P3D v4 P3d create reefs around tropical islands?

[PavlinS]

Honestly, I wish to knew that too.

 

[PavlinS]

the water masks I have are from Ortho4XP converted for P3D. The image you seen, this is just one folder, out of 10 with all of them water masks. A guy, who develops atm new version of Flight Sim Jewels French Polynesia Society Islands told me to use

This yellow masking, I am capable of doing it on Photoshop, but the problem is that the masks files are huge amount of files, I mean, they are like puzzle pieces into one giant puzzle of an area, because in Ortho4XP_P3D you are actually downloading the area via tiles and then convert it via ScenProc and Resample.exe from P3D's SDK to a flat image of the area. ATM I am trying to produce my first photoreal scenery and I even created subject in Avsim to ask about that, unfortunately no answer was given till now.

Image
Image 2
As you can see it does not look good, the water.

 

[PavlinS]

What works for P3D largely will not work in MSFS however. You can use Ortho4XP, it's convenient in some was, but QGIS is my go to. I like to use Ortho4XP as kind of a "scanner," I get quick snapshots of typical image providers that I can run through fspackagetool and check out in situ, so to speak, but OGIS has the tools, the precision, the flexibility, it's professional after all, that Ortho4XP cannot encompass in it's convenience. Something to explore, regardless of your destination sim.

Would be nice of you making a tutorial about it in QGIS? I downloaded it and installed it, but honestly, I never worked it, so will be nice to get some input on it.

 

[PavlinS]

Remember: P3D also has Bathymetry for terrain mesh elevation that allows one to have textured ground below AMSL water.

I know about that, thank you, I do have Pilot's Ultimate NG Mesh, that covers bathymetry.

FS SDK SHP2VEC 'color masking' instead of using Polygon areas of specific CVX vector GUIDs for Water Class is discussed here:

I am atm watching tutorial about creating polygons in QGIS, so I'll use the extracted layers into shape files and make an water mask, that will be exported via ScenProc, btw, yesterday I watched a tutorial about water masking shape files in ScenProc, so won't be difficult to create a mask and import it, then edit a copy of it in Photoshop with all them necessary layers to export it properly. Thank you again for the resources!

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/a...reate-a-custom-aerial-scenery-v1-1-pdf.61389/

Thank you for that, I'll take a look at it rn.

 

[PavlinS]

Currently working on the water mask of my scenery, it will be pain, because I need to distinguish the whole shoreline from it so it won't affect the line of the ground. I never tough that photoreal water mask would take that much work, but it seems the only good way at the moment.

 

[PavlinS]

Well, it turned out that even if I create polygon on the area I wanted to mask it can not be exported as a mask, since it is not the same color needed. I'll have to find another way.

 

[PavlinS]

Guys, that might be useful for you.

Natural Earth » Downloads - Free vector and raster map data at 1:10m, 1:50m, and 1:110m scales

www.naturalearthdata.com

This website offers free shape files for all geographical continents and oceans. I managed to download some masks from it and create shape files from them with few filters in QGIS.

At the moment I have everything needed to create water mask coral reef.

This is the shape files I was talking about.

This is geotiff file I manage to export from the same place.

Created layout for the water mask just like my friend.

And created water mask with the same layers.

Now I only need to wait a little till resample.exe is done, then create a script for the mask and add the textures and shape files to it in ScenProc. I have a sense, pretty soon I will have vector masks of tropical water around Malaysia.

 

[GaryGB]

the water masks I have are from Ortho4XP converted for P3D. The image you seen, this is just one folder, out of 10 with all of them water masks. A guy, who develops atm new version of Flight Sim Jewels French Polynesia Society Islands told me to use
View attachment 87819

This yellow masking, I am capable of doing it on Photoshop, but the problem is that the masks files are huge amount of files, I mean, they are like puzzle pieces into one giant puzzle of an area, because in Ortho4XP_P3D you are actually downloading the area via tiles and then convert it via ScenProc and Resample.exe from P3D's SDK to a flat image of the area. ATM I am trying to produce my first photoreal scenery and I even created subject in Avsim to ask about that, unfortunately no answer was given till now.

Image
Image 2
As you can see it does not look good, the water.

[EDITED]

AFAIK, as your destination version of FS2Kx is P3D Pro, you must create Masks to be used in custom photo-real imagery for P3D via either FSX or P3D SDK.

IIUC, you originally posted this inquiry in the MSFS Terrain forum to see if there may be a way to derive scenery source data from a MSFS work-flow that may divert some of the intermediate work products for use in a work-flow for P3D scenery content creation.


In reply to your original inquiry within the MSFS Terrain forum, Rick mentioned the MSFS workflow by Augustin Winther which uses ORTHO4XP and QGIS:

What works for P3D largely will not work in MSFS however. You can use Ortho4XP, it's convenient in some was, but QGIS is my go to. I like to use Ortho4XP as kind of a "scanner," I get quick snapshots of typical image providers that I can run through fspackagetool and check out in situ, so to speak, but OGIS has the tools, the precision, the flexibility, it's professional after all, that Ortho4XP cannot encompass in it's convenience. Something to explore, regardless of your destination sim.

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/a...reate-a-custom-aerial-scenery-v1-1-pdf.61389/


Perhaps, IIUC, you may be interested in ORTHOXP and QGIS methods to derive imagery and Masks from a MSFS work-flow Rick cited above ?


If so, bear in mind that Augustin Winther's example only shows insertion of airport imagery on land, and it does so without use of a "Blend" Mask.

IIRC, your project goal above and in other prior posts currently involves creating a blended transition of water 'imagery' into Water Class 'colors' in P3D.


Based on your prior posts and your forum signature, your target installed version of FS is P3D Pro, you would ultimately output BGLs via FS2Kx SDK.

That would mean using either the FSX or P3D (aka: "FS2Kx") SDK compilers ...and not fspackagetool for MSFS.

Using FS2Kx SDK Resample 'color masking' instead of using Polygon areas of specific CVX vector GUIDs for Water Class is discussed here:

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/blend-mask-not-working.435956/post-782851

"Basically, if you want to maintain the photoreal water, placing the water above the photoreal texture, you have to paint your watermask in red. Using the green, instead, FSX standard water will come out. Using the yellow, just near the coast, this creates water above the photoreal, preventing that some FSX texture comes out along the coast. To show you the system, I put an example of water mask."


Using FS2Kx SDK SHP2VEC Water Class color polygons via CVX vector GUIDs into / out of off-shore surrounding default FS ocean Water Class color is easier.

https://www.prepar3d.com/SDKv5/sdk/world/terrain/vector_shape_properties_guids.html

[END_EDIT]

One can also use FS SDK Resample for smoother transitions of near-shore photo-real water into / out of surrounding Land imagery and Water Class colors.


Remember: P3D also has Bathymetry for terrain mesh elevation that allows one to have textured ground below AMSL water for detailed Reef imagery.


GaryGB

 

[GaryGB]

View attachment 87821

Currently working on the water mask of my scenery, it will be pain, because I need to distinguish the whole shoreline from it so it won't affect the line of the ground. I never tough that photoreal water mask would take that much work, but it seems the only good way at the moment.

Actually, the latter part of the vector 'Polygon' work-flow you showed immediately above could be used in a graphics application such as GIMP, Adobe PhotoShop, or Corel PhotoPaint or PaintShop Pro, which IIRC all can work with vectors and gray scale gradients to implement a gradual transition of 'colors' for Masks.


This makes an abrupt transition, however, into topics specific to the Mask work-flow used in FS2Kx, which IMHO, is best discussed in a FS2Kx forum


To avoid possible misinterpretation by other readers, it is best to utilize forum thread / post labeling guidelines that state the version of FS under discussion.

To help FSDev index, and forum participants to follow- and perhaps contribute posts to- your thread(s), it will be important for you to:

* Please state which version of FS a thread pertains to; edit your first post (aka "Opening Post" aka "OP") to insert this info.

Choose a FS version that is the subject of a thread by clicking the 'down arrow' next to "(No prefix)" ...when starting a new thread.

GaryGB

 

[GaryGB]

Guys, that might be useful for you.

Natural Earth » Downloads - Free vector and raster map data at 1:10m, 1:50m, and 1:110m scales

www.naturalearthdata.com

This website offers free shape files for all geographical continents and oceans. I managed to download some masks from it and create shape files from them with few filters in QGIS.

At the moment I have everything needed to create water mask coral reef.

This is the shape files I was talking about.

This is geotiff file I manage to export from the same place.

Created layout for the water mask just like my friend.

And created water mask with the same layers.

Now I only need to wait a little till resample.exe is done, then create a script for the mask and add the textures and shape files to it in ScenProc. I have a sense, pretty soon I will have vector masks of tropical water around Malaysia.

Looks like you are learning more each day about FS SDK methods and how to work with GIS data.

Depending on the terrain detail you wish to implement on your own installation of P3D, this exercise may prove useful for more than 'practice' of a method.

Be aware, however, that if you use P3Dv5 Pro, internal default vector BGL GIS data resolution may already be much higher than that of Natural Earth.

1:10m in this context means a 1 to 10 Million scale (...not: '1 to 10 Meters').

Large scale data, 1:10m​

Cultural Physical Raster

The most detailed. Suitable for making zoomed-in maps of countries and regions. Show the world on a large wall poster.

1:10,000,000​

1″ = 158 miles​

1 cm = 100 km​

No doubt it can be laborious and challenging to learn how to derive FS SDK source files from detailed Raster and Vector GIS data.

Use of the Magic Wand or Lasso 'color selection' tools in the above cited graphics applications can simplify derivation of SDK Resample Masks from imagery:

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/water-blend-mask-gradient-issues.444684/


NOTE: Saving 'selections' as vector "paths" in graphics applications allows derivation of vectors from raster imagery for use with FS2Kx SDK SHP2VEC.

Both of these latter methods can save vast amounts of manual labor when creating FS2Kx SDK scenery source files.

GaryGB

 

[PavlinS]

Be aware, however, that if you use P3Dv5 Pro, internal default vector BGL GIS data resolution may already be much higher than that of Natural Earth.

I am on v4 still because of Tomato Shade.

 

[GaryGB]

I am on v4 still because of Tomato Shade.

There is a lot of fun still to be had in FS9, FSX, P3D.

It seems you prefer a scenery experience closer to IRL.

Your computer specs in your forum signature show that you could easily run MSFS, which would better simulate IRL scenery.

AFAIK, Nvidia graphics cards can still display custom Shader mods via Nvidia Freestyle Extensions in both the MS Store and Steam versions of MSFS.

GaryGB

 

[PavlinS]

I had invested a lot of money into my sim, so I pref. to stick with it.
For some weird reason my shape file with the water mask was not readable in scenproc. Hmm. I will have to find another way to achieve this corals on the scenery.
Btw, part of those parts will be changed. I am waiting for some money and I plan on taking i9 13900KF and DDR5 Memory, also new motherboard. Then the machine will work properly, atm I have issue with textures.

Unfortunately my script does not recognize the shape files. Hm. Any help will be appreciated.

 

[GaryGB]

Ultimately, the best qualified to assist you would be Arno as author of ScenProc.

However, if you examine the ScenProc Event Log error statement for ImportOGR (the GIS processor for vector data), it gives clues.

FYI: AFAIK, your GIS vector data is stored in a ESRI Shape file, which by GIS industry standards, is a meta-file comprised of at least (3) component files:

*.SHP

*.SHX

*.DBF

Be certain all (3) Shape meta-files are accessible in the source folder read by ScenProc (or any other GIS utility you are using).

ScenProc is unable to open the *.SHP and *.SHX files

Be certain all parts of your ESRI Shape file are in the source folder specified by the path in the error statement


BTW: ScenProc offered to restore the *.SHX.

This may be because ScenProc could not find it in the source folder.

In some (but not all) cases a GIS utility 'can' restore a *.SHX from a intact, full-featured *.SHP file component,

But is best to supply the original *.SHX ...if it still exists (somewhere).


Check the projection of your data. Unusual coordinates found.

See this thread:

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/unusual-coordinates.447907/


Read section 10.1.6 ImportOGR in the ScenProc.pdf file

As AUTODETECT would not be able to read the coordinates at all, if the *.DBF file is not in the source folder, AFAIK, it would probably report that the *.DBF is 'missing', instead of reporting that 'unusual coordinates' were found.

IIUC, ScenProc needs a manual entry of GIS Projection using the correct PROJ4 string.

IIRC, QGIS may not correctly auto-detect a GIS data file's internal CRS projection (CRS = Coordinate Reference System).


I suggest that you download Global Mapper:

https://www.bluemarblegeo.com/global-mapper-download/


You will be able to use Global Mapper as a GIS file importer and viewer in the (free) demo mode, to view your ESRI Shape files used as source by- and as subsequently processed for output by- QGIS.

Global Mapper has a very good (but not flawless) feature for auto-detection of a GIS file's internal projection

Once loaded in Global Mapper's Control Center stack of GIS files, the Metadata feature will list a "probable" *.SHP file projection.


After a "probable" GIS projection is detected by Global Mapper, before loading *.SHP data in ScenProc, pick that projection via a PROJ4 for subsequent use with the vector source file script.

Or in QGIS, re-project data to WGS84 GIS projection format (aka "EPSG:4326") as the GIS source data file format required by FS2Kx SDK ...before loading *.SHP data in ScenProc


These are a few initial observations; I do not routinely use ScenProc, so I suggest you RTFM while awaiting replies from others.

GaryGB

 

[PavlinS]

Thank, Gary, but by my opinion is because it does not read any data, since it is a shapefile that contains only water inside. I did not read any manual about the problem, but I'll try any of your suggestions. Btw, I think it is might be because I store the files on external hard drive, so now I will try with my main SSD. I read already the thread about unusual coordinates.
That software btw from Blue Marble Geographics is very expensive, so I don't know do I need it?

 

[GaryGB]

That software btw from Blue Marble Geographics is very expensive, so I don't know do I need it?

I am only recommending that you 'test' Global Mapper in a (free) demo mode to see what it can tell us about GIS projection of your ESRI Shape file *.SHP, whether *.DBF file coordinates are correctly configured, and if the *.SHX file is readable by another GIS app.

In theory, you may be able to do all your other GIS work with QGIS without purchasing Global Mapper.

GaryGB

 

[PavlinS]

It's weird. I put the crs to the layer, since the layer covers specific place and it should be recognizable from the program, but for some weird reason it is not. And when I open the shape file in QGIS it is covering exactly the place I draw it.

I think the problem comes from the fact the polygon is empty. I need to find how to fill it up, so it can act as mask in ScenProc. I think that's the reason why I can't create the bgl with the water. I'll research more.

I asked my close friend with the French Polynesia scenery to give me step by step tutorial. Obviously the only good thing about the ScenProc I can do is to make autogen with it.

 

[PavlinS]

image

Unfortunately I can't. I even trait by tutorial from the guy I mentioned with the Flight Sim Jewels scenery, but can't fix it now. Something definitely annoys me, hmmm.... It seems I can't use the photoshop files, because they do not contain geographical data. Also the issue with the shape file gives me even worse projections. I attempted with a freeware geotiff program, that creates inf file so I can resample it, it worked, but in the image you see the result. Something definitely is not right. Arno, I'll be glad on pointers.

 

[GaryGB]

Hi again:

Arno has not been seen at FS Dev forum since April 20th; perhaps he is on vacation ?

While awaiting his reply, you may wish to review Arno's Blog post here:

Creating photoreal scenery with scenProc | SceneryDesign.org

Note in his video that he uses GeoTIFFs which IIUC, all load from a specified folder.

GeoTIFFs by their very nature are already Geo-referenced, unlike non-Geo-referenced graphic *.TIF files output by PhotoShop etc..

NOTE: Most graphics applications do not process / save / retain on export ...Geo-referencing tags in GeoTIFF files.


A GeoTIFF by GIS industry standards, is a TIFF file that ends in a three letter *.TIF extension just like other TIF file, but a GeoTIFF contains additional tags internally that provide projection information for that image as specified by the GeoTIFF standard.

It may also be a meta-file comprised of at least (2) component files:

*.TIF (The image data)

*.TFW (The Geo-referencing data)


Be certain all GeoTIFF files are accessible in the source folder read by ScenProc (or any other GIS utility you are using).


Since Arno's example script in that video specifies NOREPROJ, IIUC, that means the imagery GeoTIFFs are already output by QGIS or other GIS app source, in EPSG:4326 GIS projection format (as required for use with FS2Kx SDK Resample).

If you review ScenProc.pdf section 10.7.9 ExportResamplePhotorealBGL, you will see that Arno allows one to specify the parameter values that are to be used when ScenProf processes imagery source files to output terrain photo-real BGLs, including whether the Blend Mask is in one of the 'channel' sub-layers of the imagery file along with the 'visible' satellite image itself, or in a separate discrete stand-alone imagery file ...as a 8-Bit gray scale *.TIF 'mask' file.


Note that in the bottom line of the script that Arno defines the various parameter values that would normally be specified by the FS2Kx SDK Resample *.INF file that is otherwise submitted along with the GeoTIFF imagery files.

IIUC, the image you linked at:

https://imgur.com/CHQFouo

...shows that your photo-real imagery BGL is being displayed in P3D above the underlying Water Class 'color' at a minimum of LOD-13 resolution, without a functioning Blend Mask that creates gradient transparency to allow the "reef" water 'color' to display from below the satellite imagery.

The 'diamond' pattern of photo-real imagery seen on top of the intended "reef" Water Color area, is very likely the higher LOD-13 imagery tiles that surround the user A/C in top-down view, which fall off to lower LOD tiles outside the 'diamond' area, that, due to their lower than LOD-13 MIPMAP resolution, are unable to be displayed on top of the higher default resolution of a Water Class color vector textured polygon underneath that top photo-real satellite imagery layer.

Remember that use of custom photo-real land class imagery requires at least a Land-Water mask with pure White (RBG-255) and pure Black (RGB-000) to toggle ON / OFF display of layers underneath a top imagery layer.

If gradient transparency is desired to transition gradually from Land into (shallow or very clear) Water near- or otherwise- off shore, this requires a gray scale 256 step 8-Bit TIF file.

AFAIK, use of the "color masking" method utilized by ORTHO4XP is not officially documented or sanctioned by the FS2Kx SDK, and consumes more of a data footprint in source files and IIRC, on disk after compilation.

I strongly encourage you to first study the "official" documented and sanctioned methods of the FS2Kx SDK as used by the tutorials discussed in my prior reply to your thread on this topic (which use SBuilderX for smaller example areas), to become more familiar with the requirements for source file formats ...before attempting to utilize ScenProc' scripted methods to make imagery BGLs for very large areas.

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/scenproc-for-beginners.457209/post-915292

GaryGB

 

[PavlinS]

I already readed and watched the video for photoreal.