FSUIPC Log File - Weather

[BG]

Sorry this may be a bit long to explain. I am a WideView user with one server and two client machines. Currently I'm experiencing problems with regular CTDs on one or both of the client machines, the M/S error box pointing to weather.dll as the source of the problem. I've been exchanging emails with Luciano and we're not convinced that weather.dll is the culprit. However I did do a check on the FSUIPC log files after the last flight

The entries for the two client machines are similar. Client 1 had - "26391 Clear All Weather requested: external weather discarded" and "33766 Advanced Weather Interface Enabled". Client 2 had - "27766 Clear All Weather requested: external weather discarded" and "28453 Advanced Weather Interface Enabled".

These were the only two references in the log. On the server machine's log, however, the number of entries was greater - "54063 Clear All Weather requested: external weather discarded" : "57235 Advanced Weather Interface Enabled". "129781 ClearWeather Button Pressed" : "133719 WeatherOptions set, now 4000B6AD (timer=0)" : "133797Weather cleared by user action" and "133797 External weather discarded".

I'm a bit confused by all this. Not sure what the references on the server log mean, but it seems that the last reference would have cleared the wx. On the client machines, there is no further reference after enabling the advanced weather interface. Firstly, I have to admit I don't know what this is and secondly it would seem that the wx conditions could be different for the clients and the server.

I hope I've managed to make myself clear and I would be really grateful if I could have an explanation of the above. I do beg your pardon if this is obvious and I'm beinf dim.

Many thanks

BG

[Pete Dowson]

Currently I'm experiencing problems with regular CTDs on one or both of the client machines, the M/S error box pointing to weather.dll as the source of the problem. I've been exchanging emails with Luciano and we're not convinced that weather.dll is the culprit.

No, but corrupted weather files can easily be. What is your weather source?

Incidentally, you don't even say what version of FSUIPC you are using, nor even what version of FS it is! These are very important items of information!

I'm a bit confused by all this. Not sure what the references on the server log mean

Most of those messages are simply confirming normal actions. The "Clear all weather requested" initially would have been simply a call made by FS to Weather.DLL's "Clear All Weather" routines internally -- well before the Advanced Weather Interface is enabled.

FSUIPC has to detect when the weather is 'officially' cleared in FS, otherwise it would immediately try to reset the last weather recorded from external programs (not that there would be any this early, but there might be at other times).

but it seems that the last reference would have cleared the wx. On the client machines, there is no further reference after enabling the advanced weather interface.

The "Clear Weather" button is the one labelled "Clear All Weather" in the first tab of the FSUIPC options, bottom left, below the version information stuff. If you didn't press it on the clients, why should it show in their logs? I assume the weather in the clients will have been copied from the Server by WidevieW. Isn't that one of the things it does? There's no magical way FSUIPC in the Server can control the Client unless WidevieW is doing it!

Firstly, I have to admit I don't know what this is and secondly it would seem that the wx conditions could be different for the clients and the server.

Not if WidevieW is doing its job, surely? Why not ask Luciano such questions? If WidevieW is not copying the weather perhaps you have some of its options set incorrectly?

Regards,

Pete

[BG]

Many thanks for the detailed response. I apologise for the omission of important details, I should have taken more care with my query. I'm using FS 9.1 and vers 3.5 of FSUIPC. I'm also clutching at straws with regard to my problem which, as I said, I have discussed at length with Luciano.

The problem occurs not only when I am using weather, but also when I have cleared all weather, ie a clear flight. All options are set correctly in WV and I clear the wx on each machine using the appropriate button on FSUIPC.

Basically what I was asking, I suppose, is, what is the advanced weather interface.

This wx thing is a problem which is driving me mad and I'm now looking at the more unlikely areas for a solution before I decide that there is a hardware problem and change my network set up!!!

BG

[Pete Dowson]

Basically what I was asking, I suppose, is, what is the advanced weather interface.

The AWI was added in FS2000 days to provide more control over the FS weather than was possible in FS98 (FS98 not having such extensive facilities). It applies to global weather in FS2000 and FS2002, and it is implemented for FS2004 -- but it really isn't much good in FS2004 because global weather is so temporary in FS2004. It al becomes localised pretty quickly.

For FS2004 I devised a new interface for local weather control called the NWI (New Weather Interface). That is used by almost all the weather programs for FS2004 -- FSMeteo, ActiveSky. I really don't know what WidevieW uses at all.

The message about the AWI being activated in FSUIPC's Log is really only a hangover from the original transition from FS98 to FS2000, to confirm that the intrusions needed into WEATHER.DLL were in place. In FS2004 it is nearly all procedural in any case.

In FS2004 all three weather interfaces supported by FSUIPC (FS98-style, AWI and NWI) actually do the same things to FS -- there's only one interface at the lower level and FSUIPC translates down to it. All in the name of backward compatibility, which was what FSUIPC was always about in the main.

But only the NWI can set/read localised weather.

Regards

Pete

[BG]

Many thanks - that was an interesting exposition. Clearly it is not, however, an avenue to salvation so far as my issue is concerned.

BG

[Pete Dowson]

Many thanks - that was an interesting exposition. Clearly it is not, however, an avenue to salvation so far as my issue is concerned.

No. It really never was.

As I said earlier, crashes in Weather.DLL are usually due to corrupt WX files. You didn't say where you were getting your weather from, but sometimes downloads of weather by FS can create corrupt weather data. Once you have a bad WX file stored as your default then it could mess up every load thereafter. Unless you are really attached to any particular weather files you've saved (they are saved automatically by FS when you save a Flight), try deleting ALL of the .wx files, or at least moving them out so they don't get loaded, as a test....

Regards,

Pete

[Pete Dowson]

not, however, an avenue to salvation so far as my issue is concerned.

Another possible cause of Weather.DLL crashes occurs to me. Well two, but related. Clouds of types not supported by valid cloud files.

FS98, 2000 and 2002 seemed to map unknown cloud types to those it did know. They even allowed type 0 ("user-defined").

FS2004 seems to crash if a cloud type is specified for which it has no graphics. The only reliable ones are 1 (cirrus), 8 (stratus), 9 (cumulus) and 10 (cumulonimbus -- storm cloud).

In the older interfaces I actually made FSUIPC map other types onto these according to a table of all sorts of other cloud types (cirrostratus, stratocumulus, etc) which were actually assigned and listed in some of FS's SDKs but which were, apparently, never implemented.

For the AWI, though, I provided weather programs with a transparent route through to the weather, on the hopeful assumption that the cloud types could be expanded by adding more graphics and parameters pointing to them. I didn't want to restrict experimentation.

So, that's one, rather unlikely, possibility -- that something is setting a type for which you have no graphics. With standard weather sources I think this could only happen if you have some files missing or renamed.

The other is that one or more of your cloud graphics (BMP files) are corrupted. I don't know whether this would cause WEATHER.DLL to crash though -- it seems more likely, then, to be G2D or G3D. But I don't know.

If you have disk space enough, rename your main FS folder and install a complete fresh copy. Check that. If it is okay, gradually re-install (copy files) over from your original one. This is a method I have used many times over the years to recover from corruption or bad add-on installs.

Regards,

Pete

[BG]

I'm really grateful for your further thoughts on this issue - it is most kind of you. At present, I'm doing all my testing without any weather at all in order that I can eliminate the types of corruption you mention.

Luciano seems convinced that files are becoming corrupt due to either a defective connecting cable or network card. I've come to the view that he's probably correct but I still can't quite get my head round the fact that the problem is exclusively being related to weather.dll.

BG

[abz]

I just came across this post and wanted to add a comment. I am also a wideview user and have registered versions of FSUIPC on my PC's (one server and 3 clients). I would like to say that I and many otherWV users are experiencing this same problem with the weather update as outlined above (there is a thread about it on the Wideview site). No one is sure what is going on. I too am using FSUIPC 3.5 (with FS 9.1) and want to say that this problem is relatively recent. I never saw it before. Although I cannot be absolutely certain but it may have started after the installation of FSUIPC 3.5. Is it possible to somewhere get the last version of FSUIPC to check if it still occurs. ALso I have just noted it happening using real-time weather with the IVAO network.

Al

[Pete Dowson]

Although I cannot be absolutely certain but it may have started after the installation of FSUIPC 3.5.

There have been no changes in the weather facilities in FSUIPC for many versions now. You need to look elsewhere.

Using the facilities for localised weather control added to FSUIPC for FS2004 it is extremely easy to crash FS in Weather.DLL. This is because I deliberately do not check the values being set—it is a direct route through to the weather setting parts of FS and is deliberately free for weather making programs to explore and expand upon what was known about the weather prior to FS2004.

If these crashes are only occurring with WidevieW (which I don't use), you really need to help Luciano resolve it with clear reproducible examples. I really have no idea even what facilities in FSUIPC WidevieW is using, and Luciano has never contacted me about any problems. I'd be glad to advise him if he needs such advice, but there's no information and no evidence here whatsoever.

Regards,

Pete

[abz]

Thank you Pete for your prompt reply. Will check back with Luciano. It is not that it crashes (not sure what your definition of crash is). The static weather which was previously set, just all of a sudden resets to clear sky, maybe after 15-20 minutes of flying. It cannot simply be refreshed without going into the weather settings on the client and make some small change and then it gets back to what it was before. Very strange.

Thanks for your thoughts. Al

[Pete Dowson]

It is not that it crashes (not sure what your definition of crash is).

A crash is something which stops Flight Sim from continuing to run. Simple really. That's what this thread was about, if you check back. folks using WidevieW are/were having the WidevieW clients crashing to desktop (CTDs).

When you appended your message saying you had the same, I obviously assumed you meant you had the same. Sorry.

The static weather which was previously set, just all of a sudden resets to clear sky, maybe after 15-20 minutes of flying. It cannot simply be refreshed without going into the weather settings on the client and make some small change and then it gets back to what it was before. Very strange.

It sounds like WidevieW is not setting the local weather for all the surrounding weather stations, so as the weather changes, as the wind blows, or as you fly, you run into areas of default weather -- which is clear sky, 1013 mb pressure, etc. Maybe Luciano has not appreciated the complete revision of the weather system which took place between FS2002 and FS2004 and is still using techniques which only worked back in FS2002 and FS2000 days.

At least, that is what it sounds like. It doesn't sound strange to me at all. Have a read of the very last section of the FSUIPC user documentation. That explains problems with global weather setting only. With local weather setting, you have to actually set each of the nearby weather stations, as you fly. Those not so set will initially retain default weather onlybut even that isn't static:

Once weather at a local station has become localised, setting new default weather, e.g. to keep up with changes in the weather on the Server PC, will have no effect except on distant stations whose weather has not been progressed yet, as they are out of range.

Regards,

Pete

[abz]

Pete: Thank you kindly. Now I see the abbreviation CTD. Missed it. Well as you can see from my note, this is another "weather" problem many WV users are having. Strange thing is that it was NOT a problem 6 months ago. Relatively recent problem. Not sure what it is related to but for sure it was not there several months back. Hopefully Luciano will be able to resolve. I will take a look at the weather section of FSUIPC and read it more thoroughly.

Thanks again, Al