OnCourse Software
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PF3 Randomizer
https://www.ocs-support.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1938		 Page 3 of 6
Author:  RALF9636 [ Wed Mar 16, 2016 6:49 am ]
Post subject:  Re: PF3 Randomizer
I'm really happy with this application. It's exactly what I wished to have. Thanks again Roman!

And thank you Dave, for approving it for those who like it.
sbsim wrote:
Customization of probabilities and names

As suggested by Richard and Ralf, I plan to provide a way to customize all probabilities and names. This will open new possibilities, e.g. to set 100% probability of STAR and have its name randomly selected from 3 entered alternatives (as some airports have more published procedures for given runway and arrival direction).

Roman
It would be great if several different presets could be saved for SIDS and for STARs. For example a preset for large hubs with more vectoring and less DIRs and a preset for small regional airports with a higher chance for a DIR. Or even airport specific presets with several correct SID/STAR names.
Anyway a great application! And the default percentages are very good overall values.

Regards

Ralf
Author:  jkeye [ Wed Mar 16, 2016 2:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: PF3 Randomizer
Hi
Does this take into account the wind and active runway
Cheers
Jay
Author:  sbsim [ Wed Mar 16, 2016 7:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: PF3 Randomizer
jkeye wrote:
Does this take into account the wind and active runway
Negative. As it only randomizes already existing PF3 settings, without influencing the functionality, playing with external variables would be out of its scope. With that being said, I will very soon provide a way to customize all probabilities and names of procedures.
Roman
Author:  jkeye [ Wed Mar 16, 2016 9:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: PF3 Randomizer
sbsim wrote:
jkeye wrote:
Does this take into account the wind and active runway
Negative. As it only randomizes already existing PF3 settings, without influencing the functionality, playing with external variables would be out of its scope. With that being said, I will very soon provide a way to customize all probabilities and names of procedures.
Roman
Sounds good!
Jay
Author:  sbsim [ Thu Mar 17, 2016 12:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: PF3 Randomizer
RALF9636 wrote:
I'm really happy with this application. It's exactly what I wished to have. Thanks again Roman!

And thank you Dave, for approving it for those who like it.

It would be great if several different presets could be saved for SIDS and for STARs. For example a preset for large hubs with more vectoring and less DIRs and a preset for small regional airports with a higher chance for a DIR. Or even airport specific presets with several correct SID/STAR names.
Anyway a great application! And the default percentages are very good overall values.

Regards

Ralf
Thank you, Ralf!

I like your idea of presets. Let me introduce you to my concept of implementing the promised customization and a form of 'presets'. As I want to keep the program lean and reliable, the most efficient solution seems to be an optional INI file, that will include all the customized settings. Activating a 'preset' will be as simple as replacing that file, sharing will be easy too. What do you think about this approach?

As a side note, Randomizer received a small update. It now displays a confirmation message after completion. You can re-download it from the same URL I gave earlier and overwrite the old one if you had downloaded that.

Roman
Author:  RALF9636 [ Thu Mar 17, 2016 7:07 am ]
Post subject:  Re: PF3 Randomizer
sbsim wrote:
Thank you, Ralf!

I like your idea of presets. Let me introduce you to my concept of implementing the promised customization and a form of 'presets'. As I want to keep the program lean and reliable, the most efficient solution seems to be an optional INI file, that will include all the customized settings. Activating a 'preset' will be as simple as replacing that file, sharing will be easy too. What do you think about this approach?

As a side note, Randomizer received a small update. It now displays a confirmation message after completion. You can re-download it from the same URL I gave earlier and overwrite the old one if you had downloaded that.

Roman
Thank you for trying to make the Randomizer customizable.

I agree that the Randomizer should be kept simple and executable with one mouseclick. So having an INI file would achieve that very simply.

On the other hand having in mind presets for small, medium and large airports it might get confusing. That would lead to 9 combinations of SID and STAR settings thus 9 optional INI files. So before each run of randomizer.exe I would have to copy and rename one of those optional INI files as the "active" INI file. Airport specific settings would not really work like this.

Anyway I would be happy to have this option.

A more sophisticated solution might look like this:
To have separate Setting / INI- files for SIDs and for STARs. Then to have some kind of an optional User Interface where you can choose a predefined setting / INI-file for the departure and a predefined setting / INI-file for the destination. Maybe simply by opening a Windows Explorer Window where the files could be chosen.
I hope I made this comprehensible. I don't have the knowledge to estimate if this is possible and how complicated that would be for you to implement.

Thank you very much for your efforts!

Ralf
Author:  vololiberista [ Thu Mar 17, 2016 7:46 am ]
Post subject:  Re: PF3 Randomizer
I ran it to see how it works and what effect it might have on PF3. Whilst it is ok for personal use in its present form I would suggest some small changes for general release to ordinary punters. Because it is here on the forum and visitors may want to try it. For example when the programme is run you should have a small pop-up "x,y and z will be randomised Y/N to confirm". This means I know exactly what parts of PF3 are to be affected. Also if you intend to add to the list of variables I would say a pop-up becomes essential. Not everybody who uses PF3 is a programmer so it is important that they know exactly what effect your mod has and be able to cancel it if they are not sure. Perhaps another thing would be to save current settings too so that the user can wind back to their previous settings without having to change dozens of presets!
Author:  sbsim [ Thu Mar 17, 2016 8:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: PF3 Randomizer
vololiberista wrote:
I ran it to see how it works and what effect it might have on PF3. Whilst it is ok for personal use in its present form I would suggest some small changes for general release to ordinary punters. Because it is here on the forum and visitors may want to try it. For example when the programme is run you should have a small pop-up "x,y and z will be randomised Y/N to confirm". This means I know exactly what parts of PF3 are to be affected. Also if you intend to add to the list of variables I would say a pop-up becomes essential. Not everybody who uses PF3 is a programmer so it is important that they know exactly what effect your mod has and be able to cancel it if they are not sure. Perhaps another thing would be to save current settings too so that the user can wind back to their previous settings without having to change dozens of presets!
Clever suggestions, thank you. I will upload a new version very soon that will display the message you propose. It will also backup PF3.ini. Later, I plan to provide a PDF guide, including the picture below :) Improvements that Ralf and others suggested will not require to play with more variables. I want to stay inside the limits of randomizing the same four settings, they provide almost endless possibilities. PF3 is great!

[ img ]
Author:  sbsim [ Fri Mar 18, 2016 7:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: PF3 Randomizer
PF3 Randomizer updated (version 0.9)

You can re-download the program from the same URL I gave earlier and overwrite the old one if you had downloaded that.
  1. It is now possible to customize the probabilities of SIDs/STARs through an optional PF3random.ini file that can be downloaded from the link below. If not present, the program uses its internal defaults.
  2. The program will not allow its use when PF3 is running (to prevent any changes while the best air traffic controllers are already doing their job).
  3. Information messages added.
Optional INI file can be downloaded from here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tcqorwwwsm4fx ... m.ini?dl=0

Thanks everyone for your support, comments and suggestions!

Roman
Author:  RALF9636 [ Fri Mar 18, 2016 8:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: PF3 Randomizer
Thanks for the optional INI-file! I suppose it goes to the same PF3 main folder.

Do you plan to include the percentages of the SID/STAR names in the INI file also? That would be nice!

And how about the speed (and the distance it should be kept) you include in the STAR names? What are the min and max values? If these would also be included in the INI-file it would be possible to make adjustments depending on the aircraft in use.

Thanks again for this great tool!

Ralf
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