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Island

F

fametis

Messages
23
Country
france
:confused:

Hi everybody, I was wondering if someone has finally found how to make an Island ?

So far what I understand: it's a complex creation. You have to make a main folder in google earth, create your waterpolygon inside this folder and then create a subfolder [tag it island] just to a comment it has no action, then draw the polygon for islands with "Polygonhole" tag. Then save the mainfolder as a kml file. When you open it in FSX_KML and build the BGL file all will be compiled in one file... Then you create the landclass over the island...but it dosen't seem to work yet.

Mace proposed to use Xml2shp.exe to create island, but I can't figure how yet...:(
Hoping someone can help, thank you...:D
http://fametis.skyblog.com
 
Hi,

As we discussed in another thread the current version of FSXKml does not support holes in polys. According to the development road map in the manual, the feature will be added in the next version. But we have not heard from the author for some time now.

I suggest, as Mace, that you use the small xml2shp utility. Here is an example code that will place a square island in a square lake in the middle of Sahara after compilation with xml2shp and shp2vec.

Code: 
<shapes>
		<waterPoly>
			<!--<name>HPX_Sahara_lake</name>-->
			<guid>{CB2D5672-CCBC-429B-BA43-2EA24E37EF4C}</guid>
						<coordinates>
7.0222,23.5115,1280 7.0485,23.5115,1280 7.0485,23.4892,1280 7.0222,23.4892,1280 7.0222,23.5115,1280
		</coordinates>
		<island>
		<!--<name>Sahara_lake_island</name>-->
						<coordinates>
7.0378,23.5038,1280 7.0311,23.5038,1280 7.0311,23.4973,1280 7.0378,23.4973,1280 7.0378,23.5038,1280 
  </coordinates>
		</island>
		</waterPoly>
</shapes>

The lake poly is drawn clockwise and the island poly anti-clockwise. It also works the other way round, but the two polys must be done in oppposite directions.

If your problem is that you already have some shapefiles made with Google, I could suggest the following procedure:

Open the KML-file in some text editor and cut out all the HPX polys. Paste them into a new text-file, name it [whatever].xml and edit it to the xml2shp style. Do it manually if you have only a few polys, or use a search and replace function if there are many. Compile with xml2shp and put it together with the other shape files for your project before compiling with shp2vec. Remember the naming convention for shp2vec to compile to one cvx.

You could also scrap FSXKml and use only xml2shp. Or you could go directly to my program of choice, SBuilder, which is now out in a FSX version. Still, however, with limited functionality and no manual. But it does support lines and polys, it can make holes, it is stable and a very fine program.

Peter
 
Thanks you much again! The only thing as I'm beginner, the runSDKtool.bat dosen't make the bgl file with the shapes I get with xml2shp. What should I use next? And how to draw a poly clockwise and counter sorry cos I'm french and I don't understand very well... Thank you:)
 
Hi,

the runSDKtool.bat dosen't make the bgl file
Click to expand...
The batch file is generated by FSXKml every time you compile and it reflects the file names and placements at that time. You may edit it in notebook or any other text editor. If you use FSXKml first and then cut and paste the HPX part as I wrote, you should simply call your new HPX files the same as the previous ones, put them in the same folder, overwriting the old ones. In that case you should have no trouble using "runSDKtool.bat".

Re clockwise/anti-clockwise drawing, take at look here:
Code: 
	1			2
	
		A	B

		D	C

	4			3

The outer poly is drawn 1, 2, 3, 4, 1 and the poly is closed when the coordinates of the last point are exactly the same as the coordinates of the first one. The inner poly is drawn A, D, C, B, A and the poly is closed when the coordinates of the last point are excactly the same as the coordinates of the first one.


In the code:
Code: 
<shapes>
	<waterPoly>
		<!--<name>HPX_Sahara_lake</name>-->
<guid>{CB2D5672-CCBC-429B-BA43-2EA24E37EF4C}</guid>
		<coordinates> (1) (2) (3) (4) (1) </coordinates>
	<island>
		<!--<name>Sahara_lake_island</name>-->
		<coordinates>  (A) (D) (C) (B) (A)   </coordinates>
	</island>
	</waterPoly>
</shapes>

Peter
 
Dear PHPDK, thank you for being so helpfull, I will try this at once. Cheese :)

2nd post)

Hello, whenever I draw in anti clockwise Googlearth save them in Clockwise. I think because of the coordinates numbers which follow the ocean outer line numbers.. So I always get big terrain squares in the ocean, the islands poly appear inside the terrain part but with water inside.... I could't found fsbuilder yet. I will try it. Thanks
 
Last edited:
I draw in anti clockwise Googlearth save them in Clockwise
Click to expand...
In that case you need to reverse the order of the coordinates in the kml/xml-file. Somebody (not me though) may write a small piece of code to do it. When I experienced such a problem (and the poly had many vertices (points)) I reversed their order by some search and replace operations in my text editor (UltraEdit) and then using a spread sheet. Not very complicated but the procedure will depend on the programs. Another option is to draw the polygons using a GIS editor. Look in the thread http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3263

SBuilder does it automatically. Get the new version from the top of this page http://www.ptsim.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=18 and try it. And read through the answers in the PTSim forum, in particular the ones in the same thread as the download.

Peter
 
Last edited:
phpdk said:
Hi,

As we discussed in another thread the current version of FSXKml does not support holes in polys. According to the development road map in the manual, the feature will be added in the next version. But we have not heard from the author for some time now.
Click to expand...

Hi... Im still around... just been very busy with work and holidays etc... I will try and get 1.04 ready soon.
 
Last edited:
phpdk said:
In that case you need to reverse the order of the coordinates in the kml/xml-file.
Click to expand...

Thats a good idea... I will add a button to reverse coordinates in FSXKML... That should make it very simple.
 
Re: Islands

:wizard: Hello just to thank you! I will try that soon and let you know if I get it.

Matthews: Great news, I think we are all waiting for the update of your software. For me the best I've found for beginners like me ;)
 
Hi,

Matthews:
Hi... Im still around... just been very busy with work and holidays etc... I will try and get 1.04 ready soon
Click to expand...

Welcome back, looking forward to the update.

Fametis:
For me the best I've found for beginners
Click to expand...
Agree. If you can make it work with version 1.04, stick with it.

Peter
 
Hello PHPDK, yes I think I will wait cos nothing's working yet. I've tried Fsbuilder read a lot of things in forums but it doesn't recognise my kml polygons. Also I have no map in fsbuilder just a blank sheet even if I put import map from the web so I can't draw anything inside... I will also try again to draw a polyline in anti-clockwise without closing it, maybe then googleearth will keep the anti-clockwise direction. Then I will just put manually the last coordinates of the island same as the first...(xml2shp) I'll see...:o
 
:wizard: Hi all!

PHPDK, I finally did it!:D Very strange cos I just tried clokwise same as the water poly and bingo! Edited with xml2shp.exe then rebuiled with FSX_KML:)
 

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fametis said:
:wizard: Hi all!

PHPDK, I finally did it!:D Very strange cos I just tried clokwise same as the water poly and bingo! Edited with xml2shp.exe then rebuiled with FSX_KML:)
Click to expand...

Hi... thats a nice looking island!

Would it be possible to attach the KML file you used to make the island?

So i can use it for testing 1.04?
 
Hi,

I just tried clokwise same as the water poly and bingo
Click to expand...
Well, that's hard to understand. But (as said before) the most important thing is that it works (and the second most important that you why it is working, so that you can repeat it).

One other thing. I see that your island has some elevation. Is this your mesh sticking through or did you create it with polys?

Peter
 
Re

Hi Matthews and PHPDK

Matthews, I will post it tonight as I am at work. The thing is that I edited the kml ocean poly to add manually the "island" holes coordinates copied from the several islands kml polys, with an xml editor and saved it as xml file. Then made the shapes with xml2shp.exe under the same name as the ocean poly in order to replace the ones made by the sdktool...Then produced the bgl.
So I will give you severals files and you will see. What we would need is GE to produce a water poly with "island" coordinates inside as holes in the water poly (as you already know) and fsx_kml to directly make the good bgl. But there is no "polygonhole" tag needed. what creates the holes is "island" title before their coordinates.... "<island><coordinates></coordinates></island>":rolleyes:

PHPDK, I think that GE didn't saved my ocean poly properly in clockwise the first time... In fact if we encounter problems, just redraw in the opposite direction should be the solution. This was my last try and it has worked

For elevation, I think this was default terrain even if there was not that nice design, but I have to check cos I also tried to put the altimeters in GE, asking to join the border with the ground. So I let you know. The result was so beautiful as you see in the picture, after a lot of work :) Very happy now.

Many thanks to you guys!

French guiana scenery preview:
http://fametis.skyblog.com
 
Last edited:
fametis said:
Dear PHPDK, thank you for being so helpfull, I will try this at once. Cheese :)

2nd post)

Hello, whenever I draw in anti clockwise Googlearth save them in Clockwise. I think because of the coordinates numbers which follow the ocean outer line numbers.. So I always get big terrain squares in the ocean, the islands poly appear inside the terrain part but with water inside.... I could't found fsbuilder yet. I will try it. Thanks
Click to expand...

Ack I see that you are invoking my handle in this thread. I don't know if that's good or bad. :)

One comment I have, is that I have noticed that GoogleEarth seems to save coordinates differently than you enter them in GoogleEarth. In other words, if you spot your coordinates counterclockwise, they do not appear to be saved that way in the .kml file...and so must often be manually edited.

Again, though, I have only done limited testing of this behavior.
 
Thank you Mace for xml2shp :D The only way I could make it work! Very good.
(PS: It's not a hard work for shorelines as you told to another member, I just split the poly of the river or whatever by deleting the last coordinates and writting <Linestring> instead of poly&linering, then rename it with shorline tag...)
:p

Matthews, I realize that my kml wont help you as I've created another xml file and just copy the coordinates. Tell me if you want the xml file instead.
Then as I say "xml2shp.exe" creates the shapes and dbf files...:o :)

See ya!
 
Last edited:
Island success!

A quick update.. I've got islands working!

I will upload over the next day or so.
 

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