FlightGear Newsletter May 2020: Difference between revisions

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FlightGear Newsletter May 2020 (view source)

Revision as of 21:37, 29 May 2020

9,970 bytes added ,  29 May 2020
Few days left in May, newsletter not really written by anyone yet. Add quick update on development plans, add some videos from quick search. Copy mid-month 2020.1 update from last month as it belongs in this month too.
(→‎AI: Updates recently)
(Few days left in May, newsletter not really written by anyone yet. Add quick update on development plans, add some videos from quick search. Copy mid-month 2020.1 update from last month as it belongs in this month too.)
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== Development news ==
== Development news ==
<!-- News about FlightGear itself. The FlightGear mailing list and/or core developers are a good source. -->
===2020.1.2 Bugfix released on May 26===
2020.1.2 has been [https://www.flightgear.org/download/ released].


2020.1.2 also allows selecting the two ''Work-In-Progress'' Compositor pipelines from the [[FlightGear_Qt_launcher|in-sim launcher]]. In Windows there is a Compositor shortcut under the Flightgear 2020.1 folder in the startmenu.
To choose pipelines go to ''Launcher > Settings > Rendering > Renderer and select from the drop down list.
* Choose ''Atmospheric Light Scattering'' to select the new [[Compositor#ALS_2|ALS pipeline]]. This is the pipeline most people should use, and should be attempted first. ALS with shader quality settings turned down can be faster than the low-spec pipeline.
* Choose ''Low spec'' to select the new [[Compositor#Default_.28Low-Spec.29|low-spec pipeline]]. This replaces the old default renderer. It is for very old hardware. It also serves as a fallback for newer systems that have compatibility problems for whatever reasons.
For bugfixes, see the sourceforge histories for 2020.1 after 2020.1.2 split points: [https://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/flightgear/ci/414ddc0a596be0e21159d3d057d49c7e091c14fa/log/?path Flightgear] , [https://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/simgear/ci/af8b27032f5afc81832c3d079050520130def270/log/?path= Simgear], and [https://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/fgdata/ci/7309ffef422f4946a33183685253c88a44eb358e/log/?path= FGData (no changes)].
===2020.1 released on May 10===
2020.1.1 was [https://www.flightgear.org/download/ released]. See the [[Changelog_2020.1|changelog]] for what's new.
2020.1.x is a preview release including new features and infrastructure changes that that will be in the next long term stable release (LTS), but receive less testing and some aircraft maybe incompatible. Please test.
Aircraft developers, as always, if you notice a system that is meant to be working, is buggy or broken in a new release, please report it as a bug instead of working around it. The [https://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/codetickets/ Sourceforge Tickets] or the [https://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/mailman/ devel] mailing list are options. The sooner problems are reported the quicker (possibly serious) underlying causes can be identified and fixed. These underlying causes may affect other areas where the symptoms are harder to pick up. As a general point, it is less work to make any structural changes needed as a result of problems identified early, compared to structural changes after possibly building on those foundations.
====WiP Compositor enabled in 2020.1.x====
The Work-In-Progress state of the [[Compositor]] is bundled as an additional binary for testing on a wide range of systems. Read sections below for more info and how to turn on shadow mapping in the ALS pipeline.
The ALS pipeline has new shadows for objects like buildings via shadow mapping. There are default shadow maps for cockpits that are slightly slower and lower quality than the [[ALS_technical_notes#Interior_shadows_and_tinted_glass_effect|ALS]] version. There are similarly slower shadows for aircraft, that do not have the faster versions implemented.
For now you can control shadows and map quality by the [[Compositor#How_to_enable_the_Compositor|following]] command-line options:
* ''--prop:bool:/sim/rendering/als/shadows/enabled=true''
* ''--prop:int:/sim/rendering/als/shadows/sun-atlas-size=2048''. Higher map size (sun-atlas-size) means crisper, slower, shadows. Power of 2 values to try: 2048, 4096, 8192.
These options can be also be set in the ''settings page > additional settings section'' of the [[FlightGear_Qt_launcher|in-sim launcher]
The Windows installer will currently place a link for the compositor under the Flightgear 2020.1 folder in Windows start-menu.
{|
|{{#ev:youtube|QoWwZH8o3LM|480| |Keflavik airport using the Compositor in 2012.1.1 by MrChillstorm. Note shadows by objects ground. Some shader settings may not be maxed as they are not ported. Overlays need 2020.1.2 to work. OSM2City is not installed.}}
|{{#ev:youtube|Lee1vimc9CM|480| |Compositor shadows in multiplayer by Wlbragg. The helicopter is a work-in-progress branch of the [[Aircrane]] with a lot of improvements that is only compatible with the Compositor.}}
|}
=====2020.1.1: Windows Startmenu Compositor link=====
If you are still using 2020.1.1, the windows startmenu link will activate the [[Compositor#Default_.28Low-Spec.29|low-spec pipleline]] that replaces the old default renderer.
To specify the pipeline, for example to get the [[Compositor#ALS_2|ALS pipeline]], use the following command-line options:
* ''--compositor=Compositor/ALS''. Specify ALS pipeline.
* ''--compositor=Compositor/low-spec''. Specify low-spec pipeline.
These command-line options can be set in the ''settings page > additional settings section'' of the [[FlightGear_Qt_launcher|in-sim launcher]]. In Windows, they can also be set in the shortcut ''properties > target'' accessible by right-clicking the shortcut - you can copy/paste an existing shortcut.
====Keflavík is the featured airport for 2020.x====
Keflavík International Airport, ICAO code: BIKF, is the largest airport in Iceland, located in Keflavík near the capital Reykjavík in the south of the island. The release includes the terrain for Iceland.
Vanosten has [[Areas_populated_with_osm2city_scenery|released]] OSM2City output for Iceland in the form of buildings, roads, pylons, etc. This can be downloaded and [https://osm2city.readthedocs.io/en/latest/using.html installed]. There are two types of Buildings included with separate folders that can be renamed to select building type:
* 2020.x and later: rename the "Buildings_list" folder to "Buildings". This uses the new, fast, buildings.
* 2019.1 and earlier: rename the "Buldings_mesh" folder to "Buildings". This uses the older, slow, buildings.
Iceland is one of the more [[Suggested_airports#Developed_airports_situated_in_developed_regions|developed regions]] of Flightgear currently, and features detailed depiction of the striking volcanic terrain of the world's geologically youngest country with overlays as well as several [[Volcanoes|volcanoes]] including Eyjafjallajökull which caused severe disruption to aviation in 2010.
{|
|[[File:Bell 412 in Iceland (Flightgear 2019.x).jpg|thumb|left|700px|Iceland, at high settings in Flightgear with [[:Category:Screenshots_of_overlays|overlays]] on and [[Anti-aliasing#Transparency_anti-aliasing|transparency AA]] set high. Try overlays in Iceland - the lack of vegetation means there is spare performance in somewhat recent systems with discrete GPUs (laptops may only have integrated GPUs or slower mobile GPU variants)]]
|}
{{#ev:youtube|QclYjcqkGn0|480||What's new in FlightGear 2020.1? Video by Parnikaporre}}
====Compositor binary is now bundled in Windows nightlies====
The compositor build is available as a second binary: ''bin/fgfs-compositor.exe''.
As of June 1st, several more effects have been ported to the ALS pipeline. Those using nightlies can try experimenting with overlays which are fixed.
===2020.2 LTS Plans===
The next long term stable release is 2020.2.x LTS. This replaces 2018.3.x LTS.
Long term releases (LTS) are supported over 1 to 2+ years. Bugfixes are ported back to stable releases. The last number in the version number is incremented for each bugfix release. For example: 1st release: 2020.1.1, 2nd (bugfix) release: 2020.1.2.
The plan is for the next branch and [http://download.flightgear.org/builds/nightly/ nightlies] to build towards 2020.2 by polishing and stabilising. 2020.2 will be split off soon, tentatively around 'mid-june'. 2020.2.1 release candidates should become available sometime after that for extensive testing. The 2020.2 release is planned to be towards the end of the year, tentatively around September. As always dates can change due to plans needing changing for various reasons, or availability of people.
See the mailing list for [https://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/mailman/flightgear-devel/thread/EF1A3D63-602A-41B7-ABCD-A14FF933F702%40flightgear.org/#msg37020806 details].
====Compositor is planned to be the default rendering framework====
2020.2 LTS will switch to the [[Compositor]] as the main rendering framework. The Compositor framework exposes a lot of powerful abilities for pipelines to use in years going forward.
* The [[Compositor#ALS_2|ALS pipeline]] will be a port of the current version of [[ALS]].
** It's planned that 2020.2 will add shadow maps. These shadows maps are for certain cases where there were no shadows before like with buildings, or for use in craft where higher quality ALS shadows are not implemented yet.
** It's planned that 2020.2 will also add clustered lights - these are not fully implemented yet so it's possible plans may change. It's planned that all lights will use the a [[Compositor#Lights|similar]] input format as Rembrandt, including craft ALS landing lights/spotlights/etc.
* The [[Compositor#Default_.28Low-Spec.29|low-spec pipeline]] will replace the default pipeline.
* The current framework is still planned to be included in 2020.2 as a fallback. 2020.2 LTS should be the last version to support the current rendering framework and renderers.
====2020.2 Compositor: Aircraft need to be checked and ported (e.g. lights)====
{{Stub|section=1}}
==Help wanted==
{{Help wanted}}
<!-- == New software tools and projects == -->
<!-- == New software tools and projects == -->
<!-- Those not being part of FlightGear itself, like for example OpenRadar, TerreMaster or flightgear-atc.alwaysdata.net. -->
<!-- Those not being part of FlightGear itself, like for example OpenRadar, TerreMaster or flightgear-atc.alwaysdata.net. -->
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<!-- === Aircraft reviews === -->
<!-- === Aircraft reviews === -->
 
=== Development videos===
{|
|{{#ev:youtube|7G6OYfmxdoI|480| |Test of Supermarine Swift development version, video by MrChillstorm}}
|-
|{{#ev:youtube|Dd1Ddqr8-A0|480| |[[F-16]] tutorial video corresponding to the recent update by Nikolai Verner Christensen}}
|}
== AI ==  
== AI ==  
The AI team makes FlightGear more realistic, colorful and lively every month. You can support the important development of ''Interactive Traffic'' and contribute at the FlightGear {{forum link|title=AI|f=23}}.
The AI team makes FlightGear more realistic, colorful and lively every month. You can support the important development of ''Interactive Traffic'' and contribute at the FlightGear {{forum link|title=AI|f=23}}.
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== Community news ==
== Community news ==
<!-- === FlightGear on YouTube === -->
<!-- === FlightGear on YouTube === -->
Paju has uploaded a [https://lbry.tv/@GPDWinLINUX:c/flightgeargpdwin2:b video] of Flightgear 2020.1.1 running on {{wikipedia|GPD_Win_2|GPD Win 2}} under Ubuntu 20.04
<!-- embed video as {{#ev:youtube|VCc6PwRI1LA}}-->
<!-- embed video as {{#ev:youtube|VCc6PwRI1LA}}-->
 
{|
|{{#ev:youtube|41GvIpEfCe4|480| |Corsica. H130 (EC130 T2). Short hop. LFKG to LFKB, FlightGear 2020.1.2. By StuartC/FGUK (Higher settings video)}}
|{{#ev:youtube|PvzRW6AsTaA|480| |Airbus A320 - Direct Law - Touch and gos on a carrier flying the [[A320]]. By MrChillstorm (Higher settings video)}}
|}
<!-- === Forum news === -->
<!-- === Forum news === -->


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