The Frustration of Building AI Traffic

[falcon409]

Currently I am trying to build a simple AI Traffic file to try to populate two Air Bases I am working on. I am using two airplanes that are flyers and using them as my AI (MB339 PAN and Dino's MB326). I've made copies of the original and then removed anything that wasn't required as well as reducing any large textures to get the complete aircraft file down to about 7 or 8 meg. I am using the latest version of AIFP3 and setting up a departure and return flight from LIPI to LIRA. . .very simple just to see if it will work. . .nothing.

Here are the flight plans:
//FSXDAYS-False
AC#1,RIVPAN,10%,Week,IFR,1/08:00,1/09:29,160,F,0001,LIRA,1/11:49,1/13:17,190,F,0004,LIPI,3/0800,3/09:29,160,F,0001,LIRA,3/11:49,3/13:17,190,F,0004,LIPI,5/08:00,5/09:29,160,F,0001,LIRA,5/11:49,5/13:17,190,F,0004,LIPI. . . .flown with the MB339 (Monday, Wednesday,Friday)

//FSXDAYS=False
AC#1,IAMKK,1%,Weeks,IFR,4/07:00,4/08:14,320,R,4/09:00,4/10:13,330,R,0002,LIPI. . . .flown with the MB326 (1 day only as a test)

Anything stand out as a reason why nothing shows up?

[jmbiii]

Ed,
What do the other two .txt files look like ? aircraft_XXX.txt and airport_XXX.txt.

[jmbiii]

try a few corrections.

//FSXDAYS=False
AC#1,RIVPAN,10%,Week,IFR,1/08:00,1/09:29,160,F,0001,LIRA,1/11:49,1/13:17,190,F,0004,LIPI,3/08:00,3/09:29,160,F,0001,LIRA,3/11:49,3/13:17,190,F,0004,LIPI,5/08:00,5/09:29,160,F,0001,LIRA,5/11:49,5/13:17,190,F,0004,LIPI
AC#2,IAMKK,1%,Week,IFR,4/07:00,4/08:14,320,R,0001,LIPI,4/09:00,4/10:13,330,R,0002,LIRA




EDIT: do you have parking at LIPI for the aircraft ? My default FSX/P3D has no parking at LIPI.

[jmbiii]

Ed,

I just added two parking spots to LIPI and used two of my AI aircraft, and ran the above flight plan.
The aircraft show up at both LIPI and LIRA.

Joe

[expat]

Hi Ed,

I spend - waste LOL - too much time doing my own military and naviar AI. I have and use only for conversions AIFP but make up very simple flightplans copying and pasting ones I have been using since FS9 days - using Lee Swordy's ancient TTools in P3Dv4.5! Usually AI aircraft no - shows are due to the airport as much or more than errors in the flightplan.txt which AIFP will i.d. faults usually. Lack of parking or links often a culprit. Find your airport in ADEX and use the fault finder tool.

Sometimes also you need to not use a saved flight and/or reload the scenery using the main UK "scenery" button. AI is as finicky as it is addictive. Just finished an air/sea AI environment for the Korean War era with Sabres, Panthers, MiGs and carrier tasks forces using carrier tracks. Great fun!

Let us know how you get on.

expat

[Victory103]

Joe's fix should be good to go, I'm also big on my MAIW and adjust the flightplans with AIFP3 to make them as realistic as possible. It's fun to send my AI to bases I read about them passing through or on exercises, it just gets tedious doing the entire squadron. Since most mil fighters are 2 or 4 ships, I build one and just copy over adjusting flight numbers. I want to look at the new multi-week option and have the Blues or T-birds air show schedule built, haven't figured that out yet. Hopefully new programs in the future will allow you to program complete routes for AI, so I can get my MAIW on low levels.

[dhazelgrove]

It could be useful to make use of the viewer in AI Aircraft Editor.NET, which will let you know what the minimum width of the parking spot has to be.

I don't suppose that you have any FS9 traffic files, do you?

Dave

[falcon409]

No FS9 Traffic Files, ADE shows no faults in the airport design, all parking spots are default radius (85.3) for MIL_COMBAT. . . .Aircraft pass inspection via the AI_Aircraft_Editor and acft config file has the correct atc_parking_types designation.

AI_Flight Plan Editor shows no problems with the Flight Plan and those Traffic Files are located in the scenery folder of the airport I'm working on. (I also tried putting it in the main FSX scenery-World-Scenery folder with no change).

All that and nothing shows up. I use the traffic tool in the sim to check on current flights and LIPI never shows anything.

[jmbiii]

Ed, have you tried different aircraft (specifically AI types) ?

[falcon409]

Ed, have you tried different aircraft (specifically AI types)?

Yes, ones from other AI packages (F-16's from Aviano) and a flyable T-37, nothing displays at any of the parking spots and no activity shows on the Traffic Tools - Explorer within the Sim.

When I make a new traffic file and then load the Sim to check it the Load process shows that it recognizes scenery changes and processes those changes, yet I get nothing.

[jmbiii]

Would you send me the LIPI afcad ?
I just d/l Dino's MB326 and will do the AI# on it.
Did you use the MB326E model ?

[falcon409]

You have a PM!

[jmbiii]

EDIT: I just got your PM. To be continued !

Ed,


Made an "AI" using the MB326E. Removed a bunch of textures and folders, etc. and swapped in place of the AI aircraft in the flight plan.
I used the UI and positioned at LIPI. The AI model showed up where I had placed the parking spot, however, the AI plane constantly bounces around. And as you can see the canopy and pilots are screwed. I just did a quick erase of folders and did not run it through ModelConverterX. Someone with a lot more knowledge of MCX could surely make a proper AI of it.





If as you say, even when using proper AI nothing shows there are at least three possibilities.
1.Error in AI flight plan. (did you use the one I sent?)
2.Error in afcad/scenery. (scenery activated?)
3.Error in AI MB326 (something gone in a file or .cfg that should be there?)

Too bad someone hasn't made an AI MB326. There's a bunch of MB339's at MAIW and AvSim.
Sorry, I'm not that much help.

Joe

[falcon409]

Well, Combine my scenery and airport ADE with the AI Aircraft and Traffic files from MAIW Rivolto scenery and I have an abundance of AI traffic on the ground and in the air.

[PHo17]

I downloaded the following list (don't remember when or where) from internet years ago:

If AI traffic don't show up examine the following things, that

-the traffic slider in Sim isn't set to zero
-you don't have any FS9 traffic files in FSX (use AIFP3 to search)
-you don't have any FS9 traffic files sneaking in some scenery (AIFP3 helps)
-you have the path of AI planes (like: SimObjectPaths.X=SimObjects\Airplanes\AI Airplanes) in FSX.cfg
-you haven't "aircraft shows shadows on ground" setting in FSX
-the parking time is not less than 40 minutes
-there is enough parking spaces on the airfield (in afcad)
-there is at least one ATC frequency attached to the airfield (afcad)
-the first departure airport and last one are the very same
-all flight plans use the same GMT time
-you have written everything ok in the original traffic files
-you haven't any extra markings in those traffic text files (they might compile but don't work i.e. not even comment marks)
-you don't have too small parking places (all) for the traffic

Some (like some very old AI) planes don't show up in FSX.

I have used that successfully to solve AI problems (in FSX).

(I have edited some things in the list)