Free Flight, Free Speech

..or why there are always unintended consequences of 'fixing things' upstream of the last working version.

https://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=29819&p=292561#p292561

Start with my post #34 and read Thorsten's responses to me. He's providing a very valuable example of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plausible_deniability. " Oh well, we didn't think at the time that this change would cause problems."

As a retrospect, back in fall/winter 2014, I started my Belfort custom scenery experiment.

I had FG 2.11.0 something installed at the time, and the UFO was my go-to tool for making this new, (old) historical aerodrome a reality. One thing led to another, 'til I had the misfortune of one day wanting the new bells and whistles of 3.4. So I installed 3.4 and wanted to use the UFO to adjust and add to the scenery. Well the file/object select GUI window for the UFO had been disabled by the pointy heads at FG Development Corp, because it was imagined that there was some sort of some "possibility of misuse" security problem, and they 'fixed' it in the fgfs.exe coding for any instance of this possible 'misuse' of a work and time saving GUI window.

I know a lot of the UFO's functions are now more streamlined through WED and other TerrGear fixes, but with my liking my old school approach to model addition, ( I don't think that Corcieux would have been possible with TerraGear or WED...), and also for road rebuilding for the race courses Marc Kraus has done, and for my own custom roads, the UFO is the bee's knees, especially when you need to change in midstream the scenery folder the files are pulled from. As of now and, at least from what I can tell, (i.e. FG 3.4.0..) the UFO is only able to place model files by opening the Advanced tab in FGRun and doing a --prop XXXXXXXX edit to change the default model folder. Yup, really sucks.

So I'm considering a reinstall of 2.8 as a revert to use this function, which is BS.

I'm also awaiting a replay from Thorsten about if it's possible to revert the 2016.1 fgfs.exe with a hex editor, so I can have the UFO back to working again. Frankly, I kinda think I'll be told to suck an egg.

indeed.
Blocking nasal loading for user directories is so FG, and so like-no-one-else.

They forgot that our computers is OURS and where we put files is our DAMN business.

I am also with Lester, that "loading" restriction and symbolic links blockage is inane and should be reverted.
Even finding objects with the UFO is now a terrible hassle.

LesterBoffo wrote:I'm also awaiting a replay from Thorsten about if it's possible to revert the 2016.1 fgfs.exe with a hex editor, so I can have the UFO back to working again. Frankly, I kinda think I'll be told to suck an egg.

Yes!. He just did

https://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic. ... 61#p292568

I frankly don't think people will re-open a gaping security hole for your convenience... And I also don't think you can edit out a complex patch with a hex editor.

Why don't you get adjusted to a new workflow?

on the same topic, I am in linux, and I use symbolic links almost all the time. I never found that to be a "security gap" of the linux operating system.
I honestly have no idea -whatsoever- how is blocking the feature of symbolic links for FG made the software any secure.... at all.

I guess, I know not enough.

You know it wouldn't be such a problem if he wasn't such a nasty git about stuff, I think I'm treading in his realm of changes for changes sake and he's pulling his bully routine again. F*ck'im I'll find my own way to this.

Oh and BTW ...

I was working on 3.4... got myself a SSD so downloaded 2016.... but have now gone back to 3.4

Having just come off the back of another run in with Thorsten over this, it's clear they don't listen to the workflow requirements of content developers...

I'm really surprised you guys haven't had a good look at Outerra... the community development and relationship with the outerra team is second to none...

I'd say come the new year I'll have moved over completely, with a multi-player combat sim to match Targetware

Simon

Actually Simon I've tried Outterra on my machine, it refuses to open. As much as I like the vids you've posted, the graphics in OT would bring my marginal machine to a grindingly slow frame rate. If I do decide to try it it will be with a 64 bit operating system and machine that actually will handle the graphics. That's not in the cards presently.

I'm hoping the rumors about a hybrid of Fighter Squadron WWI using FG scenery and FG shader patches will come to fruition. A few of the old developers of SDoE have mentioned they really liked my screenshots of FS-WWI's planes in FG.

If you can load up flightgear then you should have no problem with outerra....