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Suggestion: GUI and rendering option

riccardo74

riccardo74

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168
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italy
Little suggestion/idea for this powerful tool.

Don why not think to a GUI for lights positioning and rendering/preview window for the lights that could then generate the .def file?

Useful instead of fire up the sim, somethink like MCX. I know you can open the final bgl in MCX, but see in real time what we are building would be more flexible.

What do you think?
 
The array capability is not intended for placement of individual lights. It is intended to allow you to generate and place an entire array of lights, for example, a complex approach lighting system, where the relative position of the lights is fixed by specifying the position of only a reference point and an orientation - making the array specification reusable save for the reference position and orientation.

Placement of individual lights (as you have done) is better accomplished with other positioning tools - such as ADE if you want a GUI, or Instant scenery if you want to see what you are doing in the sim.

Don
 
Yes Don, I know it. But, for example, I building a ALS for Treviso that's a bit different from ALSF-2 in your .def file, so would be useful to see how it renders during the work.
 
The I suggest you turn to ADE which, I believe, offers what you are looking for.

That being said, once you lay out the ALS array in text format in a .def files, it will be rendered exactly as you specify it - an approach which I believe will require a lot less effort on your part than laying out each element in the array graphically.

Don
 
I believe the intended purpose of such a feature is to verify and test your work. I do agree that it would be quite comfortable to be able to see what it looks like directly rather than having to boot up the sim to find errors.
 
johnor999, the original request was for "a GUI for lights positioning and rendering/preview".

Creating an array .def, a text file, is a straightforward task. Once you specify the reference position, you simply write down the type of light and its position relative to the reference point for each element. Since such arrays are, generally, oriented straight lines of light, most of the work is copy and paste with a subsequent adjustment to the Y value. If you columnize the data (as in the samples), most errors will be readily apparent. Compare this with the (much greater) effort and precision required to position each element graphically.

Regarding "verify and test", since AFLT is "unaware" of the environment in which the array is to be used, all such a GUI could display is the lateral position of each element relative to the reference point. (In order to show the configuration of lights within an element, it would be necessary to analyse the .mdl file to extract that configuration.) It could not show positioning and orientation errors since it doesn't "know" to what the reference point relates. And, without analysing the Flightsim mesh, such a feature could not highlight elevation, i.e., Z, errors. So, how much use would it really be?

When I'm developing arrays, I have FSX running. I compile the array and library to my Scenery Library and with three clicks (World, Scenery Library, OK) my array magically appears along with all the associated features. (Of course, this convenience is not available with FS9).

Don
 
Yes, Don is rights.

Once you had set up your reference pooint it's very simple to write down all other lights.

One suggestion that I could give you for correct calculation of your reference point is to download SlewMaster from Don's website. It perfectly give you the correct coords for your starting point.

AFTL is a great tool! Thanks again.
 
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