FlightGear: Difference between revisions

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FlightGear (view source)

Revision as of 15:59, 13 May 2009

6 bytes removed ,  13 May 2009
Versions updated + Hardware
(Versions updated + Hardware)
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| developedby            = FlightGear Developers & Contributors
| developedby            = FlightGear Developers & Contributors
| initialrelease        = July 17, 1997
| initialrelease        = July 17, 1997
| lastrelease            = 1.9.0
| lastrelease            = 1.9.1
| writtenin              = C++
| writtenin              = C++
| os                    = 32-bit Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, Solaris or IRIX
| os                    = 32-bit Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, Solaris or IRIX
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}}
}}


[[Image:OV10A-NASA-in-action.jpg|thumb|right|200px|NASA [[OV-10]] in FlightGear 1.0]]
[[Image:OV10A-NASA-in-action.jpg|thumb|right|270px|NASA [[OV-10]] in FlightGear 1.0]]


'''FlightGear Flight Simulator''' (often shortened to '''FlightGear''' or '''FGFS''') is a sophisticated free, completely open-source flight simulator framework, created by volunteers.  
'''FlightGear Flight Simulator''' (often shortened to '''FlightGear''' or '''FGFS''') is a sophisticated free, completely open-source flight simulator framework, created by volunteers.  


The project was started back in 1996, with the first release in 1997. The latest public release is [[FlightGear 1.9.0|1.9.0]] in December 2008, with specific builds for a variety of operating systems including Microsoft Windows (Win 32), Mac OS X, Linux, IRIX, and Solaris.
The project was started back in 1996, with the first release in 1997. The latest public release is [[FlightGear 1.9.0|1.9.1]] in December 2008, with specific builds for a variety of operating systems including Microsoft Windows (Win 32), Mac OS X, Linux, IRIX, and Solaris.


FlightGear is released under the terms of the [[GNU General Public License]]. Flightgear is mostly written in C++  with some in C programming languages.
FlightGear is released under the terms of the [[GNU General Public License]]. Flightgear is mostly written in C++  with some in C programming languages.
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===Versions 0.7–0.9 (2001–2003)===
===Versions 0.7–0.9 (2001–2003)===
By 2001, the team was releasing new beta versions regularly (0.7.x, [[FlightGear 0.8.0|0.8.0]], over 2001-2003) and with [[FlightGear 0.9.xx|0.9.xx]](2003-2006). Later in the decade, the rate of final public releases slowed, but had larger amounts of content (0.9.10, 1.0.0 etc.). The maturity of software by 2005 lead to more widespread reviews, and increased popularity. The use of version numbers slowed dramatically after the late 2002 release of version 0.9.0. Versions [[0.9.9]] (2005) and [[0.9.10]] (2006) had about 8 all-new or redone [[aircraft]] adding to a total of 70-90 aircraft, while 0.9.11-pre1 had about 33 new or redone designs and 1.9.0 launched with up to 230 aircraft although with varying degrees of compatibility.
By 2001, the team was releasing new beta versions regularly (0.7.x, [[FlightGear 0.8.0|0.8.0]], over 2001-2003) and with [[FlightGear 0.9.xx|0.9.xx]](2003-2006). Later in the decade, the rate of final public releases slowed, but had larger amounts of content (0.9.10, 1.0.0 etc.). The maturity of software by 2005 lead to more widespread reviews, and increased popularity.  


===Version 0.9.0-1.0 (2002-2007)===
===Version 0.9.0-0.9.11 (2002-2007)===
[[Image:FG-A-10.jpg|thumb|200px|3D Cockpit panel for [[A-10]] in version 1.0.0 in 2008]]
The use of version numbers slowed dramatically after the late 2002 release of version 0.9.0. Versions [[0.9.9]] (2005) and [[0.9.10]] (2006) had about 8 all-new or redone [[aircraft]] adding to a total of 70-90 aircraft. FlightGear 0.9.10 won Softpedia's "Pick" award (5 out of 5 stars) on June 3, 2006 as well as the "100% CLEAN" Softpedia award.


Nearly the whole world is well represented using the freely available SRTM elevation data, and a number of special features are available, such as sloped runways. Over 20,000 runways, [[3D clouds]], multi-platform support, multiple open [[FDM]] choices, roughly 100 [[aircraft]] choices by version 0.9.10 provide a well-rounded feature set.  
Behind the scenes there was a 0.9.11-pre1 released in 2007 that ended up being superseded by FlightGear 1.0. The pre-version had about 33 new or redone aircraft.


Hardware needed for FlightGear is narrow to machines that support [[OpenGL]] and 3D hardware acceleration, with NVIDIA hardware having better support. Early versions had support for 3dfx cards, though this dropped as hardware requirements increased.
[[Image:FG-A-10.jpg|thumb|270px|3D Cockpit panel for [[A-10]] in version 1.0.0 in 2008]]
 
===Version 1.0 (2008)===
FlightGear has been used in a range of projects in academia and industry.
The version number marked a formal transition out of beta development since software's first release in 1997, ten years prior.


===Version 1.9.0 (2008)===
===Version 1.9.0 (2008)===
At the time version [[1.9.0]] was released FlightGear switched from [[PLIB]] to [[OSG]], which caused the temporarily lost of some of the features like 3D clouds and shadows. Most aircraft developed for OSG do not work with older versions. The users is able to choose out of 230 aircraft provided with 1.9.0, altough only a few are included in the base package.
At the time version [[1.9.0]] was released FlightGear switched from [[PLIB]] to [[OSG]], which caused the temporarily lost of some of the features like 3D clouds and shadows. On the contrary new features such as particles add another degree of realism to the simulation. Most aircraft developed for OSG do not work with older versions. The users is able to choose out of 230 aircraft provided with 1.9.0, altough only a few are included in the base package.


===Release timeline===
===Release timeline===
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Unlike commercial software titles, the main output of the project is simply the release of a collection of code. To turn it into a usable program it must be compiled for a given platform. The software libraries used to create FlightGear have varied over time. The main one is [[SimGear]], which is the underlying sim engine for FlightGear. [[TerraGear]] is not a dependency, but simply a name for the default terrain data program in FlightGear. OpenAL is used for sound/audio software, including support for SDL (since 0.9.5). PLIB is used for hardware support routines, formerly used for sound support also which was taken over by OpenAL. [[OpenGL]] is used for its integrated 3D graphics routines, and other hardware acceleration (namely DirectX) is not supported. [[OpenSceneGraph]] is also integrated into FlightGear. Finally, Simple DirectMedia Layer is a software library which is used for compiling. Some of the dependencies vary depending on which platform the code is being compiled for. FlightGear users must either compile the code themselves, or find a third party to release a binary, if it is not among the ones available from the project.
Unlike commercial software titles, the main output of the project is simply the release of a collection of code. To turn it into a usable program it must be compiled for a given platform. The software libraries used to create FlightGear have varied over time. The main one is [[SimGear]], which is the underlying sim engine for FlightGear. [[TerraGear]] is not a dependency, but simply a name for the default terrain data program in FlightGear. OpenAL is used for sound/audio software, including support for SDL (since 0.9.5). PLIB is used for hardware support routines, formerly used for sound support also which was taken over by OpenAL. [[OpenGL]] is used for its integrated 3D graphics routines, and other hardware acceleration (namely DirectX) is not supported. [[OpenSceneGraph]] is also integrated into FlightGear. Finally, Simple DirectMedia Layer is a software library which is used for compiling. Some of the dependencies vary depending on which platform the code is being compiled for. FlightGear users must either compile the code themselves, or find a third party to release a binary, if it is not among the ones available from the project.


[[Image:Fgrun-page2.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The [[FlightGear Launch Control|FlightGear Launcher]]]]
==Hardware==
Hardware needed for FlightGear is narrow to machines that support [[OpenGL]] and 3D hardware acceleration, with NVIDIA hardware having better support. Early versions had support for 3dfx cards, though this dropped as hardware requirements increased.
 
[[Image:Fgrun-page2.jpg|thumb|left|270px|The [[FlightGear Launch Control|FlightGear Launcher]]]]
==Add-ons and customization==
==Add-ons and customization==
There are programs that are either integrated into FlightGear (dependencies) or perform a function with it. Some of these are included in the release of FlightGear for a specific platform but made by the project, while others are independently distributed but are hosted by the FlightGear project.  
There are programs that are either integrated into FlightGear (dependencies) or perform a function with it. Some of these are included in the release of FlightGear for a specific platform but made by the project, while others are independently distributed but are hosted by the FlightGear project.  
Retrieved from "https://wiki.flightgear.org/Special:MobileDiff/12506"

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