Aircraft Carriers in Golden Wings

[dhasdell]

:help:
I've been happily using carriers in FS2004 and Golden Hawaii, particularly enjoying the Boeing F4B and Saratoga, but I've been using ArrCab. As this looks for a valid FS9 running in order to work, it doesn't seem to recognise FSGW. Is there a way round this, or must I move to Rbcop?

 

[Mick]

Well now...

I have ArrCab installed in FS9 and it works in both FS9 and GW3.

I just have the one ArrCab installation, and all my carriers from both sims are listed in the same ArrCab.cfg file. I have a total of 98 cable catch zones, and the majority of them are for carriers in GW3.

Here's the thing. In both of my sims the FS9.exe file is named FS9.exe, and I don't know if ArrCab would work in GW3 if its exe file was named FSGW3.exe. I've never tried it that way.

I kept the same file name for my exe files so my splash screen randomizer and some other utilities that also need the exe file to be named FS9.exe would work in both sims. ArrCab might be one of them; I'm not sure.

Anyhow, first try this. Don't change any file names yet and don't attempt a second installation of ArrCab into your GW3. Just leave it in FS9 Start GW3, start ArrCab, and see if it works.

If not, you may have to rename your FWGW3.exe file to FS9.

If you do that there's an important trade-off that you'll have to deal with. If the exe file in both sims is names FS9.exe, then your two sims will share an FS9.cfg file. That's OK, but...

One effect of this is that you won't have the option of using different settings in each sim. If there are certain settings that you really want to be different, then you have to either re-set them when you change sims, or keep separate cfg files and substitute the appropriate one when you switch sims. Annoying but doable. Maybe you won't have to have different settings. I'm fine with common settings, so this isn't an issue for me. Maybe it won't be for you either.

The other effect that you must deal with (or one of your sims won't start!) is that your two sims will share a common default flight. That means you must have a common default aircraft in both sims and use it in the default flight. The stock Piper Cub is a good choice; it's right at home in any time period. Setting the Cub as the default plane also allows you to delete the Cessna 172 from GW3, where it doesn't fit in at all.

Well, if the simple way doesn't work, the more complicated way definitely will.

 

[dhasdell]

Thank you. I've tried running ArrCab and then running GW, but it doesn't respond to it.

I can see that having the FSGW3.exe renamed FS9.exe would work, and having a default flight of a Piper Cub is no problem, but won't this lead to confusion with saved flights, scenery etc? The ideal would be an ArrCab instal modded to look for FSGW. I wonder if that is possible.

 

[Mick]

Thank you. I've tried running ArrCab and then running GW, but it doesn't respond to it.

I can see that having the FSGW3.exe renamed FS9.exe would work, and having a default flight of a Piper Cub is no problem, but won't this lead to confusion with saved flights, scenery etc? The ideal would be an ArrCab instal modded to look for FSGW. I wonder if that is possible.

I might be wrong, but don't think it's possible to have ArrCab seek an exe file with any other name than FS9.exe.

If both exe files are named FS9 there's no confusion with saved flights, scenery or anything else. Everything about the two installations remains completely separate except for the FS9.cfg file and the folder it lives in.

Since there's a Scenery Cache folder inside that folder, I suppose it could get confusing if you don't have FS set to empty the cache after every session. I always had it set that way anyway, so I'm not sure if there'd be a problem doing it the other way. I never understood why anyone would not want to empty the cache after a session anyway...

If you rename FSGW3.exe to FS9.exe, don't forget to make a new shortcut to it so you can start GW3. Your present shortcut won't work anymore after the name change.

 

[dhasdell]

I've made a copy of the FSGW.exe, called it FS9.exe and put it in the main folder and it seems to work.

Thank you,