• Which the release of FS2020 we see an explosition of activity on the forun and of course we are very happy to see this. But having all questions about FS2020 in one forum becomes a bit messy. So therefore we would like to ask you all to use the following guidelines when posting your questions:

    • Tag FS2020 specific questions with the MSFS2020 tag.
    • Questions about making 3D assets can be posted in the 3D asset design forum. Either post them in the subforum of the modelling tool you use or in the general forum if they are general.
    • Questions about aircraft design can be posted in the Aircraft design forum
    • Questions about airport design can be posted in the FS2020 airport design forum. Once airport development tools have been updated for FS2020 you can post tool speciifc questions in the subforums of those tools as well of course.
    • Questions about terrain design can be posted in the FS2020 terrain design forum.
    • Questions about SimConnect can be posted in the SimConnect forum.

    Any other question that is not specific to an aspect of development or tool can be posted in the General chat forum.

    By following these guidelines we make sure that the forums remain easy to read for everybody and also that the right people can find your post to answer it.

FSXA "Flight" crashes when coming into port

Messages
229
Country
ca-ontario
I have just created a couple of the outside walls at Port Washington on lake Michigan, and placed it in FSX per the tutorial on Exporting Gmax objects into FSX.
The curious thing is that as I come into the port with my boat, "Flight" crashes like I was hitting a wall.

Last night while experimenting with object placement, I placed the "Deltasim Gemini" close to my boat location. I was curious to compare the size of my boat and the Gemini. As I was approaching the Gemini to come along side, same thing happen when I came to about 20 feet from the Gemini.

What is it with "object placement" that would cause the "crash". Is there a way to avoid it without turning on "ignore crashes"

Michel E Paquette
 
Messages
173
Country
unitedstates
You actually turn off crash detection.

The placing of objects through the BGL compiler is covered in the SDKs, along with the part of making an object have no crash detection.
 
Messages
229
Country
ca-ontario
OK NoNewMessages
I have found the line I need to add to avoid the "crash" in the SDK. Due to the lack of "clear explanation for the average Joe" of the SDK's, which is one of the reason I frown on having to look thru the SDK's, I had to guess at how to put it into the placement file, and I got lucky.

So what happens to the "reality factor" if my options are either "crash" when I hit it, or go right thru the it?
If this is what simming is all about, then so be it. I guess I will have to live with going thru it.

Is there not a way to make the solid polygon created impassable without having the empty space between them also impassable? And also be able to adjust impact values to not "crash" at low speeds? Like they do in the "contact points". I believe there is a value in there to adjust how hard you hit the ground before it causes damage.

I would like to be able to create a dock in my port where I can come up to it without "crashing" the flight if I just come up to it slowly and bump it.

Michel
 
Messages
7,450
Country
us-illinois
Hello:

AFAIK in FSX crash box collision can not be set to only occur at slower velocities, and is an "all-or-none" attribute.

Thus, you are describing a scenario which suggests the "Crash Box" surrounding the object MDL is larger than you might prefer.

The "Crash Box" size can be adjusted (somewhat) independently from the "Bounding Box" which is a separate entity always associated with the MDL size.

One can 'size' the "CrashboxGranularity" or remove a "Crash Box" entirely per individual object MDL ...when exporting from some 3D modeling apps or in ModelConverterX.

http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=ModelConverterX

http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/crash-box-size.65832/

https://www.google.com/#q=site:fsdeveloper.com FSX remove crash box


And as you also know, the "Crash Box" can 'ignored' via disabling collision detection for all FS objects, or when placing individual objects via BGLComp placement parameter settings.


As far as "passing through" objects based on velocity, if one attaches a hardened concrete attribute platform to a texture on a object MDL (ex: a helipad above ground which has no terrain 'flatten' hidden immediately beneath it), one can sometimes "fall though" it if descending too quickly during a helicopter landing.

In that scenario, one can attach another such platform to "add more hardness".

So perhaps you might explore whether "platform' attributes attached to a texture might work for what you are trying to do.

IIUC, platforms do not have to be oriented in a MDL with their surface facing up towards the sky.

Hope this helps ! :)

GaryGB
 
Last edited:
Messages
229
Country
ca-ontario
Thanks for your reply GaryGB
Since I don't yet have the ModelConverterX, I will go with the <no crash> parameter in my placement file. The thing is, even with the smaller crash box, this still wont allow me to "bump" my docks.
Now, the last part of your reply seems interesting. So this "platform" attribute would be in the texture definition? I need to look more into this. Thanks for the suggestion. I might need to come back and get more direction on how to apply this.

Michel
 
Messages
229
Country
ca-ontario
I found the tutorial (making a landable platform with Gmax"
Either I am doing something wrong, or it does not work on a vertical face.

Need to clarify a few steps that I may be doing wrong.
1) I have created a plane at the end of my port wall for the test. Created a new FSX material, set opacity to 0 and applied it to my plane.
2) Select my plane, open the "AttachePointTool", check off platform. At this point, I am assuming that I click on "attach to selected geometry? This is not spelled out.
3) This next point is unclear. I am to select my plane again (which is now called "platform_Concrete_0" and clone it? My problem is when I select my plane that go to Edit/clone, I don't get the same pop up that is shown on the tutorial. I get this:
upload_2015-3-28_11-25-5.png


The other thing is, do I need this step if I have the <no crash> in my placement file?

Michel
 
Messages
7,450
Country
us-illinois
I am not a GMAX user, so I would be inclined to direct you to a method which utilizes Arno's ModelConverterX (aka "MCX") that can do this after the 3D MDL has already been exported by GMAX and processed by MakeMDL / XtoMDL etc. ...via the "Attached object editor".

FYI: MCX can import bare MDLs, or MDLs 'packaged' in scenery object library BGLs etc.

http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=ModelConverterX#Attached_object_editor


BTW: Some links which definitely merit at least ...a "click":

http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forums/modelconverterx.87/

http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/download-modelconverterx.14215/


The other thing is, do I need this step if I have the <no crash> in my placement file?

Michel

Using "No Crash" when placing individual objects via BGLComp placement parameter settings. disables that feature only for that MDL; it can be used instead of removing the Crash Box from a MDL.


Attaching a hardened concrete attribute platform to a texture on a object MDL is an attempt to see if a velocity-related "bump" might be achieved for the outer visible portion of a 3D scenery object of ex: a dock, piling, jetty etc. ... instead of using the "Crash" attribute with a MDL on the outer 'shell'.

You may wish to try concealing a ex: 3D object with a un-textured object surface inside the "shell" of a ex: dock, piling, jetty etc. ...with a very fine granularity crash box which would trigger a "Crash" if the water craft strikes and penetrates beyond the top surface of the outer 'shell'. :idea:


Hope this helps a bit more ! :)

GaryGB
 
Last edited:
Messages
229
Country
ca-ontario
GaryGB
I downloaded MCX and opened up my wall's MDL file.
My Gmax file only dhows 1 "platform" texture at the end my wall. But when I open MDL file in MCX, there is 2 "platform (type concrete)" poly attached at the end of my wall.
Either way, in FSX, I can still go right thru the end of the wall.
Could the fact that I don't have any other "material or texture"

I was having another thought. What is I put a slight slope to all my walls and apply a ground texture? Although right now I have of idea how to do ground textures.

Michel
 
Messages
229
Country
ca-ontario
I have found something interesting in the "Global Library Objects" SDK. Right at the bottom of the list they have wharfs, jetties and marinas.
In order to use these, is it simply to write a placement file to locate them were I want? Then were do I put the bgl placement file?

Michel
 
Messages
7,450
Country
us-illinois
I have found something interesting in the "Global Library Objects" SDK. Right at the bottom of the list they have wharfs, jetties and marinas.
In order to use these, is it simply to write a placement file to locate them were I want? Then were do I put the bgl placement file?

Michel

Hi Michel:

Scenery Library objects are 3D MDL objects which may or may not ...have a crash box just like any MDL we make as a custom object.

They can be placed with the "No Crash" attribute as previously discussed using BGLComp placement XML code.

Although writing one's own BGLComp XML placement code and compiling them to a BGL is an option, to reduce un-necessary workload, most developers use a FS utility to pick scenery objects from a list and place them in a semi-automated manner ...using Instant Scenery (aka "IS3" <payware>), WhisPlacer, ADE, SBuilder etc.


The "placement instruction" BGL files are then to be located in either:

[FSX install path]\Addon Scenery\Scenery

...or (better yet), in a \Scenery sub-folder nested under a [top folder] ex: named for ones project, which is manually added to the FS Scenery Library GUI as a new "Area", thus:

[FSX install path]\Addon Scenery\[your project name]\Scenery



FYI: Regarding Instant Scenery

http://www.flight1.com/products.asp?product=iscen3


GaryGB
I was having another thought. What is I put a slight slope to all my walls and apply a ground texture? Although right now I have of idea how to do ground textures.

Michel

Although most terrain mesh "flattens" still have a 'slight' slope when examined close-up where they drop abruptly from the top to a lower elevation when there is a "sharp" drop-off, some types of flattens are more susceptible to having water textures "creep" up onto the land surface when there is a water body adjacent to the "cliff" edge of a shoreline.

Use of careful positioning of the edge of:

* a "Water Mask" layer in ex: the Alpha channel of a GeoTIFF (rather than painting the 'water' area absolutely black (0,0,0 HEX RGB in the visual layers of a custom photo-real aerial imagery texture source file)

...or:

* a custom 'replacement' water polygon

...can help prevent "water creep'.


One could certainly make one's shorelines and docks etc. as terrain mesh, with custom photo-real aerial imagery or default land class textures draped on top.

Alternatively, a high resolution ground polygon (aka "G-Poly) could be placed onto it, provided the 'top' dock surface is kept completely flat. :idea:


The above approach could help reduce the complexity of developing your docks, and eliminate a risk of "crashes" incurred with 3D objects. :)

GaryGB
 
Last edited:
Messages
229
Country
ca-ontario
I just went to look IS3. This looks like a program I can use. I don't have to learn all of this programing language that I dread so much.
Would I be right to assume that if I do my own library of objects, using the "library creator" program, I could use IS3 to place them where I want?

Michel
 
Messages
3,278
Country
spain
Yes, IS3 do the same work that OPT (object placement tool from the SDK tools) but It's much user friendly. it's why people get IS3 but you can place objects with the OPT and is a Little cheaper (there is a tutorial in the net). and yes you have to créate a library of objects. Don't créate hard Surface with Gmax always will be better to créate them with MCX.much more simple.
 
Top