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Why can't we have nice things?


Johnny Coughlan
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Johnny Coughlan
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Posted

With the recent update of vPilot, the ability to connect to localhost has been removed which has meant ATC's wishing to use it to connect flightsim to Euroscope so they can control from inside a virtual tower and watch the aircraft move around has been stopped.

 

I know we can still use FSInn but that is an old client which is no longer in development and I prefer the simplicity of VPilot .

 

I've been controlling on VATSIM since the ProController days and have seen the progress in technology on the network over the past 10+ years but I feel this is a step backwards, why? because virtual reality is opening up flightsim to possibilities and experiences we've never had before, below is an example of using the Oculus Rift program 'FlyInside' inside of the FSX control tower whilst connected to the network and even though the video on a 2D monitor does it no justice, experiencing it in 3D is quiet the experience trust me..

 

 

Now, whilst its great(actually unreal) for flying its not possible to control, below is another video showing how you can import VRC inside the tower and how it fits inside the 3D flightsim world thanks to the Flyinside app..

 

 

But as irony would have it, you can't connect VRC to VPilot due to UDP issues even something FSinn can't overcome, so to be so close and yet so far from having an immersive 3D ATC experience is actually heartbreaking. I've been in contact with the developer of 'Flyinside' and he is going to fix an issue with Euroscope currently not being recognized by the app in its beta build so I used VRC in the video above as an example but now with vPilot being update and no more localhost connection this seems that it may be pointless.

 

I'll end by saying I'm sure there is behind the scene reasons as to why this was implemented but I'm just giving a personal opinion and highlighting this issue because VR is going to be the next thing in flightsiming if not gaming in general, I've had Oculus for a while now and everyone I've given a chance to try it out inside flightsim have been blown away and words really can't describe the experience until you've had it, I've had flightsim since FS98 and with all the money I've spent on add-ons over the years, nothing has been more bang for your buck than 'FlyInside' but to finally be able to control fully from inside the 3D world of flightsim has taken a step backwards.

 

I may be in a small group here who this specific issue effect but any and all comments welcome.

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Ross Carlson
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The "local proxy" connection option was an undocomeented, incomplete, experimental feature. I removed it because people were using it in ways it was never meant to be used, such as connecting to ES, and then posting about why it didn't work quite right.

 

That feature will be returning when I release vPilot 2.0. You'll be able to specify any IP address for the host, rather than having to use localhost. That way you'll be able to run your virtual tower view on a different computer than the one you use for the ATC client.

 

I will also be updating vSTARS so that it provides a local proxy server that vPilot 2.0 will be able to connect to. The new vSTARS will also have the ability to open an ASDE-X style window, plus a flight strip bay. The idea is that it will be a complete solution for tower controllers. I will also be contacting the ES dev team and giving them the information they need to fully support the tower view connection in their existing local proxy server option. (Mainly, this is just enabling the use of ACCONFIG packets so that the lights/gear/flaps/engine states are p[Mod - Happy Thoughts]ed correctly through to the vPilot proxy connection ... should be a very simple fix for the ES team.)

 

So, that's why it was removed ... it was an incomplete, half-baked feature. It will be back when it is done right.

Developer: vPilot, VRC, vSTARS, vERAM, VAT-Spy

Senior Controller, Boston Virtual ARTCC

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Johnny Coughlan
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The "local proxy" connection option was an undocomeented, incomplete, experimental feature. I removed it because people were using it in ways it was never meant to be used, such as connecting to ES, and then posting about why it didn't work quite right.

 

That feature will be returning when I release vPilot 2.0. You'll be able to specify any IP address for the host, rather than having to use localhost. That way you'll be able to run your virtual tower view on a different computer than the one you use for the ATC client.

 

I will also be updating vSTARS so that it provides a local proxy server that vPilot 2.0 will be able to connect to. The new vSTARS will also have the ability to open an ASDE-X style window, plus a flight strip bay. The idea is that it will be a complete solution for tower controllers. I will also be contacting the ES dev team and giving them the information they need to fully support the tower view connection in their existing local proxy server option. (Mainly, this is just enabling the use of ACCONFIG packets so that the lights/gear/flaps/engine states are p[Mod - Happy Thoughts]ed correctly through to the vPilot proxy connection ... should be a very simple fix for the ES team.)

 

So, that's why it was removed ... it was an incomplete, half-baked feature. It will be back when it is done right.

 

Thank you Ross, I appreciate the response and clarity in it, I hope my second video shows how seemingless yours and others software and hard work can come seeming less together and create a truly remarkable experience.

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Ernesto Alvarez 818262
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pretty cool how you added VRC into the virtual tower.

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Andrew Morkunas
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Well in the mean time I have no tower view and CTP is coming up. Anyone have an old version of vPilot that still has the localproxy option?

Andrew Morkunas

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Twitch: padre_andrew ATC Simulations

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