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What is best way method to change 'landscape'

jgarnold

jgarnold

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1,732
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australia
In 2018 a bridge was replaced at Victoria BC and another user has created a great airport scenery package including the new bridge, however the 'landscape' on either side of the bridge has changed for the new approach roads and I am trying to rectify that.
I have tried using CGL which I could not get to cover all the areas perhaps because of ground elevation changes.
I am wondering if a projected mesh is the 'way to go' and ask for recommendations on how to fix this.

Below is an image of what we see in MSFS and below that how it is in real life (Google earth Satellite view) (as MSFS is displaying what it used to look like).

Thanks

photogammetery_on.jpg


google_earth_view.jpg
 
Terraforming does not work there? Bear in mind you can terraform in "layers" and you can control the contour by adjusting falloff values. If you need cliffs, you can use one layer with no falloff. If you need gentle rolling terrain, you do your first "mound" in a fairly thin layer with maximum falloff. Your next circle is 200 meters smaller and slightly taller and the falloff will blend right to the edge of the previous layer. I think we can also move individual points now, if so you could just place them in a mesh pattern and pull each point up to the relevant height.
 
Thanks Rick. I have used terraforming before but would not know where to start for such a large area which would contain ground 'contours' or do you mean to the whole area flat? I have no idea what the different elevations would be at any one area.
I was hoping that maybe there was a method of using something like projected mesh to 'overlay' the area with an image taken from a satellite image.
Wouldn't the original MSFS scenery be using a satellite image over a contour map?
 
Do you know of satellite imagery that represents anything other than what you already have? It looks like you have fairly sharp satellite imagery but that is all it is "imagery." Projected mesh, FYI, lays like a blanket. Both will conform to any surface only, they have no volume if their own. You could get elevation mesh and figure out how to get it into the sim, there are several techniques I've seen lately. I wouldn't try it, you've got someone's bridge you want to deal with that you can't change it's height, you'll go to all the trouble of converting a mesh only to find the bridge deck doesn't line up, imo.

I have a great deal of experience with elevation maps and models, the kind that have stair stepped edges, so that's how I picture terrain. The star stepping represents a unit, 2 meters, 100 feet and to merge analogies, the stair steeping is what terrain falloff covers. In my mind I turn all terrain upside down, the invisible hills and contours are like wine glasses of different shapes and volumes, into which I pour my stair stepped terrain. Then keeping the glass, I turn it right side up. Then I fill the space with the layers and the further back I keep the next layer represents how flat the terrain will be. Once all the corners of the stair steps touch the wine glasses the way I want, I turn on falloff for each layer and adjust that to hide the steps.
 
Thanks Rick
I may have misled you as I do NOT want to change the bridge only the ground adjacent to the bridge - see image below (note it is a jpg taken from the original PNG with alpha channel set and probably needs to be cleaned up more).
I thought that I tried using projected mesh and thought that it would work as if it was a blanket laid over the existing terrain. Maybe I got it wrong or there are parameters which I did not set correctly?
I want to replace the existing image of the ground which shows earth works for the new approaches to the bridge with how it looks today (from Google earth) with the new roads etc etc. Also I think that I had trouble scaling it to match. Also looking at a video tutorial on projected mesh I see a parameter named 'Independant Projected Mesh' - what is that used for?

Also refer to last image taken from MSFS of a wider view to illustrate what I mean about wanting to replace the earthworks for the new approaches (must have been taken 2018 or maybe 2017 during construction.

Is it possible and relatively easily?

View attachment victoria_ground_4_rick.jpg


victoria_ground_4_rick_msfs.jpg
 
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Yes, either projected mesh or a CGI will cover what's there.
 
Thanks Rick however I get the opinion from watching video tutorials that a CGL is possibly only useful for 'covering' a flat area. When I placed mine I could only see parts of the image I used to create the CGL images which made me wonder it that was because the area covered was at different elevations? Maybe I haven't done it correctly?

HOWEVER maybe there is something wrong with my project as when I build it I get a Warning MarketplaceData No Block and as such wonder if it would ever display even though a package is created after BUILD.
I created my project using the SimpleAerial sample. The project is too large to attached but if you have time to look at it you can download it at https://mega.nz/file/lTdxSBQA#REerCHk6PZ-4hsFyRbKkHJIyhMURnr6ttlNP0ph0yHc
I mentioned before that only parts of the total image appeared but in retrospect I don't think any part of the image appears, what I saw was actually something from Mamu's marinas package.
 
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Should people comment they don't know why something does not work?
 
Thanks Rick I just thought there might be a reply to advise on the meaning of the warning message as could not find it in the docs.
I will do the 'excercise' again and hope for a better result.

I have now opened a copy of the sample (simple) package as well as simple packaged for scenery and airport and they all give the same warning so obviously this is normal.
 
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