A16 Elavated Surface Rehash

[Guest sapper42]

Hi everyone, sorry to rehash this topic but i am nonplussed as to what may be wrong with my code.I have seareched and read the past posts regarding this issue with no success to my problem.I have 2 x elevated Helicopter pads on 2 custom Oil Rigs. One that works fine yet the other falls through.I have tried with both the scenery object inplace and without ( just the Hard Surface ) and it makes no diff if there are polygons under the elevated surface. Allso the surface works as a whole decimal and part decimal elevation as per the code below.----------------------------------------------------;SCASM source file created by FS Design Studio v2;FSDS object - Hard Surface OilRig Perch_PCA;;Copyright 2003 Jeffrey Stanyer;Header( 1 S38:7:6.9424 S39:7:6.9424 E147:42:30.9705 E146:42:30.9705 )LatRange( S39:7:6.9424 S38:7:6.9424 );Area16(a S38:37:06.9455 E147:12:30.9989 5 5 )Area16(g S38:7:06.9455 E147:12:30.9989 1 1 )RefPoint( abs : 0.100000 S38:37:06.9455 E147:12:30.9989 )SenseBorder( : -29 71 29 71 71 30 71 -28 30 -70 -28 -70 -70 -29 -70 29)SetElevation( 22.2 )End16This is for Rig PERCH_PCA and works fine-------------------------------------------------------;SCASM source file created by FS Design Studio v2;FSDS object - Hard Surface for OilRig Dolphin_DPA;;Copyright 2003 Jeffrey Stanyer;Header( 1 S38:31:41.5613 S38:31:56.0565 E147:16:11.0320 E147:15:42.7427 )LatRange( S38:31:56.0565 S38:31:41.5613 );Area16(a S38:31:48.9381 E147:15:57.0084 5 5 )Area16(g S38:31:48.9381 E147:15:57.0084 1 1 )RefPoint( abs : 0.100000 S38:31:48.9381 E147:15:57.0084 )SenseBorder( : -29 71 29 71 71 30 71 -28 30 -70 -28 -70 -70 -29 -70 29)SetElevation( 22.2 )End16This is for Rig Dolphin DPA---------------------------------------------------------------------and falls through, what i have however noticed is that the shadow whilst on the pad flickers and the flicker ( shadow turns off ) is when the Helicopter falls through otherwise its stable.Allso to note, the Lat Lon in the header for Perch seems to be missing numbers yet still works, curious !I have removed all traces of SCASM.EXE and FSDS with a Reg clean for possible erroneous code or corruption and will be installing both tomorrow night to try again.if anyone could find an issue or point me in the correct direction id be very gratefull as i would prefer to hand code with scasm.rgds Jeff and a Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to All

[rhumbaflappy 113]

Hi Jeff.I tried your code, and it seemed fine.There are usually two reasons why this coding fails. One, is the pad is too small. These pads need to be big enough so the contact points of the plane or chopper fit securely on the pad. Two, is that some helicopter models do not sit well on any pads. I make pads oversized as a rule.. usually 30x30 meters ( and square ), and have no problems. I know some users want them exactly to size to sharpen their skill level.. but I just want to be able to land the darn thing. ;)The code you used is the same bits and bytes MS uses in their defaults for FS2002.I have seen a pad on their default oilrig library object that is solid... and attached to the object itself, rather than at a set elevation. We'll need to wait for the MakeMDL SDK, and hope that is explained. If it can easily be done, we can make helipads as solid objects and place them anywhere we like.Dick

[Guest JR Morgan]

Hi Dick..RE: >>"The code you used is the same bits and bytes MS uses in their defaults for FS2002."Are you saying MS actually had this type Area16 code for helipads in FS2002? -- Or did you mean FS2000? I could never get the Area16 Sense Border at a SetElevation add-on height to work reliably in FS2002, as you well know. They kept hiccuping themselves out of "Solididity" (hey, that must be a new word) :-). That's why I got so excitedly happy when you discovered the zero height buildings thing.RE: >>"I have seen a pad on their default oilrig library object that is solid... and attached to the object itself, rather than at a set elevation. We'll need to wait for the MakeMDL SDK, and hope that is explained. If it can easily be done, we can make helipads as solid objects and place them anywhere we like."below is a pic of using the dummy building process on a FS9 LibObj Oil rig (from Johan's list) and it works very well. Do you happen to have the GUID no's for the oilrig library object you're referring-to?The GUID no's for this rig in the picture is 04A5CEEC8h, 04F2A9E27h, 0F12EE7A4h, 00F0C856Ch. Is this the rig you were referring-to?BTW, I've experimented with the zero-height building for hardening of long, thin bridges and it seems to work as long as one stays within the general area of the scenery it was created-in, however, when originating a flight from a distant (>50km) area and flying-to the 'hardened' bridge, and landing on it, it's hardness takes-on characteristics very similar to the old Area16 in FS2002 intermittent hardness -- It's starting to look to me like (any) elevated hardened area should be as near as possible; a square area??http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/53961.jpgJ.R.

[rhumbaflappy 113]

Hi JR.I think the Area16 type command was used in FS2002.I think helipads made with zero-height advanced buildings are good for now. That is the oilrig I referred to, and the pad is solid, even if we suspend the rig 100 meters in the air! That means the hardening is part of the object code... not a surface at an absolute elevation... but part of the object itself. If so, that's good news for the whirlybirds.As soon as the MakeMDL SDK arrives, we may be able to make a LibraryObject or an "includable" MDL file that can be placed anywhere we want... a real physical pad, instead of a trick we devised. Dick

[Guest JR Morgan]

Dick;RE:>"That is the oilrig I referred to, and the pad is solid, even if we suspend the rig 100 meters in the air! That means the hardening is part of the object code... not a surface at an absolute elevation... but part of the object itself. If so, that's good news for the whirlybirds."Well I'll be darned... I compiled this one using SCASM abs referencing at 163m (local surface alt) and the pad on the rig was definitely NOT hardened. I added the hardening with the zero height bldg method. Do you remember if you tested using SCASM, XML or BGLC? In other words, could SCASM be missing the 'attached, hardened' feature you experienced?J.R

[Guest sapper42]

Thks guys, i have tried squares and such , even lat lon values and oversized,the zero hieght advanced buildings ive not considered as ive no idea how to code one. The only reason this is an issue at all is that the two rigs in question are nothing like the default ones ( the default ones at a pinch will do for the other 17 ) wich i am using currently using for the Gas and oil field.Again, thanks for your input and help. ill certainly try oversized pads again and hunt for source codes for the advanced buildings to study. Thanks again and all the Best: Jeff :0)

[rhumbaflappy 113]

Hi JR.XML placed:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/53980.jpgDick

[Guest sapper42]

That would haveto have the trickiest short final for a STOL ive ever seen LOL ;0)

[Guest JR Morgan]

LOL; well, er, um, I never thought of running my roller coaster under my Oil Rig :-).I guess this means XML=1, SCASM=0. Drat! does this mean I've got to try and learn XML :-(. At 72.75 yrs of age, I'm finding it harder and harder to teach this old dog new tricks -- but it's sure starting to look like the way to go.Thanks for the atchd code... One thing I noticed in the XML script (see bold, underlined part) is the statement I assume to be defining the object's altitude to be stated as AGL=TRUE, but it's also set to alt=100.00. If you wrote AGL=FALSE, does that mean alt would equal 0? -- Or is this really a way of assigning an abs altitude to the object? 'Guess I'm going to have to download all that MS SDK stuff and see if I can make anything out of it :-(. <?xml version="1.0" ?> - - Thanks;J.R

[Guest JR Morgan]

Hi Jeff..you can build such zero height bldgs using AFW (maybe FSSC also?) in about 10 seconds. Just set all bldg section heights to 0 and set the bldg's altitude to the MSL altitude needed by your hardened surface. The size of the hardened surface will be whatever you set the bldg's size to be -- typically 20 to 30 meters square.Here's the SCASM source code with comments for the hardened pad on the Oil Rig I pictured:; Building Area( 5 38:59.39014 -089:10.13151 10 ) IfVarRange( : 0346 1 32767 ) PerspectiveCall( :P0 ) ShadowCall( :S0 ) Jump( : ):P0 Perspective:S0 RefPoint( 2 :S1 1 38:59.39014 -089:10.13151 E= 182 V1= 10000 V2= 42 ) RotatedCall( :R0 000 000 90 ) Return:R0 AdvBldg( NORMAL 30 30; 30 meter square bldg LEVEL1 0 0 256 256; Levels 1, 2 & 3 set to 0 (2nd column) LEVEL2 0 0 256 256 256 LEVEL3 8 0 256 256 ROOF 0 256 256 ); Use Flat Roof only:S1 ReturnOr, ou can use this snippet and change the Lat & Lon in the Area and RefPoint opcodes and the E= (altitude) in the RefPoint line to fit your location and altitude rqmts.Regards; J.RPS: I'll bet Dick could write an XML equivalent to this using about 3 or 4 lines of script?

[Guest sapper42]

J.R and Dick.A Huge thankyou from myself and the beta testers for your advice, works sensational, i now have 4 real life rotor heads happily hopping around platforms in Bass Straight , Victoria , Australia. ( one wonders what they do for a hobby LOL ).The Advanced building code has solved all my problems for the custom pads, now to start work on the remaining 17 Rigs for that oil field that are a more conventional shape.Hope you both have a safe and happy Xmas and New Year.Best Regards : Jeff

[rhumbaflappy 113]

Hi JR.alt="100.00" altitudeIsAgl="TRUE" means it's placed at 100 meters up from the AGL! It's a relative offset from ground level for LibraryObjects. You can do the same with effects.The bad news is that I haven't yet found a way to suspend Generic Buildings... they appear to be ground-huggers with the bglbomp... so we still need the older BGL (SCASM ) code for zero-height advanced buildings. ( so far )Dick

[Guest JR Morgan]

OK on the (IMHO) 'wierd way' of defining an abs altitude for LibObjs in XML.RE: >"The bad news is that I haven't yet found a way to suspend Generic Buildings... they appear to be ground-huggers with the bglbomp... so we still need the older BGL (SCASM ) code for zero-height advanced buildings. ( so far )"Yes it seems M$ has always coded the (displayable, or draw/paint functions) of AdvBldgs to always be (Graphically) ground huggers. HOWEVER, as you discovered at San Diego, forcing an ABS RefPoint at the MSL altitude desired for a hardened surface with a rectangular area same as the length/width size of the (now invisible) zero-height bldg does indeed work using SCASM.Surely there must be a way to do it in XML... A horrible thought crossed my mind where: On LibObjects as complex as, say, the Oil Rigs, their native code in the library must likely be made up of combining 'Modular' snippets into the end-item object. In this case, the hardened surface would probably be applied to only one of many modules comprising the end-item (oil rig) but 'hidden' in the library bgl.Thankfully, we can still fall back to using SCASM to (ADD another) object -- the invisible AdvBldg with elevated (invisible) roof. Also, one can add floating (AdvBldg) objects that are visible, using SCASM's TransformCall opcode, should that be desirable, ie adding your favorite bistro to your oil rig? --- But putting a roller coaster looping under one corner of your oil rig -- Priceless :-)Merry Christmas...J.R