FS2004 Kodiak Build 2.0 is now released

[Lionheart]

Hey guys,

In case you didnt know, the Quest Kodiak, Build 2, is now released.

Features of the new build;
* Rebuilt cabin with smooth polygon technology and chamferring thanks to our late friend and teacher 'Kweetnix' alias Gerard.
* New, high detail panels and center power ECU pedestal
* High resolution textures in main area's that require it.
* New 'Performance Pack' that auto-installs 'standard textures' for slower computers and low performance laptops.
* 8 Position (each) sun visors
* New popup mini consoles for ECU, Switches, Fuel, as well as MFD and PFD
* Totally overhauled MFD and PFD code. These use the new LHC codes and have been rebuilt by Dwight Furleigh, a true 'Meistro' in gauge work.
* MFD has some innovations to bring up frame rates; lower refresh rate, map 'sleep mode', and improved 'Declutter' which can bring down the rendered map objects to airports only.

There is a new Sky Diver model (empty and with a disappearing Sky Door switch that hides the rear cargo/passenger clamshell door in the back).

There are 10 models;
** Passenger
** Passenger with Pod
** Cargo
** Cargo with Pod
** Air Ambulance
** Air Ambulance with Pod
** Empty (Sky Diver)
** Amphibian Passenger
** Amphibian Cargo
** Amphbian Rescue

There are 7 texture packs;
*** Orange
*** Yellow
*** Red
*** MAF (Red white and blue)
*** Red Cross
*** US Coast Guard
*** Black and Turquoise

The package has both installers for both FS2004 and FSX.

The Villages scenery is still in the FS2004 package, (not included in the FSX side), and no longer has linked Mission and Maps charts in the panel. They are however, still in the panel folders so you can still fly from village to village via the info and docs in the panel folder. If your villages do not show up, be sure to activate them in the Addon Scenery folder; 'Bolivian Villages'.

For those of you that already have the Kodiak, the updates are free, but there is a technical problem concerning automated update downloads. If you want to get airborn, please email me with your sales info at william 'at' lionheartcreations 'dot' com and I can make you F1 keys to get you flying.

If you are installing over the existing Kodiaks, you will need to delete all the originals 'before' installing your new ones.

There is a free manual download available here;
http://lionheartworld.net/schloss/Quest_Kodiak_Manual.pdf.zip

Any questions, just ask.

There is a new webpage created for it, located here;
www.lionheartcreations.com/Kodiak

The webpage will grow when there are updates and addons to the Frequently Asked Questions section.


Happy flying.



Bill

[teeps]

Colour me very excited! Thanks Bill! :woot:

[edmoore235]

Woohoo! Cool beans on this Kodiak!! Sent ya PM with my purchase info.

Ed

[bull494]

I know what I will be getting for my birthday very soon!!! :d:d

[dogknot]

Great news, Lionheart! :applause:

Thank you for making your labors available to us.

[Dangerousdave26]

{Myself}

Must RESIST Temptation....
Must RESIST can not purchase more...
Wife will go NUTS if I do...
Must RESIST!
{Mechanical Breathing Sound}

I am the Kodiak!
{Mechanical Breathing Sound}

Resistance is Futile!
{Mechanical Breathing Sound}

Give into your desires and HEAR my Engines Whine!
{Mechanical Breathing Sound}

I am your next STOL Bush Aircraft you have been waiting for.
{Myself}

NOOOOOO!!!! Its not Possible
{Mechanical Breathing Sound}

Search your bank account you know it to be True!
{Myself}

Doggone imagine that your right!
Click
Click
Downloading... Downloading... Downloading...
Done!
Click
Installing
Done!
{Mechanical Breathing Sound}

GOOD! Now You are completely in my Power.
{Mechanical Breathing Sound}
{cough cough}
{cough cough}

Sorry must have got some bad fuel at that remote airport in Alaska.

{Myself}


Thanks Bill

[Felixthreeone]

:woot::friday:

[Desert Rat]

Waited for this one for too long, she's gonna be mine, very soon. Thanks Bill, she looks great. I kept looking at the old version, but had just bought a new house, so funds didn't stretch. When they finally did, she'd gone. Doozey is that we now have new baby #3 and again funds are a little tight, plus just bought the Safir (many days to late!!). This is at the top of my list along with enquiring about the SF260 2007 update (I got the older version on the LAGO Rome scenery box, hoping the update works with it, enquiries are being made :d)

Glad the Scenery is still included, FSCargo is itching to be applied to it.

Jamie

[EMatheson]

Very nice...
some FPS issues (still) but those are almost certainly related to the woeful fact that I haven't defragged in close to 3 months... (Quest Kodiak on one end of the disk, scenery on the other, with the default cessna 208b sound pack somewhere in between, used with Windows-"el gordo greedo"-Vista, and a low-capacity, low-RPM HD would make anyones system run slow...)
On the whole, though, this package is very worth the money, even on a system like mine...!

Like JDTinballs, I have been waiting... (and saving)... for this for months...
and have not been disappointed!

[falcon409]

Running into problems with Flight1 and the F1 key and password you sent (not surprising). I sent an e-mail with details.

[Desert Rat]

Ah, bugger it, here I go again.... lol!!!

The wife lays sleeping on the futon, Jamie grins slyly and presses the 'confirm purchase' button, knowing fine well he is safe. Indeed, safe, but for how long, the recesses of his mind remind him that this will not last forever and the dawn will bring pain and suffering. But still he knows it will be worth it and it is his money after all, nagging does not make it hers as much as she vermently insists it does :d

henpecked hubby,
Jamie

[Lionheart]

{Myself}

Must RESIST Temptation....
Must RESIST can not purchase more...
Wife will go NUTS if I do...
Must RESIST!
{Mechanical Breathing Sound}

I am the Kodiak!
{Mechanical Breathing Sound}

Resistance is Futile!
{Mechanical Breathing Sound}

Give into your desires and HEAR my Engines Whine!
{Mechanical Breathing Sound}

I am your next STOL Bush Aircraft you have been waiting for.
{Myself}

NOOOOOO!!!! Its not Possible
{Mechanical Breathing Sound}

Search your bank account you know it to be True!
{Myself}

Doggone imagine that your right!
Click
Click
Downloading... Downloading... Downloading...
Done!
Click
Installing
Done!
{Mechanical Breathing Sound}

GOOD! Now You are completely in my Power.
{Mechanical Breathing Sound}
{cough cough}
{cough cough}

Sorry must have got some bad fuel at that remote airport in Alaska.

{Myself}


Thanks Bill



LOLOLOL....

Im sorry man.. arrghh..

'Bad Kodiak. Bad bad.. '


Bill

[Lionheart]

Running into problems with Flight1 and the F1 key and password you sent (not surprising). I sent an e-mail with details.


Ed,

That my have been my fault. I might have mistyped something when I generated that last key. I have already regenerated a new one and sent it over.

:ernae:


Bill

[Lionheart]

Ah, bugger it, here I go again.... lol!!!

The wife lays sleeping on the futon, Jamie grins slyly and presses the 'confirm purchase' button, knowing fine well he is safe. Indeed, safe, but for how long, the recesses of his mind remind him that this will not last forever and the dawn will bring pain and suffering. But still he knows it will be worth it and it is his money after all, nagging does not make it hers as much as she vermently insists it does :d

henpecked hubby,
Jamie



Jamie,

You might try a nice romantic evening with rose pedals and candles around the bathtub, and a nice back massage.

:)



Bill

[Desert Rat]

Bill,

nah, if she's lucky I might let her have a go and fly her a while, lol. I often rib her about being a nag, but truth is she's a honey. she'll be cool with it, and she got to spend more than 10x that today, you know how women like to shop!! She's worth every penny though, heck I've suddenly come over all slushy and girly, need to go fly a Spitfire for a while while the Kodiak downloads, feel all manly again.

hugs and kisses,
Jamie

[falcon409]

Ed,
That my have been my fault. I might have mistyped something when I generated that last key. I have already regenerated a new one and sent it over.
Bill
I'm not ruling out that it may be me messing this up too Bill. I'm using the original wrapper system, clicking on reinstall at the bottom, entering the new key and password for validation and it says it's invalid data.

[OleBoy]

Sure is a nice looking plane Lionheart. Unfortunately I had to buy a new 750w power supply. There went all my fun money for about two months. At least I can still do repaints :)

[teeps]

I had time for a quick spin last night, and the new Kodiak feels great. Great job Bill!

[adhockey]

Am I the only one that had to look up what "chamferring" is? :confused:

[Wulf190]

Jamie,

You might try a nice romantic evening with rose pedals and candles around the bathtub, and a nice back massage.

:)



Bill


....And what do they say about men and boys and the price of their toys? :caked:

[Lionheart]

....And what do they say about men and boys and the price of their toys? :caked:

The great sacrifices we pay for the things we love.

:d

[edmoore235]

Bill, thanks for the upgrade. Really first rate yet again. Now I own about five paywares of yours, I must be a happy customer. SMILE
:applause:

[mustang51]

Can't find that key#
Bob

[LouP]

OK, I'm finally sold Bill. Been tieing myself down for a while now out of fear of a fps issue. May not actually have time tonight to buy and install but definately by this weekend. :woot:

LouP :rapture:

[Lionheart]

OK, I'm finally sold Bill. Been tieing myself down for a while now out of fear of a fps issue. May not actually have time tonight to buy and install but definately by this weekend. :woot:

LouP :rapture:

Hey Lou,

I understand and know the feeling.

Thats why, with this entire frame rates issue, I worked hard with ways to make it really fast. The MFD issues were tackled, and then the textures were also hit. So now you can literally fly with low rez textures and also turn off (sleep mode) your MFD to really boost frames. It should run fine on Laptop computers. :d


Bill

[Lionheart]

Can't find that key#
Bob

Bob,

See my ansere to your post on this on the FSX side.

:ernae:


Bill

[Henry]

Actually i have no frame rate issues in either FS9
or FSX at all and i do not have a high end machine
an excellent aircraft
H:applause:

[Wing_Z]

'Ey Bill...where's the crash site?

[LouP]

And how do we find Bolivian villages lol :help:. Also, dare I actvate that propwash thingy:faint: :friday:

LouP :typing:

[Lionheart]

'Ey Bill...where's the crash site?

The red Bellanca is hard to find. Its on a hill top and the smoke will give it away.

[Lionheart]

And how do we find Bolivian villages lol :help:. Also, dare I actvate that propwash thingy:faint: :friday:

LouP :typing:

Hey Lou,

The villages are in a chart/map in the Panel folder. They are all centered around a major airport there.


Make sure you have activated your airports/airstrips in the Addon Scenery center.



Bill

[Henry]

villages are great
Thanks
H:ernae:

[Desert Rat]

They are all centered around a major airport there.

I found a new version of Jorge Wilsterman (SLCB) airport that is better than the stock, just for these new bases. Not the best but a lot better than the stock. It's by Miguel Garnica and is called Cochabamba2004.zip from one of the big two sites ('twas late last night and I forget). Gonna set me up the FSCargo entries and haul some boxes around.

Jamie

[Desert Rat]

Love the fact the manual is Landscape and not portait, such a simple thing that makes so much sense it beggars belief that more don't do this. (Wish I'd done some of the olé read-me's like that :redface:)

:applause::applause::applause:
Jamie

[Lionheart]

Hey guys,


Here is the new Kodiak paint kit.

I went in and thoroughly reduced a ton of layers to make this more compact and easier to use.

These feature;
* 2048 pixels size
* All Shading, Components, Base Layers, Stripes, Rivets, Panel lines seperated by layers, but numbers of layers reduced for simplicity and ease of painting.
* All layers labelled.
* Dirt, wear and tear, and weathering (3) are on seperate layers and can be tuned with opacity.
* Seperate exhaust layer as well, tuneable, can be turned off
* Bump Maps included and in layers
* Fuselage Specular Alpha included
* 3 Exterior Textures include Yellow, Red, and Red Cross texture layers, as well as base white
* Rivets layers can be turned off for FSX paint schemes (on for FS9 paint schemes.. )

If you have any questions on these, please ask.

Download link is here;
Kodiak Exterior Paint Kit
http://lionheartworld.net/schloss/Kodiak_Exterior_Paintkit.zip

I design these so that I can actually repaint my own planes super fast. Basically just colorise the base color layer, add a layer for stripes you might wish. If the rivets or panel lines dont show up well, increase their opacity, or vice versa for opposite effect. Burn some BMP's from those and you are done.


Happy flying,


Bill
LHC

[Lionheart]

Love the fact the manual is Landscape and not portait, such a simple thing that makes so much sense it beggars belief that more don't do this. (Wish I'd done some of the olé read-me's like that :redface:)

:applause::applause::applause:
Jamie


Thanks Jamie.

:ernae:

I did that in iWork 09, on the iMac. Apple software office program called Pages.

I fell in love with that program. You can adjust/crop images much easier and do some wild editing, shading, and other features. It also exports to PDF format.

Apple reads the Windows side HD, so I just opened up my pictures, dropped them in the pages, and edited away... Actually made it pretty fun.



Bill

[Desert Rat]

Bill,

getting a bad link for the kit. Loving this thing so far, fps are good, and she's a beaut'. Those wallpapers are great shots too, very nicely done!!

Also some pics of the scenery I mentioned above, comes with some hills and some static B727's as far as I could figure. And some pics of my first FSCargo hop that CTD'd, bummer!! Was to Jorge Wilsterman too, so the surrounding scenery is from that.

Jamie

[Lionheart]

Nice screenshots Jamie!


I have that link repaired. My oops...


:typing:

[Desert Rat]

Thanks for the kit Bill, can't be to many real world liveries as yet I suppose, plenty fictional ones tho, I kinda fancy the idea of a poor-mans tilt-rotor for special ops insertions, etc. Gonna put her to use in the islands around the UK (Channel, Hebrides, Orkney & Shetland, etc.

Jamie

[CG_1976]

Preformed a excellent Medical flight from Trinidad, Cuba to MUGM NAS. I need a nurse in the back lol:whistle:.

[Lionheart]

I need a nurse in the back lol:whistle:.



You know.. Since finishing the Kodiak, I havent tried to fit a nurse in the back yet. Now is the time as the model is basically finished. This will show if the limit can accept it.

But if Archisoft finds a way to get FSX models into FS9, then I 'can' add that nurse. :d



Bill

[Quicksand]

Lionheart, I just purchased the Kodiak, and after only a few moments, I'm already in love with this powerful bird. I especially liked the last page of your readme pdf, and it really was a blessing for me this morning. Thank you for continuing to use your seemingly endless talents to build these wonderful planes for those of us still flying FS9.:applause::applause::applause::engel016:

[Lionheart]

Hey Quicksand,

Many thanks Sir.

That is important to me to add a spiritual message. A helping light for those that cannot find the path.

I pray for the messages. This one finally came and was a blessing for Missionary pilots. The entire Kodiak aircraft and Quest aircraft company is born from MAF pilots, (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) that help out with Missions and churches in far reaches of civilization. They wanted a plane that was extremely rugged, best powerplant, using fuel readily available anywhere, best, yet simple avionics, and could cary either many people or much cargo. The design also had to have attach points built into the airframe for easy switchover to Amphib mode.

The MAF engineers went to work, and the Kodiak was the end result.

Right now, they are swamped with orders and have delivered many planes now to Missionaries. They are presently finishing 1 plane per 2 weeks, or 2 a month. Their assembly line is increasing speed and they are presently adding a sister assembly line next to the existing one to double output, which will then bring them to 4 units a month.

For every 10 standard sales of Kodiaks, Quest donate a Kodiak to a Missionary at 'cost only' (parts). Kind of like paying a tithe, on a huge industrial scale.

:engel016:




This is the

[Desert Rat]

This truely is a remarkable plane, in many ways, if only other businesses took a leaf outta the same book, the world would be a sweeter smelling place.

:amen:
Jamie

PS. still loving it, my fav at the momment, currently trying to recreate some of the originals 'missions', guesswork and beer go a long way to making this fun, FSCargo also helps add to the fun. Many thanks Bill
PSS. very nice painkit, had a quick look earlier today, made me a black chrome one for fun, turned out quite bad, but that's my fault, lol. CFS2er who ain't got the hang of reflective alphas, overcooked it big style!!

[LouP]

OK, it seems that I am the only one having an fps issue. Anyone want to share their FS9 config settings that are using this bird on a low end machine. :help: I am not complaining as worse case, I'll just put her in a hanger until I get a new up to date machine one day as she does look pretty. :faint:

I installed the dxt textures I got from Bill's site and she was still unflyable as the fps were arounf 4 - 6 frames. :gossip: I think I may have my settings up pretty high for this machine but it seems to be OK in all my other aircraft. For example, my new Carenado Arrow averages around 20 fps for me but switching to the Kodiak is not good.

LouP :ernae:

[Lionheart]

Hey LouP,

What does it do when you have the MFD in 'sleep mode'? If you havent tried it yet, its the Map menu button, bottom middle, on the MFD.


If you have, then try this. Drag out the Panel folder and drop it on the Desktop, then drop in a copy of the stock Cessna panel folder in the Kodiak folder, boot up FS, and see what the frames are like.


This will tell me if its your panel (gauges) doing something to your sim.


Note; Before installing the new Kodiak 2.0, did you delete the older ones? If not, then you are most likely having 'sharing' issues with gauges and textures. Delete both Kodiak folders, delete the LHC_QK cab file/folder from the gauges folder, then re-run the Installer. This will give you a 'pure' Installation. Then lets see if frames are back to normal.



Bill

[LouP]

Hi Bill,

Ok just tested her out. Very strange as I had not noticed this before. But when I first load her up and jump into the cockpit, frame rates are OK but as soon as I start to move (taxi) the frame rates drop through the floor. I put the display into sleep mode and saw very little improvement. But when I swapped the panel out for the C172 panel, the frames stayed up in the high teens to mid twentys and she was very flyable. Kind of an option for now if all else fails, I guess. Very strange as never noticed this in any of my other aircraft.

Also, note that I am running FS9 from and external hard drive so I am wondering if that makes a difference with this bird for some reason.

LouP

PS. Never had the previous version of the Kodiak because of the fps fear.

[Felixthreeone]

This is something I am very concerned about; I have all of Bill's creations, including the Epic LT (one of my favorite aircraft) and they all run well. So before I purchase the Kodiak, I am curious how the VC framerates compare to the Epic? Lou's issues seem to be an anomaly, but....

[Tom Clayton]

I also have it, and she's a real beauty! My PC's not state of the art, but it's no slouch either. I did a comp. of frame rates between the stock C208B and the pax version of the Kodiak:

C208B...
2D - 35-40
VC - 35-40
Tower - 50-55
Spot - 50-55

Kodiak...
2D - 27-29
VC - 20-22 until tex's load (appx 3 sec), then 27-29
Tower - 31-33
Spot - 29-31

Bear in mind that my textures are Bill's 32-bit files. I also found it interesting that the frames are a little steadier with the Kodiak. I would have expected the opposite.

[cheezyflier]

For every 10 standard sales of Kodiaks, Quest donate a Kodiak to a Missionary at 'cost only' (parts). Kind of like paying a tithe, on a huge industrial scale.



i didn't know this! now i like the model even more than i did!

[Lionheart]

Lou...

I think I know what it is.

Put two Slash marks > // < in front of the special effect for Dirt in the Effects department in the Aircraft config file, then reboot a flight up in it and let me know how it goes.

I have a unique effect by the infamous FS guru Milton Shupe. The effect is designed to make alot of dust when on dirt runways. On my rig, if I am behind the plane, the dust will cause my computer to really slow down. Its this way with sea mist with the sea planes also.

If you are taking off on dirt runways, this is a major sign.

Try that test out and let me know how it goes.



Bill

[dogknot]

I wasn't able to even get the Kodiak to load up. The splash screen would come up and before the selection screen appeared...CTD.
Thought maybe it was the large textures, so installed the lower res set. Same CTD.

Finally got the Kodiak to load after stopping the load of the PFD in the 2D section of the panel.cfg
//gauge34=LHC_QK!G1000PFD, 111,187,225,141

Have tried a dozen different combinations and scenarios and this, so far, is the only saving grace for me. I can open the zoom of the pfd and use it in the 2d panel. VC operates just great.

Here are some of the things I have tried, and found, along the way to trying to figure this out.

The [VIEWS] section of the panel.cfg has window calls that don't pertain:

orig:
//VIEW_FORWARD_WINDOWS=MAIN_PANEL,50,GPS_PANEL,10,24 2,36,36,360

changed to:
VIEW_FORWARD_WINDOWS=MAIN_PANEL,9,14,77,78,112,16, 50

I had two of the orange wheeled Kodiaks named the same in the "title=" section. [fltsim.7] and [fltsim.8]

I don't have any of the smoke effects in my pkg that are called for in the [EFFECTS] or [SMOKESYSTEM] sections. The only two effects in my pkg are fx_Bolivian_Smoke.fx and fx_Bolivian_Village_Smoke.fx.

After loading the Kodiak in the sim I tried reinstating the pfd gauge and reloading while FS is active. CTD.

I've defragged, done a cold boot, temporarily eliminated most of the aircraft folders, turned off all sceneries from countries I'm not flying in, changed rendered lights, replaced my systems ntdll.dll file, to name a few.

I have WindowsXP pro service pack 2, an ATI Radeon 9800pro card, a single gig of ram. I pulled a huge amount of folders off the drive and moved them to an external, leaving the primary with 139 GB of free space.
I've shut down my virus protection, and nearly every unnecessary running app that I can think of.

This may be unique to me, but for some reason, all these calls of the pfd shut me down. I'm perplexed.

Don't get me wrong though, the Kodiak works great with that one pfd out of the way. And she looks beautiful and flies wonderfully. The VC is unaffected by my little change, so I am still happy with my purchase.
(I would like to figure this darn problem out though...just for the heck of it)

[LouP]

Hi Bill, no luck with the dust effects. I tried out dogknots suggestion and she flew well. I took it another step and marked out the mfd, also and the frames really shot up. For fun, I put in my RXP Jet Line 4 gauges and they seemed to work OK. At one point I started getting warning signs as the RXP JL4 was treating me as a large airliner :faint:and at that point my frames dropped a bit again ("too low", "pull up", "gear" ... blah blah blah :gossip:) . I really think its more my set-up than it is your plane. Don't fret cause my Eagsoft SR22 rarely gets out to play for this same reason. So, if any of you have a real hot set-up for the FS9.cfg, I would really like to explore that route :help:.

Thanks,
LouP :amen:

[cheezyflier]

i want to ask a question about the sceneries.
i am getting blocky shadows from the trees, and i am getting building crashes a looong way away from buildings. for example, the river village, the one where you appear next to the land rover, i crash while loading. my computer is pretty low-end, maybe that is the problem, i don't know. any suggestions?
(besides building a new computer, i mean lol)

[Lionheart]

i want to ask a question about the sceneries.
i am getting blocky shadows from the trees, and i am getting building crashes a looong way away from buildings. for example, the river village, the one where you appear next to the land rover, i crash while loading. my computer is pretty low-end, maybe that is the problem, i don't know. any suggestions?
(besides building a new computer, i mean lol)

Hey CF,

Man, I have tried to figure that out. For some reason, I couldnt get my trees to be like the stock trees in FS9, and things 'invisible' seemed to be hitting the plane that I could never find.

The only thing I can advise is to run it with 'crash detection' off. I did note that in the readme. I wish I knew what in the world it was that was causing this. The runways are wide enough for the plane through the trees...


Bill

[Lionheart]

I wasn't able to even get the Kodiak to load up. The splash screen would come up and before the selection screen appeared...CTD.
Thought maybe it was the large textures, so installed the lower res set. Same CTD.

Finally got the Kodiak to load after stopping the load of the PFD in the 2D section of the panel.cfg
//gauge34=LHC_QK!G1000PFD, 111,187,225,141

Have tried a dozen different combinations and scenarios and this, so far, is the only saving grace for me. I can open the zoom of the pfd and use it in the 2d panel. VC operates just great.

Here are some of the things I have tried, and found, along the way to trying to figure this out.

The [VIEWS] section of the panel.cfg has window calls that don't pertain:

orig:
//VIEW_FORWARD_WINDOWS=MAIN_PANEL,50,GPS_PANEL,10,24 2,36,36,360

changed to:
VIEW_FORWARD_WINDOWS=MAIN_PANEL,9,14,77,78,112,16, 50

I had two of the orange wheeled Kodiaks named the same in the "title=" section. [fltsim.7] and [fltsim.8]

I don't have any of the smoke effects in my pkg that are called for in the [EFFECTS] or [SMOKESYSTEM] sections. The only two effects in my pkg are fx_Bolivian_Smoke.fx and fx_Bolivian_Village_Smoke.fx.

After loading the Kodiak in the sim I tried reinstating the pfd gauge and reloading while FS is active. CTD.

I've defragged, done a cold boot, temporarily eliminated most of the aircraft folders, turned off all sceneries from countries I'm not flying in, changed rendered lights, replaced my systems ntdll.dll file, to name a few.

I have WindowsXP pro service pack 2, an ATI Radeon 9800pro card, a single gig of ram. I pulled a huge amount of folders off the drive and moved them to an external, leaving the primary with 139 GB of free space.
I've shut down my virus protection, and nearly every unnecessary running app that I can think of.

This may be unique to me, but for some reason, all these calls of the pfd shut me down. I'm perplexed.

Don't get me wrong though, the Kodiak works great with that one pfd out of the way. And she looks beautiful and flies wonderfully. The VC is unaffected by my little change, so I am still happy with my purchase.
(I would like to figure this darn problem out though...just for the heck of it)


Hey Brent,

Man.. This is what I didnt want to hear. I am sorry man. I made those screens as super simple as possible, and Dwight was able to really refine them and increase their performance. They 'should' be running as fast as 'normal' gauges.

So, with your computer, its the PFD. Wild... Well, I'll dig through the code and see what I can find. I do not have any interactions going on with modules. Nothing exotic. No weather, no traffic, nothing... Its almost 'rubber band' powered, lol... Anything I could do to make it run as fast as possible.

Let me know if you get weary with it and want a refund. I cant expect you to keep a plane you cannot fly on your computer.

We hope to have a new update out on Friday. The screens have been revised with some new little bits and polishes, adjustments, etc.

I would like to know what this is too. Please let me know if you find out.



Bill

[cheezyflier]

thanks mr. bill, i will turn off the crash detection when i use those sceneries.
i have been having alot of fun flying around that area. originally i was exploring it a westland wessex. i crashed a bunch of times not knowing it was a glitch, because my heli skills are that bad :costumes:

[OleBoy]

I was amazed today to see a Kodiak fly overhead as I was driving towards the Bremerton airport. Immediately I thought of this topic. The plane overhead was headed straight for the airport (I thought) I mashed the gas in hopes that when I got to the airport, it would be there for me to get a closer look. I was going about 70mph. As I turned of the highway headed in the right direction, the airport came in sight. I was anxiously scanning the tarmac hoping it was in fact a Kodiak. As I pulled into a parking space near the FBO, there it was (no camera) The pilot and three passengers just walking away from it. It was HUGE!! Granted I cruised Lionhearts web site and saw the men standing below it in the pictures he had posted, but I never thought for a second it was really THAT big. I asked the pilot if I could go walk around it and look. He said, "Oh sure. Take all the pictures you want." Figures...LOL. I told him Thanks....but I forgot my camera. He then told me I could open the doors and look that way also. "Just don't get in or touch anything" He said. OH BOY!!!

Talk about spacious and comfy. That thing was laid out like a Cadillac. I'm almost 6ft tall. The Kodiak seemed like it was roughly 12' - 14ft tall. All I could say was .......wow as I walked around it. Awesome airplane!! And a great job modeling it Lionheart:ernae:

[Lionheart]

I was amazed today to see a Kodiak fly overhead as I was driving towards the Bremerton airport. Immediately I thought of this topic. The plane overhead was headed straight for the airport (I thought) I mashed the gas in hopes that when I got to the airport, it would be there for me to get a closer look. I was going about 70mph. As I turned of the highway headed in the right direction, the airport came in sight. I was anxiously scanning the tarmac hoping it was in fact a Kodiak. As I pulled into a parking space near the FBO, there it was (no camera) The pilot and three passengers just walking away from it. It was HUGE!! Granted I cruised Lionhearts web site and saw the men standing below it in the pictures he had posted, but I never thought for a second it was really THAT big. I asked the pilot if I could go walk around it and look. He said, "Oh sure. Take all the pictures you want." Figures...LOL. I told him Thanks....but I forgot my camera. He then told me I could open the doors and look that way also. "Just don't get in or touch anything" He said. OH BOY!!!

Talk about spacious and comfy. That thing was laid out like a Cadillac. I'm almost 6ft tall. The Kodiak seemed like it was roughly 12' - 14ft tall. All I could say was .......wow as I walked around it. Awesome airplane!! And a great job modeling it Lionheart:ernae:


Lucky person!!

I havent seen one. But from seeing the scale of people next to them, I can see they are giants... Look at one on floats, sitting on the tarmac. They are buildings then.. lol..



Bill

[Felixthreeone]

Ok...frustrated. Tried to download from Lionheart's site, Flight1 wrapped...first try---antivirus intervened; 2nd try---disabled antivirus---and it STILL intervened....on to my third try now but paid first using the paypal setup....we shall see....

[Felixthreeone]

OK...purchased it...downloaded it...installed it...now after I select the Kodiak and create a flight, FS9 crashes to desktop. I hate FS some days...

[Felixthreeone]

And just with the Kodiak; Figures. After a crappy week...had to work 12 hours on Easter... a total of 8 12 hour days in a row...All I wanted to do was buy'n'fly the Kodiak on my day off and my darn 'puter will not have any of it....

[Felixthreeone]

....well it loads up if I create the flight using the default cessna first, then swap it for the Kodiak. However, it CTD's after about a minute...:help:

[Felixthreeone]

Finally got the Kodiak to load after stopping the load of the PFD in the 2D section of the panel.cfg
//gauge34=LHC_QK!G1000PFD, 111,187,225,141

Have tried a dozen different combinations and scenarios and this, so far, is the only saving grace for me. I can open the zoom of the pfd and use it in the 2d panel. VC operates just great.



...Tried this and it worked for me...no more CTD! And since i do no flying with a 2d panel, it doesn't matter to me. Nice plane.

[CG_1976]

Lionheart this kodiak fits the medvac role perfect.

[Lionheart]

...Tried this and it worked for me...no more CTD! And since i do no flying with a 2d panel, it doesn't matter to me. Nice plane.

Felix,

I am working on it. This seems to happen with a hand full of people. I have an idea what it might be.



Bill

[cheezyflier]

last night i turned off my crash detection and toured all the bolivian village sceneries. sooo cool! also, with my piloting skills, i am better off without the crash detection on...:costumes:

[Lionheart]

last night i turned off my crash detection and toured all the bolivian village sceneries. sooo cool! also, with my piloting skills, i am better off without the crash detection on...:costumes:

I never use it. I hate it when the computer tells me to quit playing and stops my flight, lol.. I know if I hit a tree or building. arrghh..


:rapture:

[Daveroo]

i leave it on.....i DONT hit trees or buildings...kinda the idea of the whole sim thing???:kilroy:

[dogknot]

For users of EditVoicepack.......adds "Quest" and "Kodiak" to the ATC i.d. calls in FS2004.

Quest_Kodiak_for_EVP (http://library.avsim.net/search.php?SearchTerm=questkodiak_evp.zip&CatID=root&Go=Search)

[teeps]

Bill, I'm loving the new Kodiak, but I can't get the dome light to come on in the VC. Is there some trick to it that's not obvious?

[Lionheart]

Bill, I'm loving the new Kodiak, but I can't get the dome light to come on in the VC. Is there some trick to it that's not obvious?


Hey Teeps,

Here is a layout of what controls what. I have rigged the Domelights to come on with switches only. Here is the schematic on the layout.



Bill

[Lionheart]

There is a new set of updates to the Kodiak package. You must redownload the entire package to aquire everything.

The MFD and PFD have undergone even more tunes and some additions made to them as well. Dwight Furleigh, my gauge Meistro, couldnt stop adding things to them.

** The PFD now features non-rendering of the mini GPS popup map when its not selected 'on'.
** The MFD has a slower refresh rate now
** GPS / NAV mode integrated with 'factory' Garmin graphics in the PFD
** Wind direction now integrated and selectable in the PFD
** Fuel system in Amphibians updated to properly read
** Prop pitch adjusted to function properly
** Fuel Range improved
** Turbine toque values and prop RPM values now proper


The PFD has a mini GPS in it (as stated above). Some people were saying their PFD screen was bringing their frame rates way down. My theory is that the map was being rendered even though it wasnt being shown. I asked Dwight to ensure it was not rendering when off, and he did find that it was rendering and turned it off when in non-viewable mode. So that should help out those that had issues with the PFD screen. (I was wondering how on Earth that could be happening, but remembered that when we first did the Sleep Mode for the MFD, that it was still rendering the map, so Dwight was able to figure a way out to turn off the rendering when it (MFD Map) was sleeping. Works! :d ).

The new version of the manual with alot of updates and new screenshots and layouts of the screens, etc, can be downloaded here; www.lionheartworld.net/schloss/Kodiak_Manual.zip

A new Manual Supplement (01) where Dwight shows people how to do a GPS Approach (built in MFD approach plates), can be downloaded here; http://lionheartworld.net/schloss/Kodiak_Manual_Supplement_1_GPS_Approaches.zip



Bill

[Lionheart]

Here's some screenshots on some of the new screen system updates. These are taken from the new Kodiak manual, revised yesterday with inserts (screenshots) of the newest panel system, Build 2.1.

By the way. The manual was created in Mac, iWork 09; Pages.

Brilliant program! :d

EDIT: On the below Radios schematic, there is a missprint. Active NAV and Active COM labels along top should read 'Active NAV; Standby NAV; Active COM, Stanby COM' in that order.. :banghead:

[EMatheson]

Has the model been changed much?
Can I still use to old Performance Pack textures with the update?

[teeps]

Bill, Thanks for the switch explanation, very helpful :)

[Felixthreeone]

Just out of curiousity Bill what is the new version # for the updated release? I just re-downloaded and it looks like the same version?

[dogknot]

Just out of curiousity Bill what is the new version # for the updated release? I just re-downloaded and it looks like the same version?

I don't think he changed the file version #, as such, but the executables are named slightly different.

1. LHC_QK_B2_1.exe
2. LHC_QK_B2_01.exe

BTW, thanks, Bill, for the new and improved version. Looking forward to giving 'er a whirl.

[Lionheart]

It is now officially Build 2.1.

A flaw was found in the night lighting of the Audio Panel and 5-50X AP, so a smaller update patch will be made available.

Do not go by file names. I rotate file names often to keep pirates on their toes. Instead, the installer will state which build it is, and also the aircraft configs are now labeled which version of build they are. If you go into your aircraft config, you will see at the top, 3rd sentence down, the Build number.

All vendors (PC Aviator, Sim Market) and the home 'Flight1' and PayLoadz groups all have the newest build files.




Bill

[LouP]

Hi Bill,

I have been fooling around with the plane and tried to get those Kodiack effects working but couldn't see them when I activated them. I looked in my effects folder and couldn't find the effects files in there which would explain why I couldn't see them. I haven't downloaded any of the updates yet as the d/l speed has been slow. I figured everone is grabbing the updates at once so I thought I would wait a while. I was wondering if the effects would be included in the latest files ypu put together. I am a visual kind of guy and love the eye candy :wiggle:

Thanks,
LouP

[Lionheart]

Hey LouP,

Embarrassingly enough, I didnt have the effects file for the plane in the original installer. Its now in the new one. (So we can rule that out).

Please request a new download if you purchased through Payloadz, and if you have the Flight1 version, redownload the installer and reinstall it using your key. This will have the effects file along with a ton of extra's done to the configs, gauges, and FSX Models.

When you said that the PFD screen was the one hanging up the system in frame rates (still shows up, but bringing down frames) it occurred to me that the mini popup GPS windows in the bottom left corner of the PFD screen might be 'rendering' at full capacity even when its not being shown, which would be the same as running two different GPS systems in FS. So we (Dwight, the gauge Meistro) recoded the mini map to turn off when not being shown. I am hoping this will solve the PFD issue.

By the way, there is a small issue that crept in with the gauges. Lightmaps placed into the AP and Audio Panel are mis-aligned with the models lightmap. I should have an update for that ready soon. Trying to figure out which route to take on that.


Bill

[Lionheart]

Heads up for all Kodiak pilots.

Update 2.2 is now out. This repaired some issues with the last update that crept into the batch. (Experimental self illuminating gauges). Also some tunes to textures were done, gauge updates to the screens, tidbits here and there.


Note, if you have Flight1 keys, and they no longer work, simply go to the Flight1 website here;
https://www.flight1.com/view.asp?page=keyrequest
and request a new key or reactivating your key.

For people that have version 1 from years ago, email me and I will create the newest key for Build 2.2. My email is william 'at' lionheartcreations 'dot' com. I will need your full name, and your purchase number. If you no longer have your purchase order, go to Service at Flight1.com and look up your order numbers, find the Kodiak, and copy/paste that to me.


Bill

[rich12545]

Hi Bill, I kept the 14 flights from ver1. Just wondering why you don't include them anymore. Is there now a problem with them?

[Lionheart]

Hey Rich,

With FSX and its complexities, so busy with learning aircraft creation in FSX and not enough time to learn scenery design in 'FSX' Gmax as well, I decided to not have the scenery in FSX. I was then faced with a huge issue with sales if I advertised the scenery with the plane as FSX people would want it. So I decided to basically cancel the Villages and Missions flights of Bolivia. I still include the scenery in the FS2004 version, but not in the FSX version. The flights are no longer there either.


Making scenery used to be quite easy and fun. But now, you deal with everyones versions of land mesh, so the airstrips and all wind up underground in vertical cuts in the Earth, or on towering colums. It became a total catastrophe with the Kodiak. Everyone was complaining because I didnt have various versions for their land meshes.

Operation Valkyrie with 9 airfields (or more) was even worse.. Oh man.... eeks..


That is why. :kilroy:


If everyone had the same land mesh, scenery hills were the same in FSX as in FS9, and scenery making wasnt so different, the Bolivian villages would be in there.



Bill

[edmoore235]

Had the missions working and then messed it up when I installed a new Mesh from Genesis. It was imposssibe even to take off as the scenery was UNDERGROUND!! I had to uninstall the South America DVD and your scenery works very well now.

Ed

[Lionheart]

Hey Ed,

Yep.. Scenery will just freak out if there are airfields and you install new mesh.

I installed Mesh in SoCal and it messed up all of my airports in Mega Scenery SoCal. Everything was either in pits or on hills that looked like pyramids.. arrgh..



Bill

[Felixthreeone]

Bill, I seem to keep getting an 'out of memory' error whenever I choose the Kodiak and create a flight; It doesn't seem to happen with any other addons...Im troubleshooting now but do you have any advice?

[Felixthreeone]

Here is the error file:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: fs9.exe
Application Version: 9.1.0.40901
Application Timestamp: 4135a208
Fault Module Name: ntdll.dll
Fault Module Version: 6.0.6001.18000
Fault Module Timestamp: 4791a7a6
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 000681cb
OS Version: 6.0.6001.2.1.0.256.1
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: f789
Additional Information 2: 71c17f8b599ee1bbc41cd8f706c95bc4
Additional Information 3: e2b2
Additional Information 4: 8f8e949c797018c1336da002fe2af554

[Tom Clayton]

Which model/texture combination are you selecting?

[Felixthreeone]

Doesn't seem to matter, Tom. No matter which one I choose, it seems to do the same thing?

[Daveroo]

are you using vista by chance?....once in awhle...i can be using FS9 and things going fie and then i open fs9 and select a plane at it tells me i dont have enough memory

[Tom Clayton]

Well, that cuts out my 24-bit texture file theory...

[Felixthreeone]

Yes Tom, I have Vista 32...but after some testing I'm relatively certian that it isn't the Kodiak now; I may have issues elsewhere...so i am troubleshooting. I will let you guys know what I come up with.

[Lionheart]

Hey Felix,

That crash message says its a DDL if I am correct. Maybe run a Google search on it and see what you can find out on it. You might be able to disable it or run without it. But please find out first. It could be a seriously required system file.


Bill

[Felixthreeone]

Thanks for the advice, Bill. I think it is a 'windows kernel dll' and is part of the win32 files...don't want to mess with it; Also threw a 'g3d.dll' file CTD as well, which is something completely different. It seems as though something threw my computer for a bit of a loop. I will keep hunting....

[Lionheart]

Thanks for the advice, Bill. I think it is a 'windows kernel dll' and is part of the win32 files...don't want to mess with it; Also threw a 'g3d.dll' file CTD as well, which is something completely different. It seems as though something threw my computer for a bit of a loop. I will keep hunting....


Hey Felix,


Roger that.

One thing you could try is disabling the Hobbs meter/timer and see if that does it. Its the only high tech thing in the panel and records flight time to a file in the FSX / FS2004 files folders. That is the only thing I can think of that 'might' trigger a crash in a system. (especially with vista). Too disable it, simply put two slash marks in fromt of the gauge // in both points; VC panel and at the main panel.


Bill

[Felixthreeone]

Ok Bill thanks for the info...I am running some diagnostics on the registry, and will be re-installing the whole Kodiak V2; I will post the results shortly.

[Felixthreeone]

Ok so what I have turned up so far seems to indicate that the problem (whatever it is) is only related to version 2.2; I had an instant crash with 2.2...reverted back to 2.01 and no crash. That is all I have so far...

[Felixthreeone]

ok i take that back....reloaded FS and whammo..CTD when selecting the Kodiak? I am stumped once again.

.....BTW Bill the Hobbs trick didn't do it....

[dogknot]

I have the same CTD's. XP, IE6 sp2. Have the ctd's with Kodiak version 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2. Remedy is always stop the call of the PFD in the 2D panel.

The error is always the same:
AppName: fs9.exe AppVer: 9.1.0.40901 ModName: ntdll.dll
ModVer: 5.1.2600.2180 Offset: 000122ba

I've researched at least 50 sites pertaining to the system32 file, ntdll.dll. A small number of the posts are FS9 users. To this point there seems to be no concrete "one fix does it all" answer. Those that have had success, report something different that straightened it out.

Usually if the ntdll.dll file is named it is either corrupt, bad drivers, or a software issue. I have replaced the dll with two different versions. No help. Most of my software is disabled or removed. Something within FS9 or the Kodiak is making a bad call to the ntdll.dll file...at least that is what I've surmised from what I've read. Since fs9.exe and the ntdll.dll file are named, there, seems to be the place to start.

That's what I have so far. I fly the Kodiak without the PFD in the 2D panel.

[Felixthreeone]

And I can live without the PFD in the 2D panel as I never use 2D panels anyway. So that at least is good to know! Thanks!

[Lionheart]

Man...

What in the world....


There used to be one thing that would cause this, and usually it would only cause the gauge (the PFD in this case) to not show, and that is for the gauge to be in the 'negatives' coordinates. And they are not. All are in the positive coordinates.


Another thing was sound files. And this uses no sound files other then basic FS2004 Caravan sound files. No button sounds, no unique clicks and things.


I'll keep searching...



Bill

[EMatheson]

For those having FPS problems...
this will roughly halve the FPS hit if you go one way, almost remove it entirely if you go the other way...
Use Doug Dawsons View-skip gauge and totally delete from the panel.cfg the unused views! This will remove instances of the MFD and PFD you do not commonly use (depending on how you fly, you may delete VC or 2D panels - your choice) cutting down on the CPU load...

[Lionheart]

Hey guys,


I have a temp fix for those that are suffering from spoolup time on your Kodiaks.

On the newest version, engine tunes were carried out which put the proper factory RPM/Torque values/Fuel useages burn rates, etc into the equasion for instrumentation. They were a bit out of the ball park, and once tuned, were back in again.

However, when you effect one thing in an airfile/config file, you effect about 10 other things and it turned out the spool up time (increase of RPM from idle to full throttle, for instance) took a hit.

The temp fix (not fully tested) is to do the following adjustment in your Kodiaks 'aircraft.cfg' file.


* Navigate to your Kodiak folder in FS
* Open the 'aircraft.cfg' file with Notepad
* Scroll down to Turbine Engine Data section
* Change Fuel Flow Gain to 0.037

Example below:

[TurbineEngineData]
fuel_flow_gain = 0.037 // was at 0.009

This will bring the RPM increase to a normal rate. You can play around with the setting. That is the one on my bird presently. I need to test it for fuel burn to make sure its proper. It could 'possibly' be increased.


Thanks to the great guru Milton Shupe for this invaluable bit of information and also to Ron Freimuth for his pioneering studies in FS Turboprop tuning.


Bill