Advanced Question autoFCS and Shuttle Fleet

[-Pv-]

Corrected message title to be relevant to message.

I have the latest Shuttle Fleet updates and GPCMFD 405. I have GPCMFD manual for 3.9.1 (cannot find anything later.)

Shuttle fleet documents mention autofcs but not how to set it up for proper use within shuttle fleet (using V2 which seemed to work well on non-fleet installations.)
GPCMFD documents describe getting landing sites from LandSiteTable.ini and "hints" that GPCMFD integrates somehow with autofcs but doesn't describe the process or operation. When I bring up the autofcs window using extMFD I cannot select a landing site. It does not appear that selecting a site in the MFDGPS communicates with autofcs because the distance to landing site "auto" display is always wrong and will not activate deorbit burn because "too wide" by over 5000.

How can I get autofcs to use GPC's landing list or load a landing list of it's own? I have searched this and other forums for the answer. I've seen posts where other users are successfully using the mod but no descriptions on how to set it up properly.
-Pv-

 

[-Pv-]

Getting a clue here...
Despite trying to use V2.1's ability to put in a path and custom earth.cfg filename into AFCS.INI, I cannot get autofcs to read the path or file. It insists on reading earth.cfg in \config. SFleet often or mostly (haven't looked at ALL the scenarios) uses SOL_ALT which references EARTH_ALT. I cannot get autofcs to use those. AutoFCS only uses the SURFBASE section of the cfg file for its list of bases and as long as the Shuttle Fleet base cfg files exist in the same path for those bases, autofcs will use the list and extract the runways. In all the recent SF distributions I have, the list of bases and base files are in earth_alt and does not modify or distribute an edited version of earth.cfg. The workaround to get AFCS to use the SF list is to edit the alt_earth SURFBASE into earth.cfg which AFCS will now use, while SF scenarios continue to use alt_earth.

Hope others find this useful.
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[-Pv-]

I have also found that in copies of the earth.cfg supplied in Shuttle Fleet expansion pack 3.9.4 which has the complete list of three-letter ICAO codes in it, CANNOT be read by autofcs. It sees the text:
DIR Earth\Base

... as a base name without any data and stops loading the rest of the list. This string has to be removed for autofcs to process the complete list of base names and runways. I'm now experimenting to see if Orbiter will permit scanning the Base config directory if this string is placed at the bottom of the list...
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[-Pv-]

Placing the directory path at the end of the base list is working well.
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[Donamy]

How about a list of your runways, and are you using Slat's addons ?

 

[-Pv-]

How about a list of your runways, and are you using Slat's addons ?

Not sure what particular add-ons you might be asking about here.
If you can think of names and titles, I might be able to tell you if I'm using them. For the most part, I have a dedicated SF install of Orbiter and I only add stuff I use for Shuttle flights. I don't use AFCS in my generic Orbiter install, so I'm less concerned about how it's maintained. The problem I had installing recent Shuttle Fleet distributions is the earth.cfg and earth_alt.cfg files (earth.cfg gets overwritten by the Shuttle Fleet distribution. Or, don't exist) Some distribtions had very simple earth.cfg entries (typical of the Orbiter default
BEGIN_SURFBASE
DIR Earth\Base
END_SURFBASE

AFCS will only read from earth.cfg.
FS however uses earth_alt for most or all of the scenarios which has a list of bases which is identical to the list in LandSiteTable.ini which the current GPCMFD uses. This is supported by cfg files imported into \config using the same names: KSC, NOR, etc.
These cfg files contain the runway information. When you select a base in ACFS (the list comes from earth.cfg) AFCS looks up the cfg filename of the requested entry (KSC = KSC.CFG supplied by Shuttle Fleet/GPSMFD distributions) and the correct list of available runways is provided in the AFCS dialog.

The problem I was having is one or a combo of several:
1) When doing a fresh clean install of the latest Shuttle Fleet (with no prior distributrions) earth.cfg remained unmodified from the initial Orbiter install and there were no bases (AFCS dies at the first entry "DIR Earth\Base" because it doesn't understand the format.)
2) If I installed a Shuttle Fleet distributution that went WAY back which included SOL_ALT, EARTH_ALT, and/or EARTH.CFG the EARTH.CFG was modified to include the EARTH_ALT list of bases. HOWEVER, the default path to Earth\Base remained at the top of the section BEFORE the list of bases preventing AFCS from reading the bases list and getting the runway information. SF scenarios use earth_alt (through loading sol_alt) and ignore earth.cfg, so for Shuttle Fleet purposes, earth.cfg can be edited to be anything because only AFCS uses it and only uses the bases section.

What I have learned from this is to keep a backup of my modified earth.cfg with the bases section correctly edited for AFCS (nase list imported from earth_alt and the directory option placed at the BOTTOM of the list ) and don't let add-ons modify it. If you HAVE to have earth.cfg modified to support other scenarios, then you'll have to be careful to maintain the SURFBASE section.
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[Donamy]

I'll try to figure it out.

 

[David413]

AutoFCS is supplied with the STS Expansion Pack for the Shuttle Fleet, not the "base" Shuttle Fleet package. The "SOL_ALT" series is part of that expansion pack and the bases that go with it. If you want to install just the Shuttle Fleet in a clean installation without the Expansion Pack added (which adds the AutoFCS dll and the bases to go along with it) then you'll have to make your own series of bases. I'm working on the finishing touches for Shuttle Fleet V4.1.5 and it will include a limited set of bases that will work with the AutoFCS without the necessity to add the expansion pack. I have some documentation work to finish and I'm waiting to hear back from someone regarding a fictional shuttle addition; I hope to release the final package within 5 to 7 days.

Dave

 

[-Pv-]

If interested, I'm nearing an edited version of the AFCS.INI which controls the SF model more closely following the trajectory lines in the GPC descent displays.
-Pv-

 

[-Pv-]

Link to what I think is a slightly improved AFCS.ini file which when using Shuttle Fleet Space Shuttle models (tested with version 4.1.1) and AutoFCS.dll provides a smoother deorbit descent following the Shuttle Fleet GPCMFD trajectory display graphics. Other improvements include smoother transitions between most of the descent segments.

http://home.comcast.net/~pvarn01/orbiter/index.html

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