Better ntrees - demo with Chris Low's packages

[Guest effyouthree]

Dear All,I finally got around my ntree replacement 'problem' last night. The idea was to create an 'instant upgrade' for all, without needing to open FLED. The results are spectacular (IMHO)! BTW, these are 'untouched' Chris Low packages from the 2004 Seattle release. I simply replaced the modelmip.tag file in the gen folder to see how effective it was.Bergseth/Black Diamondhttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/67606.jpgKapowsinhttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/67607.jpgRangerhttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/67608.jpgSwansonhttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/67609.jpgI also updated the tagfile with all my latest models. There is also a Sanfran version (pix next week) with slightly different trees ;)PS Thanks Chris, for all your work :-beerchugRegards,**************Jonathan Point**************"I'd rather be down here wishing I was up there than up there wishing I was down here"

[Christopher Low 5,352]

They look nice, Jon.....but why have you introduced a new username ?Chris Low.

[adams 1]

What file am I to downlod to get these trees ?B.Adamski

[Guest effyouthree]

Chris,After the Avsim 'server meltdown', my old login no longer worked :-grrBogdan,It is a very large file now (modelmip.tag) - about ~30megs. I may split it up and post it on Avsim but I want to finish the Sanfran one first (2x ~30 meg files? - sheesh!).I suppose the big advantage is that you don't have to do anything after installation - all existing packages (+ original LGS placements) get upgraded. Also, you can now empty your gen folder (except for my 'other' trees with oversized filenames...). No longer will a missing mipfile ruin your day!I'll post some Sanfran shots this week. What size should I split them to? 4x ~8megs? 3x 11megs? If I could use WinAce, it would be a lot smaller but Avsim only hosts zipfiles.Regards,**************Jonathan Point**************"I'd rather be down here wishing I was up there than up there wishing I was down here"

[Guest glidernut]

Jonathon, WOW, hold on there jon, it may not be nesossery or desirerabl to post the howle modelmip.tag!Andr

[Guest effyouthree]

John,Of course we could do it that way but I assumed that not everyone wants to get involved in scripts! The models cannot simply be 'replaced' as they are a different filesize. The way I did it (using some magic files from RobD - probably same as Andre's...) was to disassemble the entire modelmip.tag file, then recompile it with the new files. If others are up to it, we could go that way. That said, there are lots of models not included in RobD's last modelmip upgrade, including mine of course. If one was to have the updated file (complete), it would include ALL models released to date, making it easier for package creators as well as users who simply want to download a package and use it.I'll look at how big the 'upgrade' filesize would be - still probably a few megs but definitely smaller than ~30 :-eekThanks for the input :-waveRegards,**************Jonathan Point**************"I'd rather be down here wishing I was up there than up there wishing I was down here"

[Hans_Petter 1]

Needless to say, I don't mind either way since my DSL connection will download anything within a few minutes anyway. A script would be fine, as would a number of spanned zips. Ansgar used hjsplit.exe to create spanned zips and this little utility would be a good way to glue the parts back together. Hjsplit.exe is freeware and can be included. And yes, it's a very small file.In any event, modem users with unreliable connections ought to install a downloader that supports "resume". There are some free ones that don't come packed with spyware and adware these days.Hans Petter

[Christopher Low 5,352]

Hans,My ISDN line is only slightly faster than that of a 56kbps modem, but fortunately it is far more reliable. I have not had a single disconnection during a large download, and the speed is constant......a whopping 7K per second ! :-lolI would like to have a new modelmip.tag file for both regions...with ALL models included. Those new trees look good, and I would like to see them in my packages :-)Chris Low.

[Guest glidernut]

OK then jon, I don't mind either way you do it. The mane thing is that we all get to have them.Thay are very much a "must have" upgrade.Post em any way you can.glidernut.:-wave

[adams 1]

I don't know WinAce, I use WinRar and I don't understand why avsim doesn't accept this kind of files, since this compress better then WinZip and WinRar can divide the file into pieces as anyone wants.B.Adamski

[Hans_Petter 1]

Bogdan, I've got WinZip, WinRar and WinAce. "Rar" can do zip and rar and "Ace" can do them all. Further, WinRar compresses files better than WinZip and and "ace" compression is better than either of these. I know that WinRar can split files but how do you join them again? Provided WinRar can "glue" the parts back together you won't need hjsplit.exe but this program is free and small. I guess "zip" has become an unofficial world standard and that's why Avsim accepts "zip" only. Imagine all the cries for support that would arise if someone uploaded a *.rar or an *.ace -- what is this file and how do I unpack it? :-)Hans Petter

[Guest effyouthree]

Dear All,Last night I played with an upgrade 'package' which:* Updates the 'ntrees' to something nicer-looking* Adds all the (known) extra models created since RobD's modelmip release. There are quite a few, including a lit 'segmented circle' for the windsocks!The total zipfile size is ~2megs, which should be OK for most users.I'll post the Seattle one first, as I'm still not 100% happy with the ntrees for Sanfran. Also, they don't work well for UK because one cannot increase the model size, which means they are all rather straight and tall.:-waveRegards,**************Jonathan Point**************"I'd rather be down here wishing I was up there than up there wishing I was down here"

[Guest R_Driscoll]

Many users have made filenames with greater than the DOS 8.3 standard. These MIPs and BINs are not handled correctly by the LGS script files, and the result is that the models are not available to FU3, causing errors and slow framerates. Please check that all models with long filenames are handled separately - they can't go into the modelmip.tag database but have to float outside it. Also watch out for the LGS models that had errors - I've forgotten their names but they are to do with TOWVIEW - some mips are missing from the original installation. I had to invent a fake one. If you look at my UKS modelmip.tag upload and my original Seattle modelip.tag release, you will see what I mean - I have kept long-named BINs and MIPs separate. The latest UKS model database is on Chris Sorensen's ftp site. This one works perfectly.Secondly, take care with the script substitute file method, as it assumes the replacement MIP is the same size. Better to disassemble the database and rebuild it IMHO.RobD.

[Guest effyouthree]

Rob,No worries ;)It will be a 'break & rebuild' situation (using the stuff as you sent to me, basically). It works fine even if the mips and binfiles are much larger, the problem I had related to the 'physical' size of the binfile models themselves. As soon as you exceed the original model dimensions by 0.000001mm, it makes FU3 look real weird. Doesn't seem to cause crashes and in no way affects package-based models (I don't know why) but severely affects 'original' (i.e. LGS - placed) models. Some things disappeared altogether, others took on strange shapes (trees upside-down :-eek ) and the mapping also went astray (bottom row of pixels repeated all the way up the model).This is why I have been so long with the announcement - I wanted to make sure it was robust. I am going to suggest that people download and install your Seattle upgrade first, just to have everyone 'in-sync'. I think yours was ~24meg, with the new additions (and larger mipfiles for the ntrees etc.), it becomes ~31 megs.After that, I am doing the same for Sanfran. UKS is different, due to a number of reasons:* The standard 'ntree' shape is not really suitable for Oaks, Walnuts and willows - great for poplars though.* As no trees in UKS are 'unpackaged', there is no restriction to altering ntree sizes, so we could have suitable shaped trees as we wish.* There are many area-specific models here which aren't as applicable in the US (Buckingham Palace etc).As a UKS user, I will be calling upon your skills to test the upgrades there but that's later - I'm only worried about Seattle and Sanfran right now because they stand to benefit most from this upgrade. I assume there aren't a lot of ntrees in UKS (yet). Maybe we can 'kick off' with the 3-sided ones there?PS What's ChrisS' site address? Can you email me on that? My UKS is sooooo out of date it's scary :-roll:-waveRegards,**************Jonathan Point**************"I'd rather be down here wishing I was up there than up there wishing I was down here"

[adams 1]

When you compress the file(s), you choose the number of bytes per file. WinRar start to compress. If compressed file is bigger then chosen number, Rar compress the rest into next and next files. If you decompress, you get the file(s) ( optionaly with path to folder(s)) as they were before packing.What version of WinRar you used ? I've been using WinRar 2.9 for longer time. Now I used WR 3.3 and I compressed the same files. Now they are 550 kB, before over 700 kB. The difference is significant.B.Adamski