KMCO Taxi2Gate Terminal C

[noahharget]

On 12/13/2023 at 9:27 AM, okupton said:

Has anyone been able to remove the construction crates around Terminal C?

Also wondering!

[noahharget]

On 1/14/2024 at 1:58 PM, noahharget said:

Also wondering!

Disreagrd, figured it out. Great addition for JetBlue flying!

[rooster hancock 2003]

noahharget. If you figured it out , I think it would be very helpful to the rest of the community if you could tell us how you did it. That's what we are here for, to help each other out don't you think 😉👍.

[ywg256]

I am interested as well.

[raam123]

Also intrested

[Ray Proudfoot]

@noahharget, a couple of people would like to know how you solved this problem.

[beechcaptain]

I would also like to know the secret.  I'm wondering if he really has a solution, since he's been back but not responded since his post.  Time will tell.

[drobinho]

Was a bit hesitant to post this, considering devs aren't too keen on folks tooling around with their assets (and frequently make such opinions known in their licenses). But considering the interest in this thread and dearth of P3D dev support, hopefully this isn't too controversial. Mods, I'm happy to convert this to "available by PM" if that's more appropriate.

[Required Tools]

You will need to install the following tools before you can make any changes.
- ModelConverterX
   - For rendering individual mdl's within bgl files, and identifying the exact asset to pull
   - https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/download-modelconverterx.14215/
- BGL2XML
   - For converting the bgl into an editable xml file
   - https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/bgl2xml-gui-v-1-10.448225/
- P3D SDK, specifically bglcomp
   - For recompiling the modified xml file back into bgl format
   - https://www.prepar3d.com/sdk

 

[Step 1: Identify the MDL to remove]
First you need to figure out exactly where the MDL you want to remove lives. This is done by opening bgl files in ModelConverterX (MCX) and examining the content of each file until you identify the MDL in question. This is always a bit of a guessing game and I recommend opening the scenery folder and taking a few moments to understand the naming conventions/organization of the scenery files. In this case, most of the KMCO assets live in the "lib" or Library files.

To spare some time, the BGL we want to open is "KMCO-LIB-B2.bgl". So import that file into MCX, and let the first MDL render, which may take a few moments.
https://i.imgur.com/Pwi0fBQ.jpg

Once the first MDL is loaded, you will want to select the Scenery Objects Editor list from the menus. It's a small List icon next to the green arrows immediately beneath the "Import" button. This will open a pop-up list showing every individual MDL contained within this BGL file. You can see the initial MDL that loaded is listed as "BUILDINGS-CENTRO."
https://i.imgur.com/C5ElE0q.jpg

Select "CONSTRUCTION" from this list to render a preview of the mdl. Once the MDL is rendered, you can move around within MCX to confirm that this is the MDL we want to remove. Take note of the GUID, as we will use this value to locate the data within the XML file in a few steps.
https://i.imgur.com/qoZ2mpD.jpg

[Step 2: Decompile the BGL and modify the XML file]
Now that the MDL is identified, we will need to decompile KMCO-LIB-B2.bgl into an editable format, using BGL2XML.

Create a separate working folder for this conversion. I keep my projects within my BGL2XML folder, for example. Copy and paste KMCO-LIB-B2.bgl from KMCO scenery folder into your working folder. Create a new folder in this location called "Export".
https://i.imgur.com/M9VCORo.jpg

Open KMCO-LIB-B2.bgl with BGL2XML GUI. You can either open the .exe in your BGL2XML folder, or you can right click on KMCO-LIB-B2.bgl, select "Open With", and then select BGL2XML GUI from there. You will need to make sure BGL2XML GUI is set to run as an administrator. The first time you do this, you may need to navigate to the .exe. Once you do that, BGL2XML GUI should show up on your list of apps.
IMPORTANT: Make sure you UNCHECK the "always use this app to open .BGL files" checkbox
https://i.imgur.com/0mE3Jcm.jpg

With BGL2XML, confirm that KMCO-LIB-B2.bgl is selected as the Input BGL, and make sure to select your "Export" folder for the Output XML location. Also, make sure to check "Save Models". Once you have set those pathways, select Go.
https://i.imgur.com/kC1bQOA.jpg

Now, in your "Export" folder, you should have a list of MDL files and an XML file.
https://i.imgur.com/XA4VBYa.jpg

We will now use corresponding GUID value to locate the SceneryObject entry and pull it from the file.
Open the XML file in the editor of your choice, and CTRL+F for the GUID in question.
https://i.imgur.com/52wkBLy.jpg

Select the entire SceneryObject entry, starting with "<SceneryObject" and ending with "</SceneryObject>". Delete the entry.
https://i.imgur.com/GsFYivs.jpg

Save your work AS A NEW FILE
https://i.imgur.com/ilETTn9.jpg

Make sure to keep your new file in the SAME location, and add something to the filename to differentiate this copy from the original.
https://i.imgur.com/Jb18K3O.jpg

[Step 3: Compile your modified XML file back to BGL format]
Now that we have a separate XML file with the SceneryObject entry removed, we need to convert it back to BGL format for the sim. We will use BGLComp from the P3D SDK to compile the new XML file.

Right-click on the new XML file, select "Open With" and select "BGLComp". If you have never selected BGLComp with this method before, you may need to select "Choose another app", then "Look for another app on your PC", and then navigate to wherever your saved the P3D SDK to select BGLComp.
https://i.imgur.com/MrRDqf5.jpg

BGLComp will compile the file within seconds, and your new BGL file should appear in the same folder. You may choose to modify the filename (for example, if "BGL" is in the XML filename, then the compiled filename may end up as ".bgl.bgl"), and save your new copy wherever you see fit.
https://i.imgur.com/CuB4XXC.jpg

[Step 4: Install new file, disable the previous, and launch sim to test]
Copy your new file, and paste it into the T2G KMCO scenery folder. You will need to disable or archive the original version. One method is to add ".OFF" to the end of the filename. I like to add an additional string in the filename that reminds me WHY I've deactivated the file, which you can see in the example below.
https://i.imgur.com/LQx8rtC.jpg

You should now be able to load up KMCO in the sim and the airport should be free of construction assets.
https://i.imgur.com/Vw06530.jpg

 

[deeknow]

fantastic @drobinho - thanks for the mod AND the howto 

[okupton]

Wow that is way more complex than I expected.  Thank you for sharing.  Much appreciated