AI how

[jyd]

I would like to know where I can access Tom's tutorial on converting flyable planes to ai. This is for fsx and p3d4.4 thanx Bob

[Tom/CalClassic]

I don’t have a tutorial on that subject. I do have some tips about it though. One way is to copy another AI plane’s flight dynamics.

1. First just try using the plane and see if it works as an AI as is. If so, done.
2. If not, make a copy of the plane’s folder and paste it back into the same folder. Rename it by adding AI in front of the usual folder name.
3. Rename the aircraft.cfg file in this new folder to aircraft_orig.cfg.
3. Find an AI plane that performs the way this plane should act. Copy the AIR file and aircraft.cfg file from that plane’s folder and paste into our new folder.
4. Copy the following sections from the aircraft_orig.cfg file and REPLACE the existing sections in the aircraft.cfg file:

All fltsim sections, but keep the Sim= lines from the aircraft.cfg file.
Contact points
Lights

5. Rename all title= lines by adding AI at the beginning.
6. Change the ui_manufacturer lines to something like AI Airliner.
7. Save the aircraft.cfg file.
8. Now use these new titles in your flight plans.

Hope this helps,

[jyd]

thanx Tom. hard to get back to this post, but I see the 'participate' button. That helped. Where can I go to get email notification that someone has replied?

Right now I am following your tutorial on converting fs9 to fsx planes. But of course the set condition box does not apply here.

I am trying to figure out how to get the props to spin after I am done. I am in hierarchy, I can get the props to light up red, individually, the blur, etc. but I don't know what to do to set the conditions. This is a toughy!   Bob (from FSDevel)

[Tom/CalClassic]

You can control notifications here:

Profile/Edit Profile/Notifications/Participated

The Set Conditions box most certainly applies to AI aircraft - the prop visibility is handled the same way as in flyable planes. Still, Slow, Blurred.

The hard part with AI aircraft is that the process has to be repeated with each LOD that has such parts.

If the props don’t spin when you drag the animation slider they are never going to. You have somehow lost their animation key frames. Yes, there is a way to re-animate them but it’s not easy. And the animation and visibility tags are given in the tutorial.

[jyd]

Thanx Tom. I am trying to make an fsx/p3d plane to be an AI. No set conditions box for these newer guys. btw- is there a was to have Cal Classics sent notificatin to email that I have replies? Bob

[Tom/CalClassic]

I think you need to click the Participate button for that thread you want notifications from, then follow the instructions I typed above to set the Participated Email column to something other than "never".

And any plane can be an AI aircraft - are you trying to add LOD models to it? I'm not sure that creating new aircraft LODs (complete with animations) is supported in ModelConverterX? Adding them starting with external MDL files is supported, but you would need to create those.

[jyd]

Reading through all that. Yes- I used one of my planes as is in a flight plan. Worked great. (does make it a bit heavy for frame rates but with today's computers it's no big deal unless you have tons of eye candy and tons of big planes guys make that do everything from stewardess services to in flight fights! bwa ahahaha. Friend of mine said if I used a regular plane in a traffic file, I coudn't then use that plane as a flyable at the same time. Through screen share I said...look at my ai planes... same as the one I am flying right now.

[Tom/CalClassic]

Yes, that is no problem.

[jyd]

right now I have temporarily using a C47 which is not an AI. Works fine but props do not spin. I found later that this plane starts off dead, and I have to do ctl+e to start th e engines. I tried doing that with the "AI" ... hahaha nospinny! I need to figure out how to get this C47 to start with engines running when I enter P3D. Love fiddling with things and thereby getting myself out on a limb! hahaha Bob