Autopilot After SIM Update 14

ultradianguy

@Bert-Pieke Of course - I understand that. In this case, the instructions to resolve this specific issue - same ticket - have been contradictory. Some of that is likely due to evolving debugging. But some of it is insufficient communication between JF and -in this case - the BS dev.

We're all human and fixing my sim experience is hardly the most important thing in life - but also I've spent a lot of my own time on resolving issues with a commercial product. I backed off on using it altogether because I just couldn't justify that amount of time for fixing something that shouldn't be my job. So I'm just asking the players to communicate with each other and then provide a comprehensive and consistent message in one place that doesn't require hunting through posts in one or more threads. No blame, no unkind words. I don't think that's unreasonable.

Bert Pieke

@ultradianguy said in Autopilot After SIM Update 14:

I don't think that's unreasonable.

I do not think you are being unreasonable at all, and I understand your frustration.
Personally, I am just happy that the developer is engaged and quick to jump in when problems arise.. Other aircraft, I have had to park, waiting for the "update" to make its way through the system..

Black Square

I could probably post this in numerous topics on this forum right now, but I will also add that you will no longer need the extra WT package from the in-game marketplace if you make one small change to just the Caravan's PANEL.CFG. If you change these two lines...

htmlgauge00=NavSystems/GPS/AS530/AS530.html, 0, 0, 320,234
htmlgauge00=NavSystems/GPS/AS430/AS430.html, 0, 0, 350, 190

To these two lines...

htmlgauge00=NavSystems/GPS/WT530/WT530.html, 0, 0, 320,234
htmlgauge00=NavSystems/GPS/WT430/WT430.html, 0, 0, 350, 190

That's essentially all that WT package is doing. It's redirecting calls to the original Asobo 530/430 to the new WT 530/430.

ultradianguy

@Black-Square said in Autopilot After SIM Update 14:

I could probably post this in numerous topics on this forum right now, but I will also add that you will no longer need the extra WT package from the in-game marketplace if you make one small change to just the Caravan's PANEL.CFG. If you change these two lines...

Thanks much and thanks for all the communication. Any chance of gathering all the needed edits in one place ? I think we're up to 5 files that need revision now to resolve all these issues:

GNS 530
GNS 430
KAP 140
Systems.cfg
Panel.cfg

Black Square

Systems.cfg, and GNS 530 are actually the only two that need medication for a functioning aircraft. The others are just to improve your experience.

As I've mentioned several times in this thread already, the reason I have not offered a mod to make the autopilot fix specifically, is that there are so many "fixes", "tweaks", and "compatibility mods" out there, all of which overwrite the GPS/autopilot completely, that tech support already struggles to diagnose existing problems caused by these community created modifications. They are all created with the best intentions, but a quick fix for one aircraft quickly becomes outdated and wreaks havoc for years after it has served its purpose. You can imagine why I am not too keen on creating yet another one of these packages for something that will be fixed by Working Title as soon as possible.

ultradianguy

Great news - I went ahead and made all the suggested changes discussed in the above 5 files, including the Flight Director edit and the 4 functions in KAP140. I just took a short flight and so far, everything seems to be working! It was not a comprehensive test, but I was able to switch to the GNS in both positions and then successfully set altitude hold, VS armed and captured a new altitude, NAV with both GPS and VLOC. I manually steered the aircraft in the direction of a track that was way off and when it got near, it captured it beautifully. CDI on both the analog HSI and the HUD were correct. All functions cleared when I turned off AP.

Hopefully this will hold next time I fly but so far, it checks out 100%. I'd forgotten what a nice plane it was because of all the frustration. Thank you @Black-Square for all the assistance.

ultradianguy

Oh - one question - is there any chance of mods for the regular Caravan affecting the BS Analog version? I know it's a different plane, but it seems there are more interactions than I would have expected so I wanted to check. Tonight's flight was without any mods to the default Caravan. I don't normally fly the G1000 version - but I put the mods in because there are bushtrips and other content that use the default Caravan.

Black Square

So glad it's working for you. Every time there is cause for me to go back and fly the Caravan, I'm reminded of how much I enjoy it. With those changes, I don't think you should see any of your issues return. This is not always the case with software, but those were very definitive fixes when I found them.

The only potential interaction between the default Caravan and mine should be the sounds. I recall a few reports from tech support of users with the mod installed hearing the fuel cutoff warning buzzer in one or the other aircraft when they shouldn't have been, but I haven't heard any reports of that in a long time. If you do have any issues, let me know, because they are all easily fixed.

ultradianguy

Sounds good. Thanks again for the stellar support Nick (and for the impressive debugging!) Both Ian at JF and you have been terrific.
I do think for the benefit of others it would be helpful to collect all the suggested edits in one place - even if it's just a single post in one of these threads. You could label the critical vs optional ones. That's your call of course. Anyway, hope to not be bugging you again for a while. ;)

Ian P

@ultradianguy I'm working on it. We'll hopefully have this up as a FAQ as soon as I've actually come up with some wording that makes it understandable without all the surrounding context from these threads.

@jmarkows primarily, but this may also help other people: Quick note from the other thread about your comment reference line numbering; I always recommend that people use Notepad++ for edits such as these (https://notepad-plus-plus.org/) - it's free, recognises many types of code by default and provides colouring and other feedback to show where there are problems in code if you make any mistakes. It also doesn't add command codes, null spaces and other things which Wordpad has an annoying tendency to do.

Aladdeen98

Hi! Is there an update coming out anytime soon with these changes? If so, I'll wait because I'd rather not make any mistakes trying to do it myself.

Derek

@Aladdeen98

We can't modify WT's code and so we'll have to await SU15 coming out before we can sort a permanent fix.
X-Plane users will be used to living in a constant state of flux with their sim, but it's a relatively new experience for Microsoft pilots and developers.

BoeingDriver

This post is deleted!

chiron

So WT on discord said that they have fixed a number of things for upcoming SU 15 including GNS autopilot problems. If we made changes in the WT530B.js should we we revert back to the original WT530B.js before the update comes out with SU 15? Or will the update just install a new WT530B.js ? Thanks

Black Square

Great question. I installed the update this morning, and the update manager overwrote the files, meaning that no further user action should be necessary. I found that the update did fix the problem, so if you are still having problems after the update, try renaming/removing/deleting the WT530B.js altogether. This will cause the update manager to download the latest version for certain.

Thank you, everyone, for waiting while Working Title sorted this out. Unfortunately, they did not have the resources to incorporate any of my numerous other fixes and improvements for the GNS that I supplied them with in SU15, but there is hope for the next sim update. I will keep you all posted.

almogogi

Hi
@Black-Square
I've been plagued by this issue ever since I bought the BS Analog King Air 350i (over a month ago). Unfortunately the fix you suggested does not solve the problem. I made the code change, however when I load the aircraft the GNS530 flight plan is still empty and the A/P does not work. So frustrating!
A few things I did notice:

The GPS configuration is not maintained between flights. When I start a flight it will always display the CTL-22 and I have to manually switch to the GNS530.
When switching to the GTN750 - all is working great.
Sometime, if I load an aircraft with a working WT530 and then switch to BS King Air the GPS will work, but sometimes it won't. I was unable to determine exactly when.

Is anything something special about the analog King Air GNS530?

Thanks
Al

Black Square

Sorry to hear that you've been having issues. We have not received any reports of issues with the King Air, and I just testing everything out on my end, so we should be able to find a solution for whatever is bothering you.

There is nothing special about the KA with respect to its autopilot. The flight plan not loading from the native flight planner is a Working Title problem, btw. I've asked them to fix it in a future update.

While I have some reports of state saving being less reliable on some systems (possibly due to anti-virus software), I recently discovered a code remnant in the TDS GTN was causing just the radio configuration to revert. I believe the new version that fixes this is currently live, if you have the TDS product.

Getting to your autopilot issue, if you're only seeing the issue with the GNS 530, then it's most likely related to the bug discussed on this page. Working Title's update to the GNS with Sim Update 15 (live in two weeks), should fix this. In the meantime, I'm happy to help you troubleshoot. If you're sure that you made the modifications correctly, perhaps you could describe how exactly your autopilot is not working? That might give me a hint as to what's going on. Thank you!

almogogi

Hi @Black-Square
My bad... I thought that the FP not loading was also part of the A/P issue so when it failed I assumed the A/P will not work as well.
I tried again, entered the FP manually and, surprise surprise, the A/P is working perfectly.
Thanks for all your efforts. Truly appreciate it. If only I'd found this thread sooner...
Al

Black Square

No worries! Sorry for your wasted time. I can't believe that it's taken Working Title almost four months to fix this breaking change. They have been kind and accommodating towards me, and I understand that they now work under the constraints set by Asobo. I apologize nonetheless. Sorry about the flight plan loading issue. I will keep this thread updated if I hear anything about the modifications that I have provided them with for the GNS. Hopefully they will be implemented sometime soon, but I was told not to promise anything. Always happy to help!

defcry

Hi, purchased TBM 850 couple of days ago and I love the plane. It is also an introduction for me to IFR. I was starting to get really desperate that I could not get my AP to work in any mode so far and I though I am just really dumb, until I learned its a bug. I changed the code lines in WT530B.js but it doesnt seem to fixed the bug. The only way I can keep the 530 working properly is if one of the avionics is set to 750 or KX155. I am surprised they take over 3 months to fix this.