ATC-pie installation guide: Difference between revisions

To enhance solo sessions with:

* '''voice instruction recognition''' by the AI aircraft, install ''PocketSphinx'' (requires ''PyAudio'');

* '''speech synthesis''' of AI pilots' radio messages, install ''pyttsx''.

For an integrated '''ATC phone line switchboard''' (all sessions except solo), install ''PyAudio'', plus ''PyMumble'' for FlightGear and FSD sessions.

To enhance FlightGear sessions with:

* '''[[CPDLC]]''' and '''full ATC coordination''', including unlimited strip exchange and text messaging, install the ''Python IRC library'' (recommended!);

* '''voice radio simulation''', install the ''FGCom-Mumble'' plugin (requires a ''Mumble''>=1.4 client) or the older ''standalone FGCom'' executable client (note that both variants cannot be used simultaneously).

* you can connect multiple ATC-pie instances from the same computer, but you must use a different local port for each one;

** '''native ATC-pie coordination''' enables full interaction with other ATC-pie clients (except phone lines), plus CPDLC with FG aircraft;

** '''ATC phone lines''' enables direct voice communications (telephone calls) with other connected ATC-pie clients;

** '''OpenRadar handover compatibility''' implements [[OpenRadar]]'s protocol to enable coordination with its users (will work with ATC-pie clients as a fallback if native sub-system not available), although some limitations apply (see [[ATC-pie#OpenRadar|interoperability note]] in the main article).

Running internally only requires FlightGear installed on your computer. A basic installation is enough, but you will need the [[scenery]] for your airport if you want anything exciting to see (and not sea!). Also, aircraft will only be drawn properly if the appropriate [[Aircraft|models]] are available. In FlightGear sessions, the models required are those flown by the pilots. For all other session types, models are chosen according to the ICAO type designators of the aircraft and the specifications in <code>icao2fgfs</code>. Read <code>CONFIG/acft/Notice</code> to understand how ATC-pie chooses models and liveries for its viewers. Aircraft and scenery locations can be filled in the ''System'' settings dialog if they are not in your [[$FG_ROOT|FlightGear root directory]].

Connecting to an external viewer allows to run FlightGear on a different machine and thereby relieve your session from the CPU load a local instance induces. If you want to do so, get a hint of the required positioning options you should start your viewer with, from the tower view tab in the system settings dialog. Of course, scenery, models and liveries must also be available to the running process.

In either case, once activated from the ''View'' menu, the tower view '''control pane''' is enabled, from which you can turn to runway points, follow selected aircraft... Direct FlightGear input in the view window is also possible: right click and drag allows to look around, {{key press|x}} and {{key press|Shift|x}} change the zoom level, etc.

* radar scopes, e.g. to display procedure maps or text annotations of the airspace;

There are two ways to create backgrounds in the program. One is to '''import pictures''' (pixmap files like JPEG or PNG, including transparency); the other consists in writing '''drawing specification''' files to paint coloured lines and labelled points (radar backgrounds only). This allows to import anything from complex pictures like terrain maps to schematic drawings like airspace boundaries. The <code>CONFIG/bg/Notice</code> file explains how to import and draw background images.

For example, you can map out procedures (SID, STAR, IAD...), grouping them by associated runways so they toggle together on the radar. Drawings are generally appropriate for that because they avoid manual positioning by directly referring to the points named in the published procedures. But if you want more than schematic line plots and text labels, you should create the picture yourself, for example using an image processing tool like ''GIMP'' and a transparent layer over a real map canvas or a screenshot of your ATC-pie radar with pinned navaids as landmarks.