VTP2 displacement with FS9.1 upgrade?

[Holger 0]

Hi all,installed the update to 9.1 without problems but noticed something interesting when looking at before-after screenshots I took.The first image is before patch installation: my own LOD10 mesh (TMVL=20) and scenery, at Stewart, B.C. (CZST).The second image is after patch installation, same situation, same settings. If you save the two images and switch back and forth rapidly you'll notice that the VTP2 roads are slightly but noticeably displaced in the second shot. The apparent change in the coastline is actually the shoreline texture getting displayed differently, i.e., the LWM polygons don't seem to change. It looks like the update somehow changes the way VTP2 code is read? It's possible that the change doesn't affect the location of the line but rather the start points of the VTP2 textures; since the dirt road and shoreline textures are slightly curved, a different start point could explain the visible differences. Still, that's odd!Anyone else out there who did a before-after comparison and is able to confirm this?Cheers, Holger http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/93964.jpg

[Guest christian]

I haven't installed the update yet, so can't confirm anything.However, I noticed a while ago that LWM polys aren't placed correctly, there is an inaccuracy of about a couple of metres. This gave me some headaches with matching shore VTP lines. So, it is plausible that MS 'fixed' some code. If indeed the VTP polys are changed, then that's a pity, because I'm 100% sure that the LWM polys are out, and they should have been fixed instead.Cheers, Christian

[Guest luissa]

Hello,I could not make the compairisons about VTP shifting (after/before) so I can not confirm your observations. One or two days before the patch I was looking to this problem again. I changed all my VTP/LWM coordinates formulae in order to make the coordinates "compatible" with the new TMFViewer. Having done that I noticed that VTP lines were still shifted NW in relation to LWM polygons. This is not good when you have, for example, thin shorelines around a lake. I implemented the following functionality in Sbuilder:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/93974.gifIn the picture 1 unit means 1 LOD21 step (about 4.8 meters). So I am shifting my VTP items 1 unit south and 1 unit east. In my region (is this uniform?) this small shift gives acceptable coincidence between LWM and VTP.Kind Regards, Luis

[Guest christian]

Hi Holger,nice screenshot, btw. It looks a lot like something I'm trying to achieve for the whole of New Zealand. I haven't put the rocky river beds in, but I was also planning to, your screenshot confirms this is well worth the effort. Are you using a custom texture for this (I'm planning to, but don't know yet how I'm going to assemble a good one)?Anyway, I just like to know if you have an automatic algorithm for splitting 'doughnut' polygons (ie islands within closed polygons), for example, in your braided river beds. I'm spending weeks doing this manually, and I actually have finished all rivers and lakes now, but still have a lot of tiny islets in the coast area to go. This really is a pain...Nice work.Cheers, Christian

[Holger 0]

Hi Christian,thanks, yup, it took me awhile to get it to look like that. I particularly enjoy the local landclass textures, which allow for the effect of having snow at higher elevations during spring and fall and other interesting features.The river water is generated with Jim's Slartibartfast. Unfortunately, the "donuts" are not taken care of, i.e., they are of the same elevation as the surrounding water. It's not an issue with the rivers because they are mesh-clinging for the most part but it's too bad for some of the small islands off the coast. In a few cases I have set the LOD8 Cell to -9999 and then used G2K4 to draw flattens around the island but that is obviously a lot of work. Another "trick" I experimented with is using two instances of the water mask file, one with small land bridges that extend across the next LOD13 boundary and the other, drawn on top, as mesh-clinging water LWMs. That worked okay though it's still tedious but I was worried about the fps impact of the double LWM files so I dropped that idea for now. Jim is aware of the issue and I hope he'll come up with an automatic splitting algorithm in the next version.Send me a PM with your email and I'll forward you copies of my gravelbed textures to check out.Good luck with New Zealand. My project is "only" the size of Switzerland (plus a couple of 1000 sqmi) but I'm sure happy it's almost done ;-)Cheers, Holger

[TheFiddler 5]

Hello!Wonderful screenshot indeed. So far "B.C." was just my favourite cartoon, but it seems I also should go fly there...!If I may slightly derail this thread: What water textures are you using, Holger? Because this is how water looks! I have experimented with many of the replacement textures and "effects" (0*1b2wa1.bmp as well as env_*.bmp and water_detail*.bmp), and have indeed got beyond the "coral lagoons everywhere" stage, but all water is still too garish a blue tint for my taste. How do you do it? Or is it just Canada?Cheers,Martin

[Holger 0]

Hi Martin,we ARE getting off-topic but since the VTP2 (texture) displacement seems to be a minor issue thus far...Water color and waterclass files are, IMO, one of the most neglected opportunities for scenery enhancements. Even those products that focus on landscapes, like Austria Professional or LAGO's Rome, leave the default water untouched. A light blue Danub and Tiber, oh sure ;-)I'm using a local waterclass file with my own waterclass textures. It took awhile to arrive at decent colors, particularly since the blending of water tiles of different colors creates this odd "oil spill" effect. In the end I made five different hues - glacial aquamarine, heavy silt, medium silt, muddy brown, and deep water - and a few extra in-between colors to help with blending where the respective river water meets the sea.Cheers, Holger

[TheFiddler 5]

Wow! Over to the library now...Thanks, Holger!Cheers,Martin