Status update

So where are we with 3wire? Well the basic code works fine for both moving and static carriers. We had a pretty big bug that we discovered and killed, so things are looking good right now. At the moment we are cleaning up and optimising the code, checking that we haven't missed anything. There's one major component that is yet to be done, as well as some small things, then it's time to test! We are getting closer all the time.

Testing Report

Testing of the current features is going well, with all the basic features working a treat. No major problems have been found, however, I may have found a bug with the stock FSX carrier models. This will be confirmed in wider testing, but it won't hold up development.

I've added a gallery of screen shots that I've taken during development and testing to the blog. Have a look, I apologise for the lack of quality, my pc is horribly slow and old.

Welcome to the Boat

Just a small note to say that I've just completed my first full stop arrested landings on moving carriers! Last night I did the first detection tests, which surprisingly worked first time, and this morning I added the arrest code.

There are still a few important pieces missing, including the catapult which is yet to be fully tested.

As you can see I've been using the DSB T-45 Goshawk. I've got rid of the old gauges that didn't work in FSX so it runs great. The VC isn't the best but its FPS friendly and easy to handle, something you need when testing carriers!

I'd better get back to it, only 2 weeks before university starts again, and there is so much to be done.

Want to know more?

Well we do - about your aircraft. Due to the new and much more accurate and realistic method we are developing to detect a trap, 3wire needs to know much more about the aircraft model you are flying. This means more work in setting up, hopefully designers will help out here and supply the necessary information. If you don't want to setup an aircraft, or are flying an unusual aircraft onto a carrier (did you try landing a 747 on a carrier in FS9? Thought so.) 3wire can use a set of default values if it can't find a config.

Degrees of tests

One thing I keep forgetting is computers need angles in radians not degrees. This would save me wondering why my functions are not returning the correct values. I'm really getting into the dirty work or writing the arrestor part of the program, which means playing with longitude, latitude, distances and altitudes.

Another thing I need to consider is testing once the program is more mature. This of course means beta testers! Last time around there were only a small group, which I may start off with again, but later make it an open beta. Hopefully this will mean I can find region specific errors early and fix them quicker. A good example me not doing things right with version 1 was a problem with countries that use a comma as the decimal separator. However, things will be different this time as I am not using .Net for the main application.