Landclass Assistant .inf update

[John_Cillis 2,406]

I spent this evening working on behalf of one of Landclass Assistant's fans, Al Douglass, who helped identify a problem with landclass updates. Al discovered a consistent blue border on the southern and eastern edges of each scenery update. Tom Copeland had also alerted me to this issue, but I followed the wrong hunch and came up with the wrong solution.This .inf file corrects the problem. Please do not question the X/Y dimensions--they work, due to the way resample.exe parses the .raw file. By using these dimensions, I am able to retain the 256x256 .raw file format, around which Landclass Assistant's innards are defined. This problem was hinted at in a recent thread, where it was mentioned that resample was looking for 257x257 files to process landclass updates. This isn't far from the truth--it seems that resample reserves the row along the southern and eastern edges--but a 256x256 file can also be used, if the dimensions are adjusted to compensate. I am including the the two lines to update in this post. I have also uploaded the entire .inf to the file library. Here's the updated lines:CellXdimensionDeg=0.0147058CellYdimensionDeg=0.0110293There is a huge bonus in this discovery--projects spanning multiple LOD 5 grids can now be compiled as separate bgl's, and "bunched" in the same scenery folder (be sure to NOT place a texture folder in a landclass scenery folder).Regards,John Cillis - Author, Landclass Assistant and Autoland 2001

[Guest GerrishGray]

Hi JohnAs a point of information, it actually is possible to have a ..texture folder paired with a landclass ..scenery folder. The trick is that you have to copy all *.agn files from the default scenedbworldtexture folder into it. Then everything will work fine and you can even put other relevant scenery and texture files into the new folder pair, avoiding further proliferation of entries in scenery.cfg.The cause of this strange behaviour appears to be a fault ('feature' in MS parlance ;) ) in Autogen that results in a non-standard way of searching for the .agn pattern files (i.e. different from the rules followed by the rest of the scenery engine).Hope this helpsGerrish

[John_Cillis 2,406]

"....As a point of information, it actually is possible to have a ..texture folder paired with a landclass ..scenery folder. The trick is that you have to copy all *.agn files..."I've been well aware of this, although the majority of the support emails I've received are from casual scenery designers. I shy away from recommending that my users start copying FS2002 files, since there's always the odd user that "cuts" instead of copies. Since this is a freeware project, the fewer risks I encourage my users to take--the better. :)So for support (and simplicity), I've recommended against this, unless someone is doing a "total package" update--airports, buildings, etc.... If the user knows what he or she is doing, then it's another matter.-John

[rhumbaflappy 113]

Hi John.Great program!As far as including a texture folder...If a designer needs a texture folder to twin with the scenery folder, then the inclusion of a batch file ( and an explanation ) could be used to copy all AGNs and BMPs to their necessary locations. As long as the batch file copies... not moves or cuts... there would be no damage to the sim. That would greatly help casual simmers. Not all simmers are aware that with the right files in the proper locations, custom landclass, with custom ground textures, and with custom autogens, specific to the intended LOD5 areas, is possible. And designers could make this available even to casual users, by using batch files to protect the unsavvy. But, you are right to be cautious. Never put a twin texture folder with a landclass scenery folder, unless you know exactly what you are doing. Otherwise , you're looking for a headache, or a re-install.