A320 Pilot In Command review

航空发表于 2010-9-6 00:24:22

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航空发表于 2010-9-6 00:24:35

Computer 30 PPiilloott MMaaggaazziinnee VV88II99 In the spring of 2001, Wilco Publishing released 767 Pilot in Command for FS2000, which turned out to be one of the most highly acclaimed MSFS add-ons ever. It proved that there was a substantial (and largely untapped) demand for simulations that strove specifically to emulate the complexity of an airliner’s flight deck. Even now, over three years later, this product still has a dedicated following. In early 2003, Wilco followed up with a new add-on product for FS2002, called A320 Pilot in Command. Although it was made by a different group of developers, many naturally associated it with 767 PIC and great things were expected of it. Pre-release marketing confirmed rumors that it would be the first MSFS payware aircraft not to have A320 Pilot In Command review... a 2D cockpit at all. This was revolutionary. Every switch, knob, and button would be accessible by mouse from within the 3D virtual cockpit environment. Remember that in FS2002, this was not normally possible. Moreover, it included proprietary technology that would allow one to actually get up and wander around the passenger cabin. However, when A320 PIC was actually released, it received a surprisingly tepid reception. Although there were a considerable number of bugs, this was not the biggest complaint. After all, it is hardly uncommon for such a complex product to have its share of teething problems upon release. Judging both from reviews of the time and from user commentaries in Internet forums, there was a bigger problem - performance. Out of the box, users consistently reported extremely poor frame rates, even on high-end machines. It is true that with extensive tweaking performance could be somewhat improved, but even so, the plane would only fly acceptably with MSFS graphics, AI, and weather settings tuned way down. Over time a number of patches and improvements were released, including one that made it fully functional in FS2004. Nevertheless, A320 PIC remained a very power hungry product and gradually faded into the background. Haven’t I Seen this Before? Now, more than a year later, I suspect I am not the only flight simmer out there to be surprised and even confused to see A320 Pilot In Command suddenly reappear in new packaging from a different publisher, Aerosoft GmbH of Germany. By ANDREW D. JONES 31 Having now thoroughly explored this package, I shall reveal to you the basic facts. The package, which retails for US$39.95, is indeed a re-release of the same product originally produced by Wilco. The Aerosoft release is listed as version 3.0, and contains all of the patches and updates, as well as a generous supply of liveries. Beyond that, however, no new features or improvements have been introduced specifically for this release. Thus, if you already own the original version and have kept up with the patches and updates, there is no reason to purchase this one, except for the simple convenience of having the fully patched product on a single CD. Installation and Configuration The software is contained on a single CD in a DVD style case with a printed installation guide. Although the printed guide looks thick, this is primarily because it is printed in several languages. The real user’s manual is installed from the CD in PDF format. Installation is easy. Since this package is fully updated, there is obviously no need to worry about the proper order of installing patches. The installer will simply ask you into which version of MSFS (FS2002 or FS2004) you are installing the product and everything else is taken care of for you. Once installation is complete, take a good look at the PDF manuals. In addition to a detailed guide to the aircraft there are also some important instructions for configuring your installation of MSFS. This product has some unusual characteristics and without configuring MSFS it will not work properly. In particular, the virtual cockpit gauge detail MUST be set to low, no matter what type of machine you have (don’t worry: the A320 flight deck will still look fine). Secondly, you must manually set up your controller through the A320PIC options menu from within MSFS. This is an independent process and will not interfere with your normal controller settings. Furthermore, you must disable your joystick within MSFS in order for the fly by wire system to work properly (A320 PIC reads control inputs independently of MSFS. There are also a number of other options available here including a choice of whether or not to implement the A320 “normal landing law” (flare mode), which we will get to later. REINTRODUCING A320 PILOT IN COMMAND WELCOME ABOARD! THE SPACIOUS CABIN HAVE A SEAT IN ECONOMY CLASS… OR HEAD UP TO THE FLIGHT DECK FOR SOME STICK TIME OFF WE GO! REVIEW Computer 32 Pilot Magazine V8I9 Flying the New, Old A320 PIC As already mentioned, A320 PIC eliminated the 2D-cockpit altogether, so when you first load the aircraft you will be greeted with a sign in large bold letters stating, “2D-panel not available.” This is normal. Simply press the “S” key to cycle the view to the 3D virtual flight deck. Most controls are clickable, and if you need to see a smaller item up-close (such as the MCDU interface) simply use the +/- keys to zoom in and out as necessary. I found this to work quite well, but I still feel that leaving out the 2D panel was a mistake. There are still times when a well done 2D panel would be useful to have around. Next, I tested my controller to verify that all axes were responding properly. Even with the instructions provided, I had to make several attempts at configuration to get my controller to function the way I wanted it to. Once more, I remind users that a considerable amount of tweaking may be necessary to get the product set up to your liking. As I readied the ship for flight I encountered a problem with the documentation. The publisher/ developers failed to include performance charts for the aircraft. This is an especially large oversight since the Airbus Flight Management System is not capable of calculating V-speeds. Thus, without these charts it is impossible to properly program the computer. It seems ironic to me that the most convenient source I found for this missing information was the website of a direct competitor for this product. The autopilot, FMS, and other systems were all very well implemented and were comparable in detail to the respective systems in the PSS Airbus product which I reviewed last month. However, A320 PIC offers a somewhat different interpretation of the autothrottle system. Rather than using the “+/-” keys to simulate the heavy detents on the Power levers that activate different autothrottle modes, they are incorporated into the throttle axis on your controller. The detents themselves are signified by audible clicks (they are audible on the real world aircraft as well). More importantly, the areas in between the detents continue to be dynamically responsive, even when the autothrottle is on (I am told that this is also realistic). Perhaps the most interesting feature of A320 PIC is that it attempts to implement the Airbus flare mode system as a part THE TEXTURES ARE A BIT SIMPLISTIC IN PLACES THE OVERHEAD THE EXTERIOR DETAILING IS NOT BAD. GEAR UP! THE OPTIONAL FO THAT CLASSIC A320 PROFILE REVIEW 33 of its normal flight control law. What this means is that during a manual landing, at 50 feet RA, the fly-by-wire system will pitch the nose of the aircraft down in order to force the pilot to pull up and flare the aircraft. This sounds bizarre, and indeed if the pilot is not expecting this he may overcorrect, or even feel prompted to attempt a last second go-around. In the “options” menu this feature may be deactivated if desired. Overall, I found that A320 PIC did a remarkably effective job of illustrating the feel of the Airbus fly-by-wire system. This is especially evident in the pitch axis where the joystick no longer commands pitch angle but rather the rate of change in pitch. That is to say, if you pull back on the stick until the nose rises 10 degrees, and then return the stick to center, the nose will not remain pitched up at 10 degrees without the pilot having to manually apply stabilizer trim. Other MSFS-based Airbus sims I have tried did not accomplish this effect convincingly. Unfortunately, I fear the system’s awkward implementation (see the configuration section above) will prevent many from discovering how well it actually works. Performance: During most phases of flight, performance was adequate, if not stellar. Certainly it is better than what many users reported when the product was originally released. For a benchmark, in most phases of flight I found frame rates to be comparable on my machine to PMDG’s 737NG. A320 PIC benefits from the fact that CPU speeds have significantly improved since the time of its original release, but on the other hand it is also visually dated. Again, if we compare it to PMDG’s 737-800/900, the latter product has a much sharper, more graphically intensive virtual flight deck. Thus, one would generally expect to get better frame rates from A320 PIC. Alas, this is not quite the case. Visuals Visually, A320 PIC is clearly showing its age. The virtual cockpit is crude in appearance by comparison to newer products. The virtual passenger cabin feature is also not as sharp as it could be, if this even matters to you? I feel it would have been better to leave it out to save memory and CPU power for more important tasks. The plane’s exterior is not bad but is notably lacking animated thrust reversers. Sound The sound set is among the true highlights of A320 PIC. It is among the best sounding flight sim add-ons I have encountered. Conclusions There can be no question that the fully patched version of A320 PIC marks a very significant improvement over the original out-of-the-box version we saw more than a year ago. It still does suffer from some of the primary problems with which it was plagued originally. Firstly, it requires a lot of configuring by the user, and many flight simmers will not have the patience for this, especially when much of it will then have to be undone when they want to fly another aircraft. Secondly, in spite of its age, it is as power hungry (or nearly so) as the newest, most complex add-ons on the market today, but without as many frills. A320 PIC has some very innovative features and should have been a fantastic add-on. Today, even with corrected bugs and a shiny new DVD case, it is still, in essence, a one-and-a-halfyear- old product. If you are prepared to give it the time it needs, then it might be worth a try. Q

f214216709 发表于 2010-9-13 15:37:01

飞行的？？？

tonyblairer 发表于 2010-12-8 20:28:58

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bocome 发表于 2011-7-31 08:11:59

A320 Pilot In Command review

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A320 Pilot In Command review

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