AVSIM Online - Flight Simulation's Number 1 Site!

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AVSIM Online - Flight Simulation's Number 1 Site! Better still, you can bring any Mission XML code into FSXME to edit it. So instead of the "Congo" Mission, where I did not understand things like "KatApprRadTrigger", I created a small flight with the Piper Cub across a few grass airstrips in the Canadian prairies where I knew exactly what the waypoints were. Then, I brought it into FSXME. I finally found the menu item "ACTION PALETTE", which provides a complete list of triggers and events in FSX. The FSXME manual was a little imprecise about this menu, possibly because I use Windows XP instead of Vista. Still, I figured it out. This is the Action Palette menu. It includes all of the events that come with FSX Missions, plus a few extras. Of note are the "Recipes", which are user-created groups of actions: think of them as something like macros. I should mention that the Action Palette has an option to rename the events into "Friendly Names". That's because something like the OPT trigger "AllowableContainerList" can in FSXME be renamed to something more descriptive for beginners, like "Allowed Multiplayer Aircraft". Even better, you can customize the Friendly names, so if you were fluent in French, you might want "Avions Multijoueurs Permis" instead. In my little Mission, I decided that it would be a good idea to include a remark to give the right rudder a kick on takeoff. This is because the Piper Cub in FSX tends to yaw when you add a lot of throttle, and I would counter this action with the rudder. I used the Action Palette to create a new node in the Mission. Nodes are discrete boxes of text that describe the events. Nodes are connected with black lines, so you can see the exact progression of events. Nodes can have multiple connections. To attach one node to another, you just drag and drop it into place with your mouse. My new node was a trigger. When the ground speed went above 20 knots, the trigger would fire once. I connected the trigger to a dialogue box. The dialogue is printed on the screen and spoken aloud by the computer. You can have any dialogue you desire. I had the computer remind me to apply right rudder and to stay on the runway heading until the Cub climbed high enough to see the next waypoint. file:///E|/AVSIM/Reviews/FSX%20ME/FSXME.htm (8 of 16)21/02/2009 11:03:41 AM
AVSIM Online - Flight Simulation's Number 1 Site! This is my little Prairie Adventure Mission I made for this review. It has only 35 nodes, and it barely takes up the page. The close-up view shows my new text node. I opened its text editor, which shows the text and the name of the sound file it will call on to read the text aloud. Now I was really starting to get into Mission creation! This is the heart of the whole experience: you set up a basic outline, and then you add to it one piece at a time. Now that I know how to add one trigger, I can certainly add another and another. I can pile on events as I see fit. Every event, effect, trigger, and special action that FSX is capable of can be called on in FSXME. I can generate system failures, I can set up a race, or I could create special camera views. I could create an airshow with AI aircraft and try to fly a routine like Kent Pietch (who I believe is the inspiration for the FSX "Loopy Larry" Mission). He does a comedy routine in a small monoplane where his gyrations cause an aileron to fall off. FSXME will allow objects to be dropped from aircraft using a trigger. I could set up a custom Cinematic Camera to show the event, and then cause a limited failure specific to the wing to simulate the loss of the aileron. Some triggers are easier to use than others. I found it was best to start with the Wizard-generated Missions, and just add a few nodes. Once you have a grounded understanding of the FSXME system, then you can look at editing larger Missions like "Loopy Larry" or "Congo Relief". Voices. When you create a Mission in FSXME using a Wizard, your Mission will come with its own voices. Typically, FSXME will choose one of the computerized Microsoft voices. Using a custom node, you can add any text you like, and the voice will read your text out loud when triggered to do so. The idea is that the computer voice acts as a placeholder for when you record your human voice for the final cut of your Mission. A computer voice is a good choice because it simulates the time it takes to hear the text as it is being read. That way you know that your voice timing will work properly in the Mission. Without a voice, you just have to guess. Nothing is stopping you from keeping the computer voice in your Mission. If you have better quality voices, you can use them. For instance, I have AT&T Crystal and Mike, who sound a lot more realistic than Microsoft Mike, Mary, or poor, poor Sam. FSXME had no trouble at all using the AT&T voices. Users with Vista may have different technical issues with the voices than XP users, but it all works out rather well. file:///E|/AVSIM/Reviews/FSX%20ME/FSXME.htm (9 of 16)21/02/2009 11:03:41 AM
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AVSIM Online - Flight Simulation's Number 1 Site!

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