Object Library

[Geobas]

In MCX l imported a certain .bgl , got the objects report , chose the textures associated with the particular object l wanted .
Made a folder , say myObjects , with scenery and texture subfolders , placed the textures associated in the texture folder , and the .bgl selected in the scenery folder , placed myObjects
in Addon Scenery and activated myObjects in FSX .
Run Instant Scenery , clicked the .bgl in Library , and in Model are listed all the objects which of course were appearing as a black shape except my particular object which was fine ready for placement .

Now my question is , how do l edit the list of objects , so only my selected object appears in Model of IS

 

[tgibson]

Hi,

First, if this library BGL is from someone else and you are planning on releasing your scenery to others, then you simply tell them to download and install the entire library BGL and texture files. It is not permitted to take objects from other people without permission. And it is not a good idea to generate duplicate objects with the same GUID, in case people already have the original library installed (you don't need it again anyway).

However, if this is either your library BGL or you are doing this ONLY for your own personal use, then you would need to decompile the library BGL file, find the MDL you are interested in (you can use IS to find the GUID for that object), eliminate all *other* ModelData lines from the XML file, change the GUID (either generate another one, change 2-3 numbers randomly, or use Library Creator to make one for you), and compile the library with a new name. Now you have a nice fresh object with a new GUID that will be the only one listed.

Hope this helps,

 

[Geobas]

Thanks very much Tom ,

Of course l never thought on releasing anything l do for my own personal use . l have great respect for developers and appreciate their offering us freely their work and effort .

Now , what l have done , l decompiled a certain .bgl file with BglAnalyzeX .l found the GUID of the particular object l wanted , deleted the rest , changed a couple of numbers
(made sure no mistakes in the xml code ) , saved the new .xml file , but coudn't get a .bgl . Bglcomp.exe woudn't compile it .
Strange thing is that the original .xml (on top of the disassemble list) won't compile either , although several .xml's l have from previous works when tried they compile just fine .
l am rather confused and don't know where do l go from here .

 

[hcornea]

Simply decompiling a model library to xml won't extract the model data.

Simplest workflow would be:

Open the bgl in ModelconverterX
Find the Model of interest
Edit the GUID
Export as a .mdl file to a folder

Use Library Creator XML to create an xml library (including your mdl file), and compile that into a library bgl with just your chosen object(s).

(above considerations all notwithstanding, of course)

I do question, though ... if this is for your own personal use why you need to repackage the library at all. The only reason would be if you are "repainting" one of the models.

Otherwise, just simply use the mdl with its existing GUID from the library you have installed on your system.

 

[tgibson]

Hi,

The decompilers I use *do* create the MDL files (using the GUID as the MDL names). All that's required is to recompile the XML file to get the original BGL file back, complete with the MDL files included.

I'm not sure why your XML file is not being compiled - you could try using a different decompiler like BGLX. And MCX is always another option to extract an MDL file from a BGL - I do that all the time too. Combining it with Library Creator makes it quick and easy.

Hope this helps,

 

[Geobas]

Thank you both

@ hcornea

Open the bgl in ModelconverterX ............ did
Find the Model of interest.......................clicked 'List of objects' found object , clicked it , closed window
Edit the GUID....................................... clicked 'Object Information' object's name appeared with associated textures ,changed name and GUID , closed window
Export as a .mdl file to a folder .............. clicked Export , new name appears to be saved as .mdl . Clicked Save . Nothing saved , no .mdl file saved .

What did l do wrong ?

Info: Win7 64 bit

 

[hcornea]

Is modelconverterX pointed to your Xtomdl.exe in the FSX SDK. It should be set up under the options.

 

[Geobas]

Yes it is , at least l guess so as per attached

 

[hcornea]

Hmmm .. may be more Arno's territory.

Can you export an X-file (the intermediary step) ? Try it as a diagnostic.

Are we sure that it is saving where you think it is? (bearing in mind the folder displayed in Win7 folder fialogs sometimes isn't where the file gets saved)

 

[Geobas]

Dead end . Have been trying everything one can think of. No saving of .mdl
Downloaded fresh MCX . No result . Flustrating .
Hope Arno comes to the rescue if he is not busy or on a trip somewhere .

Thanks for your trouble

 

[tgibson]

Hi,

Try compiling the mdl file to your desktop. It might be a permission issue.

Hope this helps,

 

[Geobas]

Hi Tom ,

No luck saving in Desktop , or external drive .
Strange thing though . Exports all other 4 formats .X , .FLT , .3DS , .OBJ

 

[robystar]

Hi George,

Please try and fill in the path to the Xtomdl once more as I noticed that sometimes when you update MCX, the first part of the path is lost and MCX will therefore not be able to find this path.

 

[hcornea]

Also, find xtomdl.exe and set it to "Run as Administrator"

This is particularly important for the one in the 3DSM9 subdirectory, that Microsoft apparently forgot to "sign"

 

[Geobas]

Hi George,

Please try and fill in the path to the Xtomdl once more as I noticed that sometimes when you update MCX, the first part of the path is lost and MCX will therefore not be able to find this path.

Hey Roby ,

All the paths of "Exporter Settings" are correct . l followed the workflow as per my post #6 suggested by hcornea but unfortunately no outcome .
l use the latest MCX (latest_development_releases_package) .l have come to a dead end , and l am afraid that l will not be able to tidy up my object libraries , something
l always wanted to do , remember ?
It's strange though , because l never had such a problem before , but again it could be that l omitted installing something when l was setting my new machine .
l might do an uninstall and start a fresh install unless someone comes with a bright idea to solve the issue .

@ hcornea : did , but made no difference .

 

[arno]

Hi,

No, no business trip this time, just a cold that kept me away from the PC for a few days.

If you take a look at the Event log after you try to export, do you see any error messages in it? I think either XtoMDL was not found or maybe the decimal character was wrong. But in both cases you should see a message in the event log.

 

[Geobas]

Thank you Arno , of course the magical decimal character .

This is the second time you rescue me with dc . Had another issue sometime last year and was ready to throw the laptop from my third floor apartment
when you suggested it and it solved my problem . l always have Windows in English , but l keep forgeting it takes the format from the Region entry .
All is well now .

Thank you again , and get well soon

 

[arno]

Glad to hear you got it working now

 

[Geobas]

Thank you Arno
The .mdl saving is working OK but after creating a library with your Library Creator and placing/activating in Addon scenery MyFolder with scenery and texture subfolders .
In FSX starting Instant scenery the bgl is there in the scenery combo box but the object combo box is empty . What did l forget again

 

[arno]

Hi,

Not sure what is going wrong there, I don't use Instant Scenery myself. It seems to indicate that it can not find the object, but if you made the library that would be weird.