and providing much more detailed calibration facilities, even point-by-point so that curves can be applied. But I don't think I can get to this for months yet. Regards, Pete

Sorry, that is so system dependent. Trial and error perhaps? Regards, Pete