How To Fix Add-On Aircraft

[usapatriot]

I cannot get the virtual cockpits of any add-on aircraft to function correctly in Flight Simulator X. All I get when I switch to the virtual cockpit view is an opaque window and all I can see are my panel instruments and HUD.

Right now I'm really frustrated and at a loss, I've re-installed FSX multiple times following the guide posted at the top of this forum. I've updated drivers and changed my settings and nothing has fixed it.

I can't get any add-ons to work correctly in FSX and I've now invested over 3 days into trying to solve this problem and have made virtually no advances.

[BFMF]

A lot of old FS9 aircraft models have issues when loaded into FSX/SP2. It is possible to fix the windows on some of these older models by inverting the alpha channel

[usapatriot]

A lot of old FS9 aircraft models have issues when loaded into FSX/SP2. It is possible to fix the windows on some of these older models by inverting the alpha channel

For what texture do I invert the alpha channel to black for?

I've heard of many others successfully flying the KBT F/A-18F in FSX without any problems but I can't seem to do it along with many other add-on aircraft.

[Hagar]

Right now I'm really frustrated and at a loss, I've re-installed FSX multiple times following the guide posted at the top of this forum. I've updated drivers and changed my settings and nothing has fixed it.

Don't waste your time. Nothing wrong with your FSX. It's the aircraft. Not many addon aircraft are fully compatible with FSX + SP2.

[gtirob01]

Right now I'm really frustrated and at a loss, I've re-installed FSX multiple times following the guide posted at the top of this forum. I've updated drivers and changed my settings and nothing has fixed it.

Don't waste your time. Nothing wrong with your FSX. It's the aircraft. Not many addon aircraft are fully compatible with FSX + SP2.

Very true... but I do know he is having trouble with atleast 1 plane that I myself have, as well as many others have in FSX with no issues at all (KBT F-18E/F). Wish I could give an answer to why this is happening... but I cant.

[usapatriot]

Why would MS release an update that would break so many add-on aircraft at a time when there are very few add-ons made especially for FSX?

Any recommendations as to which other military add-on aircraft work properly in FSX?

[NitroPower]

Why would MS release an update that would break so many add-on aircraft at a time when there are very few add-ons made especially for FSX?

Any recommendations as to which other military add-on aircraft work properly in FSX?

Because microsoft BLOWS! :-? (ok, that was a little over kill.)

[Boikat]

Why would MS release an update that would break so many add-on aircraft at a time when there are very few add-ons made especially for FSX?

Be fair. M$ is not under obligation to account for independently designed add-on for a previous edition of FS. Or for independentloy designed add-ons for the current version, either for that matter.

Any recommendations as to which other military add-on aircraft work properly in FSX?

As the old saying goes, you pays your money, and you takes your chances.

[mjrhealth]

Does this only happen when it rains. There was an issue with SP2 they changed the VC rain textures which caused this issue. There are 2 fixes, a patch which corrects the textures or you can copy the VC rain textures from FS9 to your FSX folder. As for microsoft, they did the right thing, SP2 did two things, improved multicore usage and is a first attempt at removing legacy software so the SIm can go ahead. I doubt with FS11 will have any backward compatibilty its the only way to get rid of unnecessary ballast. You cant go forward if you keep looking back. And no i dont work for them and dislike them as much as anyone else.

[usapatriot]

It would all be alright if there were more add-on aircraft made for FSX as were for FS2004.

[Boikat]

It would all be alright if there were more add-on aircraft made for FSX as were for FS2004.

A lot of people agree with that.  But FS9 had a head start.  I learning how to do add-ons, and the "learning curve" is pretty steep.

[usapatriot]

It would all be alright if there were more add-on aircraft made for FSX as were for FS2004.

A lot of people agree with that.

[Hagar]

It would all be alright if there were more add-on aircraft made for FSX as were for FS2004.

A lot of people agree with that.  But FS9 had a head start.  I learning how to do add-ons, and the "learning curve" is pretty steep.

Yes, I realize that, but it's already been two years.

That's not quite correct. SP2 appears to be the cause of a lot of these problems. It wasn't released until December 2007. The updated SDK was released at about the same time.

I would have hoped that MS would have used an editor that would have been more familiar to use like previous versions.

The 3D modelling software is basically the same. The main problem is that there are so many different versions of FSX. What works on one system will not necessarily work on a different one. Vista adds yet another variable.

[Fr. Bill]

Yes, I realize that, but it's already been two years. I would have hoped that MS would have used an editor that would have been more familiar to use like previous versions.

You really have no idea just how much work goes into building a complete aircraft package...

There isn't "an editor" as such and there never has been. There is an ad-hoc collection of tools, utility programs, along with a set of sometimes pretty vague "instructions" that make the task rather difficult...

I spent my first three years simply learning 3d modeling and texturing. The last three years have been spent learning C++/GDI+ gauge programming, as well as four dialects of XML scripting!

Even as a professional, I've got some projects that've been under continuous development for (cough, cough) three years now...  :o