VTP and LWMs in XML?

[Guest Stormshadow]

Hello all,To reshape coastlines and fill in areas using LWMs, is there something new using XML or we still have to code in old asm format? I believe there isn't any new SDK for VTP and LWM.Storm

[rhumbaflappy 113]

Hi Storm.There's nothing new concerning XML.There is a new LWM masking format used in FS9. If you decompile one of the HP*.bgls with Jim Keir's LWMViewer, you'll see the new code.Our older code works fine, except VTP1 no longer exists, and LWM areafills may cause a crash if viewed in Map view or GPS view... so they should be avoided.I suppose there will be a Terrain SDK, but our knowledge is already ahead of MS here ( for a change ). Dick

[Guest Stormshadow]

Hi Dick,THanks for the quick reply.In fact coastline, mesh and VTP work well in FS9. So we can safely work with the previous VTP and LWM format (bar VTP1s), without running into problems with future FS releases?By any chance, have you compiled a VTP tutorial (something similar to the LWM manual (as I refer to it!))?Storm

[rhumbaflappy 113]

Hi Storm.I don't know about the future FS releases, but I suspect there won't be any surprises in the next round, concerning VTP or LWM. ( Unless somebody wants to add code to allow reverting LWM flattens to the original mesh!!! ).As far as a tutorial... the reasons for the LWM tutorial were that only Christian Stock, Lee Steffensen, and myself knew how to make them. I wanted tool developers to see the possibility of creating GUI's to allow their creation. Making them by hand is not a lot of fun.Now we do have some tools, and the "rules" are fairly well established. So there isn't a need for that kind of document.I suspect a new Terrain SDK won't have much new in it, and it will probably repeat the same mistakes and omissions of the first release. When that gets released, I might make a addition to it, if needed.Dick