Misty Moorings Forums
Return to Misty Moorings (FSX/P3D/MSFS2020) => Addon Scenery and Enhancements => Topic started by: Doug on October 22, 2012, 04:58:51 PM
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RTMM AI Shipping Project - Ready to Download
Return to Misty Moorings (RTMM) is proud to bring you the Tongass Fjords AI Shipping Project, (TFAISP). This is our first of what will be several extensive AI shipping enhancement projects for the areas of coverage we do. Conceived by Brad Allen but made possible by the combined talents of Dexter Thomas and "JJ", TFAISP will add many ships to the already active Tongass Fjords Region.
You'll see custom ships that "JJ" repainted and used for this project as well as default FSX and other models. Dex has put together many new traffic routes (tracks) that will populate the larger bodies of water throughout the area. With this enhancement, you will see numbers of cruise ships, various cargo, container and other commercial shipping vessels bringing tourists and goods to the area.
This is one of our "mega" projects that took a great deal of time on the part of Dex and JJ, let alone all the time Rod spent making you an "automatic" installer ... and of course, hours of beta testing. We hope you enjoy this new addition.
You can go to the new AI Shipping Projects Page:
http://www.return.mistymoorings.com/shipping/index.php
To download your copy.
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This looks like a great enhancement.
FYI I could only get the installer to work after I went into the exe Properties and set the compatibility to Win7, and ticked the "run as administrator".
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Hi Bryan,
That is good info for those not using Windows 7. I think all of our testers had Windows 7. It was also tested with Vista. What operating system are you using? What kind of error did it give you?
Rod
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My apologies....I should have noted that I am using Win7....
When I clicked on the "exe" file it would started the cmd interface. And then when I pressed 1 or 2 to attempt the install as instructed, the screen would "flash" and nothing, it would just disappear. I tried the install four times, twice each pressing 1 and then 2.
So my first thought after this experience was to check the properties as I have seen this sort of thing happen before with other installers. Once the properties were set as I mentioned, presto, the cmd interface appeared, I selected 1 and the install continued as it should.
Bryan
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Hi Bryan,
Thats interesting that all of the other Windows 7 installations in our testing didn't have that problem. Must be something different about yours. When I right click on the installer properties, it doesn't even give me Windows 7 as a choice for compatability. Anyway, it's good to know the answer should someone else experience what you experienced.
Thanks for sharing that.
Rod
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These informations about new created ai-shipping read very interesting and exciting.
My questions:
- Does this published package (and following ones) work with all ai-traffic that we have installed with all former RTMM files of this kind up to now?
- Is there any deinstallation necessary?
- This is an exe-installer. Where/what folders will the corresponding files be written?
Dieter
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Thanks to the team involved in this project! It sounds great and I look forward to downloading and installing it tonight.
May I, in addition to Dieters questions, raise another question:
What traffic settings are required to see the ships? Are the FSX-AI-traffic-settings of any interest to this AI-pack?
Best regards, Till
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All plan files are set at 10%. These are big ships and in open waters. There should be no conflicts.
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Installation performed without any problem, thank you for the work :)
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These informations about new created ai-shipping read very interesting and exciting.
My questions:
- Does this published package (and following ones) work with all ai-traffic that we have installed with all former RTMM files of this kind up to now?
- Is there any deinstallation necessary?
- This is an exe-installer. Where/what folders will the corresponding files be written?
Dieter
Hi Dieter,
This package is compatible with all other RTMM AI-Traffic packages, there is no de-installation necessary.
If you want to see where the files will be written you can choose Manual Installation and install to the termporary folder of your choice....that temp folder will then be populated with the folders and files for installation and will also contain a set of instructions on where to install their contents. It is possible that you will already have one or more of the folders or files already installed from previous RTMM installations but an overwrite of the same named files in those folders is perfectly ok.
To answer your question directly: the installer installs files into FSX\SimObjects\Boats, FSX\Scenery\World\Scenery and FSX\Effects. It will overwrite files of the same name that are located in folders with the same name which is perfectly OK. The installer does not do any deleting of folders or files.
Rod
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This is great news! This will add an even higher 'fun' factor to RTMM. Looking forward to checking off the list.
Once again, thanks for all of the hard work and dedication.
Ted
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I just installed this package and no problem occurred. The ships are sailing their rounds and even the skippers waved at me during my flyby with the Beaver ! Thanks for this great enhancement.
;)
Henk
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Hi Bryan,
Thats interesting that all of the other Windows 7 installations in our testing didn't have that problem. Must be something different about yours. When I right click on the installer properties, it doesn't even give me Windows 7 as a choice for compatability. Anyway, it's good to know the answer should someone else experience what you experienced.
Thanks for sharing that.
Rod
Yes, thanks for this information.
While testing with win7 I did get the installer starting with right mouse click and run as administrator. I did run the installer three or four times and it always worked perfect to me.
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Great stuff guys ;D Thanks a million for making this package. Did a manual install and copied the files over to FSX and to P3D. Works just great. Just needed to fix the usual wake problem in P3D.
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Have tried all the tips re Windows 7 to get the installer to work but no joy.
Get this message in the command box;
"ECHO is off.
does not contain fsx.exe. Please chooose a different directory or or close the installer window to exit.
Press any key to continue"
NOTE -- Spelling of choose with 3 letters o and 2 or entries are exactly what I get.
Pressing any key after this message does nothing and I have to X out.
Don't know what the "ECHO is off" means.
Could use some help here.
Thanks.
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Hi owd,
The mispelling errors are mine...sorry about that......the important point is that you are geting a message telling you that the directory you are choosing does not contain the fsx.exe file......when you do an automatic installatioin and choose the FSX directory in the pop up window it needs to be the main FSX folder...the one that contains fsx.exe....
Can you confirm that you are initially getting a pop up window asking you to choose the FSX directory?
If not....what operating system are you using?
Rod
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Thanks for the quick reply.
No, I am not getting any further than the command window -- never do get a chance to make any selections. Have to X out to get out of the command window. OS is Windows 7 64 bit.
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Hi owd,
I also use Windows 7 64 bit.
The TFAISP installer uses VBScripting to open a pop up window to make a directory selection. It sounds like this is not happening on your system.......this means that it is possible that your system has been modified to prohibit vbscripts from running or not recognize them. Some security systems have been known to do this. In order to see if your system is recognizing .vbs files.....create a .txt file with any name and change the extension to .vbs. See if its icon on the desktop changes to this:
(http://imageshack.us/a/img28/4518/vbsi.jpg)
Let me know if the icon after you change the extension to .vbs looks like the above or if it is just blank.
Then we will proceed from there.
Rod
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Rod,
Created a text file and changed the extension to .vbs.
Yes, the icon changes to exactly what you show.
This is all new to me and as far as I know I have never changed anything in Windows 7 that would prohibit vbscripts from running.
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Hi owd,
Still not sure if vbs is the problem but eliminating possiblities. If the vbscript execution is being blocked, it is probably not something you did. PM me with your email address and I will send you the actual short vbscript to see if it does produce the directory selection screen.
Rod
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Hello Rod,
thanks for your thorough and detailed description (from Oct 23rd)
Unpacking and manual installations worked without any problems.
Dieter
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Installation went well.
Installer opened, window opened, I chose the FSX-main folder and everything seems to work. I saw several new ships around PAKT on my short inspection flight this morning.
I use W7 64-bit. Only strange thing was that the ZIP-folder did not unzip as usually but I managed to unzip it somehow.
Thanks for this enhancement!
Till
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Hey Rod,
Mine is Windows 7 X64
Unzipped normally, ran the installer, all is well.
rob
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Sounds good, Rob.
Rod
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Same here,
Win 7 64 bit, no problems at all.
Dieter
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Rod,
WIN XP installs without any problems.
8)
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Vista 64 for me and my traffic is fine. Note to those that are looking for traffic from this package at Ketchikan. You're not seeing any AI Shipping traffic from this package at that location. That was from a different AI Shipping set of files by Dex that you may have already installed. Not going to cause any conflicts with the Tongass Fjords AI SHipping, just letting you know that what we have currently released that we are talking about in this thread is for Tongass FJords X by FS Addon. You will need to have that scenery region installed and then fly from one of those regions locations to look for ships that we have added in this package we are talking about here. Which is the Return to Misty Moorings "Tongass Fjords AI Shipping Project"
Just making sure we don't get confused with where these ships are located. Look at the large map showing where the ships are. I believe Rod included that large image with the installation files .pdf file. If not, we'll address this so people have a large map of where the ships are at.
Brad
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Ship Spotter's Checklist
For those "so inclined" (like me perhaps) ... you will see thumbnails of all the ships you might encounter in the AI shipping projects, and with each one a larger screenshot to help you identify it. Also, below the thumbnails you'll find a "checklist" you can download. So to participate download the checklist, as you find the boats, fill it in handwritten, then when finished, scan it and send it to us and we'll put your name on the Wall of Fame and send you an e-certificate. This is done on the honor system, we hope everyone is "honorable."
Hope that special niche of folks enjoys this new feature.
Doug
PS Attached is the first certificate of completion. Since Brad gave us the screenshots of all the boats, he deserves the first certificate and the "001" slot on the Wall of Fame. This was a LOT of work on his part.
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Congratulations, Brad....who'll be next? And, yes Brad, the ship tracks are shown in the .pdf user guide that comes in the installation folder.
Rod
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Congratulations, Brad!!!! Great! :)
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I have the shipping project installed.
Now I'll have to go find them.Might there be any current flight plans,where the new ships,can be seen by boat or planes etc.
I did see the shipping tracks in the readme pdf.Maybe some one could add some trip flight plans for download,to make it easier to find the new ships.Even some readme's showing where they launch from,and where there runs end.
THX
GrayRider
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Hi owd,
Still not sure if vbs is the problem but eliminating possiblities. If the vbscript execution is being blocked, it is probably not something you did. PM me with your email address and I will send you the actual short vbscript to see if it does produce the directory selection screen.
Rod
For those of you who might be wondering...........owd and I were able to solve his install problem and he is probably out looking for ships. In case you were wondering, for some reason he was missing the
%SystemRoot%\system32 environment variable path which was prohibiting the execution of VBScripts from within the Command Interface.
Rod
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Well all I can say is stunning work guys!
I have spent the last few days since downloading the package flying around the "Misty" area and what wonderful fun to spot all of the AI work. It seems that every body of water that I explore has some surprise and I am constsntly vering off my proscribe course to do a flyby and discovery of what vessel is on the horizon. I have lost count already.
Brad, thanks for running with the idea. Dexter and "JJ", thanks for the models, they are fascinating.
I have however located one beached cruise vessel on the point East of Coff's Harbour. No not the Costa Condordia, as my wife asked me when she spotted it as well. She is upright and surprisingly looks undamaged. Non of the other nearby vessels were responding so things seem under control.
Many thanks again for this astounding enhancement.
Rick
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I have however located one beached cruise vessel on the point East of Coff's Harbour. No not the Costa Condordia, as my wife asked me when she spotted it as well. She is upright and surprisingly looks undamaged. Non of the other nearby vessels were responding so things seem under control.
Did it look like this? This is east of Coffman Cove, Alaska. (Coff's Harbour is in New South Wales, Australia.)
[attachment deleted by admin (size over 300k)]
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I have the shipping project installed.
Now I'll have to go find them.Might there be any current flight plans,where the new ships,can be seen by boat or planes etc.
I did see the shipping tracks in the readme pdf.Maybe some one could add some trip flight plans for download,to make it easier to find the new ships.Even some readme's showing where they launch from,and where there runs end.
THX
GrayRider
Hey George,
Nope, no flightplans planned. Just get out there and fly the bays around Petersberg, Wrangell, and Sitka. You will definitely see many ships along the way. All the way from Juneau to Wrangell, and out to Sitka is prime viewing locations. Use an amphibian so you can land next to the ship if you want to see the paint better. You can make a flightplan and fly it at different times to catch the boats in different positions along their routes.
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Absolutely just like that, and East of Coffman Cove on a point of land on Etolin Island. At my age that is what you get when you write from memory and don't veryfy with the VFR Navigation Chart you are flying with. I can't even explain any Aussie connection. Haven't been there yet (but will).
Thanks Jeff.
Rick
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Thanks Rick for spotting that grounded ship. I'm sure the guys will be anxious to get that going again. Coff's Harbour is an addon offered by Orbx for NSW, Australia. I don't remember if it was a payware one or not, as I got it a very long time ago. Anyway, I knew what you meant, . . . Coffman Cove. ;D Thanks again.
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What you're seeing there is the result of two ships passing by each other too closely. I learned this working with Dex on this project. When two ships come in close proximity in the sim, one will take evasive action and run aground. It will reset at the end of the traffic cycle.
Brad
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grounded ship position:
N56° 3.18'
W132° 37.46'
Dieter
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I did not see any ships in this forest!
[attachment deleted by admin (size over 300k)]
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Jeff, okay that was it as I also have Coffs Harbour (I have them all, just as I download all Misty). That is where the mind played tricks with me when I typed from memory and not from verifying off the chart.
Dieter, that is where I found her. I could see her off in the distance as I approachd Coffman Cove from the West.
Brad, I kind of figured that it would be caused by something like that sort of conflict. It is always great to learn more detail and gain a better understanding of how and why.
As I continued to explore around this area last night I was struck by the density and variety of traffic. The log rafts hidden in back bays etc are a delight to find. I am a seasonal simmer, with April through October being my canoieng and guiding time so I am just getting back into the sim flying. This new enhancement makes me addicted. Great!
Thanks everyone for your responses.
Rick
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Well, Dex, here is what I see:
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Holger once told me the FSX boats don't know he changed the coastline, that's why there are ferries aground all over our area. Same would hold true for FSX ships . First question, is this one of ours? I can't tell.
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I went to the coordinates indicated, but I have not seen any grounded ship ...
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I have the coordinates so please give me the time when this is observed.
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Handie...no it probably won't be there as the AI on your computer will "start off" FSX ships at different times. If you leave FSX running overnight and go down the Grenville channel the next morning, you will find the wrecked boats, these are FSX boats. We need to know I'd this vessel is one of ours or not.
D
NOTAM TO ALL
When we see one of these, get a close up screen shot (not top down) so we can ID the ship. We also need coordinates and time of day. If it is one of ours Dex can fix it...if it is an FSX vessel then there is nothing we can do. FSX captains were not issued the latest charts for ORBX scenery. ;-)
D
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Eureka! I found the problem. In Google Earth, that area is covered with clouds. Guess what is underneath the clouds? Nothing but a bunch of tree covered islands! I have two options, put
wheels on the ships or move the tracks. I think that I will find the tracks and move them.
[attachment deleted by admin (size over 300k)]
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Awe, I was hopin' you'd go for the "wheels" idea. :o Darned Google clouds. ::)
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No.......wheels on ships......ridiculous. Here is my solution........ (scroll down)
(http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/1514/coffr.gif)
Oh, oh.......I'm starting to lose it....must go to sleep now......
Rod
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- I see the boat when switching to 11:50 local flight simulator time.
- "Walked" around the boat, couldn't find any name
Dieter
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Hello,
I have a problem for to note the location/coordinates and date/time of the diffférents boats encountered in Tongass Fjords .
For location/coordinates, no worries, I can find it easily, either in the map or by posting in the upper left of the window.
But for the time, I do not know where to find this information. I know when I started in FSX, but I do not know what is the hour where I met such and such boat after some time spent in FSX ...
Can someone tell me how to do ?
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In Flight Sim Windows mode, at the top menu bar click World the Time and Season.
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Thank you, I thought that at this place, time remained blocked at the selected time to launch FSX, but in fact, it changes gradually as time passes ;)
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Also Nadine, you may have a clock on the instrument panel of your plane. That will give you the current FSX time of day. ;)
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Hi Guys,
It has been awhile I was here on the forum, but maybe this wil help for some guys to track down the vessels in fsx.
If you have Google Earth, then you can download a file for it to track all the AI you have in fsx, it is freeware and you can download it here http://www.juergentreml.de/programming/fsx-google-earth-tracker it shows the model and the names.
I ran it in an network, so fly and see what is going on there on the water, ground and air, it's fun.
You can also see in fsx the differences on the wake, for the vessels we use for the RTMM AI Shipping Project the wake is brighter (most of them) then the default wake.
Jan ;)
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@Jan
Thanks for pointing us to this excellent program!
Now I'm able to designate the above mentioned grounded boat:
VEH_water_cruiseship2_sm
This cruise ship has no name on the hull.
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Hi Dieter,
When i take a look on the name you wrote VEH_water_cruiseship2_sm, this is for sure a default ship of fsx and they have no names on it, the only ones in fsx that have names are repainted ones, and they are not from fsx default.
Jan
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Not being very familiar with exactly how AI vessels work I'll ask one of our 'experts' what would be the problems caused if you disabled that particular file in the SimObjects\Boats folder?
It would not show any longer but if it is used at other locations it would of course no longer be available there either.
8)
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Spud, You answered the question.
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Thanks Dex,
Thought that would be the case. FWIW I went into FSX\SimObjects\boats and first tried to just add a .OFF extension to the VEH_water_cruiseship2_sm folder. (VEH_water_cruiseship2_sm.OFF) This didn't stop the ship from showing up so I opened the VEH_water_cruiseship2_sm folder and added the .OFF extension to the scenery and texture sub-folders. This did remove the ship from Coffman Cove.
Because the default AI ships do not know that the shorelines have been changed in the ORBX PFJ scenery they will ground themselves on the altered landmasses. I assume that their tracks would have to be altered to avoid this. Do not know if default AI ship tracks can be changed or not. Dex do you have the answer?
8)
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I could be wrong, but I just found a second instance of the c/v Doug Linn (funny name!). Anyway, I found it here in the pic (below) up by an island (could this be one the gang has already fixed?). But it was the 2nd instance of this ship as I checked it off as I was coming up the Clarence Strait. Just curious.
If you guys and gals are not out "ship hunting" you are really missing some fun. I'm actually, the last couple of days, doing this the first time myself. Dex, Brad and Rod and placed these things exceptionally well, and I know they are always dynamic, but you can almost always see a ship on the horizon. I'm a long way from completing my checklist (that you can download from the site), but having a great time doing it.
- (By the way, there is a Ship Finder's App up on the Applications Store that is a lot of fun, doesn't have anything to do with us, but if you are near a port and are wondering about the ships, this will tell you who is where in your area. When "Sandy" was coming into New York Harbor ... you could see the ships fleeing out into the Atlantic. One of those was "our" Norwegian Jade. A good app for those so inclined. I live near Savannah so can now sit on the riverfront and predict which ship is coming up the river next. I'm going to start wearing my Captain's hat and light up a pipe, (and hide the IPhone) and people will think I'm the real thing with all that knowledge.)
But if "ship finding" is your thing, what you will find on the AI Shipping page is darned close to the real thing. And I've seen a couple of the new ships that JJ has made for us ... they are amazing!!! So more are coming soon.
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Thanks Dex,
Thought that would be the case. FWIW I went into FSX\SimObjects\boats and first tried to just add a .OFF extension to the VEH_water_cruiseship2_sm folder. (VEH_water_cruiseship2_sm.OFF) This didn't stop the ship from showing up so I opened the VEH_water_cruiseship2_sm folder and added the .OFF extension to the scenery and texture sub-folders. This did remove the ship from Coffman Cove.
Because the default AI ships do not know that the shorelines have been changed in the ORBX PFJ scenery they will ground themselves on the altered landmasses. I assume that their tracks would have to be altered to avoid this. Do not know if default AI ship tracks can be changed or not. Dex do you have the answer?
8)
Hi Spud,
I think the only file you need to change to stop the boat models from a particular boat folder from showing up is the sim.cfg file located in the particular folder. Just change it to sim.off
Don't know the answer to your default AI tracks question.
Rod
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Each vessel has an individual track that is created in Google Earth. You start with a boat file, a plan file, and a route file. They are compiled and the result is the traffic.bgl file. You can change the .bgl to something else, I use .XXX That will prevent the boat that is involved with that plan and route from appearing. You can get the AI boat traffic Compiler know as AIBTC and decompile the traffic.bgl to create the two text and the kml route file. Look at the boat text file and it will tell you what vessel is used for that traffic file. On occasion, Google Earth and FSX don't agree so we have glitches.
I am presently using 59 vessels. 39 of those are custom paints by JJ and the rest are default.
That's the less for today. Now everybody go make some traffic1 ;D
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I'm still adding to the Spotter's Checklist. I've decided to look at this from the "spotter's" point of view. I am also adding the STATIC ships to the checklist. Dex and Rod will think I'm "nuts" because these are not part of what they are doing. But if you are a "spotter" ... finding a ship that isn't on the checklist is frustrating. For those not using the checklist, it will make no difference. But I wanted folks to know that the list of boats Dex and Rod have may not match the checklist, which will have more. (Also, if you find a ship in the RTMM area that we do not have on the checklist, give us a nice screenshot of it and send it to us and we'll add it).
Running the checklist isn't easy. Finding the ship is one thing, identifying it is another. Of course, look at the colors of the body of the ship and decide what "kind" of ship it is. Then look at the bridge configuration and the stack colors ... those will help you "dial down" to the correct vessel.
The team has made the "long waters" between the locations something to really enjoy. There always seems to be a ship on the horizon to check out. As you all know, the mission at RTMM is making the JOURNEY count for you. We are proud of our "scenery locations" ... but "getting from here to there" and making that even more enjoyable for you is the goal. The RTMM AI Shipping projects fits right into the mission. Again thanks to Dex, Rod and Brad for this great effort and addition.
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Coming very soon.....days....Shipping Traffic for PFJ!!!!!
In just a day or two, the RTMM AI Shipping Project for PFJ (PFJAISP) will be ready for download. This enhancement will require Tongass Fjords FSX as well as ORBX PFJ. This is a massive effort by Brad, Dex and JJ to place all kinds of shipping on the larger bodies of water in the Pacific Fjords Region....a very large area. This ehancement includes 128 new individual shipping tracks made with Google Earth. Most of the ships you have already seen in the Tongass area if you are using TFAISP though you might spot one or two new ones (see below). Right now most of us have empty waters in PFJ....not anymore!
The map below shows the enormous area that PFJAISP covers. Get ready to do some ship spotting!
Rod
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Hi All,
Good news, RTMM AI Shipping Project for Pacific Fjords is now ready for download!
http://www.return.mistymoorings.com/shipping/index.php (http://www.return.mistymoorings.com/shipping/index.php)
Rod
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WOW .. "WE GOT BOATS!!!" Lots of 'em. What a joy now to fly down towards Prince Rupert. It used to be a long, boring trip ... no longer. All kinds of ships to see along the way. This really makes the area come alive ... well done folks!!!!
Doug