November 2007

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zBlueSoftware has made available FSX Planner Release 27 with an impressive list of updates:

Updates in Build 27

• Improved the graphics engine to provide for better performance when scrolling. This varies from about 2x to 10x faster than the previous versions, and is much more apparent at big airports.
• Improved the graphics engine to allow for clip rectangles to be used when dragging certain items. This provides for approximately a 2x to 4x improvement when dragging these items. This is more apparent when multiple items are displayed on the screen at once.
• Taxiway paths can now be highlighted by clicking on the Highlight Taxiway Path button in the Taxiway Path properties display. This option will highlight every taxiway path that has the same name as the currently selected taxiway path.
• The open dialog displayed when opening BGL files now returns to the last directory used when it is displayed.
• The text area in the compile dialog now displays which elements of the airport were included in the BGL file so that you can easily ensure the BGL file contains the appropriate elements.
• There is now an option in the Compile Dialog to create an additional airport elevation bgl file. This small bgl file is necessary if you change the elevation of the airport. If you select this option, FSX Planner will automatically create the BGL file and place it in the specified folder, which by default is the Scenery\World\scenery folder within your FSX installation directory.
• A new object count display is now available. Selecting Edit -> Display Counts will show a window that displays the current totals of each type of object (aprons, runways, etc). This window is constantly updated whenever a new object is added or removed from the airport, allowing you to easily see the total number of objects being used.
• Fonts can now be customized by the user via the Fonts tab in the Preferenmces Dialog. Fonts for the following items can be specified: Menus; the Latitude and Longitude coordinates drawn on the map; the Parking Location descriptions; the Jetway descriptions; the ILS ICAO codes; the Scenery descriptions; the VOR ICAO codes; and the NDB ICAO codes. Note that font sizes are scaled up or down based upon the current scale of the map. Data is not displayed if the resulting font size is less than 6 point.
• Object locking can now be controlled from the object properties display as well as the Object Locking dialog. Clicking the padlock icon will lock or unlock the object. If the padlock is locked then the object cannot be moved. If the padlock is unlocked then the object can be moved.
• Parking locations are now color coded to their airline code. If no airline code is associated with the parking location then the default green color is used. If more than one airline code is associated with a parking location, then the color of the first airline code is used. A new ‘Select’ button is now included next to the airline code text field. Clicking this button displays the airline code chooser. This chooser can be used to easily select the airline code associated with over 6,000 different airlines.
• Right click popup menus have been added to all text fields. The popup menu allows you to cut, copy, paste and select all text in the text field.
• Exclusion Rectangles now save whether or not they should be displayed as a border only or as a full rectangle.

Tags: zbluesoftware fsx planner

Currently in download version only, Aerosoft has today released Venice X. This extensive product covers the famous city and its two airports. The city is done in intricate detail with every house, street, bridge and canal where it should be. The big churches and monuments rise above the city while the canals are filled with slow gondola’s and water taxi’s that move along at great speed. The two airports (one big and one small) are ideal starting points for your exploration of this scenery.

Features

• Detailed representation of airports and Venice
• Photorealistic ground textures
• Impressive night effect
• Superb framerates, even on moderate hardware
• Extensive manual with all charts for the two airports
• Many effects and moving objects
• Full FSX code using bump maps, speculars
• Amazing good framerates (20 fps possible with modern hardware)

Online Price €23.50 (or €27.95 for EEC customers, around $33 for US customers)

Tags: aerosoft venice x

AlphaSim have added RAF Alconbury to their collection of scenery add-ons:

New addition to the Scenery section - RAF Alconbury! The Cambridgeshire USAF/RAF base is depicted in the 1980’s, featuring busy AI operations - F-4C Phantoms, C-130E’s and U-2R’s are active around at the base and in the air, all are very high quality AI and fully animated. Static a/c include the C-5 Galaxy and the F-5E Tiger II ‘Aggressor’. This is an all-new scenery, not an update.

For FSX and FS2004 only. Filesize : 11.25MB. Price approx. $29.50USD, £14.25, 20 EUR, $33 AUD.

Technorati Tags: raf alconbury, alphasim

It looks like the usual “Beta Rush” has started for the next version of X-Plane This seems to be the usual pattern for X-Plane. Once a major version update is announced, we seem to get a lot of Beta’s in quick succession. Version 9 Beta 3 has now been released with quite a few updates. Here’s a sample. You can see the full list on the Beta site.

• Sky colors should be a smoother gradient now.
• Nullzone available is now available for PFC flight controls.
• New command: INSTRUMENT BRIGHTNESS. Kind of nice.
• Wind model improved a bit. Set some wind and especially turbulence in the weather screen, hit | to go to external view, hit / a few times to see the wind. Then start flying and see how it changes faster as you fly faster. This was introduced in v8 and refined for v9.
• Further framerate optimization.
• Autoland refinements.
• Wide-screen image distortion solved.
• Tiny tiling artifacts in the 2-D cockpit in the Avanti may have been visible with Beta-2. This may be solved for Beta-3.
• You should be able to raise and lower the landing gear when in the water… amphibs need to do this!
• Carrier, birds, smoke puffs, boats, etc. no longer run at double-speed with reflective water turned on.
• Joystick pan/tilt buttons do more stuff in more views, as requested.
• Mouse-steering cross-hair reminders now remain at last yoke position, not center position, as requested.

Tags: x-plane 9 beta 3

PMDG and FS2Crew have issued the following joint press release. Great news for fans of both of these fantastic add-ons:

FS2Crew, in cooperation with the Precision Manuals Development Group, are happy to announce that they have reached a new partnership agreement on select FS2Crew products to help PMDG customers  achieve the ultimate in desktop simulation realism.  The first FS2Crew product to fall under this new agreement is the recently released FS2Crew: FSX PMDG 747 Edition.

“We are pleased to be working with FS2Crew in support of their new FSX 747 Edition,” said PMDG founder Robert S. Randazzo. “PMDG delivers a highly technical product that models the complexity of modern airliner operations very effectively.  Even with the high degree of realism provided by PMDG, many of our customers still thirst for a greater airline flying experience, namely the human dimension that comes with flying in an airline context.  An airline pilot’s job is more than just the mechanical process of taking an airplane from point A to point B.  The job involves interaction with other flight crew, cabin crew, ground crew and operations personal.  This element of airline flying is what FS2Crew can bring to customers using PMDG products.”

Bryan York, FS2Crew founder and developer added, “PMDG aircraft have always been on the bleeding-edge of flight simulator development.  Their recently released FSX version of the 747-400 is no exception.  I am proud to be able to assist PMDG customers achieve a greater sense of immersion and realism, and ultimately more enjoyment, out of their PMDG aircraft.  FS2Crew looks forward to developing unique and creative flight crew simulations for upcoming PMDG products, such as the MD-11 and 737NGX.â€?

Effective with the release of PMDG’s 747-400 for FSX, customers purchasing their PMDG 747-400/400F for FSX directly from PMDG’s eCommerce system will be offered the opportunity to purchase FS2Crew for the PMDG FSX 747.

For detailed information regarding FS2Crew for the FSX PMDG 747, please visit the FS2Crew website or the PMDG website.