Landclass Assistant & Small Areas

[Guest]

Hi everybody ... I've searched throughout the AVSIM Forums, but couldn't find the answer - does anybody know if there is a way to modify the landclass of a small area (such as an island) using Landclass Assistant? Thanks ...Jay

[Guest]

Hi Jay,Yes it is.It it also very simple.It is all in the manual.//Anders

[Guest]

Well I guess maybe I am a little dense in the head myself. Lets see shall we? I am looking to change the landclass on Midway Island. Both Sand and Eastern Islands.For example, I want to change one square on Eastern... would like to see the Palm trees with green texture south of the runway.I enter:N 28*12.17W:-177*19.84I come up with:X:183Y:249So I use the grid to find this square and change it to 033Here is my inf file:[Destination]LOD=5NorthLat=30.9375SouthLat=28.125WestLong=-180EastLong=-176.25DestDir=.DestBaseFileName=landclass[source]Type=ClassU8SourceDir=.SourceFile=landclass.rawLat=30.9375Lon=-180NumOfCellsPerLine=256NumOfLines=256CellXdimensionDeg=0.0147058CellYdimensionDeg=0.0110293I compile fine.... then I go into CFS2... yep I am using CFS2. and nothing has changed.Any ideas? I checked what was there by using tmfviewer and opening worldlc

[Guest]

Also just tried with FS2002. Just to make sure that CFS2 was not missing any of the landclassTried adding 122 Perennial Ice and Snow to the landX: 184Y: 249Same coordinates... here is the INF:[Destination]LOD=5NorthLat=30.9375SouthLat=28.125WestLong=-180EastLong=-176.25DestDir=.DestBaseFileName=landclass[source]Type=ClassU8SourceDir=.SourceFile=landclass.rawLat=30.9375Lon=-180NumOfCellsPerLine=256NumOfLines=256CellXdimensionDeg=0.0147058CellYdimensionDeg=0.0110293

[Guest]

Hi crashazOK, let's start with some questions1. In Landclass assistant did you press the button "Write Landclass.raw" ?2. After compiling did you check your landclass.bgl in tmfviewer? if not do it and look the result. Is all transparent (value = 254)3. Maybe a stupid question but anyhow... Did you add your new bgl to FS?//Anders

[rhumbaflappy 113]

Hi James.I'm sorry you're having problems with this Landclass.To accurately place landclass you must use a 257x257 array.Also, using my LandCalc program ( doesn't matter what version ), you'll get 183, 249 as the coordinates.If you create a 257x257 raw file with #254 as the background and #33 as the class value to change, it should be what you were looking for.Here's the INF:; Midway.inf; 257x257 source[Destination]DestDir = "."DestBaseFileName = "MidwayLC"UseSourceDimensions = 1[source]Type = ClassU8SourceDir ="."SourceFile = "Midway.raw"Lon = -180Lat = 30.9375NumOfCellsPerLine = 257NumOfLines = 257CellXdimensionDeg=0.0146484375CellYdimensionDeg=0.010986328125I made a batch file to process the mess with the old resample.exe, and it's support tools:@echo offresample Midway.inftmfcompress MidwayLC.tmf MidwayCLC.tmftmf2bgl MidwayCLC.tmf MidwayLC.bgldel "*.tmf"This is exactly why I tell people to use a 257x257 grid. A 256x256 grid will allow resample to 'resample' the grid, and who knows what it will come up with. A 257x257 grid passes right through resample untouched, so you know right where the landclass tile will land. Waterclass also needs the same array size of 257x257.I've had this conversation about the landclass array size several times before. This is a perfect example why Landclass Assistant and FSLandClass can give erroneous results.Dick

[Guest]

Thanks Dick ...... for your explanation.I was just about to ask you (or all others) if the 257x257 rule also here. Thansk again.//Anders

[Guest]

Many thanks Rhumba. I spent some time last night banging my head. Looks like I need to go landclass as an option. Photoreal I believe is going to be an FPS issue as well. AF=Midway is done except for this final piece. The scenery is Gmax Library BGLs and we are getting good frames until the Vals come in for the attack on Eastern Island. So I have had to find another place to save some frames somewhere else.I can talk Gregg into using less detail on the terrain (ie. minus taxiways and bunker (used FSSC polys) but may be able to give him trees from a library BGL for Leroy. That should keep him happy!LOL! Thanks once again and I will try this out tonight!

[John_Cillis 2,406]

crashaz:You know, I'm always available via email for questions....Short answer---Landclass Assistant only works with FS2002.... My docs state nothing in regards to CFS2, or FS2000 (other than the FS2000 SDK is required to compile the bgl's)....-JohnAuthor, Landclass Assistant

[rhumbaflappy 113]

Hi James.You might consider using VTP Method1 polygons instead of a landclass. The edges of the poly would not be blended unless you used a custom texture or two. But the polys could be quite 'irregular' so the edges weren't so straight, and you could use a default texture.If those polys are layer 4, they should lay down nicely on the ground, and be cutoff at the water. The default shoreline would cover the 'joint' between water and land... so the poly would have the appearance of landclass, but with any size/shape you like.Photoreal is the same as landclass... exactly. In fact it is a subset of Landclass, that uses only values # 254, #253 and #252, so only CUSTOM textures are used. It has no effect on frame rates. I fly with CUSTOM sets for my home area. It's 8 LOD8 sized areas, 6144 custom textures derived by Terrascene2.1! No effect on frame-rates in FS2002, and CFS2 is the same story... no effect.-------------------------------Your loss of framerates is the objects, and the effects of probably millions of polys that compose them. Gmax rendered polys are supposed to be kinder to frame-rates.The best solution would be GSL ( specific to CFS2 ). But, Martin Wright has a monopoly on the secret, and feels he can't divulge that info due to commercial obligations. Martin's GSL sceneries have hundreds of explodable objects, and no appreciable frame-rate loss!The only other solution, is to not use objects at all... except from within a mission. Within the mission, the objects behave as GSL explodable objects.Dick

[John_Cillis 2,406]

Dick...A 256x256 can and does work with the correct .inf file, as my program has proven (as evidenced by the files in the library today made with landclass assistant). If a texture does end up off, it is easy to update the .raw file accordingly. I feel your "257x257" comments give people the false impression that my program doesn't work--it does, and it will be even better at placing the textures in my next release. I've adjusted the internal math in LCA to match the .inf update I made in June. Why the delay in the release? Been ill...Crashaz has two issues--one, Landclass Assistant only works with FS2002. And two, crashaz never bothered to contact me for support. I could have examined both the .raw file and the .inf file, and determined where the issue lay.-John

[rhumbaflappy 113]

Landclass is the same for FS2000, CFS2, or FS2002. The only difference is the landclass value may not be the same or even represented in the 'lclookup.bgl'... but the world positioning is identical, and defined by resample. The same positioning is defined for Waterclass... for CFS2 and FS2002, as FS2000 has no Waterclass.Dick

[John_Cillis 2,406]

I edited this to say that we're really discussing apples vs. oranges. While there is commonality in many landclass values between the three sims, the features that resample exploits in FS2002 were not available in CFS2 or FS2000. They were added to FS2002 after some serious campaigning by others on this forum...-John

[rhumbaflappy 113]

I am not lying. 'worldlc.bgl' is present in FS2000, CFS2, and FS2002. It displays landclass in conjunction with 'lclookup.bgl' in each of those sims. Landclass is exactly how the default textures are displayed in all 3 sims... and the tool used to create those landclasses is the same...'resample.exe'., available with the FS2000 Scenery SDK.Mesh is also common to all 3 sims, as well as seasons ( though not implemented in CFS2 ). All produced by FS2000's resample.

[John_Cillis 2,406]

See my above (edited) post Dick... It was poorly worded, and I did not mean to imply you were lying.... But the feature of resample.exe that places landclass updates in 2k2 isn't exploited in CFS2 and FS2000. That's why they remained undocumented by MS until the release of the FS2002 Terrain SDK....