Hello Peter:
AFAIK,
AGenT is intended for use with FS2004 (aka "FS9") format
*.BMP aerial imagery custom land class tiles as output by FS9 SDK Resample, and is
not intended for '
direct' use with FSX SDK Resample format BGLs (which contain
both the imagery and placement instructions for tiles), nor with *.BMPs produced by "other" graphics applications,
or FS scenery utilities ...such as SBuilderX aerial imagery tiles from the [SBuilderX install path]\Tiles folder chain.
BTW: Using
SBuilder for FS9, you should be able to load and process aerial imagery *.BMP tiles (from copies of those files originally downloaded in SBuilderX) via the FS9 SDK Resample utility to output the *.BMP tiles and placement *.BGL ...after some review of the workflow required for such a procedure.
Such a process would facilitate output of the FS9 format aerial imagery custom photo-real land class *.BMP texture tiles actually needed in order to work with AGenT.
FYI: The initial output of AGenT is a
*.XML file, which is usually compiled into FS9 format
*an.AGN file.
The FS9 format *.XML
and compiled *an.AGN files are each compatible with FSX; also, either one can work to allow display of autogen annotations in FS9 or FSX ...for objects which are properly listed in the FS
Terrain.Cfg and
Default.XML files.
However, such legacy FS9 format files are usually converted to the FSX format *.XML and *an.AGN format files for full compatibility and optimum performance ...when they are to be used in FSX.
If you intend to use the AGenT autogen annotations in FSX,
first make backup copies of the FS9 format AGenT work files prior to performing what will be a
non-reversible conversion to FSX format *.XML and *an.AGN file format.
Alternatively, of course, you can use the
default FSX SDK Autogen Annotator to directly open and annotate the FSX SDK Resample format BGLs (which contain
both the imagery and placement instructions for tiles).
NOTE: It has been reported that FS9 format aerial imagery custom photo-real land class placement BGLs and paired *.BMP tiles
can also be used in FSX, but may load slower, perform
less efficiently in FSX at run time, and will consume more hard drive space.
Thus, it is better to output such aerial imagery as FSX SDK Resample format BGLs when intended for display in FSX, to optimize performance and utilize (optional) compression, which can reduce hard drive space consumption by as much as 40% while having a minimal impact on perceived image quality at run time in FSX.
Hope this info helps !
GaryGB
