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FSX Trees on airport - Scenery priority

Messages
677
Country
ca-quebec
Hi,

Trees suddendly appears on one of my airport (CYRJ).
I checked in the ADE source file and yes the exclude autogen is there.
I found that is it coming from a regional ground cover BGL file in the ...FSX/Addon scenery/Scenery folder.

I always thought that my sceneries in ...FSX/Addon scenery folder have priority on all others, including those in ...FSX/Addon scenery/Scenery.

I can put ground BGLs in a lower scenery folder in ...FSX/Addon scenery but is there an other solution?

Thanks.
 

=rk=

Resource contributor
Messages
4,472
Country
us-washington
How did the trees "'suddenly appear?" Presumably the regional .bgl was already there when the scenery worked as expected. Your scenery addons are listed in numerical order of priority. If the addon scenery folder is of a higher number and visually lower on the list, then it does not have priority over your CYRJ scenery folder.
 
Messages
677
Country
ca-quebec
I dont know how the trees appear but they appear. The ground file is there for a lot of time. I know in FSX library that if I place the ground scenery below the airport scenery this last will have priority.

My question is how is it possible that
this => ...FSX/Addon scenery/Scenery/ground.bgl
had priority on
this => ...FSX/Addon scenery/CYRJ/scenery/airport.bgl
?

What is the trick, if exists, to order BGL contained in ...FSX/Addon scenery/Scenery/ folder?
 
Messages
777
Country
unitedstates
My question is how is it possible that
this => ...FSX/Addon scenery/Scenery/ground.bgl
had priority on
this => ...FSX/Addon scenery/CYRJ/scenery/airport.bgl
Addon Scenery is listed above CYRJ in the Scenery Library.

cheers,
Lane
 
Messages
7,450
Country
us-illinois
Hi Jon:

Thanks for the updated URL, and for all your work with that tutorial. :)


BTW
: I'm wondering if you might also provide-, or link to- some additional references, on the alphanumeric load order used by MSFS, with examples that involve use of other "legal" non-alphabet and/or non-numeric (extended) ASCII characters in file names, such as:

! @ # $ % ^ & ( ) - _ + = { } ; ' , .

...as discussed in this KB article on "legal" characters for (US-UK English language) Windows path / folder / file naming:

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa365247(v=vs.85).aspx


Thanks for any additional info you might share with us on this (IMHO, important) ...related sub-topic. ;)

GaryGB
 
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Messages
677
Country
ca-quebec
According to the Jon tutorial page, did I have to conclude that the BGL files in ...FSX/Addon scenery/Scenery/ are associated to Default scenery in FSX library? So how to explain that theese files had priority on files on top list of the library?
 
Messages
7,450
Country
us-illinois
Hi,

Trees suddenly appears on one of my airport (CYRJ).
I checked in the ADE source file and yes the exclude autogen is there.
I found that is it coming from a regional ground cover BGL file in the ...FSX/Addon scenery/Scenery folder.

I always thought that my sceneries in ...FSX/Addon scenery folder have priority on all others, including those in ...FSX/Addon scenery/Scenery.

I can put ground BGLs in a lower scenery folder in ...FSX/Addon scenery but is there an other solution?

Thanks.

Please tell us exactly what type of "regional ground cover BGL" you are referring to above: :scratchch

* Land Class using FS default local or alternate region definition type

...or:

* Land Class using completely custom-made region definition type


...or:

* Ground Polygon made with ex: ADE 'GP-Editor' or ModelConverterX (aka "MCX") 'Ground Polygon Wizard' via FS2002 SDK


GaryGB
 
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Messages
677
Country
ca-quebec
It is a land-class file(s) made from official geographic maps within a personnal process by an other developer.
 
Messages
7,450
Country
us-illinois
Hi again:

Successfully configuring 3rd party / custom Land Class (aka "LC") scenery BGLs for specific display priority is sometimes complex, and requires repeated testing after considering some general guidelines.

First, be aware that even in FSX / P3D, AFAIK, custom photo-real scenery is still technically another form of custom LC which IIRC, also uses binary Region codes within the FS2Kx / FSX / P3D BGL ...but with an 'alternate' alphanumeric texture tile file name series (inside the BGL in the case of FSX / P3D) that is slightly different from the default FS LC texture file names mapped to FS terrain grid tiles.


So even when they are added to the FS Scenery Library GUI stack of layers, one may need to consider location / position of a 3rd party / custom Land Class (aka "LC") scenery BGLs within that stack of layers to control "load order".


FYI: 3rd party / custom add-on BGLs are sometimes placed into:

* [FS install path]\Addon Scenery\Scenery

...
or:

[FS install path]\Scenery\World\Scenery

...for special purposes which require those BGLs to load early in the FS startup process, thus loading "earlier" than non-default scenery BGLs.


In the case of 3rd party / custom Land Class (aka "LC") scenery BGLs, one usually needs to load these files "later" than default scenery BGLs and certain other non-default scenery BGLs.


Thus, one may (..always ? :scratchch...) wish to load 3rd party / custom Land Class from layers physically "above"- and separate from- the default FS Addon Scenery position in the FS Scenery Library GUI stack of layers. :pushpin:


Also, in some cases the local LC instructions of a BGL may be over-ridden by the slope of terrain mesh "shape" in an area when standard-type LC (either default or 3rd party add-on) is used rather than custom photo-real scenery.

Generally-speaking, one should not put standard-type LC (either default or 3rd party add-on) or custom photo-real BGLs in:


* [FS install path]\Addon Scenery\Scenery

...
or:

[FS install path]\Scenery\World\Scenery

...and should instead put them into a newly-created \Scenery sub-folder under a top-folder, then added to the FS Scenery Library GUI stack of layers as an 'Active' layer separate from any layer containing custom photo-real scenery for the same project area, as discussed in "Scenery Priority" on pages 5 and 6 in this add-on product documentation PDF:

http://www.vectorlandclass.co.nz/downloads/VLC_Manual.pdf


BTW
: In FS2Kx, it was necessary as well to NOT pair the \Scenery sub-folder containing a 3rd party add-on LC BGL with a \Texture sub-folder unless the mapped land class-type textures for that BGL were physically present within that local paired \Texture sub-folder, or FS would crash / OOM during extended file searches for mapped textures; reportedly FSX P3D no longer has that problem.


NOTE: Additional considerations may be necessary as well:

https://www.google.com/#q=FSX+Land+Class+priority


Hope this additional info helps ! :)

GaryGB
 
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Messages
677
Country
ca-quebec
Hum...

I remove all my "ground sceneries" from ...FSX\Addon scenery\Scenery and put them in a new folder : ...FSX\Addon scenery\common sceneries\scenery. In FSX library I activate the new Common sceneries scenery and move it under ALL my addons sceneries.

No changes : trees on airport!

In the ground scenery concerned, it is possible that there is an... "exclude killer"??
 
Messages
7,450
Country
us-illinois
Hum...

I remove all my "ground sceneries" from ...FSX\Addon scenery\Scenery and put them in a new folder : ...FSX\Addon scenery\common sceneries\scenery. In FSX library I activate the new Common sceneries scenery and move it under ALL my addons sceneries.

No changes : trees on airport!

In the ground scenery concerned, it is possible that there is an... "exclude killer"??

IIRC, Autogen excludes (FSX: now only in SHP2VEC-compiled CVX Vector BGLs, and NOT via legacy XML exclude rectangles coded within a 'hybrid' airport BGL) must be placed above the areas to be excluded in the FSX Scenery Library GUI so that they load after content to be excluded, thus not below or in the 'same layer' (...unless tricky alpha-numeric naming is used for both the file(s) to be excluded and the exclude file itself ;) )

Hope this helps a bit more ! :)

GaryGB
 
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Messages
677
Country
ca-quebec
The exclude is in the airport scenery.
In FSX library my airport scenery is no 4 and common sceneries no 123.
 
Messages
7,450
Country
us-illinois
You may now need to attach your files to this thread so that more effective troubleshooting might be achieved. ;)


Sorry I can't be of more help with the limited information available as posted thus far; perhaps someone else can help ? :oops:


PS: Regarding possible "Exclude killer" files, I am researching some (not conclusive yet, and needs more testing). :coffee:


Do you have any FTX scenery installed and active in this test scenario ? :alert:

GaryGB
 
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Messages
677
Country
ca-quebec
You got it!

There are two FTX sceneries installed but not activated. I delete them and bingo the trees disappear from the airports! Dont ask me to explain the link between these sceneries and the ground scenery (remember : ground scenery activated = trees, but ground scenery desactivated = no trees)

Thanks GaryGB!
 
Messages
7,450
Country
us-illinois
Glad that helped ! :)


AFAIK, 'certain' earlier versions of FTX central required one to manually set configuration to / from default mode versus a FTX region mode.

IIRC, if one forgot to toggle modes before installation of FTX product or scenery library updates, or when installing 3rd party add-ons, one might be at risk for getting files out-of-synch with the intended control actions of FTX Central, thus some FTX files could end up set 'active' ...when they were instead intended to be 'de-activated'; ...or worse yet, FS default (or FTX) files could get over-written.

The earlier version of FS9 Ultimate Terrain was also sometimes vulnerable to this due to the way it would rename default files to a *.XXX file extension, keep them inside the original FS folder location, then write new custom substitute 'copies' of those files into the same default folders along-side the re-named originals (...but Ultimate Terrain X aka "UTX" does not have this vulnerability due to protective mechanisms now used ;)).


FYI: The requirement to "substitute" the internal contents of FS default files under their specific original default file names within FS default folder chains is due to a limitation in FS design imposed by ACES ...which 3rd party developers are forced to work around. :banghead:


BTW: Prepar3d (aka "P3D") by Lockheed-Martin (aka "LM") now seeks to keep all 3rd party add-on files external to the FS folder chain ...as discussed (and linked) here:

http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/prepar3d-v-3-installation.435322/


[EDITED]

PS: It might help my "Exclude killer" research project if you would be so kind as to disclose the names of the apparent FTX files in question, as well the names of the products they are likely to have been originally installed by ...as cited in your posts(s) above. :scratchch

Could you post that info either within this thread, or in a Private Message to me here at FSDeveloper ? ;)

Thanks in advance; ...and good luck with your project ! :cool:

[END_EDIT]

GaryGB
 
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