Join a session
To join a session, double-click on the session name, or single-click on it and then click the next button (join button in FSX Acceleration) in the lower right corner of the screen. While you try to join a session, it is possible that a message will appear:
login message |
solution |
| Attempting network negotiation with the host. |
If this message shows for some time, the connection with the host can not be made. This is due to either a bad connection of the host or you tried to login to a password protected session and you have entered the wrong password. Press the ESCAPE key and try another session. |
| There are currently no positions available in the session. |
The server is full. Wait until someone leaves this session and then try again. |
| Downloading latest real-world weather data from Jeppesen. |
The host has set real-world weather as weather theme, so your FSX will need to download the latest weather data. If this message shows for some time, the Jeppessen website may be offline or there is something wrong with your connection. |
When you succesfully joined a session, the sessions conditions screen will be displayed. Now you can select your role (pilot or tower controller), your aircraft and setup a view other things. Check the table below for information about each option.
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Session Conditions FSX Acceleration |
| Choose role: |
Choose between pilot or tower controller. |
| State intentions to other players (optional) |
You can use this field to state your intentions to other players in the session. The text you type here will be displayed under your name and aircraft type in the player list of the briefing room. Note that other people can't see this text when they are flying unless they end their flight and come back in the briefing room. The host will not be able to see this text once the session has started. |
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| Aircraft settings |
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| Current aircraft: |
Just like in the single player mode, here you can select the aircraft you want to fly. |
| ATC Name: |
Here you can select your callsign. The callsign is used by the ATC to identify you. You can select one of the default airline callsigns like "American Pacific". Put a flightnumber in the"Flight number" field, so the ATC won't confuse you with someone else using the same callsign. For large aircraft, you can append "Heavy" to your callsign, which is also visible to the ATC. Add a tailnumber to the "Tail number" field and enable the show tailnumber checkbox and if you want the tailnumber (which is the registration number like N702CK) to be displayed on the aircraft exterior.
If you want to use a callsign other than one of the default callsigns, enter the callsign manually in the "Tail number" field. For example, you can use a 3-digit identifier code of an airline like "AAL" for American Airlines or "NWA" for Northwest Airlines. Add a flightnumber to the identifier code (like "AAL7482"), so the ATC won't confuse you with someone else using the same 3-digit identifier code. In case you enter a callsign manually, make sure the "Airline call sign" and "Flight number" fields are empty. Check the callsign list for airline codes. |
| Sharing |
| Share my aircraft |
| Password (optional): |
Enable shared
aircraft voice
communication |
Disable sharing
after
session
has
started |
|
| sharing |
| If you want to share your aircraft with another player, check this box. It is probably a good idea to select this option in combination with a password or at least with the "Disable sharing after session has started" option enabled. If you don't, another player might want to bug you by stepping in your aircraft without notice and start to play around with your engine controls. Remember that you don't need any access to the flight controls if you want to crash an aircraft. They can do a lot of damage by just shutting down the engine(s) or disengage the autopilot. |
| You can use a password to make sure that nobody else can join your aircraft, unless you share the password with someone. |
| Enable this if you want to speak to the other player in your aircraft. When enabled, you don't have to press and hold CAPSLOCK to speak with the other player, you can just speak up. |
| Check this box and nobody will be able to join your aircraft while you're in the session. This comes in handy sometimes, because you can just wait in the briefing room for a player to share your aircraft with. When you click "join session" or "fly now" in FSX Acceleration, nobody can join your aircraft anymore until you've ended your flight and you're back in the briefing room again. |
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| Fuel and Payload... |
Select the amount of fuel and/or payload to be carried with your aircraft. |
| Load Flight... |
Just like in the single player mode, you can load a saved flight. |
| Save Flight... |
Just like in the single player mode, you can save your flight. |
| Flight Planner... |
No different from the single player mode, you can just create a flightplan for a VFR or IFR flight. Note that the ATC can not see your flightplan. Sometimes, ATC will require you to put a short version of your flightplan into the chat window. |
| Failures... |
Just like in the single player mode, you can program any failure of the aircraft. If you are going to join an ATC controlled session, note that most controllers don't like continues "emergency" or "mayday" calls. |
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| Starting location |
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| Note that some of these options might be disabled by the host. In that case you can not select them. |
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| At an airport of my choice |
Here you can select any airport in the entire FSX world to start your flight. Make sure you select a parking spot or gate if you are going to start at an ATC controlled airport. If you leave it on "active runway", it can be very annoying for the host/ATC and they may kick you. Note that if the parking spot or gate is full or too small for your aircraft, FSX will place you in the air near the airport you've choosen. |
| In the air near the host |
If you select this option, FSX will place you in the air near the host aircraft or tower. Note that your start altitude is not very high, so prepare to pull up and apply full trottle, or you may crash into the ground or an obstacle. |
| At the airport nearest the host's aircraft |
This is a bad choice if you're going to join a ATC controlled session. It may put your aircraft directly on the active runway. This can be very annoying for the host/ATC and they may kick you. |
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Briefing Room
When you've setup everything in the session conditions screen, click on the "OK" button on the lower right corner of the screen. Now the briefing room will be displayed. Below your player name you can see the aircraft you've selected, if voice communication is enabled and the airport you've selected. Click on "Change Role or Location" ("Change Role or Aircraft" in FSX Acceleration) if you want to go back to the session conditions screen to change any of your settings.
Further down you see the server name and a few of the server settings: Host ID, Weather, Description and Status. If the description field is empty, it either means that the host did not write any descripton or the connection to the host is too bad for the description to be displayed.
And finally, you see a list of players that are connected to the session. From left to right: player name, aircraft type or tower controller, present location and status. If a player has aircraft sharing enabled, you'll see a button "Join Aircraft"on the right side. If you see a non-clickable button with a name in it, it means that there is already a player in the shared aircraft. The status says "IN SESSION", "BRIEFING ROOM" ("NOT READY in FSX Acceleration) or "CHANGE". If you're ready, click on "JOIN SESSION" and FSX will start loading the flight. Click "LEAVE SESSION" to disconnect yourself from the server and you will find yourself back at the session listing (or at the login screen if you're not lucky). If the message "Waiting for host..." appears, the host didn't start the session yet and since the session can not start until the host is in the session, you have to wait.
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Briefing Room FSX Acceleration |
ATC Communication
Now you're all set and you can start flying together with other people! If you're in a tower controlled session and you have voice communication enabled, make sure you contact the tower on the right frequency. This frequency can usually be found in the server description of the session information screen or in the briefing room. Put this frequency in the COM1 radio of your aircraft. If there is no frequency mentioned, then the default frequency is used and don't alter the COM1 radio frequency. Now you can contact the tower for a radio check. Press and hold CAPSLOCK while you speak and say "<airport name> tower <your callsign> radio check".
Example: "Vancouver tower, American 6732 radio check".
If your audio is setup correctly, the tower will hear you and tell you what the quality of your transmission is. This is usually done by rating the transmission quality from 1 (unreadable) to 5 (perfectly readable).
Example: "American 6732, read you 5 by 5"
or
Example: "American 6732, readability 5"
Read more about this on the ATC Phraseology page.
If you're in a session without a tower controller, you can use the voice communication to speak to other players in the session.
Problems with voice communication
If you're lucky, your mic or headset will be configured right and work perfectly. If not, there are a few possible causes:
1. Check if the cables of your microphone or headset are connected the right way to your pc.
2. The microphone or headset might not work correctly due to a configuration problem. In windows XP, go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Sounds and then Audio Devices. Go to the tab "Voice" and check if the Voice playback and Voice recording devices are right. Click on the "Volume..." button and check if the volume of the Voice recording device is high enough (set it too the highest setting if people do hear you, but not loud enough). If there is a button "Advanced" under Microphone, click on it and see if there is a checkbox "Microphone boost". If so, check this box. Now go back to the "Audio" tab of the "Sounds and Audio Devices Properties" and click on the "Test hardware..." button. Complete the Sound Hardware Test Wizard. If you can hear your own voice playback in this wizard, your audio hardware setup is alright.
3. Speak close to the microphone, but not too close. Let people tell you how clear your voice sounds at different distances from the microphone.
4. No NOT use a microphone that automatically swiches on when you speak. Otherwise the first part of anything you say will brake up and other people will have trouble understanding you.
5. If the voices of other players brake up, try to shut down as many programs that are running in the backgroud as possible. You can also try to lower the graphics settings. Keep an eye on the framerate, if it drops below 4-5 frames/second, the voices are scrambled. You can see your framerate if you press and hold SHIFT and then press the "Z" key.
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