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FSX Gmax GUID Question

T

TChapman500

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For some reason, I'm under the impression that if you name an object something like "LANDCLASS_GRASS" then that is what is used for the GUID for the file. Am I correct? If so, how do I put that information to use (eg: exporting the MDL then compiling it to BGL)?

PS: I'm asking because I named one of my meshes "LANDCLASS_GRASS" and when I went to put in a GUID for the file, it said that there was already a GUID associated with the file and asked if I wanted to replace it, even though it's a new file and I had not yet used the GUID tool.

EDIT: I think I put this in the wrong forum section. Sorry.
 
Hi,

I moved it to the right forum now.

No, you are talking about the friendly name. I assume you set it using the LODNameTool in GMax. In that case the tool will also assign a GUID automatically, besides the friendly name you entered.

The GUID is a 32 character hexadecimal number. And it is used in the XML code when you place the object.
 
That's correct, with the FSX gamepack no sample XML is saved anymore. You would have to create it yourself or use an object placement tool to position the object.
 
I have no idea how to create these XML files. All the SDK has are a few vague examples that are irrelevant to building terrain.
 
Hi,

In general MDL objects and BGLComp XML are not used for terrain.

What are you trying to do exactly?
 
Hi,

You can't really.

You can use a 3D model that represents the terrain, like a hill. But you can't import it so that it becomes part of the terrain. In that case you would have to use other techniques to make the terrain, the tools from the terrain SDK.

To place your object, you can use this XML template:

Code: 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<FSData
	version="9.0"
	xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
	xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="bglcomp.xsd">
	<ModelData sourceFile="yourFile.mdl" />
	<SceneryObject
		lat="40.0"
		lon="-40.0"
		alt="0.0000000"
		pitch="0.0000000"
		bank="0.0000000"
		heading="0.0000000"
		altitudeIsAgl="TRUE"
		imageComplexity="NORMAL">
		<LibraryObject
			name="{4f5b961c-d2ab-4211-b5a7-a94379beef9c}"
			scale="1.0000000"/>
	</SceneryObject>
</FSData>

You need to enter your own coordinates, the filename and GUID of your object.
 
Thanks for the template.

The terrain SDK is vague on how terrain is built. And so far, none of the tutorials I've seen have been very helpful (probably because I don't understand them).

The terrain SDK shows me how to view already existing data (and vaguely shows me how to modify that data), but does not show me how to create data from scratch.
 
Hi,

When making terrain most people will not create data from scratch. They will start with data about the real world. So far example elevation data, imagery or vector data. The resample and shp2vec tools can convert just data to the format FS uses. SBuilderX is a GUI that can help with that as well.

So the process is meant to put better real world data into the sim. Which is not the same as making it from scratch.
 
Well, I don't know how to use SBuilderX. It's terrain never appears in FSX either. Is there an XML code that I can go by that draws the basic terrain shape then adds a height map to that shape?
 
Terrain is not made with XML at all. To alter the elevation you would need some elevation model and to draw lines and polygons it uses shapefiles. Then the resample and shp2vec tools from the SDK converts that to a BGL.

SBuilderX is a GUI that helps you to draw such things. Another one is FSXKML, but I never used that myself. With that tool you can draw the vector data in Google Earth.
 
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