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Introducing Development Release 3.4.3.14(b)

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gadgets

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I have just posted AIFP Release 3.2.20. It contains only fixes for several recently-reported minor issues in 3.2.19 and, other than in name, is identical to development release on 3.2.19(g) .

Enjoy,
Don
 

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I have just posted AIFP Release 3.2.21. It contains several fixes for some minor (but critical for certain functions) recently-reported issues. Other than in name, it is identical to development release on 3.2.20(e) .

Enjoy,
Don
 

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If you have downloaded Development Release 3.2.21(d) and found the aircraft viewer is no longer useable, please download Development Release 3.2.21(e) from http://stuff4fs.com (if it's not "discovered" the next time you run AIFP).
 

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I have just posted AIFP Release 3.2.22. It contains an eclectic mix of new features and fixes. Please see the Version History for details.

Enjoy,
Don
 

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A inadvertent "paste" rather than "copy" may cause yesterday's release not to find all your aircraft. Release 3.2.22.1, now available at http://stuff4fs.com should fix.

Don
 

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Yesterday was not a good day for me. I also disabled some code I thought was no longer needed that, in fact was required to locate aircraft in FSX. Release 3.2.22.2 at http://stuff4fs.com fixes this,
 

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I have just posted Development Release 3.3.00. It uses PV5 airports when PV5 is designated as AIFP's Target Version. That's the only difference you should see from earlier releases. When you are editing FPs with your Target Version set to other than PV5, AIFP will issue a warning - once - should you attempt to use a PV5-only airport in a flight plan.

It would be much appreciated if some of you who are experienced with AIFP give this new release a try. Use of PV5 is not required. Indeed, non-PV5 testing is perhaps even more valuable that testing with PV5. Be sure to back up your current AIFP files before installing the development release - or install it in an empty folder. A lot of changes were involved in the development of this new release - so it may be a bit "tender". I have tested the individual functions that were changed. But, there may well be other features that are affected by those changes that have escaped my attention. So, please be tolerant and report any unexpected situations.

This release will not be automatically detected by AIFP. Please download it directly from http://stuff4fs.com.

Thanks in advance for your help in validating this new version.

Don
 

gadgets

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I have just posted Development Release 3.3.01. Like its predecessor, it uses PV5 airports when PV5 is designated as AIFP's Target Version. When you are editing FPs with your Target Version set to other than PV5, AIFP will issue a warning - once - should you attempt to use a PV5-only airport in a flight plan.

No one has posted comments about 3.3.00. So, I don't know whether it worked flawlessly or no one bothered to install it. The predecessor only included essential changes to accomplish the basic objective. This new version represents the completed project.

This release will not be automatically detected by AIFP (unless you installed 3.3.0.0). You can download directly from http://stuff4fs.com.

To re-iterate the earlier caution, be sure to back up your current AIFP files before installing the development release - or install it in an empty folder. A lot of changes were involved in the development of this new release. I have tested the individual functions that were changed. But, I may not have accommodated every possible method of use. Please report any unexpected situations.
 

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If you loaded the new development release into your old AIFP folder and you have the Use Addon Airports option in the Airports menu selected, it's likely you will encounter some strange problems. We ave discovered the existing format of the AirportsList_Addons.dat is not compatible with the latest development release. So, prior to using the new release (3.3.0.3) in this way, it will be necessary either to uncheck that option or to Re-Collect your addon airports.
 

gadgets

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General Release 3.3.1.0 which uses PV5 airports when the Target Version is PV5 is now available.

As I noted several weeks ago, a programmatic analysis revealed that the PV5 stock airports differ dramatically from those in FSX and earlier releases of P3D.
  • 1914 have name changes (i.e., Country/Region/City/Airport name)
  • 11018 have position changes, 193 of which were sufficient to change the AI sector in which they reside
  • 2068 introduce new ICAO codes
  • 2009 ICAOs have been deleted
Consequently, my only choice was to redevelop AIFPs airport collection and handling. The resulting changes were numerous. Fortunately, many were "mechanical"; nonetheless, many opportunities for de-stabilization existed. The new version has been "soaking" as a development release for a couple weeks. A few issues have been reported and fixed. It's now ready for the "big time".

The first thing you may notice with this new release is a new "Base Data" folder in your AFLT folder. It contains the stock airport and time zone data files, several of which used to "live" in the AFLT folder, cleaning up the latter. In addition to any of the files in Base Data, you may safely delete from your AIFP folder Airports_Base.dat and Airport_Stock.dat (but leaving them will do no harm other than consuming unnecessary disk space). The User manual has also been updated.

If you have previously collected add-on airport data and have selected the "Use Add-on Airport Data" option, on first running of AIFP 3.3.1.0 you will be advised that the data you have collected is not compatible with the new release and requested to re-collect it. When you choose to do so, please note that in this new release, add-on data is collected for each the Flightsim versions you nominate and only those add-ons existing in the Target Version you select will be "active". The procedure is described in the user manual. Delaying re-collection is not an issue; until you do, you will get the warning message and your previously collected add-ons will be ignored.

Two other difference may come to your attention.
  • "Missing airport" messages due to differences in ICAO codes between PV5 and its predecessors should you select the Target Version as PV5 and attempt to use a traffic file or flight plan file set created for FSX or a P3D version prior to PV5, or vice versa. I could find no ICAO cross-reference data. Due to the nearly 2000 name changes, developing that data would require manual analysis of thousands of airports - and that's above my pay-grade. If someone wants to undertake that task, the mechanism to use the resulting data already exists in AIFP.
  • AIFP "directs" AI by specifying the time of arrival at a point on the boundaries of the intervening sectors between the departure and destination airports - based on the data of the Target Version. It's up to Flightsim to "fly" the AI from the originating airport to the first such point and from the last such point to the destination airport. Without a great deal of experimentation, it's not clear how Flightsim will handle the nearly 200 position changes that result in PV5 airports being in a different AI sector than in predecessor data when a traffic file generated with, say, FSX as the Target Version is used with PV5, and vice versa. It does seem likely that, in such situations, AI may take unusual routes on departure or arrive very late.
Please report any anomalies in the operation of AIFP.

Enjoy,
Don
 

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Development Release 3.3.1.3, which contains a variety of fixes is now available.

AIFP Version 3 has contained a fundamental error since introduction that, due to a fortunate design oversight, was tolerated almost invisibly. That is, AIFP was not aware when a (power) user had moved stock data into another folder outside Flightsim to speed up operation. In those cases, AIFP did not "know" that the location of the Scenery\World\scenery folder had changed and continued to use the original location. Further, if such a user collected add-on airports, the result was about 25000 of them since every (moved) stock airport was handled as an addon.

Fortunately, (or unfortunately) this design oversight was inadvertently corrected during the recent development of Version 3.3 to accommodate PV5 airports, with the end result that those power users were unable to access their collected add-ons. Indeed Version 3.3.1.2 contained another problem that made handling of add-on airports quite difficult for others as well.

This new release reads the Scenery Library at an early stage and is thus "fully aware" of any non-standard location of stock data and the Scenery\world\scenery folder. Additional confirmations are now given at each stage of collecting and editing add-on data and the internal airport list is regenerated after every change. As well, several enhancements to the Airport Editor have been implemented.

In view of the number of code changes and the resultant likelihood of some instability, I have introduced this version as a development release. Everyone is welcome to download and use it. But, only power users and others experiencing issues with addon airports or the Airport Editor will benefit from it. Please realize the significant amount of development effort that has gone into this release and the potential for issues to arrive. Feel free to report them as they occur - no matter how seemingly minor - and I'll eliminate them ASAP.

Enjoy,
Don
 

gadgets

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As most of you know, AIFP, prior to PV5, cross-referenced airport ICAOs. For example, if a FS9 ICAO code was reassigned in FSX, AIFP would make you aware of this when it was relevant. But, with PV5 introducing a massive number of ICAO and other airport changes, I thought cross-referencing would have to become a thing of the past. (I inherited the FS9-FSX change list; I don't recall from where. Given the number of changes between FSX and PV5 - FSX through P3Dv4 all use the same stock airport files - it was clear manual analysis was impractical).

But, what if the files could be analysed mechanically? My first few attempts were not successful; many cross-references were missing and others that were "discovered" didn't actually exist. But, eventually, I 'found the recipe" Included with the latest development release is a full complement of cross-references and the program that generated them. So far, I have found no errors and I have updated AIFP to handle cross-references between PV5 and other versions as it previously handled FS9->FSX.

I have just posted AIFP 3.3.1.7 as a development release. I've also includes a few changes to the Airport Editor to accommodate. Please report any issues you discover - both in the program itself and in the cross-references data.

I urge anyone who hasn't done so to review Section 10 of the revised user manual, especially the introduction, the sections on the Airport Editor and Collect Airports and the (new) final section.
 

gadgets

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General Release 3.3.2.0 is now available. It is compatible with PV5 and offers full cross-referencing of PV5 airports.

While there were a large number of changes to accomplish this, the only other significant operational difference you should notice is that AIFP now "adopts" and uses the airports for the current Target Version. So, if your Target Version is PV5 and you want to compile for FSX or an earlier version of P3D, you'll have to first select FSX as your Target Version. Otherwise, your traffic file will refer to PV5 airports. Given the number of airport data changes between FSX and PV5, such a file executed with FSX or an earlier version of P3D is unlikely to give satisfactory results.

For those of you using the latest development release, 3.3.2.0 is identical to 3.3.1.14.

Please note, a known "bug" in the earlier general release may prevent this new release from being discovered automatically. Should that be the case with you, you can download the latest release from http://stuff4fs.com.

Enjoy
 
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gadgets

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I have just posted AIFP Development Release 3.4.0.0, In allows you create and save traffic files for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.

For those of you who have MSFS2020, I urge you to read the new Section 4.8 of the user manual before attempting to create or save traffic files. Those of you who don't have MSFS2020 may also wish to use this release since it contains a few fixes for problems in earlier versions discovered during the development process.

Enjoy
 

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Development releases 3.4.0.n (MSFS2020 traffic creation) have been in use for several weeks without any unresolved backward compatibility issues being reported. Consequently, I have promoted Development Release 3.4.0.7 to General Release status, renaming it 3.4.1.0.
 

gadgets

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fsDeveloper has been unavailable for the past little while. But, the guys over at AIG were not idle. They discovered several serious issues in Release 3.4.0.1 which have been resolved in General Release 3.4.1.5, now available at http://stuff4fs.com, namely:
  • in earlier updates to accommodate new PV5 and FS20202 airports, the specification of alternate ICOAs (to reroute traffic from a now-obsolete airport to its replacement) was inadvertently dropped;
  • certain browsers handled the downloading of repaints differently than expected by AIFP; AIFP now bypasses your browser when downloading repaints,
  • a long-standing issue whereby AIFP may "hang" if the downloaded repaint file contains textures for two or more missing aircraft.
Please give 3.4.1.5 a try.
 

gadgets

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I have just posted another development release - 3.4.1.6(g). It fixes a recently reported issue whereby when an addon airport was deleted from Flightsim, its ICAO was still "visible" in AIFP. This should no longer be the case.

As well, while fixing this, I noticed that AIFP's display of the Scenery Library did not include add-ons in the Prepar3d vn Addons or other P3D-specific locations. Such addons are now considered active and so displayed in Scenery Library listings.

Please give this release a thorough workout; I hope to re-release it generally ASAP.
 

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I have just posted Development Release 3.4.1.6(h). It contains a new feature I think many of you will find useful

A new feature whereby all add-on airports active in the Scenery Library will automatically be used, obviating the need to Collect Add-ons. If you've already collected add-on and wish to use this feature, the previously collected set of add-ons will be ignored. To use the new feature, select the bottom of the three add-on airport options in the Airports menu.
 

gadgets

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3.4.1.6(h) promoted to General Release 3.4.1.7

EDIT: My apologizies, folks. It seems that once again the auto-detect of updates no longer works. At first I thought it was due to me breaking my own rules about version naming. Turns out it's more than that. It will be fixed. But, for the moment, please manually download AIFP General Release 3.4.2.0 (3.4.1.7 renamed) from http://stuff4fs.com
 

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I have just posted General Release 3.4.2.2 at http://stuff4fs.com. You'll have to manually download it, but I believe I have really fixed the auto-update feature. So, subsequent updates should be discovered automatically.

During investigation of another issue, I also discovered that P3D's addon packages may point to non-existent folders - which presumably P3D ignores - but which could (and has) caused AIFP to "crash". I assume these are previously-installed add-ons that have not been completely uninstalled. AIFP now also ignores such add-ons.

A reminder. AIFP can only handle one add-on file per airport in each installed version of FS/P3D. I understand ORBX has released what might best be called a large number of "stock" updates. But these are in an add-on package and are, in fact, handled as add-ons by both AIFP and FS/P3D. If you have your own add-on airports for the same ICAOs, AIFP has no way of determining whether you want them used (presumably YES) or the ORBX version - or perhaps a mix. The only way to ensure your add-on "wins" is to disable the corresponding airport in the ORBX library. You'll have to "drill down" into the ORBX file structure but eventually you'll find folders whose names end with "SCENERY", "CVX". Each should contain files whose names include the airport ICAO. You'll have to disable at least the SCENERY file (just add ".xxx" to the file name). Same with the CVX file if its causing problems. If there's a troublesome elevation stub for the ORBX airport, you'll also have to find the scenery\world\scenery folder in the ORBX structure and disable the stub.

Finally, I trust most users appreciate there are fundamental differences in the way airports are handled in AIFP 3.3 and 3.4 respectively. In 3.3, the AirportList.dat reflected the FSX stock airports with a little help to note changes between it and FS9. In addition to handling MSFS2020 airports, 3.4 has to build AirportList.dat so that is also handles the >1000 changes/additions/deletions of ICAOs and changes in positions introduced in PV5. This allows you to compile PV5 compliant traffic files from FS9 or FSX sources and vice versa. It seems to work as well as its predecessor, but you may encounter a few surprises along the way. Should that happen, all the "source files" are text files in the AIFP\Base Data folders. A quick reference to the airport of interest in these source files and in AirportList.dat should clarify what's going on.

Don
 
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