scenery builder

General discussion about Scenery Design. Questions about SBuilder for Flight Simulator FS2004.
Lurch
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Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2005 10:31 pm

Post by Lurch » Tue Mar 29, 2005 1:46 pm

I just tried processing the BGL's and bmp files and i'm a little confused at the file and folder structure.

When using the MS SDK's, it was simple. If i worked on a project called Mytown, i had 1 folder and 2 subfolders like this;

MYTOWN
Scenery.dat(made by msfs)

SCENERY
mytown.bgl

TEXTURE
012263784495995.bmp's

I copied the entire MYTOWN folder to;

Microsoft Games
FS9
Scenery
MYTOWN

That was it.

Now, Sbuilder makes a photo .bgl, a LWM2 .bgl and Object bgl. .
and one type of bgl goes in one 'scenery" folder and the other bgl's in a secondary "scenery" folder. What is the reason?

if i call the first Scenery folder "SCENERY" and the secondary folder, "SCENERY2", do both still go in the MYTOWN folder with one texture folder containing the bmp's?

Like;

FS9\Scenery

Mytown

Scenery

Scenery2

Texture

and go into FS scenery Library and "ADD" area "Mytown" ?



OR

Can all of the bgl's be in one "Scenery" folder under "MyTown"?

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Luis Sa
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Post by Luis Sa » Tue Mar 29, 2005 9:18 pm

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Lurch</i>
<br />I was going to add a small airstrip to my aerial photo in Sbuilder, but after clicking on OBJECT button and RNWY, there weren't any choices for runways.

Are Runways just not available yet?

Was going to do a test generation and I notice the FSUIPC has to be installed. Is that essential to generate the bgls, etc.?


<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">


Rwy12 is a very popular programme to add objects to FS. You need to make the object in the first place (for example with gmax). Once you make the object you can use Rwy12 to place it. Or, if you want the photo bitmap to guide you in the placement, you can use SBuilder almost in the same way as Rwy12.

FSUIPC is very handy for testing. You compile a file and check the box "Start FS". When FS is waiting for you to create the flight, you press "Position Aircraft" in SB. Then, if you accept the shown position in FS you will appear exactly in the center of display.

Also when I investigate the scenery that I create and I see something strange, I use "Show Aircraft" to center my display on that strange something.

Luis

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Luis Sa
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Post by Luis Sa » Tue Mar 29, 2005 9:23 pm

Hi,

I think that you can use only one folder with /SCENERY and /TEXTURE subfolders. I think that you can copy the photo bitmaps to that /TEXTURE folder. But, if you do that, you can not create AGN (autogen scenery) later on.

For autogen your 012263784495995.agn should be in the main texture folder and so your 012263784495995.bmp. Then either you place your mytown.bgl either in:

- the main scenery folder or
- a scenery folder without a sister texture folder.

Luis

Lurch
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2005 10:31 pm

Post by Lurch » Wed Mar 30, 2005 1:56 am

My project is to make
-photoscenery from aerial photos only,
-polygon LW mask for the river
-some objects (bridges and 1 house, chosen from sbuilder)

I selected everything, clicked bgl compile and it made 3 bgl files ONLY. The ph, lwm2 and OB and a set of about 13 bmps.

It put the LWM2.bgl and OB.bgl in the Primary scenery folder and the PH.bgl in the secondary scenery folder


I put the bmp's in a sister Texture folder to the Primary only.

Started FS9, added both "Scenery" folders

Re-started fs9 and and the scenery doesn't show up at all.

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Luis Sa
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Post by Luis Sa » Wed Mar 30, 2005 5:09 am

Hi,

May be I was wrong in saying that you can place the 01231312... bmps outside the the standard texture folder. I place them there all the times. Actually I use the check box "Copy Bitmaps" to do precisely that.

Now looking to what you describe, I would expect you would get a crash (more serious than no show!). I say this because you have a PH BGL which calls (this is the texture calling BGL) textures in a SECONDARY scenery folder. As in any other BGLS, the called textures are look for by FS in:

- the sister of SECONDARY folder or (if not found there)
- the standard texture folder.

The textures will not be searched for in the sister of the PRIMARY scenery folder. And you say they have been placed there!

Regards, Luis

Lurch
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Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2005 10:31 pm

Post by Lurch » Wed Mar 30, 2005 8:37 am

Mannn, i am totally stumped now.

I've tried the following combinations of folders and files;

PH.bgl in primary scenery folder
LWM2.bgl and OB.bgl in secondary scenery folder

*.bmp's first in FS9\Scenery\Project\
Primary scenery
Texture\*.bmps

Then put *.bmp's in FS9\Scenery\World\Texture\*.bmp's

Then tried FS9\Texture\*.bmp's.

addded and deleted "area" in FS9, each time to make sure it would load properly.


Is there some required priority listing that it needs in FS9 Scenery library?

Should i put the whole project in "ADD-ON Scenery"?

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Luis Sa
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Post by Luis Sa » Wed Mar 30, 2005 8:53 am

Hi,

Try this:

-PH.bgl in secondary scenery folder. No sister texture folder here!
-LWM2.bgl and OB.bgl in primary scenery folder
-*.bmp's in FS9\Scenery\World\Texture\*.bmp's

Activate 2 areas in the Scenery Library menu for the primary and secondary sceneries.

Luis

Lurch
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Post by Lurch » Wed Mar 30, 2005 11:12 am

nope, nothing works.

i noticed in the project properties there's a menu that has high resolution with 2 check-boxes, 1.2 m/pixel and 2.4 m/pixel, of which at least one has to be checked. i though photo scenery had to be 4.8 m/pixel.

otherwise, i'm at a stand-still.

Lurch
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Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2005 10:31 pm

Post by Lurch » Wed Mar 30, 2005 1:18 pm

ok, the scenery probably did show up. Problem was the calibration of the map was somehow back at 78 deg lon when it should have been 76 deg,
So I wasn't in the proper place to see it again.

Lesson check your coordinatates before you compile!!

But after moving everything to the correct coords and re-calibrating and double checking, I went to start compiling to bgl and Sbuilder encountered the error listed below at the link..

Haven't been able to get by that yet.


http://www.evenlink.com/samcb/aviation/sb%20error.jpg

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Luis Sa
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Post by Luis Sa » Wed Mar 30, 2005 3:24 pm

Hi,

You can export your project which will produce a SVX file. Zip the file and send to me. Do not send the bitmap. There is something basic that is missing here. May be a simple look will reveal it.

Regards, Luis

ps: 1.2 / 2.4 resolution is not ready. I am working on it at the moment. So igonre anything that refers to High Resolution scenery. Just use the "VTP photo" and "Make Bitmaps" boxes that you find in the frame "VTP scenery" on the Compilation Windoe.

Lurch
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Post by Lurch » Thu Mar 31, 2005 2:26 am

Hi Luis,

I made a test run and after re-position the map, poly's and objects,
the scenery shows up where it's supposed to. The emthod for folder structure that i used was;

FS9\Scenery\Project\Scenery\ph.bgl
FS9\Scenery\Project\Texture\(but no bmps)

FS9\Scenery\Project2\Scenery\OB.bgl & LWM2.bgl

FS9\Scenery\World\Texture\ all bmp's

I'll have to go back and adjust several things, but scenery showed very good as far as position and having no borders.

The bridges showed up, although sideways.
I made a flat area on side of mountain which turned into huge canyon

Most of the water mask formed a huge canyon and some didn't.
Looks like part of FS9 own water mask for the river showed through but was at ground level.

Finally, didn't get the program error this time. I'm guessing that an SVB file made now won't help you, but i'll make one if you like.

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Luis Sa
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Post by Luis Sa » Thu Mar 31, 2005 6:09 am

Hi

[:)] Congratulations!

About canyons: LWM water polygons have an altitude atribute. You need to set it. Alternatively, you can set altitude=-9999 ! This will not make holes! Instead, this special particular value of -9999 is interpreted by FS to draw the polygon following the terrain or mesh cligging - spelling?.

Regards, Luis

Lurch
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Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2005 10:31 pm

Post by Lurch » Thu Mar 31, 2005 12:47 pm

Hi Luis,

My project is going to have land, water(polygons LWM), bridges, houses, and flat ares in the side of a mountain.

What VTP level would be best?

Lurch
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Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2005 10:31 pm

Post by Lurch » Fri Apr 01, 2005 12:28 am

I made the bgls with photo tiles vtp level 8.

-I had set the altitude of the lwm(water) for the river at about same altitude as standard river in FS9.

Started FS9 and the phot.bmps cover the entire area and my water mask doesn't show up.

-Then I changed only to Phot tile vtp level to 7.
Started FS9 and my bmp shows and my water mask shows in some places.
But it looks like that any where that the FS9 water mask is situated, it overides my bmps and my water mask.

Had tried the -9999, but they may not be good for a river, because a river is just a big or small depression in the land, filled with water. A river could be 30-100 feet deep, so if the mask is directed to cling to the mesh, it will only be draped over and down into the River Bed.(which is what it did)

Anyway, any ideas on the above? I'm sure it's just a setting issue.

I noticed that after i got that Program error, the OBJ button wouldn't allow me to place any objects. All I did was re-install the Objects txt and the Sbuilder exe and now it works fine.

Otherwise this is the best program iv'e tried so far, hands-down.
I'm very pleased the way the bmp's show perfectly trimmed. The flattened area on the side of a mountain works real well.
Good job Luis.

Lurch
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Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2005 10:31 pm

Post by Lurch » Sun Apr 03, 2005 3:28 am

I don't suppose someone can answer this problem (above)?

Compiled with Photo tiles VTP 9:
Entire Photo-bitmap, my bridge and house shows up But no river water.

Compiled with Photo tiles VTP :8
Entire Photo-bitmap, my bridge and house shows up But no river water.

Compiled with Photo tiles VTP :7

Photo Bitmap shows up along with part of water mask, I made until it reaches area that FS9 considers to be the river. Then the entire FS9 river water mask covers areas of my bitmap that are supposed to be land. My bridges and house still show up.

How do i get all of my photo bitmap to show up with ALL of my water mask?

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