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Building generation improvements

arno

arno

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I have improved the buidling generation algorithm that scenProc uses to create 3D building models from footprints. Additional roof types, chimneys and dormers can now also be generated. I had started on these improvements over a year ago, but got disrupted by the FS2004 aircraft MDL export that I worked on last year a lot. So now I have finihsed this functionality.

Since this building algorithm can also be useful to create generic buildings in ModelConverterX, I have decided to add a building creator wizard to ModelConverterX as well now. In that wizard you can interactively draw a building footprint and then turn it into the building you want.

The video tutorial below shows both the new building creator wizard of ModelConverterX as the way that scenProc uses the new algorithm.

Continue reading...
 
This is very interesting news. With your modification, will one be able to create "non rectangular" footprints/buildings? Currently, I take raw footprint data and convert them all to rectangles before processing.
 
Hi,

For autogen buildings they still need to be rectangular, but if you create MDL buildings they can be any shape indeed. This was the case before this change as well. But now you have more options for the 3D buildings.
 
Let me ask this then... I convert a lot of object MDLs to autogen. If I create a library of custom buildings (non-rectangular), and use them as autogen, would scenProc have the capability to select my object based on the shape of the footprint it finds? Example, scenProc sees an L-shape footprint and would select one of my L-shape MDL's. A stretch I know, but just asking.
 
I'm not sure I can follow you.if you have MDL files already why would scenProc have to select other ones?

scenProc can turn footprint polygons into building MDL file for you.

What kind of workflow do you have in mind?
 
Here's what came to mind. Say I created a library of L-shaped houses to be used as autogen. Currently, I can manually create a point on an L-shape footprint and that point selects randomly one from my library using scenProc.

So instead of me manually creating that point, scenProc reads the footprint and sees it as an L-shape footprint. Upon that clarification it will select one of my houses from my L-shape library. I think you sort of do something similar already in recognizing a round footprint and scenProc is able to determine the size of the round footprint? I have used that to determine the size of a storage tank to automatically be placed.

The hard part is recognizing the shape of the footprint I would assume whether it is rectangle, L-shaped, U-shaped and the like. Just an idea.
 
Ah, you try to place them as AGN library objects, now I get it. At the moment there is no logic to detect L-shaped polygons so that you can assign them a certain library class.

The whole idea of the building generation is to prevent and autogen limitations and thus not place them as autogen.
 
It might pull this thread a bit off topic, but I had a feature request on the todo list to detect if a polygon was circular or not. I have started to work on this now and also decided to detect other shapes like squares, rectangles and l-shapes. So in the next development release there will be a special attribute called FSHAPE that provides this information. Below you see a screenshot where I did process building data of an industrial/harbour area with storage tanks. I think it is working quite OK already now, I just need to check why some nearly rectangular shapes are classified as OTHER. But I hope this might also help in the classification you want to do.

1730927913442.png
 
This is looking good Arno, many thanks. :)


Any possibility that this utility feature may in the future be mapped to MSFS default texture sets / objects ...to output glTF's ex:

* processing MS' USA building footprints

* putting roofs onto OSM-derived 'flat' buildings (that are not actually 'flat' IRL)

* recognizing water tanks and other odd shapes

...that MSFS "BlackShark AI" engine has not (yet) provided ? :scratchch

GaryGB
 
I would have to double check, but scenproc can export to a MSFS scenery package already and that should include the buildings as glTF.
 
arno said:
I would have to double check, but scenproc can export to a MSFS scenery package already and that should include the buildings as glTF.
Click to expand...

So, is a choice of texture sets possible with the building generation algorithm that scenProc uses to create 3D building models from footprints, to allow use of MSFS-20/24 default PBR texture sets instead of FS2kX' "Generic Building" textures ? :scratchch

Thanks again for your further clarification on MSFS-22/24 specific content creation / output options. :)

GaryGB
 
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The building algorithm does not use the default FSX autogen building textures, you can use your own. As long as you configure them correctly, so that the algorithm knows where the semantics are.

At the moment creating buildings with PBR materials is not yet supported, that might be a good addition for the future.
 
I have checked if scenProc can export the buildings to MSFS as well. I found a few small bugs when trying to export with ExportMSFS, but I have solved these now. Also I have modified the texture definition so that PBR materials can be specified in there. Both of these changes will be in the next development release.
 
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