Developers were having major issues with lighting of screens and such in the Alpha. They may still be experiencing bugs. Granted that issue had to do with 2020 aircraft being used in the sim… but the problem is indicative that Asobo changed how lighting works, and they may still be working out kinks in the system.
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Had some issues tonight, but it may be part of larger issues I was having with the sim in general. Biggest thing I noticed was that the HU-16 panel was extremely dim at night, very hard to read at all. It was fine a few nights ago, so again, may have been a local problem.
A couple more requests for this great plane. It seems like the steam gauge design could use more in the way of anachronistic navigation methods so we can use the plane in the modalities available when it was built!
Perhaps pair the second VOR gauge with a NAV2 radio? Currently, it’s tied to NAV 1, as is the HSI, so it’s redundant and only differentiated if you have the HSI slaved to the GPS, which would be a rare usage combination.
Would love to have a DME (1 and 2) as well. I imagine people will want to shoot “green-needle” approaches and the distance readout on the GNS is really out of the way of the scan.
While I’m at it - have to ask for an ADF gauge and radio. Would be a perfect fit!
Question: do you imagine this will be compatible with the TDS GTN750 (if it ever makes it over to MSFS 2024)?
Lastly, it would be cool to have an anchor or mooring equipment of some sort. I don’t know if the sim even allows it directly, (I doubt it) but I’m drifting around every time I shut down. Hopefully someday they’ll allow us to pick up where we started off and depart from our saved mooring location!
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@CharlieFox00 Thanks for your suggestions.
The HU-16 and G-111 share roughly similar lighting controls (knobs on overhead panel), but the HU-16 has another knob just for instrument lights. It’s directly above the pilot’s instrument cluster. Hopefully that fixes it?
I am not sure about the GTN750, will give that and the other avionics/gauges you mentioned some thought. It was closely modeled on a privately owned real HU-16 panel, but has had some updates since its military days.
Anchoring is something I wanted to do, but I have a feeling that it may come as a native sim feature at some point. I have no information either way, but it’s probably easier to implement now in 2024, with the modular attachment system etc. It’s on my wishlist to look into after I sort out all the issues anyway.
@ur2tall @FlyingsCool5650 You’re right about the lighting issues. A bunch of settings and configs didn’t quite translate between Dev Alpha and the release build and got boken a bit. I’ve sorted out the G-111’s panel, G1000 bugs, and lighting issues already for the first update.
Thanks!
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I tried to manipulate all the lighting controls, including the one on the panel under the glareshield. It changed the panel lights from off to barely dim. I honestly think this was sim-related. Nothing was going right last night. Come to think of it, the runway and taxiway lights were incredibly dim as well. I’m taking a day off the sim (have a lot of other stuff to do anyway) and will give it a shot tomorrow and report back here.
@Ramasurinen, This is totally how the cockpit would be configured. From the days of Sectionals, you’d use two VOR signals from different sources to determine your location by where the radials cross.
That’s the missing effects object @Ramasurinen talked about above.
Could be any number of reasons for it, most likely Asobo is still working on what to remove when and optimizing what’s being downloaded. This may take a while.
I’m not saying don’t report it, but do expect stuff like that for a while.
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The water effects are greatly improved for 2024
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Please for the sake of baby Jesus give us an option for a black radome!!!
#1 wish for me has become the engine sounds. I want to feel those big radials purr. Especially on startup and shutdown!
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If aircraft were decrypted, it would theoretically be possible to alias another addon’s sounds, like it is in FS20.
Yet another reason encrypting everything was a stupid move.
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Please don’t start in on the sound. Like the Twin Otter Please modders leave the ALBATROSS alone and go away.
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? It doesn’t sound like a big radial at all, especially during startup and idle. All I’m saying is it could use a sound refresh. Nobody is saying anything about modders.
But you want immersion, that’s probably the number one thing that takes you out of it right now. Everything else is great.
Hi everyone. I thought I’d give a little status update on where the Grumman Albatrosses are at, bug / fixes wise, as of sim v1.1.9.0. Many of the issues present right now are just unexpected collateral damage sustained during the switch from Dev Alpha to the release build of the sim. (aka “they were working before”). The two builds were quite different in many ways, so fixing everything will take a little time. Thank you for your patience.
I am hoping to submit an update by the end of this week if possible, and this will mostly contain bug fixes, and a few small improvements. A few weeks later I am aiming to have an update with more general improvements and fixing any remaining minor bugs.
Issues already fixed for the upcoming first update:
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Landing lights stuck “on” when turned off and retracted on HU-16. (fixed)
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Autopilot not holding altitude properly above 180 knots airspeed. The autopilot is fine, the plane was simply running out elevator pitch trim authority above that speed. (quick fixed, longer term fix later)
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ATC referred to the plane as a Diamond. It will correctly identify as a Grumman Albatross now. (fixed)
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Window edge blur artifacts (fixed)
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American flag on HU-16’s tail incorrectly oriented. (fixed)
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G1000 radio frequency swap and nav source change buttons were not working, and lighting issues. (fixed)
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Missing passengers. The co-pilot and passengers have returned from their launch day vacations, and are back at work in the plane. (fixed)
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Aircraft modularity improvements
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You can now stand up in the nose hatch opening
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I am currently investigating some lighting issues, but these may be related to streaming bugs.
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Lastly, the PDF manual for the planes on the flight simulator website is out of date. Until they fix it you can download the latest version (0.4) here:
Sim Issues currently affecting the Albatrosses ( I cannot fix these myself, all have been reported to Asobo ):
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Landing gear when extended in water forces the plane to rise and sit on the wheels.
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Wheels spinning while on water with landing gear retracted (regression bug)
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Aircraft may move out of sync with waves on the water in certain areas of the world (investigating)
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Extremely high trim increment rate when coming back into a session that has been paused for a long time.
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Tire animations not aligning with wheel rotation properly, or rotating in entirely the wrong direction. This is a streaming data issue.
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Missing wake effects on occasion. This is a streaming issue.
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Windshield rain effects behaving strangely
Current work in progress for a second update (No guarantees of inclusion yet):
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More aircraft modularity and reduced installation size
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More walkaround interactions (more interactable doors etc)
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Some minor flight model improvements
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SAR / Medevac interior for HU-16.
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G-111 beacon light not working quite right
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Flight Manual updates
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Audio (I have read all the concerns on this and will pass on to MS audio team)
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Other items TBD.
Wishlist items (I’m investigating these, but no promises!):
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Matte black radome HU-16 variant
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Mooring / Docking functionality
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Different interiors for G-111
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Extra liveries
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More original equipment style HU-16 panel (Dual VOR, ADF etc)
Thanks everyone, for all your lovely comments and great feedback so far! I really appreciate it.
Cheers,
-Mike
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The dev sees these posts. He knows. If he wants to fuss with the sound that is fine with me.
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Yep, that’s why I’m giving user feedback! All is good - this airplane is fantastic and Mike is very responsive. 
I’ve seen an Albatross startup up close and much like most radials, it’s a feeling that’s hard to describe. Chaotic, ugly, and powerful. Visceral.
Here’s a good vid:
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