Does FSUIPC abstract all the different Sim vars for different aitcraft?

[paul3507]

For example, the 4 critical displays in an autopilot. Here are the variants for the Sim vars for an MS-787 and the FBW-A320:

// Function Generic var           Index             MS-787   FBW-A320

Heading AUTOPILOT HEADING LOCK DIR      :1                :3

IAS         AUTOPILOT AIRSPEED HOLD VAR                       :1

Alt          AUTOPILOT ALTITUDE LOCK VAR    :3                :3

VS         AUTOPILOT VERTICAL HOLD VAR                       :3

As a retired and experienced developer with 37 years in the CAD/CAM business I don't want to write multiple scripts for multiple aircraft - that is a maintenance nightmare.  I want one script to rule them all, such as Air Manager LUA scripts where I can bury the sim var nonsense in a function() and only use that function to control hardware.

I would expect FSUIPC to abstract these values and correct them for every supported aircraft - that's what I would pay for.
In other words, the offset previously known as Autopilot - AP Air Speed Value, would consistently return the Spd settings across all the supported aircraft, as it always has done so well.

PS: I do understand the memory map has gone away, but FS2020 is here and we must all adapt.

Regards
Paul

Edited October 27, 2021 by paul3507

[John Dowson]

2 hours ago, paul3507 said:

I would expect FSUIPC to abstract these values and correct them for every supported aircraft - that's what I would pay for.

Then please do not purchase FSUIPC.

I find it quite incredible that you expect that from any software.....

I see no point in discussing this further. Topic closed.

Regards,

John
 

[John Dowson]

Apologies for my previous reply, I wasn't having a very good day...

I still don't particularly want to continue this conversation, but I would like to clarify a few points.

First, it should be clear the facilities that FSUIPC provides from the documentation. It is also a free-to-use product for many facilities, with additional functionality provided if you purchase a license. I also offer an extended trial license, so all users can try FSUIPC7 before they buy. We recommend that all users actually try FSUIPC before purchasing - it is not a utility that suits all/many users.

20 hours ago, paul3507 said:

I would expect FSUIPC to abstract these values and correct them for every supported aircraft - that's what I would pay for.

This implies that you expect me to understand every single aircraft, both stock, add-ons, and all mods, including those aircraft that will be released tomorrow, next week, etc?
To look into the code of every single aircraft (no documentation is provided on how an aircraft is implemented or what variables it actually uses) to see what simvars (A, L, H, etc) they use, and then somehow map them to an appropriate offset. This is a completely unreasonable expectation.

FSUIPC extracts simvars (or A variables), as well as local variables (lvars) and makes them available for use. It is up to the user to know what variable to use, we only provide the facilities to give access to such variables. There are many resources on how to use such variables, one of the best being the MobiFlight community-driven website https://hubhop.mobiflight.com/#/. You need to use such resources, as well as the Asobo forums and documentation, especially for control of complex aircraft such as the A320.

20 hours ago, paul3507 said:

// Function Generic var           Index             MS-787   FBW-A320

Heading AUTOPILOT HEADING LOCK DIR      :1                :3

IAS         AUTOPILOT AIRSPEED HOLD VAR                       :1

Alt          AUTOPILOT ALTITUDE LOCK VAR    :3                :3

VS         AUTOPILOT VERTICAL HOLD VAR                       :3

Of those, only AUTOPILOT HEADING LOCK DIR:3 and AUTOPILOT VERTICAL HOLD VAR:3 are currently not held in any offset.
They can, of course, be added - I do this on user request. If added, they will be added to specific offsets. As I said, FSUIPC just provides access to such information, it is up to the user to determine how this information is to be used.

I know that there is a lot that can be done to improve the usability of FSUIPC, especially FSUIPC7 where there is more of a need to resort to using lvars. hvars and calculator code. I do have various ideas to make this are more user-friendly, but being a one-man team I find very little time for new development these days as so much time is spent on user support....and developing against the MSFS SDK over the past 1.5 years is also very difficult, especially earlier on with the lack of documentation and the constantly changing SDK...

I could go on but I don't see much point. Constructive criticism is welcomed, but I think your expectations are way over the top and are missing the point on what FSUIPC is actually intended for.

John

[John Dowson]

5 minutes ago, John Dowson said:

Of those, only AUTOPILOT HEADING LOCK DIR:3 and AUTOPILOT VERTICAL HOLD VAR:3 are currently not held in any offset.

In the next FSUIPC7 release, I will add
    0x07CE 2bytes - AUTOPILOT HEADING LOCK DIR:3
    0x07F8 2bytes - AUTOPILOT VERTICAL HOLD VAR:3

John

[paul3507]

Thank you John.

I'm a retired C++developer so I was trying to see which software, if any, would hide the MS SDK behind an easy to use interface. Apologies if the question felt a bit heavy. I remember the good old days when FSUIPC gave a nice, clean interface to the offset table that every plane developer used.

It's not your fault that MS/Asobo have exploded the vars into 5000 pieces, literally, although the common cockpit functions seem to have some consistency.

Thank you for planning to add the Fly By Wire heading and V/S, the FBW-A320 is one of the most popular planes.

The best we can all do is have separate configs for each plane/cockpit combo, with common code if scripting is supported.

Regards
Paul