Hi,I'm going to be developing scenery using EZ-Scenery. I've already downloaded over 80 libraries. Keeping track of where objects come from for scenery is an even worse nightmare than it is actually finding an object you would like to use.Are there any tools out there, or would somebody like to develop this, that would extract the GUID's from a bgl, then search all the .txt files for those GUID's and then spit out a list of .txt filenames used?This would greatly help in releasing scenery so a developer can list which libraries they used.A cool addition to the functionality would be to allow registration of specific libraries so a list of the actual zip files they came from and where the were downloaded from could be spit out.Perhaps such a tool already exists? Anyone interested in developing it?Thanks,Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com/FC_StartJava.html] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)

Check out the unofficial EZ Scenery forum hosted by BEV:http://www.flightsim-bevs.com/smf_1-0-5/index.php?board=59.0There is a tool out there for managing libraries, but I have not yet tried it myself. However, this would be a great place to start with questions like that.

I'm not sure if this is exactly what you are talking about, but I'll give it a shot. I agree, it can be confusing determining where a particular object came from, especially when you start building up your own library of "libraries". What I do is unzip each library to it's own folder, so that I at least I can keep the original BGL files with their associated textures and original readme file.I would like to see more designers uploading their work as MDL files so that we may compile our own library files using only the objects which we choose. This way, we will be able to include only one library file with our finished project, and the resulting filesize will be smaller as well. I would also like to see better documentation from developers so that we are able to determine which texture files are used by any particular object. Sometimes, the download archive contains many objects in a single library, and I am uncertain which texture files are needed.By distributing the MDL file, we are still protecting our objects from unwanted changes the same as a BGL file, except that some parts of the MDL file can be edited (visibility range, rotate to user, etc.) I think that if designers don't want to distribute their original source, than this is a good compromise.I know that there is a tendency amongst some developers to compile more objects into a single library file, but again, I think this can be counter productive since it can lead to confusion. The exception might be if several objects of the same type (trees, vehicles, whatever) are included into one library, since it is likely that all the different variants of this type of onject are likely to be used.- Martin

Interesting thoughts Martin as I have a modern military scenery coming out with a library of all the objects for EZscenery users. While I want users to enjoy my work, I see to many times users uploading mods or ripoffs of others work lately, in this and other gaming communities I design for.I was planning the uploading of the MDLs as well for placement of the other sceneries at other locations, but wasn't going to do the objects that way due to several discussions I have seen about those trying to decompile the MDL files for whatever reason, have you heard about this or can you shed more light on it?I do like how the library creator for EZScenery gives you a detailed list of what the objects are, it is a neat program.Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://www.calvirair.com/mcpics/mcdcvabanner.jpgCalVirAir International

>Check out the unofficial EZ Scenery forum hosted by BEV:>>http://www.flightsim-bevs.com/smf_1-0-5/index.php?board=59.0>>There is a tool out there for managing libraries, but I have>not yet tried it myself. However, this would be a great place>to start with questions like that. I think it's pretty bogus (IMO) that you have to register just to see their forum. I can understand if it is about their product, like the LDS one but not for an "unofficial" EZScenery forum. Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://www.calvirair.com/mcpics/mcdcvabanner.jpgCalVirAir International

>I was planning the uploading of the MDLs as well for placement>of the other sceneries at other locations, but wasn't going to>do the objects that way due to several discussions I have seen>about those trying to decompile the MDL files for whatever>reason, have you heard about this or can you shed more light>on it?I don't think we can decompile a MDL file and re-import it into a tool like GMAX for editing, so or the most part, your object is safe. If someone knows otherwise, I'd like to see some proof. I'm not saying it's impossible, or that it is never going to happen, but right now the tool doesn't exist.It might be possible to change the textures through the MDL file. Of course, anyone can just edit the textures they want anyhow. It is possible to change the variables which the object responds to, which is why I mentioned it above. On Arno's site (www.scenerydesign.org)is a utility called "MDL_tweaker" which can add standard FS variables to a model, which woul allow it to rotate-to-user, or only be visible at night, or react to wind direction and speed. For the most part, these variables only affect when the object is displayed, and does not change the actual appearance of the model. Think of this program as a tool which helps developers who would otherwise have to hand-edit their source files. It isn't much use to anyone else.In your case, it sounds like you are just distributing scenery, so if you don't want anyone else to use your objects, you can just leave them in one-big-library and not upload the MDL files. I only suggested this specificially for designers who wanted to share their objects with other scenery designers. I think there are benefits to distributing the objects in MDL format rather than the all-in-one BGL library for this purpose.- Martin

We would be more than happy to open an EZ-Scenery (Unofficial) forum here on AVSIM if there is enough interest. Should we? Let us know here.

Hey Tom, I like the idea!! :-hahRegards,

I think it's a great idea Tom, I find it way more usefull than RWY12 (which I could NEVER get to work correcly) and you can use all the RWY12 libraries as well as any 3rd party or payware addons (if they are not location specific) object libraries also.If nothing else, even a sub forum in the scenery design forum would be helpful.Will be curious to see if there is more interest in it.Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://www.calvirair.com/mcpics/mcdcvabanner.jpgCalVirAir International

I would simply like to say I would appreciate that also Tom. I am very new to EZ Scenery, but an AVSIM hosted forum would be great.VFR_CanuckMy hangar: Flight1 PC-12, MAAM DC3, Carenado 182 RGII, Carenado 206 Stationair, RealAir SF-260, Dreamfleet A36 (with Turbo kit).

Hi,Put me in the yes column. I would definently frequent an EZ Scenery Forum. Great idea!Nick

Hi there,I'm not so sure it needs its own forum, since we can already ask EZ-Scenery questions in the Scenery Design forum. I'm not totally against it either, but hear me out: I think it would be different if we had an official forum here with some representation from the developer. Otherwise, are we going to end up with seperate forums for each design tool that we use? For example, we already ask FSDS3 questions in the Scenery Design forum (from the same developer), and this seems to work fine. We might also get some people posting in the one forum without reading in the other. This already happens when we see people posting hardware-related question in the Flight Sim forum, which then have to be moved. But if we were to have one here, I think it would best fit in a sub-forum so we wouldn't have to wade down through all the other forums to find it. It was pointed out that there already is one other "unofficial" forum, but I agree that the real expertise in in the forums here at AVSIM, and I admit I prefer the "one-stop-shop" benefit of having the forums here. Again, I think that this would merit it's own forum, if we had developer participation, otherwise I think we should leave it alone.- Martin

>I think it's pretty bogus (IMO) that you have to register just>to see their forum. I can understand if it is about their>product, like the LDS one but not for an "unofficial">EZScenery forum. >I have no problem registering there, but then again I purchase their BEV stuff anyway so it wasn't an issue. It was very nice of them to host a forum on their page when they had absolutely no reason to do so other than as a favor to us, so I personally am very appreciative of the BEV team!I don't know of many other vendors who would host a support forum for another company's product. Anyway, here at Avsim would be great too, as long as everyone from there moved over here. That forum is a great resource for anyone using EZ Scenery. Just the organized list of sceneries and libraries is a great asset.

Having run a site myself, having watched what goes on in these forums, and knowing how many sites have been breached, I fully understand why they require registration.Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com/FC_StartJava.html] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)

Count me in for an EZ-Scenery forum.As a relative amateur (who is currently having trouble getting even the simplest library to work in the demo of EZ) I can still say that the ease of use of EZ should probably create a huge amount of great and accessible work by other relative amateurs and pros alike.The better part about a dedicated EZ forum is not only its appeal to amateurs (who don't necessarily need to wade through heaps of "how do I decompile a series of...." type questions to get the basics answered) but also that it could easily be split with one portion dedicated to libraries and objects and the other part to its use.So, yes, I'll almost definitely be buying it soon, and yes, I think this is a great place for a dedicated forum.Honestly, I took a look at the free library/design tool and decided, after looking through the readme, that there was just too much involved.Accessible scenery design is still in the dark ages and maybe an EZ forum would help shed some light... .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . ..Andrew