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scott967

Flatten.bgl

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Is there a programme I can use to create bgl files from flatten information (rather than have flatten lines in the scenery.cfg file), in the same way thatExcBuilder does for 'excludes'?Martin

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Excellent. Should have posted this before wasting time on my fruitless trawl through Google results! Many thanks George! Martin

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This works really well - created a new flatten bgl in a couple f minutes. Success first time (which always augurs well!).However, I have a lot of other flatten lines in my scenery.cfg: can I convert them to bgls using this programme without having to do it by slewing to each one in FS9? I can't see any way to enter my co-ordinates manually.Thanks again,Martin

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>> I can't see any way to enter my co-ordinates manually.Yes, just create an Area16 scasm file and can add your own lat/longs.George

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Hi again George, he says sheepishly.... I thought I'd have no problem with Scasm as I use it to recompile edited FS8 scenery files, but I haven't used file slike this before and am not getting anywhere. Can I ask for you help again please?This is an example flatten .sca file, which I made by importing co-ordinates from FS9:; SCASM file created by FSTflatten.exeCopyright(www.fs-traveler.com)Header ( 1 50.375558203233 50.3712368349913 155.635851391683 155.615009830355)LatRange ( 50.3712368349913 50.375558203233)Set ( areamx 64 )Area16N Elevation ( 0 50.3731369039227 155.615009830355 ;1 50.3712368349913 155.616968571908 ;2 50.3735775761794 155.635851391683 ;3 50.375558203233 155.634698781403 ;4 )END16Here is a manual flatten, from the scenery.cfg:Flatten.0=280.0,S05 55.60,E105 30.05,S05 55.71,E105 30.05,S05 55.78,E105 29.45,S05 55.60,E105 29.45Clearly, I have to convert minutes & seconds to decimals, but, if you have the time, could you possibly show me what the .sca file would look like for this flatten, so I can compare (and learn!)? Which figures go where, and what's in the header - I'm getting confused?!Thanks again,Martin

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Don't worry too much about this - I can see now that it would be quite a lot of work to answer the questions above: I have made a test flatten using the programme, and by comparing the sca file with my original co-ordinates I should be able to work out what is going on in and how to incorporate my own figures.Martin

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Just read the Scasm doc.George

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It's which figures go into the header section I'm not sure about - and in which order (esp. with minus numbers, for south). But there aren't that many combinations possible so I will surely work it out by trial and error if nothing else!M

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From the Scasm doc:Header( type [*] TopLat BottomLat RightLon LeftLon ) This command MUST be the first in your main scenery input file. It generates the BGL-file header which defines the boundaries of the area covered by your scenery file.* If the optional * character is entered the correct order of RightLon and LeftLon is not tested. You will need this option only if your scenery is crossing the date line (180th meridian). Normaly not used! type 1...4 this number has something to do with your FS5 *.VIS files. The following numbers are associated with: 1 visual scenery (sect 9), synth blocks (sect 1..6) FS98 AFD-BGL's 2 FS5.0 crop duster world, do not use it. 3 navaids as VOR, ILS, NDB, Markers 4 airport menu (FS5 style), ATIS LatRange( BottomLat TopLat ) This command has to follow the Header command. The FS5 scenery is organised in latitude bands and this instruction defines one of them. There can be several latitude bands in one scenery file (.BGL file) but SCASM can only handle one of it per source file. If your scenery covers a large north to south distance, lets say more than 2 to 3 degrees you have to use different source files for each latitude band.You then have the option to combine the resulting .BGL files with the help of SCLINK.The LatRange instruction is used for all BGL-sections except forground tiles (Seed's/sections 1 to 6),BGL libraries,RAW output,Section 19 data (Exclude & Exception) andnew facility BGL's (section 20).

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Well, I made a flatten.bgl manually using scasm - and to my disbelief it worked first time! It took me half an hour staring at the numbers - and there were only four co-ordinates! - but I dare say I'll speed up as I do more.So today I have created my own little airport from scratch (i.e. where there wasn't one before in FS), flattened the terrain with a bgl and edited the airport bgl to my liking. A little way off before I'm uploading my new photo-real London Heathrow to AVSIM, or whatever, but I feel quite pleased, I must say.It's a bit 'worrying' that these days I spent way much more time doimg this sort of thing than actually flying!Thanks for your helpful comments,Martin

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>It's a bit 'worrying' that these days I spent way much more>time doimg this sort of thing than actually flying!A warning - it is very addictive if you are not careful. I have forgotten how to fly and my sim has been stuck in Slew Mode for so long that it will need a sledge hammer to get it back out again :-)

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I'm beginning to understand that! Mind you, my earlier pride (for want of a better term) in what I'd done today has been seriously deflated by the fact that the flatten bgl files I've been trying to write for two hours now refuses to work at all! I can't even get fstutilities to flatten the area by 'drawing round it' either. Driving me nuts!!! If I don't get it to work by tomorrow I might post the four co-ordinates here along with my scasm and see if someone can tell me what's wrong.M.

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I am beginning to wish I'd never heard of flatten lines: I am about ready to scream. If any patient soul knows what might be going on here....None of my flatten bgls had any effect at all (I was sure I was creating them correctly) so, just as a test, I moved my plane half a kilometre or so away and just tried out a simple tetragonal flatten (by slewing the a/c), raising the land 100 metres or so. Restarted FS9. The mound was there (so the programme was working and I was doing things correctly) - but also all my previously 'dead' flattens suddenly showed up fine too. Things got even more confusing:...if I now delete the test bgl that just created that 100m hill, all of my other flattens disappear along with it. I checked my 'hill' sca file and it has four entries, none at all connected with the flatten bgls I have been trying to create!This sounds so unlikely, I can't help but think that my PC is playing jokes on me. I am ready to leave the flattens I have in the scenery.cfg and forget making bgl files out of them, I've wasted almost all day today on this. It is SO frustrating. If anyone can suggest why my coastal flattens only work when the test 'hill' flatten is also in the scenery folder, I'd be very glad to know!! I'll copy the 'hill' sca and one of my coastal flatten sca here - just in case it provides an obvious answer.Aaaaaagh! (Told you I was ready to scream).M.This bgl:Header ( 1 53.2442066412792 53.2417835016689 -4.54239447652554 -4.54684818258613)LatRange ( 53.2417835016689 53.2442066412792)Set ( areamx 64 )Area16N Elevation ( 0 53.2429891530762 -4.54239447652554 ;1 53.2442066412792 -4.54609733981385 ;2 53.2434757980921 -4.54684818258613 ;3 53.2417835016689 -4.54397043807177 ;4 )END16 only works if this one is also present (?!):Header ( 1 53.25108392451 53.2496258373138 -4.52408688248383 -4.52613793483067)LatRange ( 53.2496258373138 53.25108392451)Set ( areamx 64 )Area16N Elevation ( 12.19 53.2502363574564 -4.52432157422123 ;1 53.25108392451 -4.52408688248383 ;2 53.25108392451 -4.52613793483067 ;3 53.2496258373138 -4.52613793483067 ;4 )END16

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