Adding custom handler and making it work, some help?

[Tobus]

Goodday. Bit of a long post but below is what I did to get custom handling company going at certain fields or with certain atc id.
It's written as a guide for my VA peers.
Despite all my efforts, I'm not getting it to work, so any tips to what I'm doing wrong?

1. Get logo file
a. Find attached logo below.  Save that at a convenient place.
NOTE: The filename will be the company handling logo name in GSX.

2. configure catering, ground handling and jetways for one time.
a. Load up sim, preferrably with an aircraft at gate location that needs some handling. For instance Dash8, RJ70 or bigger still.
b. Go to menu bar, add-ons, gsx, customize airport positions
c. You are looking at the configuration of your current parking at current airport. Under custom textures Click on the ... behind "default" and select the logo you saved in 1a. Do this for both ground handling and catering vehicles. Select vehicle ground colors as you wish.

The above works, from here I don't get it to work

3. configure catering and ground handling for certain airfields
a. do 1 and 2.
b. go to folder %AppData%\Roaming\Virtuali\GSX\texture
c. in this folder, open folder Catering, then texture folder of the logo company you created in 2c to edit on which airports catering will be handled by the logo company.
d. open rules.txt. Below the [logo company] entry, enter "couatl.icaoprefixes =" , followed by any icao codes you want the logo company to handle ground stuff.
For instance, use couatl.icaoprefixes = AYPY BIKF EAFS EDDV EGFF ENGM KMCI LEBB LLBG NZWN PAKT PHTO WSSS YBCG for all current AMA hubs.
e. do 3c and 3d for texture folder Handling to edit on which airports ground handling will be handled by the logo company.

4. configure catering and ground handling for certain aircraft
a. check the atc_airline value in the aircraft.cfg file of the aircraft you want to link to specific handling. For this guide, we state it is MERIDIAN.
b. as 3b.
c. as 3c.
d. open rules.txt. Below the [logo company] entry, enter "couatl.atc_parking_codes =" , followed MERIDIAN to let the logo company handle catering for all aircraft running this airline.
e. do 4c and 4d for texture folder Handling to edit on which aircraft/airline  ground handling will be handled by the logo company.

5. in GSX settings, tag "Virtual Airline" and enter MERIDIAN, as that should be your atc callsign as set up in your aircraft.cfg

And despite doing everything as found on the various forums and manual, nothing of the above is working on my end :-(

[virtuali]

If your goal is what you said "custom handling company going at certain fields", using the "Virtual Airline" is surely wrong, since what it does, is to override everything and always call that operator everywhere.

[Tobus]

If your goal is what you said "custom handling company going at certain fields", using the "Virtual Airline" is surely wrong, since what it does, is to override everything and always call that operator everywhere.

I know, and I thought of that, which is only option 5. But I can't get that to work either. As I understand it, it triggers on the atc_ident in aircraft.cfg of the aircraft used?
Using that, I don't get it to work.

Other options in the rules files also field no results. So clearly I'm misunderstanding/doing something wrong. What, I'd very much like to know, so .... help?

[virtuali]

As I understand it, it triggers on the atc_ident in aircraft.cfg of the aircraft used?

Nothing in the aircraft.cfg affects the choice of the ground operator, and surely not the atc_ident (nowhere the documentation every says this). The only thing in the aircraft.cfg file that affects GSX is the atc_parking_codes, which affects ONLY the choice of containers logos, not the ground operator itself.

[Tobus]

As I understand it, it triggers on the atc_ident in aircraft.cfg of the aircraft used?

Nothing in the aircraft.cfg affects the choice of the ground operator, and surely not the atc_ident (nowhere the documentation every says this). The only thing in the aircraft.cfg file that affects GSX is the atc_parking_codes, which affects ONLY the choice of containers logos, not the ground operator itself.

Yes, I know, excuse me for not knowing the exact field names.
So allow me to ask the question for help again, instead of being told off on field name details.
As it stands, following the manual I can get custom handling and catering to work per gate where I'm parked at, but not via the rules files (icao-prefix or atc_parking_codes)  as stated in the manual.

So any help, for instance a consice step by step, would help me a lot. Can you provide this please?

[virtuali]

I don't know how much better I could explain, other than is already on the manual. It would be best if you said which part of the manual you don't understand, or what you are trying to do, and what happens instead, clearly indicating which modification you made to which files.

[Tobus]

Hi Umberto,

I think it's clear in the original post, but let me re-copy part by part for now:

1. Get logo file
a. Find attached logo below.  Save that at a convenient place.
NOTE: The filename will be the company handling logo name in GSX.

2. configure catering, ground handling and jetways for one time.
a. Load up sim, preferrably with an aircraft at gate location that needs some handling. For instance Dash8, RJ70 or bigger still.
b. Go to menu bar, add-ons, gsx, customize airport positions
c. You are looking at the configuration of your current parking at current airport. Under custom textures Click on the ... behind "default" and select the logo you saved in 1a. Do this for both ground handling and catering vehicles. Select vehicle ground colors as you wish.

The above works on an individual basis of a certain parking on a certain airport. From here, getting it to work by default I don't get it to work

3. configure catering and ground handling for certain airfields
a. do 1 and 2.
b. go to folder %AppData%\Roaming\Virtuali\GSX\texture
c. in this folder, open folder Catering, then texture folder of the logo company you created in 2c to edit on which airports catering will be handled by the logo company.
d. open rules.txt. Below the [logo company] entry, enter "couatl.icaoprefixes =" , followed by any icao codes you want the logo company to handle ground stuff.
For instance, use couatl.icaoprefixes = AYPY BIKF EAFS EDDV EGFF ENGM KMCI LEBB LLBG NZWN PAKT PHTO WSSS YBCG for all current AMA hubs.
e. do 3c and 3d for texture folder Handling to edit on which airports ground handling will be handled by the logo company.

I expect that on named airports in 3d, catering and handling should be done by my new customized company. It isn't.
So either my expectation is wrong, or I'm doing something wrong.

[Tobus]

Still need help, thank you.

[virtuali]

Sorry, but you still haven't provided a precise, exact, description of everything you want to achieve, and the precise, exact, description all all files you changed and how.

[gibanica]

Hello, Im new here, so can someone send me the new tutorial of making GSX liveries for handlers and catering?
Three dots in customization menu are unclikcable, so cant select a new operator beside default ones.

[Captain Kevin]

Hello, Im new here, so can someone send me the new tutorial of making GSX liveries for handlers and catering?
Three dots in customization menu are unclikcable, so cant select a new operator beside default ones.

If you're running P3D V5, this isn't possible.

[gibanica]

I am unfortunatly.
Thank you.

[virtuali]

It would be more useful if you could just say which operators you are missing and where they are located, and we can add them easily.

[gibanica]

it would be more useful if I can edit it by myself.
Anyway a lot of us looking for Belgrade airport operators, Air serbia, i vinci i skypartner


Air Serbia Catering
https://prnt.sc/26ip3jp

vinci
https://beg.aero/sites/belgrade/files/vinci/meta/beg_aero-og.png

skypartner
https://prnt.sc/26ip26v

thank you

[virtuali]

it would be more useful if I can edit it by myself.

But since in P3D V5 is fairly complex to do that without DirectX then no, at this time is far better if you just tell what's missing, so we can add them and EVERYBODY can enjoy it.

Air Serbia Catering

This has been added in today's update.

vinci

This it's already there as a jetway logo for Belgrade.

skypartner

We'll look into this one.