Proper design program for fs2002?

[Guest Mark Hazeldine]

Hi there,Does anyone know of a scenery design program that does the same job as apt 2.6 or groundmaker, but that uses the new (ish!) asm/bglc code so that the sceneries it produces will work with FS COF? I'm pretty sure there's nothing freeware yet, but have i missed a payware package somewhere. Just to make myself clear, i'm not talking about a gmax/fsds2 type program but one that'll do runways, roads, taxiways, taxilines etc. If not, d'you you know of any soon to be released?

[rhumbaflappy 113]

Hi Mark.The info releases all stated that our older sceneries will still work in FS9. It doesn't matter if the BGL was compiled from SCASM or BGLC... all BGLs are the same. So designers can still work with whatever programs they like.It's no different than where a program is made from C++ or Delphi. The end result is the same, as it's just bits, bytes, words, etc...( In fact, BGLs can be made from compiled C++ or Delphi or BASIC... as long as the file output is correct. )Dick

[Guest Mark Hazeldine]

I take it that's a no, then?I'm just interested as to why Gary Summons claims he has to update all his sceneries to make use of the floating point commands according to the fs2002 sdk to be able to work with fs9. I'm sure he wouldn't rush to do this if the old scasm and fsds type sceneries work in fs9, would he? He quite clearly said in his forum that his current sceneries will not be compatible. This makes sense to me but i'm willing (very happily) to admit i'm wrong.Is there a gui program to make use of the new taxiline/taxiway commands though?

[rhumbaflappy 113]

Hi Mark.SCASM has supported the Floating point commands for some time. The floating point commands help complex objects to be more framerate friendly. If the scenery works in FS2002, it will work in FS9... that's what MS has said. If it doesn't work well in FS2002, it won't be any better in FS9.I believe what MS was warning us about, was that some commercial products that "bend the rules" to acheive their results, are not guaranteed work at all in FS9. Lago's FS SCenery Enhancer comes to mind. I don't know if that product will work or not... and apparently neither does MS.If a freeware scenery likewise bends the rules, it isn't guaranteed to work.Dick

[Guest Mark Hazeldine]

Ahh, i see! thanks very much that's good news!

[Guest gorchi]

Hi Mark!Probably Gary Summons is talking about current ground polygons of which I am afraid the FS9 will be the last FS in which they will work. If I am not wrong, Ground Maker, Airport, FSSC, A&SD 21 use classic commands which are not floating point commands. And converting these polygons to floating ones gives us a lot of work. But as Rhumba said, if the scenery is working properly in FS2002 and FS2000, then it should work also in FS9. But we are not 100% certain yet :)Best regards,Goran BrumenFS Slovenija 2002 teamhttp://slovenia.avsim.net

[arno 1]

For GroundMaker they are working on a new version that will also use the FP commands, but as said before, the current scenery should still work.For performance the new commands seem also better for ground scenery. I am converting my Schiphol scenery to FP commands now and the results are very nice (I use a custom made tool for this).Arno

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Member Netherlands 2000 Scenery Team[link:home.wanadoo.nl/arno.gerretsen]Arno's FlightSim World for scenery design hints, tips and other tricks...

[Guest gorchi]

Arno,do You have any special program to convert SCA ground poly code to new FP version? It would be very useful...And another question, do YOu use LayerCall instruction also for FP ground polygons?Best regards,Goran BrumenFS Slovenija 2002 teamhttp://slovenia.avsim.net

[arno 1]

Hi Goran,No, not at the moment. Maybe I'll make one in the future :).For my Schiphol scenery I have updated my DXF2SCA converter so that it makes the new code instead of the old one.About the LayerCalls, it is possible, but I use them only when necesairy. Also for the old commands I made scenery almost without LayerCalls. If you have a proper flatten then they are not needed (GroundMaker for example does not use them by default).Arno

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Member Netherlands 2000 Scenery Team[link:home.wanadoo.nl/arno.gerretsen]Arno's FlightSim World for scenery design hints, tips and other tricks...