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Glider accessories

Hi Ollie:

With regard to failure of Sketchup to create a Face on one of the top-surfaces of the trailer in your original 3D Model:

This may be avoided by making certain that the relative angles at each end of those surfaces are in exact alignment with each other in 3D space, so that they are parallel ...and thereby capable of allowing formation of a "continuous" planar Face.

Thus, the angle at the front end of each surface must match the angle at the rear end of each surface, even if the overall size of the front end is larger than the rear end.


In the Cobra 2-seater glider trailer diagram attached in my latter post above:

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/glider-accessories.445461/post-823232

...the hand drawn shapes of the lines which depict the front and rear ends of the top surfaces do not accurately reflect a parallel, matching angular orientation of Edge lines required to be drawn in Sketchup (or any another vector drawing / 3D modeling application) in order to to create a "continuous" planar Face without interposing a break-line, or fold, where such a planar surface would NOT otherwise be "twisted" somewhere along its surface.

dosi_trailer_surface_fron-rear_edge_orientation_parallel-png.49821


Hope this helps with the trailer redesign process. :)

GaryGB
 

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Looks good, and will be a frame rate efficient adaptation of Cobra glider trailers compared to more detailed ones ! :)

You might find that buildings, as extruded rectangles, present less challenges, than Cobra glider trailers with "curves". ;)

I have yet to finish my work on a detailed Microlight fuselage (a static scenery object at an airfield service facility) due to its rather detailed design; I often find it refreshing to take a break and work on simpler 3D objects nearby instead. o_O

Of course, enhancing terrain has its own challenges, but is quite rewarding to see from the air up above all the details on the ground below when Flying (oops ...I used the "F-word" again at FS Developer ! :laughing:).

Keep up the nice work. :cool:

GaryGB
 
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Just created another object in SketchUp ;) Added it to the sim using simdirector. I would HIGHLY recommend this to anyone doing scenery placement on non-flat areas (slops etc) as it places the object at the angle to the ground.

Screenshot (81).png
 
Hi Ollie:

Indeed, P3D SimDirector is a useful alternative to Instant Scenery (which is not yet compatible with P3Dv4.x).

Some FS developers maintain an installation of FSX for scenery object placement using Instant Scenery. and then use the BGLs in P3Dv4.x


FYI: If Draw Call Batching of texture Materials has not been used in 3D MDLs, Pitch and Bank 'should' still work.


NOTE: Environmentalists may wish to request that you instead keep that sewage container level relative to the local ground to avoid spillage into the nearby water body. ;)

One would not wish to fall short of the airfield and have a "splash landing" there either ! :oops:

Compliance with that directive may be achieved by extending the 3D object base and sinking it into the terrain. :idea:


Southdown has numerous unique characteristics which merit representation in FS, including the Storrington oil pumping station near the hangars, which IIUC has a 5 Meter high flame for burning off gases, which would merit keeping ones aircraft at a safe height on an unauthorized or emergency approach to the airfield ! :rolleyes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cootham

http://www.southampton.ac.uk/~imw/Petroleum-Geology-Weald-Shale.htm#headpage

Have fun. :cool:

GaryGB
 
GaryGB said:
FYI: If Draw Call Batching of texture Materials has not been used in 3D MDLs, Pitch and Bank 'should' still work.
Click to expand...

Yep, those features work fine even after I have minimized draw calls, strangely.

GaryGB said:
including the Storrington oil pumping station near the hangars, which IIUC has a 5 Meter high flame for burning off gases
Click to expand...

:O I forgot about this. I always see it pumping away when I am at the club, silly me! Thanks for reminding me, this should be fun to model. I could add a smoke effect later on ;)

Thanks, Ollie.
 
GaryGB said:
https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/glider-accessories.445461/post-823289

FYI: If Draw Call Batching of texture Materials has not been used in 3D MDLs, Pitch and Bank 'should' still work.
Click to expand...

Ols500 said:
https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/glider-accessories.445461/post-823290

Yep, those features work fine even after I have minimized draw calls, strangely.
Click to expand...

Hi Ollie:

I have not seen anything to directly explain that in P3Dv4.x except this 'possible' allusion to a Draw Call Batching "fix":

https://prepar3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6307&t=132843


...or this previous info regarding FSX and Draw Call Batching:

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/t...applied-to-scenery-objetcs.431792/post-687704


Please tell us how you made this 3D MDL ex:

* Processed via MCX to add a /anim attribute ?

* Processed via MCX to add a LOD ?

* Processed via MCX to be compiled targeting P3Dv4.5 SDK XTOMDL ?


Thanks in advance for clarifying the work-flow used for the Sketchup scenery object placed via SimDirector above. :)


PS: Some more considerations relative to Draw Call Batching, LODs, Animations, Tesselation, and Offset of object and/or attached Effect display at run time from requested placement location in one's placement BGL due to MDL interaction with FSX / P3D "curved Earth world model correction", Altitude, etc:

http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/effect-altitude.428255/

http:// www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/lods-versus-drawcall-batching.18222/

http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/pitch-bank-not-applied-to-scenery-objetcs.431792/


GaryGB
 
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Hi Gary,

sorry I couldn't respond earlier, doing some revision...

Ok so I exported the .dae file and imported that into MCX.

Next, I converted all textures to the power of 2. In the "Material editor"

Then I selected the "draw calls" and "predict draw calls" then "Minimize draw calls".

Then I saved converted the various .jpg and .pngs to .dds and saved it into my Textures folder.

After that, I exported the 3D model as a .bgl

Now, simdirector will 'detect' the .bgl and when I load into it all I have to do is go to my location (Southdown) and double click on the object to place it in the sim. Then, as Southdown has slopes ( I believe the part of the scenery that controls where hills are etc is called 'mesh', might be wrong) I can adjust the pitch & bank once I have selected the object.

Ollie.
 
Hi Ollie:

So, IIUC, you have only the P3DV4.5 SDK installed, and you changed no settings in MCX Options after it was installed ?

Thanks again for following up.

Hopefully we can determine whether P3DV4.5 SDK actually "fixed" some aspects of how Draw Call Batching works compared to prior FS versions. :-)

GaryGB
 
GaryGB said:
So, IIUC, you have only the P3DV4.5 SDK installed, and you changed no settings in MCX Options after it was installed ?
Click to expand...

Yep just the standard SDK for v4.5, MCX found most of the files instantly, just a few which I had to direct it to.
 
Hi Ollie:

FYI: I had forgotten a relatively new 'default' value Arno had configured in MCX which disables DrawCall Batching:

MCX Menu > Options > Exporter settings > XWriter > DrawCallBatchingWorkingLOD = True

arno_mcx_02-06-2019_options_xwriter_drawcallbatchingworkinglod_true_default-png.49871


That setting must be configured to DrawCallBatchingWorkingLOD = "False" to enable DrawCallBatching.

But, be aware that would effectively disable 3D object display in FS of any intended Pitch or Bank attributes.


This also raises questions as to whether LM has actually "fixed" some aspects of how Draw Call Batching works in P3Dv4.5x SDK compared to prior FS versions. :duck:


On a practical basis, the sewage container object under discussion in these latter posts would not necessarily have a significant need for Draw Call Batching to be implemented for run time performance reasons.

But placing it level with SimDirector so it does not 'spill' into the P3Dv4.5x virtual world' would be a good thing. :)

GaryGB
 

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GaryGB said:
On a practical basis, the sewage container object under discussion in these latter posts would not necessarily have a significant need for Draw Call Batching to be implemented for run time performance reasons.
Click to expand...

Yes, I just thought to get into doing the draw calls process each time for a good habit :)

GaryGB said:
But placing it level with SimDirector so it does not 'spill into the P3Dv4.5x virtual world' would be a good thing. :)
Click to expand...

I wish I could change the terrain so it is level like real life.

I have some exams coming up so I don't have a lot of time to respond and work, but I can't really add anything until I go to the club next Saturday, hopefully? As google earth does not provide Streetview inside the club, so I need to take my own pictures, so I can model and add the textures ;)

Thanks for all the help Gary and will update when I have made some progress (Next sunday?) Ollie.
 
GaryGB said:
This also raises questions as to whether LM has actually "fixed" some aspects of how Draw Call Batching works compared to prior FS versions.
Click to expand...

To be honest I don't know a lot about draw calls, only that it optimizes the model for P3D/FSX so I take less time to load, thus not affecting FPS. Obviously its more effective for large objects e.g. Gatwick south terminal.

Ollie.
 
Ols500 said:
https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/glider-accessories.445461/post-823430

Yes, I just thought to get into doing the draw calls process each time for a good habit :)
Click to expand...

Ols500 said:
https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/glider-accessories.445461/post-823431

To be honest I don't know a lot about draw calls, only that it optimizes the model for P3D/FSX so I take less time to load, thus not affecting FPS. Obviously its more effective for large objects e.g. Gatwick south terminal.

Ollie.
Click to expand...

Hi Ollie:

Draw Call Batching is generally a good idea if one intends to render a lot detail in a scenery Area.

The 3D object under discussion immediately above in its original default MCX-exported state, is likely to be displayed by the FS rendering engine at run time in a level orientation after the placement BGL is released by SimDirector.

Try slewing over to it in P3D without SimDirector running, to inspect and confirm this when you get some time. :idea:


AFAIK, SimConnect is taking total control of display for that 3D object during placement via SimDirector (...just as it would be via OpenGL during placement by Instant Scenery), independent of the "default" DirectX rendering done by FS at run time in a 'normal / non-placement mode'. ;)


Ols500 said:
https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/glider-accessories.445461/post-823430

I wish I could change the terrain so it is level like real life.
Click to expand...

It is easy to make the terrain level if desired via a CVX vector Airport Boundary Polygon (aka "ABP") with a Flatten Only attribute, by assigning all vertex points to the same Altitude in Meters AMSL.

Feel free to inquire further about that when you are ready. :)

GaryGB
 
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GaryGB said:
It is easy to make the terrain level if desired via a CVX vector Airport Boundary Polygon with a Flatten Only attribute, by assigning all vertex points to the same Altitude in Meters AMSL.

Feel free to inquire further about that when you are ready. :)

GaryGB
Click to expand...

I Gary I have a little bit of time (couple hours) to work on the project :) So how do I go about flattening this, I presume I use ADE with the polygon tool?

Thanks, Ollie.
 
Hi Ollie:

I missed your window of opportunity yesterday due to other commitments, but I will reply this morning in further detail within a couple of hours. ;)

GaryGB
 
Hi Ollie:

Assuming you wanted to make a "flatten" for the entire area of the facility containing the latter objects cited above, I would recommend using SBuilderX to do that, so your existing custom imagery BGL will be in precise alignment with the CVX vector ABP-type 'sloped flatten' vertices.

sdc_sbx_line-jpg.50039


Bearing in mind that you previously stated you have these scenery packages installed in P3Dv4.x:

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/t...images-scale-increase-size.445452/post-823001

OrbX FTX Global Vector

OrbX FTX Global openLC Europe

OrbX FTX EU England

NOTE: The OrbX FTX EU England product page at: https://orbxdirect.com/product/eng

...states that it includes: "10m Holgermesh for crisp definition", so you will be blending a CVX vector sloped flatten into a 10 Meter-between-elevation-data-points terrain mesh provided by OrbX FTX EU England. :pushpin:

UPDATE: Reportedly, the distribution version of that scenery is 5 Meters- rather than 10 Meters- at Southdown. :scratchch


The real world 'lay of the land':

sdgc_gesv_ne_gate-jpg.50041


Additional Views:

https://www.geograph.org.uk/more.php?id=2340605
geograph-1669909-by-dave-spicer-jpg.50103


https://www.geograph.org.uk/more.php?id=2340605
geograph-2340605-by-dave-spicer-jpg.50104



Also, here's a PDF with a local map of "assets" ...including that sewage processing site (see upper Left NW corner of map):

https://www.horsham.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/28603/Inset18_Storrington_2015.pdf


I suggest that when you are ready to proceed, open a new thread in the SBuilderX forum with a topic subject of ex: :idea:

"Sloped Flatten Blend into FTX EU England Mesh"


When SBuilderX tasks are done in that thread, we can return to this thread to finish any related tasks in Sketchup. :)

GaryGB
 

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Thanks will do,

just an update, went to the club today, toke about 30 pictures of all the things I want to model :) Hoping to complete the project in all by Septemeber, probably start of August!

Ollie.
 
Screenshot (2).png


:D Started to add some textures to these buildings, roofs are most tricky, so the textures don't look right...
 
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