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Overview of ChangesFixed Autogen performance degradation - Flying out of an area then back to the same area may cause lower frame rates. The problem was due to a memory leak and how Flight Simulator handled autogen objects. Depending on the specific configuration and scenario, some users observed significantly lower frame rates. The update fully addresses this issue and users should have full functionality of all autogen objects without adverse performance problems.
Fixed Seasonal Crash to Desktop -Going to specific airports during certain seasons would cause Flight Simulator to crash. In previous versions of Flight Simulator we assumed there would be 16 or fewer land classes within a 1km patch of terrain. That assumption was no longer valid for Flight Simulator 9.0. This could cause Flight Simulator to crash when loading areas with a large number of land class seasonal and vector data variations. This issue has been fully addressed and Flight Simulator will no longer crash when loading these land class seasonal and vector data variations.
Improved Digital Elevation Mesh Support -The Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight (update) increases the level of digital elevation mesh (DEM) support from 38 meters to 19 meters.
Replaced Missing Landmark Bridges -In Flight Simulator 9.0 we replaced many old bridge models with new bridge models. During this process many bridges that were in previous versions of Flight Simulator were inadvertently omitted and the new bridge model was never placed. We replaced approximately 160 missing bridge models that were omitted from Flight Simulator 9.0.
See the Appendix: List of Replaced Bridges for a listing of the replaced bridges.
Note: To see the new bridge models, adjust the Scenery Complexity setting to Normal or higher. For more information on adjusting display settings, see Changing Display Settings in the Learning Center in Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight.
Added Autogen Objects to KJFK Satellite Photo -
With the exception of KJFK airport, all High Detail airports in Flight Simulator 9.0 were annotated with autogen objects. We have now added Autogen objects to the area in and surrounding KJFK airport. Fixed Multiple Sporadic Crashes -We have identified and repaired several areas in the Flight Simulator code to improve stability for very specific conditions involving ATC, AI aircraft, aircraft loading, facilities, weather, and multiplayer.
Fixed the Incorrect Check Ride Certificate -When completing the Solo Checkride, you'll now receive the Solo Certificate, not the Private Pilot Certificate.
Improved Support for Matrox Parhelia Cards -
Rendered fog now displays correctly in the Virtual Cockpit on Matrox Parhelia video cards.
Water rendering and the Japanese language -Water effects now render correctly in the Japanese language version.
Fixed multiplayer support - In certain scenarios, a failed DirectX installation caused Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight to stop functioning when multiplayer sessions were initialized. This problem is fixed in the update.
Known IssuesIssue with FS9.EXE -If the FS9.EXE file has been modified or corrupted, the update may terminate before completing installation. A message will display: "The original file (fs9.exe) is either missing or has been changed from it's original state. The update cannot continue and will now exit".
Re-install the default FS9.EXE file that came with the original Flight Simulator 2004 setup files before attempting the update installation.
To install the default
FS9.EXE file:
- Insert the "Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight" CD-ROM number 1 in the CD-ROM drive.
- Click the Windows Start button and choose "My Computer."
- Highlight and right-click the icon for the CD-ROM drive containing the number 1 CD-ROM. From the right-click menu, choose Open.
- Select the GAME subdirectory and open it using Windows Explorer.
- Copy FS9.EXE to the Flight Simulator installation directory. (For example, C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9)
- Remove the CD-ROM from the drive and restart the update setup.
Note: This FS9.EXE will require a CD in the drive for Flight Simulator to run. If any action (such as re-installing a modified FS9.exe via a 3rd party add-on software installation) causes an overwrite of the updated FS9.EXE, you will lose significant fixes included in the Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight (update).Issue with Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) -The first time you run Flight Simulator with Windows XP SP2, alerts for the Windows Firewall may be hidden. To see these alerts, either task switch away from Flight Simulator by pressing ALT-TAB or switch Flight Simulator to windowed mode by pressing ALT-ENTER. If these alerts are not cleared, some functionality such as connection to the web and multiplayer sessions will be lost.
Issue with generic.bgl and the Update setup -Some third-party scenery providers update generic.bgl as part of their package. In certain cases, this updated generic.bgl file will cause the Update to terminate before completing installation. A message will be displayed: "The original file (generic.bgl) is either missing or has been changed from its original state. The update cannot continue and will now exit". You need to re-install the default generic.bgl file that came with the original Flight Simulator 2004 setup files before attempting the update installation.
To install the default
generic.bgl file:
- Insert the "Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight" CD-ROM number 3 in your CD-ROM drive.
- Click the Windows Start button and choose "My Computer."
Highlight and right-click the icon for the CD-ROM drive containing the number 3 CD-ROM. From the right-click menu, choose Open. - Select MSGAME8.CAB and open it using Windows Explorer.
- Copy generic.bgl to the Generic\scenery subdirectory of your Flight Simulator installation directory. (For example, C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9\Scenery\Generic\scenery.)
- Remove the CD-ROM from the drive and restart the Update setup.
Note: Previously installed the 3rd party add-on software for Flight Simulator may not work. If any action (such as re-installing the 3rd party add-on software) causes an overwrite of the updated generic.bgl, you will lose significant fixes to performance and autogen included in the Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight (update).Issue with various module .dlls and the Update setup -Some third-party providers might have updated various files located in the "Modules" folder (for example, C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9\Modules) of your Flight Simulator installation directory. In certain cases, these updated .dll files will cause the Update to terminate before completing installation. A message will be displayed: "The original file (gps_export.dll) is either missing or has been changed from its original state. The update cannot continue and will now exit". You need to re-install the any .dll file that came with the original Flight Simulator 2004 setup files before attempting the update installation.
To install the default
gps_export.dll file:
- Insert the "Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight" CD-ROM number 2 in your CD-ROM drive.
- Click the Windows Start button and choose "My Computer."
- Highlight and right-click the icon for the CD-ROM drive containing the number 2 CD-ROM. From the right-click menu, choose Open.
- Select MSGAME3.CAB and open it using Windows Explorer.
- Copy the affected .dll (for example gps_export.dll to the Modules subdirectory of your Flight Simulator installation directory. (For example, C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9\Modules.)
- Remove the CD-ROM from the drive and restart the Update setup.
Note: Previously installed the 3rd party add-on software for Flight Simulator may not work. If any action (such as re-installing the 3rd party add-on software) causes an overwrite of the updated module .dll file, you will lose significant fixes included in the Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight (update).Problems with FSUIPC -Software that relies on FSUIPC may have problems running after installing the update. You can obtain the latest version of FSUIPC from
http://www.schiratti.com/dowson.html.
Problems with Active Camera -Users who have Active Camera 2004 will need to upgrade Active Camera 2004 before running the updated Flight Simulator 2004. Failing to upgrade to the latest version of Active Camera 2004 will cause the updated Flight Simulator 2004 to crash to the desktop. You can obtain the latest version of Active Camera 2004 from
http://www.anticyclone.be/.
Problems with the Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight (Update) -Please see the support section at the Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight website located at
http://www.microsoft.com/games/flightsimulator/support.asp.Installing the Update- Download and save the Update file fs91upd.exe to your Flight Simulator 2004 directory. (For example, C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9.)
- Double-click the Update icon and follow the instructions on the screen.
- When installation is complete, you'll get a message stating the update was successful.
Update Installation TipIf you are having problems installing the Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight (Update), before installing the update make sure to close all open software applications including antivirus software and Flight Simulator.
How to Uninstall the UpdateIf you want to uninstall the update, follow these steps.
- Go to the Flight Simulator root directory.
- Double-click the FS9UpdateUninstall.exe icon.
- Delete the BACKUP folder.
Note: After uninstalling the Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight (Update) you will need to delete the BACKUP folder, as it is not removed by the uninstaller program.Removing Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight after updating -To uninstall Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight after installing the update, you must first uninstall the update, and then uninstall Flight Simulator.
To uninstall the updated Flight Simulator:
- Uninstall the update following the procedures outlined in How to Uninstall the Update.
- Then uninstall Flight Simulator 2004: A Century Flight.
Download NowDownload the Flight Simulator 2004 Update from the link below.
DOWNLOAD UPDATE - English, 27 MB
Estimated download time:
28.8k modem - 2.2 hours
56k modem - 66 minutes
Broadband (cable, DSL, etc) - 2 minutes or less
Download times are approximate. Internet slowdowns may impact actual download time.