Stuck on the Annotation tool

[Guest JohnC]

Can someone help here? I can follow the HTML Annotation SDK Guide upto the point where I decide to put in some trees but I can't figureout how to get by the seemingly sticky GUID NULL statement for vegetation on the Control Bar.The Guide says "Set the appropriate GUID for a class or region of vegetation using the right-click menu."What menu? I have the Vegetation groupings and the Model Entries windows openbut after selecting some tree (any tree) , what then? How does one use the regionalization part of the vegetationgroupings? Who knows? You can click on a little blue ball that says Regionalization ofCool Conifer Forest but there is NOTHING in the Annotation Guide totell you what this does. The old FS2004 annotation was a snap to use in comparison.To add insult to injury, I put in a few buildings (5) becuase thereis a preset friendly GUID and actually got two AGN files. Why I gottwo escapes me. However even with my autogen slider all the way to the right....no buildings. Two AGN files, but no buildings. I cansee the little red squares in the annotation tools, and I thoughtthat clicking save,getting an AGN file, and putting my autogenslider all the way to the right was enough. I'm sorry but this FSX SDK Annotation guide is the worst exampleof software elitist gibberish I've seen so far from MicroSoft.And yes, I'm in a bad mood after 4 hours of trying and experimenting.

[toprob 105]

First, update this to SP1, this has fixed a lot of annotator troubles, not to mention updated the instructions. Not that I'm saying that it gets much easier:)Try these steps:Open Annotator.exeThe Autogen Configuration Editor will open as well.From there, open autogendescriptions.xmlNow you should be able to select any top-level entry from Grouping or Regionalizations, then return to Annotator and click 'Set GUID'.Don't try opening the Configuration Editor yourself -- this won't work. You need to open XML files from the Editor which opens automatically.It is certainly a bit more difficult that in the past, but it is a lot more powerful as well.Godzone Virtual Flight, for 'Real New Zealand' sceneryhttp://www.windowlight.co.nz

[LuisFelizTirado 33]

Hello John,I am working on a guide to use of the Annotator.The Autogen Configuration Editor is a powerful utility for modifying the default autogen definition files. The Editor also lets you choose the specific object that you wish to add to your custom texture.To do so, you must load the autogen file containing the various object definitions into the Autogen Configuration Editor.These are the relevant files for use with the Autogen Configuration Editor: 1. AutogenDescriptions.xml -- this file contains, among other things, the definitions of all vegetation types 2. Extrusions.xml -- the definitions for polyline buildings 3. RoofDescriptions.xml -- the definitions for normal autogen buildingsAll these files are located in the Autogen source xml folder of the Autogen SDK directory.To begin, you must first load one of the description files. For example, this is what you might see when loading the AutogenDescriptions.xml file:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/175189.jpgThere are various windows that are not relevant to this explanation, and you should only take into account the Vegetation Groupings window.There are two different categories: Groupings and Regionalizations. Each one contains the specific autogen vegetation types that you can select for use in the Annotator;Here is one of those headings when expanded:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/175190.jpgYou can select any of the vegetation types from the Groupings or Regionalizations headings. To select a vegetation type, simply click on it as follows:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/175191.jpgNote that in order to select a valid autogen GUID for the Autogen Annotator, you must highlight the principal vegetation type as shown above.Adding Annotations to a Ground TextureVegetationOnce you have selected the desired vegetation type in the Autogen Configuration Editor, you must switch back to the Autogen Annotator.Of course, you must load the custom (photo-real) textures in the Annotator through the File menu:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/175192.jpgNext to the Vegetation buttons, you will see the "Set GUID" button. If you have correctly selected the vegetation type in the Editor, clicking on this button will determine the specific vegetation to be added.Important: Not all the autogen types display correctly. Some seem to display autogen rather sparsely, and some do not seem to display any at all.Best regards.Luis

[Guest JohnC]

Hello Luis.....I had the FSX SDK SP1 installed, I can see the generic autogen on the normal landclass textures, and my autogen slider is pegged to the right. I can set the GUID now (many thanks to you again), but trying to put buildings and Norway Fir vegetation to appear on top of my custom photoreal scenery has so far been a failure. Do you (or does anyone else) have a specific autogen object that successfully appears with heavy densities? Trees would be nice. I am trying to find out if there is something else wrong with my system preventing the appearance over custom textures....which look very good, BTW. I'll put one in the screenshot Forum.

[Guest JohnC]

I neglected to thank toprob in my previous post. I appreciate the trouble people take to help.

[LuisFelizTirado 33]

Hello John,Please put the images of your custom ground here as well, it will give us all some pleasure to see successful creation.Here is a picture of tc_Norway_Spruce_18-23m_Old:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/175233.jpgtc_Hemlock1_21-30m_Mature:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/175234.jpgtb_Bush_Sagebrush1:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/175235.jpgAnd here are some polyline buildings newly drawn (they are behind the trees):http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/175236.jpgI have autogen set to dense, or very dense. Sometimes if set to extremely dense, nothing displays at all! My computer just cannot handle so many objects, so FS stops displaying them. Perhaps that is what is happening to you. If so, you might try turning down the autogen setting and re-starting FS.Best regards.Luis

[LuisFelizTirado 33]

It just occurred to me, John, that the Annotator will place the annotation files in the same folder as the bgl if there is no associated texture folder.The annotation files must be in a texture folder, or no autogen will display.So, if this is what is going on, then please try creating a texture folder and place the annotation files in there.Best regards.Luis

[Guest JohnC]

The texture folder suggestion worked. Many many thanks, amigo( the extent of my Spanish....sorry) I suspect other people making custom ground textures w/the new straightforward FSX resample might also fall into the trap of making the custom ground scenery separate and forgetting all about a texture folder for that package. I will put a couple of custom scenery shots together. There is one now in the Screenshot Forum Interestingly, although my textures are sized at two meters/pixel, they are really not that sharp in comparison to what you can get with USAPhotomaps at 2m/pixel or sometimes from Google. But they look good to me, and you can judge for yourself with the present existing Mount Mansfield screenshot. Unless you are flying over and staring down at your pickup truck to see if you can see any cargo in the back (I have) , the resolution is perfectly OK with me at 2m/pixel.I have about 50 square miles of custom photoscenery now put in in blocks of 16000 meters. The technique I described for Hill for picking out the lat lon projection from inside the state line projection image works perefectly, and an Excel worksheet makes it painless. Again, many thanks to you and toprob from NZ who has published many helpful hints in the past as well.

[Guest JohnC]

"John, please put the images of your custom ground here as well, it will give us all some pleasure to see successful creation"Fair enough...this is a Shorts Tucano crossing the border from Quebec into Vermont. The river emptying into Lake Champlain is the Mississquuoi river just north of Swanton. I tried placing autogen trees but the colors of the trees do not match the bitmap. It is quite common on a summer day to have a slightly bluish haze in the air from the evergreen forests in the vicinity. There is no alpha or blend mask (yet).http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/175252.jpg

[GaryGB 10]

Hi John:That looks excellent!:-) May we see some more of your project here again after you successfully implement the alpha or blend mask techniques?Happy Flying!:-coolGaryGB

[Guest JohnC]

This particular area has shallow water and some sandbars and stuff I am going to try to bring out as soon as possible, and I will publish a similar photo. Thanks for the compliment. I hope Luis likes it...w/o Luis and a few other experts I would have thrown up my hands and quit a long time ago.

[LuisFelizTirado 33]

I think that Wow! is the most appropriate word. Looks great, John, and what a difference that makes when flying, doesn't it?I have found that aerial images all need some color correction in order to blend in with the default textures. In my case, that usually means adding a lot of yellow to the source image and increasing the brightness.More pictures, please, as you get the opportunity.Best regards.Luis