Tacview, the ACMI for DCS World – Official Thread

[Vyrtuoz]

 Tacview 1.8.7 is out!

Download: https://tacview.net/download

I know, I know, it’s been a while since a new stable build of Tacview has been released! This is because I am working a lot on Tacview 2, plus I wanted to implement as many of your requests as possible in this 1.8.7 release. It is hard to know when to stop.

At last, everybody can now enjoy more than six months of updates for all simulators as well as real-life flights including new 3D models, new maps, new weapons, improved exporters, improved importers, more accurate telemetry numbers in all phases of flight, new visual options, and more options for dedicated servers.

This year, Tacview was notably used for Volfa 21 debriefings (a French / NATO military exercise spanning several weeks). Following the exercise, we have implemented a multitude of little fixes and improvements which will benefit everybody concerning stability and ergonomics for tactical debriefings. Other improvements, which require more (re)work of the code, will be integrated later in Tacview 2.

This new version also brings native ADS-B radio signal recording via a USB dongle and an antenna! Which means that you can now see flights taking place over your head, without any Internet connection or ADS-B server account. This first implementation will be improved depending on how popular this tool will be.

The terrain engine has also been pushed to its limits to display even more detailed textures and elevation data. Four times more accurate than before, to be specific. Pushing the engine so much revealed several display bugs (high frequency noise, holes, junction errors…) which have been fixed in this version. The framerate should remain similar to previous versions of Tacview. It is only when you are providing high-resolution textures for specific places, that (a lot) more memory and CPU will be required.

All the best from Vyrtuoz & BuzyBee

 

FEATURES & CHANGES

• ADDED support for real-time ADS-B radio telemetry
• ADDED anticipatory trails
• ADDED option to choose between IAS, CAS, TAS in cockpit view (when possible)
• ADDED option to display or not objects names and labels in the 3D view
• ADDED support for more KML files
• ADDED support for FlySight GPS files
• ADDED support for DCS: Marianas map
• ADDED support for DCS: Mi-24P Hind
• ADDED new DCS World Syria Map and Channel Map runways
• ADDED textures for DCS: Persian Gulf Map
• ADDED Aegean theater of operations v3.0 for BMS 4.35.2
• ADDED Kuwait theater of operations for BMS 4.35.1
• ADDED MidEast theater of operations for BMS 4.35.2
• ADDED Nevada theater of operations 4.35.1 for BMS 4.35.2
• ADDED Taiwan theater of operations 4.35.3 for BMS 4.35.1
• ADDED support for new classes of objects in BMS theaters
• ADDED 4 additional audio/video media windows
• ADDED command line option /MaxFrameRate:xx to reduce CPU usage and power consumption
• ADDED more choices of auto-scale and labels size
• ADDED "tacviewExportPath" in options.lua so each instance of DCS World can record data in different directories

• IMPROVED renderer to use by default discrete GPU for 3D rendering instead of APU
• IMPROVED textures filtering thanks to anisotropic filtering x4
• IMPROVED maximum terrain resolution by a factor of 4
• IMPROVED terrain accuracy
• IMPROVED video playback is now done via Windows Enhanced Video Renderer
• IMPROVED event log weapon min/max range is now displayed till 5 seconds after time-out
• IMPROVED Time-Shift tool ergonomics
• IMPROVED Track Injector ergonomics
• IMPROVED EAG files support
• IMPROVED only global waypoints are now listed in objects lists
• IMPROVED Korea & Balkans database and terrain for BMS 4.35.2
• IMPROVED max frame rate is now limited to 120 instead of 200
• IMPROVED cost lines and underwater terrain for custom elevation maps
• IMPROVED buildings can now fire shells/bullets (but this will not be displayed in the log)
• IMPROVED it is now possible to merge static/dynamic data with real-time recorded telemetry
• IMPROVED Facebook and Twitter icons are now gone when using an enterprise license
• IMPROVED shot log colors are now inverted to better show what is coming next
• IMPROVED roll and pitch are now ignored in satellite view for a clearer picture of the battlefield

FIXES

• FIXED crash when running out of memory during custom texture loading
• FIXED rare crash when streaming real-time telemetry
• FIXED rare memory leak for some errors in Lua addons
• FIXED corruption on exit which could cause random UI layout on next startup
• FIXED random mouse jumps during camera rotation
• FIXED 3D view would rotate forever to the right after locking the session with [WIN+L]
• FIXED AOA & AOS calculation during heavy g-force turns
• FIXED course vector was showing future instead of present
• FIXED file-save command was disabled during real-time telemetry
• FIXED invalid objects selection after removing an object from the world
• FIXED grey scale and color adaptive modes were not working anymore for terrain textures
• FIXED objects list not updated after editing object name/type/color
• FIXED events not always updated after reloading a log (Event Log addon)
• FIXED Telemetry.Clear() was disconnecting the real-time telemetry
• FIXED not possible to go under water with the free camera in most maps
• FIXED SRTM30 loading not working properly since Tacview 1.8.4
• FIXED "random" holes in terrain

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by Vyrtuoz

[Burt]

Thanks for the update ! I’m starting to use Tacview again it’s such an awesome program. I have a question about the red dotted lines in front of the jet , what is this and how do I disable it. 

[BuzyBee]

13 minutes ago, Burt said:

Thanks for the update ! I’m starting to use Tacview again it’s such an awesome program. I have a question about the red dotted lines in front of the jet , what is this and how do I disable it. 

Hi, red dotted line is heading, enable/disable it through the Display Selected Objects Vectors button: 

 

[Burt]

Yeah that’s what I thought and I unchecked it but it was still showing. I will retest this evening. 
Thanks!

[BuzyBee]

15 minutes ago, Burt said:

Yeah that’s what I thought and I unchecked it but it was still showing. I will retest this evening. 
Thanks!

Okay, if that doesn't work please share your ACMI file and a screenshot. Maybe it is something else I am not thinking of.

[Burt]

Sure will thank you !

[Burt]

Yup that did it for the heading.! But this dotted line is still there. 

Edited December 8, 2021 by Burt

[BuzyBee]

16 hours ago, Burt said:

Yup that did it for the heading.! But this dotted line is still there. 

lol I don't know what that is. Can you please share your ACMI file?

[Burt]

Haha! no prob I’ll get it to you maybe this evening should I PM the file to you?

Thanks

[BuzyBee]

Just now, Burt said:

Haha! no prob I’ll get it to you maybe this evening should I PM the file to you?

Thanks

Sure, thanks!

[Burt]

Kinda wonder if it’s radar. But will check.

[BuzyBee]

Just now, Burt said:

Kinda wonder if it’s radar. But will check.

I was kinda wondering the same thing. If it's radar you can remove it with this button:

[SMN]

On 11/16/2021 at 1:56 AM, Vyrtuoz said:

 Tacview 1.8.7 is out!

 

 

 

 

How can I get a picture like that?
Tacview 1.8.7 64-bit Standart

Edited December 14, 2021 by SMN

[BuzyBee]

8 minutes ago, SMN said:

How can I get a picture like that?
Tacview 1.8.7 64-bit Standart

 

Here's how: https://tacview.fandom.com/wiki/Putting_together_custom_elevation_data_and_terrain_textures 

[BlackRook]

I cannot install TacView (1.3.8), downloaded from site today, install ran without any issues or popups.  DCS updated today also, OpenBeta, you can see versions in the screen shot.

I get an 'The following DLCs are not authorized and will be disabled:  Tacview", with no idea why this is being checked by DCS, as it is a third-party module?  Googling the error returns no relevant fix info.

[BuzyBee]

18 hours ago, BlackRook said:

I cannot install TacView (1.3.8), downloaded from site today, install ran without any issues or popups.  DCS updated today also, OpenBeta, you can see versions in the screen shot.

I get an 'The following DLCs are not authorized and will be disabled:  Tacview", with no idea why this is being checked by DCS, as it is a third-party module?  Googling the error returns no relevant fix info.

The current version of Tacview is 1.8.7 so please make sure you have downloaded and installed that version here: https://tacview.net/download/latest/

This error can occur when there are Tacview files in the DCS World folder. Tacview should install itself in the Saved Games folder only. Can you try running Repair DCS World Open Beta? This should get rid of any Tacview files which do not belong in the DCS World folder. 

Edited December 20, 2021 by BuzyBee

[BlackRook]

The latest version is definitely what I downloaded, from the URL quoted.  Sorry, my text has the wrong version number, not sure how I misstated that. I blame early onsite old-timer's syndrome.

I'll do a complete uninstall, wipe and reinstall of DCS:OB and then TacView and report back.

[BuzyBee]

Announcing Tacview's Holiday Sale 2021-2022: 40% off Tacview Standard and Advanced from December 22nd to January 5th.

To upgrade from Tacview Standard to Tacview Advanced at an equivalent discount, send us an email at support@tacview.net.

Happy flying! https://tacview.net/purchase/

Edited December 22, 2021 by BuzyBee
Formatting/typos

[bfr]

Would I be right in thinking TacView gets a bit funny if it isn't first item in the list in export.lua? I've had issues the last couple of upgrades (most recently to 1.8.7, which was initially saving 1k empty files) and flipping it to the top of the list seems to fix it.  It wasn't logging anything untoward though when it was 2nd in the list and doing funny stuff.

[BuzyBee]

6 hours ago, bfr said:

Would I be right in thinking TacView gets a bit funny if it isn't first item in the list in export.lua? I've had issues the last couple of upgrades (most recently to 1.8.7, which was initially saving 1k empty files) and flipping it to the top of the list seems to fix it.  It wasn't logging anything untoward though when it was 2nd in the list and doing funny stuff.

Hi, if you are having issues such as empty ACMI files it's a great idea to place the Tacview line first in the file Scripts\Export.lua, and if this fixes the issue, this means that one of the other lines, for one of the other add-ons, is causing an error in that file. Generally you can spot the error in the DCS log if you search for references to EXPORT.LUA. 

[bfr]

On 12/26/2021 at 7:57 PM, BuzyBee said:

Hi, if you are having issues such as empty ACMI files it's a great idea to place the Tacview line first in the file Scripts\Export.lua, and if this fixes the issue, this means that one of the other lines, for one of the other add-ons, is causing an error in that file. Generally you can spot the error in the DCS log if you search for references to EXPORT.LUA. 

That was the weird part, nothing untoward stood out in the log file but I was getting weird behaviours from Tacview. Initially I had the 'discard if <10s' option set and it was discarding flights well over 10s. Then it was writing empty files once I set it to always save.  For the record the only other item in export.lua is related to the DCS UFC android app. 

[BuzyBee]

44 minutes ago, bfr said:

That was the weird part, nothing untoward stood out in the log file but I was getting weird behaviours from Tacview. Initially I had the 'discard if <10s' option set and it was discarding flights well over 10s. Then it was writing empty files once I set it to always save.  For the record the only other item in export.lua is related to the DCS UFC android app. 

That makes sense to me because if there is no telemetry being exported at all, Tacview creates an empty file, and an empty file may be discarded if there are instructions to discard small files (even if it is more than 10 seconds as you explained).

If you still have the log I would be happy to take a look at it. 

[YarTheBug]

Vyrtouz or BusyBee,

First off, thank you for all your work on this amazing program.

Quick question (I hope). I noticed static objects are not recorded by TacView with DCS. The most recent post I found was from 2019 and stated the DCS doesn't export this information.

Is this still the case? If not, is this something you have asked for from ED?

If there's a feature request I can vote on somewhere, I'd be happy to do so.

Thanks, 

Yar

[Scoll]

Is it a way to (propose a partnership or joint venture to) replace DCS track viewer by Tacview player to review fligts into DCS ? (with both DCS (graphics) and Tacview (technics, infos, player features, etc) features : , ?)

[S3ntry]

Hi fellow simmers,

I am fairly new to using Tacview in debriefings with my squad and I don't seem to be able to find a way to display health of units.

For example we wanted to compare damage to ships by different missiles, rockets & Co. Is there a way to show a kind of "healthbar" or percentage per unit?

Help is greatly appreciated. Thanks and fly safe out there.