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Is it possible to Export OBJECT files from BGL Formatted

arno

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Hi,

None of the formats, except gltf, will store the MSFS specific attributes and settings. So exporting to dae will preserve the geometry, but not those attributes.
 

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Hi Gary,

Here the props BGL file loads fine with objects. It's a huge file (over 1 GB), so loading it takes quite some time.

1617429173474.png
 
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Many thanks for the assurance that MCX v1.5x is actually able to process the file to completion on your own computer. :wizard:


IIRC, I had left MCX running for at least 10 to 15 minutes, but I would be glad to try allowing a longer interval before I assume it to be malfunctioning. :oops:


Approximately what time 'may' be needed for the above 3D object to appear in MCX 3D preview, before inferring a 'malfunction' on my system ? :scratchch

* when loaded from a 7,000 MB/s Read Speed / 5,100 MB/s Read Speed NVMe M.2 SSD on a PCIe Rev. 4.0 Gen-4 M.2 slot on the motherboard

* RAM cached within (32) GB of the total 64 GB of 3600 MHz DDR4 RAM

* imported with the MCX process set via Process Lasso to Realtime priority Class on all (8) physical cores of a 4.45 GHz CPU with High I/O priority

* displayed via a 2100 MHz GPU engine core video card with 8 GB of 1750 MHz GDDR6 VRAM


Thanks again for your further advice on how one may use MCX v1.5x to study / troubleshoot MSFS-2020 run time display of the 3D object cited above: :)

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/t...t-files-from-bgl-formatted.445551/post-878641

GaryGB
 
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arno

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As you can see parsing the bgl took over 20 minutes on my machine and after that all thousand objects still had to be optimized. I stopped that after a while but that also takes a while. So you might have to wait around 40 minutes for such huge files.
 
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Thanks for that additional clarification, as I had not yet noticed the initial duration of parsing time in the Event Log pane.

I will import that file again this weekend, and will post my results for processing time required to display 'object #1' ...in MCX' 3D preview mode. :)

GaryGB
 
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As you can see parsing the bgl took over 20 minutes on my machine and after that all thousand objects still had to be optimized. I stopped that after a while but that also takes a while. So you might have to wait around 40 minutes for such huge files.

Hi Arno:

I just committed MCX to an over-night attempt at importing Asobo_Props.BGL, and wanted to clarify what you meant by "parsing" time.

As you may note in my screenshot above, MCX Event Log initially shows counts of "0" for each of the items on the BGLXReader line:

Read 0 object models, 0 object placements, 0 effect placements


My impression would normally be that MCX had already finished "parsing" in order to insert a "0" value; is this incorrect ? :scratchch

Perhaps I am getting lost because I cannot see the "parse forest" ...for the "parse trees". :laughing:




Are we supposed to let MCX run for long periods of time just in case it 'eventually' resolves objects to report as an updated non-zero numeric value ?

If so, could we instead see "processing source file, please wait" or a color progress bar etc. ...instead of "0" values that may be misleading ?


If we are going to be working with such large files in MSFS, some of us may conclude that MCX is done parsing, and exit the task session prematurely. :oops:

Thanks for your further clarification of what is taking place when processing files that take a long time to "parse" in MCX. :)

GaryGB
 
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rhumbaflappy

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MCX does complete working on the props BGL. It just takes a few hours. It would probably be better to use the batch conversion wizard if you plan to convert the objects to a different format.
 
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Thanks, Dick, for that additional confirmation that MCX does actually complete its task when importing Asobo_Props.BGL. :)

In my case, MCX has not yet completed working on Asobo_Props.BGL due to yet another 'gotcha' in the AI Tweaker software for my computer.

Whereas ASUS AI Tweaker did a good job overclocking my hardware, when I engaged FanExpert4 "Full Speed" mode, it turned on a custom Power profile.

Unfortunately that custom Power profile changed the system-wide Windows 10 power settings, and the computer fell asleep ...some time after I did. :banghead:

So now that I have manually applied some remedial education to the 'Artificial Intelligence" software that failed to detect a process running with Realtime CPU priority and defer its power-down until the task completed, I am now allowing that MCX task session to continue working on Asobo_Props.BGL.

To paraphrase the title of Sean Connery's last 007 James Bond movie, IMHO one should "Always Say Never Again" when configuring 'sleep' settings in Windows 10 Power Profiles on a MSFS development computer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_Say_Never_Again


<sigh> ...There's always new 'gotcha's if working in Windows 10 with all the "new" requisite software incurred by having DX-11 to run MSFS-2020. o_O

I think I'll let MCX chew on this file all day, and I'll report my results tonight (...if Windows 10 doesn't toggle some obscure Night=Sleep command). :coffee:

GaryGB
 
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arno

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Hi,

If you see the message at zero objects have been imported then MCX is done reading the file.

But that would be another issue, as for Dick and me the object loads fine.
 
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Hi Arno:

I do indeed see the above:

Read 0 object models, 0 object placements, 0 effect placements

...in MCX Event Log if Asobo_Props loads from its default sub-folder, and I also get that same result when I load Asobo_Props.BGL from Windows Desktop.


However, MCX extracted numerous *.MDL files into my Desktop folder ...without my having requested it to do so. :yikes:


So, what must I do now ?

Should I uninstall MCX in its entirety, and install yet another newer development version with a date later than April 1st, 2021 ? :rolleyes:


I would greatly appreciate your further advice on what else may need to be done to get MCX to work on this computer. :scratchch

Is there special setting(s) which must be utilized within the current build of MCX to enable proper functionality when processing the above cited "RotatingBeacon_Tower" 3D model from Asobo_Props.BGL, or must we instead await release of a fully functional updated development version of MCX v1.5x ? :coffee:


PS: I see that the MCX v1.5x development version available for download is apparently still the same one I am using now.

GaryGB
 
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arno

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Can you check if you did enable the decompile option for the bgl reader? It should be disabled by default.
 
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Here's my MCX v1.5x > Options > Importer settings > BGLXReader > Parameter Values:

My screenshot below shows the actual settings which I used, that en-abled the un-anticipated *.MDL extraction.


mcx_v15x_options_importer_settings_parameter_values-jpg.71704


Can you check if you did enable the decompile option for the bgl reader? It should be disabled by default.

So, IIUC, these BGLXReader >Parameter Values:

* Import while save MDL files = True

...and:

* Save MDL files = True

... 'should' have instead been left on default settings of "False" ? :oops:


When set to "True", does MCX import function work in 'silent' mode, and output *.MDLs without parsing / incrementing the initial "0" values ex:

Read 0 object models, 0 object placements, 0 effect placements

...in the MCX Event Log ? :scratchch

GaryGB
 

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Hi Arno:

[EDITED]

FYI: With both the above BGLXReader parameter values set as follows:

* Import while save MDL files = False

...and:

* Save MDL files = False

...MCX was able to proceed with import of Asobo_Props.BGL.

[END_EDIT]


NOTE: On my new (fast) computer, the process required only 10 Minutes and 15 seconds ...to render the first object into MCX' 3D preview mode. :cool:


I shall address in a new thread, how to troubleshoot the RotatingBeacon_Tower object issue with failure to display the Green 'light' in MSFS-2020.

[EDIT] UPDATE

I subsequently found that MSFS-2020 requires "Bloom" be enabled via the Options menu for a Green Beacon Light to be displayed on my AMD RX5700XT.

[END_EDIT]


While it may prove interesting to study this object in a external 3D modeling application, my initial goal is to troubleshoot it via MCX Hierarchy Editor.


BTW: The RotatingBeacon_Tower object output as a04b772a-6bbf-4103-b263-d479bcce71f5.MDL viewed in NotePad shows this code header:

Code:
RIFFRš GLTFGXMLº   <ModelInfo version="1.1" guid="{a04b772a-6bbf-4103-b263-d479bcce71f5}" name="RotatingBeacon_Tower"><LODS><LOD ModelFile="RotatingBeacon_Tower.gltf" MinSize="0.0000"/></LODS></ModelInfo> GLBD„™ GLB |™ glTF   |™ l8  JSON{"accessors":

IIUC, "RIFF GLTFGXMLº" shows MSFS-2020 now uses a new (but 'deprecated')*.MDL format ...even though the default 3D model format is glTF ? :scratchch

Thanks again for sharing your insight with this intriguing MSFS-2020 3D object display anomaly. :)



CAVEAT: Other readers of this thread, please put BGL library files to be de-compiled into separate sub-folders when using Windows Desktop. :alert:

My new computer (fast though it may be) was brought to its knees by having 1057 loose *.MDL files extracted into the root folder of my Desktop.

I had to restart Windows and use a legacy Windows 95 era file manager to move the 1057 *.MDL files into a sub-folder; Windows 10 could NOT do so, as it was not able to launch Windows File Explorer with that many loose files on the Desktop, and GUI functionality was so slow that it appeared 'locked up'.

This reminds me of file / folder limits we had in earlier versions of Windows when the Desktop was an "Active" linked folder in Internet Explorer. :eek:

GaryGB
 
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arno

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Hi,

The default value for both these settings is false. If you set the "Save MDL files" option to true it will create a MDL file for each object in the BGL file, like you saw.

I guess initially you had save set to true and the option to still read while saving to false, in that case you would get the 0 objects read.
 
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Hi,

The default value for both these settings is false. If you set the "Save MDL files" option to true it will create a MDL file for each object in the BGL file, like you saw.

I guess initially you had save set to true and the option to still read while saving to false, in that case you would get the 0 objects read.

Hi Arno:

Just to clarify, in case it helps with assessing how the MCX v1.5x April 1st, 2021 build is currently functioning as coded. ;)

[EDITED]

My screenshot below shows the actual settings which I used, that dis-abled the un-anticipated *.MDL extraction.

mcx_v15x_options_importer_settings_bglxreader_parameter_values_false-jpg.71720



With both the above BGLXReader parameter values set to "False", instead of "True" MCX was able to proceed with import of Asobo_Props.BGL.

[END_EDIT]

I had not- (and still have not-) ever attempted having:

MCX v1.5x > Options > Importer settings > BGLXReader > Parameter Values ...set in this configuration:

Save MDL files = True

...with:

Import while save MDL files = False.


I hope this info helps with your further enhancement of MCX' functionality in the future. :)

GaryGB
 

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arno

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Hi Gary,

I would advice you to set these settings to false, that is their default value. Else each BGL file you open will generate a load of MDL files on your system. It seems you once set that option to true, but that should only be used if you want to extract MDL files from a BGL file. I have just coded a warning when the option is set to true.
 

arno

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I had another look at the performance of reading MSFS objects with a profiler this morning. I have been able to make quite some performance gains, by refactoring less efficient bits of code and especially by optimizing how unused vertices are removed. With those changes I can now load that props library in about 5 minutes in my machine, so that is quite a big performance gain. The improvements will be in the development release that will be online in about 30 minutes from now.
 
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Hi Gary,

I would advice you to set these settings to false, that is their default value. Else each BGL file you open will generate a load of MDL files on your system. It seems you once set that option to true, but that should only be used if you want to extract MDL files from a BGL file. I have just coded a warning when the option is set to true.

Hi Arno:

My humble apologies for errors in posting above; I had (re-)attached the wrong screenshot, and did not more clearly describe my BGLXReader settings. :yikes:

I corrected my latter (2) posts and attached the correct screenshot above, to clarify the settings I used for BGLXReader to en-able / dis-able *MDL output. :pushpin:


Indeed, as you correctly stated, both the above BGLXReader parameter values need to be set to "False", instead of "True" on my MCX install, to enable MCX to proceed with import of Asobo_Props.BGL, updating object numeric counts in MCX Event Log, and rendering of 3D models in MCX preview mode.


I guess I have been keeping too many late nights without adequate sleep lately, thus my erroneous posting above. :oops:

But I'm glad that I may have contributed to you having a new look at MCX' coding, and releasing a new MCX with even more enhanced functionality. ;)


PS: I ran MCX v1.5x April 5th, 2021 build on Asobo_Props.BGL.

MCX now was able to parse the file and render the first of 1057 objects into MCX preview mode in only 1 Minute and 16 Seconds on my computer. :cool:


Many thanks again for all your amazing and innovative hard work with development of MCX. :wizard:

GaryGB
 
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