Aircraft For AI

[iflysioux]

Hi all,

I'm trying to make custom AI, just random junk that I throw in to little GA airports to make things a bit more lively. But I'd like to add some fun planes that I have in my hangar, stuff like T-34's, Extra 300's, Champs, you know things like that. These are all airplanes that I have and are flyable, but I can't figure out how to make FS use them as AI planes.

Yes I know throwing a bunch of them in there will probably kill frame rates with that much detail but one or two in the 40 mile radius shouldn't be too bad.

Thanks

[rainerk]

It's not really clear what your question is.

If you want to make flightplans you need the appropriate tools (like Lee Swordy's excellent Ttools - search TTools202.zip).
Read the documentation, and you should be able to create flightplans (with the aircraft you want visiting the airports you desire) and compile the plans into traffic bgl files.

[jgf]

Just add them to the flight plans as you would an AI specific aircraft. The main issue is that most player flyable aircraft have much higher detail levels than AI only aircraft, so will have a greater affect on frame rates. I've found using FS2000 or early FS2002 aircraft works well, they look nice but typically don't have the fps eating detail of newer planes (and you find an assortment of unusual aircraft that were never created for FS9).

[iflysioux]

Found my problem, pretty "elementary" as Holmes would say. The flight plan creator program I was using was only reading the airplanes out of the single flight plan text file (if the airplane wasn't listed there it didn't show up in the program.)

Not gonna lie, feel a bit stupid but at least it's an easy fix.

[iflysioux]

Ok new question now, I'm just full of them (full of something at least :-D ) If I want an airplane to do touch and go's at say MSP (for example) I would just make the departure and arrival airports the same put in the "TNG16:27:00" part and the airplane won't leave Minneapolis correct?

I suppose I could just try it, but this might save me headaches.

[jgf]

I don't think AI will do touch-and-go flights since the arrival and departure points must be different, and upon landing they must either taxi to parking or disappear (I could never make it work anyway).

You can make two flight plans for the same aircraft, flying between two neighboring airports, and time them so it appears to be one aircraft doing touch-and-goes (at both fields).

[pfflyers]

Actually you do not need to have two airports in your flightplan but you must have at least two legs. I've written many training flightplans that work just fine.

An example of a sample flightplan:

AC#1,N1701,60%,2HR,VFR,00:01:32,TNG00:14:18,020,R,0001,XBEL,01:09:11,TNG01:23:57,015,R,0002,XBEL

[jgf]

Interesting. I had tried creating a flight where the aircraft took off, circled the airfield at a couple of miles distance, then returned and landed. Never got it to work until creating a phantom airfield adjacent to the first and having the plane land there.

[pfflyers]

There are so many variables to enter and messing up just one will cause your traffic file to malfunction even if TTools lets it compile. I have spent many hours compliling, testing, fixing, testing, ... trying to make my traffic show up when and where I wanted. Don't take this to the bank, but I think if you don't want the aircraft to do touch and goes, just go away and return later replace the "TNG" with "@" and the ai will return and land at the specified time. Where it goes I don't know. One of the first things I did incorrectly when writing my first training files was neglecting to write at least two legs for each flight. The traffic percent messed me up a few times, and the ZULU time was another issue. That's why in the example I posted I used a two hour repeat, the cycle just repeats over and over all day and all night, don't have to worry about the time.

[usb777]

If I want the plane to land do I just take out TNG00? Or do I write something in it's place?