FS X terrain fix

[LuisFelizTirado 33]

FS X terrain is defined in the terrain.cfg file that can be found in the FS X root directory.While testing FS X, Dick Ludowise (rhumbaflappy) and I made various modifications to the file.For most users, the principal modification concerns the display of water.Responding to complaints from users, the FS X team eliminated the sloping water that displayed in previous versions - now, when water encounters a slope, a rock texture is displayed.Unfortunately, this has an unwelcome side benefit in that many rivers now display rocky patches in them, for example, the Thames in London:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/160725.jpgWe have modified the terrain.cfg file so as to eliminate these patches of rock in all the water bodies throughout the world:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/160726.jpgIn addition, our modified terrain.cfg file will provide many benefits for FS X scenery and scenery designers.Please download the file from the Avsim library and install it. It can be gotten here:http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=...rado&CatID=rootBest regards.Luis

[Geofa 108]

Thanks Luis! You are great!http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

[Guest]

Will this change have an effect on anything else in the game unintended or will it just fix this problem? Thanks for your hard work!Dave

[Cruachan 705]

Thanks Luis! You are great!Absolutely!!!Mike :)

[Guest FxF3]

Great fix thanks.:)

[rhumbaflappy 113]

>Will this change have an effect on anything else in the game>unintended or will it just fix this problem? Thanks for your>hard work!>>DaveHi Dave.The alternate terrain.cfg doesn't affect anything unintendedly. We did it on purpose! It fixes a few problems, and adds some functionality for new scenery design. We encourage all terrain designers to include this new terrain.cfg zip file with their packages, along with simple instructions to use it.Dick ( Richard Ludowise )

[McCrash 3]

Nice work!

[Emile 28]

Hello,When I use this fix and "fly" with multiple monitors configuration I have a big stutter (the game freezes 1 during second) every 7 seconds as soon as I undock any windows (2d cockpit, radio, GPS, ...) to an other monitor.Any recommendation?Thanks in advance.

[Erv Moore 21]

Thanks much Folks!Erv KSDFIntel Core 2 X6800(overclocked from 2.93 to 3.22), P5W Deluxe, Coolmax 650W, Corsair DII800 4G, two 74G/WD 10,000 drives, ASUS 1900XT/512 Card, CoolMaster TAC-T01.

[jdk2 1]

Thanks Luis, you and Dick do nice work :-)Regards,Jim Karn

[Guest yarvelling]

Thanks so much for this Luis, Dick... :) It's a big improvement, even though there are now a few rather odd looking depressions in the water affected; not your fault or problem, of course! I'd never noticed this before in FS9; I wonder how it got through testing in FSX when the decisions were made - surely some mesh modifications could have levelled out the offending parts of areas such as on the Thames...?!? Anyway, your new config has fixed a much more unsightly 'error' in several major British rivers that I've seen so far; again, many thanks :)

[DougMatthews 0]

>Responding to complaints from users, the FS X team eliminated>the sloping water that displayed in previous versions - now,>when water encounters a slope, a rock texture is displayed.>>Unfortunately, this has an unwelcome side benefit in that many>rivers now display rocky patches in them, for example, the>Thames in London:For the time being, this approach to solving many of the "rocky patch in the river" sort of problems seems quite reasonable.In the interest of accuracy I offer a few points:1) We have NOT eliminated sloping water. FSX has far more sloping water than was present in FS9. 2) Rivers are NOT draped on the terrain. FSX water does not "encounter a slope" - it IS sloped and it does have an effect on the terrain (sometimes undesirable). The water polygons are carved up into smaller pieces which are explicitly placed (by software) in 3 dimensions. 3) The game (as shipped) chooses the rock texture for water polygons that are "steeply" sloped. The fix being discussed in this thread merely chooses a water texture for the steep polys. If you look closely, you'll probably see water doing unnatural things - it's just harder to see from the air at a distance.The mechanism by which the sloping water works has been completely replaced. The fact that there is room for improvement is very apparent to us. Software for bulk processing of GIS data for the whole planet is a very difficult beast - correcting a problem in one location carries the very real risk of (badly) messing something up elsewhere. The drastic increase in complexity and vertex density of the vector data in many places in FSX presents far more opportunity for bad things to happen, and makes it far harder to fix things when they do. There was, unfortunately, a limit as to what could be accomplished prior to ship. This topic (quality of sloped water / missing rivers) is present on the "roster of issues" Phil Taylor mentioned in the "Path 1" section of his now-famous post (http://www.fs2004.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=95173).The current atmosphere on AVSIM (:-newburn) made me really think about whether I wanted to post or not. In the interest of getting some real information out I decided to take a chance. Please don't make me regret that choice.-Doug @ ACES

[LuisFelizTirado 33]

Absolutely, Doug. Many thanks for your corrections and the more precise details.In the interest of simplification, I did not mention all of that, since most people would probably not understand the technical aspects, and were just looking for a simple fix.But, I must categorically state that the work done by the FS Terrain Team is outstanding and of exceptionally high quality. It is inevitable that some small parts of the world will not display optimally, and this does not in any way diminish their accomplishment.Best regards.Luis

[vgbaron 3,606]

Doug - I think the majority of the regular posters here at Avsim are appreciative of the first hand info being delivered by the Aces Team. there are a few that might bite a little :) but we're generally a good bunch. I may be too easily satisfied or maybe it's because I was a programmer for many years, that I don't get largely upset when I see an anomaly like the bridges in FS9 or the rocky water in FSX. Other than the fact that the product I just purchased is not *perfect*, it really doesn't affect my flying enjoyment. And that is the bottom line to me - do I enjoy the product - is it perfect> Nope but neither am I so we're even.Currently I'm just having a ball exploring FSX and that's a good thing.Tell anyone at the Aces Team that they're welcome and flame retardant clothing is optional.Vic BaronVisit the Virtual Pilot's Centerwww.flightadventures.comhttp://www.hifisim.com/Active Sky V6 Proud SupporterRadar Contact Supporter: http://www.jdtllc.com/

[cklink 0]

Thanks Luis & Richard, great job..:)You fixed up my "sandbars" by CYVR, I'm running the UT port and all looks good.Glad you stopped by to participate Doug. I doubt anyone here is going to blast "helpful" information from the team ! Were just a passionate bunch, and obviously you are too for taking the time to post. Regards'Garett