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THIS FILE CONTAINS ALL THE KNOWN ISSUES/FIXES FOR THE DUST EFFECTS PACKAGE I AM AWARE OF TO DATE.


PLEASE READ IT BEFORE EMAILING ME FOR ASSISTANCE


1.
You will be loose all taxi light functions. The gauge file works with and activates on a preset throttle and aircraft elevation value, light type 8, 9, 6 and the [smokesystem]. Very few, but some, prop aircraft use [LIGHTS] effect type 8 and 9 (wing and logo lights) on the other hand many do implement type 6 (taxi lights). If the type 8, 9, or 6 light is being used by the model in which you wish to include/use these effects with, then not only will that light not be functional by a cockpit switch but also when the dust effect is automatically activated the corresponding light assigned by the model will illuminate. Unfortunately this is the only downfall to using this gauge however in my opinion it’s WELL worth the trade off for the totally automatic and awesome visual dust/mist effects.

Microsoft did not provide any other way that I could use to make the automatic switching of the dust effects based on the real time surface, terrain and surface conditions possible.


2.
I have tested these effects with MANY 1, 2, 3 and 4 engine/prop aircraft/helicopters, both default and 3rd party, in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 - A Century of Flight, and it functions fine. There may be other types of aircraft out there that the gauge will not function with. Aircraft that make use of certain types of .xml gauges may also render the gauge useless should conflicting programming in those gauges exist. It is rare but if the aircraft uses a huge list of lights they can cause conflicts (see #5 below for a possible fix)


3.
This package includes 5 gauge files for different type and scale of aircraft. Make sure you choose the proper gauge file for the type and scale of aircraft you are flying it with. The README_FIRST.txt file included in this package has a complete description of each gauge and how to properly select the right gauge for the aircraft you wish to apply the effects to. If you use a gauge file for an aircraft that does not meet the specifications for that gauge... the effects may not display properly or at all in the simulator.

In example, if you choose to use the MultiPropDustFXcontrol.xml gauge, which IS designed for 2, 3 and 4 engine planes.... BUT for planes that have a prop center height of 8 feet or LESS to the ground, for a plane the size of a Douglas DC-3, which has a prop center height of over 10 feet from the ground, the prop dust/mist effects will never display because the MultiPropDustFXcontrol.xml gauge is designed to shut the effect down when the radio height (radio altimeter) of the plane is 9 feet off the ground or higher. On the other hand if you were to use the LargePropDustFXcontrol.xml gauge with a small twin prop aircraft such as the Beech Baron58, the dust effect would remain on the screen behind the plane to an unrealistic height as the plane takes off and the effect would appear too soon and too high in the air when the plane lands because the LargePropDustFXcontrol.xml gauge is designed to toggle the effect at a radio height of 16 feet to the ground for the larger scale aircraft.

The threshold throttle point where the effect appears and disappears has been set to 20% for small planes and helicopters, 13% for the larger aircraft and -10% or more for aircraft that support reverse pitch. These values were selected so the effect would only appear when the prop is putting out a thrust level which would push enough air to create a dust cloud. If for some reason you would like the values reconfigured for a specific aircraft there is a tutorial provided with this package named TWEAK_IT.txt which will describe in detail how to set your own throttle level and aircraft height for the dust effect to appear/disappear.


4.
For snow, ice and water landing effects the gauge uses the [smokesystem]. If the plane/helicopter you are installing these effect for already has a [smokesystem] heading and supporting code lines under it for engine or other type of smoke, the dust effect code must completely OVERWRITE and replace the existing smoke system entries or both the dust and the pre-existing smoke effect could appear during snow, ice and water landings. It could also have the opposite effect and the snow ice and water landing effects could be rendered useless. Make sure to overwrite the existing [SMOKESYSTEM] of any aircraft you add these effects to.


5.
Some planes have a large [LIGHTS] section defined in the aircraft.cfg file. Microsoft only allows 19 lights (light.0= through light.18=) to be defined and recognized by the sim. If the [LIGHTS] section of your 3rd party aircraft totals more than 19 light lines, including the new dust effects code lines, anything in the list greater than light.18= will NOT function. In rare cases where the light list exceeds the 19 light line limit with the new effects lines included, you must eliminate one or some of the 3rd party aircraft's lights until the last light number is light.18= in order for the effects to properly display. Any light line can be eliminated, simply choose one(s) that will not be very obvious. This issue will usually effect larger 4 engine aircraft as they tend to have more lights and it requires 12 [LIGHTS] section lines for 4 engine planes in order to apply the effects.


6.
If you are experiencing dust constantly displaying at idle on any surface and/or you have no throttle control the problem can only be caused by 3 situations:

a. The code section in the panel configuration file is not properly edited into the file including typos, improper location, improperly numbered, has a gauge file name that does not exist or has been totally omitted.

b. The .xml gauge file itself is not located INSIDE the nn-gauges folder and/or the ENTIRE nn-gauges folder is not located INSIDE the main Flight Simulator \Gauges directory.

c. If you made edits or created a new gauge file for the aircraft having problems, the .xml gauge has been improperly edited or created.


Assuming you are on dirt or other named surface that should display prop dust, if you are not seeing any dust at all no matter how high you throttle up the problem can only be caused by 4 situations:

a. The aircraft configuration file [LIGHTS] and/or [SMOKESYSTEM] sections are either not properly edited with the code lines including syntax and filename typos, improper location, improperly numbered or totally omitted.

b. The dust effect file themselves are missing from the effects folder or were not installed (or have somehow become renamed which is highly unlikely).

c. The gauge file used is incorrect for the type/scale of aircraft you are flying (see #3 above)

d. If you made edits or created a new gauge file for the aircraft having problems, the .xml gauge has been improperly edited or created.


If all the above checks out and you are still seeing none or partial effects under the proper conditions it is possible the 3rd party aircraft has an XML gauge that conflicts with the dust control.