FSDeveloper Wiki - User contributions [en-gb]

FSX KML Tutorial

2009-06-10T14:16:53Z

EssieP: /* Creating islands */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines. Try to avoid using too many vertices when you draw shapes. Some users have reported problems with Google-Earth crashing when they have drawn shapes continuously rather than clicking each vertex.
=== A note about tagging ===
Tags can be added in either Google-Earth, or FSX_KML, each has "considerations": 
Google-Earth:
easier to make a spelling mistake; but:
making corrections in GE after compiling & testing makes amending easier in larger projects.
FSX_KML:
Tags available as a drop-down list (though it is very long)
Quicker for smaller projects.

=== Begin: ===
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape (copy-paste) if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with '''Exclude__Shorelines''' (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Generic_Ocean'''. Note; shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding water excludes ===
Necessary if there is water in the wrong place. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the water texture. The whole 1.2km tile is likely to be removed however. Take a printscreen in FSX top-down view ('''F12''') to see where a new water poly should be drawn.
*Draw a new shape for water from the coastline far enough out to sea to cover the errant land square. The coastline shape will probably use lots of vertices, but there may be only one or two out to sea.
*Tag with:'''Hydro_Polygon_Default_Perennial'''

=== Adding land excludes ===
Often not necessary because water polygons are '''always''' drawn over land in FSX.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.
[[Image:River braid.gif | thumb]] 
'''Note:''' FSX_KML "reads" the list of shapes from the top first, downwards. The last shape to be read, is laid over all of the others in FSX.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this in FSX_KML. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

'''Note:''' This will give you traffic traveling down the centre of the road. If you want two way traffic, you can duplicate the line twice in GE, then move each one to one side or the other (depending on which side of the road they drive on). One of then will need reversing otherwise both lanes will drive in the same direction.

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==
To place scenery objects you must use google earth to draw a polyline in of the area that you want your building in. Save this as a kml and import it to FSX KML. When choosing tags use one of the scenery object tags. Example: to place a skyscraper you could use 'SceneryObject_LibraryObject_agn_highrise02' as a tag. Then build as normal and play FSX!

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPoly

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2009-06-10T14:13:03Z

EssieP: /* Braided rivers */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines. Try to avoid using too many vertices when you draw shapes. Some users have reported problems with Google-Earth crashing when they have drawn shapes continuously rather than clicking each vertex.
=== A note about tagging ===
Tags can be added in either Google-Earth, or FSX_KML, each has "considerations": 
Google-Earth:
easier to make a spelling mistake; but:
making corrections in GE after compiling & testing makes amending easier in larger projects.
FSX_KML:
Tags available as a drop-down list (though it is very long)
Quicker for smaller projects.

=== Begin: ===
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape (copy-paste) if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with '''Exclude__Shorelines''' (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Generic_Ocean'''. Note; shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding water excludes ===
Necessary if there is water in the wrong place. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the water texture. The whole 1.2km tile is likely to be removed however. Take a printscreen in FSX top-down view ('''F12''') to see where a new water poly should be drawn.
*Draw a new shape for water from the coastline far enough out to sea to cover the errant land square. The coastline shape will probably use lots of vertices, but there may be only one or two out to sea.
*Tag with:'''Hydro_Polygon_Default_Perennial'''

=== Adding land excludes ===
Often not necessary because water polygons are '''always''' drawn over land in FSX.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.
[[Image:River braid.gif | thumb]] 
'''Note:''' FSX_KML "reads" the list of shapes from the top first, downwards. The last shape to be read, is laid over all of the others in FSX.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

'''Note:''' This will give you traffic traveling down the centre of the road. If you want two way traffic, you can duplicate the line twice in GE, then move each one to one side or the other (depending on which side of the road they drive on). One of then will need reversing otherwise both lanes will drive in the same direction.

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==
To place scenery objects you must use google earth to draw a polyline in of the area that you want your building in. Save this as a kml and import it to FSX KML. When choosing tags use one of the scenery object tags. Example: to place a skyscraper you could use 'SceneryObject_LibraryObject_agn_highrise02' as a tag. Then build as normal and play FSX!

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPoly

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML

2009-06-10T14:09:11Z

EssieP: /* Creating polygons and polylines */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

[[Image:before_and_after.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Before and after screenshot]]

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

It converts KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files generated by Google Earth into FSX scenery.

Using Google Earth to draw polygons and polylines you can accurately and easily many types of scenery.

===Shp2Vec based scenery===
FSX KML uses the FSX SDK Shp2Vec tool to create the following types of vector scenery:-

* Water polygons including oceans, rivers, lakes and canals
* Islands inside water features
* Irregular shaped land class polygons for cities, parks, beaches, forest, golf courses etc
* Airport boundaries and flatten polygons and AUTOGEN EXCLUSIONS
* Shorelines
* Streams
* Roads
* Railways
* Freeways (ie Moving traffic)
* Utility lines (eg power and telephone lines)
* Exclusions polygons (for vector data)

===BGLComp based scenery===
FSX KML uses the FSX SDK BGLComp tool to create the following types of scenery:-

* Place scenery objects (from the FSX library) along a polyline using a wide variety of [http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML#v1.08_Beta_-_18th_May_2007 placement options]
* Exclusion rectangles
* Extrusion bridges

===Resample based scenery===
FSX KML uses the FSX SDK Resample tool to create the following types of scenery:-

* Land class tiles
* Water class tiles

'''Make sure you also download and install [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML#Installing_FWTools FWTools] which is required for creating these types of scenery.'''

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Downloading FSX KML ==

The latest version of FSX KML (1.10) can be downloaded from:-

* AVSIM - http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxsd&DLID=108495
* The Scenery Hall of Fame - http://www.scenery.org/graphical_editors.htm

== Installation ==

=== Installing FSX KML ===

FSX KML can be installed in a folder of your choice. Simply unzip the FSX KML installation zip file into the desired folder.

After unzipping the installation file you should have the following files:-

* FSX_KML.exe
* ShapeLib129.dll
* FreeImage.DLL
* FSX_KML_TAGS.XML


=== Installing the FSX Software Development Kit (SDK) ===

To generate FSX scenery you will need the FSX SDK, which is distributed with the FSX Deluxe version.
To install the SDK:

(1) Browse the FSX Deluxe Edition Disk 1

(2) Open the SDK sub-folder

(3) Double-click the setup.exe

(4) Tell it where to install. Default is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK

If the SDK is not installed in the default SDK folder you must specify its location on the FSX_KML build tab.

For more info on the SDK installation and Service packs: [http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=SDK_Installation_%28FSX%29 http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=SDK_Installation_%28FSX%29]

=== Installing FWTools ===

FSX KML makes use of the freeware tool set called [http://fwtools.maptools.org/ FWTools]. FW Tools is required for scenery that uses the FSX SDK Resample tool, such as landclass and waterclass.

Download and install the latest version of FWTools.

Specify the location of FWTools on the FSX KML Build tab.

== Building Scenery ==

Building your own scenery with FSX KML is easy.

=== Step 1 - Creating a KML file with Google Earth ===

The first step in creating your FSX scenery is to create a KML file by using Google Earth to "trace" scenery features.

==== Creating polygons and polylines ====

Using Google Earth create a polygon using the "Add Poly" function or create a polyline using the "Add Path" function,
and then trace the scenery feature (for example a lake or road).

After you click the "Add Poly" or "Add Path button" you will be presented with a form as shown to the right

[[Image:GE-polygon-dialog.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Google Earth dialog for creating new polygon or polyline]]

* Name - Give your polygon or polyline a description or leave blank

* Description - This is where you "tag" your polygon or polyline. You may enter a tag from FSX_KML_TAGS.XML or leave blank and tag later using FSX_KML

* Style & Color - You may choose the border and fill color for polyline or polygon

* Altitude - You may enter an altitude for your polyline or polygon. This can be used to specify the elevation of lakes. You may also enter the elevation later using FSX_KML. All elevations must be entered in meters.

Begin tracing your polyline or polygon. You may either click the mouse or hold the mouse button down and drag the mouse to create vertices.

* Use your mouse wheel to zoom the view in and out vertically.

* Use the up, down, left, right arrow keys to move the view horizontally.

* Hold Shift and press left or right arrow to rotate the view.

* Hold Ctrl and press up or down arrow to tilt the view.

To make things easier; it is good to get into the habit of drawing polygon vertices in the same direction, perhaps always draw clockwise. That way if you decide to add new vertices to define details better, then you can simply click to the right of the currently selected vertex (blue) to add a new one in. Avoid adding vertices that make the polygon twisted.
While polygon "properties" is open, take the time to change the transparency (from the colour tab)- if you leave it opaque, then you end up covering important details and spotting mistakes is more difficult.

Once you have finished click OK to save your polygon or polyline.

To edit your polyline or polygon highlight it, right click the mouse and choose properties.

==== "Tagging" the scenery features ====

To describe what scenery feature your polygon or polyline represents it needs to be "tagged". The file FSX_KML_TAGS.XML contains a list of the tags you can use.

There are two ways to tag a polygon or polyline:-

* Place the name of the tag in the description field of the polygon or polyline.
* Place the name of the tag in the description field of the parent folder that contains the polygon or polyline. If a polygon/polyline has no tag then it will inherit its tag from the parent folder.

You can place these tags in GE using the properties dialog of the polygon or polyline, or you can use FSX_KML to place these tags.

To tag using FSX_KML click on a description "cell" and press F2. An arrow will be displayed so then click on the arrow to drop down a list of valid tags. Highlight the tag you want and press ENTER. If you had multi-selected several cells then all the selected cells will be tagged. To select multiple cells hold down the shift key while clicking cells.

==== Saving your work to a KML file ====

Once you're done drawing your polygon(s) or polyline(s), simply right-click on the top-most folder you created (or the polygon itself if you didn't create folders) under the "My Places" tab on the left side of your GE window. Select "Save As", makes sure that you choose .kml as the file type, and select your desired location in your file structure.

=== Step 2 - Processing the KML file with FSX KML ===

[[Image:project.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The Project tab]] [[Image:build.jpg|thumb||150px|The Build tab]]

* Run FSX_KML
* On the "Project" tab, click the "Add KML" button and choose a KML file. The contents of the selected KML file will be displayed. You may add multiple KML files. A FSX BGL file will be generated for each KML input file.
* Change to the "Build" tab
* Set the following build options:-
** "FSX folder" - Input the folder where FSX is installed. By default this is "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X"
** "Terrain SDK" - Input the location of the FSX terrain SDK
** "FW Tools" - Input the location where you installed FW Tools. FW Tools is required for scenery that uses the FSX SDK Resample tool, such as landclass and waterclass.
** "Run SDK tools" - If you select this option FSX KML will automatically run the SDK tools to turn your Shape Files into a FSX BGL
** "Copy generated scenery to FSX Addon Scenery Folder" - If you select this option FSX KML will copy the generated BGLS to the FSX addon scenery directory
* Click the "Build" button. FSX KML will now build your scenery. The progress of the build will be displayed in the build log window. The following actions will occur during the build:-
** For each KML file in your project
*** For vector based scenery an appropriate set of Shape files is generated depending on the features that have been tagged in the KML
*** For resample based scenery an appropriate Tiff file is created.
*** An XML config file is created for use by Shp2Vec, BGLComp and Resample
** A batch file called "Run_SDK_Tools.bat" will be created. This batch file contains the appropriate commands to call the FSX SDK tools (Shp2Vec, BGLComp and Resample)
** If you have selected the "Run SDK Tools" option then the Run_SDK_Tools.bat file will be executed. This will create various scenery .BGL files ready for use by FSX
** If you have selected the "Copy generated scenery..." option then the BGL files(s) will be copied to the FSX addon scenery directory. Please note: If FSX is running and using a previous version of your BGL file then the copy will not work because FSX will have the file "locked". The easiest way to ensure your file is copied to the addon scenery folder is to make sure FSX is not running.

=== Step 3 - Testing the scenery ===

* If you selected the "Copy generated files..." option then your scenery will have been copied to the FSX addon scenery folder. Simply run FSX and goto your scenery location to test the scenery

== Scenery Design Tutorial ==

The [http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML_Tutorial FSX KML Tutorial] provides help with a variety of scenery design tasks.

== Editing a KML file using FSX_KML ==

Using FSX_KML you can easily edit your KML file. The following types of edits can be performed:-

=== Copy ===
To copy a KML item (folder or polygon/polyline) select the item to copy and click the copy button.
=== Delete ===
To delete a KML item select the item to copy and click the delete button.
=== Edit ===
To edit the Name and Description attributes of a KML item select either a single item or multiple items (hold the shift key to multi-select) and then press F2 to display the inline editor. Enter the new value and press enter. Your edit will be applied to the items you selected

=== Saving your changes ===
Click the save button to write your changes back to disk..
.

=== Open in Notepad ===
Click the "Open in Notepad" button to open the selected KML file in Notepad.
=== Open in Google Earth ===
Click the "Open in Google Earth" button to open the selected KML file in Google Earth.
=== Reload a KML file ===
If you have edited the selected KML file using an external program (eg Google Earth or Notepad) then you can reload those changes back into FSX_KML by clicking the reload button.

=== Properties Tab ===

This tab shows the properties for the selected polygon or polyline.

Freeways:
Use the "NumberOfLanes" and "Traffic Direction" attributes to define freeway related data.

Hydropolygons:
Use the "SlopeX" and "SlopeY" attributes to define slope characteristics of hydropolygons.

=== Vertices Tab ===

This tab shows the vertices (ie points) for the selected polygon or polyline.

Click the "Edit" button to display the vertice editor. This editor lets you edit the vertices in several ways:-

Reversing points:
The direction of a polygon or polyline can be reversed by using the REVERSE POINTS button. Click the "Reverse" button to change the direction of points in the polygon/polyline.

Setting elevation:
You can set the elevation for all vertices by clicking the "Set Elevation" button.

Manual editing:
You can manually edit vertices (longtitude, latitude and elevation) by editing data in the vertex grid.

=== XML Tab ===

This tab shows the XML for the selected polygon or polyline.

== FSX_KML_TAGS.XML ==

[[Image:Tags.jpg|thumb|right|150px|FSX_KML_TAGS tab]]

=== What is the FSX_KML_TAGS file? ===

This file holds the "tags" that are used in the KML file to describe FSX scenery features. You can customise this file to add more tags or change existing ones.

An easy way to browse this file is by clicking on the "FSX_KML_TAGS.XML" tab in FSX KML.

This XML contains the following attributes for each "tag":-

* Tag - The unique identifier for this scenery feature. This tag is what you use to "tag" the polygons/polylines in your Google Earth KML file
* Description - A description of the scenery feature. This description is displayed in FSX KML.
* Feature Type - The type of scenery feature and must be one of the following types:-
** WATERPOLY - Water polygons such as coastline, rivers, lakes, canals etc
** WATERPOLYGPS - Low resolution water polygons for use in the GPS
** LANDCLASSPOLY - irregular shaped landclass polygons for towns, forest, beaches, park etc
** AIRPORTBOUNDRY - define airport boundries and also flatten areas and AUTOGEN EXCLUSIONS
** EXCLUSION - exclude default vector scenery from the polygon
** STREAM - create streams
** SHORELINE - create animated shorelines
** ROAD - create roads (NOT road bridges)
** FREEWAY - create moving traffic
** RAILWAY - create railways (NOT rail bridges)
** UTILITY - power lines, telegraph lines, fences etc
** SCENERYOBJECT - place scenery objects
** EXCLUSIONRECTANGLE - excludes scenery objects
** EXTRUSIONBRIDGE - creates extrusion bridges
** LANDCLASS - create land class
** WATERCLASS - create water class
* GUID - The FSX GUID for the scenery feature.

Please refer to the FSX "terrain.cfg" file and terrain SDK documentation for futher information on feature types and GUIDs

=== Editing FSX_KML_TAGS.XML using FSX KML ===

The FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file can be easily edited in FSX KML. To following edits can be performed:-

==== Copy ====
To copy an item select the item to copy and click the copy button.
==== Delete ====
To delete an item select the item to delete and click the delete button.
==== Edit ====
To edit the Tag, Description, FeatureType or GUID attributes of an item select either a single item or multiple items (hold the shift key to multi-select) and then press F2 to display the inline editor. Enter the new value and press enter. Your edit will be applied to the items you selected

==== Saving your changes ====
Click the save button to write your changes back to disk.
==== Open in Notepad ====
Click the "Open in Notepad" button to open the FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file in Notepad.
==== Reload ====
If you have edited the FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file using an external program (eg Notepad) you can reload those changes by clicking the reload button.

== Google Earth ==

=== Downloading Google Earth ===

The free version Google Earth may be downloaded from the [http://earth.google.com/ Google Earth home page]

=== Copyright of Google Earth Data ===

Scenery developers need to be aware that there may be copyright issues associated with the use of data obtained from Google Earth. Please see the [http://earth.google.com/support/ Google Earth support page] for more information on the Google Earth policy of using this data in your freeware or commercial products.

== Freeware scenery using FSX KML ==

The following freeware has used FSX KML during their development:-

* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Isle+of+Wight&FileName=&Author=Len+Hickman&CatID=fsxscen Isle of Wight (UK) reconstructed] by Len Hickman
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Quebec+Scenery&FileName=&Author=Gilles+Gauthier&CatID=fsxscen Quebec Scenery - Lakes and Rivers] by Gilles Gauthier
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Catalunya+Coast&FileName=&Author=Bodo+Hesse&CatID=fsxscen Catalunya Coast] by Bodo Hesse
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Naval+air+station&FileName=&Author=Jim+Dhaenens&CatID=fsxscen Naval Air station Jacksonville (KNIP)] by Jim Dhaenens
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=103120 Naval Air Station Oceana (KNTU)] by Jim Dhaenens
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=102870 Coffs Harbour (YSCH)] by John Ross (also at www.virtualvfr.com)
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=103027 Kitimat/Terrace] by Douglas Keech
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=102995 Los Angeles "clean-up"] by Lance Tucker
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=104609 Lord howe Island and Balls Pyramid] by Don Bush
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=104853 Falklands 2007] by Brian Jamieson
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=104000 Gloucestershire Airport] by Terry Shields
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=105386 Okanagan Valley Landclass and Rivers] by Alex Sievert
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=106386&CatID=fsxscen Gold Coast Airport (YBCG)] by John Ross
* [http://marcoh.gratisim.fr Photorealistic Town of Nantes in France] by Marc-henri Guitteny
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=109752&CatID=fsxscen Utah Complete v1.0] by James Udall
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=111154 Bushflight Northwest] by Bill Dick / Phil "Snowman" Cayton / Chris Brisland
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=114132&CatID=fsxscen Wake Island] by Tony Arnold
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=117501 SICILY VFR X - Lakes and Reservoirs] by Giovanni Miduri
*[http://library.avsim.net/download.php?DLID=121703 Chernobyl Exclusion Zone] by Mike Dalgleish
*[http://fly-wonderful-islands.com/page_89.html La gomera GCGM Spain] by Allen Cremeen
* [http://marcoh.gratisim.fr Photorealistic St Pierre & Miquelon archipelago near Newfoundland] by Marc-henri Guitteny
Freeware authors please list your freeware scenery here!

== Commercial scenery using FSX KML ==

The following commercial scenery has used FSX KML during their development:-

* [http://www.imaginesim.com/kcvg01.htm KCVG Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport, USA] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.imaginesim.com/tjsj01.htm TJSJ San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Airport, Puerto Rico] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.imaginesim.com/kclt01.htm KCLT Charlotte Douglas Airport, USA] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.imaginesim.com/mynn01.htm MYNN Nassau International, Bahamas] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.imaginesim.com/klga01.htm KLGA New York La Guardia Airport, USA] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.imaginesim.com/kmci01.htm KMCI Kansas City International Airport, USA] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.aerosoft-shop2.com/products/helgolandx/helgolandx.html Helgoland X] by AeroSoft
* [http://www.aerosoft-shop2.com/products/monacox/monacox.html Monaco X] by AeroSoft
* [http://www.aerosoft-shop2.com/products/aspenx/aspenx.html Aspen X] by AeroSoft
* [http://secure.simmarket.com/product_info.php?products_id=2361 Pantanal - The Wetlands] by CenaReal
* [http://www.fly-wonderful-islands.com/Slide/gclp_v1.html GCLP Gran Canaria Airport Canary Islands Spain] by Fly Wonderful Islands
* [http://www.fly-wonderful-islands.com/FWI_GCRRv2/Slide_GCRR_V2/FWI_GCRR_V2.html Lanzarote GCRR Airport Canary Islands Spain] by Fly Wonderful Islands
Please list other commercial scenery here.

== End User Licence ==

Copyright Â© 2007 Innova Software ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

FSX KML ("Software") is distributed without charge to FSX add-on designers, redistribution of the original ZIP file is not allowed. You are NOT allowed to sell this software or ask money for its distribution.

FSX KML may be used free of charge for the production of both freeware and commercial add-ons (including sceneries,missions,aircraft) subject to the following terms and conditions:-
* You notify Innova Software of the use of FSX KML in your add-on
* You give Innova Software a free copy of your add-on (and any updates)
* In your readme file you say that FSX KML was used to help with the production of your add-on
* The copyright and any intellectual property relating to the FSX KML software shall remain the property of Innova Software
* LIMITED WARRANTY - INNOVA SOFTWARE SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE IN TORT OR IN CONTRACT FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE HOWSOEVER CAUSED TO THE PROPERTY OR PERSON OF YOURSELF OR ANY THIRD PARTY AS A RESULT OF ANY DEFECT IN THE SOFTWARE WHETHER PATENT OR LATENT OR AS A RESULT OF ANY FAULT, NEGLIGENCE, WRONGFUL ACT OR OMISSION OF INNOVA SOFTWARE OR ANY OF ITS SERVANTS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTS AND AGENTS, AND YOU INDEMNIFY INNOVA SOFTWARE AGAINST ANY CLAIMS MADE AGAINST IT BY ANY THIRD PARTY ARISING OUT OF ANY SUCH DEFAULT OR FAULT, NEGLIGENCE, WRONGFUL ACT OR OMISSION AND IN NO EVENT SHALL INNOVA SOFTWARE BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIMS OR DAMAGES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO CLAIMS OF FAULTY DESIGN, NEGLIGENT OR MISLEADING ADVICE, DAMAGES ARISING FROM LOSS OR USE OF THE SOFTWARE AND/OR SUPPLY OF SERVICES; AND ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR INJURY TO ANY PERSON, CORPORATION OR OTHER ENTITY BY REASON OF THE PROVISION OF THE SOFTWARE AND/OR PROVISION OF SERVICES PURSUANT TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Developers can email acceptance of these terms and conditions to fsx_kml@innovasoftware.com.

== Release History ==

=== v1.00 Beta - 19th 0ct 2006 ===

This is first beta release of FSX KML

=== v1.01 Beta - 19th 0ct 2006 ===

Issues resolved:-
* Fixed error with FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file not found

=== v1.02 Beta - 21st 0ct 2006 ===

Issues resolved:-
* Fixed error reading polygon/poylines. FSX KML could sometimes insert an erroneous point of 0,0

=== v1.03 Beta - 28th 0ct 2006 ===

New features and issues resolved:-
* Better handle tags in description field. Be less strict about "whitespace" and cr/lf
* Better handle international settings for decimals
* Add more excludes to fsx_kml_tags.xml (see tags starting with "exclude__")
* Add support for moving kml items up/down
* Add support for moving kml items via drag drop
* Add support for creating new kml folder
* Create shapes in order they appear in the KML
* Assign UUID (starting at 1) to each shape in the KML based on its order in the KML

Known issues (Features not implemented in this release):-
* Freeway tags (moving traffic) - in v1.03 you must manually edit the FW .DBF file to set traffic density and direction

=== v1.04 Beta - 20th Jan 2007 ===

New features and issues resolved:-

* Use INI file (FSX_KML.INI) to remember settings including list of KML files and FSX folder settings
* Allow multi select of KML files in Add KML file dialog
* Display points for selected polygon/polyline
* Add REVERSE POINTS button to allow direction of polygon/polyline to be reversed
* Add POLYGONHOLE tag to support "holes" in polygons, eg for making islands in rivers
* Add LEGACY_LANDWATERMASK_WATER_NOFLATTEN tag for water polygons that "cling" to mesh
* Default freeway traffic to one lane of traffic

=== v1.05 Beta - 21st Jan 2007 ===

New features and issues resolved:-

* Added "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" build option. This option will auto reverse points for polygon holes when creating the shape file. Apparently Google Earth always writes polygons in a clockwise fashion to the KML file irrespective of which way they are actually drawn in Google Earth. This option simplifies the creation of polygon holes because you no longer need to manually reverse point order in FSX KML. Option is on by default.
* Added "Output Folder" build option. This lets you specify the folder where files are written during the build process
* Fixed error when loading the saved list of KML files and a KML file can longer be found.

=== v1.05.1 Beta - 21st Jan 2007 ===

Issues resolved:-

* Fixed bug where directory would not be changed prior to running the RUN_SDK_TOOLS batch file

=== v1.06 Beta - 14th Apr 2007 ===

New features:-

* Added grid to allow manual editing of polygon/polyline points (longitude,latitude,elevation)
* Added button for setting all points in polygon/polyline to a specific elevation
* Added support for tag parameters (eg freeway traffic data and hydro poly slopeX/Y)
* Added option to save backups to backup subdirectory (on by default).
* Added XML tab to show XML for highlighted node
* Remember window size and position

Issues resolved:-

* Changed tag name of "Park" to "LandClassPoly" since landclass polys can be used for more than just parks! Existing "Park" tags are automatically renamed to "LandClassPoly"
* Handle extra '.' in filenames

=== v1.07 Beta - 25th Apr 2007 ===

New features:-

* Added "Shape" tab with support for shape viewing. Select single (or multiple) polygon/polylines to see its shape. Selecting a folder will show all shapes in that folder and any sub folders.
* Added "Select All" function (Ctrl A) to select all polylines/polygons
* Added "New" button to Vertices form to insert vertice.
* Added "Copy" button to Vertices form to copy the selected vertice.
* Added "Delete" button to Vertices form to delete selected vertice.
* Added "Move Up" and "Move Down" button to Vertices form to move selected vertice up or down in list.
* Added Options menu to main form. Moved "Save Backups" to this menu
* Added "Remember Window Position and Size" to the options menu

Issues resolved:-

* Updated the "About" form to credit the 3rd party development libraries used (eg Shapelib)
* Fixed misplaced longitude and latitude labels on vertice grid

=== v1.08 Beta - 18th May 2007 ===

New features:-

* Add BGLCOMP support for placing of FSX library objects along polyline. The use of "Variance" parameters below helps create more naturalistic looking scenery by applying random variance to object positioning. Support the following parameters:-
** Altitude AGL or MSL
** Altitude variance - Random variance in meters applied to alitude (use 0 for no variance)
** Pitch (0 - 360)
** Pitch variance - Random variance in degrees (0 - 180) applied to pitch (use 0 for no variance)
** Bank (0 - 360)
** Bank variance - Random variance in degrees (0 - 180) applied to bank (use 0 for no variance)
** HeadingType
*** Track - Heading of each object follows the direction of each polyline segment
*** Fixed - Heading of all objects is specified by Heading parameter
*** Random - Heading is random for each object
*** Elevation - Heading for each object is specified by elevation of associated polyline vertice
** Heading (0 - 360) - Used when HeadingType = Fixed
** Heading variance - Random variance in degrees (0 - 180) applied to heading (use 0 for no variance)
** Scale - Scale multiply of object (defaults to 1.0)
** ScaleVariance - Random variance in scale to apply to objects. (use 0 for no variance)
** ImageComplexity - VerySparse, Sparse, Normal, Dense, VeryDense, ExtremelyDense
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Add tags for all default FSX scenery library objects
* Build tab - Add button for setting BGLComp SDK path
* Build tab - Add "Open" button for output folder path to open Windows Explorer on that folder

Issues resolved:-

* Fixed issue with copy button

=== v1.09 Beta - 23rd June 2007 ===

New features:-

* Added BGLCOMP support for scenery exclusion rectangles ("ExclusionRectangle" tag). The exclusion rectangle will be defined by the "bounding" rectangle of the polyline/polygon. Supports the following parameters
** ExcludeAllObjects
** ExcludeBeaconObjects
** ExcludeEffectObjects
** ExcludeGenericBuildingObjects
** ExcludeLibraryObjects
** ExcludeTaxiwaySignObjects
** ExcludeTriggerObjects
** ExcludeWindsockObjects
** ImageComplexity - VerySparse, Sparse, Normal, Dense, VeryDense, ExtremelyDense
* Added BGLCOMP support for Extrusion Bridges ("ExtrusionBridge" tag). Draw a polyline and tag it with "ExclusionBridge", then use the vertice editor to set the height of each bridge segment.
* Added "Change to" button on the Vertice Editor to change shape type from polygon to polyline and vice versa
* Enhanced polygons holes so that if a polygon cannot be found in the same folder as polygon hole ("polygon folder") then the parent folder is searched for the first polygon preceding the polygon folder. This makes it possible to better organize a project by placing polygon holes (i.e islands) in a sub folder and still have them associated with a water polygon in a parent folder

=== v1.10 Beta - 19th August 2007 ===

New features:-

* Land class tiles
* Water class tiles

== Development Roadmap ==

The following features are planned for upcoming releases:-

=== Future releases ===
* Update this manual :)
* Add 10 minute autosave
* Add following params to BGLCOMP support:-
** Heading Type
*** FixedTrack - Heading of all objects is fixed to the direction of first polyline segment
** Divergence - Random divergence (in meters) from vertice. Applied in direction which is perpendicular to direction of polyline segment (use 0 for no variance)
* Add "AutoPolygonHole" to polygon properties sheet. This allows a polygon hole to be automatically created in the shape of the polygon, and removes the need manually create a hole (by copying and tagging as hole)
* Fix - Ensure lon/lat uses '.' and not ','
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Add support for tag groups
* Add BGLCOMP support for Tag Groups. Tag grouping allows the scenery designer to group together similar scenery library objects into a single group. For example, when populating a car park the designer could use a tag group containing a variety of car models. This would result in car models being chosen at random from the tag group.
* Add shape viewer to Vertice Editor form and have it refresh as vertices are edited.
* Add "Fly to" button to Vertices Editor form to move FSX aircraft to the selected vertice
* Add "Paste Aircraft pos" button to Vertices Editor form to paste the current location of aircraft (longtitude, latitude, and optionally altitude) into the list of Vertices.
* Export - Ability to export selected polygons/polylines to a CSV file, with option for long/lat/elevation ordering
* Scenery Placer - Add support for dynamically previewing scenery objects while FSX is running. This allows very precise and interactive control over the objects placement and orientation without the need to build a BGL and reload FSX.
* Placing FSX library objects inside a polygon. Allow number of objects and elevation to be specified. Objects will be distributed randomly within the polygon. This can be used to populate livestock, wildlife, boats/ships in harbors, people on beaches, birds, hot air balloons etc
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Texture preview for land class polygons and tiles tags
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Scenery object preview for default FSX scenery objects
* Ability to inject a QMID 11 grid into the KML to aid with visualization of exclusion areas
* New, Open and Save project buttons to support multiple projects.
* "Check for Update" menu option to check online for updates.

* If possible conditional display of FSX scenery library objects based on various triggers such as date/time, weather conditions and probability factor. For example, this would allow harbors to be populated with pleasure craft on sunny warm days, but not at night or in cold weather. Would allow forest fires to be generated in hot, windy conditions.
* If possible ability to animate FSX scenery library objects along a polyline
* "Photo scenery" ground textures
* Flight plan generation along polyline


== Software by this author ==
[http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX_KML]

[http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_Photoscene FSX_PhotoScene]

[http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=SRTM_To_BGL SRTM_To_BGL]

[[Category:Manuals]]
[[Category:Tools]]
[[category:Scenery_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-10-16T11:41:33Z

EssieP: /* Braided rivers */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines. Try to avoid using too many vertices when you draw shapes. Some users have reported problems with Google-Earth crashing when they have drawn shapes continuously rather than clicking each vertex.
=== A note about tagging ===
Tags can be added in either Google-Earth, or FSX_KML, each has "considerations": 
Google-Earth:
easier to make a spelling mistake; but:
making corrections in GE after compiling & testing makes amending easier in larger projects.
FSX_KML:
Tags available as a drop-down list (though it is very long)
Quicker for smaller projects.

=== Begin: ===
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape (copy-paste) if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with '''Exclude__Shorelines''' (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Generic_Ocean'''. Note; shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding water excludes ===
Necessary if there is water in the wrong place. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the water texture. The whole 1.2km tile is likely to be removed however. Take a printscreen in FSX top-down view ('''F12''') to see where a new water poly should be drawn.
*Draw a new shape for water from the coastline far enough out to sea to cover the errant land square. The coastline shape will probably use lots of vertices, but there may be only one or two out to sea.
*Tag with:'''Hydro_Polygon_Default_Perennial'''

=== Adding land excludes ===
Often not necessary because water polygons are '''always''' drawn over land in FSX.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.
[[Image:River braid.gif | thumb]] 
'''Note:''' FSX_KML "reads" the list of shapes from the top first, downwards. The last shape to be read, is overlaid all of the others in FSX.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

'''Note:''' This will give you traffic traveling down the centre of the road. If you want two way traffic, you can duplicate the line twice in GE, then move each one to one side or the other (depending on which side of the road they drive on). One of then will need reversing otherwise both lanes will drive in the same direction.

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPoly

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T22:12:25Z

EssieP: /* Braided rivers */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines. Try to avoid using too many vertices when you draw shapes. Some users have reported problems with Google-Earth crashing when they have drawn shapes continuously rather than clicking each vertex.
=== A note about tagging ===
Tags can be added in either Google-Earth, or FSX_KML, each has "considerations": 
Google-Earth:
easier to make a spelling mistake; but:
making corrections in GE after compiling & testing makes amending easier in larger projects.
FSX_KML:
Tags available as a drop-down list (though it is very long)
Quicker for smaller projects.

=== Begin: ===
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape (copy-paste) if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with '''Exclude__Shorelines''' (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Generic_Ocean'''. Note; shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding water excludes ===
Necessary if there is water in the wrong place. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the water texture. The whole 1.2km tile is likely to be removed however. Take a printscreen in FSX top-down view ('''F12''') to see where a new water poly should be drawn.
*Draw a new shape for water from the coastline far enough out to sea to cover the errant land square. The coastline shape will probably use lots of vertices, but there may be only one or two out to sea.
*Tag with:'''Hydro_Polygon_Default_Perennial'''

=== Adding land excludes ===
Often not necessary because water polygons are '''always''' drawn over land in FSX.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.
[[Image:River braid.gif]] 
'''Note:''' FSX_KML "reads" the list of shapes from the top first, downwards. The last shape to be read, is overlaid all of the others in FSX.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

'''Note:''' This will give you traffic traveling down the centre of the road. If you want two way traffic, you can duplicate the line twice in GE, then move each one to one side or the other (depending on which side of the road they drive on). One of then will need reversing otherwise both lanes will drive in the same direction.

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPoly

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T22:12:02Z

EssieP: /* Braided rivers */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines. Try to avoid using too many vertices when you draw shapes. Some users have reported problems with Google-Earth crashing when they have drawn shapes continuously rather than clicking each vertex.
=== A note about tagging ===
Tags can be added in either Google-Earth, or FSX_KML, each has "considerations": 
Google-Earth:
easier to make a spelling mistake; but:
making corrections in GE after compiling & testing makes amending easier in larger projects.
FSX_KML:
Tags available as a drop-down list (though it is very long)
Quicker for smaller projects.

=== Begin: ===
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape (copy-paste) if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with '''Exclude__Shorelines''' (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Generic_Ocean'''. Note; shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding water excludes ===
Necessary if there is water in the wrong place. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the water texture. The whole 1.2km tile is likely to be removed however. Take a printscreen in FSX top-down view ('''F12''') to see where a new water poly should be drawn.
*Draw a new shape for water from the coastline far enough out to sea to cover the errant land square. The coastline shape will probably use lots of vertices, but there may be only one or two out to sea.
*Tag with:'''Hydro_Polygon_Default_Perennial'''

=== Adding land excludes ===
Often not necessary because water polygons are '''always''' drawn over land in FSX.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.
[[Image:River braid.gif]]
'''Note:''' FSX_KML "reads" the list of shapes from the top first, downwards. The last shape to be read, is overlaid all of the others in FSX.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

'''Note:''' This will give you traffic traveling down the centre of the road. If you want two way traffic, you can duplicate the line twice in GE, then move each one to one side or the other (depending on which side of the road they drive on). One of then will need reversing otherwise both lanes will drive in the same direction.

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPoly

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T22:09:05Z

EssieP: /* A note about tagging */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines. Try to avoid using too many vertices when you draw shapes. Some users have reported problems with Google-Earth crashing when they have drawn shapes continuously rather than clicking each vertex.
=== A note about tagging ===
Tags can be added in either Google-Earth, or FSX_KML, each has "considerations": 
Google-Earth:
easier to make a spelling mistake; but:
making corrections in GE after compiling & testing makes amending easier in larger projects.
FSX_KML:
Tags available as a drop-down list (though it is very long)
Quicker for smaller projects.

=== Begin: ===
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape (copy-paste) if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with '''Exclude__Shorelines''' (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Generic_Ocean'''. Note; shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding water excludes ===
Necessary if there is water in the wrong place. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the water texture. The whole 1.2km tile is likely to be removed however. Take a printscreen in FSX top-down view ('''F12''') to see where a new water poly should be drawn.
*Draw a new shape for water from the coastline far enough out to sea to cover the errant land square. The coastline shape will probably use lots of vertices, but there may be only one or two out to sea.
*Tag with:'''Hydro_Polygon_Default_Perennial'''

=== Adding land excludes ===
Often not necessary because water polygons are '''always''' drawn over land in FSX.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.
[[Image:River braid.gif]]

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

'''Note:''' This will give you traffic traveling down the centre of the road. If you want two way traffic, you can duplicate the line twice in GE, then move each one to one side or the other (depending on which side of the road they drive on). One of then will need reversing otherwise both lanes will drive in the same direction.

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPoly

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T22:07:56Z

EssieP: /* A note about tagging */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines. Try to avoid using too many vertices when you draw shapes. Some users have reported problems with Google-Earth crashing when they have drawn shapes continuously rather than clicking each vertex.
=== A note about tagging ===
Tags can be added in either Google-Earth, or FSX_KML, each has "considerations": 
Google-Earth:
easier to make a spelling mistake; but:
making corrections in GE after compiling & testing & amending is easier in larger projects.
FSX_KML:
Tags available as a drop-down list (though it is very long)
Quicker for smaller projects.

=== Begin: ===
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape (copy-paste) if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with '''Exclude__Shorelines''' (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Generic_Ocean'''. Note; shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding water excludes ===
Necessary if there is water in the wrong place. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the water texture. The whole 1.2km tile is likely to be removed however. Take a printscreen in FSX top-down view ('''F12''') to see where a new water poly should be drawn.
*Draw a new shape for water from the coastline far enough out to sea to cover the errant land square. The coastline shape will probably use lots of vertices, but there may be only one or two out to sea.
*Tag with:'''Hydro_Polygon_Default_Perennial'''

=== Adding land excludes ===
Often not necessary because water polygons are '''always''' drawn over land in FSX.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.
[[Image:River braid.gif]]

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

'''Note:''' This will give you traffic traveling down the centre of the road. If you want two way traffic, you can duplicate the line twice in GE, then move each one to one side or the other (depending on which side of the road they drive on). One of then will need reversing otherwise both lanes will drive in the same direction.

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPoly

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T22:04:16Z

EssieP: /* Creating roads and moving traffic */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines. Try to avoid using too many vertices when you draw shapes. Some users have reported problems with Google-Earth crashing when they have drawn shapes continuously rather than clicking each vertex.
=== A note about tagging ===
Tags can be added in either Google-Earth, or FSX_KML, each has "considerations": 
Google-Earth:
easier to make a spelling mistake; but:
making corrections in GE after compiling & testing is easier in larger projects.
FSX_KML:
Tags available as a drop-down list (though it is very long)
Quicker for smaller projects.

=== Begin: ===
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape (copy-paste) if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with '''Exclude__Shorelines''' (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Generic_Ocean'''. Note; shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding water excludes ===
Necessary if there is water in the wrong place. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the water texture. The whole 1.2km tile is likely to be removed however. Take a printscreen in FSX top-down view ('''F12''') to see where a new water poly should be drawn.
*Draw a new shape for water from the coastline far enough out to sea to cover the errant land square. The coastline shape will probably use lots of vertices, but there may be only one or two out to sea.
*Tag with:'''Hydro_Polygon_Default_Perennial'''

=== Adding land excludes ===
Often not necessary because water polygons are '''always''' drawn over land in FSX.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.
[[Image:River braid.gif]]

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

'''Note:''' This will give you traffic traveling down the centre of the road. If you want two way traffic, you can duplicate the line twice in GE, then move each one to one side or the other (depending on which side of the road they drive on). One of then will need reversing otherwise both lanes will drive in the same direction.

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPoly

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T21:49:01Z

EssieP: /* Braided rivers */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines. Try to avoid using too many vertices when you draw shapes. Some users have reported problems with Google-Earth crashing when they have drawn shapes continuously rather than clicking each vertex.
=== A note about tagging ===
Tags can be added in either Google-Earth, or FSX_KML, each has "considerations": 
Google-Earth:
easier to make a spelling mistake; but:
making corrections in GE after compiling & testing is easier in larger projects.
FSX_KML:
Tags available as a drop-down list (though it is very long)
Quicker for smaller projects.

=== Begin: ===
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape (copy-paste) if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with '''Exclude__Shorelines''' (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Generic_Ocean'''. Note; shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding water excludes ===
Necessary if there is water in the wrong place. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the water texture. The whole 1.2km tile is likely to be removed however. Take a printscreen in FSX top-down view ('''F12''') to see where a new water poly should be drawn.
*Draw a new shape for water from the coastline far enough out to sea to cover the errant land square. The coastline shape will probably use lots of vertices, but there may be only one or two out to sea.
*Tag with:'''Hydro_Polygon_Default_Perennial'''

=== Adding land excludes ===
Often not necessary because water polygons are '''always''' drawn over land in FSX.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.
[[Image:River braid.gif]]

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPoly

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

File:River braid.gif

2008-08-08T21:47:57Z

EssieP: FSX_KML river example

FSX_KML river example

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T08:45:05Z

EssieP: /* Creating exclusions for vector based scenery */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines. Try to avoid using too many vertices when you draw shapes. Some users have reported problems with Google-Earth crashing when they have drawn shapes continuously rather than clicking each vertex.
=== A note about tagging ===
Tags can be added in either Google-Earth, or FSX_KML, each has "considerations": 
Google-Earth:
easier to make a spelling mistake; but:
making corrections in GE after compiling & testing is easier in larger projects.
FSX_KML:
Tags available as a drop-down list (though it is very long)
Quicker for smaller projects.

=== Begin: ===
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape (copy-paste) if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with '''Exclude__Shorelines''' (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Generic_Ocean'''. Note; shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding water excludes ===
Necessary if there is water in the wrong place. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the water texture. The whole 1.2km tile is likely to be removed however. Take a printscreen in FSX top-down view ('''F12''') to see where a new water poly should be drawn.
*Draw a new shape for water from the coastline far enough out to sea to cover the errant land square. The coastline shape will probably use lots of vertices, but there may be only one or two out to sea.
*Tag with:'''Hydro_Polygon_Default_Perennial'''

=== Adding land excludes ===
Often not necessary because water polygons are '''always''' drawn over land in FSX.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPoly

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T08:42:35Z

EssieP: /* Adding water excludes */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines. Try to avoid using too many vertices when you draw shapes. Some users have reported problems with Google-Earth crashing when they have drawn shapes continuously rather than clicking each vertex.
=== A note about tagging ===
Tags can be added in either Google-Earth, or FSX_KML, each has "considerations": 
Google-Earth:
easier to make a spelling mistake; but:
making corrections in GE after compiling & testing is easier in larger projects.
FSX_KML:
Tags available as a drop-down list (though it is very long)
Quicker for smaller projects.

=== Begin: ===
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape (copy-paste) if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with '''Exclude__Shorelines''' (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Generic_Ocean'''. Note; shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding water excludes ===
Necessary if there is water in the wrong place. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the water texture. The whole 1.2km tile is likely to be removed however. Take a printscreen in FSX top-down view ('''F12''') to see where a new water poly should be drawn.
*Draw a new shape for water from the coastline far enough out to sea to cover the errant land square. The coastline shape will probably use lots of vertices, but there may be only one or two out to sea.
*Tag with:'''Hydro_Polygon_Default_Perennial'''

=== Adding land excludes ===
Often not necessary because water polygons are '''always''' drawn over land in FSX.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T08:42:08Z

EssieP: /* Creating coastline */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines. Try to avoid using too many vertices when you draw shapes. Some users have reported problems with Google-Earth crashing when they have drawn shapes continuously rather than clicking each vertex.
=== A note about tagging ===
Tags can be added in either Google-Earth, or FSX_KML, each has "considerations": 
Google-Earth:
easier to make a spelling mistake; but:
making corrections in GE after compiling & testing is easier in larger projects.
FSX_KML:
Tags available as a drop-down list (though it is very long)
Quicker for smaller projects.

=== Begin: ===
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape (copy-paste) if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with '''Exclude__Shorelines''' (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Generic_Ocean'''. Note; shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding water excludes ===
Necessary if there is water in the wrong place. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the water texture. The whole 1.2km tile is likely to be removed however. Take a printscreen in FSX top-down view ('''F12''') to see where a new water poly should be drawn.
*Draw a new shape for water from the coastline far enough out to sea to cover the errant land square. The coastline shape will probably use lots of vertices, but there may be only one or two out to sea.
Tag with:'''Hydro_Polygon_Default_Perennial'''

=== Adding land excludes ===
Often not necessary because water polygons are '''always''' drawn over land in FSX.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T08:35:07Z

EssieP: /* Procedure */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines. Try to avoid using too many vertices when you draw shapes. Some users have reported problems with Google-Earth crashing when they have drawn shapes continuously rather than clicking each vertex.

* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape (copy-paste) if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with '''Exclude__Shorelines''' (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Generic_Ocean'''. Note; shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding water excludes ===
Necessary if there is water in the wrong place. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the water texture. The whole 1.2km tile is likely to be removed however. Take a printscreen in FSX top-down view ('''F12''') to see where a new water poly should be drawn.
*Draw a new shape for water from the coastline far enough out to sea to cover the errant land square. The coastline shape will probably use lots of vertices, but there may be only one or two out to sea.
Tag with:'''Hydro_Polygon_Default_Perennial'''

=== Adding land excludes ===
Often not necessary because water polygons are '''always''' drawn over land in FSX.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T08:31:40Z

EssieP: /* Procedure */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines.
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with '''Exclude__Shorelines''' (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Generic_Ocean'''. Note; shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding water excludes ===
Necessary if there is water in the wrong place. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the water texture. The whole 1.2km tile is likely to be removed however. Take a printscreen in FSX top-down view ('''F12''') to see where a new water poly should be drawn.
*Draw a new shape for water from the coastline far enough out to sea to cover the errant land square. The coastline shape will probably use lots of vertices, but there may be only one or two out to sea.
Tag with:'''Hydro_Polygon_Default_Perennial'''

=== Adding land excludes ===
Often not necessary because water polygons are '''always''' drawn over land in FSX.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T08:28:09Z

EssieP: /* Procedure */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines.
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with "Exclude__Shorelines" (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Generic_Ocean'''. Note; shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding water excludes ===
Necessary if there is water in the wrong place. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the water texture. The whole 1.2km tile is likely to be removed however. Take a printscreen in FSX top-down view ('''F12''') to see where a new water poly should be drawn.
*Draw a new shape for water from the coastline far enough out to sea to cover the errant land square. The coastline shape will probably use lots of vertices, but there may be only one or two out to sea.
Tag with:'''Hydro_Polygon_Default_Perennial'''

=== Adding land excludes ===
Often not necessary because water polygons are '''always''' drawn over land in FSX.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T08:27:11Z

EssieP: /* Adding Land excludes */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines.
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with "Exclude__Shorelines" (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Ocean_default_Perennial'''. Note; shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding water excludes ===
Necessary if there is water in the wrong place. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the water texture. The whole 1.2km tile is likely to be removed however. Take a printscreen in FSX top-down view ('''F12''') to see where a new water poly should be drawn.
*Draw a new shape for water from the coastline far enough out to sea to cover the errant land square. The coastline shape will probably use lots of vertices, but there may be only one or two out to sea.
Tag with:'''Hydro_Polygon_Default_Perennial'''

=== Adding land excludes ===
Often not necessary because water polygons are '''always''' drawn over land in FSX.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T08:17:44Z

EssieP: /* Procedure */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines.
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with "Exclude__Shorelines" (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Ocean_default_Perennial'''. Note; shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding Land excludes ===
Necessary if there are bits of land in the water. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the land texture.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T08:15:44Z

EssieP: /* Procedure */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines.
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandClassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with "Exclude__Shorelines" (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Ocean_default_Perennial'''Note, shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML. This is to prevent waves breaking from the land to the water.

=== Adding Land excludes ===
Necessary if there are bits of land in the water. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the land texture.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T08:14:22Z

EssieP: /* Creating coastline */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==
=== Procedure ===
Decide what you are trying to show, whether you are adding beaches, correcting the coastline shape or adding more detail to the rather jagged default coastlines.
* Google Earth: draw the terrain (eg. Beach). Tag with '''LandclassPoly_Tan_Sand_Beach'''
*Duplicate the shape if the default coastline needs correcting. Tag with "Exclude__Shorelines" (note the double underscore).
*Draw a new coastline using Poly-line, tag with '''Shorelines_Ocean_default_Perennial'''Note, shorelines must be drawn clockwise around the water shape. Otherwise- reverse vertices in FSX_KML.
=== Adding Land excludes ===
Necessary if there are bits of land in the water. If so, you need to create an exclude shape to remove the land texture.

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T07:56:01Z

EssieP: /* Procedure */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more manageable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

It may be more convenient to hide any joins between shapes under bridges, or in rocky rapids.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-08-08T07:54:23Z

EssieP: /* Rivers and slope data */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more managable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a lake, sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude data for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique; the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery_Design]]
[[category:Terrain_Design]]

Autogen - Editing with Annotator

2008-08-08T07:46:34Z

EssieP: /* Setup - FSX */

{{:Ambox-Content-WIP}}

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = true
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = false
| FS98 = false
}}

The Autogen Annotator is a powerful tool for modifying the autogen of default ground textures or adding autogen to custom (photo-real) ground.

== Setup ==
=== Setup - FSX ===
Autogen annotation files for Flight Simulator X have a different format to those of earlier versions.
 
The Flight Simulator X version of the Annotator tool can read Flight Simulator 2004 autogen annotation files, but will only write them out to the new format.
 
Flight Simulator X will accept annotated files in both formats.
 
If you intend that your annotated files run in earlier versions of Flight Simulator, then use the Annotator.exe tool provided with the Flight Simulator 2004 SDK.
 
If you intend that your annotated files run only on Flight Simulator X, then use the version of the Annotator.exe tool provided with the FSX SDK.

Before using the tool for the first time,
 
you must copy the ''default.xml'' file from the '''Flight Simulator X/Autogen''' folder,
to the same folder as Annotator.exe.
 
'''Note''' - Ensure you are not using a modified version, otherwise all users will require your modified ''default.xml''.

The Control Strip of the tool requires a screen resolution of at least 1280 by 960.
 
When the Annotator tool is first started, the Autogen Configuration Editor, and a number of other windows will appear.
 
Do not attempt to close the Autogen Configuration Editor dialog.
 
If screen space is crowded, the following windows can be closed -
* Find Results
* Find, Properties
* Groupings
* Model Entries
Re-open, if necessary, using Configuration Editor menu selections (Edit/Find or View/Windows).
 
The Autogen Configuration Editor window can be resized to minimize its screen area.

== Useage ==

=== Tutorial ===
An illustrated guide to the use of the tool, and includes a pictorial guide to all autogen object types.
* [http://library.avsim.net/download.php?DLID=107335 Using the Autogen Annotator] by Luis Féliz-Tirado

=== Where the end file should be saved ===

=== Where the end file pops up in FS ===

[[Category:Autogen_Design]]
[[Category:Terrain_Design]]
[[Category:Scenery_Design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-05-20T09:02:01Z

EssieP: /* Proceedure */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Procedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more managable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.

===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude to be set for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique, the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery design]]

FSX KML

2008-05-20T08:40:15Z

EssieP: /* Freeware scenery using FSX KML */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

[[Image:before_and_after.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Before and after screenshot]]

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

It converts KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files generated by Google Earth into FSX scenery.

Using Google Earth to draw polygons and polylines you can accurately and easily many types of scenery.

===Shp2Vec based scenery===
FSX KML uses the FSX SDK Shp2Vec tool to create the following types of vector scenery:-

* Water polygons including oceans, rivers, lakes and canals
* Islands inside water features
* Irregular shaped land class polygons for cities, parks, beaches, forest, golf courses etc
* Airport boundaries and flatten polygons and AUTOGEN EXCLUSIONS
* Shorelines
* Streams
* Roads
* Railways
* Freeways (ie Moving traffic)
* Utility lines (eg power and telephone lines)
* Exclusions polygons (for vector data)

===BGLComp based scenery===
FSX KML uses the FSX SDK BGLComp tool to create the following types of scenery:-

* Place scenery objects (from the FSX library) along a polyline using a wide variety of [http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML#v1.08_Beta_-_18th_May_2007 placement options]
* Exclusion rectangles
* Extrusion bridges

===Resample based scenery===
FSX KML uses the FSX SDK Resample tool to create the following types of scenery:-

* Land class tiles
* Water class tiles

'''Make sure you also download and install [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML#Installing_FWTools FWTools] which is required for creating these types of scenery.'''

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Downloading FSX KML ==

The latest version of FSX KML (1.10) can be downloaded from:-

* AVSIM - http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxsd&DLID=108495
* The Scenery Hall of Fame - http://www.scenery.org/graphical_editors.htm

== Installation ==

=== Installing FSX KML ===

FSX KML can be installed in a folder of your choice. Simply unzip the FSX KML installation zip file into the desired folder.

After unzipping the installation file you should have the following files:-

* FSX_KML.exe
* ShapeLib129.dll
* FreeImage.DLL
* FSX_KML_TAGS.XML


=== Installing the FSX Software Development Kit (SDK) ===

To generate FSX scenery you will need the FSX SDK, which is distributed with the FSX Deluxe version.
To install the SDK:

(1) Browse the FSX Deluxe Edition Disk 1

(2) Open the SDK sub-folder

(3) Double-click the setup.exe

(4) Tell it where to install. Default is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK

If the SDK is not installed in the default SDK folder you must specify its location on the FSX_KML build tab.

For more info on the SDK installation and Service packs: [http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=SDK_Installation_%28FSX%29 http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=SDK_Installation_%28FSX%29]

=== Installing FWTools ===

FSX KML makes use of the freeware tool set called [http://fwtools.maptools.org/ FWTools]. FW Tools is required for scenery that uses the FSX SDK Resample tool, such as landclass and waterclass.

Download and install the latest version of FWTools.

Specify the location of FWTools on the FSX KML Build tab.

== Building Scenery ==

Building your own scenery with FSX KML is easy.

=== Step 1 - Creating a KML file with Google Earth ===

The first step in creating your FSX scenery is to create a KML file by using Google Earth to "trace" scenery features.

==== Creating polygons and polylines ====

Using Google Earth create a polygon using the "Add Poly" function or create a polyline using the "Add Path" function,
and then trace the scenery feature (for example a lake or road).

After you click the "Add Poly" or "Add Path button" you will be presented with a form as shown to the right

[[Image:GE-polygon-dialog.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Google Earth dialog for creating new polygon or polyline]]

* Name - Give your polygon or polyline a description or leave blank

* Description - This is where you "tag" your polygon or polyline. You may enter a tag from FSX_KML_TAGS.XML or leave blank and tag later using FSX_KML

* Style & Color - You may choose the border and fill color for polyline or polygon

* Altitude - You may enter an altitude for your polyline or polygon. This can be used to specify the elevation of lakes. You may also enter the elevation later using FSX_MKL. All elevations must be entered in meters.

Begin tracing your polyline or polygon. You may either click the mouse or hold the mouse button down and drag the mouse to create vertices.

* Use your mouse wheel to zoom the view in and out vertically.

* Use the up, down, left, right arrow keys to move the view horizontally.

* Hold Shift and press left or right arrow to rotate the view.

* Hold Ctrl and press up or down arrow to tilt the view.

To make things easier; it is good to get into the habit of drawing polygon vertices in the same direction, perhaps always draw clockwise. That way if you decide to add new vertices to define details better, then you can simply click to the right of the currently selected vertex (blue) to add a new one in. Avoid adding vertices that make the polygon twisted.
While polygon "properties" is open, take the time to change the transparency (from the colour tab)- if you leave it opaque, then you end up covering important details and seeing mistakes is harder.

Once you have finished click OK to save your polygon or polyline.

To edit your polyline or polygon highlight it, right click the mouse and choose properties.

==== "Tagging" the scenery features ====

To describe what scenery feature your polygon or polyline represents it needs to be "tagged". The file FSX_KML_TAGS.XML contains a list of the tags you can use.

There are two ways to tag a polygon or polyline:-

* Place the name of the tag in the description field of the polygon or polyline.
* Place the name of the tag in the description field of the parent folder that contains the polygon or polyline. If a polygon/polyline has no tag then it will inherit its tag from the parent folder.

You can place these tags in GE using the properties dialog of the polygon or polyline, or you can use FSX_KML to place these tags.

To tag using FSX_KML click on a description "cell" and press F2. An arrow will be displayed so then click on the arrow to drop down a list of valid tags. Highlight the tag you want and press ENTER. If you had multi-selected several cells then all the selected cells will be tagged. To select multiple cells hold down the shift key while clicking cells.

==== Saving your work to a KML file ====

Once you're done drawing your polygon(s) or polyline(s), simply right-click on the top-most folder you created (or the polygon itself if you didn't create folders) under the "My Places" tab on the left side of your GE window. Select "Save As", makes sure that you choose .kml as the file type, and select your desired location in your file structure.

=== Step 2 - Processing the KML file with FSX KML ===

[[Image:project.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The Project tab]] [[Image:build.jpg|thumb||150px|The Build tab]]

* Run FSX_KML
* On the "Project" tab, click the "Add KML" button and choose a KML file. The contents of the selected KML file will be displayed. You may add multiple KML files. A FSX BGL file will be generated for each KML input file.
* Change to the "Build" tab
* Set the following build options:-
** "FSX folder" - Input the folder where FSX is installed. By default this is "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X"
** "Terrain SDK" - Input the location of the FSX terrain SDK
** "FW Tools" - Input the location where you installed FW Tools. FW Tools is required for scenery that uses the FSX SDK Resample tool, such as landclass and waterclass.
** "Run SDK tools" - If you select this option FSX KML will automatically run the SDK tools to turn your Shape Files into a FSX BGL
** "Copy generated scenery to FSX Addon Scenery Folder" - If you select this option FSX KML will copy the generated BGLS to the FSX addon scenery directory
* Click the "Build" button. FSX KML will now build your scenery. The progress of the build will be displayed in the build log window. The following actions will occur during the build:-
** For each KML file in your project
*** For vector based scenery an appropriate set of Shape files is generated depending on the features that have been tagged in the KML
*** For resample based scenery an appropriate Tiff file is created.
*** An XML config file is created for use by Shp2Vec, BGLComp and Resample
** A batch file called "Run_SDK_Tools.bat" will be created. This batch file contains the appropriate commands to call the FSX SDK tools (Shp2Vec, BGLComp and Resample)
** If you have selected the "Run SDK Tools" option then the Run_SDK_Tools.bat file will be executed. This will create various scenery .BGL files ready for use by FSX
** If you have selected the "Copy generated scenery..." option then the BGL files(s) will be copied to the FSX addon scenery directory. Please note: If FSX is running and using a previous version of your BGL file then the copy will not work because FSX will have the file "locked". The easiest way to ensure your file is copied to the addon scenery folder is to make sure FSX is not running.

=== Step 3 - Testing the scenery ===

* If you selected the "Copy generated files..." option then your scenery will have been copied to the FSX addon scenery folder. Simply run FSX and goto your scenery location to test the scenery

== Scenery Design Tutorial ==

The [http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML_Tutorial FSX KML Tutorial] provides help with a variety of scenery design tasks.

== Editing a KML file using FSX_KML ==

Using FSX_KML you can easily edit your KML file. The following types of edits can be performed:-

=== Copy ===
To copy a KML item (folder or polygon/polyline) select the item to copy and click the copy button.
=== Delete ===
To delete a KML item select the item to copy and click the delete button.
=== Edit ===
To edit the Name and Description attributes of a KML item select either a single item or multiple items (hold the shift key to multi-select) and then press F2 to display the inline editor. Enter the new value and press enter. Your edit will be applied to the items you selected

=== Saving your changes ===
Click the save button to write your changes back to disk..
.

=== Open in Notepad ===
Click the "Open in Notepad" button to open the selected KML file in Notepad.
=== Open in Google Earth ===
Click the "Open in Google Earth" button to open the selected KML file in Google Earth.
=== Reload a KML file ===
If you have edited the selected KML file using an external program (eg Google Earth or Notepad) then you can reload those changes back into FSX_KML by clicking the reload button.

=== Properties Tab ===

This tab shows the properties for the selected polygon or polyline.

Freeways:
Use the "NumberOfLanes" and "Traffic Direction" attributes to define freeway related data.

Hydropolygons:
Use the "SlopeX" and "SlopeY" attributes to define slope characteristics of hydropolygons.

=== Vertices Tab ===

This tab shows the vertices (ie points) for the selected polygon or polyline.

Click the "Edit" button to display the vertice editor. This editor lets you edit the vertices in several ways:-

Reversing points:
The direction of a polygon or polyline can be reversed by using the REVERSE POINTS button. Click the "Reverse" button to change the direction of points in the polygon/polyline.

Setting elevation:
You can set the elevation for all vertices by clicking the "Set Elevation" button.

Manual editing:
You can manually edit vertices (longtitude, latitude and elevation) by editing data in the vertex grid.

=== XML Tab ===

This tab shows the XML for the selected polygon or polyline.

== FSX_KML_TAGS.XML ==

[[Image:Tags.jpg|thumb|right|150px|FSX_KML_TAGS tab]]

=== What is the FSX_KML_TAGS file? ===

This file holds the "tags" that are used in the KML file to describe FSX scenery features. You can customise this file to add more tags or change existing ones.

An easy way to browse this file is by clicking on the "FSX_KML_TAGS.XML" tab in FSX KML.

This XML contains the following attributes for each "tag":-

* Tag - The unique identifier for this scenery feature. This tag is what you use to "tag" the polygons/polylines in your Google Earth KML file
* Description - A description of the scenery feature. This description is displayed in FSX KML.
* Feature Type - The type of scenery feature and must be one of the following types:-
** WATERPOLY - Water polygons such as coastline, rivers, lakes, canals etc
** WATERPOLYGPS - Low resolution water polygons for use in the GPS
** LANDCLASSPOLY - irregular shaped landclass polygons for towns, forest, beaches, park etc
** AIRPORTBOUNDRY - define airport boundries and also flatten areas and AUTOGEN EXCLUSIONS
** EXCLUSION - exclude default vector scenery from the polygon
** STREAM - create streams
** SHORELINE - create animated shorelines
** ROAD - create roads (NOT road bridges)
** FREEWAY - create moving traffic
** RAILWAY - create railways (NOT rail bridges)
** UTILITY - power lines, telegraph lines, fences etc
** SCENERYOBJECT - place scenery objects
** EXCLUSIONRECTANGLE - excludes scenery objects
** EXTRUSIONBRIDGE - creates extrusion bridges
** LANDCLASS - create land class
** WATERCLASS - create water class
* GUID - The FSX GUID for the scenery feature.

Please refer to the FSX "terrain.cfg" file and terrain SDK documentation for futher information on feature types and GUIDs

=== Editing FSX_KML_TAGS.XML using FSX KML ===

The FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file can be easily edited in FSX KML. To following edits can be performed:-

==== Copy ====
To copy an item select the item to copy and click the copy button.
==== Delete ====
To delete an item select the item to delete and click the delete button.
==== Edit ====
To edit the Tag, Description, FeatureType or GUID attributes of an item select either a single item or multiple items (hold the shift key to multi-select) and then press F2 to display the inline editor. Enter the new value and press enter. Your edit will be applied to the items you selected

==== Saving your changes ====
Click the save button to write your changes back to disk.
==== Open in Notepad ====
Click the "Open in Notepad" button to open the FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file in Notepad.
==== Reload ====
If you have edited the FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file using an external program (eg Notepad) you can reload those changes by clicking the reload button.

== Google Earth ==

=== Downloading Google Earth ===

The free version Google Earth may be downloaded from the [http://earth.google.com/ Google Earth home page]

=== Copyright of Google Earth Data ===

Scenery developers need to be aware that there may be copyright issues associated with the use of data obtained from Google Earth. Please see the [http://earth.google.com/support/ Google Earth support page] for more information on the Google Earth policy of using this data in your freeware or commercial products.

== Freeware scenery using FSX KML ==

The following freeware has used FSX KML during their development:-

* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Isle+of+Wight&FileName=&Author=Len+Hickman&CatID=fsxscen Isle of Wight (UK) reconstructed] by Len Hickman
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Quebec+Scenery&FileName=&Author=Gilles+Gauthier&CatID=fsxscen Quebec Scenery - Lakes and Rivers] by Gilles Gauthier
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Catalunya+Coast&FileName=&Author=Bodo+Hesse&CatID=fsxscen Catalunya Coast] by Bodo Hesse
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Naval+air+station&FileName=&Author=Jim+Dhaenens&CatID=fsxscen Naval Air station Jacksonville (KNIP)] by Jim Dhaenens
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=103120 Naval Air Station Oceana (KNTU)] by Jim Dhaenens
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=102870 Coffs Harbour (YSCH)] by John Ross (also at www.virtualvfr.com)
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=103027 Kitimat/Terrace] by Douglas Keech
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=102995 Los Angeles "clean-up"] by Lance Tucker
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=104609 Lord howe Island and Balls Pyramid] by Don Bush
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=104853 Falklands 2007] by Brian Jamieson
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=104000 Gloucestershire Airport] by Terry Shields
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=105386 Okanagan Valley Landclass and Rivers] by Alex Sievert
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=106386&CatID=fsxscen Gold Coast Airport (YBCG)] by John Ross
* [http://marcoh.gratisim.fr Photorealistic Town of Nantes in France] by Marc-henri Guitteny
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=109752&CatID=fsxscen Utah Complete v1.0] by James Udall
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=111154 Bushflight Northwest] by Bill Dick / Phil "Snowman" Cayton / Chris Brisland
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=114132&CatID=fsxscen Wake Island] by Tony Arnold
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=117501 SICILY VFR X - Lakes and Reservoirs] by Giovanni Miduri
*[http://library.avsim.net/download.php?DLID=121703 Chernobyl Exclusion Zone] by Mike Dalgleish

Freeware authors please list your freeware scenery here!

== Commercial scenery using FSX KML ==

The following commercial scenery has used FSX KML during their development:-

* [http://www.imaginesim.com/kcvg01.htm KCVG Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport, USA] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.imaginesim.com/tjsj01.htm TJSJ San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Airport, Puerto Rico] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.imaginesim.com/kclt01.htm KCLT Charlotte Douglas Airport, USA] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.imaginesim.com/mynn01.htm MYNN Nassau International, Bahamas] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.imaginesim.com/klga01.htm KLGA New York La Guardia Airport, USA] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.imaginesim.com/kmci01.htm KMCI Kansas City International Airport, USA] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.aerosoft-shop2.com/products/helgolandx/helgolandx.html Helgoland X] by AeroSoft
* [http://www.aerosoft-shop2.com/products/monacox/monacox.html Monaco X] by AeroSoft
* [http://www.aerosoft-shop2.com/products/aspenx/aspenx.html Aspen X] by AeroSoft
* [http://secure.simmarket.com/product_info.php?products_id=2361 Pantanal - The Wetlands] by CenaReal

Please list other commercial scenery here.

== End User Licence ==

Copyright Â© 2007 Innova Software ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

FSX KML ("Software") is distributed without charge to FSX add-on designers, redistribution of the original ZIP file is not allowed. You are NOT allowed to sell this software or ask money for its distribution.

FSX KML may be used free of charge for the production of both freeware and commercial add-ons (including sceneries,missions,aircraft) subject to the following terms and conditions:-
* You notify Innova Software of the use of FSX KML in your add-on
* You give Innova Software a free copy of your add-on (and any updates)
* In your readme file you say that FSX KML was used to help with the production of your add-on
* The copyright and any intellectual property relating to the FSX KML software shall remain the property of Innova Software
* LIMITED WARRANTY - INNOVA SOFTWARE SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE IN TORT OR IN CONTRACT FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE HOWSOEVER CAUSED TO THE PROPERTY OR PERSON OF YOURSELF OR ANY THIRD PARTY AS A RESULT OF ANY DEFECT IN THE SOFTWARE WHETHER PATENT OR LATENT OR AS A RESULT OF ANY FAULT, NEGLIGENCE, WRONGFUL ACT OR OMISSION OF INNOVA SOFTWARE OR ANY OF ITS SERVANTS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTS AND AGENTS, AND YOU INDEMNIFY INNOVA SOFTWARE AGAINST ANY CLAIMS MADE AGAINST IT BY ANY THIRD PARTY ARISING OUT OF ANY SUCH DEFAULT OR FAULT, NEGLIGENCE, WRONGFUL ACT OR OMISSION AND IN NO EVENT SHALL INNOVA SOFTWARE BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIMS OR DAMAGES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO CLAIMS OF FAULTY DESIGN, NEGLIGENT OR MISLEADING ADVICE, DAMAGES ARISING FROM LOSS OR USE OF THE SOFTWARE AND/OR SUPPLY OF SERVICES; AND ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR INJURY TO ANY PERSON, CORPORATION OR OTHER ENTITY BY REASON OF THE PROVISION OF THE SOFTWARE AND/OR PROVISION OF SERVICES PURSUANT TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Developers can email acceptance of these terms and conditions to fsx_kml@innovasoftware.com.

== Release History ==

=== v1.00 Beta - 19th 0ct 2006 ===

This is first beta release of FSX KML

=== v1.01 Beta - 19th 0ct 2006 ===

Issues resolved:-
* Fixed error with FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file not found

=== v1.02 Beta - 21st 0ct 2006 ===

Issues resolved:-
* Fixed error reading polygon/poylines. FSX KML could sometimes insert an erroneous point of 0,0

=== v1.03 Beta - 28th 0ct 2006 ===

New features and issues resolved:-
* Better handle tags in description field. Be less strict about "whitespace" and cr/lf
* Better handle international settings for decimals
* Add more excludes to fsx_kml_tags.xml (see tags starting with "exclude__")
* Add support for moving kml items up/down
* Add support for moving kml items via drag drop
* Add support for creating new kml folder
* Create shapes in order they appear in the KML
* Assign UUID (starting at 1) to each shape in the KML based on its order in the KML

Known issues (Features not implemented in this release):-
* Freeway tags (moving traffic) - in v1.03 you must manually edit the FW .DBF file to set traffic density and direction

=== v1.04 Beta - 20th Jan 2007 ===

New features and issues resolved:-

* Use INI file (FSX_KML.INI) to remember settings including list of KML files and FSX folder settings
* Allow multi select of KML files in Add KML file dialog
* Display points for selected polygon/polyline
* Add REVERSE POINTS button to allow direction of polygon/polyline to be reversed
* Add POLYGONHOLE tag to support "holes" in polygons, eg for making islands in rivers
* Add LEGACY_LANDWATERMASK_WATER_NOFLATTEN tag for water polygons that "cling" to mesh
* Default freeway traffic to one lane of traffic

=== v1.05 Beta - 21st Jan 2007 ===

New features and issues resolved:-

* Added "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" build option. This option will auto reverse points for polygon holes when creating the shape file. Apparently Google Earth always writes polygons in a clockwise fashion to the KML file irrespective of which way they are actually drawn in Google Earth. This option simplifies the creation of polygon holes because you no longer need to manually reverse point order in FSX KML. Option is on by default.
* Added "Output Folder" build option. This lets you specify the folder where files are written during the build process
* Fixed error when loading the saved list of KML files and a KML file can longer be found.

=== v1.05.1 Beta - 21st Jan 2007 ===

Issues resolved:-

* Fixed bug where directory would not be changed prior to running the RUN_SDK_TOOLS batch file

=== v1.06 Beta - 14th Apr 2007 ===

New features:-

* Added grid to allow manual editing of polygon/polyline points (longitude,latitude,elevation)
* Added button for setting all points in polygon/polyline to a specific elevation
* Added support for tag parameters (eg freeway traffic data and hydro poly slopeX/Y)
* Added option to save backups to backup subdirectory (on by default).
* Added XML tab to show XML for highlighted node
* Remember window size and position

Issues resolved:-

* Changed tag name of "Park" to "LandClassPoly" since landclass polys can be used for more than just parks! Existing "Park" tags are automatically renamed to "LandClassPoly"
* Handle extra '.' in filenames

=== v1.07 Beta - 25th Apr 2007 ===

New features:-

* Added "Shape" tab with support for shape viewing. Select single (or multiple) polygon/polylines to see its shape. Selecting a folder will show all shapes in that folder and any sub folders.
* Added "Select All" function (Ctrl A) to select all polylines/polygons
* Added "New" button to Vertices form to insert vertice.
* Added "Copy" button to Vertices form to copy the selected vertice.
* Added "Delete" button to Vertices form to delete selected vertice.
* Added "Move Up" and "Move Down" button to Vertices form to move selected vertice up or down in list.
* Added Options menu to main form. Moved "Save Backups" to this menu
* Added "Remember Window Position and Size" to the options menu

Issues resolved:-

* Updated the "About" form to credit the 3rd party development libraries used (eg Shapelib)
* Fixed misplaced longitude and latitude labels on vertice grid

=== v1.08 Beta - 18th May 2007 ===

New features:-

* Add BGLCOMP support for placing of FSX library objects along polyline. The use of "Variance" parameters below helps create more naturalistic looking scenery by applying random variance to object positioning. Support the following parameters:-
** Altitude AGL or MSL
** Altitude variance - Random variance in meters applied to alitude (use 0 for no variance)
** Pitch (0 - 360)
** Pitch variance - Random variance in degrees (0 - 180) applied to pitch (use 0 for no variance)
** Bank (0 - 360)
** Bank variance - Random variance in degrees (0 - 180) applied to bank (use 0 for no variance)
** HeadingType
*** Track - Heading of each object follows the direction of each polyline segment
*** Fixed - Heading of all objects is specified by Heading parameter
*** Random - Heading is random for each object
*** Elevation - Heading for each object is specified by elevation of associated polyline vertice
** Heading (0 - 360) - Used when HeadingType = Fixed
** Heading variance - Random variance in degrees (0 - 180) applied to heading (use 0 for no variance)
** Scale - Scale multiply of object (defaults to 1.0)
** ScaleVariance - Random variance in scale to apply to objects. (use 0 for no variance)
** ImageComplexity - VerySparse, Sparse, Normal, Dense, VeryDense, ExtremelyDense
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Add tags for all default FSX scenery library objects
* Build tab - Add button for setting BGLComp SDK path
* Build tab - Add "Open" button for output folder path to open Windows Explorer on that folder

Issues resolved:-

* Fixed issue with copy button

=== v1.09 Beta - 23rd June 2007 ===

New features:-

* Added BGLCOMP support for scenery exclusion rectangles ("ExclusionRectangle" tag). The exclusion rectangle will be defined by the "bounding" rectangle of the polyline/polygon. Supports the following parameters
** ExcludeAllObjects
** ExcludeBeaconObjects
** ExcludeEffectObjects
** ExcludeGenericBuildingObjects
** ExcludeLibraryObjects
** ExcludeTaxiwaySignObjects
** ExcludeTriggerObjects
** ExcludeWindsockObjects
** ImageComplexity - VerySparse, Sparse, Normal, Dense, VeryDense, ExtremelyDense
* Added BGLCOMP support for Extrusion Bridges ("ExtrusionBridge" tag). Draw a polyline and tag it with "ExclusionBridge", then use the vertice editor to set the height of each bridge segment.
* Added "Change to" button on the Vertice Editor to change shape type from polygon to polyline and vice versa
* Enhanced polygons holes so that if a polygon cannot be found in the same folder as polygon hole ("polygon folder") then the parent folder is searched for the first polygon preceding the polygon folder. This makes it possible to better organize a project by placing polygon holes (i.e islands) in a sub folder and still have them associated with a water polygon in a parent folder

=== v1.10 Beta - 19th August 2007 ===

New features:-

* Land class tiles
* Water class tiles

== Development Roadmap ==

The following features are planned for upcoming releases:-

=== Future releases ===
* Update this manual :)
* Add 10 minute autosave
* Add following params to BGLCOMP support:-
** Heading Type
*** FixedTrack - Heading of all objects is fixed to the direction of first polyline segment
** Divergence - Random divergence (in meters) from vertice. Applied in direction which is perpendicular to direction of polyline segment (use 0 for no variance)
* Add "AutoPolygonHole" to polygon properties sheet. This allows a polygon hole to be automatically created in the shape of the polygon, and removes the need manually create a hole (by copying and tagging as hole)
* Fix - Ensure lon/lat uses '.' and not ','
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Add support for tag groups
* Add BGLCOMP support for Tag Groups. Tag grouping allows the scenery designer to group together similar scenery library objects into a single group. For example, when populating a car park the designer could use a tag group containing a variety of car models. This would result in car models being chosen at random from the tag group.
* Add shape viewer to Vertice Editor form and have it refresh as vertices are edited.
* Add "Fly to" button to Vertices Editor form to move FSX aircraft to the selected vertice
* Add "Paste Aircraft pos" button to Vertices Editor form to paste the current location of aircraft (longtitude, latitude, and optionally altitude) into the list of Vertices.
* Export - Ability to export selected polygons/polylines to a CSV file, with option for long/lat/elevation ordering
* Scenery Placer - Add support for dynamically previewing scenery objects while FSX is running. This allows very precise and interactive control over the objects placement and orientation without the need to build a BGL and reload FSX.
* Placing FSX library objects inside a polygon. Allow number of objects and elevation to be specified. Objects will be distributed randomly within the polygon. This can be used to populate livestock, wildlife, boats/ships in harbors, people on beaches, birds, hot air balloons etc
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Texture preview for land class polygons and tiles tags
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Scenery object preview for default FSX scenery objects
* Ability to inject a QMID 11 grid into the KML to aid with visualization of exclusion areas
* New, Open and Save project buttons to support multiple projects.
* "Check for Update" menu option to check online for updates.

* If possible conditional display of FSX scenery library objects based on various triggers such as date/time, weather conditions and probability factor. For example, this would allow harbors to be populated with pleasure craft on sunny warm days, but not at night or in cold weather. Would allow forest fires to be generated in hot, windy conditions.
* If possible ability to animate FSX scenery library objects along a polyline
* "Photo scenery" ground textures
* Flight plan generation along polyline


[[Category:Manuals]]
[[Category:Tools]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-05-19T13:23:23Z

EssieP: /* Rivers and slope data */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Proceedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more managable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.
===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a sea or ocean. FSX hydro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude to be set for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique, the possible drawback is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-05-19T13:19:47Z

EssieP: /* Braided rivers */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Proceedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more managable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.
===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using a combination of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with Polygonhole. As long as the river is listed immediately above the hole folder, then it will work correctly in the sim.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a sea or ocean. FSX hyro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude to be set for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique, the possible pitfall is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:Scenery design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-05-09T18:29:20Z

EssieP: /* Braided rivers */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Proceedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more managable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.
===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "Polygonhole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

In practice, you may find yourself using both of these techniques.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with PolygonHole. As long as the river is listed immediately before the hole folder, then it will work in the sim.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a sea or ocean. FSX hyro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude to be set for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique, the possible pitfall is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:FSX]]
[[category:Scenery design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-05-08T20:29:55Z

EssieP: /* Braided rivers */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Proceedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more managable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.
===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "PolygonHole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

If there are many river islands, then it's easier to put them in a sub-folder in GE, then tag the folder with PolygonHole. As long as the river is listed immediately before the hole folder, then it will work in the sim.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a sea or ocean. FSX hyro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude to be set for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique, the possible pitfall is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:FSX]]
[[category:Scenery design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-05-08T12:58:21Z

EssieP: /* Braided rivers */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Proceedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more managable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.
===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "PolygonHole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.

Read the section "Creating Islands".

===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a sea or ocean. FSX hyro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude to be set for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique, the possible pitfall is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:FSX]]
[[category:Scenery design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-05-08T12:56:43Z

EssieP: /* Rivers and slope data */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = false
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

===Proceedure===
Draw the river in Google Earth (GE), save the KML, load into FSX_KML and choose a tag if you haven't already done so in GE.
Longer Rivers will be more managable if the shapes are drawn in sections, perhaps of 30-50Km lengths. Be very careful to line up additional shapes with previous ones so there are no gaps. Zoom in very close in GE(turn mouse wheel) to check these.
===Simple Rivers and lakes===
Use the tag: Legacy_LandWaterMask_Water_NoFlatten
this doesn't require any vertex height (above mean sea-level) data. The texture looks generally good but depends on a decent mesh level because this shape will cling to any land mesh beneath.
===Braided rivers===
These have a series of islands in mid-course, typically found in mature, slower flowing rivers in flatter landscapes or river deltas. These braids (islands) can be made in 2 ways: either:
*start shapes across islands so that the river shape is rather like a string of letter Ys on their side.
* draw the river's bank shape. Then draw a series of island shapes and tag them with "PolygonHole" Make sure that they are listed AFTER the river shape in FSX_KML.
===Rivers and slope data===
Rivers contain water that flows downhill, usually towards a sea or ocean. FSX hyro polygons contain height data which can present some problems for the designer to solve .
Short rivers may only need the altitude to be set for the whole shape in the Vertex tab of FSX_KML.
Longer rivers can be built with a series of shapes, each with a small difference in altitude. Some designers have had success with this technique, the possible pitfall is that some "pilots" may find the steps if they favour floatplanes and want to land in your river.

A technically neater method requires some slope data so that the river's shapes are not horizontal. To do this requires a bit of Trigonometry, which could even be calculated in a spreadsheet program.
Distances can be measured in GE, height values can be found there also, otherwise fly to that location in the Sim, then in slew mode, land (press F1) and read out the height value.
The aim is to derive two slope values X & Y. Presumably, if the river flows East-west, then you'd only need the X componant.

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:FSX]]
[[category:Scenery design]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-05-08T10:07:24Z

EssieP: /* Rivers and slope data */

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-05-08T10:05:53Z

EssieP: /* Rivers and slope data */

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-05-08T09:59:40Z

EssieP: /* =Proceedure */

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-05-08T09:58:55Z

EssieP: P

Library Creator XML 2.0

2008-04-28T10:17:58Z

EssieP: /* Tools */

{{Infobox-Applicable-FSVersion
| FSXI = false
| FSXA = true
| FSX = true
| FS2004 = true
| FS2002 = false
| FS2000 = unknown
| FS98 = unknown
}}
This is the user manual of Library Creator XML 2.0. This manual will explain what you can do with this tool and how you can use it. But it will also try to explain to you the basics of using object libraries.

== What are object libraries and why use them? ==

The first thing you might wonder about is, what actually is an object library? Simply said an object library is a BGL file that contains a lot of different scenery objects that you can later use by picking them from that library. So after you have put the object in the library, it is not actually placed somewhere in the world yet. That is still something you need to do yourself as well.

But what are the advantages of having all your objects in a library?

* It is better for the performance, as the object does not have to be loaded multiple times. Each placement can just refer to the same object.
* The size of your BGL files will go down. If you would include your MDL object into each BGL file where you want to place the object, then the size of your BGL files would be a lot bigger than when you use a library.
* Having a collection (library) of objects makes it easier to reuse them later. So this will speed up your development as well.
* If you mix the MDL files and the object placement in one BGL file, these MDL objects will become geo-locked. This means they can only be placed near that origional placement and not anywhere in the world. Putting your objects in a library prevents this and makes sure you can use them everywhere you like.
* If you decide to update your object later on, you only have to update it in one place. Once the new object is in the library, all placement will automatically refer to this new version. Without you even having to recompile the placement itself.

There are also a few other technical terms that you need to be aware of when using object library. The first GUID, which stands for Globally Unique Identifier. The GUID is the number that is given to your library object, so that it can be called for placement later on. As the name already says the GUID is unique. If you think a bit about this, this is logical of course. What would happen if two objects have the same GUID? Which one would be shown in FS when you call that GUID? That also means that you should never reuse the same GUID twice, always use a new GUID for a new object.

GUIDs can be given in a few notations. For Fs2004 the following notation is used:

3AFA59125E39441ABD8A040F354B62B6

For FsX the notitation has changed a bit. It is now giving in the following form:

{62c07657-984c-46d6-af52-097061684c05}

== Why use this tool? ==

Now that you know what an object library is, you might be wondering why do I need this tool to work with them? Of course you can also create an object library by writing the XML code manually and compiling it with BGLComp. But using this tool has a few advantages.

* You can edit your library using a Graphical User Interface (GUI), which means that you can easily add, change or remove objects in a visual way.
* The tool will write the needed XML code for you, so you don't have to understand how the code works.
* The tool will help you in compiling the library and provide you with error in case something goes wrong. When drag-and-drop compiling with BGLComp this is not always the case.
* The tool will create a new unique GUID for your objects so that you don't have to worry about this yourself. This is only the case for Fs2004 MDL object, as in FsX MDL objects the GUID is already stored inside it.
* The tool gives you extra functionality to make it easier to use your library, you can for example export files to use your library in other tools.

== How to use this tool ==

=== Installation ===

The first step before you can use this tool is of course the installation. Luckily the installation process is quite simple. All you have to do is unzip the ZIP file you downloaded to a folder of your choice.

As the tool has been written using .NET, you will have to make sure that you have the .NET 2.0 framework installed on your computer. If that is not the case, you can download it from [http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0856EACB-4362-4B0D-8EDD-AAB15C5E04F5&displaylang=en Microsoft].

=== The GUI ===

After you have started the tool, you will get the empty screen as shown below. As you can see the basic interface is quite simple. At the center you have a treeview where all objects contained in your library are listed. Below that are three buttons to perform some basic operations. And all other actions can be done from the menus shown at the top.

[[Image:LibraryCreator20GUI.jpg]]

The three buttons do exactly what their caption says. The Add MDL objects button allows you to select the MDL files from your harddisk that you want to add to the library. The Remove MDL object button allows you to remove the select object from the library. The Replace MDL object button allows you to replace one object by another.

The tree view of objects also has a context menu if you right click on the GUID of the object. This will allow you to copy that GUID to the clipboard, so that you can easily paste it into a XML document or another tool.

=== Menus ===

This section will explain what all the menu options can do for you.

==== File ====

The file menu contains the options related to creating, opening, saving and compiling libraries.

; New library: This option will create a new (blank) library XML file for you. After selecting it, you will get a file dialog to select where to create the XML file.
; Open library: This option will open an existing library XML for you. After selecting it, you will get a file dialog to select the XML file you want to open.
; Save library: This will save your currently loaded library XML to disk.
; Save library as: This will save you currently loaded library XML to disk, asking you for the filename to save it with.
; Compile library BGL: This will compile your library into a BGL file that can be used in FS. After selecting this option you will get a dialog to ask you where to create the BGL file.
; Last opened: The file menu will also show the 8 last opened library XML files, so that you can reload them faster.
; Exit: As the name says, this will exit the tool.

==== Tools ====

The tools menu allows you to perform some special operations on your library. For example export its content in a different format.

; Create SBuilder object list: This creates a TXT file in the format used by SBuilder, listing all objects contained in this library. With this file you can make them available in SBuilder for easier placement.
; Create Rwy12 XML file: This option creates a XML file in the format used by Rwy12 for your library. This allows you to place your objects using Rwy12.
; Create API macros: This creates an API macro for each object in your library. This allows you to place your objects with tools using API macros.
; Create SCM macros: This creates an SCM macro for each object in your library. This allows you to place your objects with tools using SCM macros.

==== Options ====

In the options menu you can set different options that determine how Library Creator XML works.

; Fs2004 BGLComp path: After selecting this option you will get a file dialog which you can use to locate BGLComp on your system. The tool needs to know where the Fs2004 version of BGLComp is to compile Fs2004 style libraries.
; FsX BGLComp path: After selecting this option you will get a file dialog which you can use to locate BGLComp on your system. The tool needs to know where the FsX version of BGLComp is to compile FsX style libraries.
; Relative paths: Activating this option will store your objects with relative paths in the XML file, instead of absolute paths. This option is mainly useful if you want to share your library XML with other people.
; Create EZ-Scenery TXT file: Activating this option will also write a TXT file in the EZ-Scenery format when you compile your library BGL. This TXT file is used by EZ-Scenery to display the correct name for your objects in the tool.
; Automatically check for updates: When this option is checked, Library Creator XML will connect to the internet at startup to see if a newer version is available.

==== Help ====

The help menu gives you help, in case you need it.

; Open Wiki manual: Opens a window where you can read this page.
; Check for updates: Connects to the internet to check if a newer version of Library Creator XML is available.
; About: Opens the about dialog of the tool.

=== Example ===

Now that you have read all about how the interface looks and what you can find in the menu, it is time for a more practicle example. In this example you will be shown all steps involved in making your first library.

Let's assume you just installed the tool. In that case you first need to set a few settings correct:

* If you want to make libraries for Fs2004, make sure that you set the path to the Fs2004 version of BGLComp in the Options menu.
* If you want to make libraries for FsX, make sure that you set the path to the FsX version of BGLComp in the Options menu.
* If you want to use the library you have created with EZ-Scenery later on, make sure it select the option "Create EZ-Scenery TXT" in the Options menu, this will make sure your objects get easier names in EZ-Scenery.

Now that you have made sure that all settings are correct, it is time to create your first library. To do this go to the File menu and select the option "New library". You will get a file selection dialog where you can enter the location and filename of the XML file that will be created for your library. For this example let's name it first_lib.xml. After you have pressed the Save button you are back on the main screen and you will see that the "Add MDL objects" button is now active, which means that you can add objects to the library.

So let's add your first object. To do this press the "Add MDL objects" button and in the file selection dialog that appears add the MDL file(s) you want to add. There are a few things you need to think about:

* You can select multiple MDL files at once.
* You can not mix MDL files made with the Fs2004 and FsX gamepack in one library, if you try this you will get an warning.
* If you select an object that is already in the library, it will not be added a second time.

After you have selected your MDL object, you will see that it has been added to the list of objects in your library. If you press the + next to the object name, you will see more information about the object. For example the GUID and the path to the MDL file. Below you see a screenshot of how your library could look at the moment.

[[Image:First_lib.jpg]]

Also note that at the right bottom you will see the FS version for which this library is. So in this example I have added a FsX MDL object to the library.

Now add some more objects to your library. As explained above their purpose is to collect object, so you will hardly ever create one with only one object in it.

Once you are done with adding your objects, it is best to first save the library. You can do this from the File menu with the option "Save library". This will make sure that the XML file is saved on your disk, so that you can reload it later to add more objects to the library. Or maybe remove an object that is no longer used. To load a save library again, you use the option "Open library" from the File menu.

Now, the last step before you can use your objects in FS is to compile the library into a BGL file. To do this select the option "Compile library BGL" from the file menu. This will give you a file selection dialog where you can specify where you want your library BGL to be placed. Once you have select the location and name, Library Creator XML will call BGLComp for you to do the actual compilation. Once this process is done you will see a log window that shows you if everything went OK. Below you see how the window should look if no errors occured.

[[Image:compilation_log.jpg]]

Now you have your object library ready for use in FS. So use your favorite placement tool to put them somewhere in the big world.

== Feedback and support ==

If you have questions, comments or suggestions about Library Creator XML 2.0 you can reach me either by [mailto:arno@fsdeveloper.com email] or through the forums of [http://www.fsdeveloper.com FsDeveloper.com].

== Thanks to ==

* All user who used the previous versions of this tool and provided me with feedback on how to improve it.

== Version history ==

'''v2.0.1 29/04/2007'''
* Initial release

'''v2.0.2 18/06/2007'''
* Added: context menu to the GUID in the tree view, to allow easy copying to the clipboard
* Fixed: crash when compiling BGL, while FsX still has the BGL file locked
* Fixed: problem in reading FsX GUIDs that contain zeros, this also caused problems with the API/SBuilder/Rwy12 export functionality
* Fixed: problem with the relative path option, that sometimes resulted in unfound MDL objects on first load of a XML file

== Users license ==

(c) 2007 Arno Gerretsen / SceneryDesign.org

This software program is distributed without charge to other scenery designers, redistribution of the original ZIP file is allowed. You are NOT allowed to sell this software program or ask money for its distribution. Libraries created with this software program can be used in commercial scenery projects if you wish.

The copyright and any intellectual property relating to this program remain the property of the author.

The software distributed in this way may represent work in progress, and bears no warranty, either expressed or implied.

[[category:FSX]]
[[category:FS9 (FS2004)]]
[[Category:Manuals]]
[[Category:Tools]]

FSX KML Tutorial

2008-02-26T11:59:27Z

EssieP: /* Creating a bush landing strip */

== Introduction ==

This is the tutorial for [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML FSX KML].

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Creating land class tiles ==

Land class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size. You can use land class tiles to cover vast areas of the FSX world with the appropriate land class coverage.

FSX KML will process your land class polygons in the order the appear in the KML thus allowing "layering" of land classes.

Say you want to create a large rain forest area with a small town in the middle

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon representing the forest
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the forest which represents the town
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the forest polygon with LandClass_TROPICAL_RAINFOREST
* Tag the town polygon with LandClass_SMALL_CITY_SUBURBAN_NON_GRID_WET

== Creating land class polygons ==

Unlike land class tiles, land class POLYGONS can be any shape and size.

== Creating water class tiles ==

Like land class tiles, water class tiles are approximately 1.2 square kilometers in size.

You can use water class tiles to classify inland and ocean water bodies.

== Creating coastline ==

== Creating rivers and lakes ==

== Creating islands ==

Islands are created by cutting holes out of water polygons using the POLYGONHOLE tag.

Lets say you want to create a lake with an island:-

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon representing the lake
* Draw a polygon inside the lake that represents the island
* Save your KML file
In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the island polygon with a water polygon tag, eg Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Lake_Perennial
* Set the elevation of your lake, click the vertices tab, then the edit button, then the "Set Elevation" button and enter the elevation of the lake
* Tag the island with the POLYGONHOLE tag

Important:
 Polygon holes must be placed immediately after the polygon they operate on. In other words, the polygon hole is associated with the preceding polygon. Additionally the polygon and polygon hole must be in the same KML folder.

Direction of polygons
* The SDK tool Shp2Vec requires that polygon holes are drawn in the opposite direction to polygons.
* If you are using Google Earth, all polygons are written to the KML file in an clockwise direction irrespective of how they were drawn. FSX KML has the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" which will automatically reverse the direction of polygon holes. This is on by default because it is assumed most users will use Google Earth to create their KML files.
* If you have not used Google Earth to create your KML file you may need to manually reverse the direction or your polygon holes. You can use the "Reverse Points" button to do this. Also make sure you turn off the build option "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes".

=== Related forum posts ===
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating roads and moving traffic ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polyline to represent the road.
If your road is going to have "one way" traffic then the traffic will travel from the start of the line (1st point you draw) to the end of the line (last point you draw)
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polyline with a road tag, eg Roads_Concrete_2_Lanes_Divided_Median
* Copy the polyline and tag it polyline with the FreewayTraffic tag

== Creating bridges ==

=== Related forum posts ===
Extrusion bridge sample can be found here http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5516

== Creating a bush landing strip ==

Standard airports in FSX always appear flat and without sloping runways. But there is an easy way to create sloping bush landing strips using land class polygons.

In Google Earth

* Draw a polygon that will represent a grass clearing
* Draw a smaller polygon inside the first one that will represent the dirt landing strip.
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML

* Open the KML file
* Tag the 1st polygon (the grass polygon) and tag with LandClassPoly_Grass

Since FSX will draw grass with a higher priority than dirt, we need to make a hole in the grass so that our dirt will show through.

* Highlight the 2nd polygon (the dirt landing strip) and click the copy button. Tag it with PolygonHole.
* Tag the 3rd polygon with LandClassPoly_Dirt

When you're done, you should have the following polygons in your KML file (and in the order shown below):

* Polygon1 - LandClassPoly_Grass
* Polygon2 - PolygonHole (same shape as polygon3)
* Polygon3 - LandClassPoly_Dirt

== Placing scenery objects ==

== Excluding scenery objects ==

== Creating exclusions for vector based scenery ==

Because your scenery is added to the existing FSX scenery it is important to exclude existing scenery features that are replaced by your new scenery.

For example, if you have created an improved version of a river using water polygons you will need to exclude the existing water polygons in the FSX scenery otherwise they will clash visually with your new scenery.

For example, to exclude water polygons:-
* Draw a polygon that covers the area you wish to exclude
* Tag the polygon with Exclude__WaterPolysexclusion

== Flattening terrain around an airport ==

In Google Earth
* Draw a polygon
* Save the KML file

In FSX KML
* Open the KML file
* Tag the polygon with the '''Airport_Backgrounds_Flatten_MaskClassMap_ExcludeAutoGen'''
* Set the elevation of the polygon to the elevation of the runway. You can do this by clicking the '''Vertices''' tab and then clicking the '''Edit''' button. Then click the '''Set Elevation''' button and enter the elevation of the runway.

[[category:FSX]]
[[category:Scenery design]]

Modeling and texturing for optimal performance

2008-02-18T11:00:24Z

EssieP: /* Drawcalls */

When developing an object, the designer is always seeking a compromise between the amount of detail to put into the object and the performance achieved when using it in Flight Simulator. On one hand we would like to put in a lot of detail, either as polygons or as high resolution textures, because that will give the most realistic result. On the hand we also want that the objects we create performance reasonable well when we load them in FS, because else the users of our object, being an aircraft or scenery, will not be pleased. So the developer has to find a compromise here.

On his blog Adrian Woods has an interesting series of posts about how to optimize the performance of the art you are making. I would like to encourage everybody to have a look at those posts ([http://blogs.technet.com/torgo3000/archive/2007/06/01/performance-art.aspx part 1], [http://blogs.technet.com/torgo3000/archive/2007/06/14/performance-art-2-when-is-a-draw-call-not-a-draw-call.aspx part 2], [http://blogs.technet.com/torgo3000/archive/2007/06/19/performance-art-3-polygons-don-t-matter.aspx part 3] and [http://blogs.technet.com/torgo3000/archive/2007/09/17/performance-art-4-always-use-a-texture-and-bones-ain-t-free.aspx part 4]). But because these posts might be a bit technical, this article aims to provide some more background information and examples to express his suggestions more clearly.

== Background ==

Before we start with the actual discussion on how to model and texture your object for the best performance, it is needed to start with a little bit of background information on what determines the performance of your object once it is loaded in FS. That is the aim of this section and we will discuss vertices and drawcalls.

=== Vertices ===

[[Image:perftut_box.jpg|A simple cube|thumb]] At first you might think that the amount of polygons in your object are the most important for the performance. A simple cube seems to have 6 polygons for example, but is that true?

[[Image:perftut_box_triangles.jpg|A simple cube with triangles|thumb]] The graphics card that is drawing your object on screen does not work with polygons, all it can do is draw triangles on screen. So to get a better understanding of the amount of work the graphical card has to do when drawing your object you should not count the polygons, but the triangles. For the simple cube that means we have 12 triangles. Especially when you have polygons with a lot of vertices, like the roof of a complex building, you will see that one polygon can consist of a lot of triangles. So the next time you determine how complex your object is count the triangles.

Going back to the graphics card, it now has the task to draw all the triangles on screen. To do this the engine basically provides the card with a list of vertices and then tells it to draw the triangles using these vertices. But these so called texture vertices do not only contain the position of the point that should be drawn, they also contain the texture mapping and the direction of the normal vector at that position.

[[Image:perftut_box_triangles_normals.jpg|A simple cube with the vertex normals shown|thumb]]So if we look at the cube example again, we have those 12 triangles. But how many vertices are needed to draw these triangles? At first you might think the cube has 8 vertices, but think again. Each of the sides of our cube has a different normal vector. So that means that the vertices at the corners of our cube can not be used for all three triangles that meet at that corner. So instead of 8 vertices, you see the graphical card needs 24 texture vertices to draw the 12 triangles of the cube.

And when we add textures to our cube things can become even more complex. In the case that we would give each of the triangles an unique texture mapping, so that the UV coordinates do not match with the UV coordinates of the other triangles that the triangle aligns with, you will see that the total vertex count of the cube has gone up even further to 36 texture vertices.

=== Drawcalls ===

Now we know how the graphics card draws the objects and that we should actually count the number of texture vertices to see how complex an object is. But how does it work when we apply a certain material to our object?

First we need to clarify what a material means in this case. Does it mean the texture you apply, maybe the diffuse colour you select, or even something else? When the graphical card is drawing the triangles it is in a certain state, that means that a certain texture is active, a certain diffuse, ambient and emissive colour have been set, etc. When this state has been set correctly it is rather straight-forward for the graphics card to draw all triangles that use these properties. That is what happens when the program issues a drawcall to the graphical card, it then draws all triangles with the same properties. But changing the state for the next triangles that have to be drawn is a rather expensive operation performance wise.

To put it simply, any attribute you change in the FSX Material settings of your object will cause a change of the drawing state and thus a new drawcall. For something like the texture or diffuse colour this is probably obvious, but also when you only change the specular power or some other minor setting this will have the same result. All these material attributes together are called the shader constants.

So besides the amount of texture vertices, we now know that also the amount of drawcalls is very important when we want to keep the performance as good as possible.

== Basic modelling rules ==

Before we take a look at how to model and texture your object as efficient as possible, with the texture vertices and drawcalls in mind, we will first take a look at some simple “rules” for the modelling of objects.

The first and most obvious rule is to use only what you need. If you are making a generic autogen it does probably not make that much sense to use ten different texture sheets and thousands of vertices on this object. That is more something you would do for an important landmark on your airport which the user will look at from close distance. So try to keep things as simple as possible and don't overdo it when that is not needed.

Related to this is another area where you would have to make a choose, the textures versus polygons battle. You could model all the details of your object with polygons, but often using fewer polygons and putting the detail in the texture you are using would make more sense.

A nice example of this is a GMax tutorial I once saw on how to model a house (not the MS tutorial that comes with FS2004, but one for another game). In that tutorial it was explained in detail how to model each of the tiles of roof in 3D. That might be a good approach if you are modelling for a first person shooter game, but for Flight Simulator using a single polygon with a nice roof texture is a lot more sensible.

For the usage of textures the basic rule is to choose the right resolution for the object you are making and to use a similar resolution on all parts of your object. When you are making a generic autogen object you in general would use a lower resolution for the textures. On the other hand for that big airport terminal building where the user comes very close, it makes sense to use a higher resolution. And once you have selected your resolution, stick to that for the total object. Having one side with a much higher resolution than another side, will give a very weird looking affect and makes your object look bad.

But even if you follow these basic rules of modelling, you can still create an object that will not display optimal performance in FS. The rest of this article will focus on some tips and tricks to improve the performance even further, while they have no effect on the way your object looks, so no compromises on the amount of detail.

== Optimize texture vertices ==

As was explained before the amount of texture vertices is something you should keep an eye on, as that is a good indication of how much work the graphics card has to do to draw your object. So how do we keep them as low as possible?

As the texture vertex contains both position, texture mapping and normal vector it means that these must all be the same for two vertices, before the same texture vertex can be reused in two triangles. So when mapping your texture it can be a benefit to make sure that the pieces of your texture align correct, like you wrap the texture around the object.

As the normal vector is also part of the texture vertex, this optimization works best for smooth objects. For a simple cube or other building you will always keep multiple vertices at the corners, because the normal vectors are different. But even for a simple cube applying your UV texture mapping correctly can make the difference between 36 and 24 texture vertices.

== Optimize drawcalls ==

Besides optimizing the amount of texture vertices, it is also very important that you try to keep the amount of draw calls as low as possible. To do this try to use the following tips.

When using textures, try to pack everything on one texture sheet when possible. So it is better to use one 1024x1024 texture, than to use 4 512x512 textures. Every new texture file that is used will add an additional drawcall. And if your object does not fill the entire texture sheet, just add the textures for an objects that is geographically grouped with it to the same sheet.

Try to use a texture for everything. So instead of creating a new material with a diffuse colour when you want to give a polygon a certain solid colour, it is better to use a piece of your texture for this. And on most texture sheets there will be a little spot left where you can put an area of for example 4x4 pixels with the colour you want to use.

Try to keep all the shader constants the same. Even if you use one texture file, but change a small attribute like the specular power, that will already cause an extra drawcall.

== Levels of detail ==

Another way to improve the performance of your object is to add levels of detail (LODs) to it. A LOD is a simpler version of your object that are shown from a distance, where you can't see all the details anyway. But that does not mean that you need to add a lot of LOD levels to your object, because each additional level increases the memory usage. So you need to find a balance between the amount of memory used by the object and the reduction in texture vertices that you can achieve by adding the LODs. For most objects using 3 LODs is probably the best compromise. Then you would create a LOD 100, a LOD 040 and a LOD 010. You could make LOD 010 a dummy, so that the object is not drawn from a great distance.

[[Category:Scenery design]]
[[Category:Aircraft design]]
[[Category:FSX]]

Introduction to modeling with GMax

2008-02-18T10:06:45Z

EssieP: /* Frame rate */

In the first part of the series [[Gmax_installation_guide_for_FS2004|Build your own house]] I showed you which software you need, how to install and configure the software, and which steps to take to get a model into FS2004. In a recent tutorial [[Gmax for FsX]] almost the same is told for FsX. Both tutorials resulted in a model at Lelystad airport. The purpose of this part is to build the framework of your own house or another model of your choice. In combination with the first tutorial you will be able to show it in FS2004 or FsX.

I won't go into detail how to construct a house, because these tutorials are already available. From personal experience however I can tell you which tutorials are good, and I'll show you tips & tricks how to get a quick result and how to get information about buildings. Don't forget to hit the links in between for a more detailed description of several tools. In the next tutorial I'll explain how to make textures and use these in Gmax. So for now you have to deal with a house in one color without windows and doors.

== Introduction ==
Did you ever wonder what applications an architect is using to draw a house in 3D? Gmax is such an application. It's developed by Discreet, which is a division of Autodesk. Autodesk is the developer of AutoCad, a serious and accepted application with a wide support. Somewhere in 2006 AutoDesk decided to discontinue development for Gmax, but it is still the only tool to use which Microsoft supports. Don't get confused by the amount of complicated possibilities at first sight. With a few mouse clicks away pretty neat things can be made, because you will only need to use a few of those possibilities. With regular exercise you can achieve quicker and nicer results every time.

== Collecting information ==
Before you start building you need information about your house. A floor plan is really nice, but most of the time you have to do without it. The buildings in MS Flight Simulator are not accurate each centimeter and even not accurate each meter. Beside that you only need the measurements of the outer walls. It's a good assumption trying to get an accuracy in meters. With a bit of practice you can make steps of one meter and soon you have all data available. My way:

* The way I did it in 2004/2005: Most of the times I make a [[Gmax_model_guide_details#A_rough_sketch|rough sketch]] in upper view. After all this sketch isn't accurate (because I don't have any drawing skills). So don't be hard on yourself and draw some quick lines. Now walk around your house with steps of one meter and make a note of each distance in the sketch. This is my favorite part, because at this time I take a really good look at the building and a lot of times I discover beautiful and interesting architectural details. This is a very nice way being cultural and breath some fresh air.
* The way I do it now (faster but less cultural):
** Start Google Earth
** Zoom in on the building
** Make a screenshot and print it
** Start the ruler (tools > ruler)
** Set the unit to meters
** Measure the lengths and note these on the paper
* Next make a sketch of the sides. Determining the height is a more difficult job:
** If you have a photo, taken right in front of a wall, and you know the height of a door or a window frame, then you can determine the height of, for example the gutter or ridge.
** A tape measure is one alternative. Measuring your own house this way isn't that strange, but if you're going to measure other buildings with this alternative, don't be surprised if some people stare at you.
** I've seen a lot of buildings with big bricks or panels. Measure one such brick or panel and count them on a photo.
** A lot of information is available on the internet about sky scrapers or special buildings.
** Estimate the height of one floor and count all floors. Approximate 2,8 or 3 meter per floor is a good choice. Be aware that the ground floor and upper floor are often higher than the other floors.

Besides the tips mentioned above, I use other resources:
* At sites like [http://www.terradesk.nl Terradesk] you can have a birds eye view and watch the aerial photo of your house. Via the menu of that tool it's possible to measure a distance with an accuracy of one meter.
* Have a look at the website of your local authority. The [http://gemeentearchief.amsterdam.nl municipal archive of Amsterdam] is such an example.
* Just look around on the internet for information and photo's of the building you like to model.

== Gmax basics ==
Start Gmax and build your house. Hmmm. Every house is different so I can't exactly show you how to build your specific house in Gmax. However, a tutorial is available in the FS2004 gamepack. If you don't have it installed, [http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/d/e/4de1e425-c932-4232-829b-eeb7f2658885/fs2004_sdk_gmax_setup.exe download] and install it.

Have a look in the installation directory of Gmax where you will find a directory called gamepacks\fs2004. Useful directories are listed here, but we are now looking for the document gmaxSceneryTutorial.doc in the doc directory. This document shows step by step, with a lot of useful images, how to build a house. Skip the first three pages and start at chapter Creating a model of a house at step 4 and end with step 68. After this step the subject is about textures, which will be discussed in another tutorial.

=== Create and modify tabs ===
[[Image:Gmax_create_tab.jpg|left]] In the right part of the window you see six tabs, but most of the times you will only use two. The first tab is called the Create tab and the second tab is called the Modify tab. The Create tab is used to create a basic object or to use the [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Boolean|Boolean tool]]. Especially the Modify tab is often too long to fit in the window. At the right there is a hardly visible scrollbar. Move your mouse next to the buttons or fields and you'll see the arrow changing in a hand. Now you can drag the content of the tab up and down. The information in the Modify tab depends on which object and/or [[Gmax_model_guide#Modify_stack|modifier]] is selected.
 

=== Manoeuvering in Gmax ===
Some basic tools are located in the upper toolbar used for selecting, moving or resizing:
* [[Image:Gmax_select_mode.jpg]] Select tool. With this tool you can select an object, polygon, vertex, etc. It's also possible to select multiple objects at once by dragging a frame around the objects. If you select multiple vertices at once, be aware it's very likely you also selected vertices at the back of the object by accident. Particularly in combination with the tool collapse, you can get very strange results.
* [[Image:Gmax_move_mode.jpg]] Move tool. Tool to move the selected things. Three big arrows (red, green and blue) will appear at the selected object, complying with the axis colors in the lower left part of the active viewport. Grab one of the three arrows and you'll see the object will only move in the direction of that particular axis.
* [[Image:Gmax_rotate_mode.jpg]]Rotate tool. This is used to rotate the selected objects. Use the same arrows for rotating the objects around that particular axis.
* [[Image:Gmax_scale_mode.jpg]] Scale tool. You can see a small arrow in the lower right corner of the button. Keep this button pressed and you'll be able to select one of the three modes of this tool. I can't get used to this tool, because it cooperates with the X, Y and Z buttons up in the window. Trial and error is the best method. If a notification message shows up, you can ignore this message for the future.

Some tools are located at the lower right to look at objects from serveral points of view, and some tools to zoom in and out. If your mouse has a mouse wheel, it's possible to zoom in and out by turning the wheel (same function as the magnifying glass). Pressing the wheel and dragging at the same time, is the same function as pan (the hand). Combine these scroll wheel actions with the shift, alt or control key to get even more possibilities. Notice the small arrows on some of the buttons and the accompanied modes, which change the behavior of the tool.

* [[Image:Gmax_magnify.jpg]] Zoom in- and out on a selected object in the active viewport.
* [[Image:Gmax_magnify_all.jpg]] Zoom in- and out on a selected object in all viewports at once.
* [[Image:Gmax_fit.jpg]] Fill the viewport with the selected objects in one click.
* [[Image:Gmax_fit_all.jpg]] Fill all viewports in one click with the selected objects.
* [[Image:Gmax_magnify_selected.jpg]] Select the objects you want to fill the viewport with.
* [[Image:Gmax_pan.jpg]] Moving the point of view.
* [[Image:Gmax_view_rotate.jpg]] Rotate around the object. Notice the difference if you point the mouse on the inner or outer part of the yellow circle. You can also grab the boxes on the circle.
* [[Image:Gmax_fullscreen.jpg]] Full screen of the active viewport. Press again to go back to the normal view.

== Editable mesh ==
What are the most important points in this tutorial? The most important point is probably making [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Convert_to_editable_mesh|editable mesh]] of a box (point 26 in the turorial). Only from that moment on it's possible to transform the box by grabbing a corner, edge or polygon and change it the way you want. If you don't turn the box into [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Convert_to_editable_mesh|editable mesh]], you can only transform it in limited ways which will practically never lead to the result you want. [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Convert_to_editable_mesh|Editable mesh]] is the keyword.

== Frame rate ==
Editable mesh is at the same time a good starting point to make a building which end up being a frame rate killer. Every point or poly you add, must be calculated by the engine of MS Flight Simulator and creates a bigger load on the processor and graphics card. It's no problem to construct a very detailled building, because the frame rate of Gmax object seems great. But it's all about vertices and faces which are added without knowing you are adding them. This usually happens in the first phase by placing a basic shape, even before you convert it to editable mesh. An example (imagine a chimney):
* Select the Create tab.
* Click Cylinder (button changes into orange).
* Click and drag in perspective view while making the base of the cylinder. Then let go the mouse button and move your mouse determining the height. Click again to fix the size of the cylinder.
* Click with the right mouse button on the word Perspective in the Perspective view and select Edged Faces.

[[Image:Gmax_useless_faces.jpg|right]]

You see a lot of faces and a lot of them are useless. How to solve this:
* Select the Modify tab.
* Beneath the header Parameters you'll see some options.
* Change the values (or drag an arrow and move it up and down) of the fields Height Segments, Cap Segments and Sides.
* Cap Segments defaults to 1 which is fine.
* Height Segments should almost always set on 1. This is the main cause.
* Changing the Sides parameter changes how smooth the cylinder get. This is mostly a matter of taste.
* Just play with the option Slice On and the accompanied options Slice From and Slice To for nifty results.

A well defined basic object is a good start before converting it to [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Convert_to_editable_mesh|editable mesh]]. Later on you can change the amount of polys as much as needed with several tools like [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Extrude|Extrude]] and [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Slice_Plane|Slice]].

== Modify stack ==
In the Create tab directly beneath the dropdown box Modifier List the Modifier stack is situated. This is a list of modifiers applied on the selected object. At first this list is empty, but after converting the object to editable mesh you will see a plus sign with Editable Mesh. You can add modifiers from the modifier list (the dropdown box) to the modifier stack. If you're not satisfied with the result of one of the modifiers, just remove the modifier from the stack. I'm always having trouble to explain what the modifier stack exactly is, so it's better to explain this with an example:

[[Image:Gmax_modify_tab.jpg|right]]

* Select the cylinder from the example above.
* Add a modifier, for instance the Bend modifier and play with the parameters which will show up in the Create tab.
* Next add the modifier Twist and try the parameters too.
* Add the modifier Mirror.
* The modifier stack shows 4 modifiers.
* More options are available under the plus sign.
* Just select all modifier in the stack one by one and have a look at the result each time.
* Remove for instance the modifier Twist from the stack (click Twist > right mouse button > delete) and watch the result.

Important! If you're pretty sure that the object has the right shape you need to collapse the stack. Click with the right mouse button somewhere on the modifier stack and select Collapse All. All transformations and other modifications you've done by the modifiers are final. So it sounds tempting never collapsing the stack, but you really need to do this often and quick after modifications:
* Before an export from Gmax. The stack of all objects must be collapsed before you make an export.
* When you apply textures on an object. I will explain this in the next part.

== Regularly used tools ==

Making a box or other basic shape is simple, but to create more complex shapes I will explain some of the tools which are used in the tutorial of the Gmax gamepack. These tools all assume the object is converted to editable mesh.
* [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Extrude|Extrude]]. With this tool you can pull out poly's (surface) from an object or push the poly into the object. This can be repeated almost infinite to create very complex shapes. If you only want to extrude half of a poly, than you first need to use the tool Slice pane (see below) to cut the poly into half. Most people tend to create two boxes and place them next to each other. Think about the number of objects, poly's and vertices you'll end up. Compare this with the amount of objects, poly's and vertices you'll end up using the tool extrude. The lesser poly's and vertices in the final result, the better the famous frame rate of MS Flight Simulator.
* [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Collapse|Collapse]]. With this tool you mostly merge vertices to only one vertex. This way is used in the tutorial (step 43) to make a peaked roof out of a box. Beside this I also use this tool to merge vertices which are created by accident by the tools extrude or slice plane with again the frame rate in mind.
* [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Extrude|Function key F2]]. Select a poly and press F2. The poly turns into red, so you're sure you've selected the correct poly.

Beside the tools mentioned above I also use the following tools very often:
* [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Slice_Plane|Slice Plane]]. Cuts a poly in half. I use Slice Plane a lot if I only want to extrude a part of an existing poly or to apply two different textures to a poly.
* [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Boolean|Boolean]]. This is a very nifty tool which is hardly described anywhere. This tool enables you to
** simply merge two objects into one object.
** remove a portion from an object in the shape of another object.
** create a poly in the middle of a surface of an object, in the shape of another object.
** do some other nifty thing.
Be careful however, Booleans can create large numbers of vertices, or long thin triangles which don't make good "light" models. They can create in-game rendering problems and boost the poly-count unnecessarily.

== Saving your work ==
Save your work regularly. By the setting (Customize > Preferences > tab Files > Increment on Save) you had to apply in the previous part, a backup is created every time you save your work. An incremental number is added to the filename each time. Once in a while you need to clean up the directory, but history taught me that I sometimes needed these backup files because I made some irreversible mistakes.

Sometimes Gmax will crash, but luckily it saves your work during that crash in the installation directory of Gmax. Start Gmax again and notice the saved file in the history list of the menu File. Open the file and save it immediately in the correct directory with a new number at the end.

== Documentation ==
Of course I didn't tell you everything what you can do with Gmax. By experimenting you will accomplish a lot and Gmax itself has some tutorials and help files which you can download:
* [http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax gmax12_help.exe]. Unpack the file in the directory Help
* [http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax gmax12_tutorials.exe]. Unpack the file in the directory tutorials. Especially tutorials 1, 2 and 7 are recommended.
* Don't forget the documentation of the Gmax gamepack SDK itself which you already installed in gamepacks\fs2004\docs or the Environment kit of the FsX SDK.

Who can do without online documentation:
* [http://www.turbosquid.com/Forum/Index.cfm/stgAct/ForumList/intGroupID/1004 Gmax support]
* [http://www.turbosquid.com/Forum/Index.cfm/stgAct/ThreadList/intForumID/1042 Gmax forum] & [http://www.turbosquid.com/Forum/Index.cfm/stgAct/ThreadList/intForumID/1065 FS gamepack forum]
* http://www.fsdeveloper.com

Some books are available too:
* 3DS MAX for windows (isbn 0321180879 ). 3DS MAX is Gmax's commercial big brother, but about 95% of the book covers the functionalities of Gmax.
* Gmax Bible by Kelly L Murdock (isbn 0764537571)
* The Gmax Handbook (1584502207)

'''Have fun'''

[[category:Scenery design]]
[[category:FSX]]
[[category:FS9 (FS2004)]]

Introduction to modeling with GMax

2008-02-18T10:03:05Z

EssieP: /* Regular used tools */

In the first part of the series [[Gmax_installation_guide_for_FS2004|Build your own house]] I showed you which software you need, how to install and configure the software, and which steps to take to get a model into FS2004. In a recent tutorial [[Gmax for FsX]] almost the same is told for FsX. Both tutorials resulted in a model at Lelystad airport. The purpose of this part is to build the framework of your own house or another model of your choice. In combination with the first tutorial you will be able to show it in FS2004 or FsX.

I won't go into detail how to construct a house, because these tutorials are already available. From personal experience however I can tell you which tutorials are good, and I'll show you tips & tricks how to get a quick result and how to get information about buildings. Don't forget to hit the links in between for a more detailed description of several tools. In the next tutorial I'll explain how to make textures and use these in Gmax. So for now you have to deal with a house in one color without windows and doors.

== Introduction ==
Did you ever wonder what applications an architect is using to draw a house in 3D? Gmax is such an application. It's developed by Discreet, which is a division of Autodesk. Autodesk is the developer of AutoCad, a serious and accepted application with a wide support. Somewhere in 2006 AutoDesk decided to discontinue development for Gmax, but it is still the only tool to use which Microsoft supports. Don't get confused by the amount of complicated possibilities at first sight. With a few mouse clicks away pretty neat things can be made, because you will only need to use a few of those possibilities. With regular exercise you can achieve quicker and nicer results every time.

== Collecting information ==
Before you start building you need information about your house. A floor plan is really nice, but most of the time you have to do without it. The buildings in MS Flight Simulator are not accurate each centimeter and even not accurate each meter. Beside that you only need the measurements of the outer walls. It's a good assumption trying to get an accuracy in meters. With a bit of practice you can make steps of one meter and soon you have all data available. My way:

* The way I did it in 2004/2005: Most of the times I make a [[Gmax_model_guide_details#A_rough_sketch|rough sketch]] in upper view. After all this sketch isn't accurate (because I don't have any drawing skills). So don't be hard on yourself and draw some quick lines. Now walk around your house with steps of one meter and make a note of each distance in the sketch. This is my favorite part, because at this time I take a really good look at the building and a lot of times I discover beautiful and interesting architectural details. This is a very nice way being cultural and breath some fresh air.
* The way I do it now (faster but less cultural):
** Start Google Earth
** Zoom in on the building
** Make a screenshot and print it
** Start the ruler (tools > ruler)
** Set the unit to meters
** Measure the lengths and note these on the paper
* Next make a sketch of the sides. Determining the height is a more difficult job:
** If you have a photo, taken right in front of a wall, and you know the height of a door or a window frame, then you can determine the height of, for example the gutter or ridge.
** A tape measure is one alternative. Measuring your own house this way isn't that strange, but if you're going to measure other buildings with this alternative, don't be surprised if some people stare at you.
** I've seen a lot of buildings with big bricks or panels. Measure one such brick or panel and count them on a photo.
** A lot of information is available on the internet about sky scrapers or special buildings.
** Estimate the height of one floor and count all floors. Approximate 2,8 or 3 meter per floor is a good choice. Be aware that the ground floor and upper floor are often higher than the other floors.

Besides the tips mentioned above, I use other resources:
* At sites like [http://www.terradesk.nl Terradesk] you can have a birds eye view and watch the aerial photo of your house. Via the menu of that tool it's possible to measure a distance with an accuracy of one meter.
* Have a look at the website of your local authority. The [http://gemeentearchief.amsterdam.nl municipal archive of Amsterdam] is such an example.
* Just look around on the internet for information and photo's of the building you like to model.

== Gmax basics ==
Start Gmax and build your house. Hmmm. Every house is different so I can't exactly show you how to build your specific house in Gmax. However, a tutorial is available in the FS2004 gamepack. If you don't have it installed, [http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/d/e/4de1e425-c932-4232-829b-eeb7f2658885/fs2004_sdk_gmax_setup.exe download] and install it.

Have a look in the installation directory of Gmax where you will find a directory called gamepacks\fs2004. Useful directories are listed here, but we are now looking for the document gmaxSceneryTutorial.doc in the doc directory. This document shows step by step, with a lot of useful images, how to build a house. Skip the first three pages and start at chapter Creating a model of a house at step 4 and end with step 68. After this step the subject is about textures, which will be discussed in another tutorial.

=== Create and modify tabs ===
[[Image:Gmax_create_tab.jpg|left]] In the right part of the window you see six tabs, but most of the times you will only use two. The first tab is called the Create tab and the second tab is called the Modify tab. The Create tab is used to create a basic object or to use the [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Boolean|Boolean tool]]. Especially the Modify tab is often too long to fit in the window. At the right there is a hardly visible scrollbar. Move your mouse next to the buttons or fields and you'll see the arrow changing in a hand. Now you can drag the content of the tab up and down. The information in the Modify tab depends on which object and/or [[Gmax_model_guide#Modify_stack|modifier]] is selected.
 

=== Manoeuvering in Gmax ===
Some basic tools are located in the upper toolbar used for selecting, moving or resizing:
* [[Image:Gmax_select_mode.jpg]] Select tool. With this tool you can select an object, polygon, vertex, etc. It's also possible to select multiple objects at once by dragging a frame around the objects. If you select multiple vertices at once, be aware it's very likely you also selected vertices at the back of the object by accident. Particularly in combination with the tool collapse, you can get very strange results.
* [[Image:Gmax_move_mode.jpg]] Move tool. Tool to move the selected things. Three big arrows (red, green and blue) will appear at the selected object, complying with the axis colors in the lower left part of the active viewport. Grab one of the three arrows and you'll see the object will only move in the direction of that particular axis.
* [[Image:Gmax_rotate_mode.jpg]]Rotate tool. This is used to rotate the selected objects. Use the same arrows for rotating the objects around that particular axis.
* [[Image:Gmax_scale_mode.jpg]] Scale tool. You can see a small arrow in the lower right corner of the button. Keep this button pressed and you'll be able to select one of the three modes of this tool. I can't get used to this tool, because it cooperates with the X, Y and Z buttons up in the window. Trial and error is the best method. If a notification message shows up, you can ignore this message for the future.

Some tools are located at the lower right to look at objects from serveral points of view, and some tools to zoom in and out. If your mouse has a mouse wheel, it's possible to zoom in and out by turning the wheel (same function as the magnifying glass). Pressing the wheel and dragging at the same time, is the same function as pan (the hand). Combine these scroll wheel actions with the shift, alt or control key to get even more possibilities. Notice the small arrows on some of the buttons and the accompanied modes, which change the behavior of the tool.

* [[Image:Gmax_magnify.jpg]] Zoom in- and out on a selected object in the active viewport.
* [[Image:Gmax_magnify_all.jpg]] Zoom in- and out on a selected object in all viewports at once.
* [[Image:Gmax_fit.jpg]] Fill the viewport with the selected objects in one click.
* [[Image:Gmax_fit_all.jpg]] Fill all viewports in one click with the selected objects.
* [[Image:Gmax_magnify_selected.jpg]] Select the objects you want to fill the viewport with.
* [[Image:Gmax_pan.jpg]] Moving the point of view.
* [[Image:Gmax_view_rotate.jpg]] Rotate around the object. Notice the difference if you point the mouse on the inner or outer part of the yellow circle. You can also grab the boxes on the circle.
* [[Image:Gmax_fullscreen.jpg]] Full screen of the active viewport. Press again to go back to the normal view.

== Editable mesh ==
What are the most important points in this tutorial? The most important point is probably making [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Convert_to_editable_mesh|editable mesh]] of a box (point 26 in the turorial). Only from that moment on it's possible to transform the box by grabbing a corner, edge or polygon and change it the way you want. If you don't turn the box into [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Convert_to_editable_mesh|editable mesh]], you can only transform it in limited ways which will practically never lead to the result you want. [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Convert_to_editable_mesh|Editable mesh]] is the keyword.

== Frame rate ==
Editable mesh is at the same time a good starting point to make a building which end up being a frame rate killer. Every point or poly you add, must be calculated by the engine of MS Flight Simulator and creates a bigger load on the processor and graphics card. It's no problem to construct a very detailled building, because the frame rate of Gmax object seems great. But it's all about vertices and faces which are added without knowing you are adding them. This usually happens in the first phase by placing a basic shape, even before you convert it to editable mesh. An example (imagine a chimney):
* Select the Create tab.
* Click Cylinder (button changes into orange).
* Click and drag in perspective view while making the base of the cylinder. Then let go the mouse button and move your mouse determining the height. Click again to fix the size of the cylinder.
* Click with the right mouse button on the word Perspective in the Perspective view and select Edged Faces.

[[Image:Gmax_useless_faces.jpg|right]]

You see a lot of faces and a lot of them are useless. How to solve this:
* Select the Modify tab.
* Beneath the header Parameters you'll see some options.
* Change the values (or drag an arrow and move it up and down) of the fields Height Segments, Cap Segments and Sides.
* Cap Segments defaults to 1 which is fine.
* Height Segments should almost always set on 1. This is the main cause.
* Changing the Sides parameter changes how smooth the cylinder get. This is mostly a matter of taste.
* Just play with the option Slice On and the accompanied options Slice From and Slice To for nifty results.

A well defined basic object is a good start before converting it to [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Convert_to_editable_mesh|editable mesh]]. Later on you can change the amount of poly's as much as needed with several tools like [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Extrude|Extrude]] and [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Slice_Plane|Slice]].

== Modify stack ==
In the Create tab directly beneath the dropdown box Modifier List the Modifier stack is situated. This is a list of modifiers applied on the selected object. At first this list is empty, but after converting the object to editable mesh you will see a plus sign with Editable Mesh. You can add modifiers from the modifier list (the dropdown box) to the modifier stack. If you're not satisfied with the result of one of the modifiers, just remove the modifier from the stack. I'm always having trouble to explain what the modifier stack exactly is, so it's better to explain this with an example:

[[Image:Gmax_modify_tab.jpg|right]]

* Select the cylinder from the example above.
* Add a modifier, for instance the Bend modifier and play with the parameters which will show up in the Create tab.
* Next add the modifier Twist and try the parameters too.
* Add the modifier Mirror.
* The modifier stack shows 4 modifiers.
* More options are available under the plus sign.
* Just select all modifier in the stack one by one and have a look at the result each time.
* Remove for instance the modifier Twist from the stack (click Twist > right mouse button > delete) and watch the result.

Important! If you're pretty sure that the object has the right shape you need to collapse the stack. Click with the right mouse button somewhere on the modifier stack and select Collapse All. All transformations and other modifications you've done by the modifiers are final. So it sounds tempting never collapsing the stack, but you really need to do this often and quick after modifications:
* Before an export from Gmax. The stack of all objects must be collapsed before you make an export.
* When you apply textures on an object. I will explain this in the next part.

== Regularly used tools ==

Making a box or other basic shape is simple, but to create more complex shapes I will explain some of the tools which are used in the tutorial of the Gmax gamepack. These tools all assume the object is converted to editable mesh.
* [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Extrude|Extrude]]. With this tool you can pull out poly's (surface) from an object or push the poly into the object. This can be repeated almost infinite to create very complex shapes. If you only want to extrude half of a poly, than you first need to use the tool Slice pane (see below) to cut the poly into half. Most people tend to create two boxes and place them next to each other. Think about the number of objects, poly's and vertices you'll end up. Compare this with the amount of objects, poly's and vertices you'll end up using the tool extrude. The lesser poly's and vertices in the final result, the better the famous frame rate of MS Flight Simulator.
* [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Collapse|Collapse]]. With this tool you mostly merge vertices to only one vertex. This way is used in the tutorial (step 43) to make a peaked roof out of a box. Beside this I also use this tool to merge vertices which are created by accident by the tools extrude or slice plane with again the frame rate in mind.
* [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Extrude|Function key F2]]. Select a poly and press F2. The poly turns into red, so you're sure you've selected the correct poly.

Beside the tools mentioned above I also use the following tools very often:
* [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Slice_Plane|Slice Plane]]. Cuts a poly in half. I use Slice Plane a lot if I only want to extrude a part of an existing poly or to apply two different textures to a poly.
* [[Gmax_model_guide_details#Boolean|Boolean]]. This is a very nifty tool which is hardly described anywhere. This tool enables you to
** simply merge two objects into one object.
** remove a portion from an object in the shape of another object.
** create a poly in the middle of a surface of an object, in the shape of another object.
** do some other nifty thing.
Be careful however, Booleans can create large numbers of vertices, or long thin triangles which don't make good "light" models. They can create in-game rendering problems and boost the poly-count unnecessarily.

== Saving your work ==
Save your work regularly. By the setting (Customize > Preferences > tab Files > Increment on Save) you had to apply in the previous part, a backup is created every time you save your work. An incremental number is added to the filename each time. Once in a while you need to clean up the directory, but history taught me that I sometimes needed these backup files because I made some irreversible mistakes.

Sometimes Gmax will crash, but luckily it saves your work during that crash in the installation directory of Gmax. Start Gmax again and notice the saved file in the history list of the menu File. Open the file and save it immediately in the correct directory with a new number at the end.

== Documentation ==
Of course I didn't tell you everything what you can do with Gmax. By experimenting you will accomplish a lot and Gmax itself has some tutorials and help files which you can download:
* [http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax gmax12_help.exe]. Unpack the file in the directory Help
* [http://www.turbosquid.com/gmax gmax12_tutorials.exe]. Unpack the file in the directory tutorials. Especially tutorials 1, 2 and 7 are recommended.
* Don't forget the documentation of the Gmax gamepack SDK itself which you already installed in gamepacks\fs2004\docs or the Environment kit of the FsX SDK.

Who can do without online documentation:
* [http://www.turbosquid.com/Forum/Index.cfm/stgAct/ForumList/intGroupID/1004 Gmax support]
* [http://www.turbosquid.com/Forum/Index.cfm/stgAct/ThreadList/intForumID/1042 Gmax forum] & [http://www.turbosquid.com/Forum/Index.cfm/stgAct/ThreadList/intForumID/1065 FS gamepack forum]
* http://www.fsdeveloper.com

Some books are available too:
* 3DS MAX for windows (isbn 0321180879 ). 3DS MAX is Gmax's commercial big brother, but about 95% of the book covers the functionalities of Gmax.
* Gmax Bible by Kelly L Murdock (isbn 0764537571)
* The Gmax Handbook (1584502207)

'''Have fun'''

[[category:Scenery design]]
[[category:FSX]]
[[category:FS9 (FS2004)]]

Increasing effect visibility distance

2008-02-05T12:15:54Z

EssieP: /* The resolution */

=== Effects spawn problem ===

This is a common question, and one that is easily answered. This is the same method employed in the FS aircraft beacons that are included with Flight Simulator 9. The problem is that the further away from the effect, the effect size decreases and because of the alpha, you loose pixel resolution fast.

=== The resolution ===

Create a set of effects, each getting brighter and brighter. Then, create a bunch of LOD models (with these different effects) and make them grow as the LODs get smaller.

[[category:Scenery design]]

Object library creation using Library Creator XML

2008-01-31T14:43:49Z

EssieP: /* How to create a FsX library */

== How to create a FsX library ==

A library is a bgl file which contains one or more mdl (model) files. During placement of a model a reference is made to the model in that library file. Presume you created a windmill and put it in a library. Then you can place this model several times in several areas just by referencing that model.

=== Use Library Creator XML ===

It is possible to create a library bgl by hand, but there are several simple tools which can do that. One of these is "Library Creator XML".
* Download the latest "Library Creator XML" from http://www.fsdeveloper.com > Downloads > Scenery Design > Tools
* Install Library Creator XML
* Configure it:
** Select Options > FsX BGLComp path
** Browse to the location of BglComp.exe which can be found in the SDK. In a default installation this will be "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK\SDK\Environment Kit\BGL Compiler SDK".
** Select Options and check Relative paths

=== Create the library ===

Create a library as follows by making a xml file which will be compiled to a bgl file:
* Select File > New library...
* Browse to a location where you want to store the xml file
* Fill in a file name. In my example I called it my_sample_library.xml
* Click on Save
* Select the button "Add MDL objects" in the lower left corner and browse to the location of the mdl files. Notice in the white area that your mdl file has been added. Click the plus sign to see the GUID. [[Image:libraryCreatorXML.jpg]] 

=== Compile the library ===

* Select "File > Compile library BGL..."
* Select a location where to store the bgl
* Fill in the file name
* Click on Save to start the compilation
* The following content will be shown if the compilation is succesfull: [[Image:libraryCreatorXML_compilation_log.jpg]] 

[[category:FSX]]
[[category:Scenery design]]

Modeling and texturing for optimal performance

2008-01-25T14:04:25Z

EssieP: /* Basic modelling rules */

When developing an object, the designer is always seeking a compromise between the amount of detail to put into the object and the performance achieved when using it in Flight Simulator. On one hand we would like to put in a lot of detail, either as polygons or as high resolution textures, because that will give the most realistic result. On the hand we also want that the objects we create performance reasonable well when we load them in FS, because else the users of our object, being an aircraft or scenery, will not be pleased. So the developer has to find a compromise here.

On his blog Adrian Woods has an interesting series of posts about how to optimize the performance of the art you are making. I would like to encourage everybody to have a look at those posts ([http://blogs.technet.com/torgo3000/archive/2007/06/01/performance-art.aspx part 1], [http://blogs.technet.com/torgo3000/archive/2007/06/14/performance-art-2-when-is-a-draw-call-not-a-draw-call.aspx part 2], [http://blogs.technet.com/torgo3000/archive/2007/06/19/performance-art-3-polygons-don-t-matter.aspx part 3] and [http://blogs.technet.com/torgo3000/archive/2007/09/17/performance-art-4-always-use-a-texture-and-bones-ain-t-free.aspx part 4]). But because these posts might be a bit technical, this article aims to provide some more background information and examples to express his suggestions more clearly.

== Background ==

Before we start with the actual discussion on how to model and texture your object for the best performance, it is needed to start with a little bit of background information on what determines the performance of your object once it is loaded in FS. That is the aim of this section and we will discuss vertices and drawcalls.

=== Vertices ===

[[Image:perftut_box.jpg|A simple cube|thumb]] At first you might think that the amount of polygons in your object are the most important for the performance. A simple cube seems to have 6 polygons for example, but is that true?

[[Image:perftut_box_triangles.jpg|A simple cube with triangles|thumb]] The graphics card that is drawing your object on screen does not work with polygons, all it can do is draw triangles on screen. So to get a better understanding of the amount of work the graphical card has to do when drawing your object you should not count the polygons, but the triangles. For the simple cube that means we have 12 triangles. Especially when you have polygons with a lot of vertices, like the roof of a complex building, you will see that one polygon can consist of a lot of triangles. So the next time you determine how complex your object is count the triangles.

Going back to the graphics card, it now has the task to draw all the triangles on screen. To do this the engine basically provides the card with a list of vertices and then tells it to draw the triangles using these vertices. But these so called texture vertices do not only contain the position of the point that should be drawn, they also contain the texture mapping and the direction of the normal vector at that position.

[[Image:perftut_box_triangles_normals.jpg|A simple cube with the vertex normals shown|thumb]]So if we look at the cube example again, we have those 12 triangles. But how many vertices are needed to draw these triangles? At first you might think the cube has 8 vertices, but think again. Each of the sides of our cube has a different normal vector. So that means that the vertices at the corners of our cube can not be used for all three triangles that meet at that corner. So instead of 8 vertices, you see the graphical card needs 24 texture vertices to draw the 12 triangles of the cube.

And when we add textures to our cube things can become even more complex. In the case that we would give each of the triangles an unique texture mapping, so that the UV coordinates do not match with the UV coordinates of the other triangles that the triangle aligns with, you will see that the total vertex count of the cube has gone up even further to 36 texture vertices.

=== Drawcalls ===

Now we know how the graphics card draws the objects and that we should actually count the number of texture vertices to see how complex an object is. But how does it work when we apply a certain material to our object?

First we need to clarify what a material means in this case. Does it mean the texture you apply, maybe the diffuse colour you select, or even something else? When the graphical card is drawing the triangles it is in a certain state, that means that a certain texture is active, a certain diffuse, ambient and emissive colour have been set, etc. When this state has been set correctly it is rather straight forward for the graphics card to draw all triangles that use these properties. That is what happens when the program issues a drawcall to the graphical card, it then draws all triangles with the same properties. But changing the state for the next triangles that have to be drawn is a rather expensive operation performance wise.

To put it simple, any attribute you change in the FSX Material settings of your object will cause a change of the drawing state and thus a new drawcall. For something like the texture or diffuse colour this is probably obvious, but also when you only change the specular power or some other minor setting this will have the same result. All these material attributes together are called the shader constants.

So besides the amount of texture vertices, we now know that also the amount of drawcalls is very important when we want to keep the performance as good as possible.

== Basic modelling rules ==

Before we take a look at how to model and texture your object as efficient as possible, with the texture vertices and drawcalls in mind, we will first take a look at some simple “rules” for the modelling of objects.

The first and most obvious rule is to use only what you need. If you are making a generic autogen it does probably not make that much sense to use ten different texture sheets and thousands of vertices on this object. That is more something you would do for an important landmark on your airport which the user will look at from close distance. So try to keep things as simple as possible and don't overdo it when that is not needed.

Related to this is another area where you would have to make a choose, the textures versus polygons battle. You could model all the details of your object with polygons, but often using fewer polygons and putting the detail in the texture you are using would make more sense.

A nice example of this is a GMax tutorial I once saw on how to model a house (not the MS tutorial that comes with FS2004, but one for another game). In that tutorial it was explained in detail how to model each of the tiles of roof in 3D. That might be a good approach if you are modelling for a first person shooter game, but for Flight Simulator using a single polygon with a nice roof texture is a lot more sensible.

For the usage of textures the basic rule is to choose the right resolution for the object you are making and to use a similar resolution on all parts of your object. When you are making a generic autogen object you in general would use a lower resolution for the textures. On the other hand for that big airport terminal building where the user comes very close, it makes sense to use a higher resolution. And once you have selected your resolution, stick to that for the total object. Having one side with a much higher resolution than another side, will give a very weird looking affect and makes your object look bad.

But even if you follow these basic rules of modelling, you can still create an object that will not display optimal performance in FS. The rest of this article will focus on some tips and tricks to improve the performance even further, while they have no effect on the way your object looks, so no compromises on the amount of detail.

== Optimize texture vertices ==

As was explained before the amount of texture vertices is something you should keep an eye on, as that is a good indication of how much work the graphics card has to do to draw your object. So how do we keep them as low as possible?

As the texture vertex contains both position, texture mapping and normal vector it means that these must all be the same for two vertices, before the same texture vertex can be reused in two triangles. So when mapping your texture it can be a benefit to make sure that the pieces of your texture align correct, like you wrap the texture around the object.

As the normal vector is also part of the texture vertex, this optimization works best for smooth objects. For a simple cube or other building you will always keep multiple vertices at the corners, because the normal vectors are different. But even for a simple cube applying your UV texture mapping correctly can make the difference between 36 and 24 texture vertices.

== Optimize drawcalls ==

Besides optimizing the amount of texture vertices, it is also very important that you try to keep the amount of draw calls as low as possible. To do this try to use the following tips.

When using textures, try to pack everything on one texture sheet when possible. So it is better to use one 1024x1024 texture, than to use 4 512x512 textures. Every new texture file that is used will add an additional drawcall. And if your object does not fill the entire texture sheet, just add the textures for an objects that is geographically grouped with it to the same sheet.

Try to use a texture for everything. So instead of creating a new material with a diffuse colour when you want to give a polygon a certain solid colour, it is better to use a piece of your texture for this. And on most texture sheets there will be a little spot left where you can put an area of for example 4x4 pixels with the colour you want to use.

Try to keep all the shader constants the same. Even if you use one texture file, but change a small attribute like the specular power, that will already cause an extra drawcall.

== Levels of detail ==

Another way to improve the performance of your object is to add levels of detail (LODs) to it. A LOD is a simpler version of your object that are shown from a distance, where you can't see all the details anyway. But that does not mean that you need to add a lot of LOD levels to your object, because each additional level increases the memory usage. So you need to find a balance between the amount of memory used by the object and the reduction in texture vertices that you can achieve by adding the LODs. For most objects using 3 LODs is probably the best compromise. Then you would create a LOD 100, a LOD 040 and a LOD 010. You could make LOD 010 a dummy, so that the object is not drawn from a great distance.

[[Category:Scenery design]]
[[Category:Aircraft design]]
[[Category:FSX]]

FSX KML

2008-01-25T13:56:33Z

EssieP: /* Creating polygons and polylines */

== Introduction ==

[[Image:before_and_after.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Before and after screenshot]]

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

It converts KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files generated by Google Earth into FSX scenery.

Using Google Earth to draw polygons and polylines you can accurately and easily many types of scenery.

===Shp2Vec based scenery===
FSX KML uses the FSX SDK Shp2Vec tool to create the following types of vector scenery:-

* Water polygons including oceans, rivers, lakes and canals
* Islands inside water features
* Irregular shaped land class polygons for cities, parks, beaches, forest, golf courses etc
* Airport boundaries and flatten polygons and AUTOGEN EXCLUSIONS
* Shorelines
* Streams
* Roads
* Railways
* Freeways (ie Moving traffic)
* Utility lines (eg power and telephone lines)
* Exclusions polygons (for vector data)

===BGLComp based scenery===
FSX KML uses the FSX SDK BGLComp tool to create the following types of scenery:-

* Place scenery objects (from the FSX library) along a polyline using a wide variety of [http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML#v1.08_Beta_-_18th_May_2007 placement options]
* Exclusion rectangles
* Extrusion bridges

===Resample based scenery===
FSX KML uses the FSX SDK Resample tool to create the following types of scenery:-

* Land class tiles
* Water class tiles

'''Make sure you also download and install [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML#Installing_FWTools FWTools] which is required for creating these types of scenery.'''

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Downloading FSX KML ==

The latest version of FSX KML (1.10) can be downloaded from:-

* AVSIM - http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxsd&DLID=108495
* The Scenery Hall of Fame - http://www.scenery.org/graphical_editors.htm

== Installation ==

=== Installing FSX KML ===

FSX KML can be installed in a folder of your choice. Simply unzip the FSX KML installation zip file into the desired folder.

After unzipping the installation file you should have the following files:-

* FSX_KML.exe
* ShapeLib129.dll
* FreeImage.DLL
* FSX_KML_TAGS.XML


=== Installing the FSX Software Development Kit (SDK) ===

To generate FSX scenery you will need the FSX SDK, which is distributed with the FSX Deluxe version.
To install the SDK:

(1) Browse the FSX Deluxe Edition Disk 1

(2) Open the SDK sub-folder

(3) Double-click the setup.exe

(4) Tell it where to install. Default is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK

If the SDK is not installed in the default SDK folder you must specify its location on the FSX_KML build tab.

For more info on the SDK installation and Service packs: [http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=SDK_Installation_%28FSX%29 http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=SDK_Installation_%28FSX%29]

=== Installing FWTools ===

FSX KML makes use of the freeware tool set called [http://fwtools.maptools.org/ FWTools]. FW Tools is required for scenery that uses the FSX SDK Resample tool, such as landclass and waterclass.

Download and install the latest version of FWTools.

Specify the location of FWTools on the FSX KML Build tab.

== Building Scenery ==

Building your own scenery with FSX KML is easy.

=== Step 1 - Creating a KML file with Google Earth ===

The first step in creating your FSX scenery is to create a KML file by using Google Earth to "trace" scenery features.

==== Creating polygons and polylines ====

Using Google Earth create a polygon using the "Add Poly" function or create a polyline using the "Add Path" function,
and then trace the scenery feature (for example a lake or road).

After you click the "Add Poly" or "Add Path button" you will be presented with a form as shown to the right

[[Image:GE-polygon-dialog.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Google Earth dialog for creating new polygon or polyline]]

* Name - Give your polygon or polyline a description or leave blank

* Description - This is where you "tag" your polygon or polyline. You may enter a tag from FSX_KML_TAGS.XML or leave blank and tag later using FSX_KML

* Style & Color - You may choose the border and fill color for polyline or polygon

* Altitude - You may enter an altitude for your polyline or polygon. This can be used to specify the elevation of lakes. You may also enter the elevation later using FSX_MKL. All elevations must be entered in meters.

Begin tracing your polyline or polygon. You may either click the mouse or hold the mouse button down and drag the mouse to create vertices.

* Use your mouse wheel to zoom the view in and out vertically.

* Use the up, down, left, right arrow keys to move the view horizontally.

* Hold Shift and press left or right arrow to rotate the view.

* Hold Ctrl and press up or down arrow to tilt the view.

To make things easier; it is good to get into the habit of drawing polygon vertices in the same direction, perhaps always draw clockwise. That way if you decide to add new vertices to define details better, then you can simply click to the right of the currently selected vertex (blue) to add a new one in. Avoid adding vertices that make the polygon twisted.
While polygon "properties" is open, take the time to change the transparency (from the colour tab)- if you leave it opaque, then you end up covering important details and seeing mistakes is harder.

Once you have finished click OK to save your polygon or polyline.

To edit your polyline or polygon highlight it, right click the mouse and choose properties.

==== "Tagging" the scenery features ====

To describe what scenery feature your polygon or polyline represents it needs to be "tagged". The file FSX_KML_TAGS.XML contains a list of the tags you can use.

There are two ways to tag a polygon or polyline:-

* Place the name of the tag in the description field of the polygon or polyline.
* Place the name of the tag in the description field of the parent folder that contains the polygon or polyline. If a polygon/polyline has no tag then it will inherit its tag from the parent folder.

You can place these tags in GE using the properties dialog of the polygon or polyline, or you can use FSX_KML to place these tags.

To tag using FSX_KML click on a description "cell" and press F2. An arrow will be displayed so then click on the arrow to drop down a list of valid tags. Highlight the tag you want and press ENTER. If you had multi-selected several cells then all the selected cells will be tagged. To select multiple cells hold down the shift key while clicking cells.

==== Saving your work to a KML file ====

Once you're done drawing your polygon(s) or polyline(s), simply right-click on the top-most folder you created (or the polygon itself if you didn't create folders) under the "My Places" tab on the left side of your GE window. Select "Save As", makes sure that you choose .kml as the file type, and select your desired location in your file structure.

=== Step 2 - Processing the KML file with FSX KML ===

[[Image:project.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The Project tab]] [[Image:build.jpg|thumb||150px|The Build tab]]

* Run FSX_KML
* On the "Project" tab, click the "Add KML" button and choose a KML file. The contents of the selected KML file will be displayed. You may add multiple KML files. A FSX BGL file will be generated for each KML input file.
* Change to the "Build" tab
* Set the following build options:-
** "FSX folder" - Input the folder where FSX is installed. By default this is "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X"
** "Terrain SDK" - Input the location of the FSX terrain SDK
** "FW Tools" - Input the location where you installed FW Tools. FW Tools is required for scenery that uses the FSX SDK Resample tool, such as landclass and waterclass.
** "Run SDK tools" - If you select this option FSX KML will automatically run the SDK tools to turn your Shape Files into a FSX BGL
** "Copy generated scenery to FSX Addon Scenery Folder" - If you select this option FSX KML will copy the generated BGLS to the FSX addon scenery directory
* Click the "Build" button. FSX KML will now build your scenery. The progress of the build will be displayed in the build log window. The following actions will occur during the build:-
** For each KML file in your project
*** For vector based scenery an appropriate set of Shape files is generated depending on the features that have been tagged in the KML
*** For resample based scenery an appropriate Tiff file is created.
*** An XML config file is created for use by Shp2Vec, BGLComp and Resample
** A batch file called "Run_SDK_Tools.bat" will be created. This batch file contains the appropriate commands to call the FSX SDK tools (Shp2Vec, BGLComp and Resample)
** If you have selected the "Run SDK Tools" option then the Run_SDK_Tools.bat file will be executed. This will create various scenery .BGL files ready for use by FSX
** If you have selected the "Copy generated scenery..." option then the BGL files(s) will be copied to the FSX addon scenery directory. Please note: If FSX is running and using a previous version of your BGL file then the copy will not work because FSX will have the file "locked". The easiest way to ensure your file is copied to the addon scenery folder is to make sure FSX is not running.

=== Step 3 - Testing the scenery ===

* If you selected the "Copy generated files..." option then your scenery will have been copied to the FSX addon scenery folder. Simply run FSX and goto your scenery location to test the scenery

== Scenery Design Tutorial ==

The [http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML_Tutorial FSX KML Tutorial] provides help with a variety of scenery design tasks.

== Editing a KML file using FSX_KML ==

Using FSX_KML you can easily edit your KML file. The following types of edits can be performed:-

=== Copy ===
To copy a KML item (folder or polygon/polyline) select the item to copy and click the copy button.
=== Delete ===
To delete a KML item select the item to copy and click the delete button.
=== Edit ===
To edit the Name and Description attributes of a KML item select either a single item or multiple items (hold the shift key to multi-select) and then press F2 to display the inline editor. Enter the new value and press enter. Your edit will be applied to the items you selected

=== Saving your changes ===
Click the save button to write your changes back to disk..
.

=== Open in Notepad ===
Click the "Open in Notepad" button to open the selected KML file in Notepad.
=== Open in Google Earth ===
Click the "Open in Google Earth" button to open the selected KML file in Google Earth.
=== Reload a KML file ===
If you have edited the selected KML file using an external program (eg Google Earth or Notepad) then you can reload those changes back into FSX_KML by clicking the reload button.

=== Properties Tab ===

This tab shows the properties for the selected polygon or polyline.

Freeways:
Use the "NumberOfLanes" and "Traffic Direction" attributes to define freeway related data.

Hydropolygons:
Use the "SlopeX" and "SlopeY" attributes to define slope characteristics of hydropolygons.

=== Vertices Tab ===

This tab shows the vertices (ie points) for the selected polygon or polyline.

Click the "Edit" button to display the vertice editor. This editor lets you edit the vertices in several ways:-

Reversing points:
The direction of a polygon or polyline can be reversed by using the REVERSE POINTS button. Click the "Reverse" button to change the direction of points in the polygon/polyline.

Setting elevation:
You can set the elevation for all vertices by clicking the "Set Elevation" button.

Manual editing:
You can manually edit vertices (longtitude, latitude and elevation) by editing data in the vertex grid.

=== XML Tab ===

This tab shows the XML for the selected polygon or polyline.

== FSX_KML_TAGS.XML ==

[[Image:Tags.jpg|thumb|right|150px|FSX_KML_TAGS tab]]

=== What is the FSX_KML_TAGS file? ===

This file holds the "tags" that are used in the KML file to describe FSX scenery features. You can customise this file to add more tags or change existing ones.

An easy way to browse this file is by clicking on the "FSX_KML_TAGS.XML" tab in FSX KML.

This XML contains the following attributes for each "tag":-

* Tag - The unique identifier for this scenery feature. This tag is what you use to "tag" the polygons/polylines in your Google Earth KML file
* Description - A description of the scenery feature. This description is displayed in FSX KML.
* Feature Type - The type of scenery feature and must be one of the following types:-
** WATERPOLY - Water polygons such as coastline, rivers, lakes, canals etc
** WATERPOLYGPS - Low resolution water polygons for use in the GPS
** LANDCLASSPOLY - irregular shaped landclass polygons for towns, forest, beaches, park etc
** AIRPORTBOUNDRY - define airport boundries and also flatten areas and AUTOGEN EXCLUSIONS
** EXCLUSION - exclude default vector scenery from the polygon
** STREAM - create streams
** SHORELINE - create animated shorelines
** ROAD - create roads (NOT road bridges)
** FREEWAY - create moving traffic
** RAILWAY - create railways (NOT rail bridges)
** UTILITY - power lines, telegraph lines, fences etc
** SCENERYOBJECT - place scenery objects
** EXCLUSIONRECTANGLE - excludes scenery objects
** EXTRUSIONBRIDGE - creates extrusion bridges
** LANDCLASS - create land class
** WATERCLASS - create water class
* GUID - The FSX GUID for the scenery feature.

Please refer to the FSX "terrain.cfg" file and terrain SDK documentation for futher information on feature types and GUIDs

=== Editing FSX_KML_TAGS.XML using FSX KML ===

The FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file can be easily edited in FSX KML. To following edits can be performed:-

==== Copy ====
To copy an item select the item to copy and click the copy button.
==== Delete ====
To delete an item select the item to delete and click the delete button.
==== Edit ====
To edit the Tag, Description, FeatureType or GUID attributes of an item select either a single item or multiple items (hold the shift key to multi-select) and then press F2 to display the inline editor. Enter the new value and press enter. Your edit will be applied to the items you selected

==== Saving your changes ====
Click the save button to write your changes back to disk.
==== Open in Notepad ====
Click the "Open in Notepad" button to open the FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file in Notepad.
==== Reload ====
If you have edited the FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file using an external program (eg Notepad) you can reload those changes by clicking the reload button.

== Google Earth ==

=== Downloading Google Earth ===

The free version Google Earth may be downloaded from the [http://earth.google.com/ Google Earth home page]

=== Copyright of Google Earth Data ===

Scenery developers need to be aware that there may be copyright issues associated with the use of data obtained from Google Earth. Please see the [http://earth.google.com/support/ Google Earth support page] for more information on the Google Earth policy of using this data in your freeware or commercial products.

== Freeware scenery using FSX KML ==

The following freeware has used FSX KML during their development:-

* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Isle+of+Wight&FileName=&Author=Len+Hickman&CatID=fsxscen Isle of Wight (UK) reconstructed] by Len Hickman
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Quebec+Scenery&FileName=&Author=Gilles+Gauthier&CatID=fsxscen Quebec Scenery - Lakes and Rivers] by Gilles Gauthier
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Catalunya+Coast&FileName=&Author=Bodo+Hesse&CatID=fsxscen Catalunya Coast] by Bodo Hesse
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Naval+air+station&FileName=&Author=Jim+Dhaenens&CatID=fsxscen Naval Air station Jacksonville (KNIP)] by Jim Dhaenens
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=103120 Naval Air Station Oceana (KNTU)] by Jim Dhaenens
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=102870 Coffs Harbour (YSCH)] by John Ross (also at www.virtualvfr.com)
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=103027 Kitimat/Terrace] by Douglas Keech
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=102995 Los Angeles "clean-up"] by Lance Tucker
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=104609 Lord howe Island and Balls Pyramid] by Don Bush
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=104853 Falklands 2007] by Brian Jamieson
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=104000 Gloucestershire Airport] by Terry Shields
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=105386 Okanagan Valley Landclass and Rivers] by Alex Sievert
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=106386&CatID=fsxscen Gold Coast Airport (YBCG)] by John Ross
* [http://marcoh.gratisim.fr Photorealistic Town of Nantes in France] by Marc-henri Guitteny
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=109752&CatID=fsxscen Utah Complete v1.0] by James Udall
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=111154 Bushflight Northwest] by Bill Dick / Phil "Snowman" Cayton / Chris Brisland
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=114132&CatID=fsxscen Wake Island] by Tony Arnold

Freeware authors please list your freeware scenery here!

== Commercial scenery using FSX KML ==

The following commercial scenery has used FSX KML during their development:-

* [http://www.imaginesim.com/kcvg01.htm KCVG Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.imaginesim.com/tjsj01.htm TJSJ San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Airport, Puerto Rico] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.aerosoft-shop2.com/products/helgolandx/helgolandx.html Helgoland X] by AeroSoft
* [http://www.aerosoft-shop2.com/products/monacox/monacox.html Monaco X] by AeroSoft
* [http://www.aerosoft-shop2.com/products/aspenx/aspenx.html Aspen X] by AeroSoft
* [http://secure.simmarket.com/product_info.php?products_id=2361 Pantanal - The Wetlands] by CenaReal

Please list other commercial scenery here.

== End User Licence ==

Copyright Â© 2007 Innova Software ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

FSX KML ("Software") is distributed without charge to FSX add-on designers, redistribution of the original ZIP file is not allowed. You are NOT allowed to sell this software or ask money for its distribution.

FSX KML may be used free of charge for the production of both freeware and commercial add-ons (including sceneries,missions,aircraft) subject to the following terms and conditions:-
* You notify Innova Software of the use of FSX KML in your add-on
* You give Innova Software a free copy of your add-on (and any updates)
* In your readme file you say that FSX KML was used to help with the production of your add-on
* The copyright and any intellectual property relating to the FSX KML software shall remain the property of Innova Software
* LIMITED WARRANTY - INNOVA SOFTWARE SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE IN TORT OR IN CONTRACT FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE HOWSOEVER CAUSED TO THE PROPERTY OR PERSON OF YOURSELF OR ANY THIRD PARTY AS A RESULT OF ANY DEFECT IN THE SOFTWARE WHETHER PATENT OR LATENT OR AS A RESULT OF ANY FAULT, NEGLIGENCE, WRONGFUL ACT OR OMISSION OF INNOVA SOFTWARE OR ANY OF ITS SERVANTS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTS AND AGENTS, AND YOU INDEMNIFY INNOVA SOFTWARE AGAINST ANY CLAIMS MADE AGAINST IT BY ANY THIRD PARTY ARISING OUT OF ANY SUCH DEFAULT OR FAULT, NEGLIGENCE, WRONGFUL ACT OR OMISSION AND IN NO EVENT SHALL INNOVA SOFTWARE BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIMS OR DAMAGES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO CLAIMS OF FAULTY DESIGN, NEGLIGENT OR MISLEADING ADVICE, DAMAGES ARISING FROM LOSS OR USE OF THE SOFTWARE AND/OR SUPPLY OF SERVICES; AND ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR INJURY TO ANY PERSON, CORPORATION OR OTHER ENTITY BY REASON OF THE PROVISION OF THE SOFTWARE AND/OR PROVISION OF SERVICES PURSUANT TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Developers can email acceptance of these terms and conditions to fsx_kml@innovasoftware.com.

== Release History ==

=== v1.00 Beta - 19th 0ct 2006 ===

This is first beta release of FSX KML

=== v1.01 Beta - 19th 0ct 2006 ===

Issues resolved:-
* Fixed error with FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file not found

=== v1.02 Beta - 21st 0ct 2006 ===

Issues resolved:-
* Fixed error reading polygon/poylines. FSX KML could sometimes insert an erroneous point of 0,0

=== v1.03 Beta - 28th 0ct 2006 ===

New features and issues resolved:-
* Better handle tags in description field. Be less strict about "whitespace" and cr/lf
* Better handle international settings for decimals
* Add more excludes to fsx_kml_tags.xml (see tags starting with "exclude__")
* Add support for moving kml items up/down
* Add support for moving kml items via drag drop
* Add support for creating new kml folder
* Create shapes in order they appear in the KML
* Assign UUID (starting at 1) to each shape in the KML based on its order in the KML

Known issues (Features not implemented in this release):-
* Freeway tags (moving traffic) - in v1.03 you must manually edit the FW .DBF file to set traffic density and direction

=== v1.04 Beta - 20th Jan 2007 ===

New features and issues resolved:-

* Use INI file (FSX_KML.INI) to remember settings including list of KML files and FSX folder settings
* Allow multi select of KML files in Add KML file dialog
* Display points for selected polygon/polyline
* Add REVERSE POINTS button to allow direction of polygon/polyline to be reversed
* Add POLYGONHOLE tag to support "holes" in polygons, eg for making islands in rivers
* Add LEGACY_LANDWATERMASK_WATER_NOFLATTEN tag for water polygons that "cling" to mesh
* Default freeway traffic to one lane of traffic

=== v1.05 Beta - 21st Jan 2007 ===

New features and issues resolved:-

* Added "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" build option. This option will auto reverse points for polygon holes when creating the shape file. Apparently Google Earth always writes polygons in a clockwise fashion to the KML file irrespective of which way they are actually drawn in Google Earth. This option simplifies the creation of polygon holes because you no longer need to manually reverse point order in FSX KML. Option is on by default.
* Added "Output Folder" build option. This lets you specify the folder where files are written during the build process
* Fixed error when loading the saved list of KML files and a KML file can longer be found.

=== v1.05.1 Beta - 21st Jan 2007 ===

Issues resolved:-

* Fixed bug where directory would not be changed prior to running the RUN_SDK_TOOLS batch file

=== v1.06 Beta - 14th Apr 2007 ===

New features:-

* Added grid to allow manual editing of polygon/polyline points (longitude,latitude,elevation)
* Added button for setting all points in polygon/polyline to a specific elevation
* Added support for tag parameters (eg freeway traffic data and hydro poly slopeX/Y)
* Added option to save backups to backup subdirectory (on by default).
* Added XML tab to show XML for highlighted node
* Remember window size and position

Issues resolved:-

* Changed tag name of "Park" to "LandClassPoly" since landclass polys can be used for more than just parks! Existing "Park" tags are automatically renamed to "LandClassPoly"
* Handle extra '.' in filenames

=== v1.07 Beta - 25th Apr 2007 ===

New features:-

* Added "Shape" tab with support for shape viewing. Select single (or multiple) polygon/polylines to see its shape. Selecting a folder will show all shapes in that folder and any sub folders.
* Added "Select All" function (Ctrl A) to select all polylines/polygons
* Added "New" button to Vertices form to insert vertice.
* Added "Copy" button to Vertices form to copy the selected vertice.
* Added "Delete" button to Vertices form to delete selected vertice.
* Added "Move Up" and "Move Down" button to Vertices form to move selected vertice up or down in list.
* Added Options menu to main form. Moved "Save Backups" to this menu
* Added "Remember Window Position and Size" to the options menu

Issues resolved:-

* Updated the "About" form to credit the 3rd party development libraries used (eg Shapelib)
* Fixed misplaced longitude and latitude labels on vertice grid

=== v1.08 Beta - 18th May 2007 ===

New features:-

* Add BGLCOMP support for placing of FSX library objects along polyline. The use of "Variance" parameters below helps create more naturalistic looking scenery by applying random variance to object positioning. Support the following parameters:-
** Altitude AGL or MSL
** Altitude variance - Random variance in meters applied to alitude (use 0 for no variance)
** Pitch (0 - 360)
** Pitch variance - Random variance in degrees (0 - 180) applied to pitch (use 0 for no variance)
** Bank (0 - 360)
** Bank variance - Random variance in degrees (0 - 180) applied to bank (use 0 for no variance)
** HeadingType
*** Track - Heading of each object follows the direction of each polyline segment
*** Fixed - Heading of all objects is specified by Heading parameter
*** Random - Heading is random for each object
*** Elevation - Heading for each object is specified by elevation of associated polyline vertice
** Heading (0 - 360) - Used when HeadingType = Fixed
** Heading variance - Random variance in degrees (0 - 180) applied to heading (use 0 for no variance)
** Scale - Scale multiply of object (defaults to 1.0)
** ScaleVariance - Random variance in scale to apply to objects. (use 0 for no variance)
** ImageComplexity - VerySparse, Sparse, Normal, Dense, VeryDense, ExtremelyDense
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Add tags for all default FSX scenery library objects
* Build tab - Add button for setting BGLComp SDK path
* Build tab - Add "Open" button for output folder path to open Windows Explorer on that folder

Issues resolved:-

* Fixed issue with copy button

=== v1.09 Beta - 23rd June 2007 ===

New features:-

* Added BGLCOMP support for scenery exclusion rectangles ("ExclusionRectangle" tag). The exclusion rectangle will be defined by the "bounding" rectangle of the polyline/polygon. Supports the following parameters
** ExcludeAllObjects
** ExcludeBeaconObjects
** ExcludeEffectObjects
** ExcludeGenericBuildingObjects
** ExcludeLibraryObjects
** ExcludeTaxiwaySignObjects
** ExcludeTriggerObjects
** ExcludeWindsockObjects
** ImageComplexity - VerySparse, Sparse, Normal, Dense, VeryDense, ExtremelyDense
* Added BGLCOMP support for Extrusion Bridges ("ExtrusionBridge" tag). Draw a polyline and tag it with "ExclusionBridge", then use the vertice editor to set the height of each bridge segment.
* Added "Change to" button on the Vertice Editor to change shape type from polygon to polyline and vice versa
* Enhanced polygons holes so that if a polygon cannot be found in the same folder as polygon hole ("polygon folder") then the parent folder is searched for the first polygon preceding the polygon folder. This makes it possible to better organize a project by placing polygon holes (i.e islands) in a sub folder and still have them associated with a water polygon in a parent folder

=== v1.10 Beta - 19th August 2007 ===

New features:-

* Land class tiles
* Water class tiles

== Development Roadmap ==

The following features are planned for upcoming releases:-

=== Future releases ===
* Update this manual :)
* Add 10 minute autosave
* Add following params to BGLCOMP support:-
** Heading Type
*** FixedTrack - Heading of all objects is fixed to the direction of first polyline segment
** Divergence - Random divergence (in meters) from vertice. Applied in direction which is perpendicular to direction of polyline segment (use 0 for no variance)
* Add "AutoPolygonHole" to polygon properties sheet. This allows a polygon hole to be automatically created in the shape of the polygon, and removes the need manually create a hole (by copying and tagging as hole)
* Fix - Ensure lon/lat uses '.' and not ','
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Add support for tag groups
* Add BGLCOMP support for Tag Groups. Tag grouping allows the scenery designer to group together similar scenery library objects into a single group. For example, when populating a car park the designer could use a tag group containing a variety of car models. This would result in car models being chosen at random from the tag group.
* Add shape viewer to Vertice Editor form and have it refresh as vertices are edited.
* Add "Fly to" button to Vertices Editor form to move FSX aircraft to the selected vertice
* Add "Paste Aircraft pos" button to Vertices Editor form to paste the current location of aircraft (longtitude, latitude, and optionally altitude) into the list of Vertices.
* Export - Ability to export selected polygons/polylines to a CSV file, with option for long/lat/elevation ordering
* Scenery Placer - Add support for dynamically previewing scenery objects while FSX is running. This allows very precise and interactive control over the objects placement and orientation without the need to build a BGL and reload FSX.
* Placing FSX library objects inside a polygon. Allow number of objects and elevation to be specified. Objects will be distributed randomly within the polygon. This can be used to populate livestock, wildlife, boats/ships in harbors, people on beaches, birds, hot air balloons etc
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Texture preview for land class polygons and tiles tags
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Scenery object preview for default FSX scenery objects
* Ability to inject a QMID 11 grid into the KML to aid with visualization of exclusion areas
* New, Open and Save project buttons to support multiple projects.
* "Check for Update" menu option to check online for updates.

* If possible conditional display of FSX scenery library objects based on various triggers such as date/time, weather conditions and probability factor. For example, this would allow harbors to be populated with pleasure craft on sunny warm days, but not at night or in cold weather. Would allow forest fires to be generated in hot, windy conditions.
* If possible ability to animate FSX scenery library objects along a polyline
* "Photo scenery" ground textures
* Flight plan generation along polyline


[[Category:FSX]]
[[Category:Manuals]]

FSX KML

2008-01-25T13:54:27Z

EssieP: /* Vertices Tab */

== Introduction ==

[[Image:before_and_after.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Before and after screenshot]]

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

It converts KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files generated by Google Earth into FSX scenery.

Using Google Earth to draw polygons and polylines you can accurately and easily many types of scenery.

===Shp2Vec based scenery===
FSX KML uses the FSX SDK Shp2Vec tool to create the following types of vector scenery:-

* Water polygons including oceans, rivers, lakes and canals
* Islands inside water features
* Irregular shaped land class polygons for cities, parks, beaches, forest, golf courses etc
* Airport boundaries and flatten polygons and AUTOGEN EXCLUSIONS
* Shorelines
* Streams
* Roads
* Railways
* Freeways (ie Moving traffic)
* Utility lines (eg power and telephone lines)
* Exclusions polygons (for vector data)

===BGLComp based scenery===
FSX KML uses the FSX SDK BGLComp tool to create the following types of scenery:-

* Place scenery objects (from the FSX library) along a polyline using a wide variety of [http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML#v1.08_Beta_-_18th_May_2007 placement options]
* Exclusion rectangles
* Extrusion bridges

===Resample based scenery===
FSX KML uses the FSX SDK Resample tool to create the following types of scenery:-

* Land class tiles
* Water class tiles

'''Make sure you also download and install [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML#Installing_FWTools FWTools] which is required for creating these types of scenery.'''

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Downloading FSX KML ==

The latest version of FSX KML (1.10) can be downloaded from:-

* AVSIM - http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxsd&DLID=108495
* The Scenery Hall of Fame - http://www.scenery.org/graphical_editors.htm

== Installation ==

=== Installing FSX KML ===

FSX KML can be installed in a folder of your choice. Simply unzip the FSX KML installation zip file into the desired folder.

After unzipping the installation file you should have the following files:-

* FSX_KML.exe
* ShapeLib129.dll
* FreeImage.DLL
* FSX_KML_TAGS.XML


=== Installing the FSX Software Development Kit (SDK) ===

To generate FSX scenery you will need the FSX SDK, which is distributed with the FSX Deluxe version.
To install the SDK:

(1) Browse the FSX Deluxe Edition Disk 1

(2) Open the SDK sub-folder

(3) Double-click the setup.exe

(4) Tell it where to install. Default is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK

If the SDK is not installed in the default SDK folder you must specify its location on the FSX_KML build tab.

For more info on the SDK installation and Service packs: [http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=SDK_Installation_%28FSX%29 http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=SDK_Installation_%28FSX%29]

=== Installing FWTools ===

FSX KML makes use of the freeware tool set called [http://fwtools.maptools.org/ FWTools]. FW Tools is required for scenery that uses the FSX SDK Resample tool, such as landclass and waterclass.

Download and install the latest version of FWTools.

Specify the location of FWTools on the FSX KML Build tab.

== Building Scenery ==

Building your own scenery with FSX KML is easy.

=== Step 1 - Creating a KML file with Google Earth ===

The first step in creating your FSX scenery is to create a KML file by using Google Earth to "trace" scenery features.

==== Creating polygons and polylines ====

Using Google Earth create a polygon using the "Add Poly" function or create a polyline using the "Add Path" function,
and then trace the scenery feature (for example a lake or road).

After you click the "Add Poly" or "Add Path button" you will be presented with a form as shown to the right

[[Image:GE-polygon-dialog.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Google Earth dialog for creating new polygon or polyline]]

* Name - Give your polygon or polyline a description or leave blank

* Description - This is where you "tag" your polygon or polyline. You may enter a tag from FSX_KML_TAGS.XML or leave blank and tag later using FSX_KML

* Style & Color - You may choose the border and fill color for polyline or polygon

* Altitude - You may enter an altitude for your polyline or polygon. This can be used to specify the elevation of lakes. You may also enter the elevation later using FSX_MKL. All elevations must be entered in meters.

Begin tracing your polyline or polygon. You may either click the mouse or hold the mouse button down and drag the mouse to create vertices.

* Use your mouse wheel to zoom the view in and out vertically.

* Use the up, down, left, right arrow keys to move the view horizontally.

* Hold Shift and press left or right arrow to rotate the view.

* Hold Ctrl and press up or down arrow to tilt the view.

To make things easier; it is good to get into the habit of drawing polygon vertices in the same direction, perhaps always draw clockwise. That way if you decide to add new vertices to define details better, then you can simply click to the right of the currently selected vertex (blue) to add a new one in. Avoid adding vertices that make the polygon twisted.
While polygon "properties" is open, take the time to change the transparency (from the colour tab)- if you leave it opaque, then you end up covering important details.

Once you have finished click OK to save your polygon or polyline.

To edit your polyline or polygon highlight it, right click the mouse and choose properties.

==== "Tagging" the scenery features ====

To describe what scenery feature your polygon or polyline represents it needs to be "tagged". The file FSX_KML_TAGS.XML contains a list of the tags you can use.

There are two ways to tag a polygon or polyline:-

* Place the name of the tag in the description field of the polygon or polyline.
* Place the name of the tag in the description field of the parent folder that contains the polygon or polyline. If a polygon/polyline has no tag then it will inherit its tag from the parent folder.

You can place these tags in GE using the properties dialog of the polygon or polyline, or you can use FSX_KML to place these tags.

To tag using FSX_KML click on a description "cell" and press F2. An arrow will be displayed so then click on the arrow to drop down a list of valid tags. Highlight the tag you want and press ENTER. If you had multi-selected several cells then all the selected cells will be tagged. To select multiple cells hold down the shift key while clicking cells.

==== Saving your work to a KML file ====

Once you're done drawing your polygon(s) or polyline(s), simply right-click on the top-most folder you created (or the polygon itself if you didn't create folders) under the "My Places" tab on the left side of your GE window. Select "Save As", makes sure that you choose .kml as the file type, and select your desired location in your file structure.

=== Step 2 - Processing the KML file with FSX KML ===

[[Image:project.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The Project tab]] [[Image:build.jpg|thumb||150px|The Build tab]]

* Run FSX_KML
* On the "Project" tab, click the "Add KML" button and choose a KML file. The contents of the selected KML file will be displayed. You may add multiple KML files. A FSX BGL file will be generated for each KML input file.
* Change to the "Build" tab
* Set the following build options:-
** "FSX folder" - Input the folder where FSX is installed. By default this is "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X"
** "Terrain SDK" - Input the location of the FSX terrain SDK
** "FW Tools" - Input the location where you installed FW Tools. FW Tools is required for scenery that uses the FSX SDK Resample tool, such as landclass and waterclass.
** "Run SDK tools" - If you select this option FSX KML will automatically run the SDK tools to turn your Shape Files into a FSX BGL
** "Copy generated scenery to FSX Addon Scenery Folder" - If you select this option FSX KML will copy the generated BGLS to the FSX addon scenery directory
* Click the "Build" button. FSX KML will now build your scenery. The progress of the build will be displayed in the build log window. The following actions will occur during the build:-
** For each KML file in your project
*** For vector based scenery an appropriate set of Shape files is generated depending on the features that have been tagged in the KML
*** For resample based scenery an appropriate Tiff file is created.
*** An XML config file is created for use by Shp2Vec, BGLComp and Resample
** A batch file called "Run_SDK_Tools.bat" will be created. This batch file contains the appropriate commands to call the FSX SDK tools (Shp2Vec, BGLComp and Resample)
** If you have selected the "Run SDK Tools" option then the Run_SDK_Tools.bat file will be executed. This will create various scenery .BGL files ready for use by FSX
** If you have selected the "Copy generated scenery..." option then the BGL files(s) will be copied to the FSX addon scenery directory. Please note: If FSX is running and using a previous version of your BGL file then the copy will not work because FSX will have the file "locked". The easiest way to ensure your file is copied to the addon scenery folder is to make sure FSX is not running.

=== Step 3 - Testing the scenery ===

* If you selected the "Copy generated files..." option then your scenery will have been copied to the FSX addon scenery folder. Simply run FSX and goto your scenery location to test the scenery

== Scenery Design Tutorial ==

The [http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML_Tutorial FSX KML Tutorial] provides help with a variety of scenery design tasks.

== Editing a KML file using FSX_KML ==

Using FSX_KML you can easily edit your KML file. The following types of edits can be performed:-

=== Copy ===
To copy a KML item (folder or polygon/polyline) select the item to copy and click the copy button.
=== Delete ===
To delete a KML item select the item to copy and click the delete button.
=== Edit ===
To edit the Name and Description attributes of a KML item select either a single item or multiple items (hold the shift key to multi-select) and then press F2 to display the inline editor. Enter the new value and press enter. Your edit will be applied to the items you selected

=== Saving your changes ===
Click the save button to write your changes back to disk..
.

=== Open in Notepad ===
Click the "Open in Notepad" button to open the selected KML file in Notepad.
=== Open in Google Earth ===
Click the "Open in Google Earth" button to open the selected KML file in Google Earth.
=== Reload a KML file ===
If you have edited the selected KML file using an external program (eg Google Earth or Notepad) then you can reload those changes back into FSX_KML by clicking the reload button.

=== Properties Tab ===

This tab shows the properties for the selected polygon or polyline.

Freeways:
Use the "NumberOfLanes" and "Traffic Direction" attributes to define freeway related data.

Hydropolygons:
Use the "SlopeX" and "SlopeY" attributes to define slope characteristics of hydropolygons.

=== Vertices Tab ===

This tab shows the vertices (ie points) for the selected polygon or polyline.

Click the "Edit" button to display the vertice editor. This editor lets you edit the vertices in several ways:-

Reversing points:
The direction of a polygon or polyline can be reversed by using the REVERSE POINTS button. Click the "Reverse" button to change the direction of points in the polygon/polyline.

Setting elevation:
You can set the elevation for all vertices by clicking the "Set Elevation" button.

Manual editing:
You can manually edit vertices (longtitude, latitude and elevation) by editing data in the vertex grid.

=== XML Tab ===

This tab shows the XML for the selected polygon or polyline.

== FSX_KML_TAGS.XML ==

[[Image:Tags.jpg|thumb|right|150px|FSX_KML_TAGS tab]]

=== What is the FSX_KML_TAGS file? ===

This file holds the "tags" that are used in the KML file to describe FSX scenery features. You can customise this file to add more tags or change existing ones.

An easy way to browse this file is by clicking on the "FSX_KML_TAGS.XML" tab in FSX KML.

This XML contains the following attributes for each "tag":-

* Tag - The unique identifier for this scenery feature. This tag is what you use to "tag" the polygons/polylines in your Google Earth KML file
* Description - A description of the scenery feature. This description is displayed in FSX KML.
* Feature Type - The type of scenery feature and must be one of the following types:-
** WATERPOLY - Water polygons such as coastline, rivers, lakes, canals etc
** WATERPOLYGPS - Low resolution water polygons for use in the GPS
** LANDCLASSPOLY - irregular shaped landclass polygons for towns, forest, beaches, park etc
** AIRPORTBOUNDRY - define airport boundries and also flatten areas and AUTOGEN EXCLUSIONS
** EXCLUSION - exclude default vector scenery from the polygon
** STREAM - create streams
** SHORELINE - create animated shorelines
** ROAD - create roads (NOT road bridges)
** FREEWAY - create moving traffic
** RAILWAY - create railways (NOT rail bridges)
** UTILITY - power lines, telegraph lines, fences etc
** SCENERYOBJECT - place scenery objects
** EXCLUSIONRECTANGLE - excludes scenery objects
** EXTRUSIONBRIDGE - creates extrusion bridges
** LANDCLASS - create land class
** WATERCLASS - create water class
* GUID - The FSX GUID for the scenery feature.

Please refer to the FSX "terrain.cfg" file and terrain SDK documentation for futher information on feature types and GUIDs

=== Editing FSX_KML_TAGS.XML using FSX KML ===

The FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file can be easily edited in FSX KML. To following edits can be performed:-

==== Copy ====
To copy an item select the item to copy and click the copy button.
==== Delete ====
To delete an item select the item to delete and click the delete button.
==== Edit ====
To edit the Tag, Description, FeatureType or GUID attributes of an item select either a single item or multiple items (hold the shift key to multi-select) and then press F2 to display the inline editor. Enter the new value and press enter. Your edit will be applied to the items you selected

==== Saving your changes ====
Click the save button to write your changes back to disk.
==== Open in Notepad ====
Click the "Open in Notepad" button to open the FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file in Notepad.
==== Reload ====
If you have edited the FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file using an external program (eg Notepad) you can reload those changes by clicking the reload button.

== Google Earth ==

=== Downloading Google Earth ===

The free version Google Earth may be downloaded from the [http://earth.google.com/ Google Earth home page]

=== Copyright of Google Earth Data ===

Scenery developers need to be aware that there may be copyright issues associated with the use of data obtained from Google Earth. Please see the [http://earth.google.com/support/ Google Earth support page] for more information on the Google Earth policy of using this data in your freeware or commercial products.

== Freeware scenery using FSX KML ==

The following freeware has used FSX KML during their development:-

* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Isle+of+Wight&FileName=&Author=Len+Hickman&CatID=fsxscen Isle of Wight (UK) reconstructed] by Len Hickman
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Quebec+Scenery&FileName=&Author=Gilles+Gauthier&CatID=fsxscen Quebec Scenery - Lakes and Rivers] by Gilles Gauthier
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Catalunya+Coast&FileName=&Author=Bodo+Hesse&CatID=fsxscen Catalunya Coast] by Bodo Hesse
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Naval+air+station&FileName=&Author=Jim+Dhaenens&CatID=fsxscen Naval Air station Jacksonville (KNIP)] by Jim Dhaenens
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=103120 Naval Air Station Oceana (KNTU)] by Jim Dhaenens
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=102870 Coffs Harbour (YSCH)] by John Ross (also at www.virtualvfr.com)
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=103027 Kitimat/Terrace] by Douglas Keech
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=102995 Los Angeles "clean-up"] by Lance Tucker
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=104609 Lord howe Island and Balls Pyramid] by Don Bush
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=104853 Falklands 2007] by Brian Jamieson
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=104000 Gloucestershire Airport] by Terry Shields
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=105386 Okanagan Valley Landclass and Rivers] by Alex Sievert
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=106386&CatID=fsxscen Gold Coast Airport (YBCG)] by John Ross
* [http://marcoh.gratisim.fr Photorealistic Town of Nantes in France] by Marc-henri Guitteny
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=109752&CatID=fsxscen Utah Complete v1.0] by James Udall
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=111154 Bushflight Northwest] by Bill Dick / Phil "Snowman" Cayton / Chris Brisland
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=114132&CatID=fsxscen Wake Island] by Tony Arnold

Freeware authors please list your freeware scenery here!

== Commercial scenery using FSX KML ==

The following commercial scenery has used FSX KML during their development:-

* [http://www.imaginesim.com/kcvg01.htm KCVG Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.imaginesim.com/tjsj01.htm TJSJ San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Airport, Puerto Rico] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.aerosoft-shop2.com/products/helgolandx/helgolandx.html Helgoland X] by AeroSoft
* [http://www.aerosoft-shop2.com/products/monacox/monacox.html Monaco X] by AeroSoft
* [http://www.aerosoft-shop2.com/products/aspenx/aspenx.html Aspen X] by AeroSoft
* [http://secure.simmarket.com/product_info.php?products_id=2361 Pantanal - The Wetlands] by CenaReal

Please list other commercial scenery here.

== End User Licence ==

Copyright Â© 2007 Innova Software ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

FSX KML ("Software") is distributed without charge to FSX add-on designers, redistribution of the original ZIP file is not allowed. You are NOT allowed to sell this software or ask money for its distribution.

FSX KML may be used free of charge for the production of both freeware and commercial add-ons (including sceneries,missions,aircraft) subject to the following terms and conditions:-
* You notify Innova Software of the use of FSX KML in your add-on
* You give Innova Software a free copy of your add-on (and any updates)
* In your readme file you say that FSX KML was used to help with the production of your add-on
* The copyright and any intellectual property relating to the FSX KML software shall remain the property of Innova Software
* LIMITED WARRANTY - INNOVA SOFTWARE SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE IN TORT OR IN CONTRACT FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE HOWSOEVER CAUSED TO THE PROPERTY OR PERSON OF YOURSELF OR ANY THIRD PARTY AS A RESULT OF ANY DEFECT IN THE SOFTWARE WHETHER PATENT OR LATENT OR AS A RESULT OF ANY FAULT, NEGLIGENCE, WRONGFUL ACT OR OMISSION OF INNOVA SOFTWARE OR ANY OF ITS SERVANTS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTS AND AGENTS, AND YOU INDEMNIFY INNOVA SOFTWARE AGAINST ANY CLAIMS MADE AGAINST IT BY ANY THIRD PARTY ARISING OUT OF ANY SUCH DEFAULT OR FAULT, NEGLIGENCE, WRONGFUL ACT OR OMISSION AND IN NO EVENT SHALL INNOVA SOFTWARE BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIMS OR DAMAGES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO CLAIMS OF FAULTY DESIGN, NEGLIGENT OR MISLEADING ADVICE, DAMAGES ARISING FROM LOSS OR USE OF THE SOFTWARE AND/OR SUPPLY OF SERVICES; AND ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR INJURY TO ANY PERSON, CORPORATION OR OTHER ENTITY BY REASON OF THE PROVISION OF THE SOFTWARE AND/OR PROVISION OF SERVICES PURSUANT TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Developers can email acceptance of these terms and conditions to fsx_kml@innovasoftware.com.

== Release History ==

=== v1.00 Beta - 19th 0ct 2006 ===

This is first beta release of FSX KML

=== v1.01 Beta - 19th 0ct 2006 ===

Issues resolved:-
* Fixed error with FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file not found

=== v1.02 Beta - 21st 0ct 2006 ===

Issues resolved:-
* Fixed error reading polygon/poylines. FSX KML could sometimes insert an erroneous point of 0,0

=== v1.03 Beta - 28th 0ct 2006 ===

New features and issues resolved:-
* Better handle tags in description field. Be less strict about "whitespace" and cr/lf
* Better handle international settings for decimals
* Add more excludes to fsx_kml_tags.xml (see tags starting with "exclude__")
* Add support for moving kml items up/down
* Add support for moving kml items via drag drop
* Add support for creating new kml folder
* Create shapes in order they appear in the KML
* Assign UUID (starting at 1) to each shape in the KML based on its order in the KML

Known issues (Features not implemented in this release):-
* Freeway tags (moving traffic) - in v1.03 you must manually edit the FW .DBF file to set traffic density and direction

=== v1.04 Beta - 20th Jan 2007 ===

New features and issues resolved:-

* Use INI file (FSX_KML.INI) to remember settings including list of KML files and FSX folder settings
* Allow multi select of KML files in Add KML file dialog
* Display points for selected polygon/polyline
* Add REVERSE POINTS button to allow direction of polygon/polyline to be reversed
* Add POLYGONHOLE tag to support "holes" in polygons, eg for making islands in rivers
* Add LEGACY_LANDWATERMASK_WATER_NOFLATTEN tag for water polygons that "cling" to mesh
* Default freeway traffic to one lane of traffic

=== v1.05 Beta - 21st Jan 2007 ===

New features and issues resolved:-

* Added "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" build option. This option will auto reverse points for polygon holes when creating the shape file. Apparently Google Earth always writes polygons in a clockwise fashion to the KML file irrespective of which way they are actually drawn in Google Earth. This option simplifies the creation of polygon holes because you no longer need to manually reverse point order in FSX KML. Option is on by default.
* Added "Output Folder" build option. This lets you specify the folder where files are written during the build process
* Fixed error when loading the saved list of KML files and a KML file can longer be found.

=== v1.05.1 Beta - 21st Jan 2007 ===

Issues resolved:-

* Fixed bug where directory would not be changed prior to running the RUN_SDK_TOOLS batch file

=== v1.06 Beta - 14th Apr 2007 ===

New features:-

* Added grid to allow manual editing of polygon/polyline points (longitude,latitude,elevation)
* Added button for setting all points in polygon/polyline to a specific elevation
* Added support for tag parameters (eg freeway traffic data and hydro poly slopeX/Y)
* Added option to save backups to backup subdirectory (on by default).
* Added XML tab to show XML for highlighted node
* Remember window size and position

Issues resolved:-

* Changed tag name of "Park" to "LandClassPoly" since landclass polys can be used for more than just parks! Existing "Park" tags are automatically renamed to "LandClassPoly"
* Handle extra '.' in filenames

=== v1.07 Beta - 25th Apr 2007 ===

New features:-

* Added "Shape" tab with support for shape viewing. Select single (or multiple) polygon/polylines to see its shape. Selecting a folder will show all shapes in that folder and any sub folders.
* Added "Select All" function (Ctrl A) to select all polylines/polygons
* Added "New" button to Vertices form to insert vertice.
* Added "Copy" button to Vertices form to copy the selected vertice.
* Added "Delete" button to Vertices form to delete selected vertice.
* Added "Move Up" and "Move Down" button to Vertices form to move selected vertice up or down in list.
* Added Options menu to main form. Moved "Save Backups" to this menu
* Added "Remember Window Position and Size" to the options menu

Issues resolved:-

* Updated the "About" form to credit the 3rd party development libraries used (eg Shapelib)
* Fixed misplaced longitude and latitude labels on vertice grid

=== v1.08 Beta - 18th May 2007 ===

New features:-

* Add BGLCOMP support for placing of FSX library objects along polyline. The use of "Variance" parameters below helps create more naturalistic looking scenery by applying random variance to object positioning. Support the following parameters:-
** Altitude AGL or MSL
** Altitude variance - Random variance in meters applied to alitude (use 0 for no variance)
** Pitch (0 - 360)
** Pitch variance - Random variance in degrees (0 - 180) applied to pitch (use 0 for no variance)
** Bank (0 - 360)
** Bank variance - Random variance in degrees (0 - 180) applied to bank (use 0 for no variance)
** HeadingType
*** Track - Heading of each object follows the direction of each polyline segment
*** Fixed - Heading of all objects is specified by Heading parameter
*** Random - Heading is random for each object
*** Elevation - Heading for each object is specified by elevation of associated polyline vertice
** Heading (0 - 360) - Used when HeadingType = Fixed
** Heading variance - Random variance in degrees (0 - 180) applied to heading (use 0 for no variance)
** Scale - Scale multiply of object (defaults to 1.0)
** ScaleVariance - Random variance in scale to apply to objects. (use 0 for no variance)
** ImageComplexity - VerySparse, Sparse, Normal, Dense, VeryDense, ExtremelyDense
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Add tags for all default FSX scenery library objects
* Build tab - Add button for setting BGLComp SDK path
* Build tab - Add "Open" button for output folder path to open Windows Explorer on that folder

Issues resolved:-

* Fixed issue with copy button

=== v1.09 Beta - 23rd June 2007 ===

New features:-

* Added BGLCOMP support for scenery exclusion rectangles ("ExclusionRectangle" tag). The exclusion rectangle will be defined by the "bounding" rectangle of the polyline/polygon. Supports the following parameters
** ExcludeAllObjects
** ExcludeBeaconObjects
** ExcludeEffectObjects
** ExcludeGenericBuildingObjects
** ExcludeLibraryObjects
** ExcludeTaxiwaySignObjects
** ExcludeTriggerObjects
** ExcludeWindsockObjects
** ImageComplexity - VerySparse, Sparse, Normal, Dense, VeryDense, ExtremelyDense
* Added BGLCOMP support for Extrusion Bridges ("ExtrusionBridge" tag). Draw a polyline and tag it with "ExclusionBridge", then use the vertice editor to set the height of each bridge segment.
* Added "Change to" button on the Vertice Editor to change shape type from polygon to polyline and vice versa
* Enhanced polygons holes so that if a polygon cannot be found in the same folder as polygon hole ("polygon folder") then the parent folder is searched for the first polygon preceding the polygon folder. This makes it possible to better organize a project by placing polygon holes (i.e islands) in a sub folder and still have them associated with a water polygon in a parent folder

=== v1.10 Beta - 19th August 2007 ===

New features:-

* Land class tiles
* Water class tiles

== Development Roadmap ==

The following features are planned for upcoming releases:-

=== Future releases ===
* Update this manual :)
* Add 10 minute autosave
* Add following params to BGLCOMP support:-
** Heading Type
*** FixedTrack - Heading of all objects is fixed to the direction of first polyline segment
** Divergence - Random divergence (in meters) from vertice. Applied in direction which is perpendicular to direction of polyline segment (use 0 for no variance)
* Add "AutoPolygonHole" to polygon properties sheet. This allows a polygon hole to be automatically created in the shape of the polygon, and removes the need manually create a hole (by copying and tagging as hole)
* Fix - Ensure lon/lat uses '.' and not ','
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Add support for tag groups
* Add BGLCOMP support for Tag Groups. Tag grouping allows the scenery designer to group together similar scenery library objects into a single group. For example, when populating a car park the designer could use a tag group containing a variety of car models. This would result in car models being chosen at random from the tag group.
* Add shape viewer to Vertice Editor form and have it refresh as vertices are edited.
* Add "Fly to" button to Vertices Editor form to move FSX aircraft to the selected vertice
* Add "Paste Aircraft pos" button to Vertices Editor form to paste the current location of aircraft (longtitude, latitude, and optionally altitude) into the list of Vertices.
* Export - Ability to export selected polygons/polylines to a CSV file, with option for long/lat/elevation ordering
* Scenery Placer - Add support for dynamically previewing scenery objects while FSX is running. This allows very precise and interactive control over the objects placement and orientation without the need to build a BGL and reload FSX.
* Placing FSX library objects inside a polygon. Allow number of objects and elevation to be specified. Objects will be distributed randomly within the polygon. This can be used to populate livestock, wildlife, boats/ships in harbors, people on beaches, birds, hot air balloons etc
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Texture preview for land class polygons and tiles tags
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Scenery object preview for default FSX scenery objects
* Ability to inject a QMID 11 grid into the KML to aid with visualization of exclusion areas
* New, Open and Save project buttons to support multiple projects.
* "Check for Update" menu option to check online for updates.

* If possible conditional display of FSX scenery library objects based on various triggers such as date/time, weather conditions and probability factor. For example, this would allow harbors to be populated with pleasure craft on sunny warm days, but not at night or in cold weather. Would allow forest fires to be generated in hot, windy conditions.
* If possible ability to animate FSX scenery library objects along a polyline
* "Photo scenery" ground textures
* Flight plan generation along polyline


[[Category:FSX]]
[[Category:Manuals]]

FSX KML

2008-01-25T13:52:47Z

EssieP: /* Creating polygons and polylines */

== Introduction ==

[[Image:before_and_after.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Before and after screenshot]]

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).

It converts KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files generated by Google Earth into FSX scenery.

Using Google Earth to draw polygons and polylines you can accurately and easily many types of scenery.

===Shp2Vec based scenery===
FSX KML uses the FSX SDK Shp2Vec tool to create the following types of vector scenery:-

* Water polygons including oceans, rivers, lakes and canals
* Islands inside water features
* Irregular shaped land class polygons for cities, parks, beaches, forest, golf courses etc
* Airport boundaries and flatten polygons and AUTOGEN EXCLUSIONS
* Shorelines
* Streams
* Roads
* Railways
* Freeways (ie Moving traffic)
* Utility lines (eg power and telephone lines)
* Exclusions polygons (for vector data)

===BGLComp based scenery===
FSX KML uses the FSX SDK BGLComp tool to create the following types of scenery:-

* Place scenery objects (from the FSX library) along a polyline using a wide variety of [http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML#v1.08_Beta_-_18th_May_2007 placement options]
* Exclusion rectangles
* Extrusion bridges

===Resample based scenery===
FSX KML uses the FSX SDK Resample tool to create the following types of scenery:-

* Land class tiles
* Water class tiles

'''Make sure you also download and install [http://fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML#Installing_FWTools FWTools] which is required for creating these types of scenery.'''

== Support Forum ==

You can discuss FSX KML at the fsdeveloper.com
[http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 FSX KML forum]. This is the best place to ask support questions about FSX_KML since other FSX_KML users (as well as the author) can answer your questions.

== Downloading FSX KML ==

The latest version of FSX KML (1.10) can be downloaded from:-

* AVSIM - http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxsd&DLID=108495
* The Scenery Hall of Fame - http://www.scenery.org/graphical_editors.htm

== Installation ==

=== Installing FSX KML ===

FSX KML can be installed in a folder of your choice. Simply unzip the FSX KML installation zip file into the desired folder.

After unzipping the installation file you should have the following files:-

* FSX_KML.exe
* ShapeLib129.dll
* FreeImage.DLL
* FSX_KML_TAGS.XML


=== Installing the FSX Software Development Kit (SDK) ===

To generate FSX scenery you will need the FSX SDK, which is distributed with the FSX Deluxe version.
To install the SDK:

(1) Browse the FSX Deluxe Edition Disk 1

(2) Open the SDK sub-folder

(3) Double-click the setup.exe

(4) Tell it where to install. Default is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK

If the SDK is not installed in the default SDK folder you must specify its location on the FSX_KML build tab.

For more info on the SDK installation and Service packs: [http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=SDK_Installation_%28FSX%29 http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=SDK_Installation_%28FSX%29]

=== Installing FWTools ===

FSX KML makes use of the freeware tool set called [http://fwtools.maptools.org/ FWTools]. FW Tools is required for scenery that uses the FSX SDK Resample tool, such as landclass and waterclass.

Download and install the latest version of FWTools.

Specify the location of FWTools on the FSX KML Build tab.

== Building Scenery ==

Building your own scenery with FSX KML is easy.

=== Step 1 - Creating a KML file with Google Earth ===

The first step in creating your FSX scenery is to create a KML file by using Google Earth to "trace" scenery features.

==== Creating polygons and polylines ====

Using Google Earth create a polygon using the "Add Poly" function or create a polyline using the "Add Path" function,
and then trace the scenery feature (for example a lake or road).

After you click the "Add Poly" or "Add Path button" you will be presented with a form as shown to the right

[[Image:GE-polygon-dialog.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Google Earth dialog for creating new polygon or polyline]]

* Name - Give your polygon or polyline a description or leave blank

* Description - This is where you "tag" your polygon or polyline. You may enter a tag from FSX_KML_TAGS.XML or leave blank and tag later using FSX_KML

* Style & Color - You may choose the border and fill color for polyline or polygon

* Altitude - You may enter an altitude for your polyline or polygon. This can be used to specify the elevation of lakes. You may also enter the elevation later using FSX_MKL. All elevations must be entered in meters.

Begin tracing your polyline or polygon. You may either click the mouse or hold the mouse button down and drag the mouse to create vertices.

* Use your mouse wheel to zoom the view in and out vertically.

* Use the up, down, left, right arrow keys to move the view horizontally.

* Hold Shift and press left or right arrow to rotate the view.

* Hold Ctrl and press up or down arrow to tilt the view.

To make things easier; it is good to get into the habit of drawing polygon vertices in the same direction, perhaps always draw clockwise. That way if you decide to add new vertices to define details better, then you can simply click to the right of the currently selected vertex (blue) to add a new one in. Avoid adding vertices that make the polygon twisted.
While polygon "properties" is open, take the time to change the transparency (from the colour tab)- if you leave it opaque, then you end up covering important details.

Once you have finished click OK to save your polygon or polyline.

To edit your polyline or polygon highlight it, right click the mouse and choose properties.

==== "Tagging" the scenery features ====

To describe what scenery feature your polygon or polyline represents it needs to be "tagged". The file FSX_KML_TAGS.XML contains a list of the tags you can use.

There are two ways to tag a polygon or polyline:-

* Place the name of the tag in the description field of the polygon or polyline.
* Place the name of the tag in the description field of the parent folder that contains the polygon or polyline. If a polygon/polyline has no tag then it will inherit its tag from the parent folder.

You can place these tags in GE using the properties dialog of the polygon or polyline, or you can use FSX_KML to place these tags.

To tag using FSX_KML click on a description "cell" and press F2. An arrow will be displayed so then click on the arrow to drop down a list of valid tags. Highlight the tag you want and press ENTER. If you had multi-selected several cells then all the selected cells will be tagged. To select multiple cells hold down the shift key while clicking cells.

==== Saving your work to a KML file ====

Once you're done drawing your polygon(s) or polyline(s), simply right-click on the top-most folder you created (or the polygon itself if you didn't create folders) under the "My Places" tab on the left side of your GE window. Select "Save As", makes sure that you choose .kml as the file type, and select your desired location in your file structure.

=== Step 2 - Processing the KML file with FSX KML ===

[[Image:project.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The Project tab]] [[Image:build.jpg|thumb||150px|The Build tab]]

* Run FSX_KML
* On the "Project" tab, click the "Add KML" button and choose a KML file. The contents of the selected KML file will be displayed. You may add multiple KML files. A FSX BGL file will be generated for each KML input file.
* Change to the "Build" tab
* Set the following build options:-
** "FSX folder" - Input the folder where FSX is installed. By default this is "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X"
** "Terrain SDK" - Input the location of the FSX terrain SDK
** "FW Tools" - Input the location where you installed FW Tools. FW Tools is required for scenery that uses the FSX SDK Resample tool, such as landclass and waterclass.
** "Run SDK tools" - If you select this option FSX KML will automatically run the SDK tools to turn your Shape Files into a FSX BGL
** "Copy generated scenery to FSX Addon Scenery Folder" - If you select this option FSX KML will copy the generated BGLS to the FSX addon scenery directory
* Click the "Build" button. FSX KML will now build your scenery. The progress of the build will be displayed in the build log window. The following actions will occur during the build:-
** For each KML file in your project
*** For vector based scenery an appropriate set of Shape files is generated depending on the features that have been tagged in the KML
*** For resample based scenery an appropriate Tiff file is created.
*** An XML config file is created for use by Shp2Vec, BGLComp and Resample
** A batch file called "Run_SDK_Tools.bat" will be created. This batch file contains the appropriate commands to call the FSX SDK tools (Shp2Vec, BGLComp and Resample)
** If you have selected the "Run SDK Tools" option then the Run_SDK_Tools.bat file will be executed. This will create various scenery .BGL files ready for use by FSX
** If you have selected the "Copy generated scenery..." option then the BGL files(s) will be copied to the FSX addon scenery directory. Please note: If FSX is running and using a previous version of your BGL file then the copy will not work because FSX will have the file "locked". The easiest way to ensure your file is copied to the addon scenery folder is to make sure FSX is not running.

=== Step 3 - Testing the scenery ===

* If you selected the "Copy generated files..." option then your scenery will have been copied to the FSX addon scenery folder. Simply run FSX and goto your scenery location to test the scenery

== Scenery Design Tutorial ==

The [http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=FSX_KML_Tutorial FSX KML Tutorial] provides help with a variety of scenery design tasks.

== Editing a KML file using FSX_KML ==

Using FSX_KML you can easily edit your KML file. The following types of edits can be performed:-

=== Copy ===
To copy a KML item (folder or polygon/polyline) select the item to copy and click the copy button.
=== Delete ===
To delete a KML item select the item to copy and click the delete button.
=== Edit ===
To edit the Name and Description attributes of a KML item select either a single item or multiple items (hold the shift key to multi-select) and then press F2 to display the inline editor. Enter the new value and press enter. Your edit will be applied to the items you selected

=== Saving your changes ===
Click the save button to write your changes back to disk..
.

=== Open in Notepad ===
Click the "Open in Notepad" button to open the selected KML file in Notepad.
=== Open in Google Earth ===
Click the "Open in Google Earth" button to open the selected KML file in Google Earth.
=== Reload a KML file ===
If you have edited the selected KML file using an external program (eg Google Earth or Notepad) then you can reload those changes back into FSX_KML by clicking the reload button.

=== Properties Tab ===

This tab shows the properties for the selected polygon or polyline.

Freeways:
Use the "NumberOfLanes" and "Traffic Direction" attributes to define freeway related data.

Hydropolygons:
Use the "SlopeX" and "SlopeY" attributes to define slope characteristics of hydropolygons.

=== Vertices Tab ===

This tab shows the vertices (ie points) for the selected polygon or polyline.

Click the "Edit" button to display the vertice editor. This editor lets you edit the vertices in several ways:-

Reversing points:
The direction of a polygon or polyline can be reversed by using the REVERSE POINTS button. Click the "Reverse" button to change the direction of points in the polygon/polyline.

Setting elevation:
You can set the elevation for all vertices by clicking the "Set Elevation" button.

Manual editing:
You can manually edit vertices (longtitude, latitude and elevation) by editing data in the vertice grid.

=== XML Tab ===

This tab shows the XML for the selected polygon or polyline.

== FSX_KML_TAGS.XML ==

[[Image:Tags.jpg|thumb|right|150px|FSX_KML_TAGS tab]]

=== What is the FSX_KML_TAGS file? ===

This file holds the "tags" that are used in the KML file to describe FSX scenery features. You can customise this file to add more tags or change existing ones.

An easy way to browse this file is by clicking on the "FSX_KML_TAGS.XML" tab in FSX KML.

This XML contains the following attributes for each "tag":-

* Tag - The unique identifier for this scenery feature. This tag is what you use to "tag" the polygons/polylines in your Google Earth KML file
* Description - A description of the scenery feature. This description is displayed in FSX KML.
* Feature Type - The type of scenery feature and must be one of the following types:-
** WATERPOLY - Water polygons such as coastline, rivers, lakes, canals etc
** WATERPOLYGPS - Low resolution water polygons for use in the GPS
** LANDCLASSPOLY - irregular shaped landclass polygons for towns, forest, beaches, park etc
** AIRPORTBOUNDRY - define airport boundries and also flatten areas and AUTOGEN EXCLUSIONS
** EXCLUSION - exclude default vector scenery from the polygon
** STREAM - create streams
** SHORELINE - create animated shorelines
** ROAD - create roads (NOT road bridges)
** FREEWAY - create moving traffic
** RAILWAY - create railways (NOT rail bridges)
** UTILITY - power lines, telegraph lines, fences etc
** SCENERYOBJECT - place scenery objects
** EXCLUSIONRECTANGLE - excludes scenery objects
** EXTRUSIONBRIDGE - creates extrusion bridges
** LANDCLASS - create land class
** WATERCLASS - create water class
* GUID - The FSX GUID for the scenery feature.

Please refer to the FSX "terrain.cfg" file and terrain SDK documentation for futher information on feature types and GUIDs

=== Editing FSX_KML_TAGS.XML using FSX KML ===

The FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file can be easily edited in FSX KML. To following edits can be performed:-

==== Copy ====
To copy an item select the item to copy and click the copy button.
==== Delete ====
To delete an item select the item to delete and click the delete button.
==== Edit ====
To edit the Tag, Description, FeatureType or GUID attributes of an item select either a single item or multiple items (hold the shift key to multi-select) and then press F2 to display the inline editor. Enter the new value and press enter. Your edit will be applied to the items you selected

==== Saving your changes ====
Click the save button to write your changes back to disk.
==== Open in Notepad ====
Click the "Open in Notepad" button to open the FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file in Notepad.
==== Reload ====
If you have edited the FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file using an external program (eg Notepad) you can reload those changes by clicking the reload button.

== Google Earth ==

=== Downloading Google Earth ===

The free version Google Earth may be downloaded from the [http://earth.google.com/ Google Earth home page]

=== Copyright of Google Earth Data ===

Scenery developers need to be aware that there may be copyright issues associated with the use of data obtained from Google Earth. Please see the [http://earth.google.com/support/ Google Earth support page] for more information on the Google Earth policy of using this data in your freeware or commercial products.

== Freeware scenery using FSX KML ==

The following freeware has used FSX KML during their development:-

* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Isle+of+Wight&FileName=&Author=Len+Hickman&CatID=fsxscen Isle of Wight (UK) reconstructed] by Len Hickman
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Quebec+Scenery&FileName=&Author=Gilles+Gauthier&CatID=fsxscen Quebec Scenery - Lakes and Rivers] by Gilles Gauthier
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Catalunya+Coast&FileName=&Author=Bodo+Hesse&CatID=fsxscen Catalunya Coast] by Bodo Hesse
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=Naval+air+station&FileName=&Author=Jim+Dhaenens&CatID=fsxscen Naval Air station Jacksonville (KNIP)] by Jim Dhaenens
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=103120 Naval Air Station Oceana (KNTU)] by Jim Dhaenens
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=102870 Coffs Harbour (YSCH)] by John Ross (also at www.virtualvfr.com)
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=103027 Kitimat/Terrace] by Douglas Keech
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=102995 Los Angeles "clean-up"] by Lance Tucker
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=104609 Lord howe Island and Balls Pyramid] by Don Bush
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=104853 Falklands 2007] by Brian Jamieson
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=104000 Gloucestershire Airport] by Terry Shields
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=105386 Okanagan Valley Landclass and Rivers] by Alex Sievert
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=106386&CatID=fsxscen Gold Coast Airport (YBCG)] by John Ross
* [http://marcoh.gratisim.fr Photorealistic Town of Nantes in France] by Marc-henri Guitteny
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=109752&CatID=fsxscen Utah Complete v1.0] by James Udall
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=111154 Bushflight Northwest] by Bill Dick / Phil "Snowman" Cayton / Chris Brisland
* [http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=114132&CatID=fsxscen Wake Island] by Tony Arnold

Freeware authors please list your freeware scenery here!

== Commercial scenery using FSX KML ==

The following commercial scenery has used FSX KML during their development:-

* [http://www.imaginesim.com/kcvg01.htm KCVG Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.imaginesim.com/tjsj01.htm TJSJ San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Airport, Puerto Rico] by Imagine Simulation
* [http://www.aerosoft-shop2.com/products/helgolandx/helgolandx.html Helgoland X] by AeroSoft
* [http://www.aerosoft-shop2.com/products/monacox/monacox.html Monaco X] by AeroSoft
* [http://www.aerosoft-shop2.com/products/aspenx/aspenx.html Aspen X] by AeroSoft
* [http://secure.simmarket.com/product_info.php?products_id=2361 Pantanal - The Wetlands] by CenaReal

Please list other commercial scenery here.

== End User Licence ==

Copyright Â© 2007 Innova Software ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

FSX KML ("Software") is distributed without charge to FSX add-on designers, redistribution of the original ZIP file is not allowed. You are NOT allowed to sell this software or ask money for its distribution.

FSX KML may be used free of charge for the production of both freeware and commercial add-ons (including sceneries,missions,aircraft) subject to the following terms and conditions:-
* You notify Innova Software of the use of FSX KML in your add-on
* You give Innova Software a free copy of your add-on (and any updates)
* In your readme file you say that FSX KML was used to help with the production of your add-on
* The copyright and any intellectual property relating to the FSX KML software shall remain the property of Innova Software
* LIMITED WARRANTY - INNOVA SOFTWARE SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE IN TORT OR IN CONTRACT FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE HOWSOEVER CAUSED TO THE PROPERTY OR PERSON OF YOURSELF OR ANY THIRD PARTY AS A RESULT OF ANY DEFECT IN THE SOFTWARE WHETHER PATENT OR LATENT OR AS A RESULT OF ANY FAULT, NEGLIGENCE, WRONGFUL ACT OR OMISSION OF INNOVA SOFTWARE OR ANY OF ITS SERVANTS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTS AND AGENTS, AND YOU INDEMNIFY INNOVA SOFTWARE AGAINST ANY CLAIMS MADE AGAINST IT BY ANY THIRD PARTY ARISING OUT OF ANY SUCH DEFAULT OR FAULT, NEGLIGENCE, WRONGFUL ACT OR OMISSION AND IN NO EVENT SHALL INNOVA SOFTWARE BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIMS OR DAMAGES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO CLAIMS OF FAULTY DESIGN, NEGLIGENT OR MISLEADING ADVICE, DAMAGES ARISING FROM LOSS OR USE OF THE SOFTWARE AND/OR SUPPLY OF SERVICES; AND ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR INJURY TO ANY PERSON, CORPORATION OR OTHER ENTITY BY REASON OF THE PROVISION OF THE SOFTWARE AND/OR PROVISION OF SERVICES PURSUANT TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Developers can email acceptance of these terms and conditions to fsx_kml@innovasoftware.com.

== Release History ==

=== v1.00 Beta - 19th 0ct 2006 ===

This is first beta release of FSX KML

=== v1.01 Beta - 19th 0ct 2006 ===

Issues resolved:-
* Fixed error with FSX_KML_TAGS.XML file not found

=== v1.02 Beta - 21st 0ct 2006 ===

Issues resolved:-
* Fixed error reading polygon/poylines. FSX KML could sometimes insert an erroneous point of 0,0

=== v1.03 Beta - 28th 0ct 2006 ===

New features and issues resolved:-
* Better handle tags in description field. Be less strict about "whitespace" and cr/lf
* Better handle international settings for decimals
* Add more excludes to fsx_kml_tags.xml (see tags starting with "exclude__")
* Add support for moving kml items up/down
* Add support for moving kml items via drag drop
* Add support for creating new kml folder
* Create shapes in order they appear in the KML
* Assign UUID (starting at 1) to each shape in the KML based on its order in the KML

Known issues (Features not implemented in this release):-
* Freeway tags (moving traffic) - in v1.03 you must manually edit the FW .DBF file to set traffic density and direction

=== v1.04 Beta - 20th Jan 2007 ===

New features and issues resolved:-

* Use INI file (FSX_KML.INI) to remember settings including list of KML files and FSX folder settings
* Allow multi select of KML files in Add KML file dialog
* Display points for selected polygon/polyline
* Add REVERSE POINTS button to allow direction of polygon/polyline to be reversed
* Add POLYGONHOLE tag to support "holes" in polygons, eg for making islands in rivers
* Add LEGACY_LANDWATERMASK_WATER_NOFLATTEN tag for water polygons that "cling" to mesh
* Default freeway traffic to one lane of traffic

=== v1.05 Beta - 21st Jan 2007 ===

New features and issues resolved:-

* Added "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" build option. This option will auto reverse points for polygon holes when creating the shape file. Apparently Google Earth always writes polygons in a clockwise fashion to the KML file irrespective of which way they are actually drawn in Google Earth. This option simplifies the creation of polygon holes because you no longer need to manually reverse point order in FSX KML. Option is on by default.
* Added "Output Folder" build option. This lets you specify the folder where files are written during the build process
* Fixed error when loading the saved list of KML files and a KML file can longer be found.

=== v1.05.1 Beta - 21st Jan 2007 ===

Issues resolved:-

* Fixed bug where directory would not be changed prior to running the RUN_SDK_TOOLS batch file

=== v1.06 Beta - 14th Apr 2007 ===

New features:-

* Added grid to allow manual editing of polygon/polyline points (longitude,latitude,elevation)
* Added button for setting all points in polygon/polyline to a specific elevation
* Added support for tag parameters (eg freeway traffic data and hydro poly slopeX/Y)
* Added option to save backups to backup subdirectory (on by default).
* Added XML tab to show XML for highlighted node
* Remember window size and position

Issues resolved:-

* Changed tag name of "Park" to "LandClassPoly" since landclass polys can be used for more than just parks! Existing "Park" tags are automatically renamed to "LandClassPoly"
* Handle extra '.' in filenames

=== v1.07 Beta - 25th Apr 2007 ===

New features:-

* Added "Shape" tab with support for shape viewing. Select single (or multiple) polygon/polylines to see its shape. Selecting a folder will show all shapes in that folder and any sub folders.
* Added "Select All" function (Ctrl A) to select all polylines/polygons
* Added "New" button to Vertices form to insert vertice.
* Added "Copy" button to Vertices form to copy the selected vertice.
* Added "Delete" button to Vertices form to delete selected vertice.
* Added "Move Up" and "Move Down" button to Vertices form to move selected vertice up or down in list.
* Added Options menu to main form. Moved "Save Backups" to this menu
* Added "Remember Window Position and Size" to the options menu

Issues resolved:-

* Updated the "About" form to credit the 3rd party development libraries used (eg Shapelib)
* Fixed misplaced longitude and latitude labels on vertice grid

=== v1.08 Beta - 18th May 2007 ===

New features:-

* Add BGLCOMP support for placing of FSX library objects along polyline. The use of "Variance" parameters below helps create more naturalistic looking scenery by applying random variance to object positioning. Support the following parameters:-
** Altitude AGL or MSL
** Altitude variance - Random variance in meters applied to alitude (use 0 for no variance)
** Pitch (0 - 360)
** Pitch variance - Random variance in degrees (0 - 180) applied to pitch (use 0 for no variance)
** Bank (0 - 360)
** Bank variance - Random variance in degrees (0 - 180) applied to bank (use 0 for no variance)
** HeadingType
*** Track - Heading of each object follows the direction of each polyline segment
*** Fixed - Heading of all objects is specified by Heading parameter
*** Random - Heading is random for each object
*** Elevation - Heading for each object is specified by elevation of associated polyline vertice
** Heading (0 - 360) - Used when HeadingType = Fixed
** Heading variance - Random variance in degrees (0 - 180) applied to heading (use 0 for no variance)
** Scale - Scale multiply of object (defaults to 1.0)
** ScaleVariance - Random variance in scale to apply to objects. (use 0 for no variance)
** ImageComplexity - VerySparse, Sparse, Normal, Dense, VeryDense, ExtremelyDense
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Add tags for all default FSX scenery library objects
* Build tab - Add button for setting BGLComp SDK path
* Build tab - Add "Open" button for output folder path to open Windows Explorer on that folder

Issues resolved:-

* Fixed issue with copy button

=== v1.09 Beta - 23rd June 2007 ===

New features:-

* Added BGLCOMP support for scenery exclusion rectangles ("ExclusionRectangle" tag). The exclusion rectangle will be defined by the "bounding" rectangle of the polyline/polygon. Supports the following parameters
** ExcludeAllObjects
** ExcludeBeaconObjects
** ExcludeEffectObjects
** ExcludeGenericBuildingObjects
** ExcludeLibraryObjects
** ExcludeTaxiwaySignObjects
** ExcludeTriggerObjects
** ExcludeWindsockObjects
** ImageComplexity - VerySparse, Sparse, Normal, Dense, VeryDense, ExtremelyDense
* Added BGLCOMP support for Extrusion Bridges ("ExtrusionBridge" tag). Draw a polyline and tag it with "ExclusionBridge", then use the vertice editor to set the height of each bridge segment.
* Added "Change to" button on the Vertice Editor to change shape type from polygon to polyline and vice versa
* Enhanced polygons holes so that if a polygon cannot be found in the same folder as polygon hole ("polygon folder") then the parent folder is searched for the first polygon preceding the polygon folder. This makes it possible to better organize a project by placing polygon holes (i.e islands) in a sub folder and still have them associated with a water polygon in a parent folder

=== v1.10 Beta - 19th August 2007 ===

New features:-

* Land class tiles
* Water class tiles

== Development Roadmap ==

The following features are planned for upcoming releases:-

=== Future releases ===
* Update this manual :)
* Add 10 minute autosave
* Add following params to BGLCOMP support:-
** Heading Type
*** FixedTrack - Heading of all objects is fixed to the direction of first polyline segment
** Divergence - Random divergence (in meters) from vertice. Applied in direction which is perpendicular to direction of polyline segment (use 0 for no variance)
* Add "AutoPolygonHole" to polygon properties sheet. This allows a polygon hole to be automatically created in the shape of the polygon, and removes the need manually create a hole (by copying and tagging as hole)
* Fix - Ensure lon/lat uses '.' and not ','
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Add support for tag groups
* Add BGLCOMP support for Tag Groups. Tag grouping allows the scenery designer to group together similar scenery library objects into a single group. For example, when populating a car park the designer could use a tag group containing a variety of car models. This would result in car models being chosen at random from the tag group.
* Add shape viewer to Vertice Editor form and have it refresh as vertices are edited.
* Add "Fly to" button to Vertices Editor form to move FSX aircraft to the selected vertice
* Add "Paste Aircraft pos" button to Vertices Editor form to paste the current location of aircraft (longtitude, latitude, and optionally altitude) into the list of Vertices.
* Export - Ability to export selected polygons/polylines to a CSV file, with option for long/lat/elevation ordering
* Scenery Placer - Add support for dynamically previewing scenery objects while FSX is running. This allows very precise and interactive control over the objects placement and orientation without the need to build a BGL and reload FSX.
* Placing FSX library objects inside a polygon. Allow number of objects and elevation to be specified. Objects will be distributed randomly within the polygon. This can be used to populate livestock, wildlife, boats/ships in harbors, people on beaches, birds, hot air balloons etc
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Texture preview for land class polygons and tiles tags
* FSX_KML_Tags tab - Scenery object preview for default FSX scenery objects
* Ability to inject a QMID 11 grid into the KML to aid with visualization of exclusion areas
* New, Open and Save project buttons to support multiple projects.
* "Check for Update" menu option to check online for updates.

* If possible conditional display of FSX scenery library objects based on various triggers such as date/time, weather conditions and probability factor. For example, this would allow harbors to be populated with pleasure craft on sunny warm days, but not at night or in cold weather. Would allow forest fires to be generated in hot, windy conditions.
* If possible ability to animate FSX scenery library objects along a polyline
* "Photo scenery" ground textures
* Flight plan generation along polyline


[[Category:FSX]]
[[Category:Manuals]]