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FSX What the heck?

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us-georgia
Ok, I seriously need help, I am completely dumbfounded at this point. Why the heck is ADE not showing my 'background exclusions' ? None of the exclusions, flattens, etc.. are showing in the display. I know they're there because I can see the effect of them in the sim. But NONE of them are showing up in the airport in ADE. I now know why I have one area that I can't put any 'landclass' on, because there is an exclusion there that I cannot see, if I can't see it, I can't remove it. So what is going on with that? Why can't I see my background exclusions? Did something get screwed up with ADE?
 
Hi Tomt478, Try going into the view menu and making sure that the Flattens and Exclusions have a check mark next to them.

Ed
 
I did that and they are all checked. The only way I can get them to show up is go into the 'textured Polygons' list and click on each one of the 'backgrounds' (flattens, etc...). Then they show up, but they don't stay that way. If I shut down ADE and restart it, when I load the airport back up, all of the 'backgrounds' are hidden again, and I have to go back to the list again and repeat the process. It's like all the backgrounds are "hidden" permantly for some reason. I know Win11 has reported problems with file explorer and they had the same problem last year. It seems that in some instances, file explorer would not 'replace' older files when a program or you writes over a file. Now I switched to an external program (forgot the name of it) for saving files and solved the user end of overwriting files, but unfortunately programs don't use it to save files, so when ADE writes over a file, it still uses file explorer. So I was wondering if that could be the problem. I copied my old .ad4 files onto a secure location then deleted them from the 'save' location then had ADE resave the airport. I haven't tried closing down ADE and reloading the airport yet to see if it fixed it or not. Leave it to me to find the one 'bug' in ADE that probably no one else has ever had problems with. Never fails. I may wind up re-installing ADE to see if that helps any.
 
I don't think this is a bug. You can change the transparency of the different colors used, which helps when seeking overlapping polys or rectangles.

Untitled.png


Settings | Colors
 
mine are completely invisible. I have never messed with the colors, in fact until just now, didn't even know you could. So that ain't it. Also, they come back if I go through the textured pol;ygons list and click each of the 'background' polys. So it's not the colors or they wouldn't show up by do that. Still can't quite track it down. Deleting and resaving the airport did not help any. Still the same problem.
 
Hello:

Tom:

It is best to discuss specific topics within their own thread to avoid confusing oneself and other would-be helpers.

I see your reply above has a later post Time than this reply in the other thread on AI Flightplans;

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/ai-flightplans.460611/reply?quote=938446

...What exactly is your status with this ?




Here is some additional info to accompany the replies this thread has elicited thus far:

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/t...sparency-and-draw-surface-and-details.437357/


https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/changing-display-transparency-of-ground-polys.439075/


https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/unhiding-hidden-objects.431728/

https://web.archive.org/web/2019091...eenstepslive.com/s/help_docs/m/20268/l/266994


https://web.archive.org/web/2021120...elow-an-apron-or-poly-in-the-ade-display-1-65


It would be a good idea to avoid mixing up Airport Boundary (aka "Background") Polygons or "ABP's" with other custom textured Polygons.

Airport Boundary (aka "Background") Polygons or "ABP's" are CVX Vector objects compiled by SDK SHP2VEC using info from Terrain.Cfg.

Other custom textured Polygons made in SBuilder may be legacy format objects compiled by SCASM / ASM; these do not show in ADE's GUI.


GaryGB
 
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As far as the AI Flights go, I had to put that on hold as I am dealing with two other issue, the foremost is as mentioned. As far as Textured Polygons go, I am talking about the airport background polygons, not vectors or landclass, or any of that. I am talking about the background polygons that include things like exclusions and flattens. I cannot get those polygons to show up whenever I have to close down ADE either for a crash or have to restart the computer for something. When I start up ADE and load the airport, it displays everything EXCEPT any of the background terrain polys. No flattens or exclusions show which makes it difficult to determine where I have them and where I don't. I only have flattens and exclusions in certain areas, a lot of the airport project just uses the default terrain. All other things show up. I can get the polys to show by going into the terrain polygon list and clicking on each flatten and exclusion one by one, then they show up, but they won't stay that way, if for any reason I have to shut down ADE and reload the project, those polys do not show until I do the list thing again. I can't explain it any better than that. These are just terrain polys put in with ADE, no Sbuilderx or any PhotoReal scenery, just regular old ADE terrain flattens and exclusions. Nothing special, the same thing anyone else would use. This problem just happened withing the last two weeks or so. No modifications were made at the time the problem showed up. I just can't figure out what the heck has happened. I've been on other sites asking for help and it even has other 'experts' stumped. It has to be some sort of error or 'bug' that was never found in ADE so it was never fixed by the developers. I may just have to re-install ADE to fix it. Not being able to see where my flattens and exclusions are poses problems in editing the project.

As far as the original thread problem with the AI Flights, I am currently working on learning to use AIFP and will work on it once I fix this ADE problem. I originally posted the ADE problem as a separate thread ,but the moderators moved it to an FSX thread, don't know why, it isn't an FSX problem, it's an ADE problem. I'll go back to the AI thingy at a later time.
 
FYI:

Airport Boundary (aka "Background") Polygons or "ABP's" are CVX Vector objects compiled by SDK SHP2VEC using info from Terrain.Cfg.

Flatten Polygons are a type of "ABP" and thus are CVX Vector objects compiled by SDK SHP2VEC using info from Terrain.Cfg.

Exclusion Polygons are a type of "ABP" and thus are CVX Vector objects compiled by SDK SHP2VEC using info from Terrain.Cfg.

Exclusion Rectangles are NOT a type of "ABP", and instead are special XML objects compiled by SDK BGLComp using info from BGLComp.xsd.


All the above object types should be able to display in the ADE GUI following the info and examples I linked in my post immediately above.


If, after diligent efforts you can not get any of your *.AD4 airport projects to display properly, make ZIP backups of all your projects.

Load each project into ADE one at a time, and then save a ZIP of each project with all its source files and package files via ADE's own tool:

ADE version 1.79 Menu > Project > Backup

Move your ADE ZIP Project Backups to a safe location ELSEWHERE ...outside the existing ADE install folder chain

Then re-name the top folder for the existing ADE install folder chain to ex: ADE_OLD_(date-goes-here).

Re-install ADE by creating a new top-folder named ex: ADE_v179.


Download a fresh ZIP of ADEv1.79:

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/t...-7410-dev-is-released-supports-p3d-v5.447279/


Copy the ZIP of ADEv1.79 into that folder, and un-ZIP it... and you are DONE. :pushpin:


Otherwise, if you are only having display issues with (1) ADE *.AD4 airport project, you 'should' post a link to its ADE ZIP backup archive.

GaryGB
 
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Well I fixed it. I had been working on improving my FPS, well somewhere in the process I must have inadvertantly changed something I shouldn't have on my GPU. So, I did a factory reset on the GPU, now everything is back to normal. Still can't seem to improve the FPS much though. I'll probably just leave it as is and wait til the day when I can get a new rig.
 
What controls the displaying of exclusion backgrounds in FSX. Mine refuses to even show any sort of exclusion backgrounds. Flattens work fine, but no exclusions, and I'm not talking about exclusion rectangles, just the airport background exclusions. There has to be something in FSX that controls the displaying of airport exclusion backgrounds.
 
Exclusions are of (2) types:

* CVX Vector terrain polygons

Compiled by SDK SHP2VEC

* ExclusionRectangles

Compiled by SDK BGLComp

Thus, also be aware that there are (2) ways to exclude Autogen depending on whether it is default or custom Autogen annotation.


Perhaps you are referring to CVX Vector terrain polygons required to exclude FSX Autogen trees from airport infrastructure objects and other areas ?

IIRC, in FS9 we could exclude default Autogen trees with ExclusionRectangles.

Different procedures are required to deal with custom Autogen placed onto custom PR Land Class textures.

As for airport background / boundary polygons, yes, it is true that in most cases they are made as CVX Vector polygon objects with the 3-component GUID:

Flatten / Exclude Autogen / MaskClassMap

There are separate 1-compnent versions also for each of those, which all have their own GUIDS

If you cover up an airport background / boundary polygon with custom PR Land Class textures, the Flatten will still work, but the MaskClassMap -provided CVX Vector airport background / boundary texture will not show.

If too much transparency is applied to the Blend Mask of the custom PR Land Class textures, underlying Autogen on any layer may begin to bleed through to the top, and we start seeing trees on the ground anywhere within the custom PR Land Class texture area extent.

[EDITED]

Common to any exclusion is the requirement that it be located in a higher Scenery Library Area layer so it loads after scenery it excludes.

Add-ons from knowledgeable FS developers tend to load at the top of Scenery Library stack of layers, and some automatically return there.

If we manually place our custom add-on scenery above any exclusions intended to exclude content in custom scenery ...they may not work.

Consider alpha-numeric file names for exclude BGLs so they load from the same Area, but after placed scenery objects requiring excludes.

[END_EDIT]

GaryGB
 
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I am referring to cvx vectors. They are being compiled. Fsx just don't either load them or won't show them. Don't know what the problem is and at this point of working on it for several days now I don't even care anymore. I am going to wait until I can buy another rig and use it onlly for fsx. This one is too far gone to fix it. GSX really did a number on it.
 
If FSX could not display CVX Vector land class polygons, there would be no textures on the ground anywhere in the sim 3D world.

FSX default terrain textures are tiles mapped with textures, most (but not all) of which have been annotated with Autogen.

Everything in FSX that has to do with CVX Vector terrain textures mapped onto terrain tiles (including both default textures and custom PR land class textures) are defined by Terrain.Cfg.

The tile ID number series for the 3D world of FS are of (2) types:

* Default (default 1.2 Meter / Pixel land class textures and matched 'default' Autogen annotations)

...or:

* Custom (Custom PR land class and matched Custom Autogen annotations).

The FSX LandClassLookup.bgl can be edited by advanced FS Developent methods, but I am doubtful that GSX would have had a reason to do this; typically only OrbX does this for their Global products.

Sorry you are experiencing this challenging situation, but you must realize we cannot help you if you refuse to provide the info we need to conduct meaningful analysis and post replies that stand a chance of doing anything remotely likely to help you.

I suggest you start attaching screenshots and a ZIP backup of your ADE project.

We do not need to have custom 3D models or Effects with their mapped textures or sounds etc. that are placed by your project included with your ZIP to begin analyzing what may be a basis for the present challenges you are reporting.

GaryGB
 
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It's been a while, could you run through how I link a zip file here so I can link the ADE project and some screenshots so I can show what is happening? I completely forgot how to do it.
 
In ADEv179 with the project loaded from the *.AD4 project file:


ADE Menu > Project > Backup > (verify assigned target output folder location) > click [Backup] button


If ZIP is < FSDEV forum attachment file limits:

* Upload the ZIP here as an attachment


Click [Attach files] button (with 'PaperClip' icon) > Browse to ADE Backup Folder *.ZIP file path



If ZIP is > FSDEV forum attachment file limits


* Link ADE ZIP Backup file here as a URL after uploaded to DropBox / MediaFire (for anonymous download)


Copy the DropBox or MediaFire ADE ZIP Backup file URL (copy a "link" to Windows ClipBoard)


In a FSDEV post, click [Insert link] button (with 'Chain' icon) > click in URL field > Ctrl+V to paste URL > click [Insert] button


Save the FSDEV post; (click to test the URL and verify it is working OK).

GaryGB
 
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