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FSX 1.78 GP Height Offset Issue

connomar

connomar

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us-minnesota
Hi Jon,

I am finding that airports that previously compiled without producing flashing GP objects under 1.76 are now doing so. I've tried adjusting the GP Offset to slightly higher values without success. What was the default for the 1.76 please? Could it be something else?

Martin
 
I haven't made any changes that should affect that. Perhaps Don may have some insight? What sim version are you compiling for?
 
Just from a point of understanding, Don provides the dll, so if he changes it, ADE can have a change in the Dialogue Box which you haven't seen?
 
The default offset has always been 7mm which seemed sufficient to overcome the "ripples" that remained in the surface after flatt5ening If you are getting flashing of GP's, then I suspect your terrain has ripples which exceed the offset. The offset required is solely a function of the airport terrain.
 
What is odd Don, is that compiling the same ad4 file on 1.76.675 generates far less ripples than 1.78.
 
compiling the same ad4 file on 1.76.675 generates far less ripples than 1.78.
Click to expand...
Can't explain. ADE_GP simply sets the "alt" value in the .xml file it generates to the offset value you enter.

All I can suggest is that you increase the offset value.
 
Connomar, just so you don't feel alone, I am finding the same problem in an airport that I am working on in 1.76
FredZ
 
fredz said:
Martin, there has got to be more to that statement!
FredZ
Click to expand...
I'd just been wondering why nobody else was suffering the same strange effect. I have loads of GP objects all over the airport, which when compiled on 1.76 stay put and on 1.78 disappear and then reappear as you move closer to them, or in the air, flash like crazy. Don indicates that whilst we now have the ability to change the ground to poly offset value, the default hasn't changed. Hey ho.
 
Martin, I have a small practice airport that I use mostly to make thumbnails with....added a GP item of parking lot lines and compiled with both 1.76 and 1.78....1.76 had no problems, 1.78 would disappear and reappear as I moved around the spot. Nothing else was changed and I did 1.76 first followed by 1.78. Something is wrong!
We will see.
Fred Z
 
I hate to interject into this mutual-misery relationship but, as I said earlier, ADE-GP simply adds the specified offset into the "alt" field of the ADE_GP.xml file (in your ADE folder). I have just confirmed the offset is actually added and you can do the same.

The purpose of this post is to suggest that, whatever the cause, it's almost certainly outside ADE_GP. Indeed, if you examine the two ADE_GP.xml files closely, I think you'll find them to be identical. ( If not please let me know.) So, you should be looking at other possibilities, e.g., flattening - or lack of - at your airports, terrain data, differences in CVX file, etc.
 
As far as I know there is no new or changed function in ADE that might affect this between 1.76 and 1.78
 
gadgets said:
I hate to interject into this mutual-misery relationship but, as I said earlier, ADE-GP simply adds the specified offset into the "alt" field of the ADE_GP.xml file (in your ADE folder). I have just confirmed the offset is actually added and you can do the same.

The purpose of this post is to suggest that, whatever the cause, it's almost certainly outside ADE_GP. Indeed, if you examine the two ADE_GP.xml files closely, I think you'll find them to be identical. ( If not please let me know.) So, you should be looking at other possibilities, e.g., flattening - or lack of - at your airports, terrain data, differences in CVX file, etc.
Click to expand...

Hi Don,

I went to compare the ADE-GP.XML files between the two versions, but only found one in the version 178 folder. In the 176 folder, I found ADE-GP.asm but not in 178. The ADE-GP_Compile.ini file had one difference between the two versions, that of Elevation Offset=0 in 176 and Elevation Offset=7 in 178. I can see the alt=0.007 in ade-gp.xml for version 1.78.
I am compiling the same .AD4 file in both versions. There is an airport flatten present.
 
This is getting interesting! Are we comparing "apples and oranges"?

I have no idea what version of ADE_GP is in the ADE 1.76 you are using. But, from your last report (and now from a nuance in your initial report), it appears it may be a version of ADE_GP prior to the ability to select either FS8-style or XML-style GPs. If that's the case, then in your 1.76, GPs for FSX/FSX:SE were always compiled as FS8-style. No offset was specified, needed or used.

Since you are specifying an offset in 1.78, then you are compiling XML-style GPs. They are quite different - a situation that, perhaps, isn't explained well enough in the user manual. The offset in XML-style GPs (that's not a term you'll find in the user manual) is required to overcome the height of the "ripples" in your flatten (the local height of which may vary by a few millimeters and which depend on a variety of factors within Flightsim).

As an experiment, please compile FS8-style GPs with 1.78 and compare that to 1.76. Please also report the release number of the respective ADE_GP versions (found in the title bar of the ADE_GP Editor.
 
Thinking I may have the whole fruit salad. You are right, compiling in FS8-Style on 1.78 produces that same result as 1.76. i.e. No problem. The versions for ADE_GP Editor report as 1.76=2.2.16 and 1.78 as 2.2.21.
 
The ability to compile either FS8 or XML style GPs was introduced in 2.2.17 (see the Version History.pdf in the ADE_GP download archive from http://stuff4fs.com) in response to requests to allow use of FSX Materials.

As I mentioned before, FS8-style GPs don't need an offset. They are true ground polys. XML-style polys are scenery objects and, like any other scenery objects, surfaces too close together will flicker/flash. You'll have to experiment to determine what offset is required at your airport to avoid the problem. But, unless you intend to use FSX Materials on your GPs, FS8-style GPs will do just as well. The reason FS-style is not the default is that we don't know when LM is going to phase out support for them and I don't want to have to come back in two/three/etc. years time and change the default.
 
Thanks for sorting this out for me Don. Always educational and pushes me to read more about the way it is put together.
 
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