Tuesday, April 12, 2011

GEFS 0.6



A limited release (due to very limited time) to fix a few bugs and add a set of minor features:

- Dynamic wind: terrain deflects wind to generate dynamic lift (now I just need to make the glider that goes with it)
- Added the McDonnell Douglas MD-11
- Introducing "Major Tom" a hot air balloon to drift along the country-side.
- Layered wind (different speed and direction at different altitudes) to be used with Major Tom.

I decided to increase the version number by a major 0.1 as I also re-factored quite a bit of code. Though, this is not visible to end-users, it is a major improvement on my side of things ;)

Have a nice flight.

56 comments:

Bigismall said...

Thank you for the new version!
Finally, we can fly something really big. Model of MD-11 and the Balloon is a wonderfully made.

Wonderful details!

Anonymous said...

Have you done something with helicopter steering? Thanks for new planes and better wind!

Xavier said...

I updated the helicopter flight model in an attempt to make it more stable. How does it feel to you?

DROSOULITIS said...

The manual rudder control does not seem to work anymore, with version 0.6 :(
any ideas?

Xavier said...

Hi Drosoulitis,

I will have a look.

Could you please re-post this on the Google Group (Bug report). Also, do you use keyboard for rudder control?

Cheers.

Anonymous said...

Now flying the helicopter is "possible" but stil very unpredictable, very unstable and very difficult (I tried diffrent settings mouse, joystick, keyboardd, yaw/roll on/off). Smooth landing is also impossible for me. Maybe You could make very simple flight model for helicopter (I can fly helicopter in Microsoft Flight Simulator, X-plane etc. very well). Heli is great idea, because I could enjoy details of large cities at slow speeds.

ps. I also look forward to the glider - great idea!

Fii

Xavier said...

Hi anonymous,

Well, I will consider the fact that you can now actually fly the helicopter as an improvement: I have been trying to make the flight model better but I am still missing something I guess.

I will keep working on it, hopefully with the help of knowledgeable people in the subject.

Keep posted.

Anonymous said...

Wooww. Finally its gonna feel real to land a big thing in a big international airport! :D Tnaks!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

There seems to be a rather disturbing bug...

The Direction Indicator is turning in the wrong direction. North is in the right place, but then if you turn west it says you are turning east and vice versa.

regards,

Xavier said...

@Anonymous: that's, indeed, rather embarrassing. Especially since no one, including me, ever noticed. I'll blame it on the distracting beautiful landscape we are all busy looking at. At least now I know someone is actually looking at the instruments.

By the way, it's fixed.

Thanks for spotting that!

Regards,

Xavier

Anonymous said...

Tks Xavier for the fixed.
indeed i had never noticed it before either... Damn that beatifull landscape :P
But then i got lost and when i looked at the DI i got even more lost.

tks for the excelent work and simulator by the way.

Regards,
Carlos

rodsky said...

Hi, I just learned about GEFS and have been trying it out for two days. As an avid simmer (for over 25 years now), I wish to make the following suggestions:

a) I think it would be a good idea if users are prompted to enter their callsign at the very start or right after entering the screen. It's very difficult to communicate to people (esp. if you want to help/tutor someone out) when there are like 5 "Foo"s out there :)

b) Though I've been enjoying Bordeaux as a starting point, I think an airport with less objects in the vicinity will help those with slower internet connections, because the lag is lesser if the surrounding areas don't load up with buildings (I think) etc. Also, I think the terrain undulations around the Bordeaux airport make it quite challenging for beginning flightsimmers to take off from a rather "hilly" runway...would perhaps help to start from a runway that's totally flat?

c. Would be nice to get hotkeys for camera positions--kinda tricky to have to access menu to change views, esp. when doing some formation flying :)

That's all for now, but I have to say what a wonderful job you guys have done--I feel this is a nucleus of a new generation in flight simulation...very good baby steps! Kudos to all developers!

-RODION

Xavier said...

@rodsky:

a) Agreed, I'll try to do something about that.

b) I actually picked up Bordeaux for its originally "clean" vicinity (3D objects). Alright, I also picked up Bordeaux because I was born there ;) But it appears to be a busy area as many people are adding stuff around here. You are right saying that a "clean" area is better for slow systems (and video cards). I am considering changing the default airport, especially to have a flat runway. If anyone has a good suggestion for a cool spot, without too many buildings around and a flat (and long) runway, I am happy to hear about it.

c) You can already use the "C" key to cycle through all the camera mode. I may consider adding direct short-cuts to any camera mode in the future.

I wish to thank you a lot for these very accurate suggestions. Hope I can prove you right and make of GEFS a step toward flight simulation next generation.

Note: not so many developers around yet. I am building GEFS on my own for now. Perhaps it will be successful enough to get more people on board.

Cheers,

Xavier

rodsky said...

Thanks for the quick reply Xavier! Actually I like Bordeaux, I just wish there was some way to "tweak" the DEM data (some kind of patch) that will "flatten" the runways. The undulating surface is really unforgiving to newbies. :) And thanks for mentioning about the "C" key, that's actually enough.

Now the main reason I posted today is that it seems the joystick plugin is not working for me today (can't detect my joystick) :( I'm using Firefox 3.5.2 and a generic 5-axis-12-button joystick. This same setup worked for me 24 hours ago, so I wonder if there was anything changed that doesn't allow the plugin to work anymore.

Thanks again!

-RODION

Xavier said...

@rodsky: There is no way to tweak the DEM. The only solution is to find a better place with nice and flat runways.

I've seen in the Google Group that you sorted out your joystick issue.

Cheers,

Xavier.

Bruno said...

Hi, what about adding paraglider and/or sailplane? With a few improvements, about dynamic lifts and thermal lifts, GEFS could be a very funny game (racing).

Xavier said...

@Bruno: yep! Good idea. I already implemented a "basic" dynamic lift, and I just need to make the glider to enjoy it. Thermals are going to be a bit more tricky (as I would like to position them realistically, not randomly).

I am contemplating adding a paraglider to GEFS for quite some time now. The physics is quite different than the one of a plane though, and I need to find/make a good 3D model.

I even thought about making a wing-suit model: what about that for some fun and adrenaline?

Thanks for the suggestions!

Cheers.

Anonymous said...

Hi, is a linux version possible? I would love to try your sim.

Xavier said...

Hi There,
@Anonymous:

Sadly, the Google Earth plugin does not run on Linux yet. A lot of people are asking for this and I do hope that Google is going to do something about it in the near future.

Regards,

Xavier.

Anonymous said...

No offence but you could kind of improve the cockpits of the dc-3 and md-11 eg instrument panels and a moving joy stick thing in the cockpit.

Anonymous said...

We can choose the next aircraft!!!!!!! yay!!!!
I want you to vote for airbus a380 and antonov an-225 and airbus beluga and goodyear blimp and boeing something Thank you:)



Jeramy

Anonymous said...

Xavier:can you improve the cockpits of the md-11 and dc-3 because its kinda boring flying in a white space with some windows in it

Anonymous said...

thnx for making the default start airport oakland allthough it will be hard taking of there in an a380 because i can only just take off there in a md-11

Anonymous said...

Xavier: i have notice a problem with the controls of the planes when the right flap go's up and the left one go's down you turn right can you please reverse this.


Azza

Xavier said...

@Azza,

These are not called flaps but ailerons. And this is the correct behavior.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_flight_control_systems

Anonymous said...

Oh thanks a got the wing flaps and the ailerons mixed up its just because of the elevetors on the wings i thought it would be the same motion as them but it turns out its not thanks.



Azza Ps. i am not very experienced

Anonymous said...

I looked at the wikipeadia page thanks for putting the link on.


Azza

Anonymous said...

it is actually posible to land like a harrier jet if u've got the wind speed on 60+ and face into the wind

Anonymous said...

i cant start the sim, it wont let me start at an airport

Anonymous said...

We've got an MD and an Airbus now we need a plane like the Boeing 737 or something

Anonymous said...

This flight simulator is ok only because it's free. It is kind of hard to land though. The planes are pretty good,but it takes a long time to load. It could just be my computer. This is a nice little simulator to keep you entertained.

Anonymous said...

Best simulator online.


Azza

Anonymous said...

Excellent program ... thanks. How do I get the rudder set to the middle? It usually is full left which makes flying difficult to impossible.

Anonymous said...

Usually it just reset back to its normal position after you stop pressing a or d.

Azza Ps. It jams sometimes for me so i just reset.

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

amazing thx so much for making this program!!!

Bob said...

Hey, Iplayed this game on Firefox, and it froze up, couldn't play. Then I go to Internet Explorer, I couldn't see the plane, and I can't move! Make it better!

Unknown said...

you should make a spaceshuttle

Anonymous said...

make something from nasa

Anonymous said...

can you put a c-5 its in the milatary

Blue Angel 4 said...

Impossible to fly.

Amyren said...

I love this simulator, and enjoy flying most of the aircrafts to look around my home areas.
But the helicopter is more frustrating. Even by takeoff it seems very hard to get off the ground without loosing control. It might help if the controls level was displayed on the screen. This way it would be possible to tell if the pitch up/down or bank left/right was in the middle position before take off. Now I have no idea at what level I am, and when I start to accelerate (+) for takeoff it either tip forward or backwards and crash.

Anonymous said...

U could put an XB-70 in here thats from NASA

fin/lax said...

can u put a sea plane on

xhack2 said...

VISION RECOMMENDATION:
>Runway visual padlock:
allows pilots to continuously observe aircraft's orientation to a certain runway of choice

>other aircraft visual padlock
for those with low pings, allowing tracking and precision formation flying

>Global frame padlock
sets external views pointed at a single heading, and pitch angle, needs to allow editing

xhack2 said...

also: SR-71 and XB-70?

california air 121 said...

yeah, it is impossible to fly. And where is the glider?!

fin/lax said...

xavier it would be the best flight simulator if they is a automatic ATC

Unknown said...

I just wanted to comment about how it is impossible to land on the carrier with an airplane, but with a chopper or hot air ballon it is a little difficult. Can u please fix this bug?

Anonymous said...

boeing 737

Anonymous said...

can you put some lights on the wings and stuff? Thanks!!!:)

Anonymous said...

i just wanted to know if you could put lights on the A380 at least
thankyou

Anonymous said...

P-51 MUSTANG PLEASE, ADD CARS!!!!!!!!!!this sim kicks @ss

Anonymous said...

Can you put a 777 with ils and ins

Anonymous said...

Great great great !
i'm having hours of fun touring the world
how can i do formation flying with other flyers?

Anonymous said...

Hi, i'm having some technical problems trying to access the flight simulator.
the webpage doesn't load. Hope you can fix it soon. Bye