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Author Topic: How to connect to the BFSG online server  (Read 9768 times)

Pete A (G-SPCA)

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How to connect to the BFSG online server
« on: Sun, 08 Feb 2009, 16:13:01 »
The idea of this document is to guide you through the download and installation process. Items that require action are highlighted, anything else you can ignore. There is also a troubleshooting section at the end for a couple of common issues you may come across. Please try these if relevant.

64 Bit Windows. For 64 bit Windows your default program files folder will be c:\program files (x86)\ instead of c:\program files\ Remember which one you require.

Vista/Windows 7. If you have UAC turned on you'll probably need to run FS with administrator privileges. To set this on use Explorer to navigate to the folder where FSX.EXE was installed ( default c:\program files\microsoft games\microsoft flight simulator X\ ), and right click FSX.EXE. Select Properties and then the Compatibility Tab. Check the box for Run the program as an administrator. If you have problems with the TeamSpeak Push-to-Talk button not working if TeamSpeak does not have focus make the TeamSpeak executable file Run the program as an administrator too. By default the TeamSpeak executable will be found as C:\Program Files\Teamspeak2_RC2\TeamSpeak.exe.

FSCopilot/FSInn Downloads
There are 2 files to be downloaded before we do anything else

FS Copilot
FS Inn

Installation

CAREFULL ! Read Twice, Act Once !

Before you start please make sure Flight Simulator is not running and any other Windows or Vista programmes you are running are closed down.

Install FSCopilot first, there is no need to change any options, just select next on each screen until finished. If you're observant and see an error telling you you're FSInn is out of date please just ignore this.

If you get an error about failing to write file FSCopilot.dll please read the troubleshooting bit entitled "FSCopilot does not appear in the Add-ons menu" at the end of the document as this is a symptom of the same problem.

Then install FSInn.

On the 3rd screen (the one after the license acceptance screen) you can uncheck the "Pre Configured Networks" option unless you want to configure VATSIM or IVAO. Other than that just select the next buttons until installed.

Configuration

One note before you start, there are no save buttons in the settings simply close the dialogs with the little x bottom right of the dialogs.

First we need you to download a configuration file we've created that defines most of the Network Settings you require. Download the FSInn Network Settings File. Assuming you've followed the instructions so far you need to copy this file into your c:\program files\FSFDT\FSCopilot\FSInn folder, if you've installed programs to a different location then you can work out where to copy the file to ;)

Now we need to do the rest of the configuration, run up your flight simulator and load a flight so you're parked in your aircraft at an airfield.

The first time you start FSX you will get a pop-up asking if you wish to run the FSCopilot DLL, say yes and again say yes when it asks if you want to trust it. Please be patient while FS loads. We've had a few reports that the splash screen may not appear as before in FS9/FSX and it looks as if the game has hung. This is not the case and it will load. Just be patient and give it a little while.

On FS9, Copilot appears as a new menu item at the top of the window to the left of the help menu, while on FSX it appears under the Add-Ons menu item.
Using either the FS FSCopilot menu item or in FSX  Add-ons -> FSCopilot method, select Inn Control Panel. Remember what you've done here as this is how you'll start FSCopilot when you fly multiplayer with us.

The first time the FSInn control panel loads it will look through all your installed aircraft to build its own database, this can take some time if you have lots of aircraft, including A.I ones, installed.(WOAI, PAI,Etc)

You then see this little window, click on the Set button at the bottom of the right hand column.



First we will configure General->Basic.



Enter your default callsign, you can change this before you go online and for each flight (see below) and set your name and a home base. I've selected EGBK as that's my home base on VATSIM. You could select an airfield close by where you live, or one you use regularly in FS9 / FSX.

Second we'll turn off server weather (for now). Select the "Disable weather by default" option in the General->Weather setup screen. If you use VATSIM you'll probably not want to do this step. [Note: This weather setting will not take effect until you restart flight simulator, until then you will be given real world weather from the server when you join the session]



Third thing we need to configure is the connection to the server, still in the setting window press the + to the left of Network and a new list opens. If you copied the FSInnNet2.ini file from before correctly the item under VATSIM will be labelled Bristol. The fields you need to fill in on the resulting settings page are ID and Password, the rest are to be left alone. Below you'll see my configuration, yours will be slightly different. It's probably better to leave Net Specific Callsign empty or you will fly with the same call sign all the time.


 
ID = See Details below
Password = See Details Below
Net Label/Server/TeamSpeak should be set as per the diagram.

Everyone has a unique ID. This ID is based on your forum user ID. To see this, click on the Profile menu button on the forum menu near the top of a forum web page, and then click on Summary at the top of the left hand menus. If you look at the URL in your browser's address bar (very near the top of the browser window) it will look something like this below.



You need to look for the u= in that URL.
The number after the u= is your unique forum ID and this is used in the FSInn configuration, you'll see mine is 1. Add your ID to 100000 to get your FSD login ID ( do not use comma's to separate into 100,000 ).
For example if your line says u=42, your FSD ID you enter is 100042.

The password can be found here, http://www.bristolflightsimgroup.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=2302.0

That's it FSInn is installed and ready to go.

Connecting

Connecting is dead simple. If it's not already open open the FSInn Control Panel. FS9 from the menu, FSX from within the Add-ons menu. Once open, the left hand column shows the list of networks, assuming you named yours as I did, the second one (the one under VATSIM) will be labelled Bristol. Click it and it will turn solid green after a couple of seconds. You're in :)

If you wish to fly with a different callsign to one entered in the configuration screens, BEFORE you connect to the server you can click the callsign at the bottom on the FSInn Control Panel and enter a different one, i.e. in the example click GSPCA.

FSNAV
It's easy to connect FSNav as before. To do this start FSNav as normal and select options and then Multi-player Connect, accepting the warning that appears after. The port number remains 23432 but the IP address needs to be set to 127.0.0.1. Then search for sessions and you'll see one starting FWINN something or other based on your computer name. There is no password just highlight the session and press join.



TeamSpeak
See this post to get TeamSpeak working if you've not already done so. http://www.bristolflightsimgroup.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=2304.0

Reasons to be cheerful ;)

There are several reasons for trying this apart from our failure to get a handle on the FSHost issues, and we're not unique in having these :(

  • Despite our initial reservations, we’ve gotten over the problems running FSinn with FSX on Vista and whilst there’s no arguing that it’s “feature rich”, all you really have to do is put in your username and password, and then click a couple of buttons.
  • Both VATSIM and IVAO used to use the same technology, although both have made organisation specific changes more recently.
  • It’s a well established technology, proven and uses low bandwidth! It should therefore provide a stable connection over even the flakiest broadband connection.
  • FS9 players can run at whatever frame rate they want.
  • All players have access to their own radar screens and can see the positions of fellow players around them upto a distance of 400 miles, without using FsNav or FSC.
  • Mimimal lag, so aircraft will move much more fluidly around the airfield. No more stop start,stop start when watching aircraft land for instance.
  • VIP Sets, these are airplane models that can be downloaded that increase the chance that other planes will be shown as they are rather than as a fill in default. Details to be announced.
  • The ability to change the aircraft you see for other multiplayers in your session. No more seeing everyone as a Cessa or a Boeing 747. Hopefully the programme will automatically select and  display the aircraft that all multiplayers are flying in. But you still have manual control over this!
  • Port forwarding should be a thing of the past

And in the future
  • The functionality to really use your radios would come out of the box in both FS9 and FSX
  • Different weather could be set at departure, en-route and destination
  • FSInn can establish a peer-to-peer connection with nearby traffic to smooth the visual experience (we’d like to try this!)
  • Potential to save money as we can swap Windows on the server for Linux, this makes no difference to the client side of things so don't panic ;)

Troubleshooting
There are a couple of things that may go wrong that require a little bit more user interaction, please try these.

° Vista. If you have UAC turned on you'll probably need to run FS with administrator privileges. To set this on use Explorer to navigate to the folder where FSX.EXE was installed, and right click FSX.EXE. Select Properties and then the Compatibility Tab. Check the box for Run the program as an administrator

° Chat doesn't work. If the FSInn chat doesn't work for you please quit flight simulator and run FSInn UI from the Start Menu -> FSFDT program group. Then select the chat from the Control Panel menu of the right hand side. If you're running Vista with UAC on please right click FSInn UI from the program group and select Run as administrator. Close FSInn UI before re-running FS and chat should now be ok.

° FSX crashes on exit. This is to do with the Tuner feature we're not using in FSInn. To disable this feature click your modules or Add-ons menu, within the FSCopilot menu select the settings option. Scroll down the list to find tuner and double click the Enabled setting so it says disabled. FSX will still crash on exit this time but in future should not.

° FSCopilot does not appear in the Add-ons menu. This problem is caused by something else messing up the registry entry that tells FSCopilot where to install to. If you've get this problem I'm afraid you need to uninstall FSinn then FSCopilot. Then download FSXfix.exe from http://flightsim.apollo3.com/files/fs-files.html Run this, right click and run as administrator if using Vista, and then reinstall as before. I see there is also a FS9Tool.exe at the apollo3 site so the same issue may exist in FS9.

Regards The Management


Edited 10/17/2012 - Topic split to make it less intimidating
« Last Edit: Tue, 10 Jul 2012, 22:04:39 by Pete Allnutt »
Pete Allnutt
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Pete A (G-SPCA)

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Re: Online Multiplayer - A New Beginning
« Reply #1 on: Wed, 11 Feb 2009, 19:39:43 »
For the Network setting for the Bristol entry (your replacement of Net2) we've discovered if you set your call sign here it will be used always, overriding any change you may make in the FS Inn Control Panel before connecting.

To illustrate this here is the new recommended values, remembering of course your user ID is yours and not mine ;)



Thanks for Norman for pointing this feature out
Pete Allnutt
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Pete A (G-SPCA)

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Re: Online Multiplayer - A New Beginning
« Reply #2 on: Tue, 31 Mar 2009, 23:49:24 »
I've updated the instructions to reflect the network settings can be defined by a downloaded file.
Pete Allnutt
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Pee Dee

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Re: Online Multiplayer - A New Beginning
« Reply #3 on: Wed, 01 Apr 2009, 00:06:19 »
Well done mate, it will save alot of hassle for newbies.

Also there is no link to download Teamspeak ? Can we put this with the FSInn downloads ?
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Pete A (G-SPCA)

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Re: Online Multiplayer - A New Beginning
« Reply #4 on: Wed, 01 Apr 2009, 08:37:28 »
Added where to download TeamSpeak from and highlighted more that Vista requires programs to be run As Administrator.
Pete Allnutt
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Pee Dee

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Re: Online Multiplayer - A New Beginning
« Reply #5 on: Wed, 01 Apr 2009, 10:27:09 »
Thanks Pete, its looking good.  ;)
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Pete A (G-SPCA)

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Re: Online Multiplayer - A New Beginning
« Reply #6 on: Fri, 18 Sep 2009, 21:59:36 »
Since the MCDU site seems to have gone AWOL I've updated the instructions to include downloads hosted here for the pilot clients.
Pete Allnutt
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Pee Dee

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Re: Online Multiplayer - A New Beginning
« Reply #7 on: Sat, 19 Sep 2009, 10:03:11 »
Well done mate, at least we have a secured future for the time being until we find some thing that offers better features.
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Pete A (G-SPCA)

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Re: Online Multiplayer - A New Beginning
« Reply #8 on: Wed, 25 Nov 2009, 22:21:29 »
How To use a Yoke/Joystick button for Push-to-Talk

Several of you have already done this but others may still be unaware and may like to do this.

To setup a controller button to compliment the PTT button you use in TeamSpeak you need to change a setting is the FSFDT control panel. This is found in the Windows Taskbar (right hand side and may be hidden unless you look) and this only appears when FS is running. The traffic light icon looks something like



Open this up and you'll get the FSFDT Control Panel, click the + by the Key Management item, then click Joy to Key. In here there are 2 input fields near the bottom; FS Joystick Mapping and Key Mapping. To the right of the text display area are set buttons. Click each set in turn, first press the Joystick/Yoke button you wish to use (FS Joystick Mapping) and for the Key Mapping you press the PTT button you use in TeamSpeak. Once both fields are filled in press Apply and you dialog should look something like




 
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Pee Dee

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Re: Online Multiplayer - A New Beginning
« Reply #9 on: Sat, 23 Jan 2010, 11:44:56 »
Current link for Teamspeak took you to the New Beta 3 edition so I have edited the teamspeak link so it connected to the teamspeak 2 page rather than the new Beta 3 page. Teamspeak 2 has been moved to an archive page.Thought it would help remove any confusion.
« Last Edit: Sat, 23 Jan 2010, 11:46:53 by PeeDee »
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Pete A (G-SPCA)

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Re: Online Multiplayer - A New Beginning
« Reply #10 on: Wed, 05 Jan 2011, 22:22:46 »
For those brave enough to read this I've just added a little bit about Windows 7 and Windows 64 Bit versions.
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Andy Parish

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Re: Online Multiplayer - A New Beginning
« Reply #11 on: Tue, 15 Nov 2011, 13:11:01 »
In response to popular demand (OK - a few people asked me about it at either the last meeting or the one before), the files required for online flying are now hosted on our server again, and the links to them in the text above have been updated.

 

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