fun free flight

[ian-evans]

Hi all,

Im looking for a site that is for free flight and not really heavy with atc rules, i cant find one, i am new to all this and would like to be broken in slowly ..........lol.   i do hope u can help (i have downloaded fs host spy 1.1 but the i.p'S it gives never have many people flying) thank you.

Ian Evans

[JBaymore]

ian-evans,

Unfortunately...... the sites without a strong ATC situation do not have many people on most ANY time.  That is the nature of things.  I find that most flightservers I fly have maybe 20-25 people on flying in the whole WORLD.   When there are "session" (with ATC) these numbers go up SLIGHTLY..... but not typically more than double.

The major exception to that suituation is VATSIM which seems to have about 300 people flying and 70 controllers on at any given time I chack the website.  Problem is... it is as close to the real world as it gets..... so unless you are close to a real world pilot in skills....... it is not a "casual" flight experience.

Try Airflyers and Elite and TopGun....... they will typically show the most people at any given scan of FSHostSpy.  I tend to hang out at WSPilots too.  And I am just starting to fly a bit on ESkyWorld.

Also.... maybe join the small group of people here at SimV than are meeting currently for a 9-11 PM Eastern Saturday night round the USA Tour.  See the other threads on this.  Very informal... just make sure your ports are opened.

Good luck.


best,

.......................john

[Fozzer]

....just make sure your ports are opened......

Good luck.

best,

.......................john

highly recommended....
A quick visit to the toilet before settling down to a long flight... ... ...!

LOL...!

Cheers John...!

Paul.

[Jared]

Oh my paul! I don't think that's what Eno was refering to, but I'll keep that in mind too!  ;D

[ian-evans]

what u mean about all ports open and how do u do that??

and i will got to the loo..............lol... good advise.

Ian Evans

[Fozzer]

What you mean about all ports open and how do you do that??

and I will got to the loo..............lol... good advise.

Ian Evans

Hi Ian...!

Have a peek here, (at the top of this forum), and be prepared to be just as confused as most of us....
...well me...at least... ...!

http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb/ ... 1089583712

LOL... ...!

Paul.

[ian-evans]

well that was fun im ????? now........lol

Ian Evans

[ian-evans]

seem's to me that not many people do multiplayer......and why is that???

Ian

[JBaymore]

Ian,

I think that the main reason by FAR is that it is "less than optimal" with anything less than a full broadband connection.  Dial up is problematic at best.

The second is that the basic "interface" in fs2004 has some "design issues" and the setting up ports correctly part dis-suades many of the "less technically inclined".

Third is that the "realistic" flight sim sites like VATSIM are SO realistic... that unless you have the time to devote to basically becoming a REAL pilot...... you aren't welcome there.

In the sim... the ATC certainly has it's problems  ;), but there IS ATC and there IS traffic.  Online, on the non ATC sites... there tends to be little traffic.  And on the ATC sites...... sometimes the "real" aspect is daunting to a newbie.  You can screw up and the in sim ATC doesn't get too upset and you don't get embarrased.  Online ... you are screwing up in front of real people....... very different  ;D.

best,

..................john

[JBaymore]

IAn,

As to your confusion........

Question number one:

Are you on dial up or broadband?


Question number 2:

If you are on boradband, are you using a cable modem, dsl modem, or router to access the internet?


Question number 3:

Are you running Windows XP or some other version?



Starting with those.... we can help you get set up correctly.


best,

.....................john

[ian-evans]

Hi,

im on broadband, DSL and running win XP i hope thats ok

Ian

[ian-evans]

and yes i do worry about messing up on an ATC multiplayer session..........lol

[Fozzer]

There certainly seems to be something different between FS2004/Windows XP and FS 2002/Windows '98SE...

In the times I played on line with some of the lads here, with the latter option, there were little or no problems, even with 56k dial-up modems...

Not so easy or simple using the first option....I don't know why... ...?
FS 2004...?
Windows XP...?
..or a combination of both...?

Paul.... ...!

A good sense of humour to go with the technicalities, is also very useful... ... ...!
LOL...!

[ian-evans]

well i do have a good sense of humour and it goes a long way and keeps a smile on my face when all else fails....lol

[JBaymore]

Ok Ian.....

So... first you need to let fs2004 communicate "through" the XP firewall you likely have running .....particularly if you installed XP SPII.  Go into "Start", "Control Panel", "Windows Firewall" and click on that folder.

Then select the "Exceptions" tab at the top of the pop up screen.  Then hit "Add Program".  A list of installed programs comes up.  Select "fs2004" from the list.  Apply and exit that setup screen.

OR..... you can select "Add Port" and itemize the individual ports by their numbers.  As to the "names" just give them something you can remember..... they are not "magic names"  of any kind  ;).  TO get the numbers and protocols needed .... see the stickies at the top of the forum.

You are half way there.


Then............

You need to look at the BRAND of your DSL modem.  It has some ports blocking stuff too.  

What is it?

You will need to open the appropriate ports in the dsl modem to match the stuff you opened above.  That does not have an option like "add program"...... you'll have to specify the port numbers and protocols.   This will be done out of some sort of "setup" function for your dsl modem soft/firm ware.  Each brand is different in how they handle this stuff.

Can you find instructions about it either in the docs that your service provider gave you ...... or on the net.......  or in the sticky threads at the top of this forum?

If not, you likely will have to contact your service provider tech support.  Tell them you are setting up FS2004 for online play and you need to open ports.  They will be able to guide you in how to do it.....but probably NOT the exact port numbers and protocols.  You'll have to handle that part yourself.

Open the same numberd ports that you did /would have done on the XP firewall.

Now fire up FS2004 and got to the Multiplayer section.  Make sure and verify your settings are set to the ports that you want to use to connect.  Most FSHost flightservers use 23456 both ways... but some will require that you change this.  (Example.... WSPilots has three freeflight servers... one uses 23456, one 23457, and the last 23458.  If you fly there and want to use all three... you'll have to open ALL those ports.)  Some more specialized flight servers have other ports that you will have to open in the XP firewall and the dsl modem firewall.  See the respective websites for that info.  

Also open ports for other programs that you use.  For example, Teamspeak and FSNavigatior need additional ports opened.


That's it.  Hope this helps.

best,

..................john