## Vision and goal
pax4props' goal is to provide a simple passenger simulation to the unpressurized propeller aircrafts (piston and turboprops).
The few existing PAX simulators out there focus on larger planes, with flight attendants and onboard entertainment, while
pax4props will focus on the General Aviation and small commuters aircrafts.
pax4props will track your virtual passengers' stress levels and rank your flight according to that. Hear them complain when they don't like your flying, hear them scream when they panic.
### The core principles
1. **No money.** No economic simulation. You won't earn nor spend nor even hear about money in pax4props. And of course, no real life money involved, not even donations.
2. **No locked content.** No career progression. You can fly whatever suitable plane you own, no matter your skills, training, or lack thereof.
3. **No mandatory missions/framing.** Compatibility with virtual airlines, online ATC, role-play scenarios, bush trips... It also means the passengers won't be detailed too much.
Ideally, the voices should be neutral/compatible with all ages, cultures and genders. I won't assume much about your PAX.
4. **Simplicity.** No complex setup. No tedious steps. Ideally, just hop on the plane and fly. Lightweight UI.
5. **Low FPS impact.**
6. **No internet required.** There's an "automatically check for updates" for your convenience but you can disable it in the settings and you
don't have to use it. There's no spying code, no tracking. I don't want your data. Also, obviously, no ads.
7. **Wholesome.** Let's keep it appropriate for all kind of audiences. Usage of profanity, especially in the context of a potential air disaster, is often understandable
but let's keep it family-friendly. I don't want this software to be blocked anywhere because of word sensitivity. For the same reason, maybe it's best we keep religion out
of it.
### The passengers' comfort
Everybody (in the real world) reacts differently based on their psychology and physiology. pax4props' passengers on
the other have much less variance in their needs. They're neither very bold nor very strong. Take good care of them.
1. **Takeoffs and landing are stressful**. Always. Your PAX want the shortest amount of time when flying close to the ground.
2. **Taxiing fast is scary and uncomfortable**. And that includes take-off and landing rolls.
3. **High climb rates are uncomfortable**. Ears and stomach feel weird.
4. **High descent rates are uncomfortable AND scary**.
5. **Steep turns are uncomfortable** and scary. Watch your bank angle.
6. **Noise is uncomfortable**. It's hard to simulate noise accurately in MSFS, so your PAX' sensitivity may vary from plane to plane,
but the key thing is to not let the propellers turn too fast. And no, they don't have hearing protection devices (you're the only one with a headset).
7. **Hypoxemia is scary**. Not incomfortable per se, but your PAX won't tolerate high altitudes, especially if they're on a regular flight
and not on a bush trip. Your aircraft is unpressurized and you have no supplemental oxygen for your PAX. Stay under 8000 ft AMSL for maximum safety and comfort.
8. **Turbulence is uncomfortable**. PAX want smooth flights. Be gentle on the yoke/stick and try not to fly into turbulence.
9. **Sightseeing is soothing**. Due to MSFS limitations, it's unfortunately not possible to take into account the
visibility conditions, so your PAX will be amazed at the scenery as soon as you hit 1500 ft AGL.
10. **Steep pitch is uncomfortable**. Don't pitch too much even when it wouldn't otherwise impact your vertical velocity.
11. **Hard landings are uncomfortable**, and rebounds too. On the other hand, keep in mind the first point on this list; a
very long smooth landing could net you a worst review than a harder but shorter landing.
12. **Emergencies are a mixed bag**. And a pain to track and rate efficiently in MSFS. At the moment, they have no impact on
your passengers. Sure, an engine fire is stressful, but surviving it is such a relief that it kind of balances out.
13. **Crashing is uncool**. No "reward" for crashing, no death count, the flight will just stop being tracked and no report will be shown.
14. **PAX aren't aware of everything**. They don't care for delays, they don't care if you don't follow ATC's instructions, they don't
know you have only 5 minutes of fuel left, they don't fear approaching storms, they don't care for lights... Implementing some of those would make
the simulation way too complex and less compatible with other software.
15. **PAX are smart:** they always wear their seat belts, no matter what cockpit switch you flip or not. Smart or overly anxious, your call.
16. **PAX are resentful**. They won't forget any mistake you made, and once they've panicked they won't bother you with mundane concerns anymore. At least until next flight.
Perhaps they're not *that* resentful, as they might just forgive you and give you another chance later and even a positive review.
17. **No parachuting... yet?** Your PAX expect to land WITH the plane. You could interrupt the flight while still in
mid-air but landings are a big part of the evaluation process and as such it could impact negatively your experience. Will
probably implemented in a future update, though.
Your average city-dwellers are more sensitive than bush trip travelers on some of those points. The number of passengers
also has an influence on some.
## Installation
Just unzip the archive in a folder of your choice. pax4props does **NOT** need to be installed in your Community folder
(and it might even have a negative impact if you do install it there).
**dotnet 4.7.2 required**
## Usage
1. Launch pax4props and MSFS (the order shouldn't matter).
2. Set the number of passengers on board, both in pax4props and MSFS. Weight doesn't have an influence. For reference,
Wikipedia states that *"Average adult human weight varies by continent from about 60 kg (130 lb) in Asia and Africa to about 80 kg (180 lb) in North America, with men on average weighing more than women. "*
3. Choose between regular flight and bush trip. Regular allows higher scores but require more finesse. "Bush PAX" are more resilient,
but the harsh conditions take a toll on their morale. You should definitely consider selecting it when flying to or from high altitudes airports, though.
Selecting "Bush trip" but flying from and to long runways with easy departures and approaches could otherwise be seen as cheating but who am I to judge you?
4. When the plane is ready and not already airborne, click the "Start flight" button and fly.
5. When you have landed (preferably after taxiing to the ramp/parking/gate, click on "End flight" and read the flight
report.
The number of passengers and type of flight are saved between sessions for an even shorter/lazier setup.
No interaction is needed during the flight. You might hear them voice their concern or awe. You can also check their current status/mood by alt-tabbing to the pax4props
window during flight. There's no plan to implement a permanent visual overlay, for realism purposes: checking on them is a distraction and a possible danger. Focus on your
flying. They will let you know when they're really scared or angry.
## Roadmap
Planned features, without any guarantee or timeline:
1. Taking sim rate into account?
2. Profiles
3. Statistics
4. Export data
5. Parachuting (for the passengers only. You will have to stay on board).
6. Helicopters?
7. URGENT: group voices
8. Language selection for voices?
9. more voiced reactions?
10. Automatic detection of PAX aboard plane. Might not always work for some third-party aircraft though.
11. Themes?
## Contributing
Anyone can help the project grow, even without any apparent skill.
1. **Submit bug reports.** Tell me what you did, what you expected, and what you got instead.
2. **Submit language corrections.** English is my second language (French is the first if you want to know) and while I've been consuming a lot of media in English
for a few decades now my grammar skills are still far from perfect. So please do correct me. Just keep in mind that most of the "PAX quotes" are supposed to be colloquial language,
and they may contain common errors.
3. **Submit your own voice files.** You don't need high-end recording equipment for that, they will be played at a relatively low volume in a noisy environment. Try to minimize
background noises. No birds chirping or cars honking behind you.
They should contain no specifics, keep in mind they should be compatible with all kind of planes and locations in the world. And keep them short.
4. **Submit suggestions and feature requests.** Keep in mind the core principles above.
5. **Talk about it.** Publicity, yay!
6. **Just tell me that you like it.** Yeah it helps.
The project is hosted on GitHub: https://github.com/fwisard/pax4props
## Credits
- Based on [minisimconnect](https://github.com/bertrandpsi/minisimconnect) by bertrandpsi.
- Panic screams by [Volonda](https://freesound.org/people/Volonda/).
- Additional code and art by fwisard.
## Licensing
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
Pity this addon isn't developed anymore... Can you confirm?
1 years ago
MiljuDelem
Using it since several months now, and I could fly without it!
what is the difference between the number of stars and the numeric score?
2 years ago
Thanks a lot for your support! Not many people have heard of it, I should be more active with promotion but I kind of hate that.
A score over 95 should give you 5 stars, 85-95 give 4 stars, 70-85 give 3 stars, 60-70 give 2 stars, and anything below 60 give 1 star.
2 years ago
INFP_ilot
MiljuDelem
excellent! keep up the good work!
3 years ago
MiljuDelem
looking forward to this i fly the dc6 a lot will be streaming the flight at https://fb.watch/7dLnJnmT9g/
3 years ago
Lhcfs2020
Very nice addon, Considering I mainly fly GA props.
3 years ago
Thank you, glad you enjoy it. I like the complex systems of the big jets, but I don't enjoy them as much once they're off the ground. Small planes are much more fun to me
3 years ago
INFP_ilot
starflexthe2nd
How well does this play with an increase in sim rate during cruise?
3 years ago
It does work with time compression but it rates your flying according to your real-time inputs. If the end-of-flight report says that you spent 3 minutes in turbulence, that means 3 actual minutes and that may correspond to 12 minutes of simulated time if you flew with 4x sim rate.
It would seem unfair to punish players at the sim rate they're using, and cruise flight isn't the part where you risk losing the most points
3 years ago
INFP_ilot
Bumblewoot
FIXED You may want to mention ...if I did not miss it... tha Media Player option need to ne installe. At least for me it fixed it.
This seems to be great, but for some reason, I can't get any sound.
3 years ago
Weird. Is there any error message when you launch the program?
3 years ago
INFP_ilot
fandre2044
This mod is amazing! I love how you've made a mod for PPL (Private Pilot License) pilots and the voices are a great addition, it's my first time seeing a pax simulator include voices, plus the review at the end of the flight is an added bonus. For me this is an amazing mod.
3 years ago
Thank you a lot for your kind words! I'm glad you find this addon useful. I'll add more sounds and features in the future
3 years ago
INFP_ilot
MatAviator
Can we have an option for pressurised or non-pressurised aircraft please - thinking of the TBM in particular.
3 years ago
I've added that option in the settings window
3 years ago
INFP_ilot
Simjockey
Looks great. however i seem to be having an issue. i always get a "Terrifying" one star flight, and it seems to be because the "engine is loud at high RPM" or something along those lines.
Can't seem to work out how to correct it in the Beechcraft G36, i even throtled all the way down to the speed of "if i was going any slower i'd fall out of the sky" and it still said my RPM was too high for the length of the entire flight.
3 years ago
Thank you very much for your feedback. I'm not used to the G36 but I've just flown a 40 minutes test flight with it and got a 3-stars rating (hard landing and too low an approach) without any sound-related complaint.
Are you sure you set your RPM to an appropriate value? The "noise simulation" in pax4props is based on the propeller speed, not the engine speed. The G36 checklist recommends a 2500 RPM setting for cruise climb and cruise. I was flying close to max speed, with the throttle (black) and propeller (blue) levers both at around 90%.
In any case, your report brings my attention to a potential issue: very noisy flights could cause 1-star ratings, but they shouldn't terrify the passengers. I will fix that for the next update.
3 years ago
INFP_ilot
DazzaJay
Really cool, idea, definitely a WIP but so far it's looking absolutely fantastic.
Here's two flights so far LOL
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/696805193190211614/859426717441851432/unknown.png?width=1329&height=663
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/696805193190211614/859422106827620362/unknown.png?width=1343&height=663
3 years ago
Thank you for the feedback, much appreciated! Well, I see an improvement in your second flight, it's a positive trend at least. Poor passengers. Fortunately, they're only virtual and they will happily fly again with you, no matter what they said.
I hope the many complaints and screams weren't too annoying. They're not optimized towards... "heavy usage" shall we say and are more a reminder that you should correct your flying ASAP.
3 years ago
INFP_ilot
FergusST_SDSims
I really love the whole concept! It made my day to be honest. Its nice to see somebody else shares the same opinions when it comes to the weaknesses of current career based add-ons. If there is anything I can do to help assist you making your dream a reality, I'd be honored to help. If the goal is to simulate reality, perhaps some of the unknown and less glamourous aspects of a young pilot's life can be reflected. For example: hauling cargo half the night and then being responsible for reinstalling all the seats back for your passengers without assistance... you know the same seats you removed the night before to fit the cargo. The troubles of being the pilot and the stewardess for your passengers. How your airline won't pay for your travel so you need to rent a studio apartment near your airport where you share your bed with another pilot to split the rent. Submarines are not the only place where your bed is still warm from the last person who slept in it. I think you might be able to handle all those details with the same tongue in cheek good humor you used in your description. Best of luck with this!
3 years ago
Thank you for your comments! I have plenty of ideas for a mission / career generator but it would be a separate program or component as I don't intend pax4props to compete with the already available options. I have tested and can recommend "NeoFly" ( https://www.neofly.net/ ), but there are other programs as well.
My goal is compatibility with many gaming styles. Some pilots have their own scenarios and just want virtual passengers. Some may use it with a virtual airline or another career addon.
That being said, I might just add optional features of course.
3 years ago
INFP_ilot
C0SM0S
Very cool idea. I've suggested something similar to be built into MSFS (a basic flight quality rating system) to the developers, but you know how such ideas go on their support forum.
I know this is a very early build, but here are a few comments, and suggestions.
Great concept, and I expect to be using this a lot.
PS: I did get the desired result when I did a barrel roll, LOL!
3 years ago
Thank you for your feedback! The first two issues are definitely related, I'll investigate that ASAP.
I wanted the passengers' reactions to be "as real as it gets", so the lack of detailed feedback while you're flying is a design choice but I might implement an option to enable more details, as I agree it would be helpful.
The PAX don't always voice their concerns and you just try to read their state of mind. They seemed bored but were probably just tense. Or they were expecting a more entertaining storm, who knows, they might have been storm chasers? I'll have a look at the code, maybe "bored" shouldn't apply in such situations...
3 years ago
INFP_ilot
Dready1906
First Flight Report, nailed it:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/754776056359288922/859218634865901588/unknown.png
3 years ago
My best friend is trying to convince me to put vomit effects in, but I just can't see myself hunting for those sounds and testing them at the moment. I'm sure your passengers would have used such a feature though, but you know what they say: any landing you can walk off is a successful one!
3 years ago
INFP_ilot
SBingham