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AFCAD_background map_SBuilder

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 10:51 pm
by JoHubb
Hello - long break from scenery design and on a learning curve again.

I corrected runways at EGAD which are wonky in FS9. I now want to remove autogen, trees etc from the airfield. I use LWM Viewer to find the AB and FL files and then open these in SBuilder. So far, so good. Then I append a map and calibrate. I get a map ok, but the problem is that the map (from Live Earth) overlays the FS9 default airfield and not my corrected AFCAD field. I know, I should have thought of this.

So, how do I get my Live Earth map as background for my AFCAD generated airfield? I want to use Sbuilder to create nice grassy polygons instead of all that crazy autogen.

Many thanks.

John

Re: AFCAD_background map_SBuilder

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 4:26 pm
by rhumbaflappy
Hi John.

Why not take a screenshot of the AFCAD screen?

You can find the NSEW extents of the view by SLOWLY moving the cursor to the NSEW limits of the AFCAD screen. Write the extents down. Then take the screenshot ( CTRL+PrintScreen ). Open your paint program, paste as an image, and trim the image to get rid of the Windows borders... just leaving the background.

Save as a bitmap.

This image can now be used in SBuilder, and you know the extents to calibrate it.

Dick

Re: AFCAD_background map_SBuilder

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:56 pm
by JoHubb
Many thanks. The VTP polygon is from AB946120.bgl in eurw.

I'm not sure where to go from here. I can only assume that the AFCAD screenshot has been correctly calibrated but I have nothing to measure it against.

Re: AFCAD_background map_SBuilder

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:05 pm
by JoHubb
Further to that, I tweaked the lat/lon and managed to centralise my new AFCAD Rwy 22/04 and Rwy 34/16 over the polygons. The incorrect alignment of Rwy 26/08 is the reason I made a new AFCAD in the first place. The X marks the position of the aircraft.

What next? Thanks!

Re: AFCAD_background map_SBuilder

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:49 pm
by rhumbaflappy
Hi John.

I think I may have misunderstood your problem.

To get a Live Earth image into SBuilder is simple. Go to:

http://www.ptsim.com/sbuilder/gmaps.htm

Grab that screenshot. And note it will give you the boundries of the map... copy that to a text file of the same name as the saved bitmap. ( EGAD.bmp and EGAD.txt )

Now this map can be added to SBuilder without further calibration, and should be located correctly.

FSUIPC's tracking of the aircraft should confirm all is well.

Also, look at this tutorial... it covers just about everything:

http://www.fs-freeflow.com/forum2/index ... 93#msg5393


Dick

Re: AFCAD_background map_SBuilder

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:20 pm
by JoHubb
:) Thanks!

Yes, I know that tutorial of old. I am using it for this project. I wish I could find a .pdf version of it with the diagrams.

I've moved on from that last screenshot above and have managed to clear away the autogen and replace this with grass. I seem to be taking a bit of a hit with frame rates now. Maybe I have too many polys?

Moving on, my current problem is the surrounding area which is in reality a small Irish town. The trouble is, with dense autogen (which I need for other addons) it looks like Manhattan, complete with skyscapers and mock-Greek porticos. I know very little about what I have just done with SBuilder but landclass keeps bobbing up in my mind as a possible way out of this.

So, my questions now are, Is there a simple way to change the autogen appearance of the town? Is landclass the way to do it? If so. how?

Thanks for you interest. It's much appreciated.

Re: AFCAD_background map_SBuilder

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 1:44 pm
by rhumbaflappy
Hi John.

You should be able to draw apoly for the surrounding countryside, and another poly for the town. Assign the appropriate landclasses to the polys, and the autogen should appear as well.

Dick

Re: AFCAD_background map_SBuilder

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 3:28 pm
by JoHubb
Thanks again, Dick

Should I use the ordinary polygon mode to do this, or landclass mode? I get nervous with landclass - last time I messed with it I ended up re-installing FS9. It has taken me 18 months to get back to where I was, so I do not want at repeat performance :!:

The choice of landclass under VTP2 is very limited when it comes to small towns like this one in Ireland. it is most definitely not a city, not even a small city. It has a main street, a square, a few churches, a town hall, a small industrial park, a shopping mall, and small houses in cramped estates. There is no railway and no harbour even though the town is on the coast. The airfield is GA only. Small roads link the town to the N, S, E, W. In other words, and without any disrespect to either place, it is Hicksville, Tennessee. is there landclass for a place like this?

Re: AFCAD_background map_SBuilder

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 8:45 pm
by rhumbaflappy
It's VTP2, which applies the landclass tile to the poly only.

If you realy want to recreate the village with some accuracy, you would need to place objects over a grassy VTP2 poly.

Otherwise, there is a 0303 Cool Crops and Town that might do the job as a class for the poly.

Dick

Re: AFCAD_background map_SBuilder

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 9:28 pm
by JoHubb
Thanks, I found that cool crops and town landclass. Not bad. When you start to really look at autogen you realise how awful it is! And yet, it is amazing too.

Another 30 mins or so should finish the landclass. After that I have to add some WW2 hangars, a fuel tank, a flying club office, a windsock and maybe a static helicopter and C172. That means Rwy12 I suppose - I will need to load up all those libraries!

To complete the project I need to place a 100 ft tower on a hill NW of the airfield. The hill (500 ft) barely exists in FS9 and yet it looms over the airfield, especially with the huge tower on top. Scott Gridley made a magnificent version of this tower and I'm all set to include it. Problem is I will need to tweak the mesh first to give me a decent hill. I never attempted this before.

Are you willing to steer me through all of this? I'm grateful for your help so far. Progress is faster than first time around I am glad to say :)