Small patch improving startup of VDGS module for Marketplace releases.
This is another series of small patches related to your feedback and upcoming products.
Added BASIC device type.
Added aircraft type mapping to manually remap invalid airplane ICAO designators.
Added TOBT deletion flag to APIS devices.
Fixed startup flags not being correctly cleared.
Fixed sprite template.
If you encounter invalid airplane types being shown on the screen, please report the airplanes and the invalid values.
Serve AI airplanes option from installer. Nearby docking devices are now always active for AI airplanes too.Added a new device type for simple distance-based traffic lights.
Improved BAe 146 configuration.
Added more aircraft type groups for custom stopbar distance configuration.
Improved rendering of multi-part messages.
Fixed CTOT not being displayed when no other startup value is available.
Fixed last stopbar not being shown during placement.
Added report of installed airports. When you click on Rescan devices in the package folder, you will see a list of installed airports and versions of their docking devices, and a warning if any of them have issues.
Added CTOT indicator to Safedock devices.
Improved model behavior templates.
Minor changes this time again:
Added HOLD BRAKE message option (as seen at LIRF Rome Fiumicino), which will appear on the screen while ground handling is placing chocks (if configured so).
Added vdgs_ok_timeout parameter and tuned message timings for Safedock family. If docking ends successfully, the OK message will be shown for 5 seconds by default, and for 20 seconds if stopped early (STOP OK) or too late (TOO FAR).
Fixed ICP not being shown on startup screens when SID was not available.
Minor maintenance release:
Added VATSIM Spain feeds to datalink. This means that VDGS module will contact VATSIM Spain servers directly to retrieve flight information to show before departure.
Added new time display options to startup screens for an upcoming airport.
Replaced Rescan devices shortcut. The way it was previously built triggered several lesser-known anti-virus programs.
This release contains smaller fixes based on your feedback:
Improved manual installation instructions.
Improved the way time is transmitted to devices.
Reduced jumping around by devices while mesh is loading when you move around.
Fixed one beacon of two not getting turned on properly in Inogon systems at ESSA Stockholm Arlanda (broken in v6.0.0).
This is a major redesign for improved performance and new features:
Added support for multi-part docking devices. Devices are now divided into interchangeable parts that allow putting together devices that are identical to real-world ones at specific airports. For example, both EDDF Frankfurt Main and LIRF Rome Fiumicino have the same kind of Safedock type 1 docking system, but startup information received over datalink can now have custom layout, matching real airports. (Wait for airports to be updated to see this.)
Added aircraft type verification. When datalink provides expected aircraft type for a stand, aircraft type will be verified during docking and STOP / ID FAIL error message will be shown on mismatch.
Expanded datalink capabilities. Devices can now show destination airport, expected runway for takeoff, planned SID and ICP. VATSIM controllers can set pushback and engine startup target times and inform you of expected runway and departure procedure via the docking device in front of you.
Improved aircraft-to-device matching. At airports with tight and overlapping parking stands, nearby docking devices will not be triggered anymore as you taxi in.
Improved screen graphics to remove flicker that occured when screens first loaded. (Wait for airports to be updated to see this.)
Improved installer to make it more robust, write more detailed log files, and show more helpful warning and error messages.
Starting with this version, all our releases are signed with certificates listed at cert.nool.ee.
Merry Christmas! 🎄
This small release improves scanning of VDGS devices:
Added VATSIM datalink. Docking devices can now display your flight information retrieved from VATSIM. Visit Datalink page for more information.
Improved performance. Internal architecture was revised in response to recent changes to MSFS. At major airports with many devices, this gives back up to 10 fps at max render settings. You need an airport with version 5.0.0 or newer devices to experience the gain. See Supported airports. Older airports will be upgraded in due time.
vdgs_alt parameter to mitigate a MSFS bug that causes docking devices to spawn on the ground instead of being suspended in the air.vdgs_features).inop system type to mark a device as inoperative and use it as a static non-interactive object only.vdgs_stand setting.This release contains an important update regarding CTDs:
Mitigated data retrieval issue that triggered crashes to desktop. Flight Simulator contains a bug that causes the whole sim to crash when clients request information about airplanes with very long titles (internal names). This update adds a mitigation that reduces the odds of stumbling upon that bug until MSFS gets fixed in the next Sim Update.
Improved installer to better deal with paths containing exotic characters.
Improved VDGS scanning utility vdgs-util.exe to handle paths with exotic characters better.
Added plain-ZIP distribution and manual installation instructions. In addition to installers in MSI and EXE formats, we now provide a plain ZIP with manual installation instructions too. Instructions can be found in install.txt after extracting the ZIP.
Minor maintenance release:
CHOCKS ON message to APIS devices.This version has been very long time in the making and greatly improves the flexibility of VDGS module and its ease of use on developer’s side:
Added automatic parking stand detection. Docking devices now support reading parking stand information directly from MSFS parking nodes. This means that there is no need to individually configure devices anymore - all required data can be acquired automatically.
Added automatic jetway detection. When placing devices at airports with static T-jetbridges that cannot move sideways, docking devices can now read jetway location from MSFS and automatically calculate custom docking parameters for every aircraft type to align their doors with jetways.
Added auto-removal of marshallers at VDGS-equipped stands.
Added pilot instruction manuals for Safedock type 1 and two kinds of APIS devices. They can be found inside Manuals folder after installation.
Expanded selectable features (see vdgs_features setting).
Significantly improved overall performance. For best results, SimObjects should be updated too – please contact to get that done for your project.
Minor maintenance release:
\).Major content and performance update:
ABNORMAL SLOW and SBU STOP error conditions.Added placeholders for ABNORMAL SLOW, GATE BLOCKED and VIEW BLOCKED conditions. These conditions are not yet simulated.
Added message timer to ensure that the first part of multi-part message is always show first.
Major performance upgrade. Introduces DockingSystemV300.xml templates.
vdgs_stop.Plus many smaller fixes and improvements.
DockingSystemV200.xml in your SimObjects to use them.Added vdgs_system setting and implemented custom logic for FMT APIS devices.
Added vdgs_stand setting to define stand name for devices that show it.
Added vdgs_version setting to improve backwards compatibility.
Improved switching from self-contained modules to standalone module.
Added SimObject parameter vdgs_door. Devices with vdgs_door are capable of docking that aligns aircraft door with static jetbridge position.
Added noolaero_vdgs_lateral_pos template. It maps visibility of a group of objects to nose offset from nominal centerline.
Added the option to embed the module in any MSFS project.
Changed vdgs_stops format.
Improved aircraft type detection.
Microsoft Defender’s machine learning algorithm misclassified vdgs-util.exe as malware and started automatically deleting it. Microsoft was notified of the false positive and they fixed the mistake.
To restore the mistakenly deleted file:
Alternatively, you may install this update.
Changes:
vdgs-util.exe to reduce the risk of false positives by malware scanners.vdgs_stops parameter. Its offsets were interpreted in reverse to documented behaviour.C:\ when it failed to auto-detect MSFS Community folder when run silently. Now it fails and displays a message asking to run the full installer, which allows to manually enter the path to MSFS Community folder.