Getting Started With FSDT Airports

[sab12]

I am new to FSDT airports and am trying to get clear on a few things needed to get started. I am using P3D V5.2 HF2. The airports I am immediately interested in are KMEM and PHNL. I am planning to buy from Simmarket as I have some gift credits from supportive family members.
(1) Will the downloads from Simmarket include the latest P3D V5 installers?
(2) When I execute these installers, will they download/install or command me to do so for Live Update or FSDT Universal Installer and GSX free version which I understand I need?
(3) When I use KMEM and PHNL, I understand that I have to use a minimum 5 meter mesh setting to avoid things floating around?
(4) Are the modifications described in ORBX Cityscape Honolulu user guide still necessary in P3D V5?
Thanks,
Stephen

[virtuali]

(1) Will the downloads from Simmarket include the latest P3D V5 installers?

It doesn't really matter because:

- All our P3D products are sold in Trial version, so the latest installer is available here at any time. In addition to that, all installers starts a Live Update procedure after the completed so, even if Simmarket had a slightly outdated version, the installer will download the latest file automatically anyway.

(2) When I execute these installers, will they download/install or command me to do so for Live Update or FSDT Universal Installer and GSX free version which I understand I need?

They will only do a Live Update. The Universal Installer is a separate download, which at this time can't install P3D products ( it will, eventually ), so for P3D it can be used to updated products and manage licenses, activate/deactivate, read the manual, all outside the simulator. For MSFS products, it can replace all installers.

GSX is never installed automatically. You must download and install it first, and it doesn't require a license to be used on all our airports. A purchase is require to use it everywhere else.

(3) When I use KMEM and PHNL, I understand that I have to use a minimum 5 meter mesh setting to avoid things floating around?

More like you must use either 5 or 10 meters mesh, not more and not less. Less will make the terrain less accurate, more will cause rounding artifacts causing visible spikes.

(4) Are the modifications described in ORBX Cityscape Honolulu user guide still necessary in P3D V5?

No idea what those instructions say. Are they referring to changes to the Orbx scenery or FSDT scenery ?

[sab12]

Progess Report:
I did manage to get GSX, KMEM, and PHNL installed and working in my P3D V5.3 HF2 after somewhat of a struggle. I found all the answers I needed in your various virtuali posts in the forum.

I had to use the FSDT universal installer to register and update my products. Never got Couatl to start in the AddOn Manager.

As have many others, I kept losing the installed things when restarting P3D after a successful installation. This post of yours turned out to be the key to success - except for Live Update substitute P3D:

"I think I know what might have happened: you started the Live Update too quickly after closing the sim, without allowing enough time to close all the opened files, release all the file locks, and close all the started executables.

Now, before you say you are sure you saw the sim closing down, try this experiment:

- Launch the GSX Control Panel.

- Launch P3D4. You'll see the Control Panel with all the buttons disabled and the button that compiles saying "Waiting to close sim"

- Keep the GSX Control Panel in sight and close the sim. Noticed how long it takes AFTER the P3D4 icon has already disappeared for the button to re-enable itself ?

THAT'S when it's really safe to start the Live Update, because the Control Panel asks Windows when the simulator process has REALLY closed, which might require seconds (or more, depending how much stuff is required to close) AFTER you already seen the P3D icon disappearing from the Taskbar.

I'll see if it would be possible to add a similar check to the Live Update itself."

On my system, it took as much as 12 seconds after the P3D icon disappeared from the Taskbar before "waiting to close sim" button was re-enabled. AS LONG AS I DO THIS TEST EVERY TIME I CLOSE P3D AND WAIT FOR THE "waiting to close sim" Button TO RE-ENABLE BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE, I HAVE HAD NO MORE ISSUES WITH GSX, KMEM, AND PHNL INSTALLING OR STAYING INSTALLED.

Other Issue - Mesh Setting. So far, I can use 1 meter mesh setting at both KMEM and PHNL with no problem.

Other Issue - ORBX CityScape Honolulu modifications for FSDT PHNL. One setting is to the ORBX scenery and three are exclusions to your FSDT scenery. The one that seems to cause a problem is the ORBX setting.

Very pleased with KMEM and PHNL.

Thanks,

Stephen

[virtuali]

I had to use the FSDT universal installer to register and update my products. Never got Couatl to start in the AddOn Manager.

That was fixed the problem for several users, but it shouldn't be required, since the normal scenery installer and the Universal Installer downloads exactly the same files from the same server.

I have no idea why for some users it's required to use the Universal Installer, which is JUST a different interface that activates, but it's the SAME executable that runs ( Couatl_Updater.exe ). The only explanation I have is that the increasingly annoying antivirus products, that in order to boast being able to catch more threats than the competition, for some reason assume the same program is either a threat or not, depending if it was started from an installer (the scenery installer or the GSX installer ) or from another one ( the Universal Installer installer ).

As have many others, I kept losing the installed things when restarting P3D after a successful installation

You wanted to say "As have FEW others". We had ten of thousands of customers that are obviously using all products with no issues. If this really happen to "many others", the forum would be swamped by hundreds of messages at day.

This post of yours turned out to be the key to success - except for Live Update substitute P3D:

I'll see if it would be possible to add a similar check to the Live Update itself."

Of course there's the same check there. It's supposed to tell you a copy of the sim is still running, and it won't update anything until it really closed.

On my system, it took as much as 12 seconds after the P3D icon disappeared from the Taskbar before "waiting to close sim" button was re-enabled. AS LONG AS I DO THIS TEST EVERY TIME I CLOSE P3D AND WAIT FOR THE "waiting to close sim" Button TO RE-ENABLE BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE, I HAVE HAD NO MORE ISSUES WITH GSX, KMEM, AND PHNL INSTALLING OR STAYING INSTALLED.

That's useful to know, I would need to check why the notification from the updater that you cannot start it if the sim is running it not noticeable enough.

Other Issue - Mesh Setting. So far, I can use 1 meter mesh setting at both KMEM and PHNL with no problem.

That's really depends what other mesh you have. 5 meters is what we found works with most of them. Keep in mind that mesh with a REAL ( not faked/interpolated resolution ) resolution of 1 meters don't exists.

As you can see from this post on Orbx forum:

https://forum.orbxdirect.com/topic/180426-3rd-party-hawaii-mesh-with-honolulu-cityscape/

The suggestion to use any mesh, provided is "not higher than 5 meters" ( sound familiar ? ), seems to indicate even OrbX CityScape Honolulu comes with a 5 meters mesh, which is plenty enough so, setting at 1 meter in the sim is a waste of processing power with no visible gain.