From: U6IC <U6IC@UNB.CA>
Subject: SubLOGIC's F.A.: ATP for Christmas
Organization: The University of New Brunswick
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 20:02:29 GMT

 SubLOGIC's FA:ATP for Christmas: Well, well, well

	Well after the rave review that I got in response
 to my posting for some ATP info awhile aback, I decided
 to make this my Christmas gift to myself.


*** FIRST LOOKS AND LIKES ***

   i) An autopilot that allows non-menu based adjustments!
 (I really hated having to pause the simulation in FS4
 while going through the menus to configure the A/P).

	One comment though, a friend of mine who rode 'up
 front' in one of these jets some time ago, indicated that
 even altitude changes (can be/were being) controlled by the
 A/P through the use of a dial. I thought the use of an
 altitude 'bug' would be nice.

Is this realistic though? The idea of one for heading is very
 convenient.


   ii) Most if not all necessary in-flight adjustments can be
 done without the need to go through menus.

	Pretty much everything can be accessed directly from
 normal flight mode using some keyboard combination. This
 allows a much better 'flow' in the flights. Of course what
 this means is you spend forever learning what the appropriate
 keys are. Though these are somewhat intuitive, it is going to
 take some time to get used to all of them.


    iii)  The planes can actually be flown!!!!

          I never professed to be really adept at any of FS4's
 planes other than the Cessna. I felt badly about this until I
 read a review from the 'Gamers` forum which stated that the
 Learjet was virtually impossible to maintain at a particular
 altitude and attitude for any period of time. The 747 seemed
 even worse and I really wondered if the 'Bigger Birds' were
 that difficult to control without the autopilot engaged. I
 was quite surprised at how relatively easy it was to control
 the ATP a/c's. Now whether I am always doing what I'm
 supposed to be doing (correct airspeed,altitude +/-200,
 proper cruise/climb/descent configuration etc.) is another
 matter.


   iv) The air traffic control works!!!!!!!!!

	Well that impressed me. Now I haven't experimented to
 find any of the problems mentioned in some postings here
 regarding ATP's ATC, so maybe I'll change my tune shortly.
 Quite early into the package, I got a bit ambitious and
 decided to try a single flight assignment, quite a joke
 considering the problems mentioned in (iii) above. I totally
 screwed up on my approach (really because the darn Controller
 'Roger' was giving me instructions faster than I could
 remember where all the switches were). I had gotten
 instructions for the last heading before intercepting the
 glideslope, but was so frantically trying to do everything
 else, I did not make the turn in time. I was really surprised
 when I was told that I was being " ..revectored for another
 approach." I was asked to climb and brought around again.
 Well, well.
	In attempting to familiarizing myself with the entire
 ATC procedure, I have been flying the 'sample assignment'
 (LAX-SAN) a number of times and another interesting thing was
 brought to my attention. The vectoring isn't always the same
 for a particular mission!! Whereas on one occasion, I was
 vectored from heading 090 left to 120, on another occasion I
 was vectored to the right through to 120. Could it be that
 wind direction influences this? Whatever does, it does say a
 lot for the ATC module. Maybe flying the same assignments
 will not get overly boring after all.

	When I posted the request for information on ATP a few
 weeks ago, one response by Mr. Papelis indicated that it
 reminded him of the overload frenzy a pilot goes through on
 approaches. Well I have to agree though I think it will
 become somewhat more manageable as I get more used to all the
 controls. For now however, I do find myself having to pause
 the simulation to think about what I should do nex, (so much
 for realism there). This single aspect of ATP alone though,
 IMHO makes the package worth considering. Now if only I could
 find someone to buy me a S/Blaster (:-{

    v) Weather generator that changes with months of year.

  Seems nice though I haven't experimented with this to see
 how much change there is. May be just a more elaborate
 *LOOKING* arrangement that uses the same four season concept
 as FS4. It is claimed though that changes are continuous
 throughout the year. I also like the greater number of
 discrete steps in changing from daylight to nighttime
 effects.

     vi) I also like the ability to scan left and right in any
 of the 'out the cockpit' viewing directions. This is neat as
 it simulates a corner of the eye glance without you having to
 change the actual view. Great for turning into final. Could
 get you in trouble though if you forget to re-centre the
 view.


	Overall, the package is really quite enjoyable though
 I must admit that it could overwhelm someone who is faint at
 heart and just wants to take off and land an aircraft. Well I
 guess the free-flight mode can be used for that. It forces me
 to think more about proper procedures than was necessary with
 FS4. With FS4, I tried to get as realistic in my flying as
 was possible, but not being a pilot, there are limitations to
 how much you can do and no book I ever came across really
 gave details on what is actually done inflight re: margins on
 error for altitude, speed etc. I also never really had an
 idea of typical cruise altitudes, rates of climbs and
 descents. With no ATC in FS4 therefore, and someone who
 doesn't have an idea on what these margins are, there was
 quite a bit of room for slopiness. The simulation also forces
 you to be more aware of things such as proper flap settings
 for different stages of approaches and takeoffs, thrust
 settings, pitch settings etc. While not getting into a
 discussion on realism of simulation of any of the aircrafts, I
 must say that in simulation of actual civil aviation, FS4
 seems little more than a game when compared to ATP.

#Though I haven't found anything so far about the
 simulation that I dislike, there is something that I do not
 like about the package. The manual has no index of entries.
 This may sound petty but I do find this to be a pain when you
 want to locate some specific bit of information. I also
 believe this is an important aspect of good documentation
 which is lacking in the product.


****	One question, does anyone know if you get de-rated for
 not switching to the secondary instrument panel occasionally
 during an assignment? I generally only remember there is one
 after I land the plane. I tell you, that Roger guy sure keeps
 me busy.

	Also, I got a newsbrief in the package (I guess all
 'Bluebox' version owners would have this), which stated that
 SubLOGIC is working on an Aircraft and Scenery Designer for
 ATP. Boy oh Boy!!


THANKS TO ALL WHO RESPONDED TO MY INITIAL REQUEST FOR INFO


Hayden


        _____
      /   |   \    'With sticks in hand, I don't beat, instead, I play'
    /\___/ \___/\
   |   |  o  |   |               | De Man Wid De Pan
  | \__| o o |----|    0-----    | -----------------------
   |/   \ o / \  |   0           | Hayden Nanton
    \ __/ |    \/    |           | E-Mail:- U6IC@UNB.CA
      \ __|__ /      |           |       :- U6IC@JUPITER.SUN.CSD.UNB.CA
.