Posts by FlyOverAsia

    Optimization means making sure all devices can run Aerofly FS without crashing first and foremost. We'd rather have a functioning sim with slightly reduced features on select devices instead of one that does not work at all.

    Maybe consider disabling them on "Low" and "Medium". Enabling them on "High" and "Ultra". Like architecture.

    Thanks for pointing this out. We will look into this issue, it's likely a fault on our side with the airport files itself.

    There seem to be many airports around the world with this problem. Some airports have raised areas around them (Or the airport is sunk in the ground). Some airports have raised areas between their runways and taxiways.

    For example: ZPPP

    I can (unfortunately) only design airports and sceneries for FS 4, i.e. the PC version. I don't know to what extent it is possible to transfer them to the mobile versions. I think that there is a user who can do a lot for Android devices. For iOS devices, as far as I know, this is only possible through IPACS.

    I can move the part that depends on Aerofly FS generic model library to Android/IOS. Just give me the tap. For Android, I have tutorials for installing the final files, but I don't use iOS and need someone else to edit the tutorials. For the other models, I think IPACS is needed because they don't provide any tools. We will just generate wrong files.

    As we mentioned before, we intend to update our navigation database and we never said we will go only for a specific solution neither did we say we will discard other ones. But it's not a matter that can be decided right away, it requires careful planning and we want to ensure we reach as many users as possible.

    Thank you for your reply. As you can see, many users want you to update the navigation data. I think this might be a valuable reply.


    But there also a question and suggestion:

    On the maps in the game interface "Locations" and "Navigation", the display of airports seems to rely on navigation data. If the ICAO code of an old airport is used by a new airport, the new and old airports will be displayed on the map. But in fact there is only one of the airports, the other is nothingness. From this I speculate that on that map, the navigation data will provide the airport's runway and location information. But if the navigation data is wrong, the airport display will also be wrong. Can something be done to improve this problem? If it's difficult, just pretend I didn't say it.


    A txt file about Aerofly FS Global has been sent to your email, please check it, thank you for your hard work.

    As I tried to explain, Navigraph is not a solution for all our users because it leaves 95% of all customers behind and would also drive up cost significantly.

    But Aerofly FS is obviously lagging behind in terms of navigation data. And according to my observation, the positioning of the airport on the map in the "Location" and "Navigation" interfaces in the game does not only rely on the runway data in the airport file. It also relies on navigation data. Navigation data also appears to provide some information about the airport. This results in that if the ICAO code of an old airport is used by a new airport, the new and old airports will be displayed on the map. But in fact there is only one of the airports, the other is nothingness. This is indeed an aspect that needs to be addressed.

    That's not what I said.

    We still need to find a navigation database that we can purchase that doesn't cost us millions and raises the app price by 100$...
    The rest of the process is somewhat easy, we already did all that with our current database so the process is already known.

    I see. Where did you get your navigation data before? Because Aerofly FS now has real navigation data from previous versions.

    I think you still don't quite understand. We need to do the process anyway. So why should we add additional work for us to enable you to work do the same but with extra hurdles? Renewing the database is only possible if it is affordable and accessible.

    You will do the work. That's the best. Because you have been putting off dealing with the navigation data issue until now. As before, basic functions are worth paying more attention to than more flashy aircraft.

    Our goal is to offer a working solution out of the box for all customers on all platforms. We do not aim to offer a labor intensive solution for only very few customers like manually updating the database. This would increase our own workload more than just finding a newer database and would require constant support over years. And it's not an alternative solution if it does not work on all platforms and for all users. Manually editing files is not allowed on iOS for example and it is tedious on Android. That rules out like 80% of all customers already. We also want to remain independent of third party services. When something breaks we want to have access to fix it immediately.

    Most of the worlds airports and most waypoints are still represented accurately by the navigation database we currently use. Of course there are some changes in the real world that our database does not yet capture. Even if a procedure changes this does not mean you can't fly the old one realistically. Only airports with new runways are somewhat of an issue because no data exists for these new runways.

    But even in a newer database some runways e.g. at military airports might not have the correct coordinates and can be off by 50 or 100m. We also had many major airports at which the coordinates of the runways and ILSes did not line up perfectly with the aerial images and our manually created runways. So we had to write an algorithm that dynamically moves navigation runways and ILSes to the right location to allow for autoland on the centerline. New databases may have the same exact issue or even more than we currently have.

    Updating the navigation database is also no simple task. The entire navigation database would be too large to be loaded into RAM on mobile so all navigation data first needs to be processed and sorted into small tiles. These tiles can be loaded efficiently in the background when needed and can also be streamed via network. This is one of the key optimizations in getting Aerofly to run on mobile and at such high frame rates. If we were to iterate through all tens of thousands of airports and through all runways at each airport to draw them to the navigation displays in the cockpit it would significantly impact performance. The tools to create these tiles only work on Windows. So for all customers that are on mobile, Mac OS or Linux this would mean they have to purchase a Windows PC to run these tools. And then you also need to find and download the navigation database file from somewhere which is the same issue we are currently facing anyway so it just adds more work for us to support it and users then have exact same issue that we already have which is finding an affordable source for a new navigation database.

    I understand that it is the huge workload that is why I propose that we process the navigation data ourselves in order to pursue precise operations. Accurate simulation is the essence of true simulated flight.

    You can choose to renew once a year or every two years. But more than three years is really not a good option.

    As for what you said "Most of the worlds airports and most waypoints are still represented accurately by the navigation database we currently use.". I know they really don't have any problems with the airports that Aerofly FS 2023 and previous versions already have. But other airports around the world have a lot going wrong. Precisely because other airports around the world are generated using AI using relatively new geographical data, while the navigation data is old, there will inevitably be differences between the new and the old. That is if you update the navigation data to the same time as the data generated for other airports around the world. Maybe it won't cause so many mistakes now. And other AI-generated airports around the world have a number of serious errors. For example, Naha Airport has only one runway, and the civilian part of New Chitose Airport has overlapping data, etc. I gave feedback before but it was not dealt with. This directly leads to a poor global data experience.

    Streaming is a great idea and using it wisely will make Aerofly FS even better. For us players, the reason for choosing Aerofly FS Global is that Real Flight Simulator does not have the advanced flight dynamics and realistic physics simulation that you have. Aerofly FS Global was chosen because "infinite flight" doesn't have the realistic scenery that you guys have. Aerofly FS Global was chosen because the 3D cockpit of "X-palne Mobile" is inferior to the highly detailed 3D cockpit you have. But what Aerofly FS needs to improve most now is the basics. No matter how modern an aircraft is, it will have big problems without excellent navigation data. The same is true for Aerofly FS 4. You can put new content on Aerofly FS 4 for testing as before, and then gradually optimize it until the phone can run it perfectly.

    For new features. I am looking forward. All in all, I wish Aerofly FS will gets better.

    As we all know, Aerofly FS Global, the latest version of the Aerofly FS series, still uses old navigation data. With the global map open to players. The problem of outdated navigation data is becoming more and more serious.

    I know that updating navigation data from time to time is impossible for IPACS and Aerofly FS, it will consume a lot of time and manpower. But not updating for so many years is really not a good idea.

    In Aerofly FS Global, old navigation data would steer the aircraft in the wrong direction. Some new or renovated airports even don’t have data. Could imagine the autopilot of an airplane landing an airplane on a taxiway next to a runway? These problems are not limited to a few airports. This results in many airports around the world having to use inaccurate waypoints that we have positioned ourselves. Or we can only approach the airport visually.

    This is disastrous in the pursuit of realistic flight simulation.

    There is no doubt that this problem needs to be solved urgently. Here are two solutions:

    1. Change the transmission form of navigation data to streaming media. After the navigation data is updated, not all navigation data will change in all areas. So you only need to push new data where there is data update.

    2. Expose applicable navigation data handling methods to player developers. If we need the latest data, we can always update it. This can also reduce your workload.

    If you can, take action by all means.

    Jet-Pack (IPACS)  admin