22 replies to this topic

[Fsimfan]

<span style='font-size:12pt;line-height:100%'>How To Use Active Camera - A Quick Tutorial</span>


MOVING AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR AIRCRAFT

If you've installed Active Camera, then on your FS Menu, go to Options and look for the Active Camera submenu.

In the submenu, you should have Internal Pilot View and Enable wheel zoom in VC checkmarked.

Load up your aircraft and make sure it's on the ground. Press X on your keyboard. You should now be outside your airplane. (You will be placed to the left of it).

Press down on your scroll wheel on your mouse and keep it pressed, and move your mouse. You will notice that you are "turning your head" this way. If you move the mouse to the right and left, you'll move your head to the right or left. If you move your mouse forwards and backwards, you'll move your head up and down. (If you turn your scroll wheel, you'll zoom in and out).

The first thing you should do after pressing X is turn your head to the right because that's where your plane will be, and you'll see it.

To move around (walking), make sure the Num Lock light is on on your keyboard. If it isn't, press the Num Lock button on your keyboard to turn it on.

Now for walking around: Press the Number Pad keys for walking.
8 for moving forward. 2 for moving backwards.
4 to move left. 6 to move right.
7 to rotate left. 9 to rotate right.

To run (yes, you can even run): while pressing one of the Number pad keys, hold down the Shift key.

Press X again to end this mode and return to your airplane.


MOVING AROUND INSIDE THE COCKPIT AND CABIN

Go to Virtual Cockpit mode. You don't need to press X this time. Just use your mouse and keyboard in the same manner described above.


FLY BY VIEW

This mode works when you in are flying in the air. You can set the virtual camera to stay at a fixed external point in the air and watch your plane fly by this point. This point gets moved up every 10 seconds (you can change this time duration in "Setup" of the Active camera submenu if you want).

To activate Fly By mode, you first have to switch to Tower view. Then press Control + F5. You will see your plane barreling towards you and then pass you. The camera view point then gets updated and moved up, and you again see your plane coming towards you until it passes you again. This will keep repeating for however long you remain in Fly By view during flight.

You can cycle back to Cockpit or other views and have Fly By mode remain activated in the background.

To disengage Fly By mode, press Control + F5 again.


APPROACH VIEW

When you are about to land, you can switch to Approach view. Approach mode will behave exactly like Fly By mode when your plane is 200 ft above ground level. Once you are below 200 ft AGL, Approach mode will calculate your touch down spot according to your current glideslope and will move the camera to that point on the ground.

So basically you can watch the plane touch down at the very spot you are "standing". This is ideally, because your glideslope can shift during the landing process and therefore your touchdown spot may drift a little from where Active Camera calculated it.

To activate Approach mode, make sure you are in Tower view and then press Control + F6.

Again, as in Fly By mode, you can cycle through the other regular views such as Cockpit view if you want, and keep Approach mode running in the background.

To disengage Approach mode, press Control + F6 again.



That's it!

(A quick note: Since both these modes make use of your Tower view, when you disengage either Fly By or Approach mode, the camera will no longer update every 10 seconds and your Tower view will then remain at the very point where the disengagement occurred)

[SargeJr3]

AMAZING!

[boeing_737]

Good Job!

[kashyap_rajput]

That's great Tutorial... I was looking for some help in Active camera.. and here you are with such nice information... thank you

Kashyap

[Tim.]

How do you look up onto your tail? I cant do it.

[kewlceo]

Tim., on Jul 23 2005, 08:55 AM, said:

How do you look up onto your tail? I cant do it.

Stand with your back facing the mirror, then look over your shoulder.

(In other words, I don't know either, lol.)

[Fsimfan]

Tim., on Jul 23 2005, 10:55 AM, said:

How do you look up onto your tail? I cant do it.

You have a tail?     





To look at your plane's tail, when you are outside the plane, use the number pad keys to maneuver behind the plane and make sure you're facing the tail.  Then press down on your mouse scroll button.  While it is pressed, move your mouse forward and backward.  You will notice that your view angle moves up and down this way.  Using this method, you can look up onto your plane's tail.  

[VHHH90]

Thanks Jim for this sensation tut
Do you know if there are any current updates/patches to fix some of the bugs?

[Fsimfan]

VHHH90, on Aug 11 2005, 09:25 PM, said:

Thanks Jim for this sensation tut
Do you know if there are any current updates/patches to fix some of the bugs?

Active Camera has released version 2.0, and has also released an Active camera 2004 patch specifically made for the FS 9.1 update.

Although this improves some stabilty issues, it does not improve other bugs and   issues with Active Camera, such as "floating objects" and  stationary ground textures when moving around.

You can find it here:

http://www.anticyclone.be/

[VHHH90]

Fsimfan, on Aug 12 2005, 08:48 AM, said:

VHHH90, on Aug 11 2005, 09:25 PM, said:

Thanks Jim for this sensation tut
Do you know if there are any current updates/patches to fix some of the bugs?

Active Camera has released version 2.0, and has also released an Active camera 2004 patch specifically made for the FS 9.1 update.

Although this improves some stabilty issues, it does not improve other bugs and   issues with Active Camera, such as "floating objects" and  stationary ground textures when moving around.

You can find it here:

http://www.anticyclone.be/

Cheers Jim

[Fsimfan]

VHHH90, on Aug 12 2005, 10:05 AM, said:

Cheers Jim

You're welcome Neil.  

[Prancer]

Question: whenever I'm outside my aircraft, it looks all scrunched up. How do I fix this?

[VHHH90]

I get that problem sometimes too
Jim, can you tell us how to fix it?

[Fsimfan]

VHHH90, on Aug 17 2005, 01:02 AM, said:

I get that problem sometimes too
Jim, can you tell us how to fix it?

Hmmm.  I haven't had that particular bug show up on my system, but I'm not surprised, taking into consideration that Active Camera has quite a few bugs that manifest themselves in a number of ways on different computers.  

I'm hoping that an update by Anticyclone fixes the multple bugs in Active Camera  once and for all.

[Fir3Spell]

Very good tutorial, it sure helps a lot!

[Brad]

Migrated to KB: http://www.fs2004.co...k-Tutorial.html

[LikvidIce]

Zarquen, on Aug 16 2005, 07:05 PM, said:

Question: whenever I'm outside my aircraft, it looks all scrunched up. How do I fix this?

   Ownage. Look at the funny planes!

[Billyboy1514]

that was a groovy tutorial.

[Panhead]

sometimes everything will get scrunched up like that when you are in the cockpit then change to the extirior mode. Thats how it is for me anyhow, i always go in to spot view then the extirior mode.

Chris

ps.great tut Jim.

[Mr. Schutte]

Zarquen, on Aug 16 2005, 07:05 PM, said:

  I too had this problem, and Chris is asolutely right.

You simply go into 'spot view' and then initiate active camera, you will never have that problem again.