Not the FAQ

This is neither an official FAQ, nor are (most of) the suggestions mandatory.They are sure recommended, but only by me, not necessarily the FlightGear project. Also, most of this is thought for use under Linux-like operating systems, but not necessarily wrong for MICROS~1 or OSX.

Where to install executables

FlightGear doesn't really care where its executables are installed. But there's not much choice either: Distributors install to /usr/ (--prefix=/usr), administrators install to /usr/local/ (--prefix=/usr/local), and mere users install to ~/. Period. If you are installing it on your private machine, you are clearly the administrator. The same prefix is to be used for OpenAL, plib, and SimGear.

Where to install the base data

FlightGear data are architecture independent, and hence belong to a share/ directory. Distributor: /usr/share/FlightGear/, administrator: /usr/local/share/FlightGear/. The latter is also the default path hardcoded in the executable. In any case, set the FG_ROOT environment variable in ~/.bashrc, or ~/.profile, so that other applications can find the data, too, and ambiguities are avoided:

export FG_ROOT=/usr/local/share/FlightGear

Where to install additional scenery

Scenery is by default assumed in $FG_ROOT/Scenery/. Although it is tempting to put additional scenery there, too: don't! Keep additional scenery or other data separated from default data as far as possible. You can put additional scenery anywhere. Just tell FlightGear where it is:

export FG_SCENERY=$FG_HOME/Scenery:$FG_ROOT/Scenery:$FG_ROOT/WorldScenery

FlightGear searches in each path of this list, from the first to the last until it finds the scenery data it needs. Note that FG_HOME is not used and required by FlightGear. But it's a good idea to introduce this additional environment variable to define a place where user specific addons and configuration files are (to be) stored. One obvious setting is:

export FG_HOME=$HOME/.fgfs

$FG_HOME/Scenery/{Terrain,Objects}/ is a good place for user specific scenery, such as for hangars for your local airport and such. This is the first path in $FG_SCENERY, so it takes precedence over any other source. Leave it away if you don't need it.

Next in the path is the default scenery. It is used whenever you are in the San Francisco Bay area (and don't override it in your $FG_HOME/Scenery/). Don't put anything in this directory! This is entirely reserved for »official« scenery. It contains all the nice SF Bay Area objects, so it shall have precedence over the next path:

$FG_ROOT/WorldScenery/{Terrain,Objects}/ is an acceptable place for the FlightGear administrator to install additional scenery for the whole system (i.e. for all users). If the data came from a distributor (and are therefore not in /usr/local/), then you put them of course into /usr/local/share/FlightGear/Scenery/.

But I do still get only sea!?

For each of the scenery paths (no matter if it's the default path, or paths defined via FG_SCENERY or --fg-scenery) consider the following rule: If the directory contains either a subdirectory ./Terrain/ or a subdirectory ./Objects/ or both, then FlightGear will only search scenery in these subdirectories, but not in the directory itself. This bites people who dump additional scenery into $FG_ROOT/Scenery/. Not only is this the wrong directory (because, remember: we don't put anything into $FG_ROOT/Scenery/), it is also ignored there, because the default scenery directory has the two subdirectories $FG_ROOT/Scenery/Terrain/ and $FG_ROOT/Scenery/Objects/.

Where to get additional scenery

Whole scenery tiles

can be found here: http://www.flightgear.org/Downloads/scenery.html Use the convenient »Graphical Interface« Unpack the downloaded *.tar.gz archives in $FG_ROOT/WorldScenery/Terrain/, e.g.: $ tar -xzf e010n40.tar.gz

TerraSync

Another, elegant way is to use terrasync. It downloads/updates the required scenery just in time and as you fly. The following script sets it up to write to the path suggested above. The port number is arbitrary.

#!/bin/bash
PORT=5503
nice terrasync -p $PORT -d $FG_ROOT/WorldScenery/Terrain&
fgfs --atlas=socket,out,1,localhost,$PORT,udp $*
killall terrasync

There's only one weird property: if terrasync downloaded scenery for your starting airport, this scenery isn't immediately used. You either have to restart fgfs or to teleport away (Set Aircraft Postition) and back. Or you fly (quite) a while and then return.

Where to get additional buildings & other objects

Additional scenery objects can be downloaded here: http://fgfsdb.stockill.org/ There's a graphical interface like for the scenery and a description for how and where to install the downloaded archives. The »generic objects« package goes to $FG_ROOT/Models/ and the various archives (e010n40.tar.gz etc.) go to $FG_ROOT/WorldScenery/Objects/.

Joystick under Linux

Kernel side

Gameport

USB

jstest

jscal

http://sourceforge.net/cvs/?group_id=3063
check out "ruby" module; jscal source code in ruby/utils/

KDE's calibrator

$ kcmshell Peripherals/Joystick     # calls kcontrol's joystick tab

FlightGear side

js_demo

$ js_demo

$ fgfs --log-level=info 2>&1|awk '!/^  /{i=0}/^Looking for/{i=1}//{if(i)print}'
Looking for bindings for joystick "SAITEK CYBORG 3D USB"
  Trying "Analog 4-axis 4-button joystick"
  j
  Trying "SAITEK CYBORG 3D USB"
  Found bindings