Finally, PADU! But what about Milford Sound?!

[wingclip]

Hi folks,

So in the last few days, I've increased my Orbx Library content by at least 60%. Today, I added PADU, NZMC, and Antarctica. A few days ago, I bought all the Mesh products available on Orbx Direct, as well as airfield like Bella Coola, Ketchikan, and Darrington. In FSX, for me, the absolute top 3 airfields were PADU, (Unalaska), 3w5, (Concrete), and the number one on my list: NZMF, Milford Sound (on the South Island, just west of Queenstown for those who had never been there).

 

In FSX, I had NZMF draped with jumping dolphins & killer whales. I had the animated waterfalls and tour boats. I flew it in choppers and for some reason, I favored the A10 Warthog the most when I flew fixed-wing aircraft. I think I liked flying the A10 in that area because it could fly low & slow and then quickly generate enough thrust to clear nearby cliffs.

 

I confess, I have NOT been to Milford Sound in MSFS yet! However, I fully intend to go there on the very next flight session. At this point, (and because Orbx hasn't released any ads for an upcoming NZMF), I must assume that MSFS has a very well developed version of Milford Sound and probably of Queenstown as well.

 

That would be the only explanation I could think of for why Orbx hasn't already released it. They did a fantastic job with so many FSX airfields and NZMF was just a beautiful rendition. So, I'm going to check out MSFS's version and I'll try not to be too critical in my comparison to the FSX NZMF, (but it won't be easy).

Rich 

[Andrew Hunter-Graham]

The FSX/P3D to MSFS conversion rate isn't great at this stage, a lot has changed, developers move on. I believe the standard is that those airports/airfields essentially need to be rebuilt from scratch to make use of all that MSFS has to offer. 

There is quite a good freeware version of Milford Sound over on Flight Sim.TO, you should probably check it out!

 

I get it, its hard not to notice that in some areas it seems that FS development has gone backwards, but over time it seems to be heading in the right direction.

Way back then was seemingly a time where developers spent  far more time enhancing the air-side and surrounding scenery over interior designing an airport terminal.....   

Edited October 28, 2022 by Andrew Hunter-Graham

[Perk]

MSFS's default Queenstown is actually quite good.  It's one of Asobo's feature airports and considerably more detailed than most of the default airports, though not on the same level as Orbx's Queenstown in FSX / P3D.

 

There's also a *very* good freeware Millford Sound that's compatible with Orbx's New Zealand Mesh.  It's available on the usual freeware site.

[wingclip]

"...a lot has changed, developers move on." You said it all when you said that! I keep forgetting that this is a very real fact and I should know better.

 

"...good freeware version of Milford Sound over on Flight Sim.TO" Thank you for that Andrew, I'll check it out!

 

Like I said, I haven't flown the MSFS version of NZMF yet. I was busy trying to setup the basic flight controls for the sim, which took some time, (but I've finally got it figured out. My only other issue is with the FS camera views. I'll be posting a few questions about that in the support forum soon.

Rich

[wingclip]

4 minutes ago, Perk said:

There's also a *very* good freeware Millford Sound that's compatible with Orbx's New Zealand Mesh.  It's available on the usual freeware site.

Thank you Perk. Are you speaking about the same NZMF freeware that Andrew mentioned?

[wingclip]

BTW, does anyone know if FS2020 has a "First Person" mode like Orbx offered for FSX? I've got a long way to go when it comes to the camera modes in MSFS. As I said, I'll be posting some questions about that in the support section soon.

Rich 

[Perk]

35 minutes ago, wingclip said:

Thank you Perk. Are you speaking about the same NZMF freeware that Andrew mentioned?

 

I am.
 

22 minutes ago, wingclip said:

BTW, does anyone know if FS2020 has a "First Person" mode like Orbx offered for FSX? I've got a long way to go when it comes to the camera modes in MSFS. As I said, I'll be posting some questions about that in the support section soon.

Rich 

 

It has a "drone camera" mode as one of the external views.  This lets you move around at ground level like you would in first person, but also lets you fly around, lock on to your airplane etc.

[wingclip]

LOL! Thank you, Perk!

I've been trying to understand MSFS's use of the terms like, "Drone" and "Translate" for a while now! I tried the "Drone" camera but by the time I got to that point, I was so frustrated with the "Translate" option, that I doubt I gave the "Drone" option any kind of patients. Part off the problem was the way the Alpha Yoke's Hat switch behaved with FS.

 

The "Translate" term bothered me because I can't understand if they meant "Pan", or "Shift", or even "Glide" to the left or Right, etc. I have TrackIR and recently tried it but MSFS wasn't responding to the TrackIR program. I'll be reinstalling the TrackIR software and trying again soon and I'm sure I can get it working, but even then, I only used TrackIR for internal, cockpit views, not any external ones. 

 

Anyway, the views I often used in FSX (as I was landing, for example), was the 2-D cockpit, but with just a few gauges showing. However, I always enjoyed the FSX effect in the external view, where the plane fly's past at speed, and then snaps back as if pulled back by a rubber band.

 

It leaves the user in a position behind the plane. Or what about if I wanted to see the plane from a point on the ground as it approached for a landing? Again, these are questions meant for the support forum, so I'm using them here as examples of what I intend to post in that section, (but I won't complain if you happen to answer them, ).

 

I never did like those "attached to the plane" type of views, (like on a wing tip or at the top of the vertical stabilizer). And don't even get me started on the instant replay, like watching the last 45 seconds of a flight just after landing. Again, I'll post it in the support section.

Rich

[pmb]

1 hour ago, wingclip said:

BTW, does anyone know if FS2020 has a "First Person" mode like Orbx offered for FSX? I've got a long way to go when it comes to the camera modes in MSFS. As I said, I'll be posting some questions about that in the support section soon.

Rich 

FSRealistic has a 1st person mode in development. You can find a preview on YouTube.

 

Kind regards, Michael

[Aussieflyer38]

8 hours ago, wingclip said:

BTW, does anyone know if FS2020 has a "First Person" mode like Orbx offered for FSX? I've got a long way to go when it comes to the camera modes in MSFS. As I said, I'll be posting some questions about that in the support section soon.

Rich 

 

Welcome to the club Rich, just when I thought I had it sorted out, I had to do a reinstall and lost the lot, four/five months and I'm still battling with the camera views, and I think they suck, not a patch on what is now owned by //42 and not upgraded to MSFS. Goodluck 

Don 

[bvdboomen]

While there is a freeware NZMF, I'm awaiting a payware version. I do hope Northern Skies will make one with all new textures.

I'm afraid if Orbx makes it, they will use the textures from FSX/P3D which are nice but a little obsolete for a next gen sim.

[tuisong]

3 hours ago, bvdboomen said:

While there is a freeware NZMF, I'm awaiting a payware version. I do hope Northern Skies will make one with all new textures.

I'm afraid if Orbx makes it, they will use the textures from FSX/P3D which are nice but a little obsolete for a next gen sim.

 

Me too. NZMF is one of the greatest destinations to fly into. And if you get the chance to do it in the real word make sure you do it.

[wingclip]

There's no doubt about it for me. I don't have that much time left but if I ever get the chance, the Top of my list is Milford Sound. It's the one place that I'd like to spend at least one week. That may never happen, so the next best thing is to have it installed in MSFS. (Actually, I always liked the FSX version. I never found anything wrong with the textures and I ran FSX at 2048 resolution and with a 6.50000 terrain LOD.)

But that's just me.

Rich

PS @ tuisong: Nice cockpit, but may I suggest a 32" curved center monitor straddled by two 22" monitors so that you don't have that break in the forward view.

[paulb]

Hi Rich,

Not exactly Milford Sound, but (in terms of Australasia) yesterday I made a short flight from YBNA Ballina to YCFS Coffs Harbour. Both are excellent products IMHO.

Also, I would recommend anything by NZA Simulations if you are building up your collection .

 

[John Heaton]

6 hours ago, paulb said:

Hi Rich,

Not exactly Milford Sound, but (in terms of Australasia) yesterday I made a short flight from YBNA Ballina to YCFS Coffs Harbour. Both are excellent products IMHO.

Also, I would recommend anything by NZA Simulations if you are building up your collection .

 

their freeware Kalgoorlie (West Australia Gold Town) is brilliant - so life like - and i did a video where I took the chopper down the biggest 

hole in Australia - their Mount Cook Airport - is very good and worth the expense - it goes well with the Orbx PAC - 720 

[paulb]

2 hours ago, John Heaton said:

their freeware Kalgoorlie (West Australia Gold Town) is brilliant - so life like - and i did a video where I took the chopper down the biggest 

hole in Australia - their Mount Cook Airport - is very good and worth the expense - it goes well with the Orbx PAC - 720 

 

+1 for Mount Cook. It does include two nice airports and a helipad in the price .

[wingclip]

On 10/28/2022 at 7:14 PM, pmb said:

FSRealistic has a 1st person mode in development. You can find a preview on YouTube.

Hey PMB, thanks for that info on FSRealistic! I just got the opportunity to check out their present software and I think I'm going to give it a try.

9 hours ago, paulb said:

+1 for Mount Cook. It does include two nice airports and a helipad in the price 

As a matter of fact, I did buy Mt Cook, and I forgot about it! (My thanks to Paulb & John Heaton) LOL, I bought Mt. Cook when I bought PADU! In fact, I haven't had a chance to fly any of the new stuff that I bought & installed anytime after 10-23-20! I just realized that!

 

I've been prepping my Thrustmaster Warthog control system for use in MSFFS and it appears that it'll take a lot longer than I expected. As a result, I've used all my free time researching the best way to setup the TM Warthog using the TARGET software. I had a great deal of success using the TARGET software when I flew FSX, but I'm still in the beginning stages of setting it up for MSFS...

 

I can understand why the MSFS Control Profiling UI is like it is. There are so many different Flight Sim control systems out there that MSFS must accommodate.

 

My control systems are barely in the 'mid-grade' category. The really high-end control systems for planes like the commercial Boeings, Airbus, etc. can cost well over $3000 USD. MSFS had to take those systems in consideration or risk bad reviews.

 

There's FSUIPC, (and I do have a payware version for FSX), which I'm beginning to think I may need to seriously consider buying for MSFS.

 

If I go with FSUIPC, it may mean having to pitch all the info I've read and learned for the Honeycomb system (and whatever I've managed to assemble for the TM Warthog system), but if I'm going to do it, I need to do it now rather than continuing to use a lot of time to set it up.

 

Another issue I've been struggling with is the MSFS Camera view system and their applied nomenclature, which makes it hard for me to select what I want from any particular camera view. I try to keep as many of my 'most often used' camera operations assigned to my control system, but I'm not sure I can get the results I want...

 

PMB has mentioned "FSRealistic" and if it's anything of an improvement over the present MSFS system, I think I need to investigate it. Maybe what I need to do at this point is simply use the rest of my free time that I've got tonight to check out the airfields and mesh I purchased, rather than continuing my task of setting up the Thrustmaster controls.

 

The Honeycomb flight control system I have is basically doing a good job, though there's still a lot off room for improvement. I think I'll hook it up and go fly Mt Cook.

MY Thanks to all!

Rich

[John Heaton]

3 hours ago, wingclip said:

Hey PMB, thanks for that info on FSRealistic! I just got the opportunity to check out their present software and I think I'm going to give it a try.

As a matter of fact, I did buy Mt Cook, and I forgot about it! (My thanks to Paulb & John Heaton) LOL, I bought Mt. Cook when I bought PADU! In fact, I haven't had a chance to fly any of the new stuff that I bought & installed anytime after 10-23-20! I just realized that!

 

The Honeycomb flight control system I have is basically doing a good job, though there's still a lot off room for improvement. I think I'll hook it up and go fly Mt Cook.

MY Thanks to all!

Rich

Once you get used to the Honeycombe 2 hardwares - you should have no more real Problems - I suggest that you take a look at a UTUBE regular -

Simhangar - and search his series on Honeycomb setup advice - for MSFS- around 12 moths ago.

 

Now you have the MB helipad - you should download the freebie H135 Helicopter from  .to - and learn how to with a chopper - you can setup your

expensive warthog for that - or put it away and use it just for DC 

Edited October 31, 2022 by John Heaton

[wingclip]

52 minutes ago, John Heaton said:

I suggest that you take a look at a UTUBE regular -

Simhangar - and search his series on Honeycomb setup advice

Thanks John, way ahead of you there! I've been following his stuff since day 1. However, the most recent posts he's done, (or that I could find), are from 2021 and several versions off MSFS back. The latest MSFS store edition has had some changes that eliminated some of the button assignment names and/orr selections shown in his videos. That said, I was able to find the compatible assignment names.

 

Still, it's not the assignments or button binds with the Honeycomb controls that bother me, it's the camera view control selections in MSFS that I don't like, but I'm getting through that and I'll have it all together. As for the TM Warthog HOTAS, I'm confident that I'll get it going. It's just the time that it takes to configure the system.

 

Before the latest version of MSFS, some people were having trouble with the TARGET programming and MSFS compatibility. But upon rereading some o those posts, it seems that the problem is their lack of familiarity with the TARGET software. I have a lot off experience with that system so I don't anticipate any problems, (it's just time consuming).

1 hour ago, John Heaton said:

and learn how to with a chopper

I don't know why, but I've always seemed to have a kind of 'natural understanding' with helicopters. I've never had any formal training, but when I was in Taos, NM back in 2015, I took a helicopter tour flight. The only other person that was supposed to take the same tour, (a stranger), asked the pilot to drop her off back at the landing pad just two minutes after he took off, (she was very uncomfortable and way too nervous for it).

 

That left just me in the chopper, (a Bell 206B, if I remember correctly). By that time, I had been flying FSX for about 6 years and logged a lot of sim hours in helicopters. The pilot was very familiar with FSX and eventually asked if I'd like to "take the stick?". We were about 4000 or 5000 feet AGL and about 12000 MSL. We were coming down from atop the Taos Ski Area mountain, (summer time).

 

In just a short few minutes, he gave me full control of the 206 and even let me attempt a hover, (though we were at least 2500 AGL nowhere near the ground). I came to find that his other job was as an instructor for helicopters. I started to reason out that he was probably trying to get me signed up for my license. I don't know about now, but back then, a private license for helicopters costs a lot more than a private license for fixed-wing aircraft.

 

Anyway, I don't know if he was just giving me a 'sales pitch' but he said that he was convinced I could've landed the helicopter on my own. He said, had it not been for the various violations with the tour company's policies, he would have let me try! LOL, Other than that time in 2016, I had about 10 or 15 minutes flight time in a Cessna 172 when I was about 15 years old. My father had a license and took me up one day, but all I did was hold the plane level as he went through a few charts.

 

So, yes, I certainly want to get some helicopters in MSFS very soon!

Rich

[paulb]

6 hours ago, wingclip said:

I've been prepping my Thrustmaster Warthog control system for use in MSFFS and it appears that it'll take a lot longer than I expected. As a result, I've used all my free time researching the best way to setup the TM Warthog using the TARGET software.

 

Hi Rich,

 

For what it's worth, I use the Warthog stick, throttle and pedals. All three were instantly recognised by MSFS. I simply used the options within MSFS to assign commands to the switches etc. I did not use anything else.

Paul

[bvdboomen]

10 hours ago, paulb said:

For what it's worth, I use the Warthog stick, throttle and pedals. All three were instantly recognised by MSFS. I simply used the options within MSFS to assign commands to the switches etc. I did not use anything else.

Same here. Totally plug and play.

[wingclip]

13 hours ago, paulb said:

I simply used the options within MSFS to assign commands to the switches etc. I did not use anything else

Yes, thanks for that Paulb. There's a 3-position toggle switch at the end of the left throttle. With that assigned to the "Upper" & "Lower" level calls, the TARGET software is able to expand all the buttons and switches by at least double. In FSX, when I flew fixed wing aircraft, I used the "Upper Level" position, and for choppers, I used the "Lower level". The Center position was then for a mix of operations that could be used for either aircraft.

 

This permitted me to assign the same buttons for new needs, such as auto-hover, hoist up/down, and/or a variety off other binds. Now I know only too well that I can do the same in the MSFS profiler, but in FSX and ROF, the TARGET was very useful.

 

That said, I'm NOT convinced that I'll use the TARGET software for MSFS just yet. I'm probably going to try without the TARGET because the less software running in the background, the better. In other words, if I don't find any need to run TARGET (or even FSUIPC), then I won't run them.

 

But as far as setting up the TM Warthog HOTAS using the TARGET it's as easy, (and at times, just as complicated), as it is with MSFS. There's no real advantage or disadvantage to using one over the other, in that respect.

 

There is one small advantage to TARGET, and that is the fact that you can transfer the .tmc, or .fcf files from someone who may have offered their configuration in a given TM website, (I've done that). However, it's likely that their configuration wouldn't line up with how I would want my controls to work, so....  Six of one, half dozen of the other.

Rich