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Zplanes Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Table of Contents - Multiplayer FAQ
How come when I try to convert the Zplanes after I download them I get a message saying bad format or something like that?This is definitely the most frequently asked question. The answer is simple.....DO NOT TRY TO CONVERT THE ZPLANES!!!!! Nothing bad will happen if you do, but your just wasting your time. The Zplanes have all already been converted to make it easier for everyone. Back to TopHow come after I install Zplanes I only see 3 or 4 new planes listed?This problem appears to occur if you install the Flight Simulator 98 converter into the wrong directory. Try reinstalling the converter. You can tell if the converter installed correctly because there will be a directory called FSFSConv under the Flight Simulator/Aircraft directory. Add-on planes look for panels installed by the converter in this location. Also...make sure you install the converter for FS98 and not FS95. Back to TopWhat makes Zplanes different from regular add-on planes?Zplanes are no different than any other add-on plane you might download from the internet. Zplanes simply makes it easy for a bunch of people to have the same exact planes installed. You need the same exact planes, or you will not see each other correctly in Multiplayer games. Back to TopHow come when I join a game I see my name listed twice?I don't know what causes this but here's the fix: Check the /modules folder for filenames that are almost identical but one will have an odd character such as the ~ in it. Move those files to a temp folder, there might be more than one, and I bet the problem will go away. Back to TopHow do I get better latency?Get rid of AOL and get a real ISP. Otherwise, make sure your not doing anything else on the internet (like downloading in the background). You can always call your ISP and complain.....like that will do any good. Back to TopHow can I get more than 8 players into one game?You can't.....well....you can try...but you won't have much luck. If you start an IP game you can set it to have up to 255 players join your game. However, if you try this you will find that after about 10 or 12 players join, the game will become very unstable and you will start dropping players left and right. Even if you are hosting on a T1 line you will have this problem, since all the 28.8'ers will bog things down. One thing I haven't heard tried is getting 20 players, all with T1 lines, into one game....this might work or getting a bunch of people on on LAN...this will probably also work. Back to TopHow do I host an IP game?To host an IP game you must first figure out your IP address. To do this, click on Start, Run and type in WINIPCFG. A little box will pop up that has your IP address (NOTE: For most of us, our IP address will change every time we connect to the internet). Now that you know your IP address run Flight Simulator, click on the Flights menu, select Multiplayer, select Connect, select Host new session, give the game a name and limit the number of players to 8 or less. Then go into the fs98 flightboard and advertise your game with the IP address. Back to TopHow come I can't see the correct add-on planes that other people have?The ONLY way to see correct add-on planes that other people are using is to have the exact same plane installed. There may be a way to get around this if you're playing a game over a LAN or everyone has very high speed connections, but for 99.9% of us that doesn't matter. There is a very good reason Microsoft did this. Just think about how much bandwidth would be wasted if everyone had to send 300k of textures to everyone else in a Multiplayer game. If you had 8 people in a game then everyone would have to send over 2 megs of data and receive over 2 megs of data. At least that's my take on it. I've heard rumors of people working on a way around this Back to TopDon't believe them. There are some settings in the cfg file that might allow the textures to be sent over a LAN, but I've never heard of it actually working. I've tried it over a 28.8 line several times with no luck. My advice is, if you changed those settings, change them back because even if they do work you'll lose more of that precious bandwidth and the game will be even more unstable. Back to TopHow come I get a good frame rate until I join a Multiplayer game, then it goes way down?I've found that unchecking the "Send Detailed Aircraft Information" and "Receive Detailed Aircraft Information" seems to help the frame rate a bit. I haven't been able to figure out what doesn't get sent/received if this is unchecked. I think you just don't see the landing lights lit on other planes and I also suspect these settings may affect whether or not the landing gear and other night lighting effects are visible. I've also heard that a lower quality texture is visible than normal, but I haven't been able to confirm this. Another good way to improve your frame rate (sometimes by 20% or more) in Multiplayer is to make sure and turn OFF the "see aircraft shadows" in the Preferences menu. Back to TopHow do I add a new panel to a plane?The easiest way is to use JAB. Otherwise you have to edit the panel.cfg file for each plane. Instructions if your using JAB: Note: You can associate one panel with many planes without having to install it more than once. Also, if you really want to get fancy you can put a picture of the panel in the little box on the panel screen. Back to TopHow do I add new scenery to Flight Simulator? XXXX=Whatever the name of the scenery file is that you downloaded Back to TopTher is a workaround to chat in 3D mode, but you won't see the chat window |