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MCX can load a BGL library. That's great. But could the ability to scan a library and than load just a single model for decompiling, rather than decompiling the entire library? It would save a lot of time and computer memory.
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Single asset decompilation suggestion
- Thread starter rhumbaflappy
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Hi Dick,
What a coincidence, I just thought about this feature from another perspective this week. When I implemented the MSFS AttachmentModels and added them to the preview, I thought it would be cool to also render AttachedLibraryObject in such a way. But to do that I would need to be able to load only the model with a specific GUID from a MDL file.
How do you foresee this feature to work? That if you select that you want to only load a specific model that you first get a dialogue with all objects in the BGL file and that you can then select which model(s) to load in the dialogue? Or did you have another user interaction in mind to select the model to load?
What a coincidence, I just thought about this feature from another perspective this week. When I implemented the MSFS AttachmentModels and added them to the preview, I thought it would be cool to also render AttachedLibraryObject in such a way. But to do that I would need to be able to load only the model with a specific GUID from a MDL file.
How do you foresee this feature to work? That if you select that you want to only load a specific model that you first get a dialogue with all objects in the BGL file and that you can then select which model(s) to load in the dialogue? Or did you have another user interaction in mind to select the model to load?
Sometimes the object name in the MCX list of friendly names with GUIDs is actually descriptive enough to give us a clue about an object to warrant clicking on it so we can 'jump' to it, and have it display in 3D preview ...without advancing forward using the arrows (which is what I am in the bad habit of doing).
Other times 3D object names are too obscure or abbreviated into an arbitrary spelling, but we might get additional clues from the original mapped texture Material names.
I wonder if there might be a way when a 3D model library BGL is loaded, to first only extract a report with GUID following friendly object name, and an option to display a subsequent list of mapped texture Materials in a drop-down 'sub-report' dialog (...and all of such report elements can optionally be saved to disk).
Perhaps the 3D model library report dialog might also have a search feature to look for specific object or texture Material names, and to save a report and/or index out to disk.
I was recently looking at MSFS 3D object visual guide pictorial PDFs by flyboyrez1 at flightsim.to in order to familiarize myself with some more of MSFS' objects, and as good as they were, I wished there was a quicker way to access that info differently before seeking out a visual preview of objects.
Perhaps the MCX feature under consideration here might evolve into a way to "query" such BGLs and create offline indexes / databases for ease of use ?
[EDITED]
If MCX' report form pre-indexes that BGL's 3D model object friendly names, GUIDs, texture names, can MCX 'quick-fill' the query field with existing strings ?
For Example, MCX tentatively 'quick-fills' submissions the query input field 'could' use ...with indexed strings actually within a BGL, as we type:
GUID 1st section of 8-characters, Hangar, Light, Beacon, Brick, Rock, Stone, Boulder, Cement, Concrete, Wood, Pier, Dock, Marina, Boat, Truck, Car, Fuel.
If a MCX query field tentative 'quick-fill' submission is what we want, we press <enter> or click to 'tag' that object and add it to a group for processing.
And, of course, it would be a bonus if the on-disk output of MCX BGL 'pre-scans' could be used as indexes for general queries looking for specific objects without actually re-loading the original BGLS.
MCX could be used to pre-index BGLs in folders and/or entire folder chains, include the BGL file name in its index info, and we could do meta-searches for objects when looking for specific 3D models by GUID, friendly name, texture Material name etc. by using MCX as our quintessential 3D model info manager.
Could this inspire a MCX Pro payware ? ;-)
[END_EDIT]
GaryGB
Other times 3D object names are too obscure or abbreviated into an arbitrary spelling, but we might get additional clues from the original mapped texture Material names.
I wonder if there might be a way when a 3D model library BGL is loaded, to first only extract a report with GUID following friendly object name, and an option to display a subsequent list of mapped texture Materials in a drop-down 'sub-report' dialog (...and all of such report elements can optionally be saved to disk).
Perhaps the 3D model library report dialog might also have a search feature to look for specific object or texture Material names, and to save a report and/or index out to disk.
I was recently looking at MSFS 3D object visual guide pictorial PDFs by flyboyrez1 at flightsim.to in order to familiarize myself with some more of MSFS' objects, and as good as they were, I wished there was a quicker way to access that info differently before seeking out a visual preview of objects.
Perhaps the MCX feature under consideration here might evolve into a way to "query" such BGLs and create offline indexes / databases for ease of use ?
[EDITED]
If MCX' report form pre-indexes that BGL's 3D model object friendly names, GUIDs, texture names, can MCX 'quick-fill' the query field with existing strings ?
For Example, MCX tentatively 'quick-fills' submissions the query input field 'could' use ...with indexed strings actually within a BGL, as we type:
GUID 1st section of 8-characters, Hangar, Light, Beacon, Brick, Rock, Stone, Boulder, Cement, Concrete, Wood, Pier, Dock, Marina, Boat, Truck, Car, Fuel.
If a MCX query field tentative 'quick-fill' submission is what we want, we press <enter> or click to 'tag' that object and add it to a group for processing.
And, of course, it would be a bonus if the on-disk output of MCX BGL 'pre-scans' could be used as indexes for general queries looking for specific objects without actually re-loading the original BGLS.
MCX could be used to pre-index BGLs in folders and/or entire folder chains, include the BGL file name in its index info, and we could do meta-searches for objects when looking for specific 3D models by GUID, friendly name, texture Material name etc. by using MCX as our quintessential 3D model info manager.
Could this inspire a MCX Pro payware ? ;-)
[END_EDIT]
GaryGB
Last edited:
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Now, when we load a bgl library, we have to wait until the whole library is decompiled, then we can display the Scenery Objects Editor popup. What is when we load a bgl, we get the popup first to decompile either a single model, or the entire library? Entire library selected, then the library progresses in the decompilation, else a selected model only gets decompiled. Perhaps several could get selected and decompiled (but I don't really see a need for that). It would just save a lot of time to decompile a single model, rather than the whole library. And there is also a memory savings.
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And the popup might need search functions to look for a GUID or a partial name.
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Thanks Dick, yes that aligns with what I have in mind. On the import file dialog I will add an option select objects and when that is selected you get a dialog where you can search and select what to import.
The new feature worked well to find single query term objects.
If it is possible in future builds with this feature, could you add Alphabetic sorted display of objects in the pick-list ?
An inter-mixed object list makes it difficult to scan a library BGL to see what it contains; sorting would help us to scan.
Many thanks for what we now have, and for considering further enhancements to MCX.
GaryGB
If it is possible in future builds with this feature, could you add Alphabetic sorted display of objects in the pick-list ?
An inter-mixed object list makes it difficult to scan a library BGL to see what it contains; sorting would help us to scan.
Many thanks for what we now have, and for considering further enhancements to MCX.
GaryGB