Freeware 'minor' AI project recruitment

Hello everysimmer,

Before dropping the subject, let me say that I only focus on FS2004! I'd also like you all to understand that this is the first time I've ever considered this, so I've got no experience whatsoever with team work and all that, and that this is NOT some sort of major project...if I could even call it that way, neither something "deadly serious". Chances are, it's never gonna happen. But I'd still like to see if anyone at all would be interested in joining this...project. So please, for the name of whomever you want, don't come bashing me for my dumb ideas, 'cuz I'll start cryin' ;) If you find this...not OK, than just ignore it.:)

 

I myself, am dead crazy about the good ol' times of air travel...crazy about oldies and everything associated with them. My favorite era is 1970s-1980s, and my favorite flying irons - the classic jets (from the 707 all the way to the DC-10s and L-1011s). Sure enough, I often...go back in time, on my FS, and fly the oldies in the simulated 70s and 80s. Now everyone in my "gang", might very well be familiar with one particular shortcoming that we, old school fliers experience. While the modern-era pilots (and I'm also one of them), be them FS9 or FSX users, have many AI traffic addons to choose from, and while the classic propliner-oriented simmers have a terrific freeware AI traffic addon recreating worldwide traffic from the end of the 50s - beginning of the 60s, over at CalClassic........us classic jetliners-oriented folks...don't really have a complete, worldwide AI traffic package to populate our sim world with the traffic existent somewhere around the 70s and 80s, when the greatest jetliners of all used to rule the sky. We do have many models and repaints available, and retro flightplans too, but it takes a lot of time to gather them all from various sources and put them all together to make your own retro AI traffic package. And your FS world will still most likely be rather deserted. Then,we have the now freeware MyTraffic 2006, which includes traffic for different time periods, including the "magical one", 70s and 80s traffic. Those MyTraffic 2006 flight plans might not be the most accurate, but it sure is the most complete retro (70s-80s) AI traffic for FS2004, and, depending on each and everyone's expectations, it does a pretty good job in populating the virtual skies of FS9 with classic aircraft, at a heat. There's only one problem....the included models and textures...are...awful. You might be OK with it, but others are not, Ive seen far better looking models in FS98.

 

So I was thinking of gathering a fleet of freeware, high quality replacement models, from different developers, to replace only those original MyTraffic 2006 AI models and repaints, that are used by the 1970s and 1980s MyTraffic flightplans. The rest of the models/repaints are of no importance, and they will not be worked on/replaced, as they belong to different eras. Obviously, all this would happen with the written permission of the original authors of the models and repaints I would include in this...update. The update would basically be a collection of freeware AI aircraft, having similar folder names as those of the original MyTraffic aircraft folders, so all you'd need to do is to first have MyTraffic 2006 installed into your FS, then drop the new folders (the update/replacement folders) in the "Aircraft" folder of FS9, and the original (ugly) aircraft and textures would simply get overwritten/replaced by the new ones. That's all, no parts of MyTraffic 2006 would be included in this update, so we're not messing with it and redistributing bits and pieces of it. And so at the end of the day, you should end up with a worldwide retro AI traffic package that is quite complete, accurate enough AND (for the first time) looks good. There's one more problem...

 

I might find the necessary freeware models for the job, but I can't find all he repaints I need, and I kinda s|_|ck at repaiting. So.........in case such a project wouldn't encounter any other...moral hurdles I might not be aware of (although I highly doubt it), would any repainter (the more the better) be willing to team up with me (and possibly others) for this...project-thingie? As a repainter, all you'd have to do is to repaint the liveries I request (I'd try and find as much resource as I can) on the modesls I provide you with when you've got time and are in the mood. If it takes a year ot 2 years for this project to be finished, then so be it. You wouldn't have to bother about finding models, or figuring out what models need to be replaced, packing stuff or anything, your job would be to paint what I ask, on what I ask. We might actually do something great after all...and even if we don't succeed, at least we'd have some fun while trying to serve the FS community, gain experience, and a bunch of nice new repaints would be available for some new AI models. I guess there's no need to mention, everyone gets proper credits, and the...let's call it update...the update won't get published until everyone involved (including the makers of the 3D models) is happy with the way it is. If you've got any further questions, just ask 'em. Lemme know what you think...and remember, there's no such thing as rush, if this project is to take off.

 

Best Regards,

Dorel

Hi,

 

It sounds like a lot of work you have ahead of you! :) That said this sounds like a very interesting project, I'm keen to help you out with the paints. I think I will be able to do perhaps 1-2 paints a week, as AI aircraft are generally simpler than the user ones. Are you aiming to cover the whole world in your project? Also, are you planning to get the AI models scratch built, or use pre-existing ones?

 

Cheers,

Aeroplaneman

Cheers for that Michael, mighty appreciated!

 

I am intending to only use existent models, my modeling experience consists in a few flying porta potties (they might have looked huge bricks for other people), and recruiting model designers is obviously gonna complicate things tenfold. I just hope I can find enough designers willing to offer their models to this project, haven't approached anybody so far, but will do so soon, knowing that I have the support of at least one painter. I'll also try and recruit some more painters.

 

Yes, I'd like to cover the whole 70s and 80s world, that is, all the MyTraffic 2006 models and liveries flying around the whole FS world, but only in the 1970s and 1980s. Most AI aircraft from this former payware addon come with many liveries, but we're only gonna focus on aircraft that flew in the 70s and 80s, and only on those liveries that appeared in the 70s and 80s, so, for example, a 707 livery that only appeared in the 1960s presents no interest and won't be repainted for the new, replacement model.

 

1-2 liveries per week is terrifically OK!

 

It's gonna take some time until I kick this off, I first need to identify all the MyTraffic 2006 models and repaints that need to be replaced (only 70s and 80s ones), then find model designers willing to offer their models to this project, than find painters willing to offer their repaints for those models and then eventually, you can repaint the necessary liveries that I cannot find. I'll get back to you as soon as I'm finished setting the stage. I just hope none of the new models will behave erratically in FS, due to the way they interact with the MyTraffic flightplans, but as far as the new models are specifically built for AI use, that shouldn't happen AFAIK.

 

Thanks again for your support Aeroplaneman, so much appreciated! Huh, I'm off to get this thing started...

 

Dorel

Like I said before, this project might never take off in the first place and.....after analyzing things more in depth and more carefully...I came to the conclusion that such an update would not really be practical. Most folks would probably wanna use all the...eras included in MyTraffic 2006, not just the 70s and 80s, and upgrading only the 70s and 80s (I had eventually decided to only go for the 80s) would be more of a mess, than a real improvement, hard to come up with a solution to update some specific models and repaints, while leaving the others intact, and also, for those simmers wanting only a traffic pack simulating the 80s traffic, it would be a headache to first get MyTraffic2006 (which will unload tons of unnecessary stuff on their PC), then apply the update...all this for a good looking 80s traffic. It would now appear to me that this approach really isn't suitable to MyTraffic 2006. If I got the approval of the authors of MyTraffic 2006 to include some of their flightplans into this project and hence create a stand alone AI traffic package to be released as such, that would be a different story altogether, but I know that's out of the question, so..... yeah.

 

Hence, I decided to ditch the idea of upgrading non practical things, and to try and go, more or less, the WOAI way, I'm gonna try and getter the best retro flightplans available, best models and repaints available (and you're supposed to paint the necessary liveries that are not available) and combine them to form ready to apply AI packages. I'll take a look at RetroAI and see how it goes, stay tuned..............

Regretfully, I have to cancel this project for good...if there still was any hope left for it. There simply aren't enough flightplans available, I might not get the approval of enough modelers to use their models...it doesn't seem like a viable project. I might continue to do something in private, with almost no chances of ever getting published (can't happen without approval from the authors of the flightplans, models etc). But thanks again Michael for volunteering for this, that gave me an extra incentive to dig deeper into the viability of this project.