development, London2017, mapping

Update – Connexion London 2017 Summary

Some updates after the  Connexion London 2017 convention
London 2017 slides

Further testing and road to public beta:

  • After testing and fixing issues in the distributed swift system we will gradually move on with flight tests, i.e. testing connected with the various simulators.
  • We will first test with few alpha users, as we did for model mappings. Registered alpha users will be asked to join the tests when they start.
  • Most likely we will do it one simulator at a time.
  • Once those tests are passed, we prepare for a public beta. But the tasks will take some time.

swift and P3Dv4

  • We will develop a genuine 64bit P3Dv4 driver
    • so we can support new P3Dv4  API features
    • and compile a 64bit swift version for P3D
  • We need to update our model data to distinguish between new P3Dv4 models and old legacy P3D/FSX models

alpha tests

  • You can still join alpha program and participate at any time you like
  • If you have registered and not received a confirmation yet, please let us know.
    • You need access here to download the alpha software:
      https://datastore.swift-project.org/page/index.php
    • And here to communicate (with us), file error reports etc.
      https://dev.swift-project.org/
  • Creating mappings is still much appreciated. The more aircraft data we have, the better testing will work and the better the pilot client will work.
  • Currently we are looking for support mapping new P3Dv4 models, whoever wants to help is welcome.
  • Clarification: Many people expect, after registration for alpha, to receive detailed work tasks. This is not how we work. We let you know the overall test scenario (e.g. model mapping). You need to start on your own and we support you when problems arise.

Still we are looking for someone who will manage and coordinate the model mapping. This does not require any programming, but organizational / management skills. We would like to focus on the programming, less on the content side.

 

development, mapping

Status update of the status update

2 Comments

Thanks for the feedback guys. Some clarifications and adjustments:

  • We have already received more requests for alpha testing than we can currently handle. So we have restricted access for the moment. This is nothing personal, please do not be disappointed. Our first tests are about testing controlled scenarios, not just playing around. We need a small group for that, as we need to give support and guidance.
  • So when you are interested in joining alpha testing send us an email to alpha () swift-project.org . Include your simulator and OS (Windows, Linux, …). We will keep a list of potential testers and contact you when it fits (Hollywood principle).
  • We will gradually increase the number of users involved. We let you know when this is the case.
  • We are still looking for people joining the team as programmer or designer, feel free to contact us.
  • This is an early stage of testing. public beta test will follow, but not too soon. We can not tell you a date/time.

Thanks for your understanding.

about, alpha tests, development, mapping

Status Update

3 Comments

We have reached our swift version 0.8 milestone. This means that all major components of the swift application ecosystem now basically resemble what we think will be needed for the first release version. But we still have a lot of testing ahead before that can happen. We still can not predict when that first release will be.

The pilot client is not quite ready for public use. But what we would like to do now is invite some people to start trying out our model mapping tool, which was discussed in a previous blog post. This will enable us to learn what we have done well and what we have done poorly, and go about improving some of those poorer aspects and fixing the bugs that people discover. And by providing real data, the testers won’t just be testing, but also improving the model matching of the release version.

We call this phase of testing our “alpha program”. We will be reaching out to potential testers in the next few days and weeks. Please don’t take this post as an invitation to put yourself forward to be a tester. We will have enough names drawn from local regional groups, as too many would overload us. Remember that you won’t be able to fly online with the alpha version. A public beta will come later, when the most egregious bugs have been dealt with.

We have set up our new developer portal where our development will be conducted from now on. This is where our testers will be reporting bugs and missing features. It is also the current home of our user documentation.

We know you have been desperate for news, so here are some of the other things that have been keeping us quiet since our last update:

  • Performance optimisation;
  • Weather (if enabled, swift uses a smart algorithm mixing VATSIM METAR data with NOAA cloud, precip, and winds aloft data);
  • Interim position packets and interpolation (smoothing out aircraft motion);
  • Crash reporting tool (if swift crashes, it can “phone home” with the technical details of the crash to help us fix the bug);
  • Lots of “behind the scenes” stuff that enables everything to work together.

 

Uncategorized

Vacancy: Icon Set Designer

1 Comment

In order to overhaul the icons and graphics set for the swift applications, we are looking for an Icon Set Designer to join our team.

Your job will be to design and create a set of icons to be used for the various applications that comprise swift. The current icons we are using are just placeholders until the final set is ready. A placeholder is not meant to be forever, so it is your chance to contribute to swift.

Your skills:

  • Skilled in graphic and icon design
  • Able to work with icon formats for different operating systems: Windows, Mac, Linux
  • Team spirit
  • Autonomous working attitude

What we would expect:

  • A few different prototypes of icon sets from which we can choose
  • Possibility to produce a new logo to represent swift project
  • Delivery of all work products including intermediate files and source files
  • Transfer of copyright ownership to swift project
  • Active participation in internal discussions about icons and graphics (predominantly in English language)

What you can expect:

  • Active feedback about what you produce
  • Be part of the swift team
  • Professionalism and fun

Please email roland[at]swift-project.org if you are interested.

As always, we still welcome offers of any other kinds of logistical or technical assistance that fit our needs.

mapping

sneak preview mapping editor

Model matching is a key feature for swift. It is required because every pilot can have different aircraft models installed, and the naming of aircraft models is not standardized among the different simulators (FSX, XPlane, …). So when pilot Bob flies a FSX B737/DLH we need to find the most suitable aircraft model (representing Bob’s plane) in Alice’s XPlane simulator (this finding process is called “model matching”). Continue reading sneak preview mapping editor →

development

swift is progressing

Still alive…?

You might ask your self ‘Is this project still alive…? Have the developers stopped working on it or lost motivation?’ The answers are Yes, No and No. Even though it was a bit quiet about the project in the last couple of month. But the reason was not a stalled development. Not at all! I’m happy to say that the team of 3 people is still constantly working since the beginning. We got even a new highly motivated Linux developer Michał, who made already some important contributions. Continue reading swift is progressing →

about

Introducing swift project

Dear FlightSim Community,

Welcome to the brand new and official blog about swift – the open source pilot client. In the past we used to release updates about the latest status, development progress, etc. in different forums. This fractured approach is now replaced by this blog…. you will be informed about any news, announcements and progress reports here from now on. So keep an eye on it and visit us regularly if you want to be up to date.

Since this is the first post here, you might be reading this having not read or heard anything about swift before, so here is a brief overview of what we want to achieve:

swift – the open source pilot client – is developed by a small group of VATSIM enthusiasts who want to give back something to the community and also reactivate the stalled client development in VATSIM. The major design goals are:

  • Cross platform support for all important operating systems (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X).
  • Cross simulator support initially for major simulators (FSX, P3D, FS2004, X-Plane).
  • Distributed enviroment: You are completely free to run the client as one executable, as two different executables (Gui and Core) on one computer or even on two different platforms in a network.
  • Extendable via plugins
  • Open Source – everyone will be encouraged to submit bug and feature patches after initial source code release.

Quite challenging goals but the team is very smart and we are optimistic to reach all of them, eventually. Brings us immediately to the point, where have we got to? So here you go, the status is:

A big part of the core functionality is finished and working. This includes:

  • Successful connection and communication to VATSIM FSD servers.
  • Successful connection and communication to VATSIM Voice servers.
  • Simulator plugins in progress: FSX, X-Plane and FS9.

You don’t trust me? Following are some screen shots of the client in action in

FSX:

fsx_traffic

FS9:

fs9_towerview

X-Plane

xplane-traffic

The GUI you can see here is our 1st version and still work in progress.

This was a very brief overview of the overal status. I did not go into detail, because it would be too much. If you want read more about the progress history, check out the forum thread here.

What is still missing to release it?

  • We started with model matching, but it is not yet complete and needs some further development
  • Aircraft synchronisation of gear and flaps etc. – a joined initiative between vPilot and swift is in the final phase and needs to be implemented.
  • Intuitive user GUI
  • Basic weather obtained from the network.
  • There are still bugs and some regions of spaghetti code which need to be fixed and refactored respectively.

All in all we are on track and it is already looking promising.

When will it be released?
This is a very common question which we are asked quite frequently. We would love to give anestimate, but the project is complex (multiple platforms, multiple simulators, distributed environment). Furthermore we all do it in spare time, which is influenced by private life etc. We often hit difficulties, things take longer then expected. As you could see already, we have completed a lot and we are still progressing very well. But any estimate of remaining time would be nonsense. So please patient for the time being. As soon as we know more, we will inform you 🙂

That’s it for this time, stay tuned and always three virtual greens.

Your swift dev team
Mathew, Klaus and Roland