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scruffyduck

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Just to let y'all know that I am now back to work on the next version of ADE. Time out to get the house on the market but things are quiter now. We are doing a lot of internal changes to the program to hopefully improve performance and support new functions like night lighting views and multiple select. Can't give a time scale but it is getting a lot of attention right now :)
 
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ATTN: Jon and Jim...

I was researching options with Airport Rotating Beacons today, and found some info that might be of interest regarding placement methods for such objects with ADE:


First, some history from the "What Features for Version 1.50" thread:


http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16405&highlight=rotating+beacon&page=2

jvile said:
12-08-2009, 08:41

Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,543

GaryGB said:
For example, a popular local rural airfield I'd like to re-create sometime has its civilian airport beacon perched precariously on the relatively thin edge of a former farm silo which has had the domed roof removed.

I would not expect to be able to "hide" any default FSX tower "inside the wall" of the silo (unless the attach point still works even if scaled down to a minuscule size ? )
Click to expand...

Quote:
Gary

A rotating beacon can be placed on anything. You do not need the attach point. The attach point is so a beacon will sit on something at the correct altitude without a seperate Lat/Lon.

The XML code to set a rotating beacon on the thin wall of the silo is

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<FSData version="9.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="bglcomp.xsd">
<SceneryObject
lat="-12.7848493264784" <<<------ thin wall Lat
lon="143.304919052313" <<<<------- thin wall Lon
alt="4.17576" <<<<<<------ altitude the beacon will sit at
pitch="0"
bank="0"
heading="0"
altitudeIsAgl="TRUE" <<<<------ You can leave TRUE since the beacon altitude code does not understand AGL
imageComplexity="NORMAL">
<Beacon type="CIVILIAN" baseType="AIRPORT" />
</SceneryObject>
</FSData>

Change my Lat/Lon and altitude to match where your thin wall silo is located. Get the correct Lat/Lon from the ADE grid upper left corner when connected to FSX in slew mode. Set the altitude of the beacon. Compile to a bgl with a name such as Airport beacon.

ADE makes it possible to set certain objects very precisely without a preview mode.
__________________
Jim
Click to expand...


http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16405&highlight=rotating+beacon&page=2

http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showpost.php?p=107517&postcount=38


In the future maybe we could add a way for ADE to read the precise altitude of something (top of a tower, building, beacon, etc.) since the only way to do it now is in a airplane and subtraction of a value.

From that point forward we do not have to stay strictly with adding a beacon to something that only has the attach point. ADE could offer the option to place any type beacon on anything with the above XML coded into a property window of ADE."
Click to expand...



IIUC, is the code Rhumbaflappy shows in the following thread actually providing a "virtualized" non-MDL attachpoint via XML for use with the (FS9) default Airport Rotating Beacon ? :confused:

http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=79368&hl=\Airport+Rotating+Beacon\

Name=Rhumbaflappy' Date='Aug 23 2004, 05:27 PM' Post='545731']

Hi all.

I don't mind at all. It's just the attachpoint for the beacon... no object at all. So you can place it anywhere in 3d space.

In XML:


Code: 
<SceneryObject

	lat = "0.0"

	lon = "0.0"

	alt = "0.0"

	altitudeIsAgl = "TRUE"

	pitch = "0.0"

	bank = "0.0"

	heading = "0.0"

	imageComplexity = "SPARSE">

	<LibraryObject

		 name = "17FFB8074F01AF4D7A60BE84063F3CF0"

		 scale = "1.0"/>

	<AttachedObject

	   attachpointName = "attachpt_beacon"

	   pitch = "0.0"

	   bank = "0.0"

	   heading = "0.0">

	   <Beacon type = "CIVILIAN" baseType= "AIRPORT"/>

	</AttachedObject>

</SceneryObject>


Dick
Click to expand...



Thanks for any info on whether this placement method is different than described in the "What Features for Version 1.50" thread, and if so, might it be an option with a future update in ADE9 ? :)


PS: Jim's example is for FSX, but I wonder if the XML result is functionally the same (other than the GUIDs); ...if so, I'd like to use it to place the FS9 Airport Rotating Beacon for use in FSX. :idea:


FYI: In this XML example, the FS9 Airport Rotating Beacon was successfully placed using the FS9 BGLComp to compile the placement BGL:

Code: 
<SceneryObject lat="42.7958654038715" lon="-70.8411665715632" alt="0.00"
		altitudeIsAgl="TRUE" pitch="0.00" bank="0.00" heading="0.00"
		imageComplexity="VERY_SPARSE">
		<LibraryObject name="7f38bfbc4a40e2953c3f5c8482fa2c87" scale="1.00" />
	<AttachedObject
		attachpointName="attachpt_beacon">
		<Beacon type="CIVILIAN" baseType="AIRPORT"/>
	</AttachedObject>
	</SceneryObject>


Does FSX automatically substitute a new internal FSX GUID (therefore a different object) when the FS9 object is requested to be displayed by an explicit GUID in an FS9 placement BGL ? :scratchch


I have the [FS9 install path]\Base\Scenery, Generic\Scenery, and \Scenery\World\Scenery folders active in a test session of FSX SP2, but I cannot get the FS9 Airport Rotating Beacon to display when using the "17FFB8074F01AF4D7A60BE84063F3CF0" GUID in Rhumbaflappy's FS9 example above.

Interestingly, another example by Rhumbaflappy shows the same FS9 GUID that I used for successfully placing (and seeing) the FS9 Airport Rotating Beacon :twocents:

http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=78320&hl=\Rotating+Beacon\

[quote name='rhumbaflappy' date='Dec 19 2003, 05:48 AM' post='539516']

You're right.

Code: 
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<FSData
version="9.0"
xmlns:xsi='http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance'
xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="bglcomp.xsd">
<SceneryObject
lat="S26 00.00"
lon="E26 00.00"
alt="0"
altitudeIsAgl="TRUE"
pitch="0"
bank="0"
heading="0"
imageComplexity="NORMAL">

<LibraryObject
   name="7f38bfbc4a40e2953c3f5c8482fa2c87"
   scale="1.0"/>
      <AttachedObject
      attachpointName="attachpt_beacon"
      pitch="20"
      bank="-10"
      heading="90">
      <Beacon
         type="CIVILIAN"
         baseType="AIRPORT"/>
   </AttachedObject>


</SceneryObject>
</FSData>

The forum is adding the last slash.. both to my post and the original!

I do think we'll have lots of problems, not only with XML syntax, but with careless mistakes by MS as well... not much new there.

Dick
Click to expand...


GaryGB
 
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Gary

There are two ways to place rotating beacons - one is directly with XML code as described in one or more of the examples above. This allows the placement of rotating beacons anywhere and on anything, ADE will be able to do this. It can be done now with Scenery Maker (my earlier non gui scenery designer). The other way is via an attachpoint provided that the parent object has one built in by the designer. Both will be supported by ADE.

As far as accurate placement with non in sim placement tools there is an 'aircraft' called the Finney Ground Cross Hairs (can be found on AVSIM). This has no offset from AGL to the bottom of the aircraft so that very specific vertical placement can be achieved.
 
Great news. This will be one more thing I don't have to do in SceneGenX (the only remaining one is FS9 flattens - I much prefer SGX over FSTFlatten).

Thanks,
 
Thanks Jon... good to know ADE will accommodate placing those objects by either method. :p


I'll do some more testing in the hope of sorting out this issue of whether the FS9 object GUIDs that are requested end up being displayed from the actual original FS9 object library code, or whether they are substituted by an FSX version (if available) via an internal FSX GUID cross-reference mapping.


I'm not certain that the GUID for the Airport Beacon referenced by the "17FFB8074F01AF4D7A60BE84063F3CF0" GUID even exists in FS9.1, as I have yet to get it to display in that version of FS (but the Airport Beacon referenced by the "7f38bfbc4a40e2953c3f5c8482fa2c87" GUID does). :confused:


This compels a question about Library Object Manager and the implementation of same in ADE that I understood you also had planned.

[EDITED]
Will the LOM feature in ADE provide the same capabilities that LOM had for FS9 (including the ability to catalog / manage non-default library objects) ?

That would be a very desirable function to have in both the FS9 (ADE9) and FSX (ADEX) platforms, IMHO.;)


Thanks for your consideration of this option in your ADE development planning. :)


GaryGB
 
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Rotating beacons do not have a GUID in either FS9 or FSX - they are created in XML only (like Generic Buildings).

ADE will get pretty much most of LOM/Scenery Maker in time.
 
Jon ..... How about a lighthouse with a beacon? There are 3 in the default librarys but none have a beacon.
Also ...... If anyone has problems with a fuel truck that won't come to some parks ...... try straighting the path a bit. I just had one that wouldn't make a 100°+ turn. It runs off the path! put some nodes in and make it 2 50° turns.
Joe W
 
Joe W said:
Jon ..... How about a lighthouse with a beacon? There are 3 in the default librarys but none have a beacon.
Also ...... If anyone has problems with a fuel truck that won't come to some parks ...... try straighting the path a bit. I just had one that wouldn't make a 100°+ turn. It runs off the path! put some nodes in and make it 2 50° turns.
Joe W
Click to expand...

Thanks Joe - will add that :)
 
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