FlightGear Mac OS X

File Release Notes and Changelog

Release Name: cvs-bin-20081116

Notes:
FlightGear-CVS 2008-11-16 for Mac OS X, Universal Binary
November 16th, 2008

This is a snapshot-release of FlightGear Mac OS X package and thus is for developers or advanced users only.
However,  if you really want to use the latest development version of FlightGear,  give it a try and help me. 
Remember, some functions and aircraft won't work on this release of FlightGear so please do not post any complains
to me. Give me a creative feedback instead.

Thanks in advance.

Installing

Simply drag & drop the FlightGear icon into the Applications folder. It contains everything including OpenSceneGraph library in its folder.


Flying With FlightGear

To launch FlightGear Mac OS X, just double-click the FlightGear icon at the Applications Folder. Then follow the steps below:
1) Launch the FlightGear at the Applications folder, and the launcher will appear.
2) Select an aircraft and an airport.
3) Check or uncheck "Download scenery on the fly" as you need.
4) Click the triangle button and change options if you need.
5) Press "Start Flight."

Wait for a while and you're ready to fly. For more detailed information on using FlightGear Mac OS X, read the documents on our website:
http://macflightgear.sourceforge.net/home/documents/


What's New in This Release

* 2008/11/16
All FlightGear/CVS updates since 2008/10/06 that include:
- Fixed crash on iMac or Mac Pro with nVidia GeForce 7300GT
- 3D clouds (experimental)
- Applied patch to disable / enable Texture related OpenGL extensions.
  Use OSG_GL_EXTENSION_DISABLE="extension_name1;extension_name2;...." to disable extension.
- Improvement in stall horn quality
- More png textures instead of rgb
- Multi-screen/multi-view capability  (See http://www.inkdrop.net/dave/multimon.pdf for more detail)
- Prebuilt Atlas (see the steps below for using it)
  1. Open /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app, then type (without $):
     $ cd /Applciations/FlightGear.app/Contents/Resources
     $ ./atlas.sh &
  2. Specify the following command line option to "Command line options" on the Others tab in the GUI launcher.
    --atlas=socket,out,1,localhost,5500,udp
- fgfs.sh creates log at ~/.fgfs/log.txt (when fgfs is invoked via either GUI launcher or fgfs.sh)
- some key assignment changes

* 2008/10/06
All FlightGear/CVS updates since 2008/09/18 that include:
- Nasal interpreter update
- Some Nasal code updates
- Multi-key commands (try ':' key and see what you can do)

Mac OS X specific updates
- FlightGear is built with GCC 4.2 instead of GCC 4.0 (supports Mac OS 10.5 only)
- The same additions in the previous snapshot
 
* 2008/09/18
All FlightGear/CVS updates since 2008/06/15 that includes:
- JSBSim updates as 2008/08/28
- Fixed the fps drop on resets
- Some code clean-ups (e.g. --fg-root is not needed anymore)

* 2008/06/15
- JSBSim/CVS as of 2008/06/08
- GUI gives full paths to fgfs instead of relative paths
- Featuring with Dave's F-4N

Known Issues

There are several known issues through this release. Fixed items are shown in red.

- Clouds are not seen correctly (This is common for all platforms)
- FlightGear Mac OS X runs only on OS X 10.4 or higher
- fgfs may crash on non-stable aircraft
- fgfs may crash when quitting on startup
- fgfs may crash during startup with no reason. Just try launching again.
- control + click doesn't work as right click. use double-finger tap instead (you need activate it from system preference)
- return (for rudder) doesn't work on notebook macs. use Fn+return instead (due to implementation of osgViewer)
- lots of functions could be missing due to fgfs/cvs is being developed.

Further Information and Help

FlightGear Mac OS X website is the first place to visit. Jump Start Guide, Users Guide, Troubleshooting, and documents for developers are available at:
http://macflightgear.sourceforge.net/home/documents/

Mailing list,  discussion forum, and various requests are also available at:
http://macflightgear.sourceforge.net/home/list-forums-etc/

The official FlightGear web site is also a good source of information. The manual, quick reference guide, tutorials, and additional documentation are available at:

http://flightgear.org/docs.html


Typical Q & A

Here are some typical Q & A specific to Mac OS X version.

Q: FlightGear closes when I press "Start Flight" and nothing happens. How can I launch the simulator?
A: Launch Terminal.app (at /Applications/Utilities) and type the following command (without "$"):

  $ cd /Applications/FlightGear.app/Contents/Resources
  $ ./fgfs.sh --aircraft=p51d --airport=KSFO

  You can change the aircraft and the airport as you want.

Q: Can I install FlightGear other than the Applications folder?
A: Yes. you can install it anywhere as long as it is writable folder.

Q: I can't use Function keys because these are reserved for controlling hardware features. 
     How can I use these keys on FlightGear?
A: Open "System preferences" >> "Keyboard and Mouse." Then check "Use the F1-F12 keys to control software
     features." Unfortunately, MacBook Pro users cannot assign F9-F12 if it is used by Expose. Change the shortcut
     keys for Expose from System preferences as well. 

Q: FlightGear crashes while I'm flying. How can I find the problems?
A: Open "/Applications/Utilities/Console.app" to see the error log that FlightGear wrote.

Q: Where is the data folder?
A: It's on /Applications/FlightGear.app/Contents/Resources/data or
    $HOME/Documents/FlightGear/CVS-OSG/

Q: Where can I find a log file?
A: You can find it at $HOME/.fgfs/log.txt. Select "Go" >> "Go to folder" from Finder's menu and type "~/.fgfs".
     Then you can find log.txt there. (Only for CVS version from 2008/11/11)

See also Troubleshooting for more information.

Brief License Information for integrated software
1. Atlas
Atlas is a map showing utility for FlightGear developed and maintained by David Luff, Frederic Bouvier, and Per Liedman. Atlas can be distributed under GNU General Public License (GPL). See COPYING.txt for more detail.

2. FGCOM
FGCOM is a voice communication utility developed by Holger Wirtz. FGCOM can be distributed under GNU General Public License (GPL). See COPYING.txt for more detail.


Contact

The binary release was produced by Tat Nishioka. If you have any questions or problems for this release, either email me (tat.michy@nifty.com) or post your question to:
- Mailing List
- FlightGear Mac OS X Website
- Help and Open Discussion
Please refrain from emailing me for the general questions about playing FlightGear. 



Changes:
* 2008/11/16
All FlightGear/CVS updates since 2008/10/06 that include:
- Fixed crash on iMac or Mac Pro with nVidia GeForce 7300GT
- 3D clouds (experimental)
- Applied patch to disable / enable Texture related OpenGL extensions.
  Use OSG_GL_EXTENSION_DISABLE="extension_name1;extension_name2;...." to disable extension.
- Improvement in stall horn quality
- More png textures instead of rgb
- Multi-screen/multi-view capability  (See http://www.inkdrop.net/dave/multimon.pdf for more detail)
- Prebuilt Atlas (see the steps below for using it)
  1. Open /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app, then type (without $):
     $ cd /Applciations/FlightGear.app/Contents/Resources
     $ ./atlas.sh &
  2. Specify the following command line option to "Command line options" on the Others tab in the GUI launcher.
    --atlas=socket,out,1,localhost,5500,udp
- fgfs.sh creates log at ~/.fgfs/log.txt (when fgfs is invoked via either GUI launcher or fgfs.sh)
- some key assignment changes