Thanks for the update; I look forward to seeing more of your excellent work !
Hmmm.. might we see a "TMF_Extractor" some time in the future since Terrain Mesh is compiled by FS SDK Resample rather than SHP2VEC ?
[EDITED]
In the event that your work might involve a review of the original info on TMF scenery coding and its compilation into BGLs, some references follow (if you haven't already seen these).
Hopefully your work may (eventually) also allow extraction of data from pre-FSX legacy scenery files ...as well as more recent FSX-format BGLs.
Christian Stock - TMF Manual
http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/fslib.php?do=copyright&fid=42974
Richard Ludowise (aka "rhumbaflappy") Tutorials:
TMF-BGLC Design Tutorial V1
http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2ksd&DLID=19208
LWM Tutorial
http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2002sd&DLID=19772
Misc. links to Dick's other packages:
http://library.avsim.net/search.php?CatID=root&SearchTerm=richard ludowise&Sort=Author&ScanMode=1&Go=Change View
Additional info which might possibly prove pertinent upon review:
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 Software Development Kit
Scenery Reference
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/resources/scenery-sdk.25/
Microsoft® Flight Simulator 2002 Software Development Kit
Using Textured Ground Polygons and Land/Water Mask Polygons
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/resources/terrain-sdk.21/
Microsoft® Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight Software Development Kit
Misc. Terrain SDK Documents
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/resources/terrain-sdk.40/
Jim Keir - LWMViewer v1.4
FYI: This utility can decompile LWM BGL to ASM source code as a "BGS" file extension
http://www.jimkeir.co.uk/FlightSim/LWMViewer.html
NOTE: One may wish to compare this to SCA file output from:
Winfried Orthmann - BGLAnalyze version 3.1
http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2002sd&DLID=27375
CAVEAT: Some larger files de-compiled with BGLAnayze v3.1 into SCA files may require re-formatting of lines to insert carriage returns at correct positions due to line-wrapping errors
NOTE: Some legacy BGLs may yield a better results when decompiled with Takuya Murakami's ScDis 2.3:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/freesc/files/scdis/scdis 2.3/
Jim Keir - Slartibartfast
http://www.jimkeir.co.uk/FlightSim/Autogen/index.html
NOTE: Slartibartfast also generates 'BGS' source data files:
http://www.jimkeir.co.uk/FlightSim/Autogen/FAQ.html#FAQ16
Slarti at one time at least, was also able to read MSFS Terrain Mesh BGLs directly (IIUC, now via a DLL), and write out vector flattens etc.
IIRC, rhumbaflappy once expressed concerns about errors in some such vector flatten BGLs output by earlier releases of Slarti.
Holger Sandmann and Scott Gridley have extensive experience using Jim Keir's Slartibartfast for freeware and payware scenery.
FYI: This technology for directly de-compiling terrain mesh BGLs was originally available 'briefly' from Jim Keir as a Beta for review and comment by some members of the FS development community, but at that time MS promptly asked him to remove the stand-alone utility from the internet.
It is not clear if the code for directly reading terrain mesh BGLs has been retained in recent versions of Slartibartfast:
http://www.jimkeir.co.uk/FlightSim/Autogen/FAQ.html#FAQ18
Perhaps a review of Scott Gridley's FreeFlow Scenery Tutorial in conjunction with the Slartibartfast manual may reveal the answer ?
http://www.fs-freeflow.com/index.php?ind=downloads&op=entry_view&iden=87
PS: Regarding custom photo-real "land class scenery", this info might also prove interesting:
Land and Water Class Scenery - SBuilder help file excerpted from a post at PTSIM by developer Luis Sa':
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/ptsim-larger-maps.424686/#post-628531
And, as you may know, one must discern whether or not to retain a "Pixel is Point" attribute when preparing and processing source data otherwise submitted in the projection and datum required by FS SDK Resample.
BTW: IIRC, whether a mis-interpretation of this "Pixel is Point" attribute took place when ACES prepared and processed source data when making the default scenery in versions of FS prior to FSX ...is still 'questionable', considering that the variable land class and vector scenery placement is mis-aligned relative to the 'real world' by up to ~1/2 Kilometer in any given direction at many locations in legacy scenery.
Hope all this info helps !
[END_EDIT]
GaryGB
Hmmm.. might we see a "TMF_Extractor" some time in the future since Terrain Mesh is compiled by FS SDK Resample rather than SHP2VEC ?
[EDITED]
In the event that your work might involve a review of the original info on TMF scenery coding and its compilation into BGLs, some references follow (if you haven't already seen these).
Hopefully your work may (eventually) also allow extraction of data from pre-FSX legacy scenery files ...as well as more recent FSX-format BGLs.
Christian Stock - TMF Manual
http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/fslib.php?do=copyright&fid=42974
Richard Ludowise (aka "rhumbaflappy") Tutorials:
TMF-BGLC Design Tutorial V1
http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2ksd&DLID=19208
LWM Tutorial
http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2002sd&DLID=19772
Misc. links to Dick's other packages:
http://library.avsim.net/search.php?CatID=root&SearchTerm=richard ludowise&Sort=Author&ScanMode=1&Go=Change View
Additional info which might possibly prove pertinent upon review:
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 Software Development Kit
Scenery Reference
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/resources/scenery-sdk.25/
Microsoft® Flight Simulator 2002 Software Development Kit
Using Textured Ground Polygons and Land/Water Mask Polygons
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/resources/terrain-sdk.21/
Microsoft® Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight Software Development Kit
Misc. Terrain SDK Documents
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/resources/terrain-sdk.40/
Jim Keir - LWMViewer v1.4
FYI: This utility can decompile LWM BGL to ASM source code as a "BGS" file extension
http://www.jimkeir.co.uk/FlightSim/LWMViewer.html
NOTE: One may wish to compare this to SCA file output from:
Winfried Orthmann - BGLAnalyze version 3.1
http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2002sd&DLID=27375
CAVEAT: Some larger files de-compiled with BGLAnayze v3.1 into SCA files may require re-formatting of lines to insert carriage returns at correct positions due to line-wrapping errors
NOTE: Some legacy BGLs may yield a better results when decompiled with Takuya Murakami's ScDis 2.3:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/freesc/files/scdis/scdis 2.3/
Jim Keir - Slartibartfast
http://www.jimkeir.co.uk/FlightSim/Autogen/index.html
NOTE: Slartibartfast also generates 'BGS' source data files:
http://www.jimkeir.co.uk/FlightSim/Autogen/FAQ.html#FAQ16
Slarti at one time at least, was also able to read MSFS Terrain Mesh BGLs directly (IIUC, now via a DLL), and write out vector flattens etc.
IIRC, rhumbaflappy once expressed concerns about errors in some such vector flatten BGLs output by earlier releases of Slarti.
Holger Sandmann and Scott Gridley have extensive experience using Jim Keir's Slartibartfast for freeware and payware scenery.
FYI: This technology for directly de-compiling terrain mesh BGLs was originally available 'briefly' from Jim Keir as a Beta for review and comment by some members of the FS development community, but at that time MS promptly asked him to remove the stand-alone utility from the internet.
It is not clear if the code for directly reading terrain mesh BGLs has been retained in recent versions of Slartibartfast:
http://www.jimkeir.co.uk/FlightSim/Autogen/FAQ.html#FAQ18
Perhaps a review of Scott Gridley's FreeFlow Scenery Tutorial in conjunction with the Slartibartfast manual may reveal the answer ?
http://www.fs-freeflow.com/index.php?ind=downloads&op=entry_view&iden=87
PS: Regarding custom photo-real "land class scenery", this info might also prove interesting:
Land and Water Class Scenery - SBuilder help file excerpted from a post at PTSIM by developer Luis Sa':
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/ptsim-larger-maps.424686/#post-628531
And, as you may know, one must discern whether or not to retain a "Pixel is Point" attribute when preparing and processing source data otherwise submitted in the projection and datum required by FS SDK Resample.
BTW: IIRC, whether a mis-interpretation of this "Pixel is Point" attribute took place when ACES prepared and processed source data when making the default scenery in versions of FS prior to FSX ...is still 'questionable', considering that the variable land class and vector scenery placement is mis-aligned relative to the 'real world' by up to ~1/2 Kilometer in any given direction at many locations in legacy scenery.
Hope all this info helps !
[END_EDIT]
GaryGB
Last edited: