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New tool: Whisplacer

L

lc0277

Messages
156
Country
france
Hello all,

After some idle time, I decided to cleanup and release a small tool I made some months ago, called "Whisplacer". It's another XML object placer, exclusively for FSX, with a "live" fs preview feature.
We already discussed the principle here (see http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4414)

I developed it mainly because I needed a simple object placer, like the SDK object placement tool, but that could be run remotely on a second computer. I currently use it on my linux laptop while FSX is running on my main rig. It's still somewhat experimental and I've not tested it extensively, so try it at your own risk :stirthepo

You can download it here :
http://lc0277.nerim.net/whisplacer.zip
Like the famous FSXPlanner application, It needs Java 5.0 to run

whisplacer-capture1.jpg

whisplacer-capture2.jpg

whisplacer-capture3.jpg
 
Thanks for sharing this. Looks like a cool tool (I only tested it on my Linux machine now, but I have no objects to place there, guess I need to run it on my Windows machine for that).
 
First of all thank you very much for this new tool and looks very cool. I must be missing something simple but cannot get to a "choose object" screen. When I select "Add libary object"all i get is a hand pointer. What am I missing? :confused:
 
sparker256 said:
First of all thank you very much for this new tool and looks very cool. I must be missing something simple but cannot get to a "choose object" screen. When I select "Add libary object"all i get is a hand pointer. What am I missing? :confused:
Click to expand...

Click on the map where you want to place the object. Then press escape (or select the "mouse" button) to go back in editing mode and then double-click on your object to edit it.
click on the thumbnail to choose a new object in the library.
I forgot to add a simple dialog "go to location" which would be more practical since the editor is centered by default at (N0, W0) maybe in next release
 
lc,

very very nice tool! I used it last night to place some trees around a Central American airport I'm working on. It's very good for placing tree objects because you can quickly pop them down.

Since Whisplacer mods my xml, I did have to make a backup, and them cut and paste the xml that whisplacer added, to my master xml file.

I suppose I could make a dummy.xml just to temporarily hold the <SceneryObject> data...instead of loading my master xml file...but then I wouldn't have my existing objects displayed in Whisplacer...
 
Hi Chaps,

I'm fairly new to the scenery game, but have found this invaluable. I do have a question though (probably a daft one, but I'll ask anyway.) Is there a way to select the libarary object you want to add befor placing it? I want to add a hanger, but as all my previous objects have been trees I can only see the option to replace one of the trees with the hanger and then move that object.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers:)
 
Could you send me the offending XML file, or the whisplacer.log file if it's non-empty ?. I reviewed some possible causes, and it seems that the windsock parsing code may generate such bugs, is it related to a windsock here ?

Thanks for pointing me out the EXTREMELY_DENSE complexity setting. It was indeed not cited in the BglComp SDK documentation.

Concerning generic buildings (rectangular, pyramidal, etc) they should already be scaled to their real size (using the sizeX and sizeZ parameters).
 
lc0277

Any chance of looking at your sceneobjects list again?

It appears that SP2 (Accel Pack) updated/added many more scenery objects in the global folder.

EDIT

You are one step ahead of me, Found them on your Whisplacer site as a download zip
 
Last edited:
Thx for the great tool.
It works very fast with the LIVE previeuw and the FSX library.
When I use other librarys it seems much more difficult.
FSX crashes with allot of other libs,...
I also make my own models, but I am not experienced.
What are the most common mistakes with FSX crashes when entering a object?(this is very time consuming)
:coffee:

Thx again
 
-Kurt- said:
Thx for the great tool.
It works very fast with the LIVE previeuw and the FSX library.
When I use other librarys it seems much more difficult.
FSX crashes with allot of other libs,...
Click to expand...
FSX crashes when simobject containers use a visual_model_guid instruction and the given GUID is not found in loaded libraries. It's a known and reproducible bug. It may not be meaningful to you, but that's precisely the method used by Whisplacer to insert objects.
So you have to make sure that custom libraries are declared in the FS scenery library before you use them in live preview.
Typically, this is the "Addon Scenery\Scenery" folder or another of your choice but declared (and active) in FS.

Also, be sure to have "pure" library BGL, compiled only from XML "<ModelData>" instructions and containing no placement information. Arno's LibraryCreatorXML is fine.

Another cause may be the model itself, but I've never seen one. In that case it will be a FSX bug and I can't do more. What kind of tools are you using for modelling ? I tend to believe that FS9 or earlier toolchains are more prone to such bugs than FSX-SDK compliant models.
 
Lc0277,

I use arno's lybrarycreator and for modeling sketchup and 3dsmax,..
I already spent hours of learning 3dsMAX, I have very nice video tutorial,..
Now it worked a few times (without declaring in fsx addon scenerry..) I guess it was a texture problem(unvink texture worked for object without texture,but this is guessing),...but I am patientend now, first get 3dsMAX in my fingers...:rolleyes: tonight I try it with addon scenery,..
update: yes again and again, it works,thx all

Now I have a second question, I am unable to save whisplacer projekts,...
U can save as mission or scenery XML or compile BGL, it gives me a file(no XML or BGL) and when I try to open it it says unkown file type,..I tried all possible options.

I can compile BGL, no problemo, scenery shows up in FSX(without whisplacer)

Thx
 

Attachments

  • Whisplacersaves.zip
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Last edited:
Hi,

I downloaded Whisplacer 0.8 and Whisplacer thumbnail package and put them together in C:\Whisplacer. But what to do then ? When FSX must be running ? Must I make the database first ? Have already fill the path for the bgl compiler.

It would be nice to have some install guidance + step-by-step manual how to manage Whisplacer. Not very clear for me how to start and make Whisplacer ready for use.

What about making a backup of xml en bgl file Meshman reported ? When, how,please an exemple.

Greetz. José.
 
Last edited:
José Bourgoignie said:
I downloaded Whisplacer 0.8 and Whisplacer thumbnail paskage and put them together in C:\Whisplacer. But what to do then ? When FSX must be running ? Must I make the database first ? Have already fill the path for the bgl compiler.
Click to expand...

Well, at this time the documentation is nearly non-existent, as it's not my cup of tea.
As of 0.8, the database is created on first startup from installed default libraries. Unless you want to use custom objects, but this feature is mostly for advanced users since the import process could be complex.

The next step is to create a new scenery or open an existing (with the file menu) and start adding/editing objects.
When you add an object -using the toolbar entry or insert key-, double click on it to change it's properties, including the type (model) of it. The type of the inserted object is copied from the last selected object, and by default it's a big hangar. shift+drag will rotate the object.

Whisplacer can run independently of FSX. Whenever you start FSX, choose the "Connect" menu in whisplacer to establish connection. It may probably require some configuration as usual with simconnect. When connected to FSX, some more options are available :
- the red crosshair indicates the plane position ;
- automatic object preview can be switched on or off (I don't remember the initial state, I think it's enabled when connecting)
- you can lock the plane to the screen center position in whisplacer
- you can go directly to the plane position
- the shortcut 'o' in FSX will insert the last used object at the current position

After you added all your objects, you can save the new scenery to either XML or BGL (using the built-in compiler) or choose to compile it with bglcomp (if you want 100%-compliant files).
 
-Kurt- said:
Now I have a second question, I am unable to save whisplacer projekts,...
U can save as mission or scenery XML or compile BGL, it gives me a file(no XML or BGL) and when I try to open it it says unkown file type,..I tried all possible options.
Click to expand...
You didn't specified a file extension when saving files. Whisplacer use this extension to determinate the file type when loading, hence the error message.
I will add a function to automatically append file extensions if the user forget them.
 
Hi,

I am not sure I have the right Java software. Can someone point me to the right version ? Maybe a direct link ? The right name of this Java software ?

When I open the Whisplacer display, no red cross of my airplane to see after clicking on New and then Connect.
Beneath the display a message: "ipv6 not supported, please ad an ipv4 block in somconnect". What does that mean, what to do exactly ?

Greetz. José.
 
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