What is your biggest pet peeve with Flight Simulator?

For me, cannot stand a Aircraft.cfg with all the sections out of order from the Microsoft ESP SDK.

I have not reordered each and every single one but have found duplicate sections in some of them by doing this. Have done most of the Payware aircraft I have.

All the [fltsim.x] must be in alphabetical order corresponding to the Texture folders.

Remove all the unnecessary double spacing and spaces between = signs. The Replace tool in Notepad is very helpful for this to batch the whole file.

Speaking of spaces, also hate all the "invisible" spacing found when highlighting the text. They could all be smaller files without them.

I wish there was a tool to read aircraft.cfg data and place it in order as described. Anybody aware of such a tool? It would make my obsession so much easier to deal with :)

OMG DD, you just made my day! I have a habit of when I download an aircraft, I usually check to see if the plane is "in balance" with fuel/payload, I then check to see if there are any entries that look way out of whack, I usually have to add the [altimeters] and [airspeed_indicators] at the end of the aircraft.config, I check flap settings against those set out in the appropriate checklists, and then when I am all finished doing that, I start at the tail end of the cfg, and scroll up the file doing away with all the double spacing between the sections of the cfg. I don't know, my wife would blame me for being OCD or something close, but it looks so much better and it does give it a finished look to it! Anyway, this got me into trouble yesterday, I downloaded an aircraft from HJG and I couldn't get the number 3 engine to start. When I looked thru the config under engine data, it was missing most of the line that probably was meant to be the 3rd engine. I found a config from a DC-10 and compared what that aircraft entry looked like, made some changes and the engine fired up. Anyway, I brought the missing line to HJG's attention, and they couldn't understand where my file came from, all the L1011 engine data files for all their aircraft appeared to be in order. I found the original .zip file for the download and sure enough they were correct. it seems that my being obsessed with cleaning up all double spaces, I apparently swept across this missing entry and that is why the engine would not start! HJC was glad I got it sorted out, but didn't understand why I would feel compelled to go into the cfg and clean it of all double spacing? It would always be a sure way of introducing faults. Okay, yes, I agree, I erred today and I was wrong. Will I stop doing it? Probably not, but I will be extra careful in doing so!

Anyway, I am with you, Pal, we all have our faults and way of doing things to make us feel better. Drives some people crazy, but I am perfectly happy with myself! :cool:

Rick ( I know, it is hard to be humble!)

I'm certainly not OCD but I sure have gotten tired of dealing with SOME "deficiencies"...

#1 pet peeve: bouncing snowballs and rocks under the wheels! I've edited those out of my fx files...

#2 pet peeve: wheel contact points that don't match the wheel location in the model.

#3 pet peeve: wingtip vortices on Cessnas, Pipers, and motorcycles. seriously?

#4 pet peeve: "sparks" that look like they belong on some toy for the 18 - 24 month age range

#5 pet peeve: air superiority fighters with the roll rate of biz jet!

#6 pet peeve: (sound) aliasing ( in machines with storage measured in gigabytes and terabytes )

#7 pet peeve: thumbs.db files - deleted out of the zip file BEFORE I unzip it.

#8 pet peeve: I put the gauges back into the panel folder instead of the main gauges folder.

#9 pet peeve: incomplete camera definitions or default zooms in the 30% - 40% range.

#10 pet peeve: If the developer/model maker puts his name in as UI_manufacturer I replace it with the real-world manufacturer's name. If that's his only 'error' I'll acknowledge him/them as ui_createdby.

I group Cfg entries by category since I'm likely to edit almost anything...

sims; cameras

ref speeds;views; brakes

weight/balance; fuel; contact pts

Aircraft geometry; flaps; flight tuning

engine; propeller

effects; lights; smoke

autopilot

(everything else unsorted)

on the other hand - life's too short to get 'bent out of shape' by the small stuff...

Loyd

...but didn't understand why I would feel compelled to go into the cfg and clean it of all double spacing? ...Will I stop doing it? Probably not, but I will be extra careful in doing so!

Anyway, I am with you, Pal, we all have our faults and way of doing things to make us feel better. Drives some people crazy, but I am perfectly happy with myself! :cool:

 

Rick ( I know, it is hard to be humble!)

Well for me, knowing that I 'optimized' the aircraft.cfg makes it easier to locate errors when they are in a uniform order the next time.

 

#1 pet peeve: bouncing snowballs and rocks under the wheels! I've edited those out of my fx files...

#2 pet peeve: wheel contact points that don't match the wheel location in the model.

#3 pet peeve: wingtip vortices on Cessnas, Pipers, and motorcycles. seriously?

#4 pet peeve: "sparks" that look like they belong on some toy for the 18 - 24 month age range

#5 pet peeve: air superiority fighters with the roll rate of biz jet!

#6 pet peeve: (sound) aliasing ( in machines with storage measured in gigabytes and terabytes )

#7 pet peeve: thumbs.db files - deleted out of the zip file BEFORE I unzip it.

#8 pet peeve: I put the gauges back into the panel folder instead of the main gauges folder.

#9 pet peeve: incomplete camera definitions or default zooms in the 30% - 40% range.

#10 pet peeve: If the developer/model maker puts his name in as UI_manufacturer I replace it with the real-world manufacturer's name. If that's his only 'error' I'll acknowledge him/them as ui_createdby.

 

Loyd

# 1 I've seen this but didn't think I could do anything about it.

# 3 LOL I guess unless a GA aircraft is in a nose dive it's a little farfetched!

# 7 I regularly batch delete thumbs.db with the command prompt and do the entire harddrive.

# 8 Yes reduces the gauge folder clutter unless used by several aircraft.

# 9 Always add 'CycleHidden=Yes' because I just like VC and chase view.

#10 Absolutely! Don't know why a payware author thinks they are aircraft manufactures!

I don't feel so bad now. Just hope we get some flight time in!

Payware aircraft which have the airline name blindly and incorrectly repeated as the callsign.

Wish I had a dollar for every “atc_callsign=British Airways” I’ve corrected.

Wim

Payware aircraft which have the airline name blindly and incorrectly repeated as the callsign.

Wish I had a dollar for every “atc_callsign=British Airways” I’ve corrected.

 

Wim

I usually have the EditVoicePack XL 'airline.cfg' open to replace all those missing and incorrect suckers.

I've had this peeve for years, I always unzip to a separate folder then edit before I place the aircraft in the sim.

I've even found air file names that don't match the sim=

Texture names that don't match the texture=

Also hate a prop aircraft with jet engines

The use of lots of zeros 0.0000000, I mean isn't that just zero, when I edit it the ac still flies OK.

I agree with the other listed things in the above posts, I edit those too.

Col.

I agree CRJ, I read somewhere it happens a lot when you are flying low level, but as you say it is very annoying.

Get handed over to be given the QNH then handed back again and so on, I made one journey I think I was handed to a fro constantly aver 20 plus times, it was a long distance journey either.

Col.

Flat runways would be high up on the list.

W33

Flat runways would be high up on the list.

 

W33

Not just the runways, but the entire airports. You add a realistic mesh and run into airports with ridiculous cliffs on one side (KLAS is one)

An airport in FS has to be flat. Bottom line. As per definition of Microsoft. Therefore all objects,

including runway ends are at the same defined altitude. As we all know, airports are mostly not flat.

 

In most cases this can be ignored, because differences are small. But not always. There

are differences in the altitude of runway ends, which are considerable. See Lukla for

example. This runway has a length of 527m with an inclination of 12°!

Or see Cairo, the difference in altitude of runway ends is 191ft at this airport! When you approach CAT III in FS you may crash even before you hear “Minimums”. This is a problem in concept and can not be changed. We have to accept that the airport and its polygon cut into the correct terrain. One runway end may bury itself in terrain and the other ends in a cliff. Depending on actual differences in altitude this may be more or less prominently visible. The only possibility to optically ease that would be to create a micromesh.

Why didn't Microsoft make it so airports woulds tilt to match the surrounding terrain?

My peeve in FSX: I know it takes hours upon hours to create a freeware aircraft mode, with perhaps new gauges, cockpits, etc. After all that effort, the designer uploads it with simple errors in the config file that prevent the plane from loading... I can't even imaging how many hours I've spent over the last 25 years or so searching or fixing cfg errors so I can go flying with my new freeware offering.

But I also can't extend enough gratitude towards freeware designers, who most often go unappreciated by all of us.

My peeve in FSX: I know it takes hours upon hours to create a freeware aircraft mode, with perhaps new gauges, cockpits, etc. After all that effort, the designer uploads it with simple errors in the config file that prevent the plane from loading... I can't even imaging how many hours I've spent over the last 25 years or so searching or fixing cfg errors so I can go flying with my new freeware offering.

 

But I also can't extend enough gratitude towards freeware designers, who most often go unappreciated by all of us.

I couldn't agree more! "Spot on!"

Rick

For me personally, it's the fact that a single add-on has the potential to destroy an otherwise perfect MSFS installation.

By comparison, X-Plane, being modular based, ensures important areas are of the sim are (for the most part) kept safe.

This is probably my biggest peeve if I had to name one.

 

But I also can't extend enough gratitude towards freeware designers, who most often go unappreciated by all of us.

Very true...a case in point being the FlightSim.com interview with Peter Watkins - hundreds of views, and only three comments!

https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/content.php?18341-Peter-Watkins-Developer-Interview

Judging by how many downloads there have been of Peter's repaints, you would think people would enjoy saying thank you, but no...

We need talented individuals like Peter, and failure to acknowledge their work, hurts not only them, but also the longevity of the hobby we enjoy.

Just the first one, off the top of my head, is a corrupt logbook file or default flight that refuses to let FSX start.

After spending almost an hour removing stuff I MIGHT have added, then to realize it's something as simple as the logbook.

The fact that FSX was released without complete DX10 programming.

That the leading civilian flight sim product was just dropped by MS.

Mostly, the fact that I can't afford to buy every aftermarket expansion set that I'd like to have without getting a divorce.

And that I should have bought a computer with a faster processor.

My biggest peeve are the pushback tugs doing a sideways dance to get back to their starting point. Totally ruins the realism imo.

Cheers

Stinger

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

very true...a case in point being the flightsim.com interview with peter watkins - hundreds of views, and only three comments!

 

https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/content.php?18341-peter-watkins-developer-interview

 

judging by how many downloads there have been of peter's repaints, you would think people would enjoy saying thank you, but no...

 

We need talented individuals like peter, and failure to acknowledge their work, hurts not only them, but also the longevity of the hobby we enjoy.

+1

Very true!

W33

My peeve in FSX: I know it takes hours upon hours to create a freeware aircraft mode, with perhaps new gauges, cockpits, etc. After all that effort, the designer uploads it with simple errors in the config file that prevent the plane from loading... I can't even imaging how many hours I've spent over the last 25 years or so searching or fixing cfg errors so I can go flying with my new freeware offering.

 

But I also can't extend enough gratitude towards freeware designers, who most often go unappreciated by all of us.

First to mind on that point is the TDS models exceeding the 127 FSX character limit in the 'title=' of the aircraft.cfg, then some not knowing how to fix it because the warning was left out of the upload.

Yes I've seen that, 'If you delete these lines the aircraft may not work properly or parts will be missing' or words to that effect.

Col.

Yes I've seen that, 'If you delete these lines the aircraft may not work properly or parts will be missing' or words to that effect.

 

Col.

The classic example of the frustration...

https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?300760-Install-the-TDS-787-800-Coca-Cola-jet-into-FSX

DD - Wow! It's bad enough that the developer didn't follow the 127 character limit of the title, now you have to help a Newbie who won't slow down and listen to the people trying to help, and then wanting to make changes with MS Word! Yes, this is definitely FRUSTRATION in it's finest form!

Rick :cool:

DD - Wow! It's bad enough that the developer didn't follow the 127 character limit of the title, now you have to help a Newbie who won't slow down and listen to the people trying to help, and then wanting to make changes with MS Word! Yes, this is definitely FRUSTRATION in it's finest form!

 

Rick :cool:

The problem happens because the TDS .bmp repaints are interchangeable between FS9 and FSX. The warning was not included originally for FS9, and the painters couldn't have foreseen the issue. I don't know what the 'title=' character limit is in FS9, however it must be quite a bit over 127.

title=FREEWARE_COPYRIGHT_TenkuuDevelopersStudio_01JUN2013 OPTANT0010000000_OPTDEC11110

Required minimum, takes up 79 characters by itself. Then easy to exceed limit by painters adding more then 48 additional.

The problem happens because the TDS .bmp repaints are interchangeable between FS9 and FSX. The warning was not included originally for FS9, and the painters couldn't have foreseen the issue. I don't know what the 'title=' character limit is in FS9, however it must be quite a bit over 127.

 

title=FREEWARE_COPYRIGHT_TenkuuDevelopersStudio_01JUN2013 OPTANT0010000000_OPTDEC11110

 

Required minimum, takes up 79 characters by itself. Then easy to exceed limit by painters adding more then 48 additional.

Okay, but this problem is more of an issue when dealing with TDS downloads? I learned something which I hope I never have to deal with, haven't as of yet, but it's something to put in the back of one's mind! Me, the space back there is getting smaller and smaller! :rolleyes:

Rick :cool: