Wow, I'm pretty much impressed. This is really early for the "main" scenery SDK. I've just browsed through the document and it looks pretty complete as well. Not much there I haven't figured out myself by now, but still one or two gems.Arno, the object code is in RIFF files now and gets attached to the bgl files, but really seems to be a standalone file (similar to TMF files, that are really different files, but get a BGL header slapped onto them). We will only be able to create new objects with makemdl. This worries me, because we probably will loose functionality like seasonal texturing, access to FS intern variables, etc. But we'll see when the SDK comes...Another word of warning: Not everything will necessarily work as documented. For example, I haven't managed to set different colours for the heliports when I was playing around with them a few months ago (with a hexeditor). The values for the colours are there alright, but changing them doesn't seem to have any effect. Similarily, the VASI types BALL, APAP, and PANELS don't work. BALL and APAP don't show the correct lights, PANELS shows nothing at all.Also, it seems like we can't delete navaids or airspaces.Cheers, Christian

Hi all.Another small discovery...latitude and longitude for object placement can be in decimal degrees, and using negatives for southern and western values... so lat, long and heading can be copied from TCalc2004 and added directly to XML file:<?xml version="1.0"?>This was saved as "Shuttle.txt" and compiled correctly. http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/53221.jpgHere I added a space shuttle launchpad to my home area of Delavan Wisconsin.( Seems a bit cold for a launch ).===================link to Microsoft's MSXML 4.0 download site:http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...&displaylang=enDick

I'm only about 1/3 of the way thru doing careful study, but I'll say that this seems to be a step in the right direction. The XML code seems so simple compared to what we've been working with in the past. Still much to learn. From a standpoint of considering how it meshes with the trend of my own design work, it fits very well. Bob Bernstein

using the library objects work properly as long as I call the guid from a standard library...but I haven't made it work yet with one of my own library objects using fsregen library compiler and bglc to create the library bgl file. http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/53246.jpg

Just going through the SDK and want to comment:In case anyone is wondering about the boundaries / spatial sorting FS2004 is using: - facilities are divided into LOD7 cells- scenery objects are divided into LOD8 cellsthe bgl compiler should do that for you. file wise airport facilities are grouped into LOD5 and the rest (other facilities and scenery objects) are grouped into regions (eg oceanic).Christian

Hi Christian,Thanks for the extra info about how the file format is organized now.Your remarks about the working of 3D objects in this new format are interesting. I had similar thoughts about it when I looked at this XML format for the AFD data. I am wondering how things like checks with the IFIN1 command or so will work in this format. I hope we will get that info (with a new GMax plugin) soon :).I also noticed that the airspace commands are nicely documented in the last SDK, but just like you mention I could not see an exclude option yet. Very strange, why offer a way to make new ones if you can't remove the old ones. I will try to make some tests with it soon, maybe the old ones are overwritten automatically or so.

Any chance that this will make it possible to fix the Autogen/objects visibility distance bug/problems?

That is very interesting Bob. I don't know if you followed the autogen discussion that was going one lately? There we found that replacing an autogen library object out of the default.xml file with your own library object didn't work. Just like you described they did not show. That you have the same effect now points again in the direction of a changed library format as well. I hope a future SDK will give some more info about that.

No, not yet. Look at the post above by Bob that indicates that it is still not possible to use your own library objects with this commands. I think we need to wait for another SDK that describes the creation of libraries and 3D objects.

As a relative novice I just placed 2 library objects (cruise liner and powerboat) into a scenery very easily.But this leds me on to another line of thinking. I'm not a programmer but I would have thought that it should be possible (he says! :) ) to make the objects move by some mechanism whereby the coordinates are made to change and are repeatedly re-read within fs9 and the object redrawn.Any chance of this?We might even see things like landable moving a/c carriers soon if so.

Moving an object around isn't a big challenge if you animate it. However, I'm not sure that moving the actual location of an object as defined in its header would work because FS seems to build a database of scenery objects at startup and then stubbornly refuses to even consider re-evaluating the scenery until the next startup. Otherwise scenery designers wouldn't spend so much time quitting and relaunching FS in order to see their changes take place. It was admittedly a lot easier in FS2002, where changing a bgl file and reloading the scenery could be accomplished without actually quitting the sim.

Certainly looks as arno suggests.It looks as though 'general' objects can be used anywhere - ferries, airport vehicles, shopping malls, power plants and such.But objects related to a specific location cannot be moved much beyond their original area. For instance, I can move hong kong airport objects from the new to the old airport but I can't drop them into a Leeds UK scenery (the bgl compiles but you can't see the object). So no chance of dropping the Staue of Liberty next to Tower Bridge!Also, the SDK says that only 1 object can be dropped at a time except for linked objects. This does not appear to be the case. I've successfully dropped 3 airport vehicles with just the one XML file so far and I can't see why there should therefore be a limit.I also note that WTC1 and WTC2 are mentioned but haven't investigated those yet.

>>- facilities are divided into LOD7 cells>- scenery objects are divided into LOD8 cells>>the bgl compiler should do that for you. >>>Christian>Hi Christian,What do you mean by the BGL compiler should do that for you? Are you saying that it will organise output BGLs into LOD8 for scenery objects, without the designer needing to determine the boundaries and sort the source XML data beforehand?The reason I ask is that in the SDK Microsoft specifically mention that it is up to the scenery designer to manage the spacial sorting of the scenery. This implies the compiler will simply compile what the designer feeds into it and that the designer can make the decisions regarding LOD or boundaries in general.I guess in my case I would be doing my stuff at LOD8 in any case, as that is what MS does - I can't see any easy way of "testing" BGLs to see if one approach to spacial sorting is actually more efficient than another.

>Moving an object around isn't a big challenge if you animate>it. However, I'm not sure that moving the actual location of>an object as defined in its header would work because FS seems>to build a database of scenery objects at startup and then>stubbornly refuses to even consider re-evaluating the scenery>until the next startup.Hello,The lat/lon/alt that locate the object in the FS world can be specifieddirectly or indirectly. In the indirect approach these values are containedin variables that FS reads in order to know the location to draw the object.I posted recently an example in this forum:http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...pic_id=16062&mesg_id=16062&listing_type=searchRegards, Luis

Has anybody tested the delete airports command?and does it work? - so far at this end no success with that!can anybody post the command lines if you manage to make work?greatluce