Changelog 3.4: Difference between revisions

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(Changelog for V3.4)
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{{draft|changelog|This changelog is currently being written for the FlightGear 3.4 release. To see what is being worked on, check out [[Changelog 3.4]].
The FlightGear development team is delighted to announce the v3.4 release of FlightGear, the free, open-source flight simulator.  This new version contains many exciting new features, enhancements and bugfixes.  Highlights in this release include performance improvements,
Feel free to help! If you are aware of any FlightGear related changes, please add them to the changelog.<br/>It's a good idea to check [[:Category:Changes_after_3.20|the newsletters since the last release]], and the git commit history.
reduced scenery memory usage,   
To view the changelog for the most recent release, please see [[Changelog 3.2]].
We also encourage people to help by translating the changelog and appreciate all contributions, however please keep in mind that this changelog is not yet final!
 
}}
 
==Upcoming FlightGear Changelog==
 
<!--
The FlightGear development team is delighted to announce the v3.4 release of FlightGear, the free, open-source flight simulator.  This new version contains many exciting new features, enhancements and bugfixes.  Highlights in this release include integration of the FGCom voice communications client within the simulator, improved terrain rendering, faster scenery loading, and improved usability.  This release also coincides with the release of FlightGear World Scenery 2.0 - massively improved scenery data covering the entirety of the planet and incorporating OpenStreetMap roads and detailed terrain information from a variety of sources.  


Founded in 1997, FlightGear is developed by a worldwide group of volunteers, brought together by a shared ambition to create  
Founded in 1997, FlightGear is developed by a worldwide group of volunteers, brought together by a shared ambition to create  
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FlightGear features more than 400 aircraft, a worldwide scenery database, a multi-player environment, detailed sky modelling, a flexible and open aircraft modelling system, varied networking options, multiple display support, a powerful scripting language and an open architecture. Best of all, being open-source, the simulator is owned by the community and everyone is encouraged to contribute.  
FlightGear features more than 400 aircraft, a worldwide scenery database, a multi-player environment, detailed sky modelling, a flexible and open aircraft modelling system, varied networking options, multiple display support, a powerful scripting language and an open architecture. Best of all, being open-source, the simulator is owned by the community and everyone is encouraged to contribute.  


Download FlightGear v3.2 for free from [http://www.flightgear.org FlightGear.org]
Download FlightGear v3.4 for free from [http://www.flightgear.org FlightGear.org]


FlightGear - Fly Free!
FlightGear - Fly Free!
-->
=== Breaking Changes ===
{{FGCquote
  |the rendering logic for AI aircraft has changed recently. If they are drawn depends on the projected size on the screen and not on their distance.<br/>
Please check the properties
* /sim/rendering/static-lod/ai-range-model-pixel (should be true)
* /sim/rendering/static-lod/ai-detailed (should be 30)
With this configuration, AI aircraft bigger than 30pixels on the screen should show up.
There are other factors in OpenSceneGraph that decide if the Paged LOD nodes get rendered. It may sometimes take a couple of minutes or some view panning for the models to pop up.
  |{{cite web |url=http://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/mailman/message/33271362/
    |title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] Flightgear next (3.5.0) Does not render MP
aircraft</nowiki>
    |author=<nowiki>Torsten Dreyer</nowiki>
    |date=<nowiki>2015-01-26</nowiki>
  }}
}}


=== Major enhancements in this release ===
=== Major enhancements in this release ===


'''Performance'''
* Reduced memory occupancy for scenery tiles
* Improved frame-rates on some systems from more efficient use of Uniforms
* AI models are now rendered based on display size rather than range
* AI/MP models may now define objects as being part of the interior, which will not be rendered at large distances


'''Core'''
'''Usability'''
 
* Built-in web server now includes a moving map, a screenshot grabber, and supports SVG-based panels
{{FGCquote
* In-application launcher for Mac, based on Qt5
  |I have just pushed a partial fix for the issue to SimGear.<br/>
The event now uses property polling instead of attaching listeners to <br/>
retrieve the values for the uniforms.<br/>
<br/>
Without the change, I was able to reproduce the crash locally within a <br/>
couple of minutes. With this patch,<br/>
I havn't seen a crash over a period of 3.5 hours constantly watching AI <br/>
traffic over KSFO building up.<br/>
<br/>
This only changes the behaviour of scalar properties, arrays et. al. <br/>
have not yet been changed.<br/>
Also, this is still not thread safe - no locks have been implemented. If <br/>
a getValue() for a property gets called<br/>
from within the OSG thread while the main thread updates the same value, <br/>
this might result in a wrong value<br/>
for  multibyte values.However this should be automatically corrected in <br/>
the next frame and not crash the system.
  |{{cite web |url=http://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/mailman/message/32774953/
    |title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] crash in SGPropertyNode::fireValueChanged</nowiki>
    |author=<nowiki>Torsten Dreyer</nowiki>
    |date=<nowiki>2014-08-29</nowiki>
  }}
}}
 
{{FGCquote
  |As a side effect, I have noticed that the load for the xml-property rule <br/>
subsystem has decreased on my system<br/>
significantly. This subsystem generates values for most of the <br/>
environment properties responsible of the<br/>
instantiated effects. Without the patch, thousands of listeners were <br/>
triggered each frame resulting in an average<br/>
of 1ms execution time per frame for the proprule subsystem. With the <br/>
patch, this has decreased to an average<br/>
of 0.07ms per frame. This is on a 3.5GHz 6 Core Xeon. Weaker machines <br/>
might benefit even more.
  |{{cite web |url=http://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/mailman/message/32774953/
    |title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] crash in SGPropertyNode::fireValueChanged</nowiki>
    |author=<nowiki>Torsten Dreyer</nowiki>
    |date=<nowiki>2014-08-29</nowiki>
  }}
}}
'''Aircraft modelling'''
 
'''JSBSim'''


'''Graphics'''
'''Graphics'''
 
* Improved rendering of runway and other lights under ALS
'''Performance'''
* Landing and spotlight support for ALS
 
'''Usability'''


'''Scenery'''
'''Scenery'''
* Improved materials XML format making customer material definition easier
* Procedural rock material definition


'''Canvas system'''
'''JSBSim'''
 
* Synchronization with latest JSBSim
FlightGear's fully scriptable 2D rendering system now includes improved APIs for creating maps and navigation displays amongst many other improvements. People no longer need to have programming experience to add a working ND to their aircraft, it can  now  be all done by copying and pasting 30 lines of text and customizing a few properties. The so called MapStructure back-end handles efficient updating of all ND layers transparently. Also, maps can now be mostly customized, including custom styling (colors, fonts, symbols etc).
 
 
* [[Nasal Browser|Nasal namespace Browser]]
* MapStructure is being ported to become a native Canvas Widget
* work has begun to port the airport selection dialog to use the [[MapStructure]] framework
* Tom has implemented keyboard handling support
* Text/Input field support
* Input dialog
 
'''Nasal scripting'''
 
'''Documentation'''


'''Highlighted new and improved aircraft'''
'''Highlighted new and improved aircraft'''
* [[Extra EA-500]]
* Extra EA-500
* North American P-51D Mustang
* Cessna Citation II


'''Other'''
'''Other'''

Revision as of 21:05, 17 February 2015

The FlightGear development team is delighted to announce the v3.4 release of FlightGear, the free, open-source flight simulator. This new version contains many exciting new features, enhancements and bugfixes. Highlights in this release include performance improvements, reduced scenery memory usage,

Founded in 1997, FlightGear is developed by a worldwide group of volunteers, brought together by a shared ambition to create the most realistic flight simulator possible that is free to use, modify and distribute. FlightGear is used all over the world by desktop flight simulator enthusiasts, for research in universities and for interactive exhibits in museums.

FlightGear features more than 400 aircraft, a worldwide scenery database, a multi-player environment, detailed sky modelling, a flexible and open aircraft modelling system, varied networking options, multiple display support, a powerful scripting language and an open architecture. Best of all, being open-source, the simulator is owned by the community and everyone is encouraged to contribute.

Download FlightGear v3.4 for free from FlightGear.org

FlightGear - Fly Free!

Major enhancements in this release

Performance

  • Reduced memory occupancy for scenery tiles
  • Improved frame-rates on some systems from more efficient use of Uniforms
  • AI models are now rendered based on display size rather than range
  • AI/MP models may now define objects as being part of the interior, which will not be rendered at large distances

Usability

  • Built-in web server now includes a moving map, a screenshot grabber, and supports SVG-based panels
  • In-application launcher for Mac, based on Qt5

Graphics

  • Improved rendering of runway and other lights under ALS
  • Landing and spotlight support for ALS

Scenery

  • Improved materials XML format making customer material definition easier
  • Procedural rock material definition

JSBSim

  • Synchronization with latest JSBSim

Highlighted new and improved aircraft

  • Extra EA-500
  • North American P-51D Mustang
  • Cessna Citation II

Other

  • Firewall exceptions are automatically added during setup on Windows systems
  • Aircraft moved to a SVN repository.

Bug fixes

  • See our bugtracker for an extensive, yet incomplete, list of the bugs fixed in this release.