Applications Exclusive Drag and Drop

Sky Dolly 4.72/5

Sky Dolly records and replays your flights. The flight data ("simulation variables") is automatically persisted in a logbook which allows you to sort and filter your recorded flights. Various import and export formats such as GPX, KML, JSON or IGC ("international gliding organisation")...

Sky Dolly - The Black Sheep for your Flight Recordings

About

Sky Dolly records and replays simulation variables such as the aircraft position and attitute and basic flight controls such as rudder, ailerons, elevators, flaps and gear position. The record frequency can be specified (and even changed during recording), in order to minimise the amount of recorded data. An "auto" sample rate records values as they become available (for each "simulated frame" event). The replay speed ("slow motion", "timelapse") can also be adjusted.

This external application connects with the flight simulator via the SimConnect API, a standard API introduced with FSX back in the days.

Smooth Replay

Note that thanks to an interpolation algorithm even low sampling rates such as 1 Hz result in smooth replay, especially for airliners. For "acrobatic flying" the "auto" sample rate is recommended, in order to accurately capture every flight maneuver.

Formation Flights

Sky Dolly can replay flights with multiple aircraft ("formation"). The number of aircraft is technically unlimited, but possibly limited by CPU, RAM and especially your patience. But flights with 30+ aircraft do not seem to slow down the system.

During recording the previously recorded aircraft are replayed - so you know exactly where your aircraft is in relation to the formation flight.

"Multiplayer formation flights" are supported by adding the imported CSV aircraft data to an existing flight. Each aircraft can then manually synchronised (depending on when each pilot hit the "Record" button) with the other aircraft, by adding or subtracting a time offset.

Import & Export Plugins

Various file formats can be imported or exported:

CSV (import & export, including formats from flightradar24.com and Flight Recorder)
IGC (International Gliding Commission - import & export)
KLM (import for flightaware.com, flightradar24.com and generic KML, Google Earth export)
GPX (import and export of the GPS exchange format)
JSON (GeoJSON export)

Preview Release

Note that this is an early pre-release version 0.10. While it should run stable and all its present features should work as intended it is far from feature complete. Release 0.10 improves on the import and export plugin architecture, while also introducing GeoJSON support. The CSV export plugin can now also export flightradar24.com CSV format and GPX data can now be exported, too.

Database Backup and Optimisation

Database backups can be automatically scheduled (once per month, once per week, never, ...) and are done after exiting the Sky Dolly application (where they may also be skipped). Before migration an update is also done. All backup options are now in the File | Logbook Settings... dialog.

By default the backup databases will be located in the same folder as the original "logbook", in a "Backups" subfolder, but can be changed when the Backup dialog shows up.

As flights are recorded and deleted the database file may grow considerably. Unused file space will be reclaimed at some point (by SQLite), but in case many flights have been deleted the database file can be optimised, by the "Optimise" command located in the File menu.

Earlier Releases

In case you want to still use the previous Sky Dolly versions (e.g. 0.8 or 0.9) you may download all previous releases from the github release page (the ZIP archives are identical to the one available here).

Source Code

The source code may be found at:

https://github.com/till213/SkyDolly

Additional usage information (README) and a complete CHANGELOG is also available in the github.com source repository. You may want to compute the SHA-256 checksum of your downloaded ZIP archive and compare it against the SHA-256 checksums published on github.com, to verify the file integrity of your downloaded copy.

Reporting Problems

Problems can be reported here:

https://github.com/till213/SkyDolly/issues

A free github.com account is required though. "Small issues" may also be mentioned in the comment section below.

Installation

Unzip the ZIP archive to any location of your choice
Run SkyDolly.exe
Optional: you may associate Sky Dolly "logbooks" (files with the extension *.sdlog) with the Sky Dolly application:
- in File Explorer: right-click on the logbook file and choose "Open with..."
- Select the SkyDolly.exe application
- Make sure to enable the "Always open with..." checkbox
- The default logbook is located at: "c:\Users\[Your Username]\Documents\Sky Dolly\"
- One the *.sdlog files are "associated" with Sky Dolly you can double-click on those files and a new Sky Dolly instance will start and open the selected logbook

Basic Usage

Start a flight in Flight Simulator 2020
In Sky Dolly, press the "Record" (key R) button
Stop the recording (either hit key R again, or ESC for "stop")
Press the "Play" button (spacebar)
Seek the play position (left and right arrow keys, page up/page down keys)
Adjust recording sample rates in the settings menu (also during recording)
Show flight information (key F)
- Hint: press the same key F again to close the flight information dialog
Show the recorded "simulation variables" (key V)
- Same here: press key V again to close the simulation variables dialog
Minimise the user interface (key M)
- Hint: Before you minimise the user interface you may also want to hide the replay speed group, in the View menu
- As the "minimal UI" as a "fixed layout" the replay speed group currently cannot be shown/hidden once in this "minimal UI" mode

Load a Flight

Select the desired flight in the logbook
Press the "Load" button (or double-click the row)
Note: double-clicking its "Title" column will edit the title

Add Aircraft to Existing Flight ("Formation Flying")

Switch to the Formation module (press F2)
For each aircraft to be recorded press the "Record" button (press R): the plus (+) sign in the button icon indicates that aircraft will be added to the existing flight
That's it!

Note again that the existing aircraft will be replayed during recording, so you know exactly where to fly ;)

To start a new flight simply switch back to the Logbook module (press F1) and press the record button

You may optionally load an existing flight in the Logbook module before switching to the Formation module. Once all aircraft have been added start replay, pause and seek in the timeline as usual.

Aircraft may be deleted from a flight (but which keeps at least one aircraft)
The last recorded aircraft becomes the "user aircraft" (the one being followed with the camera in MSFS)
Before adding a new aircraft you may set its position relative to the current "user aircraft"
You may switch the "user aircraft" at any time - also during replay!
Want to fly for yourself together with the formation? Simply select the "Take control" option in order to take control of the recorded user aircraft. Or choose the "Fly with Formation" to join the formation with the currently loaded user aircraft (so you can also join "single aircraft formations" in an ad-hoc manner).

Recommendations

Disable "crash detection" and "engine/stress failure" options in Flight Simulator 2020 for replay

Known Issues

Import

Flights imported from flightaware.com (KML) or flightradar24.com (CSV, KML) often have altitudes not aligned with the MSFS scenery, so aircraft either are below or above the runway when taking off or landing. This is still an open issue and not yet addressed by the most recent v0.10.0 release, but it will be addressed together with extended "flight augmentation" in an upcoming release ("still on the roadmap")
In general while error handling of mal-formed imort files is in place the actual error messages are extremly "generic": "File could not be imported". More detailed error messages may be added in a future update, but for now:
- Make sure that you have selected the proper "flavour" (data source) for a given format
- For instance depending on whether a KML file comes from flightaware.com or flightradar24.com the position data is stored in different "KML elements"
- The generic KML format tries to find a "track" element, but if no such track element is present then the same generic "File could not be imported" error message will be shown (for now)
- In general: if no "position data" (latitude, longitude, optionally altitude) could be found the generic error message will be shown (and also if a "parser error" due to a malformed document is encountered, e.g. an expected number is not in the expected format etc.)

Прочетете повече

0.10.0

12.64 MB

14,136

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За

Steeler

8,585 | VII Senior First Officer

Съвместимост	Sim Update 9
Категория	Applications
Първоначална версия	February 28, 2021
Последна актуализация	April 09, 2022
Рейтинг	4.72/5.0 — Превъзходно!
Status	Все още не е изтеглено

Version	Launched	Съвместимост
Sim Update 9	Apr 26, 2022
Sim Update 8	Feb 28, 2022
Sim Update 7	Nov 18, 2021
Sim Update 6	Oct 19, 2021
Sim Update 5	Jul 27, 2021
Sim Update 4	May 26, 2021
Sim Update 3	Feb 25, 2021
World Update 3	Jan 28, 2021
Sim Update 2	Dec 23, 2020
World Update 2	Nov 25, 2020

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292 Коментари

markws44

16 day(s) ago

Отговор Копиране на връзката

Hello, could be just that there is an issue with such a new aircraft, but SkyDolly will not properly record and play back flap and spoiler positions for the PMDG 737.

Steeler 12 day(s) ago

Отговор

That is quite possibly so: it all depends on whether the aircraft properly supports the official SimConnect „simulation variables“. Sky Dolly - and other 3rd party apps - only have access to those.

Some aircraft - notably also the FBW A320neo - use their own logic, and their own „local variables“, to simulate certain aspects, like also the engine.

Steeler 12 day(s) ago

Отговор

There is nothing that can be done in such a case, except implementing an aircraft-specific add-on (which would need to be installed in the Community folder) which would report the aircraft-specific „local variables“ via SimConnect as „events“. And Sky Dolly would perhaps have to extend its data model to take those aircraft-specific data into account.

That is not a sustainable approach for an application with the intend to support all aircraft (and not just one specific aircraft), let alone that Sky Dolly is a one-person project 😉

Steeler 12 day(s) ago

Отговор

All that said, I saw the following video by JayDee (who uses Sky Dolly) and it seems that the flaps had at least been extended and the spoilers extended just after touchdown:

https://youtu.be/jGdAnkP9jMk

The Sky Dolly landing replay is at the very end, after the 53 minute timemark.

Bearviation

19 day(s) ago

Отговор Копиране на връзката

I must be missing something... on playback I can only get the camera to follow the plane and appear unable to record from a static place (e.g. beside the runway to capture the landing from various angles). This is not in the online manual nor have I found any tutorials (there are vids where people have done this but they don't give any indication of HOW they've done it). So... how does one go to a fixed spot and capture a replay from that spot?

Steeler 19 day(s) ago

Отговор

What exactly do you mean when you say „record“? You mention that you are able to replay a flight, so you must have already recorded a flight?

Or are you referring to recording a video? You need a separate screen capture software for this.

In any case, you should be able to place the (drone) camera anywhere you want during replay, just like you would do normally during a flight in MSFS. Typically you would pause the replay, place the drone camera to an exciting spot and resume the replay.

And since you have mentioned „static camera“: that is normal functionality of the drone camera option menu in MSFS itself: there is a „follow aircraft“ option (which is enabled by default). Is this what you were asking for?

Note that Sky Dolly does not record your camera movement (the SimConnect API does not provide support for that - yet?). Also note that the online manual is far from completed.

TechnicAl

26 day(s) ago / Благодарности от Steeler

Отговор Копиране на връзката

This is a great product and I've used it within several of my videos. In my latest video all the scenes were created using Sky Dolly and this includes the static aircraft groups on the ground as well as the group flyby flights used using the formation functionality - a excellent recording tool https://youtu.be/qvt1FnuMDfo

Steeler 25 day(s) ago

Отговор

That is such a great video, thanks for sharing!

Would you mind if I posted a link on https://forums.flightsimulator.com/ ?

PaulHolmes

28 day(s) ago

Отговор Копиране на връзката

I hate to say it but SD isn't mixing well with the replay function post SUD9 - CTD... Intel i5-9600k, Geforce RTX 2060 Super, 32GB RAM.

Steeler 27 day(s) ago

Отговор

Mixing with what replay function? The replay function in MSFS? How do you „mix“ those?

And I assume that you mean that MSFS is crashing, and not Sky Dolly?

You may want to create an issue with exact steps how to reproduce (or at least what you did last time, even if not reproducible).

For me basic functionality (including formation flight recording / replay) runs stable. But then again, so does MSFS SU9 for me (so far).

Steeler 27 day(s) ago

Отговор

You can create an issue here and provide more details, including screenshots (if helpful): https://github.com/till213/SkyDolly/issues

PaulHolmes 26 day(s) ago

Отговор

On further testing, I rather suspect its my problem with SUD9 making my system less stable than it used to be! I simply need to to re-boot and clear the buffers before I can effect the replay function smoothly. I'll keep you posted.

Steeler 26 day(s) ago

Отговор

Quite a few people report about newly experienced "crash to desktop" (CTD) issues. Mostly Xbox users, but also PC users:

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/discussion-poll-sim-update-9-1-25-7-0/513042/768

Personally I can say that I have not yet experienced any CTD myself with SU9. But I am not a person who is regularly flying more than one hour (my longest flight was perhaps 3 hours ever).

And it is well possible that Asobo also changed some stuff in the "server" part (= in MSFS) of the SimConnect protocol, which causes issues with processing SimConnect requests, that's certainly possible.

So if you think that you can "reliably" cause a crash when replaying some (all) of your recordings, then let me know. But chances would be that we would simply have to wait for another fix, because there are only so many ways one can send "simulation variables" request to MSFS.

pstrehle8

1 month(s) ago / Благодарности от Steeler

Отговор Копиране на връзката

it would be cool if you could make it so that the second plane automatically flies behind you as you control it 😊

Steeler 1 month(s) ago

Отговор

Hello, thanks for your rating, very much appreciated (as every other rating, comments and suggestions, for that matter 😊)

So I understand, what you are asking for is not that you are flying „behind another AI aircraft“ (which is already possible), but the other way around, that the other AI aircraft is following your user aircraft. Or in other words: Sky Dolly should essentially not just „replay“ a previously recorded flight, but introduce „real artificial intelligence“ (AI) into the other „AI aircraft“ 😊

That is certainly an interesting feature request, one that I hadn‘t thought off. And it would certainly be - technically - possible, albeit probably with some „delay“: first Sky Dolly would have to query the current position of your user aircraft, calculate the next position for the AI aircraft and send that AI aircraft position update request back to MSFS. But with some „extrapolation“ this delay could probably be compensated for (much like what MSFS probably already does for „multiplayer aircraft“, where „the last known position of the multiplayer aircraft may also be a couple of milliseconds old (already)“.

But yes, that would really imply that Sky Dolly would implement some sort of actual „AI pilot“ (you probably don‘t want that the other aircraft would simply have a constant offset to your aircraft, that would look silly). That‘s probably both beyond the scope of what I still intend to do with Sky Dolly, and my „piloting skills“ (and time budget“) 😊

But if anyone knows of some „aircraft follows other aircraft“ algorithm (idea) which is both relatively simple („fake pilot“) but yet „convincing“ (the aircraft realistically wiggles with the wings and seemingly tries to mimick the same flight maneuvres like the user aircraft), then let‘s hear 😊

pstrehle8 1 month(s) ago

Отговор

ok thanks but would be cool if there would be times like that because that makes me personally more fun because you can then also make cool recordings with the drone camera with a uh1 or something similar well maybe it comes sometime thanks 😊

wami

2 month(s) ago / Благодарности от Steeler

Отговор Копиране на връзката

Best replay plugin!

I've some replay problem with FBW320.The engine will shut down in replay. How did I fix it?

Steeler 1 month(s) ago

Отговор

Are we talking about the "stock A320neo" that comes with MSFS, or are we talking about the A320neo by FlyByWire (FBW)? Because if the later, then I am afraid this is going to be "hit and miss". The reason being: FBW is using a lot of "custom simulation", including (but not limted to) the engine (so I understand).

While this brings a big difference in realism and simulated functionality this also comes - unfortunately with a downside: not every custom simulation code supports the so-called "simulation variables" which are exposed via the official SimConnect API (with which Sky Dolly and other add-ons are communicating with MSFS).

In the end this would be something only the aircraft builders could amend, but they probably have good reassons not to support the given simulation variables (and in the end that would be up to Asobo to address, if this was about a limitation of the simulation variables and/or SimConnect itself).

So which variant are we talking about here? Because the engine works just fine for me in the stock A320neo (at least last time I've checked anyway).

UPDATE: Ups, I just noticed that you actually mentioned "FBW" already. So yes, my answer applies then: this is "hit and miss" with the FWB A320 neo (and any other aircraft that uses "custom code" which "ignores" the official simulation variables").

You may also have a look into the "Frequently Asked" section here (yes, that exists here on the page somewhere, but the link is easy to miss 😉), which provides some more details about this "simulation variables" topic.

wami 1 month(s) ago

Отговор

Thanks for reply!

earthdog 1 month(s) ago

Отговор

Any way that you can contact the FBW team and work together to tell you a way to maybe replay these variables?

Steeler 1 month(s) ago

Отговор

I am pretty sure they - as many other third-party aircraft developers - are aware of the "problem" (it is not a problem for them, so hence the quotes). In fact, I already contacted another third-party aircraft because of some other "simulation variable" (I think it was CANOPY OPEN), and while I cannot "confirm" the given reasons (due to lack of experience when it comes to building third-party aircraft myself) they sounded plausible.

As far as I can remember the third-party developer said that they were explicitly not supporting the "simulation variable" CANOPY OPEN, because it also impacts the "damage model" of the aircraft: the concrete use case was that the given aircraft should be able to "dive-bomb" with the canopy open, but that would cause the aircraft to get damaged in case CANOPY OPEN was set to TRUE (because MSFS assumes that any open canopy will "be torn away" for speeds over, say, 100 knots - which is not true for the particular aircraft, as the canopy would simply "slide backwards").

Again, I cannot judge whether a CANOPY OPEN would really cause damage when exceeding certain speed values (or whether there is not another way to prevent this), but it sounded plausible to me at the time.

Now this is just one example (and not related to FBW A320 obviously 😉) why a third-party developer may deliberately choose not to use the "official simulation variables", but use their own "local variables" instead (which are then not accessible directly via the SimConnnect API).

Now I say "directly", because there are ways to also expose the "local variables", keyword: WASM module. Essentially one would implemente an aircraft-specific WASM module, put this into the Community folder (or so I understand) and expose the desired "local variables" via SimConnect as "custom events".

But this is kind of error-prone (the "custom events" could overlap with another WASM module which might also be installed for yet another aircraft, or so I understand) and specifically requires aircraft-specific WASM modules. That is not something which I can afford with my time budget, and would complicate the installation of Sky Dolly (which I'd really like to keep as "independent" of MSFS as possible - no modification of the Community folder should be required, that's the design goal). And it goes without saying that such a WASM module would have to be potentially updated each time the given aircraft is updated, too ("local variables" might get renamed, change their behaviour etc.).

So my hope is that FWB A320 may return to supporting simulation variables again, possibly with the help of Asobo (depending on the actual reasons the given "simulation variable" was not used etc.). But I guess for as long as the FBW A320 is still in active development this is probably at the bottom of their backlog (if at all).

Steeler 1 month(s) ago

Отговор

All that being said, I do understand that specifically the FBW A320 is a very popular aircraft, so I certainly keep this on my todo-list and see what I can do - but that would also be a bit "lower" on my backlog, as I'd still like to improve/implement other features first 😊

lawlegge

2 month(s) ago / Благодарности от Steeler

Отговор Копиране на връзката

Looks like there is a redundant folder in the zip - ie;

SkyDolly-v0.10.0/SkyDolly-v0.10.0/files.

I have my unpacker (WinRaR) set to remove redundant folders but 'WindSailor' apparently doesn't.

I will also let Nicolas (WindSailor) know.

Thank you for Sky Dolly.

Steeler 2 month(s) ago

Отговор

Hello,

I can't reproduce this: I downloaded Sky Dolly from this site (flightsim.to) and the downloaded folder contains all the files that I would expect. Specifically there is no such "files" file (or folder), so not sure what your tool (WinRaR) is reporting / doing there? I use 7zip.

Just as a coincidence I started publishing SHA-256 checksums here:

https://github.com/till213/SkyDolly/blob/main/SHASUM256.md

You may want to calculate and compare the checksum with your downloaded archive. But again, I extra downloaded the ZIP archive from flightsim.to again, and besides the slightly changed ZIP archive name (flightsim.to seems to add some file name extension, like _FlSJb - probably in order to make sure that the uploaded file package is unique on their end) the SHA-256 checksums match, and again, no "files" file or folder inside the ZIP archive.

Steeler 2 month(s) ago

Отговор

Ah, now I think I know what you mean with "redundant folder":

SkyDolly-v0.10.0/SkyDolly-v0.10.0/[Application Files]

Well, I am not sure, but you probably chose "Create and extract to folder" and your tool first creates a folder according to the name of the ZIP archive itself.

Well, that's not necessary then: simply choose "Extract here..." (or whatever the operation is called with WinRaR): the ZIP file already contains a folder which - yes - happens to have the same name like the ZIP archive (withouth the "name extension" that flightsim.to seems to add).

This is so that not all Sky Dolly executable and library files get "spread into the current folder" if someone extracts the ZIP archive into the current folder (what most peeople do, I guess).

Again, simply choose "Extract here..." and you should end up with a folder called SkyDolly-v0.10.0 in the current folder, containing all Sky Dolly executables and libraries.

Does that make sense?

lawlegge 2 month(s) ago

Отговор

Hi Steeler,

Thanks for the 'instant' replies.

I have no problem with compressing and unpacking, and your explanation is bang on. Like I said, I have WinRaR set to remove redundant folders so I have no problem that way. I just click "Extract to..." and everything is wonderful.

I noticed this because I use 'WindSailor' to download and automatically install packages to my sim library - it's a great time saver. This is the first time it unpacked redundant folders, so it caught my attention.

So now - after you explained;

This is so that not all Sky Dolly executable and library files get "spread into the current folder" if someone extracts the ZIP archive into the current folder...

I understand completely. You are compressing

"SkyDolly-v0.10.0 and inside that there is a second folder SkyDolly-v0.10.0 then the [Application Files]."

And yes that makes perfect sense.

Personally, I NEVER extract application files into the original folders for the same reason you stated. I rename the original folder ie; SkyDolly-OLD, for example, then unpack the new files. Of course, that is to preserve the integrity of the original install - just in case - until I can verify that everything is good with the new install.

I have messaged Nicolas to ask if 'WindSailor' can be set to remove redundant folders, which will solve the initial concern.

So this now becomes a non-issue.

I thank you for your amazing app and the amazing support. AWESOME...

Law

AdamskiNZ 2 month(s) ago

Отговор

Extracted using 7-Zip ... no "files" folder there😉. Have you tried extracting again?

Steeler 2 month(s) ago

Отговор

You are compressing "SkyDolly-v0.10.0 and inside that there is a second folder SkyDolly-v0.10.0 then the [Application Files]."

No, that's not what I am doing - that would lead to a "redundant folder" then, just as you say 😉

I am simply compressing the "application folder", SkyDolly-v0.10.0, which contains all the application files (*.exe, *.dll, plugin subfolders). This results in a ZIP archive named SkyDolly-v0.10.0.zip, containing the application folder SkyDolly-v0.10.0, which on its turn contains the application files.

In fact, I believe this is really the "standard way" to "zip an application". Almost all archive files that I have seen over the last 20+ years follow this "folder hierarchy".

The alternative would be (and I have seen this as well) to put all the *.exe and *.dll application file directly into the ZIP archive (without "application folder"). But this then "spills all unzipped files (and subfolders)" into the current directory, and that is in most cases not what one wants. Especially nasty on macOS, where by default a double-click on a ZIP archive immediatelly unzips it in the current directory (unlike on Windows, where by default you "navigate into" the archive), and you need to figure out which files just got extracted in order to delete them again 😉

Steeler 2 month(s) ago

Отговор

But given your explanation of what "WindSailor" does: I can only assume that it is WindSailor itself that creates this extra folder hierarchy, based on the name of the ZIP archive (minus the short "file name extension" that flightsim.to is adding, most likely such that flightsim.to can distinguish between the various "file versions" itself in case people upload their packages with the same file name over and over again).

If I remember correctly also with 7-zip (and other archive tools) there exists an "Extract to folder..." option, which then creates an extra folder upon extraction (presumably based on the ZIP archive name as well, and most likely user-editable - I have never used this option though). This would then also lead to a "redundant folder hierarchy", just as you illustrated:

./SkyDolly-v0.10.0/SkyDolly-v0.10.0/[executables]

But again, the first folder hierarchy would be created by the archive tool itself upon extraction - it is not part of the actual archive content (not in the case of SkyDolly-v0.10.0.zip anyway).

I hope that helps 😊

lawlegge 2 month(s) ago

Отговор

@AdamskiNZ

Thanks for your reply.

The "files" folder is not the point, I just used that in my example. In hindsight, I guess I should have said [executable] folder or "the actual app folder" or something...

If you re-read my OP, you will see it is all about the 'REDUNDANT' folder - 2 x 'SkyDolly-v0.10.0' folders in the folder tree. Redundant. Zips aren't rocket science. I've been happily zipping and unzipping for +-40 years.

Thanks and happy simming.

lawlegge 2 month(s) ago

Отговор

@ Steeler

...given your explanation of what "WindSailor" does: I can only assume that it is WindSailor itself that creates this extra folder hierarchy,...

I've used WindSailor for literally hundreds of downloads and, as I said, this is the first time I've gotten redundant folders.

"Extract to folder..." option, which then creates an extra folder upon extraction...

Agreed. "This would then also lead to a "redundant folder hierarchy".

Everything you say is exactly accurate. I have tested this anomaly over and over since yesterday - everything is perfect and re-creatable. WindSailor unpacks everything else as it should - except "SkyDolly-v0.10.0_FlSJb.zip". For some unknown reason, it unpacks it to "SkyDolly-v0_10_0/SkyDolly-v0.10.0/[executables].

**STOP THE PRESS - NEW DEVELOPEMENT - THIS JUST IN**...lol...

So, as I wrote this, I found the difference...a "eureka" moment.

Notice in the above unpack string - the underscores in the first folder / and dots in the second.

Now look at the zip name - dots ! Wonderful dots...lol...

Apparently whatever WindSailor uses to unpack with, replaces dots in the zip name with underscores - hence breaking the 'redundancy' algorithm - underscores in one instance, dots in the other. No duplication here...hey hey...I think we have a winner...

I have since checked multiple, and I mean multiple, zip names - no dots. Hyphens and underscores - but no dots...

So depending on how you look at it, the issue could be caused by the dots in the zip name - or - the app that WindSailor uses. As I have said, with WinRAR set to "remove redundant folders..." it unpacks perfect. Without that setting, it unpacks with the dots in the folder name - not underscores.

Wow 2 days and collectively probably +-a half dozen hours - to find 2 dots...man, now we sound like 'coders'...lol...

Well I certainly appreciate your time and commitment to this...at least we've identified the cause. I will relay these findings to Nicolas.

Thanks Steeler, you da' bomb...

RGP1942

2 month(s) ago

Отговор Копиране на връзката

I like Smoke Dolly (SD) and would like to use it to create a video using an aerobatic airplane that has smoke. But I'm having trouble with SD recording and replaying smoke sometimes, and not doing so other times. Sometimes it works perfectly as expected. The smoke that was there on record shows up on play, and goes on and off on que. Other times smoke is not there on replay, and no matter what I do I can't get it to appear. There must be some kind of sequence critical step involved. Any ideas? Thanks!

Steeler 2 month(s) ago

Отговор

I have seen the message that you have sent to me and I replied there. To summarise here: I wasn't actually able to test "smoke" myself, because I don't think I actually own an aircraft with a smoke system (to my understanding none of the stock airplanes do support smoke (in the "ultimate premium" (?) edition)? And none of my purchased aircraft seem to to support "smoke" either so far...

But I realised that there exists a "Super Warrior" F/A-18 mod here which adds smoke effects.

In the end Sky Dolly simply records and replays the "Smoke" simulation variables (much like "gear up/down"), which is either "on" or "off". So I was hoping that this "would just work (without being able to acutally test it 😉)" - but it is quite possible that there is something wrong indeed in my code. Will check with the F/A-18 mod!

RGP1942 2 month(s) ago

Отговор

After using Sky Dolly for a few days I've come up with some suggestions that would make it more productive (for what their worth).

Set focus to MSFS after press Record or Play.
Shortcut keys for Record, Pause, and Play that work when SD is minimized. Alternately minimize SD and set focus to MSFS when press Record or Play. It would be great to be able to Pause without SD on the screen so that it can be done while doing a screen record.
The ability to Record the Drone camera when the plane is not in motion. In other words with the plane in the parking spot and not started, go to Drone camera and record walk-around, look at details, etc. MSFS Record can do this.
Ability to turn sound recording off in order to optimize screen recording without stutters (eliminate overhead of audio recording).

Thanks for considering!

-=Roy=-

Steeler 2 month(s) ago

Отговор

First off, I am not generally outlying future items: I prefer to announce them once they are available (but I can say that the "backlog" is still full of items). That said, I am also taking my liberty to change my mind, both on features that I personally initially intended to do, and those that I initially declined to do 😉

About the first two points, switching focus and shortcuts while Sky Dolly does not have focus: the first would be against all human interaction guidelines and I'd say it would be highly confusing for the general user to loose focus on a window upon some interaction with it (even if such a behaviour would be an option). And while it is certainly technically possible to "grab the keyboard" while an application does not have focus I would say that especially in combination with a flight simulator where people assign all sorts of actions to keyboard shortcuts this would be bound for trouble 😉

But I think what you are really asking for would be an integration of a (minimal) Sky Dolly UI in MSFS itself, keyword: "custom toolbar item". With, say, just three buttons: Record, Stop, Replay (and perhaps a simple "timeline"). This has been asked in a previous, recent comment, but would be "lower at the bottom of the backlog", as I am not familiar with creating such custom toolbar items (there exists a "minimal example code" available on github.com, and I know that MSFS uses a "web-based toolkit" to render its UI - but creating custom toolbar items is not yet part of the "official SDK" to my understanding - for sure I did not find any official documentation specific to MSFS about it).

But it would certainly be doable, and maybe someone comes up with example code showing me how to create a button which would then call some JavaScript (presumably) callback, calling some websocket to which Sky Dolly would then connect and react to.

Steeler 2 month(s) ago

Отговор

By the way, which screen recording software are you using? I am using Open Broadcast Software (OBS), but any decent screen recording software should be able to capture the actual content of any given window, without capturing overlapping windows. Sky Dolly has a "stay on top" option, so you should be able to keep the ("minimal") UI on top of MSFS, and still be able to record the MSFS window content.

(In my case I have a 5K resolution screen (yes, it's a Mac 😉), and since I only capture my videos in "full HD" I have MSFS in windowed mode (1920 x 1080) and still plenty of space to arrange Sky Dolly and OBS around it 😉)

As for the ability to capture the drone camera movements: I actually toyed around with the in-game recording tools and analysed the resulting stored file, how the camera movement was stored. And it was as expected: while MSFS stores the actual (relative?) position of the camera, including "front" and "up" vectors of the camera (essentially storing its complete position and orientation - at least as far as I remember now), unfortunately the "SimConnect API" does not offer that same functionality just yet (or I haven't found the documentation, or it is available as an "undocumented feature" perhaps...). So while I can change the camera from "view 1" to "view 2" etc. (pre-stored camera positions) and while I can control the focus and distance of the (drone) camera we don't seem to be able just yet to freely place the camera "inside and around the aircraft", rotate it etc. - if anyone knows anything about such an API, do let me know!

But what I can "reveal" already: the term "Dolly" (in "Sky Dolly") refers to a camera dolly system *hint* *hint* 😉 So I certainly plan to do more with the camera in some future updates (with what is available in SimConnect).

Finally, I don't quite understand your last point: Sky Dolly does not record audio. All the audio you hear is a consequence of the replayed "simulation variables" (aircaft position, engine state etc.), or in other words: Sky Dolly is not "telling" MSFS to "start the engine sound", MSFS does this itself (based on the "engine input", e.g. "set throttle to 80%" etc.)

So if you don't want to record audio during screen capturing then this is something you need to set in your specific screen capture software (but I'd guess that simply not capturing audio from MSFS doesn't really have an impact on the CPU: MSFS will "create sound" in any case, so whether you capture audio or not merely as a slight impact on the resulting video file size).

RGP1942 2 month(s) ago

Отговор

+ 10-4 on the audio.

+ If SD is "always on top", then I have to click MSFS to get it to have focus and react to my input. Whatever you can come up with to streamline this is fine. FlightRecorder does set focus to MSFS automatically.

+ I use GeForce Experience to record full screen. Of many options I've tried I find it to be the most "efficient" in terms of computer resources (least affect on FPS). I record to an SSD drive. When I'm both playing and recording I do get minor stuttering, which stops when I stop recording. I'm recording at 1080p/30fps/10mbps. I am fine with my results considering my home built gaming PC of a few years back.

+ When I screen record I use this process with SD on top (not "always"): pause SD and set my camera position and MSFS camera settings, close MSFS camera settings, position SD to place in timeline I want, start screen record, start SD play, minimize SD, may or may not make additional camera moves while screen recording. If this could be streamlined that would be great.

+ Shortcut keys -- Flight Control Replay has shortcut keys and they are handy for reducing mental workload.

+ The minimal SD box you now have is fine for my needs, I also remove play speeds line.

+ MSFS can record drone sans being "in flight" but they probably have a "back door". SD, FR, and FCR require aircraft "flight" before they will record a drone "flight".

+ flightsim.to does not send a notification about a response. I contacted them (have I got something set wrong?) and they said they do if the response hasn't been viewed within 48 hours. Their logic for this is beyond me. So to see if you responded sooner I have to keep checking.

Thanks so much for your interest in making SD the best option available for MSFS video creators. According to what I've learned on the MSFS forum, about half of the "Replay" users want this, but about half just want to replay their landings.

😮)

Steeler 1 month(s) ago

Отговор

I actually installed the F/A-18 "Super Warrior" mod (available here on flightsim.to) and indeed, I can confirm that enabling/disabling "acrobatic smoke" works with Sky Dolly 😊

SlowPoke

2 month(s) ago / Благодарности от Steeler

Отговор Копиране на връзката

Is there any way to get this to have an icon in the MSFS toolbar? I would love to be able to open it without having to use Windows+Tab

Steeler 2 month(s) ago

Отговор

I have indeed already played with this thought and looked at some technical details. The MSFS „in-game GUI“ is based on the „Coherent UI“, an HTML/CSS based product. There exists a simple „template custom toolbar“ element, made available here:

https://github.com/bymaximus/msfs2020-toolbar-window-template

Many posts about „how to generate custom toolbar entries“ seem to refer to this example source.

However it is my understanding that the entire UI part - specifically: adding such custom UI elements - is not part (yet) of the „official SDK documentation“, so much guesswork and „reverse engineering“ is apparently still needed (the above mentioned „Coherent UI“ documentation may be some help here, but in the end there may quite likely be some „MSFS specifica“).

All that said, I am certainly tempted to look into all this at some later stage maybe (the simplest form could be a custom toolbar UI with Record / Stop / Play buttons, which would interact via „web sockets“ with Sky Dolly, which would listen on some local port for such „record“, „stop“, „play“ commands.

But I freely admit that I have some other feature ideas and improvements on my mind first. But if anyone would have some more specific technical informations about how such a custom UI could be done, or has some reference to some other open source project perhaps, I‘d be very interested to hear about it!

Maybe also here (such that this information would not get „lost“ in the „comment flow“ here on flightsim.to):

https://github.com/till213/SkyDolly/issues

Steeler 2 month(s) ago

Отговор

Just to make sure: you are aware of the „stay on top“ option in Sky Dolly, correct?

SlowPoke 2 month(s) ago

Отговор

Yeah, I just don't want it always on the screen. I use it for short replays, and I set it to record then minimize it, in case I'm capturing screenshots. Would be great to have an in-game UI toggle. FSPM VFR Map has it and it works great. Just a thought.

FlyingSinger

3 month(s) ago / Благодарности от Steeler

Отговор Копиране на връзката

I love Sky Dolly and I use it all the time to practice formation flying and make screenshots and videos. But something has changed in recent months (I'm not sure exactly when). It used to be smooth as silk for recording a second aircraft and for replay. Now it is very often "jerky" when recording and in playback. The recorded aircraft I am following will suddenly shift position, sometimes by several plane lengths. "Auto" had previously worked great. I experimented with up to 60 FPS manual with no improvement (later I read your reply to another comment that manual is mainly to reduce file size). You had used a link to a video of mine from August 2021 as a formation example in another comment reply - I forgot how smooth that was (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqFv8cNrVIc). Recently I did another Stearman formation video (https://youtu.be/1zjUo_nHxHc) where you can see the stuttering a lot. It is worse when recording faster aircraft like jet fighters. Is there anything I can do to improve this? My hardware is the same though I have installed all MSFS updates. Thanks!

Steeler 3 month(s) ago

Отговор

The multiplayer „jitter effect“ has always been there, since day one of the introduction of the „Formation“ module, unfortunately. In fact, it is even described here somewhere (either in the description above, under „Frequently Asked“, or in the changelog perhaps).

And yes, the „jitter“ gets more prominent the closer you fly to an aircraft, and it also seems to be correlated with velocity („the faster you fly, the more prominent“). Sometimes some „AI aircraft“ do flicker (become invisible) for certain frames/periods.

All this can also be seen in the „King Kong“ video (see screenshots), especially at the beginning. Other replay apps seem to exhibit the same „jitter“ effect.

All this being said, this is still on my „radar“ and I have one idea how I could perhaps improve on this. But in he worst case this might really be a „server-side issue“ (= MSFS - Sky Dolly being the „SimConnect client“). Especially since I have been told that this „AI aircraft jitter effect“ (the AI aircraft being spawned/controlled by a third-party app) also occurred with older SimConnect servers (FSX, possibly Prepar3D…)

Steeler 3 month(s) ago

Отговор

The „King Kong“ (aka „New York 1933“) video I was referring to is actually this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glwrPUxWfJI

Again, especially in the beginning you can see that „jitter“ effect (which I tried to hide as much as possible with editing - but it is clearly visible).

In any case, there haven‘t been any significant changes to multiplayer recording/replay in Sky Dolly. But possibly server-side code (MSFS) has changed ever since, but not that I noticed any significant changes (neither worse nor better) myself.

blueshark747 2 month(s) ago

Отговор

Yup we have been dealing with the jitter since FSX.

FSX Jitter

https://youtu.be/2EuLugjm81w

MSFS Jitter

https://youtu.be/dDL8v5u0IHk

Steeler

3 month(s) ago

Отговор Копиране на връзката

🎂 🎂 🎂 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SKY DOLLY 🎂 🎂 🎂

A year ago to the day - February 28 2021 - Sky Dolly was first released here on flightsim.to, in its glorious version 0.2 😊 (The v0.1 was an "internal build", merely a "proof of concept").

The first release notes read like this:

"Provides basic record and playback functionality:

Selectable sample / playback rate (e.g 30 Hz)
Selectable playback speed ("slow motion", "timelapse")
Select playback position

Note that this is a very early version which does not yet implement storing the recorded flight data."

(end quote)

Development of course started earlier, but not by much. In fact, the "initial commit" was done shortly before christmas 2020, on the December 22 2020 to be exact. The traditional README.md said:

"SkyDolly

SkyDolly connects to a running Flight Simulator 2020 instance and records various simulation variables."

And that's how Sky Dolly got started, from an "how does that SimConnect API work?" prototype to a fully fledged, plugin-based application, featuring functionality like formation flying and recording which make Sky Dolly unique to the current day.

Again let me take the opportunity to also thank the flight community here and elsewhere for providing valuable suggestions and feedback!

I hope you keep enjoying Sky Dolly like I enjoy adding new features. And there are still plenty of them in my backlog 😊

Happy flying, "Steeler"

runshotgun

3 month(s) ago / Благодарности от Steeler

Отговор Копиране на връзката

Having the ability to loop the recording would be amazing for photographers and videographers! Not having to manually have to go back and press the play button every 10 seconds would be fantastic for me!

Steeler 3 month(s) ago

Отговор

Just to make sure that I understand the use case here: you make like 10 seconds recordings and want them to replay (in MSFS) in an infinite loop? Why not simply screen-record the replay once and edit it in a video editor and repeat the clip N times, as required (where N << infinity, sure 😉)?

Steeler 3 month(s) ago

Отговор

Please have a look at:

https://github.com/till213/SkyDolly/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md

Somewhere in the lower third of the current v0.9 entries 😉

Steeler 3 month(s) ago

Отговор

The just released v0.9 has you covered: new replay loop toggle 😉

runshotgun 3 month(s) ago

Отговор

You got it 😉

Sometimes I want to capture the aircraft’s motion and play it in a loop while figure out a good angle to shoot from

thank you for adding it!!

jawier001

3 month(s) ago / Благодарности от Steeler

Отговор Копиране на връзката

Hello, since the last MSFS version I get stuttering, recording in auto, it only works well when it is above 60Hz, everything below produces stuttering, it works well with 45Hz

Steeler 3 month(s) ago

Отговор

To add to this: the actual replay "frame rate" is "event-based", that is Sky Dolly sends (interpolated) values to MSFS for each "simulated frame". The "simulated physics" are typically rendered at a different, higher rate than the actual displayed frames per second - but depending on the system performance the "simulated frames" may have the same rate as the actual rendered frames.

When setting the recording sample rate the setting "auto" will also be "event-based" (that is, Sky Dolly picks up and stores new values as they become available, "as fast as possible). The possibility to manually define the sample rate (in the "Recording" settings tab) is hence meant to lower the sample rate (in order to save on disk space).

Or in other words: if MSFS is only able so provide samples at, say, 30 Hz then manually increasing the sample rate to, say, 45 or even 60 Hz doesn't magically produce more distinct samples. I'd expect that SimConnect simply provides the "last available value", and you'd end up sampling the same values multiple times.

But if you say that setting the recording sample rate to a fixed 45 or 60 Hz results in smoother replay that that's also good 😊 (Note that the replay rate will always be "as fast as possible", whenever MSFS sends the corresponding "simulated frame" event - regardless of what the original recording sample rate was).

Gaiiden

4 month(s) ago

Отговор Копиране на връзката

why no change log?

Steeler 4 month(s) ago

Отговор

Something went wrong during file upload for the current v0.8.6: I actually selected the option "this is a major release", added my changelog text, but somehow my changelog "disappeared" and the release was reset to "minor release" (which it actually is, but I always like to document my changes, even if only minor bug fixes) - and I don't seem to be able to modify the existing version changelog anymore, unfortunately (no "Modify" button for the corresponding entry in the "Version History" available - unlike for all previous entries) 😞

So for now please refer to the CHANGELOG on github.com:

https://github.com/till213/SkyDolly/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md

In short: a new "IGC file format import plugin" has been added, and a few bugs related to the existing KML import plugin have been fixed.

I am sorry for the inconvenience with the missing changelog.

Gaiiden 4 month(s) ago

Отговор

cool, thanks and no problem!

IckeBins

5 month(s) ago

Отговор Копиране на връзката

With the Citation CJ4 Working Title, the thrust is not recorded / played back.

With the A320, the flaps are not slowly moved in and out, but are suddenly gone or visible.

Steeler 5 month(s) ago

Отговор

I assume that we are also talking about a third party A320 (the one by FBW I strongly assume). Because the flaps are smoothly animated with the stock A320 for me.

In fact, Sky Dolly not only records the "Flaps position" (0, 1, 2, etc.), but also the percentage of the leading and trailing flaps (left and right).

The thing is: not every aircraft (specifically third party aircraft) adhere to those "simulation variables" (which is really how external applications such as Sky Dolly "communicate" with FS 2020, via the official SimConnect API which exposes those "simulation variables").

Especially the Fly By Wire A320 is known to have implemented whole subsystems (especially the engine) in their own logic - using their own, specific "local variables" (I am not familiar myself with the FS SDK when it comes to creating "simulation objects", so In only know about those "local variables" from other developers).

A similiar thing probably happens with the CJ4 Working Title, but I cannot tell for sure, since I don't know that aircraft.

The only thing that could solve this issue is that the third party aircraft would properly report and react to the official "simulation variables" again (while still using their own internal logic/local variables - if possible). But that is beyond the reach of external applications such as Sky Dolly (and other recording applications).

Also refer to the "Frequently Asked" section here on this page, especially the chapter about "simulation variables".

IckeBins 5 month(s) ago

Отговор

In my Case it was the Standart A320.

Afski8

7 month(s) ago

Отговор Копиране на връзката

Hi, I have just down-loaded and it will not record at all. When I start the software its states that there is no valid plugin connection in the plug-in directory. How can this be rectified please. Thank you.

Steeler 6 month(s) ago

Отговор

This has been reported by another user already (see below somewhere 😉), and has been discussed here in detail:

https://github.com/till213/SkyDolly/issues/12

The problem the user had: the SimConnect connection would not initialise, most likely due to other (previously installed) 3rd party products which somehow left "global SimConnect configurations" on the system.

The user never figured out which other 3rd party software that was, nor which configuration caused SimConnect to fail to establish a connection with FS 2020: but he had the problem with other SimConnect applications as well.

In case you figure out what causes SimConnect to fail - let us know 😊 You may also try with the "SimConnect Watcher" example application which comes with the FS 2020 SDK (downloadable via the "Developer" mode in FS 2020). I bet you will experience the same "connection failure" there as well - but again, let us know.

Steeler 3 month(s) ago

Отговор

Hello, just out of curiosity: did you find a solution? If so, mind to share here? 😊

PaulHolmes

7 month(s) ago

Отговор Копиране на връзката

Greetings once again, Since several Asobo sim updates, I've noticed that recorded flights with multiple aircraft as AI have wheels about 6 inches off the ground when in playback. Is there an easy fix? not a massive issue, but noticeable. Thanks.

Here's a video that shows the issue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oeosBNiw-Y

Badboyz28 6 month(s) ago

Отговор

does it still work

PaulHolmes 6 month(s) ago

Отговор

yes it still works.

Steeler 6 month(s) ago

Отговор

Hello, thanks for reporting this, I will have a look into properly placing AI aircrafts "on the ground" when starting the replay.

In fact, there already is some logic for the user aircraft (only) which makes sure that - at the VERY beginning of the replay, timestamp = 0 - the aircraft (and especially its wheels) are properly placed on the ground. This is done with a special SimConnect function, but that one also re-initialises all other AI vehicles and aircrafts (those vehicles and aircrafts are spawned anew). And that's why the "initial position" API call is only made at the very beginning of the replay (and again, currently only for the user aircraft).

I will look into how I can improve this for recorded AI aircrafts as well, if possible.

polaraditia

7 month(s) ago / Благодарности от Steeler

Отговор Копиране на връзката

I'm glad to find this free gem tool! So far I use it for regular recording.

Sorry, I am still hard to found Formation mode to work, little bit tricky to me.

I want to fly 2-3 different aircraft with different livery in formation. All of them are stock aircraft.

Any youtube tutorial for Formation mode which can help my case?

Thank you!

Steeler 6 month(s) ago

Отговор

Personally I haven't created any tutorial yet (YouTube, documentation, ...), but there are various YouTube videos where people are using the formation flight feature (yes, I know, that's not what you were asking for 😉).

Maybe also refer to the "Frequently Asked" section here, which is easily overlooked. It does have a section dedicated to formation flying which may answer a question or two you may have.

Since some FS 2020 update the proper liveries are also "restored" using replay (Sky Dolly stores the recorded aircraft model which includes the used livery - replayed aircrafts are spawned as "AI aircrafts" and should then properly use that exact same livery).

trameg1

7 month(s) ago

Отговор Копиране на връзката

When I use Skydolly to check the replay of my landing, there would be a short delay the moment the tires hits on the runway pavement, is there a way to prevent this from happening?

Steeler 6 month(s) ago

Отговор

What delay? As compared to what exactly? How do you tell that there is a "delay"?

Malkondo

8 month(s) ago

Отговор Копиране на връзката

Hello Steeler, I downloaded your tool and made a recording. Everything is going great so far. But is there a possibility that when the aircraft takes off, the engines start up in replay. I mean the plane starts and the engines are still idle 😀

Steeler 8 month(s) ago

Отговор

Hi, since Sky Dolly 0.8 there is an explicit "engine start/stop" event being sent to FS 2020. That is, the equivalent of "CTRL + E" ("auto-start engine") for starting up the engine.

The point in time however is determined by some heuristics, mostly based on the "engine combustion" variable (you can see the current "simulation variables" values in Sky Dolly in the corresponding "Simulation Variables" dialog, e.g. by pressing the V key).

That said, the "CTRL + E" is off course a simplificiation of the actual engine startup sequence (especially for aircrafts with multiple engines), but it should reliably start the engine for any kind of aircraft (turboprop, piston, jet, ...). So far that has worked with every aircraft (both stock and some paid aircrafts) that I have tested.

So which aircraft specifically are we talking here? Is it a 3rd party aircraft? Does CTRL + E with that aircraft (when not recording) properly start the engines in FS 2020 (when they are completeley "cold and dark")?

UPDATE: Oh, and in case we are talking about a 3rd party aircraft such as the FBW A320: unfortunately some aircrafts are using "local variables" for certain aircraft systems. Specifically the mentioned A320 by Fly By Wire is such an example. That is, the "simulation variables" (as exposed to external applications such as Sky Dolly, via the official SimConnect API) cannot be read/set respectively they contain "garbage values" and the aircraft does not react to them. Also refer to the Frequently Asked section here about "simulation variables". I haven't tested the latest developer builds of the FBW A320 recently, but I think they have indeed completly re-written the engine simulation (the A320neo by FWB still worked decently well in the previous 0.6 "stable" version).

Malkondo 8 month(s) ago

Отговор

Ah ok, we already have the problem. I actually used the FBW Mod for the test. I've now tested it with the A320 standard and everything works fine. I could have guessed that it could be because of that. Otherwise it's a really great tool and I'm looking forward to more updates. Thanks 😊

Steeler 6 month(s) ago

Отговор

In case you are flying with the A320 by FlyByWire then this is a know issue, unfortunately: FBW changed their internal simulation logic and are now ignoring some of the "simulation variables" which are exposed via the official SimConnect API.

There is nothing third-party apps like Sky Dolly can do about this, unfortunately. Also refer to the "Frequently Asked" section here (which is easily overlooked - but it does exist 😉), specifically the question about "simulation variables".

Roadmap
Тези елементи в момента са в списъка и ще бъдат обработени скоро!

Backlog
Предложения, грешки и идеи за бъдещето.

Version 0.10.0 April 09, 2022

This release further improves the plugin import/export architecture and supports new import/export formats.

New plugins

- GeoJSON export, including style properties (interpreted e.g by https://geojson.io)
- GPX export plugin, including the possibility to export real-world timestamps (useful for GPX "photo tagging" of screenshots taken during flight recording)

Improvements

- Import
* All files (of the same format) can now be imported from the selected directory
* Imported aircraft can be added to the same (formation) flight, or into distinct flights
- Export:
* File existence is now checked before overwriting existing files
* The entire flight formation may now be exported, into separate files or - if supported - into a single file (e.g. KML and GPX)
* All export plugins support data resampling (1 Hz, 2 Hz, 5 Hz, original data, ...)
- The CSV plugin now supports export in [flightradar24.com](https://www.flightradar24.com/) CSV format
- The IGC plugin now exports "K records" (every 20 seconds), including true heading (HDT) and indicated airspeed (IAS)
- The KML export plugin does not have any line segment size limitation anymore
- Miscellaneous
* Various usability improvements (button shortcuts, consistent title-case for push buttons)
* Additional selectable aircraft (selectable in file import) from the sim update 7 (F/A 18, PC-6, Pitts Special, NX Cub, Volocity)
* Initial online help (very much work in progress)

Bug fixes

- The flight cereation time is now properly updated upon start of flight recording (not at the end when the flight is persisted)
- The logbook now properly shows _simulation_ start- and end times (not local times)
- The IGC export plugin now properly exports _simulation_ timestamps (not local timestamps)
Version 0.9.0 February 28, 2022

This release provides new import and export formats and minor usability improvements.

- New IGC (International Gliding Commission) export plugin
- New GPX (GPS exchange format) import plugin
- The CSV import plugin now also parses Flight Recorder and flightradar24.com CSV files
- The KML import plugin now also parses flightradar24.com and generic KML files (having at least one <gx:Track> element)
- The IGC import plugin now detects the "first significant movement" (minimising "erratic movements" on the ground) and turns on/off the engine (propeller) according to the environmental noise level (ENL), given a selectable noise threshold value
- Import:
* the aircraft selection is now editable, with autocompletion support
* the selected aircraft is now stored in the settings
- Logbook: the default "Delete" key now deletes the selected flight
- Replay: a "loop replay" toggle option has been added

Bug fixes:

- The spoiler position is now properly displayed as percent value (in the simulation variables dialog)
- The leading and trailing flaps are now positioned with a higher degree of precision, doing away with the "stuttering flaps noise" (especially audible in the A320neo cockpit)
Version 0.8.6 February 06, 2022
Version 0.8.5 August 18, 2021

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FLIGHT SIMULATOR 2020!

The Flight Simulator 2020 turns one year old.

- As a present to the community this bug fix release contains a new KML import plugin which allows to import flight data from https://flightaware.com, in order to visualise real-world flights

This release also fixes the following issues:

- The dates in the logbook are now properly formated ("localisation"); they are now properly sorted, too
- The dates in the "date selection widget" are now properly resized according to their content (month names)
Version 0.8.4 August 04, 2021

This release fixes the following issues:

- The initial velocity when recording a new formation aircraft is now properly set
- Export
* Illegal file path characters are replaced by _ in the initially suggested file path
* KML export: exported character data (title, description) is properly enclosed in a CDATA tag
- Properly update AI aircrafts when deleting the user aircraft during replay
Version 0.8.3 July 31, 2021

* The main window is now made a "parent" of the KML export dialog, making sure that the export dialog is always centered and on top of the main window
- Especially when the "Stay on Top" option is enabled for the main window
* The initial velocity in "fly with formation" replay mode is now properly set

Често задавани въпроси

Въпроси? Намерете своето решение тук.

How do I install Sky Dolly?

The preview versions are provided in a simple ZIP archive for the time being. Simply unzip the archive in a folder of your choice and run the executable SkyDolly.exe.

You may want to create a "desktop shortcut": simply right-click on SkyDolly.exe and choose "Create shortcut". Move the shortcut onto your desktop and/or to the Windows start menu.

How do I replay a recorded flight?

Load the Flight

Sky Dolly automatically stores all recorded flights in the logbook (an SQLite database):

* Select a flight by left-clicking on a row in the logbook table

* Click the "Load" button

* Alternatively double-click on a row (except on the Title column which starts editing the Title of the flight)

The flight is now loaded into memory and is ready for replay.

Replay

In order for Sky Dolly to be able to send ("replay") the recorded "simulation variables" to Flight Simulator 2020 a flight must be already present.

In Flight Simulator 2020

In order to create a new flight in Flight Simulator 2020 follow the usual steps to start a new flight:

* Choose any location on the world map as either departure or arrival (*)

* Choose an aircraft, preferrably the same as with which the original flight has been recorded (**)

* Click the FLY button

* Optional: choose the desired time of day and wheather

(*) The selected location does not matter: the aircraft will be "teleported" to the proper location upon replay

(**) It is technically possibly to replay the flight with any aircraft. Note though that the exact same flight path will be taken (and wheels may seem to be "stuck" in or "float" above the runway, depending on the original aircraft height). So if you record a flight with a Cessna and replay it with an A320neo the flight will be... interesting ;)

The original aircraft with which the flight was recorded is shown in the logbook table as well in the "Flight" (press key F) dialog, under "Aircraft". That "Flight" dialog also shows the initial weather conditions, for information purposes (only).

In Sky Dolly

Now the previously loaded flight can be replayed with Sky Dolly:

* By clicking the "Play" button in Sky Dolly

* Alternatively hit the spacebar or P key

* Hitting the same key again stops the replay

* The key ESC also stops the replay (just as it also stops the recording)

If you want to load another flight simply follow the inital steps above. No need to restart the existing flight in Flight Simulator 2020. Note though that when changing location it may take a while for Flight Simulator to download / update the new terrain data. Graphical glitches are to be expected in this case.

My aircraft crashes during replay - why?

Most aircraft do not like it when they suddenly drop from 20'000 feet altitude right onto the runway upon time slider changes ;)

So it is highly recommended to disable crash, stress & engine damage in Flight Simulator 2020 prior to replay. This is because forces acting on the aircraft are still simulated during replay - and especially also during replay position seeking with the time slider.

So disable the following options in Flight Simulator 2020:

Assistance Options / Failure And Damage / Crash Damage -> Disabled
Assistance Options / Failure And Damage / Aircraft Stress Damage -> Disabled
Assistance Options / Failure And Damage / Engine Stress Damage -> Disabled

What are those "simulation variables"?

SimConnect

Sky Dolly - like most other third party applications - communicates with Flight Simulator via the official SimConnect application programming interface (API).

That API gives access to the aircraft state in the form of so-called "simulation variables". Examples of such variables are:

* Latitude / longitude / altitude

* Aircraft attitude (bank, pitch, heading)

* Gear / flaps up/down

A complete (long!) list of simulaton variables is available in the official developer documentation:

https://docs.flightsimulator.com/html/index.htm#t=Programming_Tools%2FSimVars%2FSimulation_Variables.htm

Supported Simulation Variables

In order to keep the required storage space at a minimum and improve performance by minimising the size of the request message sent to Flight Simulator during replay Sky Dolly primarily focuses on variables having the greatest "visual impact". So if a given lever or button activates a visible surface (flaps, ailerons, but also canopy or a landing hook) an attempt to record that variable is made.

Optimised Messages

During replay the previously recorded simulation variables are sent for each "simulated frame" event. In order to optimise performance (fewer messages = less CPU usage) and especially also storage requirements only those variables which have actually changed are recorded and requested during replay.

This is illustrated in the "Simulation Variables" dialog in Sky Dolly (press key V):

* The tabs represent the "simulation variable groups"

* "Inactive" variables - where the value did not change during a certain amount of time - are rendered as disabled text, indicating that they are currently not sent to Flight Simulator 2020 during replay

Note that Sky Dolly applies a clever "seek & search" algorithm which makes sure that all previously set variables are still applied, regardless of when their value has changed last and regardless of the new timeline position which has just been set. Clever :)

Known Limitations

Not all simulation variables are actually "writeable", that is, external applications such as Sky Dolly cannot modify them. Which is a precondition in order to "replay" a given variable.

In addition, not all aircraft honour those simulation variables. That is specifically true for third party aircraft. This is because some aircraft use their own set of (local) variables (for various reasons).

Other aircraft do react to simulation variable changes, but have their own local variable which "counter-acts" against the simulation variable. As Sky Dolly goes a step further - again in order to save on storage space and optimise performance - and only sends variables if their value actually changes such "counter-action" is a problem, as it "nullifies" the effect of the previously set value.

One such example is the "canopy" which either is always closed or opened again, depending on some switch in the cockpit of the given aircraft. In order to override that switch (in effect the corresponding local variable) Sky Dolly offers a "Repeat Values" setting (under File / Settings...), which - if enabled - always send the simulation variable, also if its value does not change.

A320neo (A32NX) by "FlyByWire" (FBW)

Unfortunately one notable example of a 3rd party aircraft which ignores (or "acts weird upon") the official simulation variables is the A320neo (now renamed to A32NX) by "FlyByWire" (FBW), specifically the development version (at the time of this writing). The current 0.6 stable version should still work fine, but the current development version is implementing more and more "custom systems" which do not react upon (or even properly report) the simulation variables, as own internal "local variables" are used to model the various aircraft systems.

Unfortunately that development is "out of reach" for Sky Dolly, and one shall see whether support for the official "simulation variables" will be (re-)added in future "stable" versions of the A32NX.

Which recording frequency ("sample rate") should I use?

Recording Frequency

Sky Dolly offers the possibility to select the desired recording frequency, or sample rate:

* File / Settings...

* Open the Recording tab

* Set the desired Record Frequency (default: "Auto")

The default setting "Auto" will automatically adjust the recording frequency to the "simulated frame" events, as reported by Flight Simulator 2020. Or in other words: the aircraft state (-> "simulation variables") is sampled every simulated frame.

So why offer the possibility of recording at rates as low as 1 Hz ("one sample per second")? Because the more samples are taken, the more work Flight Simulator 2020 needs to do (to gather the values and send the response messages via the SimConnect adapter to Sky Dolly) and the bigger the storage requirements get.

Interpolation

In any case Sky Dolly always interpolates between the recorded "sample points" with what is known as "cubic spline interpolation" (e.g. refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spline_interpolation as a good starting point). "Interpolation" basically makes "educated guesses" about values between "known values" ("samples").

However it is intuitively clear that the less data we sample, the less "details" we can capture. When it comes to flying "less details" mostly affects the accuracy of the recorded flight maneuvres: if we only sample at 1 Hz a barrel roll with an (exagerated) roll rate of, say, 2 Hz (two rotations per second!) cannot possibly recorded in an accurate manner!

On the other and airlines which "mostly fly straight lines" and "slow roation movements" may be perfectly captured with a sample rate of 1 Hz only!

The following video illustrates the usage of three different recording rates and compares the results with the original captured video:

https://youtu.be/bfgkY0eXL4w

Recommendation

* When in doubt, use the "Auto" setting: this gives the best accuracy in any case (at the expense of required storage space - CPU usage is only marginally affected)

* When "long flights with airliners" are to be recorded lower the recording rate accordinly - even 1 Hz results in good results

* Note that you can dynamically change the recording rate while recording!

How do I manually fly with a formation?

The "Formation" module in Sky Dolly allows you to manually take control of the aircraft and join the formation.

Since Sky Dolly v0.8 there are two "formation replay modes" available, namely:

Take control of recorded user aircraft
Fly with formation

Both replay modes essentially allow you to manually fly together with the recorded aircraft(s) - the formation. The difference: in the first mode you take control of an already recorded aircraft (the one currently selected as "user aircraft"), whereas in the second "Fly with formation" mode you fly along with your currently "active" (loaded) aircraft. This means that you can also join a "single aircraft" formation (the "Take control" mode on the other hand requires at least two recorded aircraft - otherwise you'll simply fly alone again).

This is how it works in detail:

Take Control of Recorded User Aircraft

Load an existing flight (at least two aircraft)
Switch to the Formation module (press F2)
Select the "Take control of recorded user aircraft" replay mode (combobox bottom right)
Select the desired aircraft, by marking it as "User Aircraft" (double-click on the table row, or select the row and press the "Set User Aircraft" button)
Press "Play" (key P)

You are now in control of the previously recorded user aircraft.

Note that in this repaly mode you can switch the current "user aircraft" (the "active" aircraft being followed by the camera and being flown with the currently loaded aircraft) at any time, also during replay:

Select the aircraft in the table
Press the "Set user Aircraft" button
Alternatively simply double-click on the aircraft row in the table

Fly with Formation

Load an existing flight (at least two aircraft)
Switch to the Formation module (press F2)
Select the "Fly with formation" replay mode (combobox bottom right)
Select the desired user aircraft you wish to fly next to, by marking it as "User Aircraft" (see above)
Select the desired starting position, by clicking on one of the aircraft icons in the "Bearing" group box
Choose the initial vertical / horizontal distance (which is measured in "multiples of wing spans" of the selected user aircraft
Press "Play" (key P)

In both modes you can press the "Pause" button (or key P), which also pauses (technically: "freezes") your own manually flown aircraft. In the "Fly with formation" replay mode you can also re-position your aircraft again while paused, by simply clicking on one of the aircraft icons in the "Bearing" group box again.

Returning to Normal Replay

If you get lost you can simply select the "Formation (normal)" replay mode. This will hand back full control to Sky Dolly, over all recorded aircraft.

Sky Dolly v0.8 allows changing the tail number - but with no visible effect?

Yes, since Sky Dolly v0.8 the tail number of the recorded aircraft can be changed in the Formation module (double-click with the left mouse button on the corresponding table cell to enable edit mode).

However it is correct that this does not yet have a visible impact on the currently loaded flight in FS 2020, for two reasons:

* The tail number of the user aircraft (the one being followed by the camera in FS 2020) does not get updated (unless the flight is restarted in FS 2020)

* "AI aircraft" (in formation flights) show a white empty box instead of the tail number (that is a bug in FS 2020)

But I still decided to make the tail number editable in Sky Dolly, because it may actually work better with future releases of FS 2020.

My aircraft recorded with v0.7 (or earlier) randomly shuts down its engine with v0.8?

Why does the engine shut down?

Sky Dolly v0.8 introduced improved "is the engine running" detection and better "autostart/shutdown" support based on a new "combustion" simulation variable which is now being recorded.

For existing flights recorded with Sky Dolly v0.7 and before this simulation variable is initialised ("migrated") on a "best effort guesstimate", as follows:

If the thrust lever is > 0, then the combustion is initialised with 1 ("engine running")
If the thrust lever is "fully pulled back" (= 0) then the combustion is initialised with 0 ("engine shutdown")

Of course that implies that the engine - again, for flights recorded with v0.7 and earlier only - is now shutdown whenever the thrust levers are fully pulled back. And started again when the thrust levers are pushed forward again.

For flights recorded with Sky Dolly v0.8 the actual "combustion" value as reported by the flight simulator is recorded.

Note that all engines are started at the same time - including for flights recorded with Sky Dolly v0.8 - as soon as one engine combusts: this is because an "engine autostart" event is sent to flight simulator, which is the equivalent to "CTRL + E".

So while this does not allow a faithful replay of the actual engine startup process (specifically when multiple engines are involved) it should more reliable detect when at least one engine is running. This also works when seeking back and forth in the timeline, so "flying aircraft with dead engines" should now be a thing of the past.

Can I re-enable my engines such that they run constantly during the entire flight?

Yes, but this requires some manual steps which involve "diving into the database" (logbook), using a database browser such as:

https://sqlitebrowser.org/

In Sky Dolly it is recommended to first create a backup of your logbook
- File | Logbook Settings..., choose "Next time, when exiting Sky Dolly"
Close Sky Dolly
- To execute the backup
- Also in order such that no other transaction is running on the same database while we are modifying the data in the subsequent steps
Launch DB Browser for SQLite
Open the logbook
- Set the file filter to "All files"
- Logbook location, see Files | Logbook Settings... in Sky Dolly
- Default location: "c:\Users\[Your Username]\Documents\Sky Dolly\Sky Dolly.sdlog"
  - Your backups will by default be in a "Backups" subfolder in that same location
In the "Execute SQL" tab copy and paste the following update statement:
- This will update the "combustion" value of all four engines to 1 ("combusted" = "running") ...
- ... for the flight given by :id (this placeholder is to be replaced with an actual flight ID, see below)

update engine
set general_engine_combustion1 = 1,
    general_engine_combustion2 = 1,
    general_engine_combustion3 = 1,
    general_engine_combustion4 = 1
where aircraft_id in
(select a.id
 from aircraft a
 join flight f
 on a.flight_id = f.id
 where f.id = :id
);?

IMPORTANT: Before you execute this update statement replace the :id (including the colon) with the actual flight ID, e.g. 73
- The flight IDs are shown in Sky Dolly, in the column "Flight" of the logbook
In order to persist the updated data click the "Write changes" button (top-most toolbar)
- Or execute a commit;

That is it, the engines should now be constantly running for flight 73.

Доста празно тук.

Дарения

Тези потребители са направили дарения за Steeler за да продължи да прави страхотни добавки, на които всички могат да се наслаждават.

IRISFLTSIM 9 month(s) ago

200 CHF

xtek 1 year(s) ago

12 CHF

ever3030 1 month(s) ago

10 CHF

remmet 3 month(s) ago

10 CHF

MikeAR0428 1 month(s) ago

5 CHF

CarsE 10 month(s) ago

5 CHF

plinux24 9 month(s) ago

5 CHF

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Често задавани въпроси

Load the Flight

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Optimised Messages

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