MSFS "Component_ID" in behaviors XML

[ozzman1997]

It's been a while since I've posted here asking for advice...Hopefully all of you have been doing great.

For the last couple of days I've been trying to wrap my mind around the new "model behaviors" system in MSFS and, as usual, reading the SDK documentation has left me with more questions than answers. Yeah, yeah, I guess you can say I'm a little behind in this regard...Apparently using the deprecated or "legacy" XML format only gets you so far in MSFS before the new format needs to be invoked.

It seems that each entry in the XML is separated into <Component> sections with an "ID" property, and sometimes a "Node" property as well. From what little I understand so far, it seems as if animation entries are the only type that don't require a node to be specified, since that is assigned through the Babylon animation editor (I am using the Max plugins by the way, not Blender.) Visibility and material tags appear to require a node entry within the XML itself in order to "attach" themselves to an object.

The "ID" property on the other hand doesn't seem to be referenced at all in the 3D model or elsewhere in the XML...Is it just an arbitrary name with no purpose other than separating the XML into categories/groups? I've pasted a snippet from the DA62 yokes below as an example:

<Component ID="HANDLING_Yokes">
        <UseTemplate Name="ASOBO_HANDLING_Yoke_Template">
            <NODE_ID>HANDLING_Yoke</NODE_ID>
            <NODE_ID2>HANDLING_Yoke_2</NODE_ID2>
            <CREATE_TWO_NODES/>
        </UseTemplate>
        <Component ID="Yoke_1_Visibility" Node="HANDLING_Yoke">
            <UseTemplate Name="ASOBO_GT_Visibility_Code">
                <VISIBILITY_CODE>(L:XMLVAR_YokeHidden1) !</VISIBILITY_CODE>
            </UseTemplate>
        </Component>
        <Component ID="Yoke_2_Visibility" Node="HANDLING_Yoke_2">
            <UseTemplate Name="ASOBO_GT_Visibility_Code">
                <VISIBILITY_CODE>(L:XMLVAR_YokeHidden2) !</VISIBILITY_CODE>
            </UseTemplate>
        </Component>
        <UseTemplate Name="ASOBO_HANDLING_Push_AP_Trim_Disc_Template">
            <TYPE>Elevator</TYPE>
            <NODE_ID>yoke_left_push</NODE_ID>
            <ANIM_NAME>yoke_left_push</ANIM_NAME>
        </UseTemplate>
        <UseTemplate Name="ASOBO_HANDLING_Switch_ElevatorTrim_Template">
            <NODE_ID>yoke_left_switch_trim</NODE_ID>
            <ANIM_NAME>yoke_left_switch_trim</ANIM_NAME>
            <MOMENTARY_MIN_DURATION>0.1</MOMENTARY_MIN_DURATION>
        </UseTemplate>
        <CameraTitle>Pedestal_Fwd</CameraTitle>
    </Component>

 

[Anthony31]

Yes, Component ID seems to be completely arbitrary.

I think, in theory you could just have one Component ID and stuff everything in there. In practice I like to split parts out into logical groups. For example, all the gauges I will put into one component.

If you are using a good text editor it will allow you to fold the Component ID sections so they take up less space on screen which can make working with the XML easier.

Note: For parts that are parented to another you may need to keep their Component ID within the parent Component ID. I can't remember the exact conditions but I've had problems in the past where a mousezone was attached to an animated part I needed to have the Component for mousezone within the Component for the animated part otherwise it wouldn't work. Just something to be aware of if you ever have a child part that stops working. It might be the Component nesting (or it could be something else).

 

[=rk=]

I believe Anthony knows Asobo XML better than anyone else here and also, Component ID can be called by other documents. For example, A gauge may be referenced in the model_interior.xml, the Panel.xml and the Panel.cfg.

It seems that each entry in the XML is separated into <Component> sections with an "ID" property, and sometimes a "Node" property as well. From what little I understand so far, it seems as if animation entries are the only type that don't require a node to be specified, since that is assigned through the Babylon animation editor (I am using the Max plugins by the way, not Blender.) Visibility and material tags appear to require a node entry within the XML itself in order to "attach" themselves to an object.

"Component" is one category of the model.xml, Behaviors, LODs, animations, PartInfo are a few others. All animations require nodes, the node can be mesh or dummy "helper" and the node might not be referred to as "node." In the example

   <PartInfo>
      <Name>prop1_still</Name>
      <AnimLength>100</AnimLength>
      <Visibility>
        <Parameter>
          <Code>
            (A:PROP MAX RPM PERCENT:1, percent) 50 &lt; if{ 1 } els{ 0 }
          </Code>
        </Parameter>
      </Visibility>
    </PartInfo>

"prop1_still" is the node and we know it is a helper, because a mesh would have the "x0_" prefix.

The Babylon Animation Groups panel records the animation you have created into the model and it essentially defines the animation for Asobo's render to take over. Imo, it does not as much assign a node, as it defines the node linkages you've assigned.

 

[ozzman1997]

Thank you guys both for the thorough explanations. The SDK documentation has a tendency to be quite ambiguous about what certain things mean, and whether they are actually required or not.