Livewire Flight Repackager

Download links are at the bottom of the page. Please read this entire page before attempting to use Livewire Flight Repackager.

Livewire Flight Repackager (LWFR) is a utility for converting Livewire FS2004 flight packages into basic FSX flight/mission packages. Additionally, it has functionality that may make it usable as a long-term tool for batch processing of mission changes.

Features

• Converts Livewire FS2004 flight packages to FSX mission packages. (Currently, helicopter flights are not supported.)
• Missions are completely configurable through the modification of a template. The default template will be a simple takeoff/land mission. Rewards can likewise be implemented with the template.
• LWFR can override the starting gate position so that aircraft will start in a safe and appropriate location in FSX.
• LWFR maintains a database of GUIDs so that multiple conversions of the same flight will retain the same GUIDs. (Necessary for the FSX mission system.)
• LWFR generates and populates the directory structure it uses, so setup is very easy.

Missions vs. Flights

LWFR is designed primarily around making packages for FSX's mission system. The intent is to make these very basic takeoff/land missions the nearest analogue to our flight packages from FS2004 and earlier. However, LWFR also generates flight files for the basic free-flight and MP systems (which I will subsequently refer to as SFS for "simple flight systems"). Unfortunately, the flight files for SFS must be unzipped to My Documents\Flight Simulator X Files\ which is impossible when unzipping to the root of FSX. Additionally the SFS .FLT file must be in a slightly different format than the .FLT file for the mission system.

To handle this, LWFR creates two sets of files in the package. The packages are designed to put the mission files into <FSX>\Missions\<division name>\ and to put the SFS files into <FSX>\LivewireFlights\. These files can then be easily moved by the user to My Documents\Flight Simulator X Files\. Pilots who fly MP are generally sophisticated PC users and should be able to handle this easily.

However, LWFR also includes an optional feature to make the moving of these files easier. If a batch file is found in AdditionalFiles\BatchMover\ (a functioning batch file for this purpose is included with LWFR) it will be copied to the root of the .zip package. After unpacking one or more flight packages, the pilot can then simply run the batch file and it will determine the location of My Documents\Flight Simulator X Files\ and automatically move the SFS files to that location.

Folder Structure

The meaning of the various folders in the default folder structure are as follows:

• AdditionalFiles - (optional) Any files in this folder will automatically be copied to every output package.
  • Livewire - (optional) Any files in this folder will automatically be copied to every output package when the Division Droplist is set to Livewire.
  • EuroLivewire - (optional) Any files in this folder will automatically be copied to every output package when the Division Droplist is set to EuroLivewire.
  • LivewireExpress - (optional) Any files in this folder will automatically be copied to every output package when the Division Droplist is set to LivewireExpress.
  • AeroLivewire - (optional) Any files in this folder will automatically be copied to every output package when the Division Droplist is set to AeroLivewire.
  • BatchMover - (optional) If a batch file (.bat) exists in this folder, then it will be copied to the root of the .zip package.
• Input - All Livewire FS2004 flight packages to be converted should be placed in this folder. (NOTE: Helicopter flights will be safely ignored)
• Intermediate - This folder should remain empty. It is used during the conversion process by LWFR.
• Output - All converted FSX mission packages will be placed in this folder by LWFR. (WARNING: This folder is automatically emptied each time a new conversion is begun)
• Template&DBs - This folder contains various settings files and databases, such as template.xml, flights.txt, and gates.txt.

Special Files

• template.xml - This is a specially modified FSX mission XML file. It contains certain special template variables (see below) that should, in general, not be moved or modified. Otherwise, modification of this file allows for changing any aspect of the mission. The default template.xml will contain a basic takeoff/land mission.
• gates.txt - This text file is in INI format. I should contain the necessary [SimVar.0] values for an aircraft parked safely at a FSX airport gate for the origin airports in every input package. When an airport is found in gates.txt that matches the original airport in the flight being converted, the [SimVar.0] values are overwritten by the FSX-safe start values. If the airport is not found in gates.txt then the original FS2004 starting location is retained.
• flights.txt - This text file is a tab-delimited table. In general, it should not be modified by hand. Most importantly, it permanently associates the two mission GUIDs necessary for mission creation with each flight. This way, on subsequent conversions of the same flight, that flight will be assigned the same two mission GUIDs. If the flight is not found in flights.txt then new GUIDs will be generated each time a conversion is run. (This is bad because it will prevent the completion and reward systems from tracking the flight correctly.)
• Z-MoveLivewireFlights.bat - (optional) This tiny batch utility, when included, is put into the root of the .zip package. One extracted it will be found in the root folder of FSX. When run, it will detect the location of My Documents\Flight Simulator X Files\ and move the contents of <FSX>\LivewireFlights\ into it. The "Z-" at the beginning to is ensure that the file rest at the bottom of the folder listing, thereby making it easier to spot after copying flight packages there.

Mission XML Template Variables

• [!!!FLIGHT_TITLE!!!] - File Title from .FLT (e.g. Livewire Flight 4279 CYXX-CYVR)
• [!!!FLIGHT_DESCRIPTION!!!] - [Main] Description= value from .FLT file (e.g. "Short-hop IFR in a Dehavilland Dash-8 from...")
• [!!!DESTINATION_ICAO!!!] - ICAO of destination airport (e.g. CYVR)
• [!!!DIVISION_GUID!!!] - Livewire division-specific GUID
• [!!!DIVISION_NAME!!!] - Livewire division name (e.g. AeroLivewire)
• [!!!DIVISION_ABBREVIATION!!!] - Livewire division abbreviation (e.g. EL)
• [!!!FLIGHT_GUID_1!!!] - First flight-specific GUID obtained from flights.txt
• [!!!FLIGHT_GUID_2!!!] - Second flight-specific GUID obtained from flights.txt

Step-by-step Instructions

1. Unpack the contents of the downloaded file to an empty folder.
2. Launch LWFlightRepackager.exe.
3. Press the Create Folder Structure button.
4. Select any directory to build the necessary folder structure. It should either be an empty folder or the folder from which LWFR is being run. Press OK.
5. All Edit Boxes should be filled in automatically.
6. Set the Division Droplist to the appropriate division. (NOTE: LWFR can only perform batch conversions on the files of one division at a time)
7. Make sure that template.xml, flights.txt, and gates.txt all contain the needed information.
8. Put any number of Livewire FS2004 flight packages into the Input folder.
9. Press the Process button to begin conversion.
10. All completed FSX mission packages will be deposited in the Output folder.

Notes

• Currently there is no plan to support helicopter flights. It is well within my power to add such support, but Jer felt that helicopter flights should probably have individual attention to their mission development anyways. There are approximately 50 helicopter flights airline-wide. If there is a call for it, I can add helicopter flight support.

Screenshot

Download

Most recent release shown in bold type. 'B' signifies a "beta" version.

No download is currently available.Self-Extracting RAR Executable
LWFlightRepackager-v0.1.40.0B.exe
LWFlightRepackager-v0.1.39.0B.exe

Compressed RAR Archive
LWFlightRepackager-v0.1.40.0B.rar
LWFlightRepackager-v0.1.39.0B.rar

Compressed ZIP Archive
LWFlightRepackager-v0.1.40.0B.zip
LWFlightRepackager-v0.1.39.0B.zip