FlightGear - open-source flight simulator - new version, current build...

[mikewalsh]

Morning, gang.

Now then; here's something a little bit different, that I think some of you just might enjoy. Here, in 'portable' format, is the

FlightGear

.....open-source flight simulator, from:-

https://www.flightgear.org/

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I didn't even know there was anything like this available for Linux..! A few of my acquaintances who dual-boot with Windows use MyCrudSoft's own Flight Simulator. I came across this while scanning through one of the annual "awards" threads over at LinuxQuestions.org; it was listed in the "Best Open-Source Games of 2022" category.

"A-ha", I thought. "Looks interesting..." I tracked it down with DuckDuckGo, and as luck would have it, one of the download options was an AppImage. So I grabbed a copy, and tried it out in Fossapup64. Hey presto! it fired straight up.....but this is where it gets a wee bit painful!

It turns out you have to download a separate "data pack" tarball, containing scenery, backdrops, interiors, etc, etc, without which it won't run. This "data pack" is 1.8 GB in size!!

You can, however, put this anywhere you want, since the very first thing it asks you to do after launching is to point it at the data files. Once you've extracted the tarball to a suitable location - you'll end up with a directory called "fgdata" - and pointed the app at it, you can move the portable around the system, and it'll still find them.

So; I'm going to leave the choice for this up to you guys & gals. If you fancy trying this out, you're going to need the data pack. I won't supply this, and force a humungous download onto anyone; what I will instead do is to link y'all to the direct download:-

FlightGear "data pack"

Thus, the decision is yours, messieurs et mesdames..!

(I'm not in the least bit surprised, TBH; something like this is going to need a fair bit of data anyway; the planes list alone covers everything from a lightweight Cessna, through cargo planes & airliners, all the way up to the majestic 747. Then there's location data for many of the world's major airports; flight simulation data; weather-report engines & data.....the list goes on. In all honesty, it compares quite favourably with the colossal downloads for many current AAA titles, some of which can easily exceed 15-20 GB!)

It runs straight-off under Fossapup; I'll be trying it out with a few other Puppies, and will report back as to success (or otherwise).

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If anyone fancies having a go with this thing, you can find the download here:-

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/xo6po1 ... FlightGear

I've included the "How-to" manual with this, in PDF format.....nearly another 20 MB, I'm afraid, but I think it may be necessary. This thing's, um, complicated....

As always; d/l - unzip - move the portable directory anywhere you like, though preferably outside the 'save'. Click to enter, click 'LAUNCH' to fire it up. For better system integration, you can use the supplied scripts to add or remove a Menu entry, if required.

There remains but one thing to say. Have fun, y'all!

Mike.

[April]

Excellent program .Runs well in xenialpup64-7.5
MD5 sums matched
Big download of data file
Think I am still on the ground?
Oh well, lots of reading to do.

Good stuff Mike.

[mikewalsh]

@April :-

Glad you like it. I've been "tinkering" with it, on & off, for a few days now; half-an-hour here, half-an-hour there, though I honestly don't have the amount of time to spare that this sort of thing really NEEDS.....especially if one intends to eventually apply that knowledge and actually get it running.

Please report back - if you would! - and let us know how successful, or otherwise, your attempts prove to be. Thanks.

Mike.

[ndujoe2]

I downloaded the appImage and data file and extracted the data file in a place i desired.

I put the flightgear appimage in the root directory. I have give permissions to run.

I clicked it but now discernable action.

My other appimage operate ok.

So if it has an issue how to I see any error messages that are generated?

Thanks.

I am using Bionicpup64 with 8 gb of ram, and Nvidai 430 card.

[mikewalsh]

@ndujoe2 :-

TBH, I doubt you'll be able to get it running in Bionicpup64. I don't know how April got it running under Xenialpup64, because for me it won't run in either Puppy.

The only Puppy it will run in for me is Fossapup64.

The problem for Bionicpup64 is that FlightGear's included Qt5 libs conflict with those installed in Bionicpup64 OOTB, by default. FlightGear complains bitterly about a "version mis-match", throws a tantrum & refuses point-blank to come out and play.

I stripped the AppImage down with "--appimage-extract" to see what could be done that way.....

---------------------------------------------------------------------

I've tried using "LD_LIBRARY_PATH". The terminal just looks back at you with a blank face..... and doesn't actually do anything.

I've tried "export LD_PRELOAD". It WILL start, but only from the terminal.....and ONLY in Xenialpup64. If you try to start it from the 'LAUNCH' script, it goes into a sulk and refuses to play ball.

Nothing you can do will persuade it to 'play nice' and run in Bionicpup64. It's those built-in Qt5 libs, every time; it just doesn't want to know.

It wasn't for lack of trying. Sorry!

Mike.

[ndujoe2]

oh, thanks for the investigation, knowledge, and explanation. I will quit wil I am ahead

I always thought the Qt5 thing was a bit top heavy or many applications. It was the ruination of Teamviewer imo.

[mikewalsh]

Afternoon, kids.

Okay; here's the current, up-to-date build of FlightGear-portable. I say "new"; no, it's not NEW (it's around 15 months old, actually!).....but it's newer than the available build linked-to in post #1.

Now; here's the rub. As-is, you have to download a large data file in order that the thing will run (around 3GB); I didn't realise this was compulsory when I first posted about this last year. Without this, it doesn't want to know. AND - this is the annoying bit - if you've been running the older version, the current version will not work with the data directory from the old build. Which means downloading it all again.

So; what I've done is to include the "fgdata" data directory WITH this package. Makes the download about 2 GB or so, but if you want to run the newer version you would have no choice but to download it again anyway. So with the aid of .xz compression, I've saved y'all around a gig of bandwidth by doing it this way.....

I've also re-written the launcher to utilise the XDG desktop protocol stuff, so it now creates and uses its configuration files from within the portable directory at all times. With the inclusion of the 'fgdata' directory, this keeps the entire thing self-contained.

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I DO think it's worth the data download. Having played around with it for a while now, this is THE premier free & opensource flight simulator it's possible to get your sticky paws on. And since I didn't mention this before, I will do so now; requirements might be a bit steep for some of you with older hardware:-

• Minimum recommended RAM is 8 GB

• It's around 3-and-a- bit GB unpacked, so outside the 'save' is a must.....make sure you place it somewhere you've got plenty of free space

• Although it will run on a modern CPU's built-in graphics, a separate, discrete card IS recommended.....with at least 2 GB of VRAM, preferably more

• When you start it for the first time, and it wants a location for the data files, make sure to point it AT the included "fgdata" directory.....this bit WILL require a 'full $PATH'

All that aside, it's bloody good fun if you like this kinda thing, so.....enjoy!

The download link in post #1 is now changed to MediaFire, thus it shouldn't give too many problems for most of you.

Mike.