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Airport Flattens

B

Bernd Podhradsky

Messages
22
Hello!

Got a specific question about airport flattens: Say I want to replace a complete CVX of FSX and replace it with my own CVX that contains all the vector data for that region. Of course, I would also have to rebuild the aerodrome flatten polygons again, because they're also stored in the CVX-BGL file. At the moment, I rename the original CVX file so that FSX completely ignores it.

However, I couldn't find a database on the internet that gives me information about the airport boundary polygons. There are a few possibilities to solve that problem, that's why I have a few questions:

1.) Is there a way to extract all FSX airport boundary polygons (from the BGLs or elsewhere)? If yes, how and in what format do I get the data?
2.) Is there any database on the internet that contains these airport boundary polygons that I can use as flatten polygons?
3.) If 1) and 2) don't work: instead of deactivating the default FSX CVXaaaa.bgl file, can I somehow just deactivate everything in them (ie exclude) with only the airport flattens staying activated?

Just a quick note: manual drawing of these polygons is no option, since I want to create scenery for a big area!

Thanks in advance,
Bernd
 
1. No
2. No, not that I know of
3. Yes

Quick note response: You could if you wanted to! :D
 
Hi!

Thanks for your answer. What I did was keeping the original BGL as it is and make my own above it. However, I did NOT include any flatten excludes in my own BGL, but the original ones don't show up any more. My airports are full of autogen objects and have no grass texture below them.

Any idea what's wrong?

Thanks,
Bernd
 
Didn't use the exclude EVERYTHING, did you? That will wipe out... everything!

I'm hoping the two pictures show the process as fairly easy and effective? The blue lines are exclusionary polygons. These can be tagged to exclude any number of items; water, shorelines, streams, etc. The picture with the grid over the blue lines shows QMID level 11 boundaries. It's important to understand how FSX removes things and the area size that is affected. For everything except traffic (IIRC) the level of exclusion is at QMID = 11. Traffic is QMID = 15, a much smaller area.

And it's hard to see by the pictures, but the lines for the exclusionary polygon are offset just a bit from where the QMID grid is.

Using a tool like SBuilderX will allow you to draw your exclusionary polygons (rectangles here) easily and you can then start copying and pasting, depending upon how large of an area you're working on. After saving the SBX project, you can also Export it to a SBX file. Deciphering the SBX file in a plain text editor is simple enough, IMO and you can then do thing like a search and replace, where you are searching for a GUID for excluding roads and replacing it with a GUID to exclude railroads.

Roads because of their smaller area that the deal with, QMID=15 v. QMID=11 would require more effort or copying and pasting.
 

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Hi!

Here's what I did:

.) Create exclude polygons (rectangular, exactly the size of the CVX-BGL I want to "replace") for all hydros, shorelines and roads / railroads. No "exclude all" and no "exclude airport flattens".
.) Created a hydro polygon covering the same area (rectangular)
.) Created land mass by making polygons counter-clockwise (holes to my ocean polygon)
.) Created roads / railroads etc

Everything looks fine in FS, roads etc are all excluded and my data is showing up perfectly. However, the original airport flattens (which are not excluded) are not there. No grass texture and autogen objects all over my airport.

I'm using a self-written GIS application (not SBuilderX) that deals with the DBF, SHP files etc itself. Despite the missing FSX-default airport polygons that is working without problems.

Bernd
 
I've been pondering your response, albeit at an age related speed! :rolleyes:

First, it's difficult to get inside a project without any reference material to look at. But with that disclaimer, I have to suggest that the game is doing exactly what you have asked it to do.

When you mention the airports are now covered in autogen you don't mention that the flatten is gone. Can you check a few to verify? You've effectively redone the landscape, which includes bringing in a new polygonal land classification via the base polygon and hole(s) method. It just seems right that a new polygonal land class would override what is already there, including the grassy airport area that serves to outline the flattened areas. That's why I'm thinking the airports are still there, flat as they should be and you see autogen on top of them because that's what you have told the game to put there.

Before I work my fingers any further, I'd like to find out if the flattens are present.
 
Hi!

Actually you're right, it's not the flatten that seems to be gone but rather the grass polygon that covers the airport region as well as the autogen exclusion polygons.

However, it's still not clear, because I thought that it is ONE polygon GUID that does all three (flatten, grass texture, autogen exclusion).

I'm not placing new landclass polygons on the scenery! I add one hydro exclusion polygon, one hydro polygon (covering everything with water) and thousands of holes to this hydro polygon (marked as polygon hole by making it anti-clockwise). No other polygons (such as grass textures or autogen etc). How would the default airport grass textures and autogen exclusions be gone?

Thanks for your help!
Bernd
 
As usual, making a zip file of your sources, and zipping them up, and attaching them to a post will give enough information so we are not guessing at your problem.

Dick
 
LCSims said:
Deciphering the SBX file in a plain text editor is simple enough, IMO and you can then do thing like a search and replace, where you are searching for a GUID for excluding roads and replacing it with a GUID to exclude railroads.
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks for that little tidbit, I always assumed they were binaries. Not sure what I'll do with it just yet, but no doubt I'll find something! :)

Thx,
Jim
 
rhumbaflappy said:
As usual, making a zip file of your sources, and zipping them up, and attaching them to a post will give enough information so we are not guessing at your problem.

Dick
Click to expand...

I know that this helps you a lot, but since the data use is under copyright, it's not possible until I get the okay from the data provider, which is what I'm waiting for.

Thanks for your understanding,
Bernd
 
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