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Boat Route

R

Reider

Messages
76
I have a journey from Aberdeen Harbour (tidal) to the Piper Alpha Oil rig I`m putting together. Watching the cargo ship swirl about on the tidal waves in the harbour is hilarious to see, absolutely brilliant. Once out over the breakers (again fun) it heads out on its 120 mile journey over 4.45 hours at 25knots. Arrival at the rig is slowly being fine tuned to move under the cranes and looking really good too.

Now the problem is when it sails from Aberdeen harbour it is in in a deep water channel of the harbour. It sometimes is facing the correct way to go out and sometimes has to turn around in the harbour channel. Now even in real life the route out of the harbour is dangerous and can only take one line, so I was really lucky to get it right (ex forklift driver ;)). Its route is forward (if facing the right way), over the tidal wave, forward, right, forward, right, left, forward, over the breakers and straight out to sea. It heads along the coast for one hour to Peterhead harbour then turns toward the rig. I will be adding another boat to join it at Peterhead but that bay is massive and easy to get out of.

I use these files

BoatsCargo.txt
PlansCargo.txt
RoutesCargo.kml

to compile to this one

trafficCargo.bgl

(1) Is their any way to set an initial heading for the carrier whilst in the harbour? So that it faces the correct way. With a static boat its defined in the vessel.xml prior to compiling, but one isn`t used here. I only want the heading in effect in the harbour, nowhere else.

(2) At the moment I am placing the resultant trafficCargo.bgl in the scenery/world/scenery folder. What I would honestly like to do would be to place it in say an add on folder with scery/texture subfolders inside a Oil rig main folder. then allow it in FSX. Would this work? I am going to try it but thought I`d ask whilst here.

(3) (Pushing my luck) I use a helicopter around the rig and pause, then use ADE connected to FSX to take readings of the lat/lon to place figures on the rig. A man with safety hat on and waving his arms. Is their an easier way to gain the coordinates or is this the way it is?

EDIT:
Sorted number (2), it can be used from the add on folder, no problem.

Reider

AKA Steve
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Hi Reider

Answer to 1); I don't think you can, would be nice as stern loading ro-ro ferries would be pointing the correct way. Funny things happen when you position the nodes in the Google Earth path. Depending on the spacing, I have seen ships aligning at 45degs to the dockside when the google map path shows it being parallel.

Ans to 3) There is a tool called TCALCX which you should be able to find on any of the major fltsim sites. I haven't used it, but from memory regardless of the plane you are using it will always show the correct height of the mesh or platform?? you are sitting on. Hopefully another user will clarify this for you.


Good Luck

Les
 
alba99 said:
Hi Reider

Answer to 1); I don't think you can, would be nice as stern loading ro-ro ferries would be pointing the correct way. Funny things happen when you position the nodes in the Google Earth path. Depending on the spacing, I have seen ships aligning at 45degs to the dockside when the google map path shows it being parallel.

Ans to 3) There is a tool called TCALCX which you should be able to find on any of the major fltsim sites. I haven't used it, but from memory regardless of the plane you are using it will always show the correct height of the mesh or platform?? you are sitting on. Hopefully another user will clarify this for you. I edit and add all points to the .kml file manually via Notepad instead off using Google Earth, by use of FSX connected to ADE and obtaining the readings. Enter the readings in Notepad, compile all files including the .kml and then place the updated .BGL file in the relevant scenery folder. This stops any irregularities forming between Google Earth and FSX in the scenery itself.


Good Luck

Les
Click to expand...

Many thanks for your valued reply. Lining up alongside an object took some manipulation but I have it down to a fine art now. No more 45 degree angles at the dockside. I mark the front lat/lon on paper then leave the cursor arrow exactly where it is. Go back to the connected FSX and move a boat type aircraft to the rear of the proposed ship-taking a reading for the marker. Line this up so its perfectly in line with the present cursor arrow, using any lines or markings on ADE or whatever your choice. Then, the rear marker has to be moved back away from the object, so I adjust the reading to suit. This so the ship reverses to the second to last point and makes the 180 degree turn without running into the object. Thus, the ship approaches the object toward the second to last marker, it has no choice at whatever angle it is but to line up with the front and last marker, in so doing it turns and loses the 45 degree angle. In essence I use two markers rather than one to line it up-both in a straight line perpendicular to the object, utilizing one of them for the reverse and resultant turn too.

Secondly, the oil rig in this case has many towers, cranes, walkways, so I must get to each of these before working out the height. I`m quite good at guessing these from other protrusion heights so that isn`t much of a problem. I don`t use Google Earth to add nodes, as their are often irregularities between it and FSX unless you use an overlay. Instead I drop the .kml file on a Notepad shortcut I have on my desktop. This allows me to edit the file textually and manually, to fine tune and add any more nodes. Save it, compile it with the other files and then add the resultant .BGL file to the scenery folder.

Reider

AKA Steve
________
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