Just Flight & Just Trains blogs

A major update for Traffic and Traffic 2005 in FSX

Monday will see the official release of the long awaited and much anticipated TrafficFSXSP1. This update will add enhanced FSX support to the product as well as clearing up a few outstanding bugs that have been reported back to us since releasing the FSX update for Traffic 2005 and new FSX version of Traffic.

What should I expect to find in this update?

The major and most time consuming part of this update is the new version of the Traffic Editor compiling tool (used to create modified versions of the Traffic.bgl). The original tool from Traffic 2005 did not produce the Traffic.bgl in the correct format for FSX and the result was that it would disable default FSX traffic such as boats and ships. Thanks to some fine work from Wolfgang the traffic.blg now compiles in the correct format for FSX. The tool now operates differently to the original so please ensure that you carefully read the “readme” file that opens at the end of the install to save us from answering unnecessary questions about its operation (and also the “errors” that appear in the DOS screen while compiling - I’d like to take this opportunity to point out that these are not in fact errors but quite normal and nothing to worry about).

Also fixed in this update are the disappearing jetdocks, the problems some people had reported with the Flyable Aircraft Tool have been fixed, the Voicepacks now work in FSX and accompanying tool for enabling/disabling the Voicepacks has been updated for better FSX support and finally the paint tool for FSX has also been enhanced.

One feature that has often been requested is a patch for Vista. Unfortunately this has not been possible to do and as such Traffic 2005 will not be updated for Vista. Regrettable but the time has now come to move on from Traffic 2005 and concentrate our efforts on Traffic X (which will be fully compatible with Vista).
For those of you using Windows Vista and who absolutely cannot do without Traffic until Traffic X is launched, there is a general workaround that will allow you to use this title under Vista. In fact there are two but neither of them are officially supported by Just Flight. Read on at your own risk…

The first option is to modify the UAC features of your FSX folder. You can right click on the FSX directory and access Properties and enable the Read/Write facilities which should allow Traffic to function more or less correctly.

The other method is to install FSX into the root of your hard drive instead of within Program Folders, therefore avoiding the enhanced UAC features that apply to the Program Files directory and its contents.

Again, either of these methods are entirely at your own risk and neither myself or Just Flight will assume any responsibility for any problems you may incur by doing this.

Other goings on…

This week saw the arrival of the FSX update files for the 737 Pilot In Command. I have to admit I was pretty excited when they dropped into my Inbox - the 737PIC is a great title (certainly one of my favourites) and would be a great addition to anyone’s FSX hanger.
First the good news. one of the most common causes for “complaint” (probably too strong a word) when we release a free update for FSX is that a boxed product can only be installed in either FS9 or FSX and not both, at least not without a load of mucking around renaming folders. The other problem is that the product cannot be properly uninstalled once being patched (the modified files are not removed by the uninstaller). However, in the case of the 737 Pilot In Command we are going to use a new method of installation that lets you install the product in both sims with no messing around at all and both installations retain the option to do a proper uninstall.
Now the bad news…
I actually put the patch together yesterday (I’m writing this on Friday) and was getting ready to release it. However I ran out of time before the end of the day but gave it Martyn to take home for the night as he is a fan of the 737PIC. Unfortunately he turned up this morning with a bug list containing some issues that, in our opinion, make it impossible to release the FSX update for this title at this time. This list will be passed over to the developer and hopefully they will be back with a revised set of files that are acceptable in the near future. I will keep you posted, unless they are ready before my next blog offering of course. In the meantime keep your eyes on the news page at www.justflight.com.

Other updates to look out for include a service pack for the DC-10, no major problems with it, just a couple of “niggles”. Even better news is that we have a bonus extra DC-10 variant for existing users coming up at around the same time. More details later…

Take care!