SimSync and TrafficSync Beta Release

[zillmer]

Doug,

Not sure if you're confusing people here, but I'm the developer of SimSync/TrafficSync so I'll reply to your last post, Fred is someone who has been testing it since I released it.

In terms of the visuals lining up, SimSync doesn't do anything to 'adjust' the camera view that is being used by each IG. It sounds as if you have been using some functionality in WideView that creates/adjusts cameras on the clients so that the images are aligned. Is that correct?

There are other approaches to addressing the camera alignment issue; there are payware solutions that make it relatively more user friendly (such as FlyElise), but I think it is also possible to sort this using the ViewGroups in Prepar3d. With these (and they can be edited and previewed on the fly), you can create a custom view for each IG and align them as you choose, including addressing the bezel issue.

In simple terms if you imagine the complete view outside the cockpit as being a sphere centred on the pilot, ViewGroups allow you to define what specific subsection of that sphere you want to P3D to render for each IG independently. You can adjust the size of the view, the X, Y and Z coordinates and the Pitch, Bank and Heading of the view. It might take some trial and error to get things going, but it should be possible to do it just using the ViewGroups functionality in P3D.

In terms of the crashes with TrafficSync, if you would like to persevere, could you edit the TrafficSyncClient.ini file and set the Log option to Log=Normal, and then try again. This should create some log files in the %programdata%/SimSync directory. If so could you give that a go and post them here that would give me a start in figuring out what the issue might be.

Could you also confirm what Port settings you are using for TrafficSync, and the Prepar3d version you are using both for the Server and the IG's.

Regards

Simon.

[09RKC]

>>...you have been using some functionality in WideView that creates/adjusts cameras on the clients so that the images are aligned. Is that correct?<<
Yes sir, correct.

>>...ViewGroups in Prepar3d...<<
I've not heard of this, will look at it.

>>Could you also confirm what Port settings you are using for TrafficSync, and the Prepar3d version you are using both for the Server and the IG's.<<
I'm using 23332 for all (6) cmptrs both Sim & Traffic. P3Dv4.5 on all. If I need to set a Port in P3D I wouldn't know how.

Before tackling the Traffic issue I'll look further into ViewGroups and see if there's alignment hope. I wish I had the room for projectors.

Major tkx Simon!

Doug

[zillmer]

Doug,

You need to use a different Port for TrafficSync. Could you set the Port for TrafficSync to 2 higher than the one you are using for SimSync, and see if that stops the crashes.


Regards

Simon.

[09RKC]

Hi Simon,

Yep, that did it I set Xfic to 23334. Both SimSync & Traffic Sync auto-starts with no issues.

With high hopes I'll look at " ViewGroups" tomorrow. Is this a feature within P3D? Unfamiliar with this one.

Doug

[zillmer]

Doug,

It's a feature built into P3D. I found this video that explains quite a lot of the info that I think would help you. It takes a little while to get going but he does cover the detail that I think you need.

In this case he has all his displays connected to a single PC so sets up multiple views on one PC. With multiple IG's, the principle is the same, you just set up a ViewGroup on each PC with a single View in the Viewgroup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUCJEPHeB3k

Regards

Simon.

[FredK]

With high hopes I'll look at " ViewGroups" tomorrow. Is this a feature within P3D? Unfamiliar with this one.

Doug

Doug....If you are still having problems setting up "ViewGroups" there is one more consideration you might try...

You can try using just TrafficSync with WideView.  That is, launch WideView as you normally would and then launch TrafficSync.  Do not launch WideTraffic (and be sure that the associated WT app is not launched).  TrafficSync will then position your AI traffic accordingly and you will gain the benefit of a much smoother AI experience.  This should work independent of whether or not you are using ViewGroups.

Fred K

[Neil Hewitt]

Hi. Resurrecting this thread to ask what the current situation is with SimSync and TrafficSync?

I've tried out both and am impressed by how much smoother they are then Wideview / Widetraffic, but this thread went dead and I've seen no more mention of these tools here or anywhere else since, that I could find. Simon / Zillmer doesn't seem to have posted for a while either.

Does anyone know what the plan is for these?

[FredK]

Hi Neil

Yeah....Simon has seemed to have disappeared. The last contact I had with him was about 6 months ago.  He had indicated he was testing SymSync with P3Dv5 but was frustrated with the stability of P3Dv5 for other reasons.  At that point he had not looked at MSFS2020 since it had not yet been released.

I am still using P3Dv4.5 with SymSync and am happy as a clam with overall performance.  I have a lot invested with add-ons for P3Dv4.5 so am not very motivated to even look at 5, let alone MSFS2020 given all the issues there. I am getting too old to go back to the dark days of CTDs along with incessant tweaking to avoid such.  I just want to takeoff with assurance I will land at the other end.

I still do believe that SymSync with ViewGroups is the best option for multi-channel out there....better than WideView, Opus, or P3D Pro.

Hopefully Simon is OK and will reemerge.

Further.....As of early November there is an issue with Navigraph SimLink that causes unflyable macro stutters due to the SimLink module crashing. This has been reported by many and Navigraph is working on a fix.  It seems to be related to a memory leak.  The reason that I mention it here is that it can also cause timing inconsistencies between SymSync client views prior to when SimLink actually crashes. If you start seeing that during a flight simply close and restart Navigraph SimLink when it starts happening.  Navigraph did a TeamViewer session on my system and changed some things that has significantly addressed (but not fully eliminated) the problem.  A permanent fix is in the works I was told.

Fred K

[Neil Hewitt]

Thanks, Fred. I have to say from my initial testing SimSync works fine with P3Dv5.1 HF1, so I will continue to fly with it for a while and see how it goes. Hopefully Simon is OK, as you say, and will re-surface. He's done a great job and it would be a real shame for it to not be completed.

I am steering clear of MSFS until it has feature parity with P3D in terms of display functionality - that is, multiple asymmetric view frustums that can be individually defined. Let alone any of the other missing / broken features. I think it'll be a good couple of years before that happens, if ever.

I know there's a lot of enthusiasm out there about MSFS and yes, the graphics are amazing (though getting less amazing), but from my POV as a cockpit builder, all MSFS is doing is splitting the market and pushing 3PDs to slow down / abandon P3D, and I see MSFS as a regression in many ways back to the days before we had pro-level sims that could be used to build cockpits. It's very clearly designed for the desktop gamer with a monitor and a couple of controllers and that seems to be the only audience they have considered so far. I think our market segment is becoming increasingly poorly served and forgotten about.