Livery matching on traffic, what can I expect here?

[John Brander 1112485]

Hi I am reexploring the X-Plane Universe since being on a trip with other simulators for about five years. So I am exploring this platform now before deciding where my next few years will be spent. Since Vatsim flights are the only thing I am interested in, as far as I know for the time being Xsquawkbox is my only choice. I have already been through the disappointment about having to disable some of the really nice rendering options of XP but now at least I can see other traffic.

 

I have downloaded the X-CSL package (http://csl.x-air.ru/?lang_id=43) so I have quite some models and liveries now, but when I go online nonw of them shows with the right livery, for example all 737s are Thomson ones. Before I go into more details with screen shots, I am not sure whether or not I can expect it to look ok. Particularly because of these statements from thw Xsquakbox FAQ;

 

Why don’t I see the right airplanes out the window.

XSquawkBox can only load 8-10 models into memory at once. It will pick the closest model it can find for any given plane, but with only 10 models there may not be a good model to pick from. XSquawkBox does not attempt to match liveries.

 

If a user is not using the CSL on Microsoft flight sim or has flight sim misconfigured, you may see them with the same plane model as you have, regardless of what plane they are flying. The XSquawkBox manual (which comes with the plugin download) features some trouble-shooting tips that can help resolve most of these issues.

 

After downloading the complete package I can estimate about 2Gb of my VRAM being used for squawkbox, so I [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ume at least that there are several liveries loaded in one way or another. If Xsquawkbox does not attempt to match liveries as explicitly stated in the FAQ above, I am curious why we are pointed into downloading this large CSL package?

 

So my question is, what should I expect, is it possible to get somewhere in this area?

 

For information I am using X-Plane 10.32 64 bit on Windows 8.1 and XSB 1.2.

[John Brander 1112485]

Hmm the lack of replies points me in the direction that livery matching is not possible with X-plane on Vatsim as of today? And that we need a new pilot client or updated Xsquawkbox for this?

[sebastian jackson 1274940]

Active thread!!!! I am on the hunt for similar info. My planes dont even look like fully modelled planes, they are just heaps of junk knocked together with random liveries. Guess the hunt continues...

[Mats Hellman 1275418]

So, being a long time FSX/P3D user I'm also used to see the actual liveries in front of me taxiing out or waiting in line. This is one of the nicest things when waiting. Now IXEG finally released for X-Plane and this made me start using it. But as for you I can get any form of model matching working. If anyone has a fix for this please let us know.

[Mathew Sutcliffe]

With X-CSL installed, you should at least see the correct models, but XSB does not do any form of livery matching.

[Mats Hellman 1275418]

I noticed that yes. All of us hope to see Swift in a near future

[Tom Stian Bjerk 853618]

Its a shame that Vatsim dont do more to improve the online flying with X-Plane. Im sorry to say, but its pretty bad now with current models and the non existing match making.

Alot of good things are happening with X-Plane, so Vatsim should try to step up also.

[Josh Glottmann]

It's not VATSIM's job. VATSIM is a network, XSB is a third party client that connects to the network.

[Ross Carlson]

It's not VATSIM's job. VATSIM is a network, XSB is a third party client that connects to the network.

 

Perhaps it *should* be VATSIM's job ... after all, shouldn't the network be doing everything it can to improve the experience of its users?

 

Sure, historically, client development has been a volunteer effort by the community and VATSIM hasn't been involved in any official capacity (beyond just vetting and approving clients for use on the network,) but that doesn't mean the status quo is ideal.

 

I would love to see VATSIM lead an effort to improve model matching for all clients, including vPilot, swift, and XSB, perhaps by developing an official model set. That's still one of the biggest hurdles to a smooth beginner experience.

[Tom Stian Bjerk 853618]

Would be awesome to see a updated client with a good model matching and HD aircraft models and some other tweaks.

 

I agree with Ross, that VATSIM maybe should take a bigger part of this. The network is "useless" if you dont have any good experience flying on it.

As an example, when ATC tells you to follow that "easy jet" on taxi (or something like that) can be hard when you dont see any correct models. You get my point

 

And we cant demand anything from third party developers. So this is not anything against XSB, but I want VATSIM to take a bigger role in this development.

 

Maybe there is plans for XSB? I dont know.

[Josh Glottmann]

For XSB, probably not. If you haven't seen it yet, a new client (swift) is in the process of being developed with advanced global model matching. It also is going to run on XP, FSX, P3D, and FS9.

[Tom Stian Bjerk 853618]

For XSB, probably not. If you haven't seen it yet, a new client (swift) is in the process of being developed with advanced global model matching. It also is going to run on XP, FSX, P3D, and FS9.

 

I dident know about switft. Maybe that is the future for x-plane and vatsim ^^

 

Thank you.