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[ramyfly]

First off,

I got outerra yesterday. After a very short time i am certain this is an absolute gem.


A little intro,
I am a real world pilot, the FAA  gave me this fancy little expensive card that says i have a PPL. Also i'm an earlier F-16 service mechanic (assistant, hehe) and i started off flying gliders when i was 15.

I am a die hard fllight sim enthusiast (yes die hard)
Im not comparing sizes or anything, but id say i'm fairly experienced in the world of armchair pilots. I'v had my fair share of fsx, xplane, dcs and so on. I loved the Microsoft series, but unfortunately fsx is starting to show its age, at least for me.
Im sure theres a lot of other people from the flightsim community on here too, and i really hope so.

Outerra has so much incredible potential. I definitely think this is the future platform for flight sims. Nothing else can really compare. I have never felt so much immersion while flying virtually, even though outerra is still fairly basic in that dept. There are so many questions to ask, at least for me. Il try to keep this short.

 Is there any current plans to implement autogen? houses, roads etc? I know x plane uses world street map, how difficult is it to add this to outerra for example?

How complex would it be to add a weather tool? Allowing to change wind speeds and direction etc.?

I have tried the alphasim f-117, and i wounder, does virtavia have strict copyright rules? They have a ton of aircraft that im sure could be made available for outerra. The fact that x plane and fsx aircraft are being importert is a really great thing!

What kind of coding is required to create navaids such as VOR, DME, ILS and so on. Im sure this is something that is a bit well complicated to implement.

I really hope that the big flight sim devs will take a good look at outerra and realize its potential.

I do not want to be one of those  guys who just requests features and aircraft and just hope and wait for something to happen. I want to be a part of helping develop outerra into a realistic flightsim. I understand that this is a long process that probably will take a long time to achieve. Unfortunately i have no experience in coding etc. but i really want to be able to contribute. I want to learn how to create 3D models and learn the challenging task of creating flight models. Is there anyone who can point me in the right direction?

I cannot offer much, but what i can offer is my experience, if there are any devs out there that need a hand in research or what have you, il be glad to help out and take all the advice i can.

I also understand that outerra has great potential other than a flight sim. Imagine having an old sailing vessel, and sailing to the Americas, without all the buildings, civilization, etc, using the tradewinds. It should be called Christopher Columbus simulator 2015. (Just my thoughts) And not to mention spaceflight.. 

[HiFlyer]

Smells like........ enthusiasm! 

Welcome to the forum!

Planes in outerra are Using the JSBSIM flight dynamics library. Things like navaids end etc are likely to be implemented using a combination of that and JavaScript.

Weather affects on planes like wind, etc will also likely come via JSBSIM

One of the gurus should wander by with more detail. In the meantime.... have fun!

[KW71]

OT looks unbeatable, doesn't it?

Comparisons are not good, but sometimes are necessary. For example,  I don't like DCS because of the flat landscapes lacking on detail... But there is coming the new Edge engine!!! which, beside OT looks... well... flat and lacking on detail !!!

[John514]

Welcome to the forums!
Let me answer some of your questions.

• Is there any current plans to implement autogen? houses, roads etc? I know x plane uses world street map, how difficult is it to add this to outerra for example?
  Yes! Outerra will eventually use autogen based on OpenStreetMap data, which in my opinion is very accurate. The data includes forests, houses and other buildings, rivers, powerlines, railways...basicaly everything you would find in a similar FSX add on like ORBX scenery.
• How complex would it be to add a weather tool? Allowing to change wind speeds and direction etc.?
  To my knowledge, I don`t think there was a weather tool discussed by the developers, since clouds have only been added recently. In my opinion, weather will come but at the momment its too soon for that
• I have tried the alphasim f-117, and i wounder, does virtavia have strict copyright rules? They have a ton of aircraft that im sure could be made available for outerra. The fact that x plane and fsx aircraft are being importert is a really great thing!
  As with any content made by someone, copyright rules apply but if the creator of said content gives his/her permission, the content can be used in Outerra. Payware companies will be more reluctant to give permission, since they have spent some money developing their product, hence why they change for it
• What kind of coding is required to create navaids such as VOR, DME, ILS and so on. Im sure this is something that is a bit well complicated to implement.
  I do not know how hard it will be to implement NavAids in OT. Some forum member have been successful adding a basic auto-pilot in the Cessna (I think) so, even though no official progress has been made on that front, the modding community is trying its best.
  
  • I really hope that the big flight sim devs will take a good look at outerra and realize its potential.
    I am sure the OT Dev Team is getting approached from time to time by simulation companies, at this momment the engine lacks many features so its not really a good candidate for them. It seems that the OT devs have to do all the work themselves.
  So, I hope I have covered the above. Also, since you`d like to contribute check out this user`s Cessna 172A mod and provide him with what you think it should be fixed, since you have real world flying experience.
  http://forum.outerra.com/index.php?topic=3302.0
  
  If you want to get into 3D modelling I suggest starting with Blender, as its free and very powerfull.
  http://www.blender.org/
  I have been using it for some time and, even though I`m still a novice, I can handle the basics so if you`d like some help just ask me. Other sources of blender tutorials are:
  https://cgcookie.com/blender/
  https://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewPPrice
  
  Have fun!

[HiFlyer]

OT looks unbeatable, doesn't it?

Comparisons are not good, but sometimes are necessary. For example,  I don't like DCS because of the flat landscapes lacking on detail... But there is coming the new Edge engine!!! which, beside OT looks... well... flat and lacking on detail !!!

I dont know about lacking in detail..........

I do agree with kind of flat, but then that matches reality in the chosen area......

As far as navaids and stuff..... I just keep in mind that if people can make a modestly featured flightsim on an Ipad, Outerra should be able to to eventually do something Outrageous. If everyone sticks with that as a goal. (amongst many)

[cameni]

Is there any current plans to implement autogen? houses, roads etc? I know x plane uses world street map, how difficult is it to add this to outerra for example?

Open Street Map import is in the works; there are some promising intermediate results already. I plan to write a series of posts about the upcoming enhancements in OT.

How complex would it be to add a weather tool? Allowing to change wind speeds and direction etc.?

This is also in development, though there will likely be a plugin system allowing to set these values globally, either from real world sources or from a simulation.

What kind of coding is required to create navaids such as VOR, DME, ILS and so on. Im sure this is something that is a bit well complicated to implement.

Specialized simulator features outside of a world renderer will require a dedicated development. There are plans for (what Hiflyer calls "mythical") OT Kickstarter for a world simulator - not just the flight, but an open platform for developers of all kinds of simulators that could coexist in OT engine/world. With the Kickstarter we would be aiming to assemble a dedicated simulator development team closely working with our core engine team. However, we are quite busy supporting our existing licensees so the sim project isn't going as fast as it could go.

[Acetone]

Hello ramyfly,

Welcome aboard! It's really nice to have an experienced pilot here

I do not want to be one of those  guys who just requests features and aircraft and just hope and wait for something to happen. I want to be a part of helping develop outerra into a realistic flightsim. I understand that this is a long process that probably will take a long time to achieve. Unfortunately i have no experience in coding etc. but i really want to be able to contribute. I want to learn how to create 3D models and learn the challenging task of creating flight models. Is there anyone who can point me in the right direction?

I cannot offer much, but what i can offer is my experience, if there are any devs out there that need a hand in research or what have you, il be glad to help out and take all the advice i can.

Don't worry, I think majority of users here started at this level

The best start is to understand how the engine works. I think Cameni's blog is the best resource here. Some posts are complex, but it's a really good knowledge base to have.

The Outerra FMX presentation slides are also really interesting.

If you want to learn aircraft scripting, I suggest you to experiment with the script file for a simple aircraft, to understand how the basic elements of a vehicle are handled. I had no javascript knowledge but I managed to implement several sounds for the Cessna using other aircrafts script files as reference. Not a perfect work but I learned a lot
Learning to use JBSIM FM is a must if you want to see more in depth what can be done with flight dynamics.

The wiki is a good documentation source, but it's still a bit limited at the moment.

The fact that you are a real life pilot and your experience as an aircraft service mechanic will make you a VIP for aircraft testing  Have you tried all the aircrafts mods available?


Also, a really important note for every new user: Outerra development and progress is slow. It's something frustrating sometimes and there are periods of calm and others with an intense level of activity. But when the devs release an update (not a bug-fix, a real update), there is always something to considerably change the capabilities of the engine.

Feel free to ask questions and PM people

[HiFlyer]

Is there any current plans to implement autogen? houses, roads etc? I know x plane uses world street map, how difficult is it to add this to outerra for example?

Open Street Map import is in the works; there are some promising intermediate results already. I plan to write a series of posts about the upcoming enhancements in OT.

How complex would it be to add a weather tool? Allowing to change wind speeds and direction etc.?

This is also in development, though there will likely be a plugin system allowing to set these values globally, either from real world sources or from a simulation.

What kind of coding is required to create navaids such as VOR, DME, ILS and so on. Im sure this is something that is a bit well complicated to implement.

Specialized simulator features outside of a world renderer will require a dedicated development. There are plans for (what Hiflyer calls "mythical") OT Kickstarter for a world simulator - not just the flight, but an open platform for developers of all kinds of simulators that could coexist in OT engine/world. With the Kickstarter we would be aiming to assemble a dedicated simulator development team closely working with our core engine team. However, we are quite busy supporting our existing licensees so the sim project isn't going as fast as it could go.

I joke about "mythical" because like unicorns, everyone has heard of it but there are no confirmed sightings yet. 

EDIT: ramyfly, there have been quite a few planes, cars, boats and even scenery converted with varying levels of detail into Outerra. If you have not already done so, take a look at the Outerra model sites to download those, or you can search through the forums, here.

http://www.outerramods.com/

http://outerramodels.com/

[KW71]

"I dont know about lacking in detail..........

I do agree with kind of flat, but then that matches reality in the chosen area......"

Oh, the cities looks really nice now (in this case Nevada). I'm referring to terrain only.

There could be beautiful cities, detailed planes and realistic flight models, but  the terrain  is the foundation for all this and the background that generates the immersion, IMHO. The ability Outerra has to generate ground detail is priceless to my eyes.

ramfly, an advice:

3d modeling, animation, programming are  whole worlds, that require lot of dedication. I'm not saying is impossible to handle more than one, but I would suggest to focus in one to start. Analyze your strengths, your preferences; taste a bit of the necessary tools for each task and make your choice.

[ramyfly]

Thank you all for the warm welcome!

I did not expect so many great and informative replies. I have tried all the aircraft available and love them!
Thanks for answering my questions, I have downloaded blender and Im trying to get a hang of it. Sounds like a good idea to focus on one specific area first. I will probably lean more towards 3D modeling at the start at least. I have looked a bit more into the FMX presentation

I will definitely help out with the cessna if theres anything i can contribute with.
The current projects sound mind blowing!