Ground2k4 - Coast problem

[Guest Brix]

HiThis is my first try with scenery enhancment, i want to correct mo local area wich is Roskilde in Denmark. The first thing i want is to correct the coastline in "Roskilde Fjord", after reading the guide for beginners, i draw a "poly with shore" and set the LWM to LAND, but because my line forms a "horseshoe" the fjord is filled with land instead of water.So i try to set the LWM to WATER instead and it looks right, exept i have a thin line of water between the land and the coast line, can i get rid of that, or am i doing the hole thing the wrong way.Here is a screenshot of my working area in ground2k4 and the a screenshot from FS9 showing the thin line of water.

[Holger 0]

Howdy,welcome to the wide open world of landscape design! ;-)You can define different shoreline types and widths in the "Lines" tab. I have found that you need a minimum width of "50" to prevent in-shore water but the wider the better.Since coastlines are rarely of uniform type and width, I often use "Poly without shore" and then draw sections of different coastline types on top (not all areas need shorelines, e.g., cliffs and rocky areas). It's extra work and you need to zoom in to match the outline of the existing poly but the results look very nice.Cheers, Holger

[LuisFelizTirado 33]

Hello whatever your name is,Perhaps the following will make the process a bit clearer:A coast is a Land Mask (L/WM). A Land Mask is a POLYGON that displays the underlying land class values.A polygon is a CLOSED many-sided figure. This is important to remember.When you draw your coast, normally you do NOT draw the entire CLOSED polygon, but only the part of the curve that represents the coastal area.Since a coast is a closed polygon, Ground2K4 will ALWAYS close the polygon by drawing a straight segment from one end of your curve to the other.Then, the interior of that polygon will display land.If you look at your curve, you will see that a straight segment closing your curve will creat a polygon in the area that is water, not the land that is the coast.The solution to this problem, as indicated in the Problems section of Ground2k for Beginners, is to draw your Land Mask in such a way that the polygon is closed correctly and that the polygon is formed over land, for example:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/72566.jpgIf you draw your Land Mask while keeping this in mind, you will most often not need to draw a Water Mask anywhere.Best regards.Luis

[Guest Brix]

Thanks both of you.I got rid of the thin line of water, with the adjustment of the width, but they look to wide now, and i want to do it the right way.With the example you gave me Luis, wouldn

[larshgf 2]

Hej Thomas!I guess that if you choose "poly without shore" and then draw the shore where there should be shore, then you will not expierience the problem you mention.Good Luck ;-)Lars FrederiksenEsbjerg DK

[LuisFelizTirado 33]

Hello Thomas,Thank you for providing a name! On the anonymous internet, we do not know each other, but I always like to be able to relate to people and a name helps. Thanks!Lars is right and his solution is best. First draw your coast polygon as Poly without shore. The, draw the shoreline as Line/LakeShore. When you must draw an extended curve in order to get the polygon to close in the correct part of your coast, then you cannot use Poly with shore, as this will place a beach inland!Please note that you can either draw your shoreline apart from the coast (as Poly without shore), or at the same time when you draw your coast(as Poly with shore). But, in either case, in order to get the shoreline texture to display correctly, you must pay attention to the option "Land on the right" that is on the Lines tab.If you draw your shoreline in such a way that land is on the right-hand side, place a checkmark in this option. If you draw your shoreline so that land is on the LEFT-HAND side, do NOT use this option.Best regards.Luis

[scott967 62]

Luis,If you are doing this, say if you need to have land fill and the geometry results in requiring just the LWM poly, is there a technique to then draw the shore line in the right spot? I seem to just zoom the view and try to draw the coast as close as possible to to LWM poly I already have. I guess there is no sort of a "snap to" or other means?scott s..

[Guest Brix]

I fully understand what you all mean now, so thanks very much for your help everybody.I must get back to my scenery work now :)Thomas Brix

[LuisFelizTirado 33]

Hello Scott,This is an excellent question. The best solution for the moment is probably as Holger says above - that is, make your shoreline width greater so as to cover any gaps.Best regards.Luis

[Guest bahri]

Hi all!I find using a screen magnifier (Lens) works great for positioning the shore line on the poly as you can see all the juggies and align them.Search the software site plenty of lenses around many freewareRegardsbahri

[Guest Anthony_D]

>If you draw your Land Mask while keeping this in mind, you>will most often not need to draw a Water Mask anywhere.I draw water masks rather than land masks. I do this because landmasks flatten the scenery (If I remember correctly). As water is flat, you may as well use these instead!This methodololody has its quirks - there are large gaps of sea between the old and new coastline. If you have a later patch to ground2k4, you can use "area fills". These are grid squares ~ 1km*1km that mask one cell on a grid with land or water. As they sit on a layer "underneath" your custom watermask, you still have your chosen shape.Hope this helps (and not you're confused by it).Anthony Dyer

[LuisFelizTirado 33]

Hello Anthony,Thanks very much for your clarifying comments. As a clarification to your remarks, please note that a Land Mask will NOT flatten anything at all.The altitude of a Land Mask is variable and depends altogether on what you decide. If you leave the default value of -9999, then the Land Mask will "cling" to the altitude mesh. If you enter another value, the the Land Mask will assume that altitude.The same holds true for a Water Mask.Nonetheless, your method has great worth. First, Fill the Area with water (or land, depending on your needs), then draw your Land Mask (or Water Mask). This method will give you a "clean sheet" on which to make your modifications and is a very good way to approach scenery design.In most cases, however, it is simpler and easier to just draw your coast correctly - that should most often be enough and give satisfactory results.Best regards.Luis

[Guest christian]

I think what you are seeing is a problem that I have described in previous posts recently. LWM and VTP points don't match. It seems as if you have to offset your coastline by a small amount to the east and south to get a match. Read my previous posts.Cheers, Christian