How to add an apron for a default airport

[jgarnold]

I attempted to add an apron (object) to my project (which is only to place a user model near an existing MSFS airport) but when I do I get an error that it can only be placed at an airport.

The apron is an attempt to cover up some satellite textures which are some distance from the airport.

Is it possible to add an 'apron' (object) some distance from an existing airport without making modifications to the actual airport?

 

[fabs79]

I don't think so, you'll always need an airport object to place aprons. But you can just modify the existing airport and leave all the default assets untouched and just place your apron

 

[jgarnold]

Great. I will work on that.

[added later]
Didn't take long before I hit a snag - how to modify an exiting airport. I searched YouTube for something about modifing existing airport I did not find one which helped me. I remembered watching tutorial MSFS SDK Airport TUTORIAL - LIDL- EPISODE 1 by Federico Pinotti and watched again but in it shows how to OVERRIDE an existing airport which then prompts 'CREATE AIRPORT' and I don't think that is what I want.
Do you know of any tutorials which are on modifying an existing airport?

 

[=rk=]

The recommended procedure to replace satellite imagery, is to construct a new satellite imagery .bgl for that location. During the process, the developer can edit and customize the appearance of the ground polygon to obscure whatever was present originally.

It should be apparent, that one could construct a model that looks very similar to a ground polygon, that will not contour to the ground, in the same way airport aprons sit only horizontal and flat, but can be textured photographically to exactly match surrounding terrain, unlike an airport apron.

 

[mamu]

Rick Is right

For smaller stuff You can also use a projected mesh







Inviato dal mio Mi 9 Lite utilizzando Tapatalk

 

[jgarnold]

Thanks. I think that I understand what you suggest Rick BUT will that work for an area of water which is 'animated' (wave action controlled by the weather)?

 

[rhumbaflappy]

I attempted to add an apron (object) to my project (which is only to place a user model near an existing MSFS airport) but when I do I get an error that it can only be placed at an airport.

The apron is an attempt to cover up some satellite textures which are some distance from the airport.

Is it possible to add an 'apron' (object) some distance from an existing airport without making modifications to the actual airport?

Possibly. Which airport? How far away?

 

[rhumbaflappy]

There are 5 methods to alter the ground tiles. Polygon, Apron, Projected Mesh, glTF model, and CGL (aerial tile replacement). Most times, the polygon is the preferred choice away from an airport. But if the distance to the airport is not too great ( within about 10000 meters or so ), then the apron is a better choice, because it allows more options with the textures. glTF works for something that needs extreme detail (you're just covering the ground with a model). Projected mesh works, but it seems a bit wonky (unless Asobo has finally fixed the problems). Replacing the CGL aerial tile with an altered tile version is the nuclear option and also seems to have some issues that Asobo may have fixed (or not).

 

[jgarnold]

Thanks Dick

One of the areas is around 8000 metres from the nearest (stock) airport and the other is right at the (water) airport however it is a 3rd party airport.

Thanks for the advice on all the different types of ground tiles some of which I did not know about.

If I can use an apron (my preferred method as I know how to create them and adjust the textures) how do I 'incorporate' an existing airport in my project (which is simply to cover up some satellite imagery) as aprons are 'associated' with an airport? I have watched some tutorials but got the impression that they were creating an airport,

 

[rhumbaflappy]

Here's an airport stub for C59:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<!-- Created by Airport Design Editor (ADE) on 3/11/2022 -->
<FSData
    version="9.0"
    xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
    xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="bglcomp.xsd">

    <Airport
        state="Wisconsin"
        city="Delavan"
        name="Lake Lawn"
        lat="42.6341250166297"
        lon="-88.6011305451393"
        alt="296.57M"
        magvar="2"
        trafficScalar="1"
        airportTestRadius="10000.0M"
        altType="GEOID"
        isOnTIN="FALSE"
        onlyAddIfReplace="FALSE"
        applyFlatten="FALSE"
        starAirport="TRUE"
        closed="FALSE"
        groundMergingTransfertBright="0"
        groundMergingTransfertDark="0"
        ident="C59"
        >
    </Airport>
</FSData>

This airport xml is taken from ADE_2020, and I just deleted all the stuff that would alter the airport. I changed starAirport="TRUE" to show it better in MSFS' world map. All this does is references the stock airport that is already in MSFS. It doesn't delete anything. You can leave the rest of the files from ADE alone, and you can now add aprons or models or whatever using C59 as the reference. You could enlarge the airportTestRadius if needed, but I don't remember the extent. It sounds like 10000 might be good for you, but 12000 might be safer.

Load this stub project into DevMode and you can add\save\compile whatever you want to the default C59 area.

 

[jgarnold]

Thanks Dick. I assume that I need to edit changing the values of the first 7 parameters - I will in any case.

 

[jgarnold]

Dick,
Am I on the 'right wavelength' is saying that when I create the airport.xml I place it in the (PackageSources) 'scene' folder? OR (I think) it goes in the (PackageSources) DATA folder?

But I also think that the xml file in the PackageDefinitions also need to be modified to add the new asset group?

I am thinking that there must be an easier method using SDK to do all that work? I know that you stated "load this stub into Devmode" but I do not know what you mean and how you do that. I looked at all the drop down menus in DevMode and could not see anything to load anything only a project. I tried loading the xml I created as a project but that didn't work.

 

[rhumbaflappy]

Just use ADE to make a nearby default airport project with 2-way editing checked. Then go into the Project's data folder and edit the airport xml file as indicated above with a text editor. Get rid of everything except the stub for the airport. Then you can use that project to place anything within the airport's radius without disturbing the default airport.

 

[rhumbaflappy]

You were working on a bridge near YSHL, so I made an example stub, with an apron to use as a reference point near the bridge (delete that after you add your content). This shouldn't interfere with the default YSHL or the Microsoft custom additions to the airport.

 

[jgarnold]

Thanks Dick you are a champ. your dog
Late last night I started to wonder about using ADE and thought that surely a 'project' created using ADE would be able to be opened with SDK.

 

[jgarnold]

Thanks again Dick. I have (at last got around to) open the yshl-stub with SDK Developer and as expected it loads. I will now add my model and place it and save scenery for the placement as well as the apron.

It does show some asset groups I have never seen in my project before (which only has a modellib and scene BGL).
The only one of concern is the ContentInfo. What creates that asset group? I did add the (ContentInfo) thumbnail in my project (from Inspector and which appears every time I open an asset group (in Inspector) but I don't have a (type) ContentInfo asset group in my package.

 

[jgarnold]

HELP! I spoke too soon.
When I select the package and do a BUILD PACKAGE it generates the following error which I have never seen before and can't work out if it can be ignored or if not what needs to be done to prevent the error. Then error occurs whether or not I have placed the files for my model in the modellib folder.

 

[jgarnold]

I then opened every package I have which were created using ADE and did a BUILD ALL but those errors did not occur but they only showed that they contained a BGL and ModelLib asset, none have a ContentLib or MaterialLib asset. I compared folders and files between them all and they all appeared similar or the same.

Should I simply remove the ContentLib and MaterialLib assets? I don't want to do something which compromises the integrity of the package (I do not know what those asset groups are for).

 

[GuidoH]

Hi John, did u try to introduce a very basic new airport like 1000 meters distance with a very small radius. and then add aprons to it which are at the stock airport positions you want them to be? Who cares about the airport itself? Without a runway, it won't even be displayed but the apron should. I'd like to try that but don't know if I have enough time today to give it a shot.
You can also try to redefine the airport without deleting anything and just adding new aprons. So the stock airport basic definition is the only thing that is changed as well as the new aprons. This is also worth of trial. Therefore grab the airport definition through importing it with ADE and reuse only the <airport>-tag. You may even left the delete statment out as i think the "off position" is default anyway.
Regards Guido

 

[jgarnold]

Hi Guido,
Thanks for your suggestions. I am trying to add aprons some 8500 meters from the airport.
I have since learned that the MaterialsLib asset group is for custom ground materials of which I have none so I guess this asset group can be removed? But what about the ContentLib asset group?

What I have now tried is using the package supplied by rhumbafloppy and my package created using SDK -
1) to add A MaterialLIB asset group and ContentLib asset group to an older package I created using ADE but I could not find in the wizard either of these.
2) I removed the MaterialLib and ContentLib packages from the airport package rhumbaflappy uploaded (see above) and then did a BUILD PACKAGE and that resulted in only one error "Couldn't compute mercator bound because the mesh has no library object child" which I THINK can be ignored as I get the same error doing a BUILD PACKAGE of my airport packages created using ADE some time ago and they compile/build into a usage package in the MSFS Community Folder.

The MaterialLib and ContentInfo asset groups are a complete mystery to me.