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Terrain Sculptor

gadgets

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9,388
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ca-britishcolumbia
Just posted 0.1.05. It invokes the hot-cursor (when enabled) when a flatten, hole, blend or the first sculpt node at any level is added. The user manual has also been updated to reflect this change.
 
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203
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unitedkingdom
This sounds like a very useful tool, only just spotted the thread now...will take a look over the weekend!
 
Messages
183
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us-utah
The first time I started TS I was able to get the 3 nodes placed. I started FS, slewed to closest of the three flatten nodes, right clicked "Move Node to A/C, tried to repeat for the other two nodes and on the third node I got the "Unhandled exception has occured in your application" error. Had to quit as the program won't continue.
Also noticed that I get the error if FS is running when trying to place nodes.
Sometimes I don't get the plane symbol and other times it is so far from the center display I can't zoom out far enough to find it and then I get the error.
Once I almost got a flatten outlined but got the exception error before I could finish.

Thanks,
Alan
 

gadgets

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and on the third node I got the "Unhandled exception has occurred in your application" error.
Alan, it would be helpful if I knew the details of the exception. Should it happen again, please include those details. What version of FS are you using?

Had to quit as the program won't continue.
Even though Windows offers the "continue" option, it almost never works.

Sometimes I don't get the plane symbol and other times it is so far from the center display I can't zoom out far enough to find it and then I get the error.
Can you be a little more definitive about the "sometimes"? You can always bring the aircraft back with the Move A/C to cursor feature.

I'll spend some time investigating in the morning. You must be trying to do something TS isn't expecting or in an unexpected way. I've been working with complex data configurations and haven't experienced an exception for quite a while.

Don
 

gadgets

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A BIG OOPS!

I just realized, thanks to Alan's post, that there's a major "hole" in Terrain Scupltor. If, after a "cold start" you enter a node before you start FlightSim, that node will be close to the equator south of London. Then, when you start Flightsim with the user aircraft in some other location, the a/c symbol won't appear on the display. Terrain Sculptor won't allow you to move that those nodes to the aircraft, because the a/c symbol is off-screen. So, short of starting over, the only way to geo-reference that/those nodes is to zoom out until the aircraft symbol is on screen and use move node to A/C. (Alan, I had no difficulty zooming out to where the display covered thousands of miles.)

The workaround, of course, is to start Flightsim first. Terrain Sculptor will then geo-reference the display to the aircraft.

As well, Alan, I'm very curious to learn mode about those exceptions. I can move any node to the aircraft without difficulty.
Hopefully, I'll have a fixes for all this later today.

Don
 
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22
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england
Don,
Found your thread this afternoon and have grabbed the beta.

Superb!

I have Horizon GenX installed with included mesh and for no particular reason picked Gloucester Airport. I used ADE to make an exclude for the default and then switched to your new program. Allowing for having never used it before I have achieved what I consider a quite acceptable blend in about 40 minutes. I went back and moved a few nodes which slowed things down. Using ADE alone I think the blend would have taken at least 5-6 hours.

Only 'problem' I encountered was building the file for FSX/P3D. I named it "Gloucester_CVX" but it insisted on compiling as simply "Gloucester". Windows file explorer listed it as a File and not a BGL. I renamed and added BGL and all was well.

Tony
 

gadgets

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ca-britishcolumbia
Only 'problem' I encountered was building the file for FSX/P3D. I named it "Gloucester_CVX" but it insisted on compiling as simply "Gloucester". Windows file explorer listed it as a File and not a BGL. I renamed and added BGL and all was well.
Thanks, Tony. The file should have been named as you tried - even if you only entered "Gloucester" and set filetype as ".bgl". I've not seen thgis with FSX, so perhaps its a P3D "special".

Once I almost got a flatten outlined but got the exception error before I could finish
Alan, I have been unable to force any exceptions. Terrain Sculptor communicates with FlightSim via FSUIPC (FS9 and FSX) or SimConnect (FSX/P3D). I wonder if the exceptions you are seeing are Window UAC (User Access Control) issues related to the installation location of either of those.

Don
 

gadgets

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I have just posted Version 0.1.06. It should be automatically detected the next time you run TS.

The new version contains two geo-referencing functions under the Nodes menu: Re-Center Display to A/C and Re-Center Display (Lat/Lon). The latter allows you to provide an initial geo-reference when FlightSim is not running. This new version also provides a fix for the file naming issue reported earlier today by Tony. The user manual has been updated to reflect the need to geo-starting "from scratch" and when Flightsim is not running.

Alan, I have still not experienced an exception. If you are still getting them, I really need to know the details.

Have a great weekend, all.

Don
 
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183
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us-utah
Ok, I downloaded the newest TS beta version and started TS. I was able to place the three nodes in a small triangle with the node about 1 inch apart. I started FSX Acceleration on Win7 64 bit computer and the triangle filled the screen of TS. I could not find my airplane symbol so I zoomed out to 257.6 miles. Still no aircraft symbol. Selected a node (turned red) and tried to move AC to node and got the error again. I copied the details of the error:
************** Exception Text **************
System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
at Terrain_Sculptor.MainPanel.cmnuMoveNodeToAC_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.RaiseEvent(Object key, EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripMenuItem.OnClick(EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.HandleClick(EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.HandleMouseUp(MouseEventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.FireEventInteractive(EventArgs e, ToolStripItemEventType met)
at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.FireEvent(EventArgs e, ToolStripItemEventType met)
at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip.OnMouseUp(MouseEventArgs mea)
at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripDropDown.OnMouseUp(MouseEventArgs mea)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmMouseUp(Message& m, MouseButtons button, Int32 clicks)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.ScrollableControl.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripDropDown.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)


************** Loaded Assemblies **************
mscorlib
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.5485 (Win7SP1GDR.050727-5400)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/Microsoft.NET/Framework/v2.0.50727/mscorlib.dll
----------------------------------------
Terrain Sculptor
Assembly Version: 0.1.0.0
Win32 Version: 0.1.0.0
CodeBase: file:///C:/Users/Alan/Desktop/Terrain%20Sculptor/Terrain%20Sculptor.exe
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualBasic
Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 8.0.50727.5483 (Win7SP1GDR.050727-5400)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualBasic/8.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll
----------------------------------------
System
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.5485 (Win7SP1GDR.050727-5400)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Windows.Forms
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.5483 (Win7SP1GDR.050727-5400)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Windows.Forms/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Windows.Forms.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Drawing
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.5483 (Win7SP1GDR.050727-5400)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Drawing/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Drawing.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Runtime.Remoting
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.5488 (Win7SP1GDR.050727-5400)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Runtime.Remoting/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Runtime.Remoting.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Core
Assembly Version: 3.5.0.0
Win32 Version: 3.5.30729.5420 built by: Win7SP1
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Core/3.5.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Core.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.FlightSimulator.SimConnect
Assembly Version: 10.0.61259.0
Win32 Version: 10.0.61637.0 (FSX-Xpack.20070926-1421)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_32/Microsoft.FlightSimulator.SimConnect/10.0.61259.0__31bf3856ad364e35/Microsoft.FlightSimulator.SimConnect.dll
----------------------------------------
FSUIPCClient
Assembly Version: 1.3.2758.28
Win32 Version: 1.3.2758.28
CodeBase: file:///C:/Users/Alan/Desktop/Terrain%20Sculptor/FSUIPCClient.DLL
----------------------------------------
msvcm80
Assembly Version: 8.0.50727.6195
Win32 Version: 8.00.50727.6195
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/WinSxS/x86_microsoft.vc80.crt_1fc8b3b9a1e18e3b_8.0.50727.6195_none_d09154e044272b9a/msvcm80.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Configuration
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.5483 (Win7SP1GDR.050727-5400)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Configuration/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Configuration.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Xml
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.5485 (Win7SP1GDR.050727-5400)
CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Xml/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Xml.dll
----------------------------------------

************** JIT Debugging **************
To enable just-in-time (JIT) debugging, the .config file for this
application or computer (machine.config) must have the
jitDebugging value set in the system.windows.forms section.
The application must also be compiled with debugging
enabled.

For example:

<configuration>
<system.windows.forms jitDebugging="true" />
</configuration>

When JIT debugging is enabled, any unhandled exception
will be sent to the JIT debugger registered on the computer
rather than be handled by this dialog box.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Hopefully this is what you needed.
I disabled UAC a long time ago per Nick N.
I use a paid version of FSUIPC from Pete Dowson

Thanks,
Alan
 

gadgets

Resource contributor
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9,388
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ca-britishcolumbia
Found the problem, Alan. There is a coding error. What I suspect you are doing is exactly what the user manual has told you, i.e., select the node to be moved to the aircraft and then right-click. But, I suspect, before right clicking you are moving the cursor away form that node.

Until I fix this error, you can avoid the exception by keeping the cursor over the selected node when you right-click.

Don
 

gadgets

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9,388
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ca-britishcolumbia
Version 0.1.07 uploaded. It fixes the possible exception when moving a node to the user aircraft. User manual also updated

Don
 
Messages
183
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us-utah
I made a flatten! :)
Here are some observations I found when trying to make a flatten. I found that when starting from scratch I had to have Flightsim running. Less confusing than having to enter the Lat and Lon as I couldn't this method to work right.

I'm trying to make a fast flatten per the manual and then re-center display to the co-ordinates of my airport.

I enter the latitude and longitude right from ADE airport properties but can't get the latitude to "take" what I enter. Latitude I enter 37.036581449 and get 0.00016795. Longitude is close. I put in -113.510873169 and it changes to -113.51092211. The display moves but only to the new Lon location. Lat stays at the 0.00016795 location.
I noticed that ADE has 9 characters to the right of the decimal point whereas TS has 8. This is why the Lon is a little off.

Now on to making sculpts, blends and holes.:cool:
Any timetable when we will be able to import from ADE?

Thanks Don,
Alan
 
Messages
10
Country
australia
How do you install this? I unzipped the folder and copied the contents to a new folder on my desktop and clicked the .exe - the window opens but says Flightsim not running at top even when it is? have I missed something?
 

gadgets

Resource contributor
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9,388
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ca-britishcolumbia
I'm trying to make a fast flatten per the manual and then re-center display to the co-ordinates of my airport.
Unfortunately, that's not possible. You can move an individual node (edit/drag/move to AC) but re-centering the display does just that. It does not affect the geographic position of the nodes.

ADE airport properties but can't get the latitude to "take" what I enter.
What latitude are you looking at? How big an area does your display cover. The position shown in the bottom left-hand corner is the current position of the cursor. There's no way to check the latitude at the center of the display other than by positioning the cursor dead-center. Also, please note that latitude and longitude are entered individually.
I noticed that ADE has 9 characters to the right of the decimal point whereas TS has 8. This is why the Lon is a little off
.Once again, I suspect you are looking at the cursor position.

Don
 

gadgets

Resource contributor
Messages
9,388
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ca-britishcolumbia
How do you install this? I unzipped the folder and copied the contents to a new folder on my desktop and clicked the .exe - the window opens but says Flightsim not running at top even when it is? have I missed something?
It would seem you've installed Terrain Sculptor correctly. If you hadn't, it wouldn't run at all.

If you are running FS9, have you previously installed FSUIPC? Or, if you are running FSX, is SimConnect installed properly. (Just realized I haven't stated this as a prerequisite in the manual).

Don

EDIT: The user manual on my website has been updated to reflect this requirement and to tell you where you can get FSUIPC.
 
Last edited:

gadgets

Resource contributor
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ca-britishcolumbia
It's been a week since I made the last beta release. It would be helpful to me if those of you who have tried Terrain Sculptor gave me some feedback so that I can eliminate any residual errors prior to general release.

Thanks in advance,
Don
 
Messages
22
Country
england
Don,
Would it be possible to have the Profile Blend Outline Box close automatically after it has been run.

My only problem is that using two monitor I don't get the aircraft outline unless I run Terrain sculptor on top of FSX. It just won't show for me.

Many thanks for what it does do though as your program will save me hours of work.

Regards,

Tony
 

gadgets

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9,388
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ca-britishcolumbia
Thanks for the update, Tony.

Would it be possible to have the Profile Blend Outline Box close automatically after it has been run.
Yes, it would. But I have intentionally left it open because I felt many users will want to experiment with the spacing and slope parameters.

I'm going to leave it unchanged at the moments. But, if others also suggests leaving it open is a nuisance, I'll close it automatically when the blend outline is complete.

Thanks again, Don
 

gadgets

Resource contributor
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9,388
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ca-britishcolumbia
I have just uploaded Beta Release 8 to my website http://stuff4fs.com. To download it, navigate to Applications / Terrain Sculptor and click the Development Release menu button.

Release 0.1.08 adds an important new capability. It allows you to specify the blend outline in SBuilder or (hopefully, soon) ADE - which display background images - prior to importing the data into Terrain Sculptor. This means you could simply specify the flatten and blend outlines in the other application and let Terrain Sculptor create all the necessary blending triangles - automatically - thus saving you a significant amount of work.

Don
 

gadgets

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ca-britishcolumbia
My only problem is that using two monitor I don't get the aircraft outline unless I run Terrain sculptor on top of FSX. It just won't show for me
.Tony, I neglected to answer this query in my earlier post.

I have just discovered an issue with the SimConnect interface to Terrain Sculptor, I'm still not sure how it manifests to the situation you are experiencing and I am unable to duplicate that situation. But, I am confident it is the cause since it suppresses aircraft position update messages from FSX.

Terrain Sculptor defaults to FSUIPC when installed - which is why I hadn't seen the issue earlier. I presume you do not have FSUIPC.

I have just uploaded beta release 9 to http://stuff4fs.com. It should be detected the next time you run Terrain Sculptor. Please give it a try and confirm whether or not the problem has been resolved.

Don
 
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