ICAO / EU Phraseology Mod
Creating and improving this Mod has been really time consuming and with a lot of trial and error. Leaving a like ♥ is therefore highly appreciated to increase this Mods visibility for more people to enjoy! Thanks!
BACKGROUND
As a real world airline captain, former flight instructor & radiotelephony instructor I know all about the importance of proper ATC phraseology and became quite bothered with the MSFS implementation of it. Therefore I have completely re-written the ATC text-to-speech to reflect correct ICAO phraseology for both VFR & IFR flights. I've included some Eurocontrol recommendations but the overall differences from ICAO are minor.
I have reached the limit now what I can achieve with the current ATC system as it is lacking options and features to make the phraseology 100% correct, but overall I think it is a big improvement over the default ATC. Items which I could not include due to missing functionality are still included in the text in between brackets in the ATC window, just not in the text-to-speech.
> European ATC Phraseology Demonstration Flight
NOTE: The ATC voices in the above video sound like kindergarden because I've used the WINDOWS OFFLINE voices instead of AZURE for shooting the video, this has nothing to do with the Mod itself! Pictures and videos are multiple iterations old, the final product has much improved since! I will update the photo's and videos to better reflect what the finished product looks like whenever I have the time!
RADIOTELEPHONY MANUAL
I've included my 100+ page complete guide to proper radiotelephony! I wrote the first version of this years ago and it has been used extensively in real world flight training. Its part of a way bigger project I've been working on during my "COVID off time". It includes tons of real world examples!
INSTALLATION
IMPORTANT:
- Create a back-up of the en-US.locPak file located in the fs-base folder before installing this Mod!
- Mod will be overwritten every update / hotfix, make a new back-up of the en-US.locPak file, reinstall.
- Reinstalling the Mod or when installing a newer version, first revert back to the original en-US.locPak.
Big thanks to @Usoska for simplifying the installation process!
After downloading unzip and execute the .bat file. Follow the onscreen instructions to locate and select the fs-base folder. Make sure hidden folders are displayed as some folders may be hidden and therefore not selectable using the installer.
Succesful installation is indicated by the text "ICAO ATC Mod by Nijntje applied." under NEWS in the main menu.
NOTE: the name you insert will be used as pilot-in-command name at uncontrolled aerodromes.
LIST OF CHANGES
- Radar now clears for instrument approach instead of tower.
- Vectors for approach deleted (MSFS currently doesn't give vectors).
- RNAV approach changed into RNP approach.
- Runway Condition Report added to ATIS.
- Link with alternative installation method added.
Question, suggestions, problems etc.
> Flight Simulator Forum Thread
Kind regards,
Nijntje
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Queran
I really love this mod, but I seem to be unable to announce an IFR Flight when only using the FMS on board, and not the Menu route planner
Greenbuck
so the last time i came across this addon, the voices in your video presentation really put me off (kid voices). I heard you were going to change them later down the line. Im back now a few months later, are the voices still the same?
MclarenManiac
Cant open the .bat file so i dont know how to install
Folyvi
Only two words...thank you !
Maybe one of the most important add-on of the year. Flying with ATC is now really immersive and very close to reality.
gryper
Please stick around to see if you need to fix this after SU7. And will be doing the USA/Canada next?
Nijntje 18 day(s) ago
Already updated one little thing, the old version should work just as well. It was a tiny little change. Someone experienced with FAA phraseology could change the mod into FAA phraseology if desired? It relatively easy to do, just a ton of work.
gryper 18 day(s) ago
That's above my paygrade. Hopefully someone will.
Gladwyn
Thank you so much for this mod 😉
It solved the so nerving "pls expedite..." bug and also brings so much more realism to the european atc.
I am very happy with it, thanks for your work !
Standspurfahrer
Magnificent, thank you! Your "guide to proper radiotelephony" is a real gem on its own.
PilotChaser
Well, is it possible to include the "raw" files in the package? With Linux/SteamDeck it is much easier to just copy files than fiddling around with installers. Hint: Just put the files in a folder structure which contains the target folder structure + files, please. Then we only need to copy the root folder - that's it 😊
Btw. Thanks for your hard work.
Nijntje 26 day(s) ago
If you follow the link in the installer you will find the "raw" file. Regarding the file structure, this is depending if you have the Steam or Store version and whether it is installed at the default location or not.
davidhoare
Well done! This is such an improvement. Thank you!
Schlicki
I often have only my response in the ATC, no more orders from any center, radar, ground, I only see and hear me answering.
Nijntje 2 month(s) ago
This isn't caused by the Mod as far as I'm aware, it would happen with the default ATC as well.
Jakger86 2 month(s) ago
It depends on the airport's capabilities. Smaller airfields have less services. The smallest grass/dirt strips are completely unmanned.
blancoo22
hello, does it work in spanish?
Nijntje 2 month(s) ago
Not without some extra work. You could run the installer, open de en-US.locPak file in notepad, copy all lines starting with "ATC" and replace the corresponding lines in the Spanish language file. The ATC menu and speech are now in English while the rest is still in Spanish.
Gerwil
A Great mod, thankyou very much for your work Nijntje.
I made a few changes to it, just for my own liking. I changed "Bye" (back?) to "Good day" (seemed to me more appropriate for a controller 😉 and also added similar things to the hand-off by the pilot, like: "Good day" or "have a nice day". Furthermore the "Direct (waypoint)" part, this didn't always work especially in VFR the pilot only says "Direct". I changed this partially into: "is with you". Don't know if this is ATC correct, but it sounds good. Thanks again!
Nijntje 2 month(s) ago
I have actually paid attention to this in real life and seems "bye" is more common than "good day" (at least in Europe), you can change it too your liking of course. I think I might change it back to "Good day" as it does sound better. Direct indeed doesn't always work, especially during VFR, its a compromise. "With you" is crap you will hear in the US, it gives me the creeps honestly 😂.
How did you add "good day" during hand-off by the pilot? I have been looking into this but never found a suitable solution!
Gerwil 2 month(s) ago
I didn't try yet but maybe "bye" sounds better when it's written like "baay" or something... just a thought.
The pilots part is in the lines (6) beginning with: ATCCOM.AC_AGNT_HANDOFF_RESP
Nijntje 2 month(s) ago
I think I tried that but it ended up in "good days" at wrong places. I will try again, thanks!
VanDisaster 2 month(s) ago
"Goodbye" is the more formal version of "bye", of course. What's said is entirely up to the controller, isn't it? can't see anything after a brief scan of RT docs.
ahale10
Should QNH be read back by pilot? We do this usually in Finland.
Nijntje 2 month(s) ago
Yes should always be readback.
MarbleFlower
This is a great mod, really enhances the built in ATC experience. I would just like to know a way to undo the change where the center controller clears aircraft for approaches instead of the approach controller, because it really clutters my center frequency and makes it difficult for me to request a different approach from the menu, and I can't seem to find the line that makes this change anywhere in the .ps1 file.
Nijntje 2 month(s) ago
Its quite deeply embedded... But the approach controller should now give approach clearance and not the area controller?
MarbleFlower 2 month(s) ago
I did a fresh reinstall with the latest version, it seems that the area controller gives the AI aircraft the approach clearance but for me it's the approach controller giving me the clearance? I have screenshots if you want me to send them.
MarbleFlower 2 month(s) ago
I got an approach clearance from the area controller on approach to KLAX, like I did last time. It tells me to descend to 6,000 ft for the instrument approach, then tells me to descend to 10,000 ft for the initial approach fix. I don't know if it's the mod, vanilla behaviour, or if it's because KLAX is starred.
freddielaker2
Do you have to run it as administrator? I ask I'm not gods gift to aviation and I cant change it even though I typed it in
Nijntje 2 month(s) ago
Weird, you could open the en-US.locPak file in notepad, search (CTRL + F) for "gods gift to aviation" and manually edit it.
freddielaker2 2 month(s) ago
I'll give it a go as I'm having fun on Windows 11..... its still got an edit and search problem.
Nijntje 2 month(s) ago
Oh yeah, I have no idea how this works on Windows 11 😅
tadf1970
Thank you for remembering that the fraseology used in the US is diferent from that used across Europe. Installed the file according to the instructions but installer doesn't work and closes immediately after I open the bat file too. I use Microsoft Store version. Thank you
Nijntje 2 month(s) ago
Did you unzip everything into the same folder? Not only the .bat file? Within the installer is also a link with alternative way to install the mod.
piloteddl 2 month(s) ago
I guess you start the .bat file without extracting file
tadf1970 2 month(s) ago
I did. Now the installer runs but since i´m not using the Steam version, i cannot find MSFS in my computer
Nijntje 2 month(s) ago
Its not in the default location?
Yeshoua
papinou57
its in french ?
Nijntje 3 month(s) ago
Nope, only en-US. You could run the installer, then open the en-US.locPak file using notepad, copy all lines starting with ATC and replace the corresponding lines in the FR-FR.locPak file, this way the ATC menu and speech will be in English while the rest will be in French.
papinou57 3 month(s) ago
OK THANK YOU SIR
CH4Pz
With the latest version(2.0.3) the installer opens the console briefly, then crashes, with no text displayed
CH4Pz 3 month(s) ago
Just tried redownloading, to confirm it wasnt my copy, but had same issue 😉
Nijntje 3 month(s) ago
Did you unzip everything into the same folder? The .bat file itself for example doesn't work, it needs the .ps1 file to be extracted at the same location.
CH4Pz 3 month(s) ago
Yep theyre both in the same folder, but do i have to reinstall the backup of the original en-US.locpak file in order for the batfile to work?
CH4Pz 3 month(s) ago
Nevermind, just read the description lol it works now
Nijntje 3 month(s) ago
Glad it works! Otherwise, use the link in the installer
newtestleper
If I want to change the pronunciation of an airport, have I done this right? It's "Scone" by default:
"AIRPORTEK.EGPT.city": "Perth",
"AIRPORTEK.EGPT.name": "Scoon",
Nijntje 3 month(s) ago
I'm not sure, I would think there is an entry somewhere with tts (text-to-speech)...