We would like to hear your suggestions about a GSX Open API

[Fabo]

So I guess SODE is sort of pre-release testing?

Either way good news. Looking forward to it.

[virtuali]

It's basically done. It's just that we made so many updates to both GSX and the underlying Couatl engine (not all related to SODE) for the upcoming KMEM release, that we are planning to released them together.

[Floeffel]

There are few cases when a pushback in one direction would end up with the airplane pointing in the opposite way from the exit, and the other direction will end up with the airplane into the terminal wall.

These only happens only at the LAST parking spot on long corridor with only one exit, like some parkings at KLAX. Which is why, in these special cases, we have a custom pushback route made for our sceneries, but GSX can’t automatically handle these cases all over the world, we might add in a future update the ability for users to customize pushback routes which right now is only available for our sceneries.

There is a simple way to solve this problem. (I did that for a few parking spots at LSZH in the bay for the A and B gates.)
- Download the free Airport design editor (not a FSDT product - I am sorry if this should not be allowed to write here, but it helps)
- In ADE open the AFCAD of the airport you have this problem
- search the "faulty" parking positions
- search a safe nod (Taxiline-nod that is connected somehow (it can be a little away of your parking position)
- right click the nod and go onto settings
- copy the coordinates like they are into an empty txt file (coordinate format should be like this: 4.9281938 - this here are just some numbers and do not correlate to any nod in a specific scenery)
- close ADE without saving and go back into your sim
- open the GSX-Menu and go to "Customize this parking position"
- in the lower section you find a push back direction selector
- activate the directions you need (for the  "both"
- if you have a bay: write into the one which normaly would end you up facing the building (or whatever) the coordinates you have copied and click on "Apply"
- now you can use the alternative push direction (When flying online: clarify it with ATC that you make a long push to somewhere)

This way will make you initially push into the "wrong" direction initially, but then it makes an 180° turn and pushes you to the desired spot.
With my example of Zurich:
e.g. Standing at A44 alternate push will push me onto taxiway F facing North (the taxiway in front of the bay)
- my push initially pushes me into the Airside center (the building with the big "Zürich Flughafen" inscription) and then backwards onto F.

Hope this helps.

[Speedbird ATC]

Small bug/issue I noticed. If you fuel your aircraft BEFORE you call the truck, the fuel truck will infinitely wait.

[mariodantas]

Would be great to have some DLL to import into VS.NET Projects to interact directly with GSX

[capt_pero]

Hi Umberto,

I thought it would be very comfortable for users of JeeHell FMGS (A320 glass cockpit software) if GSX could tell some states to an FSUIPC offset.
For instance if "GSX Ground operations" starting it would be great to read out an offset to trigger another JeeHell Offset for "EXT PWR AVAILABLE" and vice versa if the tow truck connects or ready for "direct taxi out".

I am pretty sure you don't want to support different types of Aircraft but at least this one offset could be a good starting point. :O)

Regards,
Peter

[virtuali]

I thought it would be very comfortable for users of JeeHell FMGS (A320 glass cockpit software) if GSX could tell some states to an FSUIPC offset.

I'm sorry but, GSX doesn't have any relationship with FSUIPC.

For instance if "GSX Ground operations" starting it would be great to read out an offset to trigger another JeeHell Offset for "EXT PWR AVAILABLE" and vice versa if the tow truck connects or ready for "direct taxi out".

I'm sorry, but I don't understand this sentence. No idea what's JeeHell is or what you are trying to achieve. There are several L: variables used by GSX that developers can read to check the status of a service, see the last pages of the manual: is there anything that can help you there ?

[pmartin]

Hey virtuali!
Who you are? Jeehell is a very big program! Have a look here! http://www.mycockpit.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=263
Your Programm is ONLY for ground-service jeeheel i a virtual-copy of the complex airbus-system (like AST or proSim).
So it will be good to know the software.
best regards
peter

[virtuali]

Jeehell is a very big program!

Never head about  it, sorry.

Your Programm is ONLY for ground-service jeeheel i a virtual-copy of the complex airbus-system (like AST or proSim).

I'm sorry but, as popular it might be amongst cockpit builders, you should really revise your perspective on the flight simulation market: a program like GSX, which can be used by everybody and works with every airplane, it's way "bigger" than something dedicated to cockpit builders with Airbus.

In any case, you still  haven't clarified what exactly you would require from GSX to work with that program. Maybe, it would be best if developers of such program could contact us.

[A320-Daniel]

Dear Umberto,

I am Daniel and I am the lead developer of AST A320 software (also known as AirSimTech). I already tried to contact you. We work together with an external instructor station called FSFlightControl. The developer of FSFlightControl tried to contact you but didn't get any feedback. FSFlightControl is a perfect instructor station to be used by any cockpit builder (regardless of aircraft type) and also by "desktop pilots" who don't have a complete cockpit.

FSFlightControl would be a perfect tool to control GSX instead of having it displayed on the screen in the simconnect menues.

I will advise Andreas (he is the developer of FSFlightControl) to contact you here in the thread again.

Many thanks
Daniel

[ab-tools]

Hello Umberto,

Daniel pointed me to this thread - I'm the main developer behind the FS-FlightControl Instructor Station.

And yes, we would be VERY interested to directly integrate with GSX where basically two things would be important:
1. Ability to control the GSX ground services remotely via network based API (TCP, UDP or even via SimConnect client events).
2. GSX menu not shown in Prepar3D/FSX when GSX is controlled remotely.

There was a longer thread about our product and potential GSX integration already here in your forum in this thread:
http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php?topic=14025.0

It would be really great if you could open some sort of API to remote control your GSX product!

Please let me know if you should need any further information.
You can also contact me directly at info@fs-flightcontrol.com.

Best regards from Germany
Andreas

[virtuali]

And yes, we would be VERY interested to directly integrate with GSX where basically two things would be important:

1. Ability to control the GSX ground services remotely via network based API (TCP, UDP or even via SimConnect client events).
2. GSX menu not shown in Prepar3D/FSX when GSX is controlled remotely.

I'll surely contact you but, I must anticipate this wouldn't be the easiest thing to add, which requires far more work than what was discussed in this thread, which were basically just adding more published L: variables that developers could read (several of them are already there).

[ab-tools]

Hello Umberto,

first thanks a lot for your quick reply!

As FS-FlightControl is an external program we can't easily access "LVars", but as far as I understood you also just use SimConnect directly (and not FSUIPC) the same as we do.

If that's the case I would suggest to simply make the variables that you currently "offer" as "LVars" also available as "client data" via SimConnect.
As you are familiar with SimConnect obviously using the "client data" feature should be very easy to do. That's the SimConnect functions you would need:
http://www.prepar3d.com/SDKv4/sdk/simconnect_api/references/general_functions.html#SimConnect_AddToClientDataDefinition
http://www.prepar3d.com/SDKv4/sdk/simconnect_api/references/general_functions.html#SimConnect_RequestClientData
http://www.prepar3d.com/SDKv4/sdk/simconnect_api/references/general_functions.html#SimConnect_SetClientData

Additionally we could use "client events" to trigger certain actions:
http://www.prepar3d.com/SDKv4/sdk/simconnect_api/references/general_functions.html#SimConnect_TransmitClientEvent

This way everything would be done directly within SimConnect and no additional interface (like TCP or UDP) would need to be implemented.

Please don't hesitate to let me know if you should have any further question - really looking forward to work together with you to make this happen!

Best regards
Andreas

[virtuali]

As FS-FlightControl is an external program we can't easily access "LVars"

Understood (GSX can access L: vars even if it's an external program, because it connects with the Addon Manager, which is a .DLL): we used L: vars because they are very easy to use from XML gauges and they can be used by LINDA, for example.

but as far as I understood you also just use SimConnect directly (and not FSUIPC) the same as we do.

Yes.

If that's the case I would suggest to simply make the variables that you currently "offer" as "LVars" also available as "client data" via SimConnect. As you are familiar with SimConnect obviously using the "client data" feature should be very easy to do. That's the SimConnect functions you would need:

We are are obviously aware of the Simconnect client data, which is how GSX communicates with SODE...

Please don't hesitate to let me know if you should have any further question - really looking forward to work together with you to make this happen!

The issue is not how to communicate data between two programs: that's the easiest way and it's just a minor detail. The REAL issue is making GSX aware of it MIGHT be remotely controlled, without affecting its normal usage and THIS is what is really tricky.

[ab-tools]

Hello Umberto,

The issue is not how to communicate data between two programs: that's the easiest way and it's just a minor detail. The REAL issue is making GSX aware of it MIGHT be remotely controlled, without affecting its normal usage and THIS is what is really tricky.

Sure, this would need to be done, but I think it would be worth the effort:
We really get a lot of requests by customers to "remote control" GSX or AES and I don't want to work with AES as long as there is no Prepar3D version available by Aerosoft (which I don't expect any soon). So I really would like to work with you to get GSX integrated with FS-FlightControl.

And also apart from remote controlling GSX with FS-FlightControl, I'm sure there would be many other usage scenarios for that:
Especially customers that do have a full cockpit really do not like the menu options to be shown inside the main Prepar3D/FSX window as it kind of "destroys the illusion". Therefore, having an option to remote control GSX without a menu being shown in Prepar3D/FSX being it using FS-FlightControl or a different tool would definitely be a great option for many users!

I am a developer myself, so I obviously know that there are always side-effects and things are not so easy as they sound in the first place, but I could think of this as a "kind of simple" solution:
- We could transmit a SimConnect client event to enable remote controlling.
- After GSX has received this client event it no longer shows the GSX menu in Prepar3D/FSX, but instead provides exactly the same menu options using a SimConnect client variable.
- FS-FlightControl (or any other tool) could then trigger exactly the same actions (again using a SimConnect client event) as the user "normally" can by selecting the appropriate menu option in Prepar3D/FSX itself.
That way - as it's just a new interface to exactly the same options - I would expect/hope that not a lot needs to be changed inside GSX to make it work also remotely controlled.

Please let me know your thoughts about that.
As mentioned I'm happy to discuss that also via e-mail (info@fs-flightcontrol.com) directly if you prefer that.

Best regards and thanks again for getting back to me so quickly
Andreas