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Flatten poly Creation
- Thread starter alpha117
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Hi Clive,
I also use SBuilderX for some non flatten areas, road traffic and some other things.
But to make an airport you should start with ADEX that you need anyway to make all the taxiways, runway, parking positions etc.
There are many threads here concerning ADEX and it includes also a good manual.
So I would suggest you give it a try.
Jörg
I also use SBuilderX for some non flatten areas, road traffic and some other things.
But to make an airport you should start with ADEX that you need anyway to make all the taxiways, runway, parking positions etc.
There are many threads here concerning ADEX and it includes also a good manual.
So I would suggest you give it a try.
Jörg
Hi Jorg
I use AFX for the AFCAD, Instant scenery 3. So far I have the taxiways, parking completed., photo scenery done(needs, slighty more work on, so it blends in better.)
need to create some custom buildings using Sbuilder, as well as objects via IS 3.
Need the southern part of BERN (Near the football park this needs flattening, and this is where I need some pointer of how to apply the flatten polys to areas.
I can't use ADEX on this system as there is an error, which hopefully will get fixed on the next release. See my other thread on this forum.
The other item will be applying ground polys with textures, no idea on that, yet!!
So, far...first attempt at this.
Thanks
Clive
I use AFX for the AFCAD, Instant scenery 3. So far I have the taxiways, parking completed., photo scenery done(needs, slighty more work on, so it blends in better.)
need to create some custom buildings using Sbuilder, as well as objects via IS 3.
Need the southern part of BERN (Near the football park this needs flattening, and this is where I need some pointer of how to apply the flatten polys to areas.
I can't use ADEX on this system as there is an error, which hopefully will get fixed on the next release. See my other thread on this forum.
The other item will be applying ground polys with textures, no idea on that, yet!!
So, far...first attempt at this.
Thanks
Clive
Last edited:
Hello:
To make 1 or more flatten polygon(s) in Airport Facilitator X (aka "AFX") see:
http://www.simforums.com/forums/afx-flattening_topic41689.html
Hope this helps !
GaryGB
To make 1 or more flatten polygon(s) in Airport Facilitator X (aka "AFX") see:
http://www.simforums.com/forums/afx-flattening_topic41689.html
Hope this helps !
GaryGB
Hi again:
Since at Bern you are working with a larger airport, it would likely be easier to use the background aerial imagery in SBuilderX as a "Map" on which to work with the terrain.
FYI: For more info, in SBuilderX, navigate thusly:
SBuilder Menu > Help > SBuilder Help > [Contents Tab] > Make Polygons
"To use the Polygon Tool, select it in the Tool bar, then click on the SBuilderX workspace to draw it. When you have finished, right-click to end drawing.
To assign a Property to the Polygon, right-click on the edge of the Polygon and select Properties from the menu:
In the General tab, you can give the Polygon a name, set its altitude if needed, change the drawing order of a Textured Polygon, and select the type of Polygon.
Vector Polygons
By selecting Vector Polygons, you will display the appropriate tab.
Here you can select the specific kind of Vector Polygon and change the display color in the SBuilderX workspace."
[EDITED]
NOTE: Most commonly one will be using:
"Type 148" (Airport Background='AB'): AB - Flatten - Mask Class Map - Exclude Autogen
...if one is using the default land class textures and/or the default textured airport background objects (when either or both of which are allowed to show through to the top of ones photo-real aerial imagery via transparent windows and/or translucent blend mask areas).
If instead, one intends for the entire airport area to be covered by the photo-real aerial imagery with no transparent windows and/or translucent blend mask areas, a 'flatten only' polygon may best be made by simply using:
"Type 153" (Airport Background='AB'): AB - Flatten
PS: If you will be using the default land class textures and/or the default textured airport background objects (when either or both of which are allowed to show through to the top of ones photo-real aerial imagery via transparent windows and/or translucent blend mask areas), you may also be interested in Jim Vile's excellent tutorials for airport development using ex: multiple / segmented polygons etc. ...recently updated in this thread:
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/landclass-visibility-problem.15173/
[END_EDIT]
Hope this helps make the airport development process easier !
GaryGB
Since at Bern you are working with a larger airport, it would likely be easier to use the background aerial imagery in SBuilderX as a "Map" on which to work with the terrain.
FYI: For more info, in SBuilderX, navigate thusly:
SBuilder Menu > Help > SBuilder Help > [Contents Tab] > Make Polygons
"To use the Polygon Tool, select it in the Tool bar, then click on the SBuilderX workspace to draw it. When you have finished, right-click to end drawing.
To assign a Property to the Polygon, right-click on the edge of the Polygon and select Properties from the menu:
In the General tab, you can give the Polygon a name, set its altitude if needed, change the drawing order of a Textured Polygon, and select the type of Polygon.
Vector Polygons
By selecting Vector Polygons, you will display the appropriate tab.
Here you can select the specific kind of Vector Polygon and change the display color in the SBuilderX workspace."
[EDITED]
NOTE: Most commonly one will be using:
"Type 148" (Airport Background='AB'): AB - Flatten - Mask Class Map - Exclude Autogen
...if one is using the default land class textures and/or the default textured airport background objects (when either or both of which are allowed to show through to the top of ones photo-real aerial imagery via transparent windows and/or translucent blend mask areas).
If instead, one intends for the entire airport area to be covered by the photo-real aerial imagery with no transparent windows and/or translucent blend mask areas, a 'flatten only' polygon may best be made by simply using:
"Type 153" (Airport Background='AB'): AB - Flatten
PS: If you will be using the default land class textures and/or the default textured airport background objects (when either or both of which are allowed to show through to the top of ones photo-real aerial imagery via transparent windows and/or translucent blend mask areas), you may also be interested in Jim Vile's excellent tutorials for airport development using ex: multiple / segmented polygons etc. ...recently updated in this thread:
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/landclass-visibility-problem.15173/
[END_EDIT]
Hope this helps make the airport development process easier !
GaryGB
Last edited:
Wow , thanks Gary, lot of info they
OK, I've been following these tutorials:
I'm having problems with the river behind Bern as it's all over the place.
I think the problem I have is the understanding of how/what all these polys do and when to use them.
I have the photo real back ground map, which I've used Photoshop to produce the blend mask etc, got that bit sorted!
Complied the BGL using Sbuilder, that was a bit of a nightmare get the ini file correct!
Started an AFCAD using AFX, placing buildings using IS3.
All good so far.
Apron textures are the next issue as AFX seems limited to the textures and how do I get the apron marking onto them.
Hope everyone doesn't mind if I keep asking 'daft' questions!!
Thanks for your support
Clive
OK, I've been following these tutorials:
I'm having problems with the river behind Bern as it's all over the place.
I think the problem I have is the understanding of how/what all these polys do and when to use them.
I have the photo real back ground map, which I've used Photoshop to produce the blend mask etc, got that bit sorted!
Complied the BGL using Sbuilder, that was a bit of a nightmare get the ini file correct!
Started an AFCAD using AFX, placing buildings using IS3.
All good so far.
Apron textures are the next issue as AFX seems limited to the textures and how do I get the apron marking onto them.
Hope everyone doesn't mind if I keep asking 'daft' questions!!
Thanks for your support
Clive
Hi Clive:
Generally speaking, one would set the flattens for the airport areas where AI traffic and/or ground support vehicle traffic will be displayed, all at the same Altitude, as such traffic objects require a "flat" and un-interrupted surface over which to travel ...so they don't get "stuck" when moved by the AI traffic part of the FS rendering engine.
If you are uncertain as to where those 'traffic' areas may be, you can go into top-down view over the aprons, taxiway and user-aircraft traffic areas with the sliders for such traffic maxed, then run FS in the highest simulation speed mode to observe in a time-lapse, where AI / ground support traffic is going to be seen during a sample day.
It is probably best to make the flatten for such "traffic" areas as a 1-piece large flatten polygon, and set its Altitude / elevation at the same value in Feet or Meters ...as the Airport Reference Point (aka "ARP") and Runways.
Surrounding flattens for a multi-level airport can of course be at 'differing' Altitudes if they do not require a continuous level ground surface for continuity of traffic between those areas and a main airport traffic activity area.
FYI: Taxiways / Aprons will be automatically be rendered at the same Altitude as assigned to the "ARP".
If you by any chance intend to detail the changing elevations of the Aare river and the several nearby streams / canals etc., you may wish to use the Hydro polygon type which allows assigned Altitudes for each vertex point of the water polys (rather than the "mesh-clinging" type of hydro poly), so that they will cut down through the terrain as needed for plotting an accurate course relative to the nearby terrain and the airport ground level itself.
Google Earth in a '3D mode' tilted terrain view (even with its lower-resolution terrain mesh) will help with pre-visualizing the terrain nearby to Bern airport.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bern#Geography
PS: If you opt to use the custom photo-real aerial imagery to provide textures for the airport surface rather than ex: a textured Ground Polygon / G-Poly, the attribute for the terrain surface may need to be changed to eliminate the "ground-roll" bumpiness and dirt or dust effect around the wheels of aircraft and/or traffic vehicles; this can be done via the 'Apron to SurfaceType converter' in Arno's ModelConverterX (aka "MCX").
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=ModelConverterX#XML_Apron_to_SurfaceType_converter
Hope this helps a bit more !
GaryGB
Generally speaking, one would set the flattens for the airport areas where AI traffic and/or ground support vehicle traffic will be displayed, all at the same Altitude, as such traffic objects require a "flat" and un-interrupted surface over which to travel ...so they don't get "stuck" when moved by the AI traffic part of the FS rendering engine.
If you are uncertain as to where those 'traffic' areas may be, you can go into top-down view over the aprons, taxiway and user-aircraft traffic areas with the sliders for such traffic maxed, then run FS in the highest simulation speed mode to observe in a time-lapse, where AI / ground support traffic is going to be seen during a sample day.
It is probably best to make the flatten for such "traffic" areas as a 1-piece large flatten polygon, and set its Altitude / elevation at the same value in Feet or Meters ...as the Airport Reference Point (aka "ARP") and Runways.
Surrounding flattens for a multi-level airport can of course be at 'differing' Altitudes if they do not require a continuous level ground surface for continuity of traffic between those areas and a main airport traffic activity area.
FYI: Taxiways / Aprons will be automatically be rendered at the same Altitude as assigned to the "ARP".
If you by any chance intend to detail the changing elevations of the Aare river and the several nearby streams / canals etc., you may wish to use the Hydro polygon type which allows assigned Altitudes for each vertex point of the water polys (rather than the "mesh-clinging" type of hydro poly), so that they will cut down through the terrain as needed for plotting an accurate course relative to the nearby terrain and the airport ground level itself.
Google Earth in a '3D mode' tilted terrain view (even with its lower-resolution terrain mesh) will help with pre-visualizing the terrain nearby to Bern airport.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bern#Geography
PS: If you opt to use the custom photo-real aerial imagery to provide textures for the airport surface rather than ex: a textured Ground Polygon / G-Poly, the attribute for the terrain surface may need to be changed to eliminate the "ground-roll" bumpiness and dirt or dust effect around the wheels of aircraft and/or traffic vehicles; this can be done via the 'Apron to SurfaceType converter' in Arno's ModelConverterX (aka "MCX").
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=ModelConverterX#XML_Apron_to_SurfaceType_converter
Hope this helps a bit more !
GaryGB
Last edited:
Hi Clive:
One must create transparent windows and/or translucent blend mask areas in a custom photo-real layer if wishing to display default-type land class (and water class) textures from underneath that custom photo-real layer.
When implemented properly, transparent windows and/or translucent blend mask areas, and default-type land class (and water class) textures are allowed to show through to the top ...of ones photo-real aerial imagery.
If not implemented properly, such transparent windows and/or translucent blend mask areas, default-type land class (and water class) textures are not allowed to show through to the top ...of ones photo-real aerial imagery.
Flatten polygons, of course, may still be seen where they alter the shape of the terrain underlying ones photo-real aerial imagery, but the default-type land class (and water class) textures are not allowed to show through to the top.
FYI: You may also wish to review this step-by-step illustrated guide for additional info:
"How to create photoreal scenery for FSX" by Tiberius K. et al.
http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?250762-How-to-create-photoreal-scenery-for-FSX
Also, see the following discussion in the "official" SBuilderX support forum (now back online with many thanks to Luis Sa')
Additionally, do review the excellent tutorials by Luis Feliz-Tirado linked in the last post of the thread:
"Default FSX textures on water areas"
http://www.ptsim.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7388
Hope this helps a bit more !
GaryGB
One must create transparent windows and/or translucent blend mask areas in a custom photo-real layer if wishing to display default-type land class (and water class) textures from underneath that custom photo-real layer.
When implemented properly, transparent windows and/or translucent blend mask areas, and default-type land class (and water class) textures are allowed to show through to the top ...of ones photo-real aerial imagery.
If not implemented properly, such transparent windows and/or translucent blend mask areas, default-type land class (and water class) textures are not allowed to show through to the top ...of ones photo-real aerial imagery.
Flatten polygons, of course, may still be seen where they alter the shape of the terrain underlying ones photo-real aerial imagery, but the default-type land class (and water class) textures are not allowed to show through to the top.
FYI: You may also wish to review this step-by-step illustrated guide for additional info:
"How to create photoreal scenery for FSX" by Tiberius K. et al.
http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?250762-How-to-create-photoreal-scenery-for-FSX
Also, see the following discussion in the "official" SBuilderX support forum (now back online with many thanks to Luis Sa')
Additionally, do review the excellent tutorials by Luis Feliz-Tirado linked in the last post of the thread:
"Default FSX textures on water areas"
http://www.ptsim.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7388
Hope this helps a bit more !
GaryGB
Last edited: