Liveries in Multiplayer

User Support Hub Hardware & Peripherals
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I haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere, so I’ll try to explain it as best I can.

Basically, since SU11, something has gone really really wrong with 3rd party liveries. First off, and probably most importantly, it seems that the quality of aircraft model matching has taken a huge plummet. For many aircraft, including some default (the DC3 is a prime example), unless I have the same livery installed as another person in multiplayer flying the DC3, I will see that person in one of those awful Asobo generated generic airliners. Surely I should at least see that person in a DC3, with a livery on my system, right? I’ve also noticed that same problem with the F-18. Surely if the models and model name match up, I should be seeing the correct models in multiplayer, regardless of which liveries I have or do not have installed?

This has also become an issue with 3rd party aircraft. Myself and a friend could both be flying the same 3rd party aircraft, but my friend might display as an Asobo generated generic airliner, or a generic “Bonanza” shaped aircraft. Like I said, something has gone wrong in this regard. The model matching has never been good in multiplayer really. For example 3rd party helicopters show up as floating GA planes. Really Asobo? Can you not at least give us a generic helicopter? The SC Designs F-16 shows up as something that resembles a knockoff Airbus A330. But it has just gotten so much worse since SU11, due to the issues I mentioned above. I was hoping that it would have improved almost 2 and a half years later. I fly in a large online community, and pretty much all of us are sharing the same experiences.

Now, here’s something that may or may not provide a clue to the issue. A lot of liveries, particularly 3rd party liveries seem to have an LOD issue since SU11. For example, me and a friend are both in the DC3, with the SAME 3rd party livery. But If I’m a certain distance away from him or her, I will see their plane in a default livery, or worse, the dreaded pink glitchy “livery”. As soon as I get close to them, it will show up as normal.

Has anyone else noticed this, and more to the point, is Asobo aware of it? Like I said, I haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere.

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2

Hello,
a far better alternative to the native multiplayer is JoinFS

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I sometimes use JoinFS, but that has limitations of it’s own. Besides, it doesn’t answer my question.

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A friend I fly with flies the default A-320, in an Allegient livery. I installed the same livery, thinking that I’d be able to see him in that paint job. Nope. Generally, I see him in the default A320 livery, and sometimes I see him as a tiny little Cessna. It’s weird.

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5

Yep something has clearly changed/broken in SU11.

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There’s a discussion already about the broken model matching system on the devsupport forum: Document rules for Multiplayer Model Matching - MSFS DevSupport

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Thanks. Interesting read, and I’m glad to see I’m not the only one getting frustrated. They don’t seem to mention the livery issue though, as in 3rd party party liveries turning into default liveries, or even turning pink on multiplayer aircraft once you’re a certain distance away, even if you have that same livery installed. This seems to be a newer problem that only started happening since SU11. The actual model matching issue has always been around (although it has definitely got worse since SU11). Maybe I shouldn’t have lumped both issues into the same thread, but the livery LOD radius thing definitely needs looking at.

1 Like
8

None of the “issues” that you complain about occur when using JoinFS.
However, it seems that you know better, so good luck with the MSFS multiplayer.

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I said that JoinFS has LIMITATIONS of its own. I never once claimed that it has the same issues that I’m describing.

However, I’m not looking for an alternative. I’m wondering why the product we paid for (ie MSFS) isn’t working as it’s supposed to be. MSFS is marketed as being a multiplayer platform, but it’s clearly not fit for purpose. These issues don’t occur in other sims. Im not sure why you’re getting in a huff over it though.

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I am interested in the limitations in JoinFS that you have identified and which prevent you from using that, versus the broken, or not yet finished in-game multiplayer.

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Hmmm. I’m not really sure why you keep feeling the need to defend JoinFS. Are you one the developers for JoinFS or something?

My query has nothing to do with JoinFS. I’m asking why a key part of MSFS isn’t working as intended. I appreciate that JoinFS can be a viable workaround, and your suggestion has been duly noted, but it doesn’t answer my question.

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My friend and I are noticing this problem flying the C152 and A152 also. Some liveries work fine, others have the issues you mention (pink textures and reverting to default liveries at low LOD levels) Also seeing other problems where the entire cockpit is missing from the plane of another player. Prop textures missing or not animated, wheels not animated, etc.

I’ve noticed in the “texture.cfg” folder for liveries that have the pink textures issue the line:

“fallback.10=…......\texture\Planes_Generic”

is missing from the folder. Adding this line has fixed the pink textures for me a majority of the time.

As far as the liveries snapping to default at lower LOD’s, I cannot for the life of me decipher what the problem could be. I was hoping maybe someone out there may have figured it out and could help.

The missing cockpit textures are a mystery because it seems that it’s a random failure of the sim to load the proper files. Backing out to the main menu and re initiating the flight from the world map tends to resolve the missing cockpit after one or two attempts.

We’ve reverted to flying with empty community folders and default liveries because they simply do not work. Even still the default liveries experience the missing cockpit issues even with empty community folders.

Also the “other” thread reporting the problem seems to have been removed so…that’s cool I guess.

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13

Multiplayer seems broken to me, undeveloped or not cared enough about because there are many issues with it as described by Musefan12345. It also seems like these issues are not being fixed and continue.

Why cant i just fly with a friend in Multiplayer and see the aircraft they are flying?
Why must I have to deal with their aircraft having no cockpit/pilot, their liverie which I also have installed dissapearing and changing to a default one? Having no visable prop when using a 3rd party liverie. Seeing detatched lights floating meters away from a friends/multiplayer aircraft.
Why is it the wheels and wings vanish from an aircraft 100 meters or so away when i can see 50 km into the distance everywhere else?

If this happened in other multiplayer games like Racing games or First Person shooters where others arms and legs fell off at 100 meters it wouldnt stand.
These are immersion breaking and frustrating and am sure they could each be fixed in days but they continue on and on.

When I watch the MSFS 2020 promo of people flying together online, I laugh, pure marketing, compared to the “reality” of multiplayer…its bad.

The point here is that Multiplayer needs “fixing” not some workaround or substitute, but what we paid for.

This game was expensive and marketed as being a Multiplayer Flight sim. I want what i paid for and dont see myself falling for the same marketing fantasies for 2024.

Fix the game please.

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14

There is no doubt that the design & implementation of MSFS 2020 Multiplayer has numerous flaw
but
It is often made worse by inexperienced Livery developer, who create liveries with multiple type of flaws, many of which present in Multiplayer.

Initially there was not much official documentation as to how to “correctly” create a new livery, and those trying to do so, figured it out for themselves, by trail and error, often by doing things that caused issues.
This has improved, but there are still many older liveries out that that break fundamental rules, and cause issues - especially when the sim gets a SU,

Add to that that many Developers do not seem to pay much attention to Multiplayer, and it’s design requirement, when they put together their planes, and it is not until their planes are launched on a Multiplayer community, that issues become apparent.

The good news is that it is Possible now to produce both Plnaes and additional a liveries, that works in MP, and are mostly SU tolerant.

But basic Model matching in MP still remains an issue, waiting to be fixed by Asobo.
Most, if not all the reasons for Model matching failure have now been identified by the community (in particular by Wombii) but it remains unclear to the community, how aware Asobo are aware of the problem, the solution, and if they now consider it a high enough priority to address.

A few Twitch streamed MP sessions, with some of the Technical Asobo Devs (not Community Managers), taking part, might help move progress forward, as they experience what we all see in a worldwide user, Internet MP session.

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