FS Design Studio




Tech Support Information Page

Our tech support staff receives many emails and phone calls each day.

This section of our website is our way of making their answers easily accessible.

You may also want to visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.

If you don't find an answer to your question here or the F.A.Q. page, please send your question to our staff.

 

Questions to our Tech Support Staff

  1. I have an AFX files made with Aircraft Factory. Can I "import" this AFX into FS Design Studio?
     
  2. I made a building and converted it to SCASM to use with ASD. In FS2000, I'm unable to see the object until I'm 200 feet from it. Then it suddenly appears. What is the problem?
  3. When I start FS Design Studio PRO, I get an error message "DirectX error (80070057): DirectX initialization error. Solid rendering will not be available." Why am I getting this message and how do I fix this?
  4. I'd like to use FS Design Studio PRO with Windows 2000. Are there any compatibility problems?
  5. Is there additional tutorial information on making aircraft with FS Design Studio?
  6. When starting FS Design Studio PRO I'm getting a Direct-X initialization failure? What can I do about it?



Answers from our Tech Support Staff

  1. Q. I have an AFX file made with Aircraft Factory. Can I "import" this AFX into FS Design Studio?

    A. Yes. If you're using FS Design Studio V1.4 or higher, use the AFX Import plug-in converts AFX files into the native *.fsc format.

    Please keep in mind that conversion from an Aircraft Facotry model is not 100% assured. This means that you may have edit the converted model to achieve the same visual appearance.


  2. Q. I made a building and converted it to SCASM to use with ASD. In FS2000, I'm unable to see the object until I'm 200 feet from it. Then it suddenly appears. What is the problem?
     
    A. The Reference Point scale factor is set to .02 by default. This implies that any object will disappear at about 650 meters from the viewpont. This value is used for aircraft.
     
    For a building, try changing the value to 1 by selecting File | Project Properties and typing the new value in the "Reference Point" Scale edit box.
     
    You can change the default Refpoint scale factor by editing the Defaults.cfg file in the main FSDS directory. There's no "perfect" value for the default. For each project, pick the largest scale factor that won't distort your scenery object when generated. This can be tested on a part by part basis with the 'Part/Snap to Scale' command.
     
  3. Q. When I start FS Design Studio PRO, I get an error message "DirectX error (80070057): DirectX initialization error. Solid rendering will not be available." Why am I getting this message and how do I fix this?

    A. There are a few reasons why you see this error message:

    a. One possibility is that your video card does not have enough video memory to perform solid rendering. Video cards with 8 MB or less of video memory may not be able to perform solid rendering. In this case,
    FS Design Studio will revert to a safe mode. It will run a non-Direct-X version of FS Design Studio that will still allow you to design objects; however, you can view your designs in wireframe mode only. We recommend a video card with 16MB of video memory.

    b. Another possibility is that your computer is not using the latest version of Direct X.
    FS Design Studio requires Direct-X7a. You can download this from Microsoft's website:

    http://www.microsoft.com/directx/homeuser/downloads/default.asp

    c. A third possibility is that your display settings are too high for
    FS Design Studio. If you are using Direct-X7a and have a video card with sufficient memory, the problem may be with you computer's display settings. FS Design Studio can run on some systems using True Color (32bit) mode. However other systems work only in High Color (16bit) mode. You can change your monitor display settings through the computer's Control Panel.

    Go to START | SETTINGS | CONTROL PANEL

    Double click on DISPLAY and go to SETTINGS

    Change the Display setting from True Color (32bit) to High Color (16bit). Restart your computer and restart
    FS Design Studio.


  4. Q. I'd like to use FS Design Studio PRO with Windows 2000. Are there any compatibility problems?

    A. Yes, with the initial release. However beginning with FS Design Studio version 1.4, FSDS is Windows 2000 compatible.


  5. Q. Is there additional tutorial information on making aircraft with FS Design Studio PRO?

    A. Yes. Ron Anderson has put together a comprehensive 4-part tutorial that supplements the material in the
    FS Design Studio User's Guide. Click here to view Ron's tutorial.

  6. When starting FS Design Studio I'm getting a Direct-X initialization failure? What can I do about it?

    When you see the Direct-X Error message, click OK.

    On your Taskbar (next to the Start button), you'll see a task button named "FS Design - Untitled". Right-click on this task button and choose Maximize from the pop-up menu. This will take you to the program.

    Most likely, you'll notice that you are unable to use the solid (perspective) view. Close FS Design Studio (File | Exit from the menu) and immediately restart it again. FS Design Studio will start without error and you'll be able to use the solid view.

    To prevent this from reoccuring, we recommend that you set your desktop to 16-bit color (not 16-color, but 16-bit color). Do this by right-clicking on an empty portion of your Desktop and choosing
    Properties from the pop-up menu. Click the Settings tab. From the drop-down control, set the Desktop Color Depth to 16-bit, click the Apply button and then OK.


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