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Naming conventions

Hi Folks

I'd appreciate your comments on the following.

For the ODG's UKEZ offshore sector sceneries,
we will be adding > 250 Helipads
& eventually > 500 Water start positions, (suitable for vessels or seaplanes).

For the USEZ Gulf of Mexico,
the requirement will be a magnitude greater.



Our intent was to utilise the following taxonomy,
examples for -
- Offshore Helipads - QGCW_Captain_WPPA_AFX.BGL
- Harbour/Water Starts - GBABD_Aberdeen_Port_AFX.BGL

As these are all fake ICAOs, or UNLocodes
it is nescessary to include the facility name.

Do you still recommend we suffix each AFX
with the creator's name, i.e. _ODG ?



The AFX's will be placed in a specific folder structure
in an area specific subfolder,
as follows -

USER_CHOSEN_ADDON_PATH\Offshore\ODG\UKEZ\Extras\AFDs\FSX

NB - The board is inserting the gap in AFDs

The FSX directory is nescessary,
as we also have to support FS9 users,
and the files required are entirely different.

This method allows for a single scenery installation to be accessed by both FS9 & FSX users.

Are there any potential shortcomings to this approach ?


ATB
Paul
 
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Paul

My thoughts lean toward you as the designer of that many files need a folder such as the USER_CHOSEN_ADDON_PATH\Offshore\ODG\UKEZ\Extras\AF Ds\FSX.

Because all your files are in a folder which you activate through the library then naming becomes your choice. The folder takes precedence rather then the file name.

We are trying to establish a convention for a default name so when someone uses ADE and uploads a modified airport we see a standard in the folder that ADE will place the bgl by default.

The AFCAD program uses af2_nnnn.bgl placed in the Addon Scenery\scenery folder by default. Many stay with that and many change the name and the default folder.

I prefer to stay with the Addon Scenery\scenery folder for a single airport by default and have ADE name the file as stated above.

If I made 10,000 ADE airports I might have my own folder active for all my airports but we also need to think about 1,000 people that use ADE to upload just 1 airport.
 
Hi Folks

Cheers Jim -
I understand the context of the many users/single IRL airport issue,
and that our situation is somewhat different.

It was the comments on path priorities
and /Addon Scenery being inappropriate
that prompted my questions.

I was particularly concerned that any toolset
should work with all entries in the scenery.cfg
rather than restricting to just the FSX default structure.

Many thanks

ATB
Paul
 
Paul

I should have waited before I mentioned path or folder priorities.

The problem occurs when 2 bgls are used to make 1 airport. Example will be ADE modifies a airport and then I make another XML for all the approach data and compile it as a bgl.

I need to confer with Jon on what the protocols are going to be and how we can merge ADE xml with SDE approach code xml into a single bgl. AFCAD could not do this so a go between folder had to be used.

I would recommend that when editing the scenery.cfg file that all folders that house airport ADE type modifications always be higher in priortity then the Gobal scenery folder.

The Global folder is a go between type active folder that FS uses to read modified APX data same as the addon scenery folder.

I plan to explain all this is a new post on folder priorities and how a program like ADE, FSXPlanner, AFCAD reads backwards to the APX file only and not through a go between folder.

FS reads forward from the APX to the Global then to the addon scenery folder which are all active by default in the library.

One other issue is FSX hides the scenery.cfg in hidden folders for VISTA. The FSX.cfg is easy to find in the document path of Vista but scenery.cfg is well hidden. It is almost like MS does not want people finding it and making manual edits but forces the additions to the library for writting to the scenery.cfg.
 
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