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MSFS Freeware Released! - Dortmund for the MSFS

Christian Bahr

Resource contributor
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951
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germany
Hi, Happy New Year everyone!

Our next MSFS project is coming up in the new year: My hometown Dortmund. All buildings/objects will have both PBR material and PBR textures. The scenery becomes a full-fledged PBR add-on :)

msfs_dortmund_wip_15.jpg

The Westfalenstadion in Dortmund should of course not be missing


Screenshot (623).png

Culture also needs to be taken care of: the theater in Dortmund. It combines opera, ballet, philharmonic music, drama and theater for children and young people


Screenshot (627).png



msfs_dortmund_wip_3.jpg

Harenberg City Center


msfs_dortmund_wip_7.jpg

St. Reinoldikirche


msfs_dortmund_wip_9.jpg

Big Tipi in the Fredenbaumpark

msfs_dortmund_wip_12.jpg

The Dortmund Westfalenhallen 1-8, in the background the Florian TV tower and the former Telekom office tower can be seen


msfs_dortmund_wip_22.jpg

The Emergency Hospital (Klinikzentrum Nord) has a landing pad for rescue helicopters. The scenery would be well prepared for helicopters in the MSFS

Most of the buildings/objects are already finished, but other, perhaps somewhat less important, buildings in Dortmund will follow. The Hengesen-Oherdicke airfield, which is located a little south of the EDLW airport, will then be completed :)
 

Christian Bahr

Resource contributor
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951
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germany
It continues rapidly ...

In the meantime, more 3-D models have been completed :)

msfs_dortmund_wip_hauptbahnhof.jpg

Dortmund Central Station


Screenshot (709).jpg

The site of the former Gneisenau colliery in the Derne district


msfs_dortmund_wip_hoerder_burg.jpg

The Hörder Castle on the Phönixsee



msfs_dortmund_wip_ikea_warenlager.jpg

The IKEA warehouse. The three wind turbines are still missing, they are currently being manufactured as dynamic wind objects


msfs_dortmund_wip_sendeturm_schwerte.jpg

The Schwerte transmission tower

In addition, the clocks at the Old Port Authority and for the Reinoldikirche are changed as simobjects, so the local time is then displayed on these buildings.
 

Christian Bahr

Resource contributor
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951
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germany
It goes on ...

There was extensive preparatory work to be done! The textures of Dortmund Airport had to be summarized and the 3-D models were brought into the MSFS glTF format. And new PBR textures had to be created. Placing the models with the Scenery Editor was then a great pleasure :)

Before there are pictures of the EDLW airport, here are a few thumbnails of the Hengsen-Opherdicke airfield included in the package:


msfs_dortmund_wip_hengsen_animirte_personen.jpg

Die animierten Personen werde auch in diesem Projekt auf das Wetter, die Jahres.- und Tageszeit reagieren

msfs_dortmund_wip_hengsen_details.png




msfs_hengsen_opherdicke_wip_18.jpg




msfs_hengsen_opherdicke_wip_23.jpg

Some time ago the runway markings were renewed at the airfield. Therefore the old runway markings will be replaced later by new runway markings.


At the moment, work at Dortmund Airport is making good progress. The markings on the ground look good and the 3-D models also come into their own. The airport aerial photo has a resolution of 15cm. But see for yourself ...


mfs_dortmund_airport_boden_markierungen.jpg

The markings consist partly of a projected mesh and the other part of painted lines


mfs_dortmund_airport_taxi_licht_2.jpg

Your own taxi light model with the new Asobo airport lights


Screenshot (1400).jpg

The Asobo Airport lights not only come into their own. The lights also have a long range of vision! Thanks to @Sasa for the nice tip :)



mfs_dortmund_airport_taxi_schilder_2.jpg

Authentic taxi signs with signs of use


Screenshot (1414).jpg




Screenshot (1421).jpg



One of the bigger challenges at Dortmund Airport is the elevated GA area of the old terminal. It will probably be solved with terraforming and an adapted GA 3-D model. We'll continue with that soon ... :)
 

Christian Bahr

Resource contributor
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951
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germany
Hello and good morning :)

Some of the ground markings in EDLW still had to be completed. Here is the preliminary final result:

mfs_dortmund_wip_6.jpg



mfs_dortmund_wip_7.jpg



Animated ground traffic should not be missing at any airport. Because it is precisely he who ensures a scene that appears lively. Here is a picture of a PathFollow-Animation consisting of a pulling cart and several baggage carts:

mfs_dortmund_wip_5.jpg


More on that later ...
 
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286
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germany
Christian, is the cart with the path follow animation a Simobject or a standard scenery object? I'd like to create objects following paths for my own scenery but I haven't been able to successfully export an animated model as a Simobject.
 

Christian Bahr

Resource contributor
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951
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germany
The train trolley and the baggage trolleys are currently still animated PathFollow objects. But if we implement animated ground traffic as a WASM module, then the vehicles have to be SimObjects. So all ground vehicles will later be made into SimObjects.
 
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286
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germany
OK thank you. Could you tell me how the path the object needs to follow is defined and what the xml looks like?
 

Christian Bahr

Resource contributor
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951
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germany
Could you tell me how the path the object needs to follow is defined and what the xml looks like?
In the 3dsm file for Dortmund Airport the path looks like this:

3dsm_path_follow_object.jpg


However, it is planned to run the ground traffic later via a WASM module. The vehicles will then follow their route directly and very precisely using coordinates (waypoints).

Here are a few explanations about PathFollow Animation:
 
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286
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germany
In the 3dsm file for Dortmund Airport the path looks like this:

View attachment 72820

However, it is planned to run the ground traffic later via a WASM module. The vehicles will then follow their route directly and very precisely using coordinates (waypoints).

Here are a few explanations about PathFollow Animation:
Thank you Christian, I'm using blender but the basic workflow is similar. Two questions remain : how do you set the speed at which the objects travels along the path? By the duration of the animation or by setting a speed in the xml file? And Is it possible to combine a Follow Path animation with a looping animation cycle, like a rotating beacon on the object or a walk cycle of a character?
 

Christian Bahr

Resource contributor
Messages
951
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germany
Hi!

I would like to show you the work of the last few days. The topic: Intelligent ground traffic based on a WASM module :)

The unique WASM module developed by Oliver has very different properties. For example, this means that the vehicles controlled by the module drive an assigned route and have proximity detection.

1_dortmund_route_simobjekte.jpg

First, a route was created using the GIS software ArcMap from ESRI


In the further process, the coordinates of the nodes were calculated, which then became a report and which were then ultimately output as latitude and longitude ...

3_dortmund_simobjekte_kurve.jpg

At the very beginning, the vehicles did not follow the specified route exactly, which is why this led to unwanted collisions with static objects. However, it later became clear that the speeds of the intersections had to be determined very precisely. From then on, the vehicles drove relatively precisely along their route.


As I said, the vehicles have proximity detection. This means that they stop automatically when you approach them with your own aircraft. The vehicles also have collision detection - they collide with static objects. In addition, the vehicles have now been created as SimObjects, so they have a steering angle of the wheels when cornering. In addition, the wheels turn depending on the vehicle speed.

Here is a little video that shows one of the finished vehicles ...


The AI logic can be expanded later. In this way, ideas relating to the time of day, the seasons and the weather could also be implemented. And just think of the great opportunities for meaningful tasks for animated people in MSFS :)
 

Christian Bahr

Resource contributor
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951
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germany
An important problem with WASM controlled AI ground traffic could be solved :)

It's about the inaccurate cornering of the AI ground vehicles. There were large deviations when cornering, so that the vehicles came into oncoming traffic, which looked very ugly. It is important to know that the MSFS seems to be when it comes to so-called braking points. What is meant is that the individual nodes have to be reworked in such a way that they generate a low cornering speed for the vehicles. Here is an example of how part of the AI-controlled ground traffic at Dortmund Airport now looks like:


In addition, initial experiences with animated people as SimObjects are being gained, which are also controlled via the WASM module:

 

Christian Bahr

Resource contributor
Messages
951
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germany
Good morning🙂

I'm currently in the process of putting the finishing touches to the Bahrometrix Living People who are up to mischief at Dortmund Airport. In addition to the usual gloss properties of the safety vest, the skin and the objects that are worn by the people, they should be given a certain shine in the eyes by applying specially prepared textures. The intention behind this is that the people appear a little more lively:

3dsm_bahrometrix_living_people_dortmund_edlw.jpg

One of the three people who take care of security at the airport


mfs_bahrometrix_living_people_dortmund_edlw.jpg



So far, 4 animated people are ready, they were created as SimObjects and can therefore be used flexibly. Among other things, they can be controlled via a WASM module. So then a few people walk around the airport area while other people linger at their location 🙂
 

Christian Bahr

Resource contributor
Messages
951
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germany
Hello :)

After the topics of animated ground traffic, animated people and animated animals have been dealt with, it goes on to another, very important topic: Exact height data (mesh). In all likelihood, there will then be a 5m elevation model that will cover the entire Dortmund city area:

Before (MSFS Default)
1_mfs_phoenix_west_default.jpg



After (5m LIDAR Mesh)
2_mfs_phoenix_west_dem5.jpg

The elevation data were derived from 1m LIDAR data.


Before
3_mfs_phoenixsee_mfs_default.jpg


After
4_mfs_phoenixsee_dem5.jpg


The next step is to test whether the very precise data can be used to create an exact profile of the runway (Sloped Runway) :)
 

Christian Bahr

Resource contributor
Messages
951
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germany
Good Morning all.

Following up on the last article on the elevation profile of EDLW Airport, there is good news. It was actually possible to map the entire airport area using very green elevation data (Many thanks to @Paavo ). The elevation data comes from a laser scan of the earth's surface, or LIDAR for short. Here is a picture from my GIS software ArcMap:

mfs_edlw_lidar_1m.jpg



The profile of the airport site will consist of current 1m LIDAR data from 2020. The runway already included these LIDAR terrain points - so it doesn't just follow the terrain:

mfs_edlw_runway_profil.jpg

For better illustration, the runway profile - top left in the window - is heavily overdrawn


A few pictures of the rest of the airport area ...

mfs_edlw_flughafengelaende_2.jpg



mfs_edlw_flughafengelaende_1.jpg



Another big issue and hurdle was the elevated GAT area at Dortmund Airport. Here it was possible to design the surface in such a way that it is passable and AI air traffic also takes place on it:

mfs_edlw_gat_bereich_fertig_7.jpg



mfs_edlw_gat_bereich_fertig_5.jpg



In the past, it was not always technically possible to allow AI air traffic to take place in a raised area. In Dortmund and in the MFS this is now possible

Here's an early try ...
mfs_3dsm_edlw_gat_bereich.jpg

A plane was created in 3dsm and a texture with a blend mask was mapped onto it. In the MFS, the plane was precisely positioned and so that no transition between the terrain and the 3-D model is recognizable, the color of the texture was adjusted in later post-processing.


Overall, the elevated GAT area consists of 3 design techniques: LIDAR elevation data, 3-D model and terraforming polygons ...

mfs_edlw_ai_traffic.jpg



mfs_edlw_gat_bereich_11.jpg

The texture of the GAT area will be further processed. On the one hand it has to be retouched and on the other hand new lines have to be drawn.

Before we continue with the little things at Dortmund Airport, we are working on LIDAR elevation data for the Hengsen-Opherdicke airfield. New roof turrets (slope markings) and a new picket fence are then also positioned or created there :)
 
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