Background Images for SB-FS9

boleyd · Post by **boleyd** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:37 pm

I wanted to add reasonably accurate landclass to FS9. Since SB-FS9 does not have the nice background feature of SBX I used SBX to create a set of background TIF files with border/extents TXT files. Converted them to BMP files with the Microsoft Picture Viewer (part of XP).

In SB-FS9 the MAP function was used. The calibration info is in the TXT file that accompanies the TIFs that are made when Background is used. The picture shows three seperate "maps" as background in SB-FS9. Two are from Google so you can't see the seperation. The third is from Yahoo. Also some landclass is shown in top left. Was kicked off Google after downloading about 10 or 12 photo sets.

There is no reason that this technique could not be used to make 4.7m photo scenery for FS9.

Dick Boley near 5G8

luisfeliztirado · Post by **luisfeliztirado** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 12:19 pm

Great tip, Dick, and very imaginative solution.

Best regards.

Luis

Mick · Post by **Mick** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 8:04 pm

Hi Dick,

from some of your postings I understand that you use the capabilities of SBX to make scenery for FS9? If so, you're "the man" for me...

I'm mol a newbie using FS9, and as far as I learned by now there'd be no way to change to SBX. Unfortunately the SB2.05rev06 makes it pretty hard to create HiRes Photo Scenery, which I'm aiming to, and I even didn't find anyone in the forums who had solved the issue. As a consequence I'm on the edge of giving it up... [xx(]

So here's my question: Is the texture issue (that you solved here) the only thing you have to change when you want to use SBX output for FS9? Or are there too many other things so that it would become science?

Any recommendation and/or advice from you?
Thanks a lot, kind regards from Germany
Mick

boleyd · Post by **boleyd** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 12:14 pm

Two tricks needed for FS9 vs. FSX. One is that you need a Scenery and a Texture folder. The other is that you have to use the resampler.exe that came with the FS9 SDK.

I have not made any photo textures for FS9 for a long time. However, SBuilder FS9 should do this for you automatically (resample BMP). SBX has two methods for getting photos with extents. One is the Maps function in the File Menu and the other, and easier, is the Background when right clicking on an SBX screen with a background displayed from Google or others.

I have not actually made any FS9 textured areas from SBX data but I have done several gigabytes of FS9 photo textures using other sources such as Terraserver (USA only).

Since SBX Background only stores what is visible on the screen it should be possible to very carefully move to adjacent areas and take more Background pictures. Then you will have the extents of each of the pictures (GeoTIFF files) and can easily make the extents for the complete composite. At that time you can use SB FS9 to make a normal photoscenery using the composite photograph.

The trick in this case is putting together each Background from SBX so that you have one big BMP composit with extents when you are done. I would use Global Mapper for this but it costs money! There are some free programs that may do this. You want a nice rectangle BMP and the four corners lat/lon (extents)to give to SB FS9.

Dick Boley near 5G8

Mick · Post by **Mick** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 10:59 pm

Thank you, Dick, for your quick answer.

Guess I wasn't clear enough about my goal of HiRes pictures (I want to VFR-show a little village in Goa/India where my daughter Jeanny lives [:D]). The - like Luis calls it - 'SB-Method' goes around Resample at all, but creates tilted polygons from the HR-Photo and puts it over the mesh somehow. This could mean that, for my specific purpose, neither version of Resample won't help... or?

What would you think about the way I tried?
- I got HGT-Data for 'my' region from another source and converted them with SB in order to get a mesh. This one even works [:D] in FS! In case you'd recommend the use of GeoTiff in the end, I'd have a source for that, too. But maybe (you see I don't fully understand what you mean with 'extents') it's obsolete for the way I used?
- That was: I shot a bunch of HiRes 'tiles' From "Google Earth" (saving the JPGs from the height of 978m I should have got 1,2 m/pix) and made a large composite in PhotoShop ... which was a real lot of work but resulted in a really nice and detailed picture [;)] of the whole beach scenery in the end, where I can almost recognize my teenage daughters company [;)]
- before, of course, i noted the lat/lon data of a clear spot on the first tile (in the end the same from the last tile) for calibration of the pic.
- finally, I converted it to bmp (PhotoShop again) and used it als map in SB.

The result is: The map shows extremely detailed and fine in SB... but I can't get it to BGLs and finally into FS (I initiated some rarely answered threads in the common SB forum on these tries)! The normal resolution of 4.8 m/pix ends up (hope I made that right) in such a poor quality that I don't even want to consider VFR over it. I was hoping SBX would open up better options for HiRes, so I was looking for a workaround to use its results in my FS9.

In another post you had expressed your wish to implement a particular FS9-compile into SBX, which Luis refused due to the amount of work (which I really have no idea of). Assuming 'my way' of creating the larger background picture is good enough - would a "Scenery" and "Texture" folder really be the only thing I need so that i could use SBX? This sounds so easy, and overwriting the newer Resample with the older one also shouldn't be a problem... Or did I misunderstand you? In case I didn't, then I would at least be able to use the program version that is well maintained.

Thanks again, looking forward to your advice
Mick

Luis Sa · Post by **Luis Sa** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 12:14 am

Hello Mick,

Sorry to mispell you name in the other post. But please see my answer there. I think that unless you are doing your own mesh with data of your own, you will not be able to make textured triangles that are a bit higher than the mesh. Unless you are making a flat region.

For high resolution scenery, FSX is incridble better than FS9. Did you consider to switch to FSX?

Regards,

Luis

Mick · Post by **Mick** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 11:45 am

Good morning, Luis,

don't mind about any misspellings [8D] - to be honest I didn't even realize. But thank you again for the other answer. I'll experiment a bit more with flattening and the mesh.

Of course I considered FSX, but it seems to need much better computer performance than I have (office PC 1700 MHz, 512M RAM and 128M graphics card). So even with FS9 I suffer from low frame rates between 6 (for me unflyable aircraft) and 22 (most aircraft, thank god!). As a conclusion I'm afraid that for FSX I'd have to buy a new computer, for which I don't have the bucks right now.

What do you think about my above mentioned approach? Or are you saying more or less that you think there's no way to make it nicely in FS9?

Looking forward,
and kind regards
Mick

Luis Sa · Post by **Luis Sa** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 3:39 am

Hello,

You have a small amount of RAM!

Have you done the mesh where you want to place textures on top? If so, you can. I think Dick Boleyd made such sceneries. I myself only tested some situation when I was developing SB205 more than 2 years ago,

Regards,

Luis

boleyd · Post by **boleyd** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:06 pm

I tried the Hi-res scenery in FS9. It was only partially successful for me. It appeared ok but at certain viewing angles the underlying old landclass texture popped through. It was probably related to properly positioning the three elements - original mesh, my mesh, new texture. Since it was looking like a tedious task I moved on.

Gotfried Razek has solved this issue. He has published several California free high-resolution sceneries for FS9 where I have seen the pop-thru only rarely. You could search the AVSIM library/Author for his scenery. I recommend Half Moon Bay. Also, his stuff works in FS10 as well. I made my own Half Moon Bay, California high res (1.2m/pixel) scenery and it looked like his. It is possible with FSX to go to extreme ground texture resolutions. I have done it but the files are very large for a small area. You have to have the FSX texture slider to its max and even then some white areas will cause FSX to malfunction.

I atarted with FSX at 512mb and a 2ghz AMD cpu. It was possible to make the program useable by sacrificing = no autogen, no fancy clouds or water, no AI aircraft, and flying only the Trike and Cessna 172. If you are interested in the view outside you certainly will see an improvement in FSX. Oh, my video card still is only 128mb. I later added another 512mb which made a big difference. I followed that with a low-cost motherboard and an e4000Core2Duo CPU. The memory is a big element in FSX because of the increased ground texture files stored in memory for fast access.

4.7m/pixel is easy in FS9 and quite sufficient at +3000ftAGL.

Dick Boley near 5G8

Mick · Post by **Mick** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 5:49 pm

Hello Luis and Dick,

... just have to grin when I see I'm a "senior member" now ... [8D] despit not even making my first (well... sophisticated) scenery work.

Thank you again for your input. What I hear is that I didn't only stress my own capabilities but even FS9s, so I guess I'd rather make one step back and improve my scenery design experience without wanting to pluck the bananas from beach girls skirts [:p].

Of course I'll also check out Gotfrieds "Half Moon Bay" that you recommend, Dick. More RAM could be another step. Right now I wouldn't mind some pop-thru under certain angles, be it only for the feeling of partial success after two weeks of frustration. Would you mind telling me your recipe (in case you used SB)?

Luis - yes, I made the mesh (like I described in the other forum) with SB but couldn't yet find the proper path to make it work, as Dick obviously did. If I can make his method work for my little purpose, it'll be fine - otherwise I'll have to stay with 4.7m scenery for the moment.

Dick & Luis, please let me additionally have a small statement on the mentioned idea of using SBX (with additional 'texture' folder and the old Resample) for FS9-Scenery, and also if my way of using the Google Earth pics would make any sense in your eyes - maybe you know much easier ways.

Thanks again and 'Ciao'
Mick

EDIT: Ok, guys [^] I just understood something after downloading, installing and (surely) enjoying the HR-Scnery Dick recommended (up to 0.3 m/pix) - assuming from your posts that it's something like the optimum: I obviously expected too much from a) my computer - framerates went down to average 7.1 and b) HiRes Scenery / FS graphics in general. Somehow I must have had the silly idea it might look like I hover in 300 AGL and recognize the fish. Sorry [:(] for bothering you with that idea.

I hope you'd still support me with a new-born and more humble approach. Scenery design and SB are fun, anyway [:)]