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AVSIM Online - Flight Simulation's Number 1 Site! advanced methods for my review, though. I stuck to the basic functions, just to make sure it all works as advertised. The final step is to create a software key for you Mission. This is optional, but it does provide some protection in case you want to sell your Missions for money. The key code generator makes unique alphanumeric keys much like you would see for most downloadable payware software. My first gripe with the key generator was that I could not use copy and paste functions to enter the key into the target field. My second gripe is that the key can use the letter O and the number 0 as well as the letter I and the number 1, which look a lot alike and can create confusion. If you don't like the key generator, you don't have to use it, or else the MSI Creator can be configured to use a different key generator that you may currently own. If (or when) you discover a mistake in your Mission after you distribute it, the MSI Creator can create patch files (or Service Packs, if you prefer, or a Feature Implementation eXtention - "FIX") to solve the problem. The patch gets an incremental number (Congo1.1, for example), which is built into a file that will automatically install itself over your previous MSI. Creating a patch involves modifying the MSI Creator itself, but this is a complicated operation. Jim Kier provides clear instructions on how to do this, however I decided not to try to patch any of my Missions for the sake of this review. SimConnect. Using SimConnect with FSXME can be very advanced, and right now this is outside of my Mission creation abilities. The best I can do is report on how SimConnect could be implemented in your Mission. Basically, SimConnect is built into FSX as an interface between the Flight Simulator and outside products. That way, an add-on can make a discrete call to the FSX control system and get a specific result. For instance, you might have two Missions that are to be played back-to-back. Maybe it's a rescue operation, and the first Mission is the inbound flight and the second Mission is the outbound flight. For the second Mission, you need to know the damage state and fuel remaining from the previous Mission. SimConnect can be used to keep track of those variables. FSXME can use SimConnect to activate a large number of special functions that go beyond the regular Mission triggers. I found the SimConnect variables to be complicated to use, but I can see where they might be helpful. Among other things, you can use these variables to adjust simulation rates, date, time, and weather (to a certain extent), or to create a controlled fuel leak that will allow you to predict when the fuel will run out. You can also ask SimConnect to keep track of Mission status and to generate reports on success or failure. These techniques are outside my current pay grade though, and may not appeal to casual users. COMPATIBILITY ISSUES: XP, Vista, & Instant Mission Maker FSXME was created on Vista, and so it should be compatible with that operating system. Vista is very protective of files, so Vista users will have to learn how to create Missions and save them properly. Jim Kier provides specific instructions on how to accomplish this. I don't use Vista, so I can report that FSXME seems to work just fine on XP. Some parts of the manual seem to be Vista-specific, and so some things were not found on my XP version where I expected to find them. However, a little exploration solved those issues for me. Recently, Flight 1 Software released a comparable program called "Instant Mission Maker" (IMM). I don't have this add-on myself, but it is important for this review because it does many of the same things that FSXME does. Even more specifically, Jim Kier has adjusted FSXME so that you can import, debug, and edit IMM files. The big difference I see between FSXME and IMM is that IMM appears to be simpler, more geared to beginners, and above all uses a powerful graphical user interface to visually place objects and triggers directly into FSX. Jim Kier tells me that FSXME and IMM share about 75% common functionality. FSXME has a more powerful suite of triggers, supports a wider range of FSX versions, uses a strong debugging system, and has the ability to package key-coded MSI files. FSXME, in my opinion, could benefit from a stronger visual interface. In particular, if you want to place nontrigger objects in FSX, you will still need to use the OPT, which means that you need to learn something of the SDK documents. With IMM, I believe you don't need prior SDK knowledge to get started. Since Jim Kier has made IMM files compatible with FSXME, creative Mission artists may just want to have both applications on hand! CONCLUSION: Executive Summary FSX Mission Editor is an add-on that will help you create Missions for FSX. While Microsoft does provide free tools for Mission creation in FSX, their editor is difficult to set up and to use, and it also has numerous bugs and file:///E|/AVSIM/Reviews/FSX%20ME/FSXME.htm (12 of 16)21/02/2009 11:03:42 AM
AVSIM Online - Flight Simulation's Number 1 Site! documentation errors. FSXME is also rather complicated, but it does streamline much of the workload for Mission creation. What could take weeks to do with the Microsoft default tools might just take days to accomplish with FSXME. The FSX Mission Editor does four things much better than the default Microsoft editor: 1) FSXME will create and compile your Mission files automatically. This reduces the time and effort it takes to "package" a Mission, should you choose to share it with others. You can even create a software protection key that will help keep your Missions from being pirated, should you decide to sell them for money. 2) FSXME uses a data flow chart system to arrange the elements of your Mission, which are called "nodes". Nodes can be dragged and dropped to create sequences of events, and are freely editable. Any action that is portrayed in FSX, including special effects, voice cues, damage modeling, visible waypoints, and so on, can be called upon using FSXME. Even special SimConnect commands are available for those who want advanced controls over the Mission events. Unfortunately, object model placement isn't directly supported in this version of FSXME, but the free Object Placement Tool in FSX co-operates reasonably well with FSXME. 3) FSXME comes with a powerful set of easy-to-use debugging tools. Often, a mistake will show up in your flow chart as a colour-coded box, making it easy to diagnose and fix problems in Missions. Any XML Mission file can be edited with FSXME, including the Missions that come with FSX and Acceleration (in the SDK). You can even import files from Flight 1's Instant Mission Maker utility. 4) FSXME has a simple yet powerful Mission Creation Wizard. Use the speedy Wizard to create basic point-to-point Missions. Beginners can use these simple Missions as a tool for learning how to add and edit nodes. A hop from Barcelona to Cannes becomes a lot more exciting by adding just one node that introduces an engine failure! The FSX Mission Editor is compatible with Vista and XP. You can use it to edit Missions from FSX, FSX+SP1, FSX+SP2, and FSX+Acceleration. You don't even have to install FSXME on a computer with FSX to edit Missions, although that helps. To get the most out of FSXME, you should also install the free SDK that matches your version of FSX. FSXME will automatically adjust the dll.xml file for the SDK if you happen to install it incorrectly as I did. I am flying in my own homemade Mission! Using FSXME is by no means the easiest thing I have ever done in FSX. I found the learning curve to be steep, especially since the tutorial instructions seemed to be hopelessly complex. However, there is an active forum to help absolute beginners get their start, and product support is very good. Be prepared to do a lot of studying. If you know you can persevere, you can break through the knowledge barrier of this product. I feel that FSXME is a deep and involving product that should appeal to anybody with a serious interest in Mission creation for FSX. As with the many of the very best offerings for FSX add-ons, you can try out FSXME before you buy it. There are two versions: a freeware download that has most of the user functions enabled and a payware version that includes a more powerful Wizard as well as advanced utilities like the MSI Creator that automatically compiles your Mission into a package that is easy to share with your fellow fight sim captains. THE FINAL WORD: Q & A With Jim Kier Jim Kier from FSAddon Publishing is the author of the FSX Mission Editor. I wasn't too sure what to expect when I first contacted him, as my initial impressions of FSXME was that this program would be too hard for me to review. Mr. file:///E|/AVSIM/Reviews/FSX%20ME/FSXME.htm (13 of 16)21/02/2009 11:03:42 AM
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