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Glider accessories

Hi Ollie:

Looks like you're making more good progress. :)

Before we proceed into the relatively complex workflow required to make a sloped flatten 'intended to be blended' into the surrounding and underlying 10 Meter resolution terrain mesh cited above (...in the new thread within SBuilderX forum), I wanted to verify what the P3D run time display status is for the tank object after it is saved as a scenery *.SXML file, compiled into a scenery library BGL, and then placed by a BGL.

Did you try slewing over to it in P3D without SimDirector running, to inspect and confirm that it is NOT showing Pitch or Bank ? :scratchch

If so, you may not need to create a complex sloped flatten as a base on which the sewage processing tanks are placed and displayed, as you can extend the depth of each such tank 3D object bottom, and place them all at a negative Altitude AGL by pulling them down farther onto / into the ground plane in FS with the SimDirector 'Translate Gizmo'.

Reportedly, you can do this even if the "AltitudeIsAGL' mode is set in the SimDirector GUI, and without assigning an Altitude AMSL.

It is rather late in my time zone, so, pending your response to this latter question, I shall reply accordingly tomorrow (Sunday). :)

GaryGB
 
GaryGB said:
Did you try slewing over to it in P3D without SimDirector running, to inspect and confirm that it is NOT showing Pitch or Bank ?
Click to expand...

No, when I exit Simdirector I make sure to save it as a .bgl, then I load up at south down and the objects are at the correct pitch or bank :)
I think that is what you mean Gary?


The sloped flatten is intended to blend into the surrounding, but mainly so I can more easily place objects, and so it realistic. Sure there are some slopes at Southdown, but not to the degree the mesh portrays them.

Thanks, Ollie.
 
Ols500 said:
https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/glider-accessories.445461/post-824071

No, when I exit Simdirector I make sure to save it as a .bgl, then I load up at south down and the objects are at the correct pitch or bank :)

I think that is what you mean Gary?
Click to expand...

Hi Ollie:

As described above:

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/glider-accessories.445461/post-823419


...since by default MCX disables Draw Call Batching in exported MDLs, that results in retention of the option for Pitch and Bank display attributes during placement by P3D SimDirector.


Technically you could change the default setting in MCX Options Arno had configured which disables DrawCall Batching

...from:

MCX Menu > Options > Exporter settings > XWriter > DrawCallBatchingWorkingLOD = True

...to:

MCX Menu > Options > Exporter settings > XWriter > DrawCallBatchingWorkingLOD = False

...which enables DrawCall Batching, and thereby disables display of Pitch and Bank display attributes in FS at run time otherwise imposed via placement by P3D SimDirector.

This can be achieved by implementing that change in MCX Options, for only those 3D models which you wish to display "level" to the local ground of the underlying terrain mesh prior to export by MCX as MDLs. :idea:




FYI: There is another option to be considered if you wish to remove 3D model Pitch and Bank display attributes in FS at run time otherwise imposed via placement by P3D SimDirector.

That process involves de-compiling and editing the placement BGL output by SimDirector, setting parameter values for Pitch and Bank to "0", then re-compiling the edited (s)XML back into a BGL via P3Dv4.x SDK BGLComp.


I do understand that in 'real life' the site where you are presently working may have been made "level" in areas where the tanks are located, and regardless of whether local ground surface is ex: gravel or pavement, you may still wish to accurately represent that in FS.


BTW: A "sloped flatten" CVX vector BGL can also contain areas that are 'level' as well as areas that are 'sloped' as part of the same set of contiguous 3D surfaces, since that object will essentially be constructed as a Triangulated Irregular Network (aka "TIN").


Please be assured I am ready, willing, and able to proceed with assisting you to create the "sloped flatten" CVX vector BGL for the above scenery location under discussion here, within your new thread at: ;)

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/posts/824030/


I just wanted to make you aware of your options to minimize the work required to disable display of your tank Pitch / Bank, before we undertake the complexities involved in making a "sloped" flatten CVX vector BGL , which will blend into- and modify- the local ground 'shape' ...otherwise provided for that area by any / all underlying terrain mesh BGL(s). :pushpin:


I shall once more await your reply here, to let me know if you wish to test these latter options to disable display of Pitch and Bank display attributes in FS at run time otherwise imposed via placement by P3D SimDirector ...before I proceed with describing the multiple steps required to make a blended / "sloped" flatten CVX vector BGL) ...in your new thread within the SBuilderX forum. :)



Ols500 said:
https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/glider-accessories.445461/post-824071

The sloped flatten is intended to blend into the surrounding, but mainly so I can more easily place objects, and so it realistic. Sure there are some slopes at Southdown, but not to the degree the mesh portrays them.

Thanks, Ollie.
Click to expand...

I am aware of potential issues with UK GIS elevation source data recently made available, which may impact how existing UK terrain mesh BGLs might have been made previously, and how new UK terrain mesh BGLs might be made in the near future, and I will be checking with my local contacts to verify a few things about what may be done to more precisely represent this scenery area and surrounding region of the UK. :coffee:

GaryGB
 
Last edited:
Hi Gary,

I understand all three options and have
GaryGB said:
This can be achieved by implementing that change in MCX Options, for only those 3D models which you wish to display "level" to the local ground of the underlying terrain mesh prior to export by MCX as MDLs
Click to expand...

With this one, do I need to reexport the model?
 
Yes; if you do try that option in MCX with the tank MDLs, please let me know whether Pitch / Bank are displayed at run time in P3Dv4. :)

GaryGB
 
With the MCX option, could I place the objects in ADE and they will follow the slope?
 
Hi Ollie:

If you change the default setting in MCX Options which disables DrawCall Batching

...from:

MCX Menu > Options > Exporter settings > XWriter > DrawCallBatchingWorkingLOD = True

...to:

MCX Menu > Options > Exporter settings > XWriter > DrawCallBatchingWorkingLOD = False

...that enables DrawCall Batching, and thereby disables display of Pitch and Bank positioning attributes in FS at run time.


Those Pitch and Bank positioning attributes, even if present inside the (s)XML placement BGL after imposed via placement by P3D SimDirector, will NOT be seen in FS


Pitch and Bank positioning would be also be disabled whether the (s)XML placement BGL was created by Instant Scenery, Whisplacer, SBuilderX, ADE ...or by MCX:

http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=ModelConverterX#Convert_and_place_object_wizard


FYI: Reportedly, Whisplacer still works in P3Dv4:

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/simdirector-objects-autogen-suppression.444860/post-819012


Enabling DrawCallBatching works for any 3D models you wish to display "level" to the local ground of the underlying terrain mesh, without editing any placement BGLs. :idea:

So if you merely Enable Draw Call Batching in MCX for any 3D models you wish to display "level", you can just re-use their existing SimDirector placement BGLs.:)

GaryGB
 
Last edited:
Hi Gary, I'm finding this a little confusing, apologies.

GaryGB said:
So if you merely Enable Draw Call Batching in MCX for any 3D models you wish to display "level", you can just re-use their existing SimDirector placement BGLs.:)
Click to expand...

Ok By level I mean flat on the ground, even if the ground is sloped, the object will adjust its pitch and bank (which is why I do not want to enable DrawCall Batching? I think that is correct :oops:). This is all good and the pitch and bank features work in director, however, it takes quite a long time to load into simdirector. When I use ADE, the object is halfway in the ground and is not 'level'. I would like to use ADE to place objects as it is much quicker, however as I said ADE doesn't place objects 'level'.

Ideally, I would like to

a) Flatten the terrain (thanks to you about to explain the process ;) )

b) Place the objects 'level' with the flattened ground, so there is no part of the object glitching through the ground.

Can this be achieved, Gary?

Thanks for your support, it has been really nice :)
 
Also, Gary, this is non-related to the terrain/object placement but is there a way to make the texture 'warp' around the parts in SketchUp. I am trying to make this object more 3D and adding depth, but I want the texture to simply overlay the whole rectangle, and wrap its self around the extra part.

Screenshot (3).png


As you can see, I am trying to make the corrugated metal look.

Thanks, Ollie. :)
 
Ols500 said:
https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/glider-accessories.445461/post-824144

Hi Gary, I'm finding this a little confusing, apologies.

Ok By level I mean flat on the ground, even if the ground is sloped, the object will adjust its pitch and bank (which is why I do not want to enable DrawCall Batching? I think that is correct :oops:).

This is all good and the pitch and bank features work in director, however, it takes quite a long time to load into SimDirector.

When I use ADE, the object is halfway in the ground and is not 'level'. I would like to use ADE to place objects as it is much quicker, however as I said ADE doesn't place objects 'level'.

Ideally, I would like to

a) Flatten the terrain (thanks to you about to explain the process ;) )

b) Place the objects 'level' with the flattened ground, so there is no part of the object glitching through the ground.

Can this be achieved, Gary?

Thanks for your support, it has been really nice :)
Click to expand...

Perhaps the following may help illustrate the options and challenges available when making CVX vector 'sloped flattens' for FS.


The top image shows the detail available in a 1 Meter-between-elevation-data-points terrain source data set rendered as a TIN:

southdown_glider_club_sewer_contour_tin_lidar_1m_dsm_no_vectors-jpg.50190



The bottom image shows the complexity required to render a 1 Meter-between-elevation-data-points terrain source data set as a vector TIN:

southdown_glider_club_sewer_contour_tin_lidar_1m_dsm_with_vectors-jpg.50191



Its is possible using the options I alluded to above, which IMHO, would best be performed via a work-flow in SBuilderX, to make a much less complex version of this TIN surface as a CVX vector sloped flatten.

That "sloped" flatten can be created so that when rendered at run time in the FS 3D world, it contains a mix of surfaces which are:

* 'Level' and perpendicular to a line drawn through the vertical axis of the 3D object's midpoint datum from the center of the Earth

...as well as:

* 'Parallel' to the local terrain surface rendered by a local terrain mesh (which may or may not be "sloped" under a 3D object's base).


The option to use Pitch / Bank requires that MDLs must be output by MCX with Draw Call Batching disabled (this is MCX' default mode).


If you import your custom 3D MDLs (with Draw Call Batching disabled) into ADE as scenery library objects, they can be placed via ADE.

After a MDL is placed by ADE, select and Edit its placement attributes, and impose any Pitch / Bank desired, bearing in mind that such attributes are applied and rendered on the axes of the 3D object relative to its datum position within the extents of its bounding box.

Achieving predictable results with this when placing 3D objects via a FS utility that does not have a 'live in FS preview', requires 3D models have a consistent Heading on its 3D world axes (ex: Front of 3D models always face North aka "0 Degrees") when modeled and exported from Sketchup. :pushpin:


Please let me know if this has explained core concepts of this process adequately ...before we work on a sloped flatten in SBuilderX. :)

GaryGB
 

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Last edited:
Hi Gary,

GaryGB said:
* 'Parallel'
Click to expand...

This is the word I am looking for, parallel, thank you!
Untitled.png


GaryGB said:
ould best be performed via a work-flow in SBuilderX, to make a much less complex version of this TIN surface as a CVX vector sloped flatten.
Click to expand...

Ok I am now ready to make a "much less complex version og this TIN surface as a CVX vector sloped flatten", that's a mouthful to say! :rotfl:

Thanks, Ollie.
 
Ols500 said:
https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/glider-accessories.445461/post-824147

Also, Gary, this is non-related to the terrain/object placement but is there a way to make the texture 'warp' around the parts in SketchUp. I am trying to make this object more 3D and adding depth, but I want the texture to simply overlay the whole rectangle, and wrap its self around the extra part.

< image not included in quote >

As you can see, I am trying to make the corrugated metal look.

Thanks, Ollie. :)
Click to expand...

After the texture image has been mapped as a Material onto the larger portion of that wall at the desired position and scale:

Hover Paint Bucket Tool cursor over that Face

Press and hold down the < Alt > Key (cursor changes to Eye Dropper icon), then Left Mouse click


NOTE: This will 'sample' that Material as mapped in its currently 'projected' state


Release the < Alt > Key (cursor changes back to Paint Bucket icon)

Left Mouse click onto nearest adjacent Face to 'Paint' the next portion of the mapped pixels in that texture image as a Material onto it.

Repeat that last step above for each successive nearest adjacent Face to 'Paint' that texture image as a Material onto it.


PS: Best results are with Faces at Right angles to one another; results may vary with adjacent Faces that are at 'obtuse' angles to each other.


Let me know if any of the above info requires further explanation. :)

GaryGB
 
Last edited:
Hi Gary,

THANK YOU! This worked like a charm :D

GaryGB said:
NOTE: This will 'sample' that Material as mapped in its currently 'projected' state


Release the < Alt > Key (cursor changes back to Paint Bucket icon)

Left Mouse click onto nearest adjacent Face to 'Paint' the next portion of the mapped pixels in that texture image as a Material onto it.

Repeat that last step above for each successive nearest adjacent Face to 'Paint' that texture image as a Material onto it.


PS: Best results are with Faces at Right angles to one another; results may vary with adjacent Faces that are at 'obtuse' angles to each other.


Let me know if any of the above info requires further explanation. :)
Click to expand...

Ollie.
 
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