Hi folks,
rumors have been around, private messages have been exchanged, references have been posted in various other threads.
Now time has come to reveal what it is all about
:
While porting vasFMC to X-Plane we felt the need for a
-networked
-cross simulator
-cross platform
-standard based
-standard compliant
data communication facility between simulators and applications like an FMC.
When we published vasFMC 2.09a a year ago, a forerunner of this communication facility, then named xpfmcconn, was included. It has roughly 10.000 downloads on x-plane.org, plus uncounted downloads at avsim.com and flightsim.com. As a base technology it had very few problems surfacing on our support threads. vasFMC is a different beast to operate, but not in focus here.
With this positive experience we built the second version which we now present as the
Simulator
Communication
System. To grasp it's potential you need imagination...
-Imagine to install SCS on X-Plane, FS2004 or FSX, and your application talks to any of them without a single change - sounds convincing?
-Imagine to use any networked computer to run a portion of your distributed simulator environment - sounds terrific?
-Imagine there is no configuration required - sounds like a dream?
SCS enables all this - and more. Because SCS extends into the realm of hardware too.
Programming SCS is easy - it comes with extensively documented C++ and Java interfaces and sample projects for Mac OS X, Linux and Windos.
So what is the magic that makes SCS superior to X-Plane's own UDP interface and any interface to Microsoft Flight Simulator?
Simple: We rely on an industry standard, used in professional and military sims and pushed by companies like Airbus, NASA, Eurofighter, and various EAA manufacturers. This standard is
CAN Aerospace.
We offer a common layer for all simulators, software and hardware to communicate using this standard. Have a look at the general picture:
As you can see, the system consists of three main components:
-The SCS-enabled simulator, which can be MSFS, X-Plane or FlightGear
-Applications using the databus via the libcanaero interface
-Hardware using a CAN Aerospace gateway
The SDKs are available from now on, free of charge, with a license that permits use in closed- and open-source, commercial and non-commercial applications.
Along with the SDK, evaluation kits of the simulator components for X-Plane 9.3+ and FS2004/X are available from our website.
Hardware gateways will soon be offered, too.
The whole system will be available in two variants:
-a distribution for home use, at a very reasonable price for the end-user
-a distribution officially certified by
Stock Flightsystems for use with industry-grade hardware.
Read the full design documentation and grab your developer kit today at
http://cross-simulator.com
Philipp