Raw Grit: PNG Bushpilotwas developed on a low-end system for low to high-end computers, and was tested on both WinXP and Vista platforms with medium to high-end graphic cards. Specific requirements include:
· Microsoft Flight Simulator 10 (FSX) · Windows XP (SP2, SP3), Windows VISTA · Pentium IV 2.6 GHz (2GHz Duo2Core Intel or equivalent advised) · 1 GB RAM and above recommended · 256 Mb DirectX 9 graphics card (512 Mb and above recommended) · Adobe Acrobat® Reader 6 minimal to read and print the manual. · 160MB of disk space
Recommended FSX Settings
Frame rates from scenery complexity and autogen density were averaged at 30fps and above between Dense and Extreme Dense settings. This includes moving air/road/sea traffic sliders 40% or more to the right. Lower settings yielded much higher frames, but our recommendation is Normal to Dense settings for exceptional rates. We recommend Normal to Dense because it represents real PNG scenery/environment. Extreme Autogen density is way overkill in our opinion.
DISCLAIMER
No problems were encountered during various beta tests, whether hardware or software related. Instructions for installation of software are straightforward; however, venturing outside bounds of recommended installation and use is at the sole discretion of End-User. For example, we will not bear responsibility for installation of the product, in part or full, into former Flight Simulator platforms which includes FS2004 because the product is not backward compatible. Furthermore, we will not be held responsible if files are altered within software for any reason associated with End-User taste or choice.
PRODUCT DISCLOSURE
Similar to any Flight Simulator (FS) Addon product, “Raw Grit: PNG Bushpilot” (Raw Grit) may have issues that are either default Microsoft-related or developer-related. Issues that are MS-related, whether documented or undocumented are many, but only two which relate directly to and impact Raw Grit’s performance are listed here in the interest of full disclosure. Issues encountered by End-Users which may have been unintentionally overlooked during Raw Grit’s beta tests, will be addressed in future Service Pack(s).
1. No parking spots and AI traffic (aircraft) seen on sloped airfields.
The MS engine does not allow for this feature. Adding parking spots even without runway links using ADE or AFCAD will only result in CTD. So DON’T attempt this.
2. Scenery sounds provided has directional attenuation issues. (Example, hearing bird sounds only from one field of view. Also, sound from outside cockpit carries over into the cockpit at the same level.
Unless proven wrong (and we stand corrected), we believe sound levels (loud or soft) are distance-to-object related (attenuation relativity), not directional. The sound level is the same from the outside and within aircraft but become louder or softer when moving towards or away from the area.
FAQ
1. I have a high-end system, why am I supposed to run Raw Grit’s recommended autogen scenery at “normal” instead of higher settings?
How simmers use their system is of course based on individual taste as well as affordability, however the recommended settings are realistic benchmark of the real-world PNG environment we are imitating here.
2.I do not see AI traffic and/or parking spots on flat runway airfields.
This is meant to be for two reasons:
- Most airstrips in PNG have very limited parking areas and in most cases use the runways as parking spots, so we are merely replicating reality here. Furthermore, having parking spots everywhere in Raw Grit only creates room for AI and not for the simmer’s aircraft. Only where there’s room, there are parking spots.
- Also, most airstrips in PNG are one-way T/O and Ldg only, so having an AI purposely flying suicidal missions into the surrounding high terrain does not bode well with the overall feel and ambience of the scenery.
3.I do not see many houses, towns or cities near the airfields, why is that?
The bush airstrips replicated here are simply that “Bush” strips – as in real-life PNG. Ninety percent of the PNG population lives in rural areas where the road network is very little to non-existent.
The population is scattered in small village clusters and are remotely accessed only by light aircraft in the mountains and aircraft/boats/canoes in the coastal regions. Even one of the major airports (PNG standards) Tokua (AYTK) – is about 16nm from the town of Rabaul, yet there’s not much “life” at AYTK in terms of houses, etc, that would warrant a major construction of the area in FSX.
4.I see rivers running uphill, or not corrected to “flow” with terrain/valley contours.
This is a Landclass issue which we are not responsible for. We specialize only in the development of PNG airstrips and its terrain mesh. Hopefully someone with Landclass talent will address this in the near future.
5.I see raised lakes and rivers.
We will constantly and diligently address all terrain mesh anomalies reported to us and any fixes will be included in our future Service Pack(s).
6.The sloped runways are very bumpy and I encounter crashes every time.
Raise or lower terrain resolution in FSX for best compromise/result. Lower resolution settings means bumpy runways, higher equals smooth.
In PNG, almost all small airstrips were built from rudimentary implements such as axes, shovels/spades, bush knives, garden forks, sticks, etc, with unpaid hard menial Labor to boot. Not to mention everyday maintenance neglect. The end result is quite obvious, poor drainage system with constant land erosion, tall grass, and therefore little use by aircrafts.
Since we are reflecting reality, we recommend turning the “Crash” detection option in realism settings off. Many simmers prefer to fly “honest” by having the crash settings on and we respect their individual simming taste and choice. But it’s also frustrating having to fly long distances only to crash at arrival destination and blaming the runway because of plain “honesty.” Nevertheless, we have tested the sloped runways many times over to our satisfaction to accommodate both reality and sim “realism.”
7.I have my ADF frequency set to appropriate waypoint NDB but still cannot get any needle movement.
Check “Facilities Directory” for correct signal range. Also see if ADF is checked on from dormant/off position.
8.CapeGloucester (CPG) and Woitape (WTP) airstrips have grass runway texture bleed-through anomaly, what’s the deal with that?
It’s not an anomaly and it’s meant to be to provide impression of rough patches in grass strips, it’s as simple as that. The runways are of course solid, yet bumpy.
9.Do runway textures and Landclass change with the season?
Yes. The dirt runway textures turn solid brown during winter and are light tan during summer.
10.I did not see the pool at the back of the terminal at CapeGloucester (CPG), why are the trees hiding it?
Because the airstrip Manager’s wife is always swimming half naked there.
11.The road traffic in Raw Grit is moving way slower than what I see in other FS sceneries, why is that?
It’s not an issue or a bug. We altered the Living World cgf.xml (LWcfg.xml) file to reflect realistic road traffic movement in the Pacific region within FSX. Instead of the default 100km/hr, the traffic now moves within Raw Grit and other Pacific countries at 60km/hr. No other regions of the world are affected.
12.But I see mine moving fast in default mode, why the inconsistency?
Download our version of the Living World cfg.xml (LWcfg.xml) BELOW. Follow directions from the Readme document on how to install.
13.The road traffic is really dense for a small island country, what’s the best traffic density level?
We recommend setting traffic density at either 6 or 7% on the autotraffic slider. Anything above that does not reflect reality.
14.I do not see any moving boat or ships in the scenery, why is that.
Move the Ships and leisure boat traffic slider 20% and up to see them.
MUST-HAVE DOWNLOADS
***FREEWARE SOUNDS AND EFFECTS TO ACCOMPANY RAW GRIT: PNG BUSHPILOT***
The LWcf.XML is a replacement of the Simpropbinary (SPB) file. The SPB controls movement of road and water traffic in the sim. Zip up SPB or simply rename it with an extension and remove any instances of the SPB in this folder. You can only have the LWcfg.XML. The LWFcgf.XML serves the same function as the SPB but we rewrote the code to slow down only road traffic in the Pacific region. No road traffic is affected in other regions of the world. The code alteration does no harm to FSX or your system.
If you don’t like it you can simply delete and replace with the original from the “LWcfg origSPB.zip” file.
***FIX FOR LEVITATING ROCKS AT WASU, ONG, AND 'SHRUBS ON RWY' AT ESA.***
There are 3 reports so far of levitating rocks at Wasu (WASU) and Ononge (ONG), including shrubs discovered at Esa'ala (ESA). If you encountered these also then you need to download the fix from this link:
