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P3D v4 GUIDs for ScenProc forests

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491
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us-missouri
This site (http://lc0277.gratisim.fr/sceneobjects/) is a great reference for picking GUIDs for choosing which library objects to import into my scenery, but what about forests? Currently, I use {e8b937fd-a1f2-4bd5-8548-2c80d30102af} to turn my woodland shapefiles into a nice blend of coniferous and deciduous trees by using ReplacePolygonByVegetationRectangles. The trees look stunning up close and even move when my helicopter gets close, but I am wondering if the GUID above links to an Orbx library object or something. I just found the GUID in someone's post on this forum and tried it out.

Is there somewhere I can find out what GUIDs I can use to customize the trees for different regions?
 
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us-illinois
Hi Chris:

The MS-FS3Kx / P3D SDK documentation has the default vector GUIDs:




Beyond that, you would need to ID all vector GUIDs defined for use via the run time rendering engine by examining Terrain.Cfg


[FSX install path]\Terrain.Cfg

C:\ProgramData\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4\Terrain.Cfg


The GUID cited in your OP is not present in my P3Dv4.x Terrain.Cfg or Default.xml files (...I ran out of time to decompile to XML / scan FS \Autogen\*.SPBs).


IIRC, OrbX has indicated their GUIDs are proprietary and may not be used as a Land Class vector ID lookup code for any FS scenery project by 3rd parties. :alert:


[EDITED]

You may wish to review this excellent tutorial: :idea:

"Using the Autogen Annotator" by Luis Feliz-Tirado:

http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxsd&DLID=140537

using_the_autogen_annotator_264833.zip
License: Freeware
Added: 21st November 2009, 16:18:51
Downloads: 3266
Author: Luis Feliz-Tirado

...and, of course, the FSX / ESP / P3D Autogen SDK docs are here:


https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc526979.aspx

[END_EDIT]


Holger Sandmann's "FSX Land Class Catalog and Visual Reference v3 (Nov 2012) 2019-01-08" is here:



GaryGB
 
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arno

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Hi,

Most likely you are using a vegetation group and not directly a library object.
 
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unitedstates
e8b937fd-a1f2-4bd5-8548-2c80d30102af is "Terrain Autogen Class Small Leaf Mixed Woods" and it is a default autogen class so OK to use.

Is there somewhere I can find out what GUIDs I can use to customize the trees for different regions?
I've been using ModelEntry GUIDs with scenProc rather than groupings as I detailed in this thread:


Attached is a list of (most of) the default ModelEntry GUIDs. Note that if you use just one GUID in scenProc (or the annotator) you'll end up with every tree being exactly the same. You'll want to define a mix. The advantage of doing it this way is that you can create your own "grouping" using a custom mix of trees without the need for custom autogen descriptions (that will be overwritten the first time your end user runs Orbx Central). Also the default groupings tend to use taller trees so when you use them in residential areas they hide the houses. GroupingID "tb Cottonwood 5-16m City" (f9088b2a-5209-4737-8705-91d407e8291b) for example deceptively uses cottonwood trees as tall as 30m. Don't use "sets" except maybe out in the middle of a large forest because they're made up of multiple tree models with a single reference point and they spill over into fields, houses, etc. uncontrollably.

To mix them in scenProc just choose some tree varieties and put them all on on the same line separated by semicolons. If you want to "weight" a particular tree so it shows up more frequently than the others just add it's GUID multiple times. Here are the ones I've been using around Los Alamos for example:

Code:
CreateAGNRectVeg|FROMFILE="agn_12_625_615.shp" And Name="conifer"|{6c5e192a-b1a1-446c-843a-02b7490def07};{bb45ff7f-c9cc-466a-a871-bd747a81de64};{7ad9aa87-6f9e-449a-a11c-da188b59fc04};{26521fe3-c85a-47ee-9abe-410dc84c541b};{337ae774-70ce-43c1-baca-992a31c7f9a9};{2edc3430-5dbe-4ad2-a028-0b2cef3b261d};{f17ce879-0897-4166-8cad-5f020b759a5d};{0400e4fd-729c-4e9d-bbbb-78d257b5d693}
CreateAGNRectVeg|FROMFILE="agn_12_625_615.shp" And Name="scrub"|{3d6d4158-ff3c-4908-8d99-15f9be442faa};{2adc4f60-a3bb-4589-b39f-9e0e7f759b17};{ed872711-270a-4ba2-8d2e-7ae89b279f9e}
CreateAGNRectVeg|FROMFILE="agn_12_625_615.shp" And Name="deciduous"|{d9baace3-bf38-42a7-84fb-9c43230a45bb};{1e9f75c7-e329-4785-83fb-35d4c217af12};{1db9f900-4ea8-46d1-85dd-5f828824be46};{bf6775bd-55d5-4094-a7a3-8963fad6e9e6};{d393f866-4a27-4298-acdd-9861a3fd0ffb}
 

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491
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us-missouri
Most likely you are using a vegetation group and not directly a library object.
Yeah, I just copied/pasted the GUID from a post I read somewhere around here. I'd rather generate autogen using ScenProc scripts I can customize like Jim's example above. Thanks, everyone!
 

arno

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Another option is to make your own custom groups in the autogen configuration. The advantage of the groups is that you automatically get a mix in heights in an area. If you use single models you have to introduce that variation yourself.

But especially if you are placing each tree as a small vegetation rectangle both methods will work well.
 
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491
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us-missouri
Another option is to make your own custom groups in the autogen configuration. The advantage of the groups is that you automatically get a mix in heights in an area. If you use single models you have to introduce that variation yourself.

But especially if you are placing each tree as a small vegetation rectangle both methods will work well.
Thanks Arno, I wasn't aware of the groups... I'll just have to experiment. When I was using the previous GUID -- working with USGS woodland shapefiles from each state, one 1x1 degree tile at a time -- I couldn't get more dense than 0.00028 and still have processing times in under 30 minutes, if the job completed at all (with the code below) so hopefully the individual tree GUIDs can speed things up a bit.
Code:
ReplacePolygonByVegetationRectangles|*|0.00028|0.25|0.25

Now I should be able to easily generate groupings of trees that fit the types found in each region of the United States so that's great.
 
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7,450
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us-illinois
e8b937fd-a1f2-4bd5-8548-2c80d30102af is "Terrain Autogen Class Small Leaf Mixed Woods" and it is a default autogen class so OK to use.

Hi Jim:

Thanks for the heads-up on that obscure info. :)

Hmmm... all I could find on that MS-FS GUID was this: :scratchch


https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.pilote-virtuel.com/viewtopic.php?pid=499070&prev=search&pto=aue

https://translate.google.com/transl...1%8B-%D0%BA-anri/page/67/&prev=search&pto=aue

GaryGB
 
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1,510
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unitedstates
Hmmm... all I could find on that MS-FS GUID was this:
Google fails miserably on something obscure like this. I used the "Find" function in the annotator on the default autogendescriptions.spb from FSX.


e8b937fd-a1f2-4bd5-8548-2c80d30102af.jpg
 
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491
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us-missouri
Google fails miserably on something obscure like this. I used the "Find" function in the annotator on the default autogendescriptions.spb from FSX.


View attachment 64856
Winamp! I couldn't help but notice the icon and it brought back some great memories of making CDs with friends in the 90s.

It seems like using a handful of GUIDs from the TXT list made more dense forests. But it took ScenProc over an hour to do process one 1x1 lat/long grid of trees. My script is below (I enable the other states when I get to a grid with multiple states). Is there anything wonky going on here? I am grouping my scenery into layers of 5x5 lat/long grids to keep things managable on the autogen and imagery front, but if I make a change to the script, like I did with my trees today, I have to redo the whole thing. Is there a better way?

Code:
#ImportOGR|F:\crush\Wild Weasel Simulations\Data\Woodland\Arkansas Woodland.shp|-91;-90;36;37|*|NOREPROJ
ImportOGR|F:\crush\Wild Weasel Simulations\Data\Woodland\MO Woodland.shp|-92;-91;38;39|*|NOREPROJ
#ImportOGR|F:\crush\Wild Weasel Simulations\Data\Woodland\Illinois Woodland.shp|-91;-90;37;38|*|NOREPROJ
#
SplitGrid|AGN|*
#
ReplacePolygonByVegetationRectangles|*|0.00028|0.25|0.25
#
CreateAGNRectVeg|*|{aa737190-f06a-4c75-a2fe-8fa0d324f526};{d3968f91-cbd5-4c8b-b6d4-193b417bd0c9};{deffc34e-3a46-4ab6-a1e7-2634abd06c3f};{7da2873a-b7ce-4e2f-ac29-3e21795d6145};{378b5438-71be-4e51-a07d-7ce88d830c4f};{1a480795-ed88-42b4-b0ff-b0dc140b55d9};{15d916d2-f951-4ae8-82a0-16a2a7c36ee3};{0a9c59f5-d12e-43ed-a5e2-8878ae10eddd}
#
ExportAGN|P3D v2|C:\Users\crush\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\Wild Weasel Simulations\4095\Texture
 
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Winamp! I couldn't help but notice the icon and it brought back some great memories of making CDs with friends in the 90s.
Oops, I probably would've cropped that out if I'd noticed! That's Winamp 3 BTW, released in 2002 for WinXP - but I haven't found an mp3 decoder I like better in all these years, all the new ones sound terrible IMO. It's partially broken in Win7 but it still plays mp3s without mucking them up so I keep it and avoid Win10 at all costs because I'm sure it will render Winamp useless! ...and that's a new Tool song BTW!

Is there a better way?

No, lol. Not that I've found anyway. You're doing much larger areas than me, I've been reprojecting LOD10 cells @ 2meter resolution and doing my "feature detection" in PhotoShop, then using gdal_polygonize to turn them into .shps. Haven't found any vegetation data actually for the area I'm working on, I'd be interested in looking at whatever you're using. I can do an LOD10 cell in about an hour or if it's pretty much just forest without roads and housing developments to clean up I'll do an LOD9 cell in about the same amount of time. sceneProc takes less than a minute to generate 175-ish thousand features but I'm still working on an area that's roughly 3000 sq NM in size since late Sept. If you could have experienced the joys of doing this stuff by hand with the annotator before scenProc came along you'd think an hour was blazing fast! :)
 

arno

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My approach in general is to place points in the vegetation polygons and turn them into autogen vegetation. So I don't use polygons for the autogen vegetation.
 
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us-missouri
I think I started out on points but switched to polygons while learning ScenProc by copying and pasting examples I could get to work that I found in the manual and on this forum.

I'll try points again now that I have a better idea of what I am doing.
 
Messages
491
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us-missouri
Wow! Points instead of Polygon Rectangles was literally a thousand times faster.

Now that I'm getting my script dialed in, I'd like to try the Boolean script you mentioned previously, so I can exclude autogen vegetation within 50 meters of my utility line shapefile. But I can't quite make sense out of it in the manual... Looks to me like I would need to import my powerline shapefile, then use a BufferFeatures of 0.0002, but (1) is this the best way to have a utility corridor free of trees and (2) wouldn't a degree expand/contract based on lattitude and need adjusting?

Thanks for such a great program Arno. I remember watching your presentation video on YouTube while I was on an exercise bike about a year ago and thinking how over my head it all was, but how great the potential was to essentially create a model of the earth that you can play with.
 

arno

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Hi,

You could remove them without buffering as well. In the filter features step you can specify a distance from the lines as well.
 
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491
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us-missouri
Thanks, I'll investigate that feature in the manual Arno. What stumps me is despite trying different randomness values in the PolygonToPoint step, I keep generating forests that look like perfectly spaced orchards. Here is my latest script:

Code:
ImportOGR|pathtoWOODLANDshapefile|-91;-90;37;38|*|NOREPROJ
ImportOGR|pathtoUTILITYshapefile|-91;-90;37;38|*|NOREPROJ
#
SplitGrid|AGN|*
#
PolygonToPoint|*|INSIDE|0.0002;0.0002|0.25;0.25|String;type|veg|hdg
AddAttribute|FTYPE="LINE"|String;type|Utility
#
FilterFeatures|FTYPE="POINT" and TYPE="veg"|TYPE="Utility"|DISTANCE_FEATURE|25
CreateAGNRectVeg|type="veg"|guids
#
ExportAGN|P3D v2|pathtofile

Utility lines are created separately; only importing the shapefile to get the line for the buffer.
 
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arno

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Hi,

At first sight that script looks OK. But I'll have to test with some data here to be sure.
 
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Something seems to be up... in one region I don't get any trees except for about a half-mile strip, running east-west along the boundary of a 1x1 lat/long tile, no matter what I do. I've tried only using only one tree GUID, smaller sections of my statewide shapefile, removing all lines of script that I had put a "#" in front of, re-doing the layers in the scenery library, picking a lower density level, or playing with the heading attribute.

Likewise, along the boundary of another tile, I have a no-man's land for autogen -- for about half a mile along the entire eastern boundary of another tile -- this time running north-south. Everything away from the boundary looks good. I wonder if there is an issue with clipping when only using select areas of shapefiles, but I haven't had this problem before.

Meanwhile, none of the SceneProc script changes I tried resulted in randomness. I've tried everything I can think of as well as trying solutions others came across for similar issues on this forum, so I'll just have to patiently wait. :)
 
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us-illinois
Hi Chris:

You may wish to do a quick test of your Points *.SHP source file by importing it into SBuilderX to be displayed with a *an.AGN LOD-13 sized quad grid superimposed, to scan for AGN anomalies related to having maxed out any particular tiles beyond allowed limits. :idea:


GaryGB
 
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