USGS Scenery Design for MicroFlight by Ed Crawford.

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3  Adding objects
• Part 4
• Part 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a Multi-Part Tutorial... It is meant to be a "Simple Easy Way" to design
your own Scenery for use in MicroFlight (Flight Simulator)..
But Not the Only Way...
{ No Greater Feeling than Flying some where you made....}
This Tutorial will show you how to make USGS (type) Scenery..
You do NOT have to know anything about 3D Designing...

----------------------------------- Acknowledgements ----------------------------------------------

"Ilan Papini" for designing 2 Excellent Simulators ...
{ Micro Flight & Virtual Sailor }
"Ian Hay" and "Kevin Smith" for helping me understand the
"New Way of Doing Scenery" without them I would have never Understood.
"Duane McCullough" for help and allowing me to use his different Models.
"Alan Winters" and "Adam Galazka" for there Colored Stone Textures for
Different Buildings....

------------------------------------ Getting Started ---------------------------------------------------

I should remind Everyone that when editing the "object.txt" that you can NOT
just put the NAME of an object (Tower) without the Parameters....
If You do it kills all the commands below that entry.....

As shown above "Tower" at Runway R-00 ........ If you Saved and Reloaded at this
Point, the Runways at R-01 & R-02 will not show Up....

-------------------------- Now to Add Tower and Hangers --------------------------------------------

First Thing have "object.txt" loaded into NotePad or what ever you Like...
MicroFlight up and Running.......
As you move between the two programs do not shut either one down, Just
Minimize them to work on the other.......
We will add an "Tower"

Move to the Center of the Runway ((or where you want the Tower))
and move the Cross Arrows off the Runway ... Then Click on "Copy Coordinates"
Now Minimize MicroFlight.... and bring up NotePad "object.txt"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Objects Parameters....
1.) Name === In this case "Tower"
2.) East/North (Coordinates) === added with Edit/Paste
3.) Height==== I always start with 0.0 (you may have to raise it after you look..
4.) Angle==== Rotation of the Object in RAD's
5/6/7.) Scales=== These Values are ScaleX, ScaleY & ScaleZ

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't forget to SAVE the "object.txt"

Now after Saving Minimize "object.txt" and bring up MicroFlight....
Press "F-5" to get to the Map... Then "Design Mode"...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Besure to Save the "object.txt" then in MicroFlight F-5 (Map) Design Mode
Object reload......
Here is what they look Like...

With the hanger Coordinates turned blue I press the delete Key ....
and Removed them ....... Then I went Edit /Paste ........



You see I just move it a little bit to the Right.....

Notice I am Rotating Hanger on the Right 45 degrees Clockwise.....

Notice I am rotating the second hanger Counter Clockwise...

You should now be able to add Your Own Towers and Hangers at the other
Runway Sites.....

--------------------------------- Adding Lights -------------------------------------------------------

Lights Use the following:
Name=== Light (this will Light up things )
East/North=== added same as all the others
Height=== start with 0.1
Range === This is the Range the Lights will show Up in Meters...
Red/Green/Blue=== the Hex Colors
Here are some Common Colors:
White-----> 255 255 255
Red-------> 255 0 0
Green----> 0 255 0
Blue------> 0 0 255
Smoke---> 127 127 127

Here is a Chart to help with the colors...

Now to the Weather Section and turn the time of Day to Nite Time.....

You will Notice that the Runway (Patch_a) has lights down it....

I made the Light in Front of the Tower First and raised it 0.1 and 250 meter Range.
Don't forget to goto the Map Mode (Design Mode/Copy Coordinates)

Now the Front of the Airport is Lighted Up........

Now I have added Lights inside each Hanger.... and reduced the Range

You will Notice this is not where we want it (this shot was of Elev 40.0)

This is after several trail and errors.. on the Elevation...
You only want to do one of these at first so that you get the Heigth where you
want it then as you do the other 3 around the top of the Tower you already know
the Height.....
You will have to Copy Coordinates on all 4 corners of the top of the Tower....

Here are the Sphere's 4 of them on all four corner's of Tower Top..

This is what it looks like at Day Time see the White Balls...
You can reduce the size and they become smaller....

---------------------------------- Adding other Things -----------------------------------------------------

You should be able to goto each end of the Runways and Copy the Corrdinates..
Then Using the "Sphere" to make the Lights at each end ......
You could also use some Blue Lighted Sphere's to make a Taxiway..
Move the Tower and Hangers back or do away with any of them altogether...
You should be able to add Towers, Hangers, Lights & Sphere around the other
AirPorts ......
WARNING: As we add things into the AirPort the Slower the Frame Rates Get...

You can over due it... so test as you go....
Things Like the Tower, hanger, Sphere are all found in the models folder....
C:\MicroFlight\models\

------------------------------- Adding Custom Models ---------------------------------------------------

Up to this point we have only been adding Models of Objects in the Normal "models"
folder.... C:\MicroFlight\models....
Now to add a Custom Model into Your own Scenery...
Create in Your Scenery Folder and extra folder called "models"

Copy out of C:\MicroFlight\models\ "Surface_a.x" file and put it in your scenery
models folder......

Now You know I have mentioned that some BMP (Graphic Files) are used by the
Models (ie) "Surface_a.x" << {is a model}

Here is how you know what file that is associated with the X file.... Using Notepad
turn off Word Wrap.....
Double Click on the File .... and Scroll to the Right.... Here is what you will Find....

Now exit out of NotePad... DO NOT allow it to change this File....
Now Goto the Graphic Folder and Find the File "plate_a.bmp" and Right Click and
goto Properties... This is going to show the Pixel Size.. and Color Depth....

Now all of this in an effort to create a special Bit Map (BMP) of something you
wanted..... I wanted a "HeliPad" someplace special to land a Helicopter... off of the
Runway.......

-------------------------------- Now to Create the HeliPad -----------------------------------------------

I will use Paint Shop Pro....

I am creating an Image 256 by 256 and 256 Colors..

Rotating the Picture so I can add the Word "HeliPad" all 4 edges.....

There it is ...... saved as "Plate_a.bmp"

-------------------------- Adding the HeliPad to the Scenery ----------------------------------------

MicroFlight Needs to be Running.... NotePad with the "object.txt" Running....

I reduced the Size to 0.25 all three Scales X, Y & Z

Now I am going to add Lights (Sphere) around the HeliPad....
Notice: I do Not have the Coordinates in Yet.... only 0.5 Height.... 0.75 Scale...
128 1 1 = the Color Orange (or as close as I can tell)
The Reason is I am going to Copy Once/ Paste 7 times for a total of 8 Lights...

Now all I have to do is work around the HeliPad, Copying the Coordinates and then
Pasting them into the "object.txt".......

Now You have all eight Sphere's with all the complete Parameters... Go ahead and
SAVE it ..... Then back in the Map, Design Mode, Reload Objects.....

Now Lets add some Light to the Pad itself.......

--------------------------- External Files called by "object.txt" ----------------------------------------

"object.txt" can call in other Text Files ...... You have to Build them Yourself...

These are examples of three different text files that will be called in by
object.txt..... If you look close most DO NOT have coordinates except 0.0...
This is because You are going to call them in With the Coordinates in the
"object.txt" file.......
Move out away from the Airport on the Map, Goto Design Mode and find a place
to put these few houses........ besure to copy coordinates.....

Here is what the Settlement Looks Like below....

Here is a Group of Trees with Lights at Nite.. and Smoke...
Now I am going to Put the Houses.txt in the middle of the Trees......

Here is what it Looks Like.... Below are shots of Day and Nite....

------------------------------------- Sharing the Files You Create ----------------------------------------

I hope you have enjoyed this Tutorial.. Now it is up to You to go out and find the
things you can create.. The ways I showed you are by no means the only way to do
it.... If You create something great Please share with all MicroFlight Pilots....
Join the Forum and there will be alot of help as you have small problems or maybe
you can Answer some questions others have....

---------------------------------------- Whats Next ------------------------------------------------------------

Surely You did not miss the NAV Data Button... Where we can add VOR ADF ILS
to or newly created Scenery..... I do not know when I will be able to write a short
Tutorial on the Process.... First I have to learn how to use them...
This is what makes MicroFlight so exciting ..... Always something to learn...
Something you can change... Some Different way of doing things... SHARE IT...

<< Micro Flight    Next Part 4 >>