Number of Containers - Simbrief with FSX not working?

[HardyZ]

Hello FS Dreamteam,
I refer to the topic http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,22507.msg152070.html#msg152070 by RFarmah on November 28, 2019 (long time ago...)
It ends with answer #9 from Umberto on December 02, 2019:
"Please stand-by, I could replicate your problem and even posted a fix, but reverted it, because it caused errors when using GSX just for pushback. But we'll look at it again soon."

Has this topic ever been discussed again? I searched the forum but didn't find anything. Anyway, I ran into this exact problem yesterday (FSX with GSX 3.1.4). I know, the issue of "number of passengers" is discussed in many places, but it is precisely this problem in the case that the option "Estimate Passenger Number" is disabled.

Umberto writes in reply #4 on November 27, 2019 in the topic above: "If you disable the "Estimate Passenger Number" option, the payload won't matter anymore."
Unfortunately, this is exactly not true as Umberto also confirmed in answer #9. Correct: You can enter the number of passengers manually and they will be displayed correctly, but the number of containers being loaded still corresponds to the payload and not to the entered number of passengers.

Did I miss something or is this intentional?
Thank You for Your answer.

Appendum:
Of course, I have been very grateful for Your update service so far, but only if updates improve the software and don't remove features that I once paid for. I can definitely remember that the number of containers according to the number of passengers used to work correctly in an earlier version.
Otherwise it would be better to stop supporting FSX or P3D completely. This all the more since we have no possibility of rolling back to an earlier properly working version.

[virtuali]

You are referring to very old threads, and lots has changed since then, most importantly the addition of Simbrief integration.

The number of containers, if the airplane is not cargo, is no longer based on "just" the passengers number / 220 lbs, as it always was. This approach had issues, because it couldn't account large and small airplanes at the same time, or with combi configurations, resulting in either big airplanes always using the max amount of loaders even if they were half empty, or small planes never using the max amount of loaders even if they were almost full.

The current method is more realistic, because instead of using the passengers number as an absolute value, it will calculate a fill up ratio based on the actual number of passengers against the Maximum amount of passengers that airplane can carry, adjusting the number of loaders/containers in proportion to that ratio so, no matter how large the airplane is, the number of loaders/containers would always be variable to give an idea of how "full" the airplane is, no matter its size.

The issue is, the "Max amount of passengers" is not a data we have from the sim. But we DO get it from Simbrief, so we use it if we have it. This means, if you use Simbrief, GSX will be able to calculate this loading ratio, which is valid regardless if the number of passengers was read from Simbrief or typed manually.

If you don't use Simbrief, the number of loaders will be based on Payload, which means the actual Payload at the time you called Boarding. This is also changed and improved, because it's not a straight Payload / 220 lbs as before, but it's again a ratio between the maximum payload and the actual payload. The difference here is we don't need Simbrief to calculate the ratio, it's made using this formulas:

Max Payload = Max Gross Weight - Fuel Weight - Empty Weight

Actual Payload = Total Weight - Fuel Weight - Empty Weight

Here, not using Simbrief means the actual payload depends on what the payload was when you called GSX boarding so, if you called it with the plane empty, you'll always see 1 cart. However, if you DO use Simbrief, the actual payload will be calculated using the PLANNED payload, so it wouldn't depend on the airplane load at the time you called Boarding.

[HardyZ]

Hello Umberto,
thank you for your answer and the clarification that the topic is related to the integration of Simbrief.
"... lots has changed since then, most importantly the addition of Simbrief integration.The number of containers, if the airplane is not cargo, is no longer based on "just" the passengers number / 220 lbs, as it always was. ..."

That's exactly the problem:
1) If I follow the discussions here, Simbrief was integrated in 2022 especially because of GSX Pro and MSFS. Basically, it is not understandable why as a GSX customer I have to use third-party software to run GSX properly. We *old* FSX users with GSX Level 2 didn't miss this and didn't ask for it - I think I can speak for others here too. Besides there is also other software for flight planning.

2) Without using Simbrief, the “Disable Estimate Passenger Number” option is practically useless. Without Simbrief, I now have to enter manually the weight via the FSX "Payload" menu before calling boarding/deboarding. This is awkward, complicated and the number of containers cannot be calculated without a calculator.
This update is not an improvement to the software or a bug fix, but rather a degradation of what I once paid for.
The previous solution, which allowed a quick and simple way to manipulate the number of containers by manually entering the number of passengers was much more user-friendly, although perhaps not as accurate as the formula used now.

I would be grateful if this simple option would be available again. I would like to have what I paid for - even if it's just for fun...
Kind regards

[HardyZ]

Hello Umberto,

although I still see it as an imposition that I have to use third-party software to run GSX properly (see my previous post above), I took the trouble to set up an account in Simbrief and integrate it into GSX 3.1.9 by entering my Simbrief alias (username).
I created several flight plans for various aircrafts (including the defaults B747-400 and A321-200) in Simbrief and imported them into FSX to test the number of passengers and containers.

Despite maximum load of passengers, I was unable to get GSX with Simbrief to provide more than 2 containers each for the front and the rear.
A321: 220 pax plus 24612 kg payload (max according to Simbrief) always results in 1 + 1 container
B747: 400 pax plus 64168 kg payload (max according to Simbrief) always results in 2 + 2 containers

This numbers doesn't change either if I use a Simbrief flight plan with, for example, 50 pax and 0 payload.
The Pax and Container numbers only change if I change the payload manually in the Fuel & Payload menu directly in FSX. Then I also get up to 5+5 containers with maximum payload. However, up to 1000 passengers will then board, which is also not realistic.

For me this means: The integration of Simbrief for GSX with FSX does not work (of course my Simbrief alias is entered correctly). Maybe the formula used is wrong or am I doing something wrong?
GSX for FSX actually reads the data for the number of passengers/containers only(!) from FSX and the "disable Estimate Passenger Number" option has no effect. I know: Manual entry of the weight was already necessary in the past to determine the number of pax and containers. However, since this is awkward, time-consuming and cannot be calculated without calculation work, I very much welcomed the simple formula "passengers number / 220 lbs".
 
Summary:
I would like to use GSX for FSX furthermore without Simbrief (what obviously doesn't work anyway) - just as bought.
I would still like to be able to use the simple "disable Estimate Passenger Number" option for FSX to determine the number of containers by myself - as originally.
 
This is what I paid for - nothing more. It is unacceptable for me that a product I paid for is degraded by updates that promise improvements and bugfixes but make the application worse. Future updates for FSX should be limited to bug fixes. That can be expected. The last updates generated more new errors than corrected old ones.

Awaiting your answer
Kind regards