Fsds
Encyclopedia
Flight Simulator Design Studio (FSDS) is a computer design program intended solely for the design, creation, and animation of aircraft and scenery objects for Microsoft Flight Simulator
. It is published by Abacus.
Airport For Windows.
Version 2 streamlined the various versions down to one, which was capable of creating both scenery and aircraft objects. The most popular release at this stage was version 2.24, which was the last version made available for about three years.
Version 3 added support for aircraft created for Flight Simulator 2004, which entailed compiling the project using a tool provided by Microsoft
named MakeMdl. The use of MakeMdl was a significant change for many FSDS users who had to get used to the new method instead of the previous way of just clicking a button and the program doing the compilation. Version 3 also removed support for scenery objects for ASD and Airport For Windows. Scenery objects were compiled as a model along with an XML
file. Users would edit the contents of the XML file to contain the desired co-ordinates of latitude
and longitude
, heading, range and other characteristics. Version 3 also included for the first time a very crude implementation of boolean operation
s.
When Flight Simulator X was released, Abacus's web site promised an update that would be made available within a few months, at a reduced price for those who already owned a valid copy of the software. They later revised this statement saying that the update would be available at no charge, but it took the better part of a year before FSDS 3.5 came out. Version 3.51 came out shortly after to correct some issues with the program.
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Microsoft Flight Simulator is a series of flight simulator programs for the Microsoft Windows operating system, although it was marketed as a video game. It is one of the longest-running, best-known and most comprehensive home flight simulator series...
. It is published by Abacus.
History
Version 1 of FSDS came in two flavours, standard and advanced. The standard edition allowed for the creation of scenery objects only, while the advanced version also allowed for the creation of aircraft. The scenery objects could be compiled as separate scenery files (files which use the .bgl extension in Flight Simulator) or to be compatible with Abacus's scenery design program ASD or for use in the freewareFreeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
Airport For Windows.
Version 2 streamlined the various versions down to one, which was capable of creating both scenery and aircraft objects. The most popular release at this stage was version 2.24, which was the last version made available for about three years.
Version 3 added support for aircraft created for Flight Simulator 2004, which entailed compiling the project using a tool provided by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
named MakeMdl. The use of MakeMdl was a significant change for many FSDS users who had to get used to the new method instead of the previous way of just clicking a button and the program doing the compilation. Version 3 also removed support for scenery objects for ASD and Airport For Windows. Scenery objects were compiled as a model along with an XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
file. Users would edit the contents of the XML file to contain the desired co-ordinates of latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
and longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
, heading, range and other characteristics. Version 3 also included for the first time a very crude implementation of boolean operation
Boolean operation
Boolean operation or Boolean operator may refer to one of the following related meanings.*Boolean function*an operation in a Boolean algebra; in particular:**operations over the algebra of sets: union , intersection , etc....
s.
When Flight Simulator X was released, Abacus's web site promised an update that would be made available within a few months, at a reduced price for those who already owned a valid copy of the software. They later revised this statement saying that the update would be available at no charge, but it took the better part of a year before FSDS 3.5 came out. Version 3.51 came out shortly after to correct some issues with the program.