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Guest Tony_A

How to input in Cell Calculator, Coastline Maker? Not seeing grid.

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Guest alaskavideoguy

I've upgraded all of the files I need to make Coastline Maker work with FS2004, including Cell Grid 2004, but I'm not seeing the grid in FS. I wonder if I'm not putting the inputs right into Cell Calculator and the LOD is in a totally different area then where I'm at. When Cell Calculator comes up, it has 4 places... 00:00:00.0 How do you input degrees, seconds and minutes? I'm trying to get the LOD8 for the following place, Chena Marina N64:48.50 W147:55.52 as per FS. I get the following, with some trial and error, if I type it as follows N64:48:50 W147:55:52 and get LOD8 68,71. Is that right? If it is, then I'm not getting the grid to show up. Do you use the "view from Top" in FS to see the grid? Not sure what I'm doing wrong. Any help would be appreciated!

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If you want the format of Degrees:Minutes:Seconds, then you should getN64:48:30 W147:55:33and that does end up as 68,71.The Cellgrid2004 package contains 2 textures that must reside in the scenery project's "texture" folder ( along side the "scenery" folder ).Alternately, I believe the 2 textures could be in the FS9 main "Texture" folder.Usually when the grid doesn't show, it's because the textures are missing.================I like CellGrid2 for FS2002 ( it uses VTP1 polys for lines ). I believe the default water is the same for FS2004, so you can design water and shorelines with FS2002, and it will display just fine in FS2004.Dick

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Guest alaskavideoguy

Bingo!!! I didn't realize that the Red and Green textures where the ones to use...I had been using the LOD8define texture from 2002. The lines now display, but they are "broken," especially over water. Is this normal? Thanks again. I'm trying to make a float pond that doesn't show in FS2004 but is at the real airport that I fly out of.

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Guest alaskavideoguy

Are the LOD13 co-ordinates on the actual screen shot? I'm not seeing any, even when I zoom in. Am I correct in that the LOD13 cells are the smaller cells inside a LOD8 cell? Do you use the status panel to get the upper left and lower right co-ordinates? I'm a little confused here. Thanks again

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CellGrid2004 has no numbers or letters.. that was possible because of using VTP1 polys. VTP1 is not allowed in FS2004.And yes, the lines are of poor quality compared to FS2002's Cellgrid2.That's why I recommend using FS2002 and Cellgrid2 for anything that needs a screenshot. As I understand it, the watermasking shapes have not changed since FS2002, although some airfields may have changed.Dick

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Guest alaskavideoguy

Does this mean that you can't use this program in 2004? I don't have 2002. How can you tell Coastline Maker the co-ordinates of the LOD13 cells?

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Guest Tony_A

Hi Thomas, You can certainly use Coastline-maker for FS2004. What I do is use Cellgrid to lay down the LOD 8 mesh and then go into slew mode and top-down view and zoom out to find the top-left of the LOD 8 mesh. The top-left LOD 13 cell is 0-0. Count across from 0 to 31 and down from 0 to 31 to locate the area you want to work with then pick a cell with a distinctive landmark and write down the x,y cell 13 numbers. Zoom in to the area you want to work on and work out the top/left - bottom/right numbers from the the cell you picked out. After I have taken my screen shot, I exit FS9 and crop it in Paint shop Pro and add the co-ords of the cells. I've attached one of my recent files. Its Rottnest Island (part of) LOD13 630-347 from cell 8-0 to 11-3 to give you some idea. The screen shot has been overlaid with the map I used as a layer in PSP and then the layer transparency lowered so the original FS9 outline shows below it. Hope this helps... Tony http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/44232.jpg

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Guest alaskavideoguy

Thanks, Tony, I'll try this tonight. Am I understanding this right? LOD8 is the large green outline and the red grid within it has the individual LOD13 cells, 32 arcross and 32 down. I'm trying to put in a float pond and adjust the coastline more accurately at the airstrip that I fly out of in Fairbanks. Thanks for all of your help. I'm also getting ready to install Ground2K V4 to give it a try. Some simmers seem to prefer it to Coastline Maker.

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Guest Tony_A

Hi Thomas, Yes your right, the LOD 8 is the large area and the LOD 13 cells are the 32 across by 32 down. Make sure you count from zero and NOT one from the top left corner. When you are preparing your background "map" crop it as close as possible to the LOD 13 cell corners. I've also just downloaded Ground2K but haven't tried it yet. From what I've read on the forums the re-mesh feature should by interesting. Coastline-maker is quite good. I've include a before and after of Rottnest Is. to give you some idea of what you can do. Tony http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/44272.jpg

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Guest alaskavideoguy

Thanks again. Can you land with floats on the water surfaces that you created? If so, can you add water effects like I've seen in FS2004? You've been very helpful!

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Guest Tony_A

Hi Thomas, Glad I've been some help. To answer your questuion, YES.. the water created is the same as other water. I don't know about the water effects but I would imagine the sim would apply these the same as other water. I've just tried Ground2K on the sqame project and so far managed to get a good result which I then proceeded to mess up. I'm restarting the project as the more I tried to fix the first one the worse it got. I'm really going to have to go back to square one and study up more on the basics. Ground2K seems to be a pretty steep learning curve but in the end I think will give better results than Coastline-maker as you can change the landclass and also get rid of water up the sides of coasts and also work on an area that crosses over the LOD 13 cell borders. Tony

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