Just what the title says, really. I’m trying to figure out this online multiplayer MSFS stuff, and was wondering if any simmers here would be interested in helping me out. I decided to ask at the Dope because a) No lunatic trolls whose only intention is to cause crashes and mayhem; and b) Dopers are kind folks who won’t bitch at me too much if I do something wrong.
I could host, I expect, if I have a quick word with my roomate/network admin in order to get the router set up right.
Here’s the one permitted bump.
Boo hoo, I have no friends!
Is Microsoft Flight Simulator the only flight sim you have? I tried doing some online stuff with my friends using FSX and wasn’t too thrilled. Of course we were flying some close formation and the collision detection is not done very well in FSX.
Most of my online time was with IL-2 Sturmovik/Pacific Fighters, but that is not an entry-level sim. Plus the last patched gooned up the online lobby and we never could get it working again.
The only one I know of is Aceshigh.com. I tried this briefly a couple of years ago with mixed results. You appear on an airfield, but there are people already in the game circling the field to shoot you up before you can get off the ground. I finally did find some way to appear in the air already flying, IIRC.
But there were lots of things I didn’t last long enough to figure out, like communicating with the others on line by means other than shooting them. Or assembling a bomber crew, or a squadron, to try out a bombing mission.
To be fair to it though, I was more interested in getting into one on one dogfights, and it was pretty decent for that. There was a decent frame refresh rate so the flying seemed reasonably smooth, and the simulator seemed reasonably accurate.
Yes, I use MSFS (FS2004 - my PC is nice, but not nice enough to run FSX)… I’m trying to get the hang of ATC. Collision detection does indeed suck, but that’s in large part because most online players disable it. If you leave it active, the trolls will buzz you out of the game. That’s why I asked about an online game on SD - I figured that the signal-to-asshole ratio would be good. But in general yeah, you need to disable crash detection or else some idiot will deliberately crash into you and knock you out of the game.
I guess I’m not so interested in fighting. I take great satisfaction in flying my civil aircraft from A to B and landing successfully . My friends find this boring, but they are wrong.
I wanted to set up a gameserver and perhaps offer ATC. Bad ATC, but I could learn…
So what, exactly, do you need multiplayer for?
I must be missing something, because I can’t see the appeal of having extra players just so you can practise not crashing into them…
I’m guessing that he wants to offer up BEING ATC. You know, giving someone vectors to final, etc.
I can tell you that it’s harder than you think - and my experience was only “vectoring” one aircraft at a time in a simulator. It gave me a new appreciation for what really goes on out there.
Other traffic is part of the enjoyment. Of course, Flight Sim’s AI can provide traffic, but it sometimes behaves in an unrealistic way. For example, every time I try to take off from runway 31 at Prestwick, there is a Cessna Caravan sitting at the hold-short line. It sits there and does nothing for about 5 minutes, blocking my access to the runway. Then it simply vanishes into the aether. Real aircraft do not do this.
So dealing with other traffic controlled by real people would add to the experience. Of course, I could use a network like VATSIM, but I’m very much a novice at this, and VATSIM folks are not always tolerant of n00bs.
Yeah, that’s it. Except I was hoping that perhaps someone would have experience from somewhere like VATSIM and be able to help me learn. I wasn’t necessarily volunteering myself for the job, not right away at least.
If I read your previous posts right, you don’t have FSX, you’re using FS9. If so, what I’m about to suggest doesn’t matter, since you need FSX.
I would try Boston Virtual ATC, it’s a great group of guys (I don’t know of any women - hmph) for flying and ATC. As the name implies, it’s based out of Logan airport in Boston, with controllers spread throughout the northeast. Generally, every evening you can find a controller and 10 or so aircraft online. During event nights, it’s not uncommon to have gate-to-gate ATC coverage between two airports about 1-2 hours flying time apart (Boston and JFK, Providence and Burlington, etc), and upwards of 50 aircraft flying at once.
It is a passworded server, and you need to pass a basic proficiency exam prior to being given access. The admins try to keep out the riff-raff, and do a generally good job at it. If you’re new and giving it a good faith effort, everyone will take you under their wing (no pun intended) and show you the ropes.
But, like I said, you need FSX (Service Pack 2) to get into the server.
Yeah - I tested out a friend’s copy of FSX and my PC didn’t run it particularly well. I was all prepared to buy my own copy, but in the end I just uninstalled and stuck with FS9. Better graphics card needed, I think.
That’s an interesting site, though, and even though I can’t join in the fun, I could offer my services as a spelling advisor. I did pass the basic proficiency test, though, so I’m not totally inept.
I may have to give that a shot. Think they’d let me land a Grumman Goose on the Charles River?
As long as you pass it by the controller, no problem. I’d let you go for it, as long as there were no conflicts with other aircraft.