Author Topic: possible Safegate/marshaller toggle option?  (Read 3689 times)

erick0429

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possible Safegate/marshaller toggle option?
« on: May 06, 2013, 04:50:32 pm »
Hi, I just joined the forums and I am familiar to the format so i did a search for the topic prior to creating this post. I have to say I enjoy GSX very much and I was looking forward to using the Safegate parking systems but I have flown into many airports and I have only gotten the Marshaller option, at first I thought it was because of the modified AFCAD for airline gate assignments but then I tried a stock Airport that was unmodified and still got the same results. So can someone correct me if I'm wrong but do the safegates only work in FSDT Airports? If so I feel that this is an issue that has to be addressed as I paid to have to use of safegates and should be given the option to substitute the marshaller with a safegate post and vice versa. I feel this should be included as an update into the GSX settings menu when you enter gate customization. 

virtuali

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Re: possible Safegate/marshaller toggle option?
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2013, 05:12:16 pm »
So can someone correct me if I'm wrong but do the safegates only work in FSDT Airports?

Yes, at this moment.

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If so I feel that this is an issue that has to be addressed as I paid to have to use of safegates

You paid for whole GSX, but you can't expect that all its features would work exactly the same on any airport or be always available in the same way.

You might say you also paid to get custom Pushback routes with custom labels (instead of generic Left/Right) and custom gate selection menus, and these also work only at FSDT airports or, at least, an airport we customized, because these are all features not accessible with the scenery customization editor, but requires programming, so they don't work at every airport.

There are reasons for this: is not that we don't want you to add the GSX safegates to any airport, it's just that the most common models are mounted on walls, which means they must be precisely adapted to each scenery and each gate AND, the stop position on ground must also be calibrated AND it must be possible to specify custom offsets for different airplane types.

It's not like the marshaller, whose position can be guessed based on the parking and airplane cockpit eyepoint, but it's not a problem if he's placed a bit ahead or back. Wall-mounted docking system must be exactly positioned to the terminal wall, and its height might need to be adjusted either.

The only docking systems that might possibly placed automatically, like a marshaller, are those based on ground, but still there will be the issue of having to define multiple stop positions for different airplane types.

GSX already has ALL these features internally, which we use at our airports, but we program them as a script, we don't have an easy to use graphical editor. This should be done as a GSX feature, if we expect end users will use it.

So, it's something we might add in the future, if only because it might be useful for us as well, same as defining custom Pushback routes, which is another thing we can do but users can't, but we need to write an editor, which is more complex than the current vehicle starting positions editor, and will be more complex to use anyway, because instead of just moving a vehicle in a roughly correct position, you will have to first choose the docking system type, position it very precisely to the terminal wall, set the reference stop position on ground, and set all the different offsets for the recognized airplane types. Multiply this for all the gates that have docking systems at an airport, and I fear not many users will create such files themselves so, you'll end up in a similar situation as of today: having to wait for us to create a customization for an airport.
« Last Edit: May 06, 2013, 05:22:43 pm by virtuali »

erick0429

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Re: possible Safegate/marshaller toggle option?
« Reply #2 on: May 07, 2013, 01:36:19 am »
thank you for the prompt response. so I guess I'll just have to settle with what i get with GSX. I Worked for American at KMIA and I was just trying to recreate it as closely as possible but when i saw that KMIA was not going to be produced by FSDT and that the Safedock system only is available in those designed by the FSDT team, I knew this would not be possible... other than that I am extremely happy with my purchase and GSX has added that missing element of realism that I missed from being on the ramp. I will continue to monitor to see if KMIA may just come up on the future as a supported Airport as it is the Main Hub that I fly out of

virtuali

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Re: possible Safegate/marshaller toggle option?
« Reply #3 on: May 07, 2013, 11:32:02 am »
I will continue to monitor to see if KMIA may just come up on the future as a supported Airport as it is the Main Hub that I fly out of

That's a possibility. Are you referring to the default KMIA, or an add-on ?

For default airports, I agree the lack of docking system will require our support for the airport, but I'd expect that if an airport has docking systems in real life, and it's sold as an add-on by a 3rd party, they would include their own docking systems!

In that case, they won't be "GSX docking systems", so there will be no integration with GSX such as no final evaluation, but at least they would work, and GSX has an option to *disable* the marshaller, in case the 3rd party scenery comes with its own docking system, so you won't see both.