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FSX Just a question

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Tomt478

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Ok, I want to build an island in the middle of a lake I already have created in ADE. Now I already have one island made, I found an easy way to make islands using aprons. This worked out fine and was easier than using the Sbuilder method of creating holes and what not. But now I want to create another island just East of the main island, but I want this island to be made of ice and snow using PR scenery. My question is, Will PR scenery show over an apron? I know land classes will not, I have already tried and it won't work. So what I want to do is build the island in my usual way, (just a small island) but make it covered with snow and ice. I want to use a custom PR texture that I already have made. (Gotten pretty good at using PR). But I'm not sure if PR will show over the apron. I don't want to use textured polys because that presents a whole new set of problems with altitude, layering, positioning, etc.. not too mention it eats up VR very quickly. I want to make sure it will work before I spend the time putting the PR in there. It is time consuming, and don't want to waste time trying to make something work that won't. If it won't work, then I will just change the island to something else that will work. I have to use an apron to make the island because all other attempts with ADE,Sbuilder, etc... have proven either too complicated or simply just won't work. At least I know for sure that using an apron will work, since I already did it. Thought I would ask the FSX community on here if my idea will work or not. If not , I will just move on to somthing I know works, if it will work, then great, I will proceed from there.

Appended: Oh, I forgot to ask, I haven't been developing for a while and I forgot where ADE stores the .SHP files. I made quite a few changes since the last ones were used, I need to update them. I just forgot where to get them from and where I need to put the darn things. Old age kinda messes with your memory.:oops:
 
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Tomt478 said:
I forgot where ADE stores the .SHP files. I made quite a few changes since the last ones were used, I need to update them. I just forgot where to get them from and where I need to put the darn things. Old age kinda messes with your memory.:oops:
Click to expand...

ADE deletes *.SHP files immediately after it has submitted them to SDK SHP2VEC, so I doubt they can be retrieved after compiling a BGL.

An ADE output Airport BGL will not save that data in FS2Kx; only the ADE *.AD4 file saves CVX vector data.

So, if you are always saving an ADE *.AD4 file as you work in ADE, the CVX vector data is saved in that 'total' project data container file.


Otherwise, one must de-compile the ADE CVX vector BGL with Patrick Germain's CvxExtractor as a ESRI *.SHP file to Append in SBuilderX.


BTW: SBuilderX also deletes *.SHP files from the [SBuilderX install path]\Tools\Shapes sub-folder before writing new *.SHP data .

So, if you are always saving an SBuilderX *.SBX file as you work, the CVX vector data is saved in that 'total' project data container file.

Note that *.SBX files must be manually saved ...they do nor auto-save like *.SBP files.

Note also, that the basic SBuilderX *.SBP 'project' file does not save the CVX vector source data ...only the *.SBX file does that.


Thus, if you have just written a *.SHP while compiling, you must immediately save a *.SBX, or manually retrieve the *.SHP from \Shapes.


FYI: MSFS now allows saving to external *.SHP, or saving the 'equivalent' vector data within the Airport XML file.

GaryGB
 
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Thanks, I found the files and just forgot how SBX loads them. I got em now. However you didn't answer the first question.

"Will PR scenery show over an apron?"
 
For a number of reasons which are at my sole discretion to consider assessing within a spectrum of priority, some topics may be deferred to receive replies later than others. ;)

GaryGB
 
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No, they won’t display over aprons. Cut a hole in your apron to make the island.
 
That's all I needed to know. I tried using holes and never got it to work. There is a 'snow' apron, I will probably just use that. Just wanted to spice it up somewhat with a little color. But, that's fine, I can live with just plain ole' snow. Thanks for the answer though.
 
Does anyone happen to know of any completely "deserted" islands anywhere maybe around the hawaiian islands of maybe somewhere out in the pacific? I want to build a private airbase somewhere on a real-world deserted island so I don't have to try and make my own island. It needs to be some sort of tropical island that has no population on it. Jungles ,forests, or other vegetation is fine, just no human population. If you do know of any, please let me know the name and/or GPS coordinates so I can fly over and check it out. Thanks. Oh, and even a volcano is fine, just as long as it's not too active, don't want to build an airbase that'll just get destroyed by lava.
 
Tomt478 said:
Does anyone happen to know of any completely "deserted" islands anywhere maybe around the hawaiian islands of maybe somewhere out in the pacific? I want to build a private airbase somewhere on a real-world deserted island so I don't have to try and make my own island. It needs to be some sort of tropical island that has no population on it. Jungles ,forests, or other vegetation is fine, just no human population. If you do know of any, please let me know the name and/or GPS coordinates so I can fly over and check it out. Thanks. Oh, and even a volcano is fine, just as long as it's not too active, don't want to build an airbase that'll just get destroyed by lava.
Click to expand...
If you can cope with being in the Indian Ocean try Tromelin Island :-

LATITUDE S15.8864139000219
LONGITUDE E54.5218108166667

It's a French Territory, with a single runway but no official ICAO code.

My personal "test environment" is in the middle of the Sahara Desert, at N30 W1 ... no surrounding scenery for several hundred miles ;)
 
Thanks, I'll fly over and check it out. Right now my main test area is in Northern Utah on Skinwalker Ranch. I'm using it right now to create different "exercises" in a fantasy world to be used in a full on "mission" project that includes both flight missions coupled with on the ground missions where driving is needed over long distances. I've got things working fairly well with some PhotoReal scenery and other added stuff. But the main land here is getting too full and I am ready to start adding flights using both FSpassenger with Real world weather, and using FXPilots to plot flight paths that will be used extensively. So I'm looking for a few places to start building new bases and new lands. I just want my main "base" to be on a secluded island and I'm not dedicated to any specific part of the world as long as it's an island. Other "bases" can be anywhere, including places with mountains ,water, snow, etc... where I can set up flight scenarios and even create "missions" to these bases. I've tried using Google to find places, but it requires to know at least the names of places in order for a search to even find them. I do however want one base to be kind of "alien" or "mars" like in appearance so I don't have to go through the process of creating PhotoReal scenery to replace the landscape. I want something in the real-world that looks "alien" so I can use things like "land classes" to add trees and buildings, can't do that effectively with PR scenery. Oh and hills and mountains are good too. So any thoughts come to mind about places to build these "bases" please let me know. Thanks for the island info, I'll try flying over it today and take a look at it's potential for a base.
 
The island looks promising, but only one problem. You see my main base is in Utah here in the US. I was doing some calculations to see what the flight time from Utah to the island would be and even in a 747 , it would not be feasible plus the fact the runway there is mostly unpaved and not suitable even for a large passenger jet. I'm going to need something a bit closer that can be reached either by large to medium jet, or best case for me right now would be a cesna aircraft. I have to keep things down to the technology level that the 'fantasy' world is at right now. Jets are not yet available to the 'mission' as of yet. I need something a bit closer to home. Eventually I may expand my world out to other countries, but not quite ready technological wise. Oh, I'm going to building my own airport(s) on the island so having one there already ,although it would be a "plus", it's not actually necessary to have. The island just needs to be uninhabited and undeveloped. If the island does happen to have a few "native tribes" on it, that's not a problem, I can work with that, just no big population. I will keep Tromelin Island in mind for future use though.
 
For ""alien" or "mars" like in appearance" I'd start in the northwest of the Sahara Desert in the Atlas mountains ... it's fairly desolate there, by all accounts.
Maybe have a look around in the Caribbean for an 'unused' island? Not an area I'm familiar with.
There's more desolation to the south of South America ... Patagonia etc. and some of the desert plateaus that don't get rain from one year to the next.
All sounds like a project to keep you busy for a while ;)
 
You know ,I actually did choose an area in the Sahara , I have it already laid out, just haven't started on it yet. I'm waiting to get my Main Island base done first. I will look around the Caribean islands in Google Earth, I never thought of looking there. I did find one island near the Hawaiian Islands that also looks promissing but doesn't have that Martian or Alien look, mostly forests from what I could tell. I know NASA has used the Sahara for Martian Land as training ground, I looked at it and it does look a lot like the surface of Mara, don't know what it will look like int the sim though, I guess I'll find out when I actually start working on it. I'll look around the South American area, but I'm afraid that some of that area might be a bit far to travel with the current technology I'm using which is mostly smaller planes such as Cesnas and maybe a Lear Jet or two. In my world, large passenger jets such as 747s and such have not been introduced.

Yes this project is constantly under construction. Me and a few friends are actually playing a RPG using the sim to actually travel in real-time. I sure wish the Multi-Player was still working in FSX, it stopped working at least for me , about a year ago and never was ever able to fix it. I use a 3rd party software now to connect online with the other simmers playing. My computer is a bit slow when connected via online flying, but I plan on fixing that next year when I upgrade my hardware. I want to get a real flight stick and lever set up, but at $200+, they are a bit steep for my budget. Anyway, thanks a lot for some of the suggestions, I'm going to fly around those areas using Google Earth to take a look and see what I can find there. Again Thanks for the info.

Oh and I am planning on taking a flight with a special plane that travels supersonic on over to Tromelin Island tomorrow with one of the players (She is my assistant GM Ie: Game Master) and see what she thinks of maybe using it for future developement. That plane is the only "secret" craft we have that travels that fast at 35,000ft. but it is owned by a "Black Project" group out of Groom Lake. We do use that from time to time. I bassicaly want to see how long the flight would be at 2.5x the speed of sound Ie:Supersonic. I found that plane on another site and it is sweet. Can travel as fast as 3Xthe speed of sound and at a max alt of 60,000ft. It uses the 747 panel, so flying it is easy if you know how to fly a 747 (still learning that one, got the take off and flying down, but landing.....well let's just say a few passengers have died with the attempts.)

Oh and on that note, maybe Gary can answer this one, I want to start using the crash detection during flights, I can't use it with my ground based vehicles, but everytime I turn on crash detection and start to taxi to a runway, I crash into nothing. There are no trees or vehicles on the taxiway, but it still detects a crash for no real reason. What the heck could be causing that? I've never used crash detection ,but a couple of players suggested that I add it to make things look a little more realistic, just can't get it to work though.
 
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