KBOS Version 4.6 - Installation Instructions

[Evan Reiter]

Welcome to Version 4.6 of Boston Virtual ATC's Boston Airport Enhancement. This version of KBOS updates Terminal A of the airport to match current charts and provides several visual enhancements to KBOS and the surrounding area, including spot numbers on the "Delta ramp", GSX compatibility (Terminal A), and a visual depiction of the lighthouses surrounding the airport. It is part of a series of releases to improve the look and accuracy of Boston Airport. Included with this update is an automated installer that will help make future updates much easier. However, there is a one-time manual step for those who have a current version of KBOS installed (most/all of us).

 

If this is your first installation of KBOS, there are no special requirements. Simply run the installer. The installer will automatically install the scenery files and add/activate a scenery area to your library. Please allow some time for the download; with photoreal textures included, the file is over 300 MB.

 

If you have the previous version of KBOS installed, please manually remove/de-activate the area prior to installing the new update. To do so:

1. [*]Open FSX

[*]Click Settings > Scenery Library

[*]Select the area called "BVATC_KBOS" and click "Delete Area"

[*]Click OK; once the progress bar completes, close FSX

[*]Manually delete the files associated with the previous version. To do so, navigate to the directory the files for BVATC_KBOS are located in. For most users, this will be:

C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft GamesMicrosoft Flight Simulator XAddon Scenery

[*]Delete the entire "BVATC_KBOS" folder from your hard drive

Once the previous version of KBOS is removed, run the automated installer from our website. The scenery will be activated automatically with no need for you to take any additional action. Please note that you may need to refresh the "Required Software" page in order to access the new link.

 

Please feel free to post on this thread or to email [email protected] with questions or requests for assistance with this installation.

 

The following enhancements are included as part of this version:

1. [*]NEW: photoreal day/night/seasonal ground textures

[*]NEW: Terminal A

[*]NEW: South Cargo buildings

[*]NEW: South fire station

[*]NEW: Delta ramp spot numbers

[*]NEW: Lighthouses

[*]ADDS GSX compatability to Terminal A* (see note below)

[*]Enhanced coastal terrain between Lynn, MA and Cohasset, MA

[*]Improved land cover between Lynn, MA and Cohasset, MA

One easy way to know if the installation has worked correctly is to spawn at any Terminal A gate (e.g., "A6") and see the new spot numbers painted on the ramp:

[sizeimg=750:1ikr855h]http://oi59.tinypic.com/r8cmeu.jpg[/sizeimg:1ikr855h]

 

* BETA GSX Compatibility for Terminal A

This version of KBOS includes compatibility with GSX at Terminal A. Based on feedback from users on the use of GSX at Terminal A, GSX compatibility will be expanded to other sections of the airport. BVA has assigned airlines per real-world gate assignments at KBOS; please let us know if you see vehicles/handling by the appropriate airline while spawned at Terminal A.

[Guest Shawn Pichura]

Does this update fix the default tower height?

[Cody Outten]

The buildings show up black to me. I activated it and Terminal A popped up. However, the majority is missing or black.

[Pierre Bonnet]

Just when you think you're getting pretty good at making paintings, Rembrandt comes along and shows us who's boss.

[Evan Reiter]

The buildings show up black to me. I activated it and Terminal A popped up. However, the majority is missing or black.

My version is definitely not doing that! Seems like there are some missing files, maybe textures or just BGLs.

 

Obvious question: could you check your scenery library to see whether you might still have the old version of KBOS activated?

 

If not, could you try to re-install? If that doesn't help, please upload some screenshots of which files are located in each of the 'scenery' and 'texture' folders for the new scenery.

C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft GamesMicrosoft Flight Simulator XAddon SceneryBVABVA_KBOS

[Evan Reiter]

Does this update fix the default tower height?

Just spawned in the Tower to check the height and it looks the same as previous to me. I imagine that that would happen when we work on Terminals B/C, which is scheduled for a future release. Dan would be able to comment further on that.

[Gilles Lagace]

I seem to have lost the architecture and beauty of the KBOS Tower building. I will double check my addon scenery files.

[Dan Perrone]

Does this update fix the default tower height?

Thanks for asking, Shawn. A fix ffor the tower height will come with a future update to the airport when we move to that section of the field.

 

The buildings show up black to me. I activated it and Terminal A popped up. However, the majority is missing or black.

Cody: This update does not touch any default structures other than the old Terminal A and South Cargo structures, which are obviously "hidden" now in favor of the new models. Your texture issue likely is something related to your sim/system itself rather than the update, as all structures on the field other than South Cargo and Terminal A are still default using FSX-original textures. As Evan stated, neither him, I, nor our other tester have reported any issues related to textures with this release.

 

Please ensure there are no other files related to Boston (BVA-provided or otherwise) in your FSX scenery folders, and then re-install the scenery. Ensure your sim is completely shut down during this process.

[Guest Shawn Pichura]

Excellent. Thank you. Nice job by the way.

[Zac Ploch]

No issues notated above were observed on my end. Everything looks fantastic.

 

Dan, thank you for all your hard work and efforts!

[Guest Danny Rice]

Has the download for 4.6 been removed? I have gone to the download page and only find the instructions for 4.3. I have clicked on the highligted installer phrase in the thread above and it takes me to a page that indicates I have been misdirected.

 

Danny

[Evan Reiter]

It might be a browser caching issue. I think by refreshing the page, the download should work.

 

Could you please:

1. Navigate to the "Required Software" page: http://www.bostonvirtualatc.com/AllMemb ... tware.aspx

2. Click F5 a few times to refresh the page

3. Try the link for the Boston Airport Scenery Enhancement again

 

Let me know if you have any success with that. If not, I can email you the direct link to the .exe file.

[Guest Danny Rice]

That did it.

 

Thanks

 

Danny

[Evan Reiter]

Great! Sorry about the inconvenience. By all means, please let us know if you have any trouble getting the update set up and installed.

[Evan Reiter]

The buildings show up black to me. I activated it and Terminal A popped up. However, the majority is missing or black.

My version is definitely not doing that! Seems like there are some missing files, maybe textures or just BGLs.

 

Obvious question: could you check your scenery library to see whether you might still have the old version of KBOS activated?

 

If not, could you try to re-install? If that doesn't help, please upload some screenshots of which files are located in each of the 'scenery' and 'texture' folders for the new scenery.

C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft GamesMicrosoft Flight Simulator XAddon SceneryBVABVA_KBOS

Cody: One other thing to check this weekend is whether you might be running "Preview DirectX 10". If you are, could you try disabling that?

[Guest John Girard]

I installed the 4.6 update without problem. The problems came when I spawned in to the new Terminal A. First, in single player, I spawned into A6, A8, and A92. A6 and A8 caused aircraft crash immediately with no objects visible that could cause a crash. Spawning at A92 did not cause an immediate crash, but the aircraft crash screen did occur once I started to taxi a short distance. Again, nothing visible that I could have crashed into. I tried to spawn in multi-player BVA and the plane spawned in but it was embedded in a wall. Left wing and nose of the a/c protruding from one side and right wing and tail sticking out the other side of the wall. Any hints, causes, solutions? Thanks. BTW, I was able to identify the new version by being able to see the new, yellow, markers on the ramp. Looks beautiful.

[Evan Reiter]

Thanks John! The issue with spawning while online was actually a problem with our server. Would you mind giving that another test and let me know if it works more normally now?

 

Regarding the issues in single player, we'll take a look with our own crash detection settings on to see whether we can replicate that.

[Pierre Bonnet]

I just replicated the crashing around the A gates. The rest of the airport seems fine.

[Guest John Girard]

Evan, thanks for the quick response. The spawning problem seems to be solved. I successfully spawned in at each of those gates. However, and noted above, something happens near those gates that prevents taxi and causes a collision.

[Guest John Girard]

I spoke too soon. Spawned at 8A and plane crashed within a few seconds w/o a/c moving.

[Guest slayer816]

I've spawned before at multiple A gates (14 and 16) with no issue in a 737-800. I'll see if I can try it again (just for kicks) and see what happens.

[Guest John Girard]

I hope this helps. I exited, turned of crash detection under realism settings and reentered BVA/FSX. No collisions and I taxied all through the Terminal A parking spaces without incident. After turning crash detection back on, a/c crashed as soon as I spawned into 8A and unpaused.

[Gilles Lagace]

Following my missing the tower view, I can add that no more cranes are visible in the harbor south of runways 4L & 4R ... just hoping that I can find why on my side. Are you all seeing the pretty KBOS Tower building? - I know form last night flying with redbaron55, that neither has he a view of the Tower! :(

[Dan Perrone]

I'll address these latest questions in series:

 

1. Crash in Sim -- This was not a known issue. We have been able to track down why some users are reporting a crash detection in the simulator and also why such an issue would have been intermittent or even non-existent in testing. We believe this issue, affecting some users, could involve all new buildings at Boston. We are already working on compiling a patched file for this. In the mean time, we ask users turn off crash detection for the time being. We expect to have a new installer with patched files up within the next 24-48 hours at most.

 

2. Disappearing Terminals -- This is something outside of our control. The few reports we have received have not been consistent nor have they indicated an issue with the package. We will of course continue to welcome feedback on similar issues, but at this time, cannot identify anything in the package causing the aforementioned problem.

 

3. Missing Tower -- This was a planned change while we designed new and improved areas of the airport. However, in light of the troubles experienced by some users thus far, we are planning to release a new tower model with day/night textures early, for all users. It will be available with the patched installer once it is released.

 

4. Missing Cranes -- This is another known issue, but one we feel should be called a triumph. Lets face it, the old cranes that were there were completely unrealistic, and flying a proper approach to Boston often meant lifting the wing on short final to avoid these obstructions. New harbor cranes are coming in a future release (see: before SimCon!). In the mean time, we have removed the errenous, old, and completely useless default cranes for the time being. We felt that users would not have been..inconvenienced by this small, temporary change.

 

We apologize for these issues. Unfortunately, testing cannot eliminate the variable of end user machine. Each person's setup, hardware, and software are different. We are working with affected parties to ensure patches conform to their machines and do not negatively affect the group as a whole. We appreciate you patience!

[Dan Perrone]

A quick update:

 

We have successfully patched the terminal crash issue, and are working to include a few gift elements as an apology for the inconvenience. We are also taking the opportunity to address some small tweaks reported to us as well, and as such will be releasing a patch for all users tomorrow evening. In the mean time, we continue to ask that those few experiencing issues with crashes at the terminals continue to leave crash detection off as a temporary solution to the issue.

 

A note on the reported tower altitude being too low. This is a known bug, and not one we can directly alter at the current time. While complicated to answer, it simply boils down to the way the sim processes the code for the tower cab viewpoint, and how these values are read from the BGL files. While the new tower model is present in the upcoming patch, the underlying view code remains the same and the tower viewpoint will continue to display incorrectly. This does NOT affect pilots in the server, only air traffic controllers. The temporary solution is to use the map feature to reset your altitude in the tower cab to 320 feet, which will place you at correct cab height.