Xref: utzoo comp.sys.mac.games:4608 rec.aviation:36965 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think.com!linus!linus!mwunix.mitre.org!jcmorris From: jcmorris@mwunix.mitre.org (Joe Morris) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games,rec.aviation Subject: Re: TRACON // Mac v. 2.02 now available Message-ID: Date: 31 May 91 20:50:01 GMT References: <1991May31.191856.14462@midway.uchicago.edu> Sender: news@linus.mitre.org (News Service) Organization: The MITRE Corporation, Bedford MA Lines: 48 Nntp-Posting-Host: mwunix.mitre.org jm13@quads.uchicago.edu (Kermit T. Frog) writes: >What exactly is Tracon // Mac anyway? It sounds pretty cool, but I >have no idea what it is. TRACON (there are both PC and Mac flavors) is a simulation game in which you play the part of an air traffic controller trying to keep those idiot pilots from screwing up ;8-) . The word TRACON is governmentese for Terminal Radar Approach CONtrol. The visuals and simulation are *excellent*, especially for a mass-market product at an extremely low price. With a very few compromises you get a presentation which is close enough to reality that users start cussing that guy in the twin Cessna who blew his clearance into LAX... The program comes from Wesson International, Austin TX. The design is based in part on Bob Wesson's doctoral dissertation on the application of artificial intelligence to air traffic control. (OK, I know that some people say that's a redundancy...) If someone using the TRACON program wants a fancier version, I'm sure that Wesson would be glad to sell another copy of the systems being purchased by the FAA and the Air Force to train real-life controllers. TRACON II can be linked to Microsoft Flight simulator; the bird piloted by the user running FS appears on the TRACON radar display, and the TRACON clearances appear on the FS screen. (The link is via the async port.) One interesting thing about the PC version is that it produces decent audio on a standard PC speaker. There is a special version of TRACON which supports a Covox speaker on the printer port, but its quality isn't much better. The documentation apologizes for the quality of the audio, but IMHO it's not bad and in fact I wish that my 182's speaker was that clear. Don't bother trying to run it under Windows unless you want a good demo of why real-time computer systems are dedicated devices. I've seen the PC version of the product in Egghead, SofwareHouse/CompUSA, and other jobbers. If you're really hot to try it, call Wesson at 1-800-634-9808. I've never looked for the Mac version. Summary: I like it (as if you haven't already guessed). I also recommend it to instrument students to give them a feeling for just how easy it is for a pilot to really mess up the entire ATC system. Joe Morris (My only relationship to Wesson is that of a satisfied user. The product deserves the good reviews.)