WOW!
Man you gotta check this out, this is WICKED.....
This thing is called "FS Recorder" and it's the simplest, trickest little goodie you ever saw. Small download, a tiny little DLL that goes into the FS9\Modules Folder, and BAM! You get a new menu in FS9 that gives you the ability to record your flights (unlimited length) and play them back......big deal right? Well, the killer thing is, you get to play them back as AI aircraft which means you can then accompany that flight in formation, or do whatever. There is NO END of the possibilities here...making a video (HOPPA!) and need another plane to coordinate a particular stunt, and no one is around to fly it with ya? No big deal, just fly that segment while recording it, and play it back, then do your other thing at the same time!
Here's the rundown on it from Avsim.com:
FS Recorder Version 1.2 Released
Posted: Monday, June 19, 2006 - 22:04
Version 1.2 of the Recorder Module for FS2004 is now available for download at the recorder website and in the AVSIM file library. The module is a freeware addon for FS2004, which can record flights, save them to files and play them back like the FS instant replay and flight video recorder, but with a lot more features. The module records data like aircraft position, speed, etc, so the recordings can only be played inside FS. This makes it possible to view recordings from different views.
Version 1.2 adds two new features: Recorded flights can be played back as (AI) traffic, which allows flying in formation with yourself. The advanced tower and spot views allow setting up multiple tower and spot views, manual panning of the view direction, automatic zooming, simulating cameras attached to the aircraft, etc. Plans for future versions include recording and playback of AI traffic, as well as traffic playback of multiple recordings to allow formation flights of more than two aircraft. The recorder website was completely updated and now also includes a support forum.
Here's the link at the recorder website for the free, quick download:
http://www.neusinger.net/recorder/
Oh yeah, the way it saves position, speed and vector information is very efficient. I recorded a 9-minute flight around the pigsty in the Bf109, and the file is only 354K!
Also didn't notice much (if any) hit on framerates while recording, and also while playing it back. There can be some "skips" if you switch views or hose around much when recording, and you have to go into the settings to turn on the engine animation otherwise you'll see prop planes flying around with their props standing still, but that's easily remedied by turning on the setting. Also, it will record certain events like smoke, animations, etc.
I just had a BLAST for 2 or 3 hours, recording a takeoff from the pigsty, with a little cruising, an inverted pass down the taxiway, then back around for landing and parking it right back where I started. Then I played it back as AI and flew in formation with that flight...WHAT A KICK!!
Matter of fact if you download it, then snag this and replay it...it's recorded at the KORS Pigsty and uses the JG300 Bf109. Try it out!
http://216.176.86.154/jg300/Pigsty_Bf109_SauPattern.zip
(just unzip it to somewhere like your flight plans or saved flights folder and load it with the FS Recorder menu in FS9, "Replay as AI").
A few pictures are worth a thousand words so I'll shut up and just post some pix...you get the idear....
Taxiing out with the recorded flight using the "Replay as AI" function...
Gear up!
No Bogies in sight...tower gives us clearance for the inverted pass....
I wonder if this is a first...a dual formation inverted runway pass with myself??
YEEEHHHHAAAAWW!
Ahh just one more angle...
OK lets not push our luck....set 'em down in formation:
Another succesfull mission!
This thing is just too cool. So many flights you could record and save for posterity, and re-fly them in formation, etc! And of course it allows for a different airplane in the recorder than in your flight, so you don't have to use exact similar aircraft like I did in the shots above. Cool.
Hmmm......hey, you could record a whole takeoff and five laps around a PROPS racecourse, then race against it to work on improving your time against yourself!
Like I said, this little dealy opens up a ton of cool options......would be cool to record some short flights or stunts and share them amongst ourselves, huh??
To this software though, I can't wait to check her out and finally take a stab at that movie!
