MV22B Rel1.0 released

[rcbarend]

No Rob, I can't select anything, because Shift-J doesn't produce a menu. As I just wrote to Pat, everything seems to be as it should be, so I'm baffled!

Mark

Mark,
I ment the FSX menu line, NOT a AiCarriers menu ...
So:
Does your FSX menu line (Flight -- Aircraft -- World -- etc ) has an entry "Add-ons" ?
And if you click that, does a if give a dropdown list with "AI Ships" in it ?

Because if not, it means that AiCarriers may be loaded but can't find FSX.
Hence Shift-J won't work either.

Other check to do:

In the Windows Configuration, InstalledPrograms, check that:
FSX shows up as an installed program. If not, it explains why AiCarriers cannot find FSX because FSX is not installed properly (and registered in the WIndows Registry).
Which maybe a result of restoring the Cdrive.


Rob.

 

[PhantomTweak]

Beat me to it, Rob.
I gotta get up earlier
Pat☺

EDIT: Sorry, I forgot to mention: It looks to me as though the pallet load file you have in your conf.d folder is correct. I would leave that as is. Just so you know, for once we get AICarriers talking to FSX properly, if you have more than one .cfg file in your conf.d folder, the menu, again, once we get that going correctly, can get very long and hard to search through to find your desired formation or pallet load. Best to keep only one or two at most in the conf.d folder. I made a sub-folder for conf.d and put all the .cfg files I've gathered over the years there. I can then swap them in and out of the conf.d folder easily for what I feel like doing that particular episode of flight. Without making a 20 page SHFT+J menu.

I seem to remember that Shift-J worked just fine whether or not the A/C was airborne or not.

Yes, that is correct, although a hint, if I may: If your working with pallet loads, it's better to place them either with the plane airborne, or out ahead of the plane a mile or 5. If you're on the ground and place them at the plane's location, you're likely to get a crash. You want to separate the plane from the AICarriers placed items by a ways. Either vertically or horizontally to prevent this from happening.

Again, all this is dependant on getting AIC and FSX to talk to each other. By the way, you DO have the proper FSUIPC running, yes? You can check that in the FSX ADD-ONS menu. If not, I suggest trying a re-install of FSUIPC. Bear in mind that it want to reside in the FSX\Modules folder, and if you just installed FSX you will need to make the folder yourself. It's not normally included by default. AICarriers needs FSUIPC to talk to FSX.

Good luck!
Pat☺

 

[freded]

Mark,
I ment the FSX menu line, NOT a AiCarriers menu ...
So:
Does your FSX menu line (Flight -- Aircraft -- World -- etc ) has an entry "Add-ons" ?
And if you click that, does a if give a dropdown list with "AI Ships" in it ?

Because if not, it means that AiCarriers may be loaded but can't find FSX.
Hence Shift-J won't work either.

Other check to do:

In the Windows Configuration, InstalledPrograms, check that:
FSX shows up as an installed program. If not, it explains why AiCarriers cannot find FSX because FSX is not installed properly (and registered in the Windows Registry).
Which maybe a result of restoring the Cdrive.


Rob.

Rob,

Yes, the FSX menu line has Add-ons but no entry 'AI Ships', only 9 entries, including several from VRS, including 'VRS AI' from which clicking produces a list: Carrier, Drone, SAM and Tanker. (This was inserted by the VRS FA-18E.)

FSX shows up in Programs and Features and in Start/Programs/Games, So I assume it is properly installed. I also ran REGEDIT.EXE and searched for FSX. It found several instances of it.

So why is AICarriers not finding itt?

Mark

 

[freded]

Beat me to it, Rob.
I gotta get up earlier
Pat☺

EDIT: Sorry, I forgot to mention: It looks to me as though the pallet load file you have in your conf.d folder is correct. I would leave that as is. Just so you know, for once we get AICarriers talking to FSX properly, if you have more than one .cfg file in your conf.d folder, the menu, again, once we get that going correctly, can get very long and hard to search through to find your desired formation or pallet load. Best to keep only one or two at most in the conf.d folder. I made a sub-folder for conf.d and put all the .cfg files I've gathered over the years there. I can then swap them in and out of the conf.d folder easily for what I feel like doing that particular episode of flight. Without making a 20 page SHFT+J menu.

Yes, that is correct, although a hint, if I may: If your working with pallet loads, it's better to place them either with the plane airborne, or out ahead of the plane a mile or 5. If you're on the ground and place them at the plane's location, you're likely to get a crash. You want to separate the plane from the AICarriers placed items by a ways. Either vertically or horizontally to prevent this from happening.

Again, all this is dependant on getting AIC and FSX to talk to each other. By the way, you DO have the proper FSUIPC running, yes? You can check that in the FSX ADD-ONS menu. If not, I suggest trying a re-install of FSUIPC. Bear in mind that it want to reside in the FSX\Modules folder, and if you just installed FSX you will need to make the folder yourself. It's not normally included by default. AICarriers needs FSUIPC to talk to FSX.

Good luck!
Pat☺

HI Pat,

There's only the one .CFG file in conf.d. (I remember you mentioning that you made subfolders when necessary.)

Yes I checked that I have FSUIPC v 4.967 running. It is already in the Modules folder and shows up in FSX Add-ons.

So why not working? I've run out of ideas!

Mark

 

[PhantomTweak]

Don't give up, we're not done yet

I am thinking, do you have AICarriers installed someplace other than the root FSX folder? I know it's not normally a requirement, but I wonder if installing it in the main FSX folder will maybe help. You will have to change your EXE.XML file to reflect the change in AICarriers location, once you get it installed, and make sure that there's only the one entry to the EXE.XML.
Install it normally, from the download, as though you just downloaded it for the first time, but this time install AICarriers under the root FSX folder. Then get in and edit your FSX EXE.XML to show the new install under the main FSX folder. You should be able to leave the rest of the EXE.XML file entry for AICarriers as-is. Just be certain to get the pathing right.
I use a copy-n-paste to be certain I get the pathing right. Go up to the top of the Explorer page, and copy the folder's path from there into the EXE.XML file. You'll have to add in the "AICarriers.exe" to the path manually after you paste it in, but that's a minor detail.
IF, the next time you start FSX, AICarriers shows up in the ADD-ONs menu, problem solved. You can then copy the Pallet Loads .cfg file from where you have it now to the new install's conf.d folder. Any sub-folders along with it, too. Remember that if you copy the pallet loads .cfg file to the new install while AICarriers is running, you'll have to shut it down and restart it to see them. Make certain you start the correct AICarriers from the right location. I make a shortcut and use that to start AIC if I need to. Make sure the shortcut starts the executable as Admin.

No garuntee this will work, but it's worth a shot.
Let us know what happens!
Pat☺

 

[freded]

Don't give up, we're not done yet

I am thinking, do you have AICarriers installed someplace other than the root FSX folder? I know it's not normally a requirement, but I wonder if installing it in the main FSX folder will maybe help. You will have to change your EXE.XML file to reflect the change in AICarriers location, once you get it installed, and make sure that there's only the one entry to the EXE.XML.
Install it normally, from the download, as though you just downloaded it for the first time, but this time install AICarriers under the root FSX folder. Then get in and edit your FSX EXE.XML to show the new install under the main FSX folder. You should be able to leave the rest of the EXE.XML file entry for AICarriers as-is. Just be certain to get the pathing right.
I use a copy-n-paste to be certain I get the pathing right. Go up to the top of the Explorer page, and copy the folder's path from there into the EXE.XML file. You'll have to add in the "AICarriers.exe" to the path manually after you paste it in, but that's a minor detail.
IF, the next time you start FSX, AICarriers shows up in the ADD-ONs menu, problem solved. You can then copy the Pallet Loads .cfg file from where you have it now to the new install's conf.d folder. Any sub-folders along with it, too. Remember that if you copy the pallet loads .cfg file to the new install while AICarriers is running, you'll have to shut it down and restart it to see them. Make certain you start the correct AICarriers from the right location. I make a shortcut and use that to start AIC if I need to. Make sure the shortcut starts the executable as Admin.

No garuntee this will work, but it's worth a shot.
Let us know what happens!
Pat☺

Pat,

AICarriers is in - C:\Flying\Flight Simulator X\AICarriers.
Conf.d is a sub-folder of AIC and contains the slingloads,etc,.cfg file I showed you.
I know the path for AIC in exe.xml is correct as it always worked before and I checked that it hasn't altered.

However, I'm going to reinstall AIC, in case something has got corrupted.

Did that, and even closed and restarted FSX and built a brand new flight for the MV-22, but still no AICarriers in the Add-Ons menu.

Will now try rebooting the PC, and get back to you.

Mark

 

[freded]

Pat,

Hooray! (Or should I shout, "Ooh-Rah!"?)
Rebooted the PC with a new Flight in FSX and, Behold!, there's 'AIShips in the FSX menu strip! And hitting Shift-J produces the menu of available ships and loadable objects.

What was wrong with it before the reboot, we shall never know - but I should have tried it before. Thought of a reboot, but - Naah! - Why should that make any difference?

Anyway many thanks to you and to Rob for your suggestions that kept me sane!

Mark

 

[rcbarend]

I also ran REGEDIT.EXE and searched for FSX. It found several instances of it.
Mark

This, and all of your previous findings, makes me think your Windows Registry is messed up. Most probably related to you restoring your C-drive.
Causing AiCarriers (or any other addon that uses the Windows Registry to locate the path to FSX) not being able to locate (and connect to) FSX.

Which has nothing to do with AiCarriers itself, the way you installed it, your exe.dll or your .cfg file in \config.d\ , etc.

What I suggest:
Do a Google search for the Registry repair tool created by Flight1 ("Flight1 Registry Repair"), run this tool, and try again.

Rob

* EDIT *
The Windows Reboot probably did the same.

 

[freded]

Just to prove it works now.

Mark

 

[PhantomTweak]

AWESOME, Mark!!
Glad you got it going. It may have been that the .NET Redist needed the reboot, or something. I'm not sure, but I am glad it's working right now.

Now, pick that load up from about 40' and cart it out to a carrier, and set it GENTLY on the deck
You can have carriers moving about without using AICarriers. I use a file I found called carriertracks1and2.zip. I THINK it was in FlightSim, but you can Google it and see. It puts a number of carrier formations sailing around Hawaii. Install that, figure out what's where when, and fly out and set a load down. Works great. You can even change what ships it uses, I think. If not, there are still several different formations you can find, and when you get there, you can try setting a load down on one of the escorts. Real challenge! Remember, the formations can turn unexpectedly, which makes placing a load on a destroyer a real challenge. Be ready for unexpected maneuvers, or you can drop the load in the water and thus loose it!
And bear in mind, we call them "sling" loads, but they're actually hoist loads. The sling is fixed. No lowering or raising. You have to hover at just the right altitude, like 10'-20'AGL, hook up, and carry it away. Then reverse the process to set it gently down.
You accelerate too fast, you fly at too high an airspeed, lots of possibilities, boom, load lost. You have to shut down and restart AICarriers to be able to try it again if you loose a load.

Good luck! Have fun. Enjoy the frustration of the learning curve. I know the first time I got a load out to a moving boat I was SO happy!
A really great feeling.
Pat☺

 

[freded]

AWESOME, Mark!!
Glad you got it going. It may have been that the .NET Redist needed the reboot, or something. I'm not sure, but I am glad it's working right now.

Now, pick that load up from about 40' and cart it out to a carrier, and set it GENTLY on the deck
You can have carriers moving about without using AICarriers. I use a file I found called carriertracks1and2.zip. I THINK it was in FlightSim, but you can Google it and see. It puts a number of carrier formations sailing around Hawaii. Install that, figure out what's where when, and fly out and set a load down. Works great. You can even change what ships it uses, I think. If not, there are still several different formations you can find, and when you get there, you can try setting a load down on one of the escorts. Real challenge! Remember, the formations can turn unexpectedly, which makes placing a load on a destroyer a real challenge. Be ready for unexpected maneuvers, or you can drop the load in the water and thus loose it!
And bear in mind, we call them "sling" loads, but they're actually hoist loads. The sling is fixed. No lowering or raising. You have to hover at just the right altitude, like 10'-20'AGL, hook up, and carry it away. Then reverse the process to set it gently down.
You accelerate too fast, you fly at too high an airspeed, lots of possibilities, boom, load lost. You have to shut down and restart AICarriers to be able to try it again if you loose a load.

Good luck! Have fun. Enjoy the frustration of the learning curve. I know the first time I got a load out to a moving boat I was SO happy!
A really great feeling.
Pat☺

Pat,

Yes, it's thanks to you and Rob that I persevered.

I'll next try and pick up the load and first carry it somewhere else before I start on the ships. Actually before the "Crash of '17", I had managed to drop a couple of loads on a stationary carrier but didn't have much joy in attaching to them again. Next time!

I'll look for carriertracks1and2.zip and go to Hawaii for some sun.

If I remember correctly, you are in California, so I hope you haven't been hit by those terrible forest fires we see on TV...

Take care and have fun,

Mark

 

[PhantomTweak]

Nope. Not an more. I was born and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Got stationed in Yuma, and lived there for nearly 30 long, miserable years. I hate that place. Now I live in South-Eastern Oregon. Klamath Falls area. Little town named Chiloquin. Longest continually inhabited settlement in North America. Almost 11,000 years. Couldn't tell it by looking at it though. Little, 1 street type town. No traffic lights, just a few stop signs. We even have an airport! Fed-Ex uses it as a divert for KLMT, if they need it. Lots of USFS helicopters and tankers use it when there are fires in the area too. They can refill water at Agency Lake, or Klamath Lake, make their drops and go back to do it again, and land a Chiloquin for fuel or maintenance. Assuming they've brought in a fuel truck

KLMT is the only F-15 training base in the US. Lots of flights all over the place.

We're just 30 miles from Crater Lake, a dormant caldera, but one deep lake. When it erupts again there will be one heck of a cloud of steam!

Beautiful area. It's not the deep redwoods I grew up loving, but it's the closest I can afford. 10 years ago, last I checked, a bare, 1/4 acre lot, no services, no road, jut a dirt plot, in Woodside where I grew up, was 1 MILLION dollars. I just can't afford the Bay Area, so, here I am

Good luck, and keep practicing! You'll get better and better
Pat☺

 

[freded]

Nope. Not an more. I was born and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Got stationed in Yuma, and lived there for nearly 30 long, miserable years. I hate that place. Now I live in South-Eastern Oregon. Klamath Falls area. Little town named Chiloquin. Longest continually inhabited settlement in North America. Almost 11,000 years. Couldn't tell it by looking at it though. Little, 1 street type town. No traffic lights, just a few stop signs. We even have an airport! Fed-Ex uses it as a divert for KLMT, if they need it. Lots of USFS helicopters and tankers use it when there are fires in the area too. They can refill water at Agency Lake, or Klamath Lake, make their drops and go back to do it again, and land a Chiloquin for fuel or maintenance. Assuming they've brought in a fuel truck

KLMT is the only F-15 training base in the US. Lots of flights all over the place.

We're just 30 miles from Crater Lake, a dormant caldera, but one deep lake. When it erupts again there will be one heck of a cloud of steam!

Beautiful area. It's not the deep redwoods I grew up loving, but it's the closest I can afford. 10 years ago, last I checked, a bare, 1/4 acre lot, no services, no road, jut a dirt plot, in Woodside where I grew up, was 1 MILLION dollars. I just can't afford the Bay Area, so, here I am

Good luck, and keep practicing! You'll get better and better
Pat☺

Pat,
Glad you're not in CA! Oregon is a much healthier place, especially away from Portland We live on Vancouver Island, way out in the boonies in a little village called Nanoose Bay. It's about 15 Miles up the highway, North of Nanaimo on the East coast. A few more people than Chiloquin, but not many! Lots of Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedars. Not Redwoods, but close. No traffic lights, either!

Do you have family with you, or are they like ours, all flown the nest?

I've found Chiloquin 2S7 in FSX and am doing some pickups with the Osprey. Got the generator slung and took off with it but the damned cable broke in spite of being very careful! Oh well: 'Try, Try, Try Again', as the poet said.

Time for supper...

Regards,

Mark

 

[PhantomTweak]

Do you have family with you, or are they like ours, all flown the nest?

All flown now. I had 5 children by my ex, and 2 by "other" women. All fully grown. My oldest girl was Navy for 20 years, my middle was a fellow Marine, like daddy. I even gave her my K-Bar when she went to Iraq. She got some senior Marines very interested when they saw it. They carried theirs still, but wondered where a girl like her got one, and one so worn and obviously well used.
My youngest daughter got married and now lives in Roseville (I think it is) Oregon.
My two boys, well they spent their teen years living with their mother in Laramie, Wyoming, their choice, and are now both in and out of jail. Says something about their mother.
My son by another woman grew up to be a fine young man, though, and still lives in Yuma. My daughter by yet another woman, I have no idea. we split up and I never saw her again.

Got the generator slung and took off with it but the damned cable broke in spite of being very careful!

Try keeping the cable out about 20-25 feet to carry things. MAYBE 15'. Accelerate VERY gently, decelerate the same way. Take very very wide corners, about 10° bank, no more. Make sure you get above the trees. Well above the trees. Sometimes the crash box, I believe it's called, of some scenery is a LOT bigger than you might think. Can't see anything there, but the load is "torn off".
Carry it over to KLMT and deliver it to the Air Force hangar It's a challenge, no question!

Have fun. Fantastic plane to fly. Very very enjoyable.
Pat☺

 

[freded]

["All flown now. I had 5 children by my ex, and 2 by "other" women. All fully grown. My oldest girl was Navy for 20 years, my middle was a fellow Marine, like daddy. I even gave her my K-Bar when she went to Iraq. She got some senior Marines very interested when they saw it. They carried theirs still, but wondered where a girl like her got one, and one so worn and obviously well used.
My youngest daughter got married and now lives in Roseville (I think it is) Oregon.
My two boys, well they spent their teen years living with their mother in Laramie, Wyoming, their choice, and are now both in and out of jail. Says something about their mother.
My son by another woman grew up to be a fine young man, though, and still lives in Yuma. My daughter by yet another woman, I have no idea. we split up and I never saw her again."]

["Try keeping the cable out about 20-25 feet to carry things. MAYBE 15'. Accelerate VERY gently, decelerate the same way. Take very very wide corners, about 10° bank, no more. Make sure you get above the trees. Well above the trees. Sometimes the crash box, I believe it's called, of some scenery is a LOT bigger than you might think. Can't see anything there, but the load is "torn off".
Carry it over to KLMT and deliver it to the Air Force hangar It's a challenge, no question!"]

["Have fun. Fantastic plane to fly. Very very enjoyable."]
["Pat☺ "]

Pat,

(Sorry about the quotes - 'Reply with Quotes' isn't working, so copy & paste it is...!)

Sounds like your problems with wives parallels mine! Two children (one died at birth) by Wife #1; two by Wife #2 (one died aged 20); and two by present wife, both alive and well, thank goodness. So I have three daughters and one son. All daughters live in Ontario but two are coming here for Xmas, one with two kids. Son lives locally but has broken contact with us.
So I have 4 surviving children, 7 grand-kids and - 3 great-grand-kids! Our family breeds well.

Paddy and I have lived in this house since 1973. Both of us emigrated to Canada in 1967 from England, though Paddy is Irish (surprise!).

You're a Marine, so have you watched NCIS? They treat the Marine Corps very sympathetically. It's our favourite TV program.

Now got the Osprey aloft with a load and on it's way to KLMT. So far so good! Here's a pic:-

Yes, fantastic plane. Maryadi's doing a wonderful job. Can't wait for v.2. I haven't flown any others since I found this one.

Regards,

Mark

 

[PhantomTweak]

You're a Marine, so have you watched NCIS? They treat the Marine Corps very sympathetically. It's our favourite TV program.

On Dish network, NCIS is on 2 or 3 times a week. All day long. Guess what the lovely Wendy and I have tuned in whenever we can
When I was in, it was just NIS, as you see when Gibbs first joined. He still has a sweatshirt or t-shirt with NIS on them.
Funny story: One day, a Friday, when I got stuck doing range maintenance on the Pistol range (I was a Rifle/Pistol coach for over a year), I saw a couple of guys in cheap black suits with thin black ties and Corframs pull up, no ID or anything, and ask if they could use the range to practice. I turned and yelled to my boss "Hey Top!! NIS is here!". They just glared at me, but hey, THEY were the ones that were so incredibly obvious
It was almost like they were a parody of what NIS should look like, but it's what they always wore...
Puts the show in a new light.

That flight looks like it's going great so far! I hope you can set it down right where it needs to go. Good luck!

Have fun!
Pat☺

 

[MrZippy]

I saw a couple of guys in cheap black suits with thin black ties and Corframs pull up, no ID or anything, and ask if they could use the range to practice. I turned and yelled to my boss "Hey Top!! NIS is here!". They just glared at me, but hey, THEY were the ones that were so incredibly obvious
It was almost like they were a parody of what NIS should look like, but it's what they always wore...
Puts the show in a new light.


Have fun!
Pat☺

You sure about those guys?? More likely MIB. Loved those Corframs....never had to polish them and passed every inspection!

 

[PhantomTweak]

I did discover, accidentally mind you, two tricks with Corframs: First, the best way to keep them looking top-notch is to use Pledge. Lemon Pledge to be specific. Little bit on a soft cloth and wipe. Boom, they look better than new, almost. Works for most plexiglass (perspex for our British friends) as well. Cleans, decreases tiny little scratches, all of that. Works for aircraft canopies, if you'e lacking a supply of Whale C*&^ to polish them with.
Second, never, ever, under any condition, spill gasoline on them. It makes the layers they're made of separate. Totally ruins them. I was real glad I was on the way home when I did it. A quick run to the PX was suddenly in order.
I always kept two pair, one for everyday wear, one for inspections. Most of us jarheads had that set up for most all our uniform items. 2 of just about everything. Boots, shoes, cammies, socks, OD trousers, the works. A little expensive, but well worth it when inspection time came about. Break out the hardly ever worn, brand new items, pass inspection every time. Kept the inspection items in zip-lock bags. Keeps the bugs out
Also darn handy come IG JOB time.

I have got to stop babbling like a small brook...
Pat☺

 

[MrZippy]

I have got to stop babbling like a small brook...
Pat☺

I noticed that! Does it get better or worse the more beers you have?

Charlie

 

[freded]

On Dish network, NCIS is on 2 or 3 times a week. All day long. Guess what the lovely Wendy and I have tuned in whenever we can
When I was in, it was just NIS, as you see when Gibbs first joined. He still has a sweatshirt or t-shirt with NIS on them.
Funny story: One day, a Friday, when I got stuck doing range maintenance on the Pistol range (I was a Rifle/Pistol coach for over a year), I saw a couple of guys in cheap black suits with thin black ties and Corframs pull up, no ID or anything, and ask if they could use the range to practice. I turned and yelled to my boss "Hey Top!! NIS is here!". They just glared at me, but hey, THEY were the ones that were so incredibly obvious
It was almost like they were a parody of what NIS should look like, but it's what they always wore...
Puts the show in a new light.

That flight looks like it's going great so far! I hope you can set it down right where it needs to go. Good luck!

Have fun!
Pat☺

Pat, Well, you've now given the official seal of approval to NCIS. So we can watch it without feeling guilty. What a relief! Which is just as well, as we have DVDs of Seasons 1 through 13... I think we're just finishing our fourth, or is it fifth, run through them all. Addicts? Nah!

I've got my target airfield in view now, so where am I meant to drop the load?

Having fun!

Mark