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FS2004 Crash
- Thread starter Foxi
- Start date
Foxi, I don't know what more I can tell you or do. I never experienced a system crash with >16 strobes, but I did discover and fix a >16 strobes sequencing issue. With effects, I was able to duplicate a crash when returning after going far away from the airport. That was the type 25 vs type 19 issue.
With those fixes, I no longer see any problems. No one else is reporting, nor to my recollection has ever reported, a general crashing problem with strobes.
So, all I can suggest is that AFLT is conflicting with something else on your system. Unfortunately, there's little I can do to help you diagnose such an issue other than suggest you, if possible, disable all your other add-ons - not just scenery - to first confirm it is AFLT, by itself, causing the issue. Should that be the case and you find a way to reliably force the crashes, please let me know and I'll investigate further
Good luck,
Don
EDIT: I prepared this response after reading only your first post today.
In you second post, what do you mean by the "bgl_light_fix for FS2004"?
Re your third post, it sounds like you may have mis-programmed the PCL. Try completely disabling PCL (just blank the PCL Control window) to see if that makes any difference.
With those fixes, I no longer see any problems. No one else is reporting, nor to my recollection has ever reported, a general crashing problem with strobes.
So, all I can suggest is that AFLT is conflicting with something else on your system. Unfortunately, there's little I can do to help you diagnose such an issue other than suggest you, if possible, disable all your other add-ons - not just scenery - to first confirm it is AFLT, by itself, causing the issue. Should that be the case and you find a way to reliably force the crashes, please let me know and I'll investigate further
Good luck,
Don
EDIT: I prepared this response after reading only your first post today.
In you second post, what do you mean by the "bgl_light_fix for FS2004"?
Re your third post, it sounds like you may have mis-programmed the PCL. Try completely disabling PCL (just blank the PCL Control window) to see if that makes any difference.
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AFLT generated BGL code from scratch. The issue Arno is highlighting in the reference is introduces by Gmax, so is not relevant to ALT. But thanks anyway for trying.
It certainly sounds as if PCL may be involved. Please send me your current AFLT Library Folder and I'll take a look at what you've done.
Don
Foxi, I keep thinking back to your issue of FS9 "irregularly" crashing while loading. Without trying to evade any responsibility AFLT may have, as a developer, I have noticed on many occasions FS9 crashing while loading. FlightSim caches scenery and uses certain cached scenery from an earlier session when starting anew. While its difficult to prove since we have so little access to FlightSim internals, those crashes do seem to occur most often when I install a new file affecting terrain, effects or libraries. Generally, if you "let nature take its course", Windows will issue an error message. Alternately, you can shut FlightSim down with the Task Manager. In either case, almost always, the next restart is normal. This would seem to suggest the problem is not the newly-loaded file per se, but rather, how Flightsim handles it when first encountered - over which we have no control. Perhaps it's a result of our use of the technology in ways never envisaged by Microsoft and, which, hence, Flightsim may be unable to handle.
Casual users would not normally be affected since they are not changing the loaded file set.
Most utilities that offer capability beyond that of "vanilla" Flightsim make use of technology in ways never publicized (and perhaps not envisaged) by Microsoft. That's the "name of the game". If the price of that additional capability is the odd crash of FS9 on startup, I'm happy to pay that price. The alternative is give up the capability.
All that being said, if someone can demonstrate that AFLT is contributing to the problem in ways that are avoidable, please let me know.
Don
Casual users would not normally be affected since they are not changing the loaded file set.
Most utilities that offer capability beyond that of "vanilla" Flightsim make use of technology in ways never publicized (and perhaps not envisaged) by Microsoft. That's the "name of the game". If the price of that additional capability is the odd crash of FS9 on startup, I'm happy to pay that price. The alternative is give up the capability.
All that being said, if someone can demonstrate that AFLT is contributing to the problem in ways that are avoidable, please let me know.
Don
I have now completed several test flights. In addition I have the courts ETNU and ETNL provided with approach lights. Both Airports are about 40NM away from each other
Without the lights, I can spend hours (autopilot) fly between the two places.
With the lights I fly once from ETNL to ETNU then back to ETNL. Half way between the two places in the flight simulator crashes.
with Light only the same problem.
I have it now abandoned.
With a VASI from the toolbox to both places, there is no problem!
Also interesting are the ini files for an array.
Some Kill_Shadow = true in other kill_Shadow = false
All in One is always false
Without the lights, I can spend hours (autopilot) fly between the two places.
With the lights I fly once from ETNL to ETNU then back to ETNL. Half way between the two places in the flight simulator crashes.
with Light only the same problem.
I have it now abandoned.
With a VASI from the toolbox to both places, there is no problem!
Also interesting are the ini files for an array.
Some Kill_Shadow = true in other kill_Shadow = false
All in One is always false
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This is normal. Shadows are turned off by default for supports and towers since portions of those items are below ground level but, if shadow is enabled, a shadow is rendered for that portion as well.
All in One will only be set to true if you set it from the Main Panel.
You haven't said whether you are using BGL_LIGHTs or effects. If effects, are you sure you have changed all effects to Type 25. Type 19 effects are the only ones I know of that will cause a crash under those circumstances. I have tested the airport you sent me with all effects changed to type 25 and I do not experience the problem. (I did experience the problem with Type 19 effects.) If you are using BGL_LIGHTs, then I suspect one of your lights is still defined to use effects and it is referring to a type 19 effect. (Even if the Replace BGL_LIGHTs with Effects feature on the Make Library panel is unchecked, if any element is specified to use effects, effects will still be used for that element.)
When you don't use a VASI from the toolbox, what do you have in its place? I suggest that whatever it is, you check it very carefully since, if it is not the root-cause of your problem, it may "hold the key".
No one else is reporting such problems and I am unable to duplicate what you are experiencing. It seems highly-likely that the source of the problem is some lighted element at your airport using a Type 19 effect.
Don
Please see my comment above about one or more elements being programmed to use effects even when (you think) you've selected BGL_LIGHTs.
Yes, I understood that. But your comment above seemed to suggest that simply adding the VASI eliminated the crash. So, I was asking what did those VASIs replace.
Yes, that's what is says - AND ITS WRONG! Are you telling me now that you didn't change your effect types from 19 to 25?
Don
The symptoms are so similar to Type 19 vs Type 25 lighted effects that I have to believe you still are accessing a type 19 light - even in your type 25 version. Do any of your base models access lighted effects directly? If so, perhaps that effect is the culprit.
You has previously suggested inclusion of a VASI fixes this problem. Have I misunderstood? If not, please tell me what that VASI replaced, or does it's simple addition to the model fix the issue.
Don
You has previously suggested inclusion of a VASI fixes this problem. Have I misunderstood? If not, please tell me what that VASI replaced, or does it's simple addition to the model fix the issue.
Don
Since I am unable to reproduce the issue and no one else is reporting it, I am at a complete loss to explain the situation other than there being an elusive Type 19 effect being inadvertently accessed by the AFLT library files in your scenery folder. (I assume when you changed from effects to BGL-Lights and vice versa that you used the same library .bgl filenames or deleted the old library files from your scenery folder.
Don
Don
Not sure that was a good idea. The change from 19 to 25 only applies to light effects. I don't know what that change will do to your non-light effects. AFLT uses custom effects. If you installed the effects from the most recent version of AFLT, no other change was necessary. Hopefully you made a backup before changing the types.
Also, several posts above, Foxi indicated that the same situation occurs even when using BGL_LIGHTs - in which case AFLT would make no use of effects.
The only prior report of such an issue came from Foxi. So far, I have been unable to replicate it. That you have the same problem demonstrates that the issue is not due to the configuration of Foxi's system. That's a step forward.
I'll try again.
Don