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How to 'flatten' (Read 1514 times)

Jan 10^th, 2010 at 3:14am

patchz Offline
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How do I 'flatten' an area? Ever since I added global mesh, Air Mountain Ranch has had a hill in the middle of the runway and some of the buildings are floating. Thanks.

Also, is there a way to 'repaint' buildings within a scenery package? I was able to remove T-Rex and the hulking white sign floating in midair from my Meigs scenery, but I would like to repaint the two hangars a more natural looking color instead of the glaring red and blue. They do not show up in the textures folder and I know nothing about .bgl files.

« Last Edit: Jan 10^th, 2010 at 4:21am by patchz »

If God intended aircraft engines to have horizontally opposed engines, Pratt and Whitney would have made them that way.

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Reply #1 - Jan 10^th, 2010 at 7:10am

Crash Ex Member

There is a small program called FlattEx on this page. Maybe that can solve your problem?

Carlo Wink

Wink

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Reply #2 - Jan 10^th, 2010 at 7:19am

patchz Offline
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Quote:

There is a small program called FlattEx on this page. Maybe that can solve your problem?

Carlo Wink

Wink

Thanks Carlo, I'll try that.

If God intended aircraft engines to have horizontally opposed engines, Pratt and Whitney would have made them that way.

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Reply #3 - Jan 10^th, 2010 at 11:06am

dave3cu Offline
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Quote:

Ever since I added global mesh, Air Mountain Ranch has had a hill......

Common when adding terrain mesh as fixed elevations (lakes, rivers, airports) do not automatically adjust to the new terrain.

Another option for 'flatten', is Steve Greenwoods FSTFlatten-http://home.earthlink.net/~smgreenwood/flatten.shtml-This method has the advantage of allowing irregular polygon shapes (FlattEx is limited to rectangles), and creation of a <flatten>.bgl, so no editing of the scenery.cfg file is necessary.

For the hanger textures...the author may have used hanger objects from an 'object library', (Rwy12, EZ-Scenery, etc.). In this case the textures would be in the object library's texture folder. Any changes to those textures would be global.

On the same page as Carlo's link for FlattEx you'll find BGLXML 1.8. This utility will decompile a scenery .bgl into it's .xml source. You can then view the .xml in notepad to identify the objects placed.

Dave

At that time [1909] the chief engineer was almost always the chief test pilot as well. That had the fortunate result of eliminating poor engineering early in aviation. Igor Sikorsky

I intend to live forever....so far, so good. Steven Wright

You know....you can just rip up a to-do list.

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Reply #4 - Jan 10^th, 2010 at 12:11pm

patchz Offline
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dave3cu wrote on Jan 10^th, 2010 at 11:06am:

Quote:

Ever since I added global mesh, Air Mountain Ranch has had a hill......

Common when adding terrain mesh as fixed elevations (lakes, rivers, airports) do not automatically adjust to the new terrain.

Another option for 'flatten', is Steve Greenwoods FSTFlatten-http://home.earthlink.net/~smgreenwood/flatten.shtml-This method has the advantage of allowing irregular polygon shapes (FlattEx is limited to rectangles), and creation of a <flatten>.bgl, so no editing of the scenery.cfg file is necessary.

For the hanger textures...the author may have used hanger objects from an 'object library', (Rwy12, EZ-Scenery, etc.). In this case the textures would be in the object library's texture folder. Any changes to those textures would be global.

On the same page as Carlo's link for FlattEx you'll find BGLXML 1.8. This utility will decompile a scenery .bgl into it's .xml source. You can then view the .xml in notepad to identify the objects placed.

Dave

Thanks Dave. After downloading FlattEx and looking at the readme, I did not install it, for several reasons. I think I would prefer the manual route, if I knew how.
As to the hangars, I don't think they are generic as I have not seen any that gaudy anywhere else. The scenery is Meigs and had a TRex as well, which I was able to get rid of, as well as the huge white rectangle floating in midair. The scenery looks good now except for those hangars. I have EZ Housez and Buildingz but it was installed a long time after Meigs, so the buildings must be within the scenery. Eventually I'll figure it out.

If God intended aircraft engines to have horizontally opposed engines, Pratt and Whitney would have made them that way.

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Reply #5 - Jan 11^th, 2010 at 3:20am

patchz Offline
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Can't get FSTFlatten to work. I can create the dots and connect them but when I click on 'Link Vertices' I get a No Data message. Guess my feeble brain is not capable of comprehending how to use the program. But it seems to me the instructions leave something to be desired. Undecided

Undecided

If God intended aircraft engines to have horizontally opposed engines, Pratt and Whitney would have made them that way.

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Reply #6 - Jan 11^th, 2010 at 4:45am

Hagar Offline
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patchz wrote on Jan 11^th, 2010 at 3:20am:

Can't get FSTFlatten to work.

it seems to me the instructions leave something to be desired. Undecided

Undecided

Did you follow the instructions in readme-FSTflatten.doc? It's in the fstutilities\programs\FSTflatten folder. I just created a simple 4-point flatten area BGL using the Quick Start (Area16N method) & it works perfectly.

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Reply #7 - Jan 11^th, 2010 at 6:29am

Opa Offline
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Been using it for several years - couldn't be much easier to use if you follow the instructions.

But, as with most utilities, the first effort may seem daunting, but once you have made a few flattens, it is really a piece of cake.

David "Opa" Marshall

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Reply #8 - Jan 11^th, 2010 at 10:12am

patchz Offline
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Yes, I read the instructions. I don't what happened the first time, but I tried it again and got it to work. But I'm having trouble with the elevation. The map says 0, the aircraft on the runway says 3.6', and 11' on the ramp. I've redone it twice now and it still is not right. The runway is below ground level and when it loads, the only thing visible above ground is the top of the tail. I'm going to keep trying, but how do you handle a small GA field that is not completely level, i.e. runway one elevation, ramp another? Originally, the terrain sloped from the rear of the buildings on the ramp down to the water's edge, where there are cabins and a dock.

If God intended aircraft engines to have horizontally opposed engines, Pratt and Whitney would have made them that way.

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Reply #9 - Jan 11^th, 2010 at 10:56am

JoBee Offline
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patchz wrote on Jan 11^th, 2010 at 10:12am:

The map says 0, the aircraft on the runway says 3.6', and 11' on the ramp. ... The runway is below ground level and when it loads, the only thing visible above ground is the top of the tail. ....how do you handle a small GA field that is not completely level, i.e. runway one elevation, ramp another?

The map will give you the ground elevation above seal level.

Shift+Z will give you the ground elevation+aircraft static height, which in the C172 is about 3.6 feet.

In FS9 ramps, runways, tec. all have to be on the same level for an Afcad to work. To have an airport with slope you cannot have an Afcad, which means you have to have custom ground textures for runways, etc.

For tasks such as placing scenery objects in slew mode, and creating flattens and excludes, the best tool is Rob Finnegan's Crosshairs Plus.

Check it out - http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=73331

To make it better add this panel mod by Jim Robinson- http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=108863

cheers,
Joe

Don't argue with idiots, they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

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Reply #10 - Jan 11^th, 2010 at 11:47am

Opa Offline
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Couldn't agree more - the combination of the Crosshairs with Jim's gauge gives precise elevation AND true headings (the mag variation is automatically calculated for you).

A "must have" to get correct readings easily.

David "Opa" Marshall

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Reply #11 - Jan 11^th, 2010 at 4:23pm

patchz Offline
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Thanks Joe. If you and Opa say it's good...
plus, they say the third times the charm. Roll Eyes

Roll Eyes

If God intended aircraft engines to have horizontally opposed engines, Pratt and Whitney would have made them that way.

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Reply #12 - Jan 11^th, 2010 at 4:31pm

JoBee Offline
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patchz wrote on Jan 11^th, 2010 at 4:23pm:

Thanks Joe. If you and Opa say it's good...
plus, they say the third times the charm. Roll Eyes

Roll Eyes

Where do you think I learned about it?

......Opa.

cheers,
Joe

Don't argue with idiots, they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

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Reply #13 - Jan 11^th, 2010 at 9:47pm

Opa Offline
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RE: The FSTflatten program-

One of the often overlooked "shortcuts" is this:

The "elevation" box is expecting the numbers in meters - however you can enter them in feet and then double left click the box. The feet number you entered will automatically be converted to meters. Cool! Wink

Wink

David "Opa" Marshall

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Reply #14 - Jan 12^th, 2010 at 11:09am

patchz Offline
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Opa wrote on Jan 11^th, 2010 at 9:47pm:

RE: The FSTflatten program-

One of the often overlooked "shortcuts" is this:

The "elevation" box is expecting the numbers in meters - however you can enter them in feet and then double left click the box. The feet number you entered will automatically be converted to meters. Cool! Wink

Wink

Yes, I found that. I got Crosshairs and the gauge addon but have not tried it yet. Thanks guys.

Edited:

Finally got it. I had to go to an elevation of 0' to get it right. But now it looks like it did before the addition of the mesh. Thanks for all the help.

Now I have to learn how to exclude the trees in the middle of the runway. Grin

Grin

Patience for repainting aircraft is one thing. If this is any indication of scenery design, I'm not sure my feeble brain could take the strain. Cheesy

Cheesy

If God intended aircraft engines to have horizontally opposed engines, Pratt and Whitney would have made them that way.

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Reply #15 - Jan 12^th, 2010 at 12:21pm

JoBee Offline
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patchz wrote on Jan 12^th, 2010 at 11:09am:

Now I have to learn how to exclude the trees in the middle of the runway.

That's an easy one.

There is a simple program that does one thing, and one thing well. It creates "excludes" that remove default objects. It is called Exclude Builder.

Here are 3 links, one for the program, one for a grat tutorial (written by guess who) and one for a small correction to the tutorial.

http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=41356
http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=71534
http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=71590

Oh, and to remove the suspense, the name of the tutorial author begins with "O" and ends with "pa".

cheers,
Joe

Don't argue with idiots, they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

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Reply #16 - Jan 12^th, 2010 at 12:26pm

JoBee Offline
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Patchz,

In the original post you asked about repainting those hangars.

Can't be done,easily. They display as the color of the material, which was set by the object creator. They don't use textures.

You would have to de-compile the model to make the change, and I don't know if that can even be done.

cheers,
Joe

Don't argue with idiots, they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

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Reply #17 - Jan 12^th, 2010 at 4:38pm

patchz Offline
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JoBee wrote on Jan 12^th, 2010 at 12:21pm:

patchz wrote on Jan 12^th, 2010 at 11:09am:

Now I have to learn how to exclude the trees in the middle of the runway.

That's an easy one.

There is a simple program that does one thing, and one thing well. It creates "excludes" that remove default objects. It is called Exclude Builder.

Here are 3 links, one for the program, one for a grat tutorial (written by guess who) and one for a small correction to the tutorial.

http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=41356
http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=71534
http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=71590

Oh, and to remove the suspense, the name of the tutorial author begins with "O" and ends with "pa".

cheers,
Joe

Thanks Joe.

As soon as you said 'guess who', I knew it was Opa.

If God intended aircraft engines to have horizontally opposed engines, Pratt and Whitney would have made them that way.

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Reply #18 - Jan 12^th, 2010 at 4:39pm

patchz Offline
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JoBee wrote on Jan 12^th, 2010 at 12:26pm:

Patchz,

In the original post you asked about repainting those hangars.

Can't be done,easily. They display as the color of the material, which was set by the object creator. They don't use textures.

You would have to de-compile the model to make the change, and I don't know if that can even be done.

cheers,
Joe

Maybe not. But I bet if I ever learn scenery design, I can take them out and put some in that look a little better. Don't hold your breath waiting on me to learn that though. Roll Eyes

Roll Eyes

Grin

If God intended aircraft engines to have horizontally opposed engines, Pratt and Whitney would have made them that way.

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Reply #19 - Feb 26^th, 2010 at 9:59am

Stewy44 Offline
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(Sim)Flying in Europe and Asia

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G'day fellas,

I've read this thread and downloaded the programs - but haven't had any success - would anyone please be interested in making a "flatten" file for me for K2 airbase in Uzbekistan (and possibly the second runway for Helsinki Finland)?

I've fixed the FS9 aiports according to the charts - but still have trees on the runway and apron Cry

Cry

I can provide the coordinates if you need Wink

Wink

A strange request I know - but never hurts to ask Wink

Wink

Stew

FS9 - the only way you can fly a 747 while drinking beer

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Reply #20 - Feb 26^th, 2010 at 2:04pm

Opa Offline
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Stewy44 wrote on Feb 26^th, 2010 at 9:59am:

G'day fellas,

I've read this thread and downloaded the programs - but haven't had any success - would anyone please be interested in making a "flatten" file for me for K2 airbase in Uzbekistan (and possibly the second runway for Helsinki Finland)?

I've fixed the FS9 aiports according to the charts - but still have trees on the runway and apron Cry

Cry

I can provide the coordinates if you need Wink

Wink

A strange request I know - but never hurts to ask Wink

Wink

Stew

Check your Personal Messages.

David "Opa" Marshall

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Reply #21 - Feb 26^th, 2010 at 4:29pm

patchz Offline
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I knew, after reading the next to last post about the request for a flatten file that the next post would be from Opa. Roll Eyes

Roll Eyes

Grin

The Superman logo is very apt.

If God intended aircraft engines to have horizontally opposed engines, Pratt and Whitney would have made them that way.

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Reply #22 - Feb 27^th, 2010 at 7:53am

Stewy44 Offline
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Giggety Giggety!
(Sim)Flying in Europe and Asia

Posts: 141

Sorry guys, Opa has pointed my error out to me - I was referring to an 'exclude' to get rid of the trees on the runway and not a 'flatten'. Sorry about that.

Opa has helped me out and now I've got clear approaches into Helsinki 22R/4L and K2 Airbase

Thank you Opa, I will do some study as to how to do that myself Wink

Wink

FS9 - the only way you can fly a 747 while drinking beer

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