The Best of Select: Games 4

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Text File | 1989-04-05 | 16KB | 414 lines

This READ.ME file documents the differences between the manual and the actual software as delivered. It also contains some helpful hints we and other users have discovered. The last part contains information about creating your own sector files, which should be ignored until you become a TRACON expert. 1. CGA/RGB Monitors -------------------- Some users expect to see TRACON display in color on their Color Graphics Adapter-driven RGB monitors. Unfortunately, this is technically impossible. These monitors can display either four colors in a low-resolution mode (320x200) or two colors in a high-resolution mode (640x200). Since TRACON requires the highest resolution possible, it will automatically select 640x200 two-color mode for that monitor and will thus appear in black-and-white only. For a true 16-color display as photographed on the back of the manual, an EGA or VGA display system must be used. 2. EGA Fonts ------------- Some systems with EGA displays, most notably the Zenith Z-248 systems frequently found in military intallations, do not display properly. Symptoms include the program displaying everything but text OK, with text usually becoming unreadable graphics characters. We have discovered that this is caused by an incompatibility in the EGA card's font generator hardware. If your system exhibits this problem, first try running TRACON using the command line: tracon /m egarom If that fixes the problem, please refer to the "TRACON.INI" section in Chapter 6 of the users' manual to make the fix permanent by changing the first line of TRACON.INI from: Monitor Auto to: Monitor EGAROM Your EGA-based system should work properly after this. 3. Voice Notes --------------- TRACON 1.5 speaks all your commands in proper phraseology through your PC's internal speaker. Pilots reply in another voice. Due to limitations of the PC's simple tone generator, fidelity is quite low; nevertheless, it sounds just like the real thing does in a Cessna! Following are some notes from our experience: IF YOU HAVE ONLY 256K OF INTERNAL MEMORY (RAM): TRACON may complain that there is not enough memory for voice on your system. This happens because your version of DOS, TRACON, and the voice buffers cannot all fit into memory at once. You may operate TRACON normally without voice on such systems, or you might purchase another 128K or so (9 chips) and increase your system's internal memory. SINGLE 360K FLOPPY USERS: After making working copies of both TRACON disks (Program and Voice), start TRACON as usual with the Program disk in drive A:. With a polite beep, the program will prompt you to insert the Voice disk when necessary and to reinsert the Program disk upon completion of the program. Do NOT remove the Voice disk once it has been inserted until requested by the program. ADVANCED FLOPPY USERS: If you have a RAM drive, created perhaps using the VDISK.SYS device driver that comes with DOS, you can speed up voice operation by using it. Just run TRACON from a batch file that copies all the VOI files from their own disk/directory to the RAM drive and create a path to that drive. Then, when TRACON needs to open a voice file, it will not find it on a physical device, and so will follow the path and get its digitized voice from the logical drive in memory instead of a physical drive. This will be especially helpful in dual-floppy environments where disk access is slow. The RAM drive should be at least 275K to hold the TRACON.VOI and the sector.VOI file that you will be using; larger if you want to put all the sector voice files on it at once. NOTE TO PS/2 USERS: TRACON's voice on your machines will be especially "tinny." Whereas XTs, ATs, and most clones use real moving voice-coil 2" speakers, IBM has seen fit to replace those in its new "slim-line" PS/2 series by piezoelectric devices about the size of a nickel. Dell System 220s seem to use this, too. Sorry... 4. NetWorks ------------ Some variations of some Novell networks seem to report the wrong time when we query the internal clock, telling us that a minute has gone by in about a second of real time. Please take your machine off the network to run TRACON while we're trying to run down this one. 5. Creating Your Own Sector Files (ADVANCED USERS ONLY!) --------------------------------------------------------- With the proper instrument charts and many tedius hours, you can create your own sector file(s). We did not document this file format in the user's manual, since only advanced users should try it and we don't want to be besieged with calls for more detailed information about this relatively complex process. Moreover, the data in a sector file is not error-checked very extensively -- this feature is just not supported as a user-configurable option. We have created 24 more sector files in-house and are offering them as an option, eight per sector disk -- use the enclosed order form if you want one or more. Nevertheless, if you want to "roll your own" sector files, the following information documents the file format of the SEC files. One caveat: if you try this, PLEASE DO NOT CALL OUR TECHNICAL SUPPORT LINES FOR HELP. They are busy enough helping out new users with the basics. But if you do succeed in constructing your area's sector, send it in to us on a diskette and we'll send you a free TRACON upgrade in return. A final note about sector files: you will not be able to create a VOI file for your sector without adding digitizing hardware, a microphone, and some of our maintenance software to your system. The only time you will miss the sector-specific VOI file is when you clear an aircraft to a fix. The fix name will not be spoken during the voiced command and pilot's response. Coordinate System Used ---------------------- A sector file necessarily contains numerous ground references. These points are entered using an <x,y> coordinate system measured in nautical miles from an origin located at the lower lefthand corner of the radarscope. The LAX scope, for instance, measures about 45 nautical miles across. Its lower lefthand corner is at approximate coordinates <0,0>, while its upper righthand corner is at about <45,45>. All ground references should be input using this sort of coordinate system. The best way to get these coordinates seems to be finding a piece of graph paper with a suitable grid that matches the scale of your Jepp or NOS area/low altitude chart and xeroxing that grid onto a sheet of clear plastic overlay. Then, you can simply tape the grid over your chart and pick off points, composing your SEC file using your favorite text editor. The following discussion will mimic the structure of Chapter 6 -- using the LAX.SEC file as an example, each line or group of lines will be shown and then discussed in sequence. Los Angeles The first line of a sector file contains the name of the TRACON that the file represents. This name may be up to 13 characters in length and will appear at the top of the screen during a scenario. RadarMin -1.3 -1.5 RadarMax 44.9 47.7 These two lines represent the coordinates of the lower lefthand and upper righthand corner of the radarscope. Since you should allow a couple of miles around the boundary fixes, the easiest way of getting a first cut at these <x,y> coordinates is to subtract two or three from the lowest x-coordinate and y-coordinate for the RadarMin value, and to add the same amount to the highest x- and y-coordinates for RadarMax. Since the radarscope is roughly square (actually slightly wider than it is tall on most monitors), these diagonal endpoints of the radarscope should match this shape, even if the above calculation yielded something a little different. For instance, in the LAX example above, the radarscope is 46.2 miles wide by 49.2 miles tall. These values for LAX seem to look OK on all monitor types. If the values you wind up with have the proper aspect ratio for your monitor, the onscreen map will "look right" when compared to a paper chart. After a little experimenting, you should be able to establish a reasonable value for RadarMin and RadarMax that works for your sector. Just be sure to give yourself a little room at the edges for inbounds, so that when they hold they're still on the scope, and make sure all fixes can be drawn well within these limits. 31 SOLED b 25.3 44.5 26.0 44.0 SAUGS b 14.0 45.2 14.7 44.6 LANGE b 11.8 43.5 7.6 44.3 TWINE b 3.8 39.3 1.7 40.3 BAYST b 1.4 22.2 0.1 23.2 MERMA b 1.2 14.5 -0.1 12.2 TANDY b 1.8 5.1 -0.2 2.7 ALBAS b 27.2 1.0 25.3 -1.3 MIDDS b 38.8 1.0 36.8 -1.3 TUSTI b 42.0 7.0 40.2 4.6 AHEIM b 39.0 9.7 39.7 9.1 LAHAB b 38.7 16.2 39.4 15.6 PIRRO b 41.6 22.5 37.0 21.7 COVIN b 40.0 25.4 38.1 26.4 HASSA b 42.4 33.0 40.4 33.9 After an integer indicating the total number of fixes (boundary, interior, and airports) to come, each boundary fix is entered in the following format: FIXNAME an FAA-standard 5-character fix name from your chart 'b' a boundary fix <x-loc, y-loc> the location of the fix itself <x-name, y-name> the location of the lower lefthand corner of the fix name when it is shown using the Alt-M command. Boundary fixes should be entered counter-clockwise starting with the upper lefthand fix. LIMBO i 12.2 6.0 10.2 3.6 WILMA i 22.0 6.7 22.6 6.0 SLI i 32.2 7.5 32.8 6.9 HERMO i 17.2 12.0 17.9 11.2 DOWNE i 28.5 18.3 26.4 15.9 BASET i 35.9 19.2 36.5 18.5 STABO i 21.0 20.8 19.0 21.8 AMTRA i 28.4 25.2 26.3 22.8 VALEY i 12.2 35.5 13.0 35.0 BERRY i 20.0 32.5 18.2 33.4 GESTE i 21.4 30.0 19.7 27.7 Then enter each interior fix just like you did the boundary fixes, except use the 'i' for interior instead of 'b' for boundary. LAX = 13.2 16.5 10.5 14.2 VNY + 10.3 34.0 7.3 32.5 LGB + 27.0 10.0 27.8 10.2 TOA + 17.8 7.5 16.7 4.6 SMO - 12.0 21.2 9.2 22.1 Then enter each airport as a fix, using a similar format. The type indicators for airports include '=' for an airport with parallel runways accomodating simultaneous approaches and departures, '+' for airports with an ILS approach, and '-' for airports with a VOR approach. The total of all lines entered in this format should equal the integer at the start of this grouping. 14 V8 a 5.1 6.2 35.4 9.6 TANDY LIMBO 0 V64 a 9.9 10.4 37.7 5.1 LAX LIMBO WILMA SLI TUSTI 0 V25 a 4.1 13.2 22.9 1.3 MERMA LAX HERMO WILMA ALBAS 0 V21 a 29.3 1.7 0.0 0.0 ALBAS SLI AHEIM 0 V210 a 21.8 18.4 39.1 19.1 LAX DOWNE BASET PIRRO 0 V264 a 35.9 26.1 0.0 0.0 LAX STABO AMTRA COVIN 0 V107 a 5.1 22.5 0.0 0.0 BAYST SMO STABO 0 V201 a 23.2 37.3 0.0 0.0 LAX BERRY SOLED 0 V186 a 27.5 28.4 0.0 0.0 VNY GESTE PIRRO 0 V459 a 30.5 11.6 16.0 41.6 SAUGS BERRY GESTE SLI 0 V23 a 4.2 31.0 34.2 1.6 TWINE LAX HERMO SLI MIDDS 0 V165 a 12.9 27.7 0.0 0.0 LANGE VALEY LAX HERMO 0 V16 a 35.3 14.5 0.0 0.0 LAX LAHAB 0 V299 a 3.0 18.2 0.0 0.0 LAX BAYST 0 The next grouping consists of the airways that connect the fixes you entered. After a count of the number of airways to follow, each airway is entered using two lines per airway. The first line is the airway name followed by the character 'a' followed by two <x,y> locations where the airway name should appear via the Alt-A command. If you only want the airway name to appear once, use <0.0, 0.0> for the second set of coordinates. The second line of an airway consists of the fixes that the airway connects in order. Indent the first fix name. The line should end with a '0' character. 6 LAX LosAngeles 5.3 1900 126 250 40 0 0 5 5 90 0 VNY VanNuys 7.7 4300 799 160 15 30 40 15 15 0 0 LGB LongBeach 4.3 1500 58 300 10 35 35 10 20 0 0 TOA Torrance 4.7 1900 101 290 13 50 50 0 0 0 0 SMO SantaMonica 6.7 3000 175 210 5 35 45 10 10 0 0 Ctr Enroute 0.0 0 0 0 17 40 40 20 0 0 0 The next grouping consists of airport information. After an integer showing how many airports (including a "Ctr" designator for the Enroute Center) will follow, each line consists of information about one airport. The information is ordered as follows: LAX Three-letter ID of the airport LosAngeles Name of the airport (no spaces) for the Alt-I command 5.3 Distance of the final approach fix (FAF) from the airport 1900 Final approach fix altitude in feet 126 Airport elevation in feet 250 Final approach heading to the airport in degrees 40 Percentage of flights in a scenario that will involve this airport. The total of this COLUMN for all airports (including Ctr) should equal 100. Notice now LAX gets most of the traffic here, while Santa Monica doesn't get much at all. 0 Of the aircraft in a scenario that involve this airport, this percentage will be piston singles (Cherokees, Cessnas, Bonanzas, etc.) 0 This percentage will be piston twins (Navajos, Barons, etc.) 5 This percentage will be turboprops (Cheyennes, etc.) 5 Percentage of corporate jets (LearJets, etc.) 90 Percentage of scheduled airliners (American, United, KLM, etc.). 0 Percentage of military jets. Note: the sum of the preceeding six percentages should equal 100, adding ACROSS for each airport. These percentages will determine the traffic mix at the airport. Note how LAX mainly services the larger aircraft, while Torrance handles the puddle-jumpers. The "Ctr" line in the airports grouping determines overflight percentages and aircraft mix in a similar manner. 13 SOLED 7 HASSA 10 COVIN 15 LAHAB 10 AHEIM 10 MIDDS 5 ALBAS 3 TANDY 5 MERMA 3 BAYST 4 TWINE 5 LANGE 8 SAUGS 7 Of the flights that enter and/or exit boundary fixes, the next grouping determines the distribution of flights around these fixes. The total of these percentages must add up to 100. In the LAX.SEC data above, for example, you can see that most traffic involves the Eastern fixes and to a lesser extent the fixes in the North. Fixes to the West over the water such as MERMA have much lower percentages than fixes such as COVIN to the East. MinAltitude 1000 The minimum vectoring altitude for the sector comes next. MaxAltitude 12000 This is the altitude of the top of the sector. Mask 16 This line determines which airlines fly into this sector. For instance, while Quantas might fly into LAX, it doesn't fly into Miami. But BahamasAir does. Geography determines what to do here, and the safest procedure is to pick a distribution sector closest geographically to the sector you're creating and use its Mask value in yours. Shoreline <x1, y1> <x2, y2> ... Finally, as many "Shoreline" groupings may be used as you wish. The LAX sector has a single shoreline, while others might have more (islands have their own disconnected shoreline, for instance). Each "Shoreline" grouping consists of <x,y> pairs, one per line, up to a maximum of 290 points in all. End each list with a <0.0, 0.0> pair. These points will be connected with blue lines via the Alt-G (Ground) command. Or, if you change the shoreline color, you could use this feature to draw TCA or subsector boundaries in the same dim greem used for the rest of the radar background.