Objects not excluded !! ??

[Wingding]

Ok... my first attempt at modifying some default scenery (Orlando International, KMCO - adding the 4th runway) and ran into a bit of an annoying situation...

The local contractors did just fine, clearing and leveling the area for the new runway and taxiways. However, after the bulldozers and dumptrucks left, I learned of some kind of union "spitting contest" between my contractors and the power company. It seems that although the power lines have been re-located well away from the airport and new runway area, the steel towers were left in place. They're not obstructing any aircraft movement areas, but they're situated parallel with the new runway and taxiway, a bit too close for FAA regulations.

I triple-checked what the MS FS website says about excluding scenery components, but even with the "exclude=N,W,N,W,..ALL.." switch, they are still there. Everything else is ok - nice and flat, no autogen crap, but those pesky towers just won't "go".

Remember - I'm a BEGINNER at playing with scenery stuff and don't want to have to download and install 4 or 5 other programs to make this work the way it should to begin with.

Suggestions? Help?! PLEASE???!!!!

Thanks!

[scruffyduck]

Utility pylons are not objects that can be excluded using the ExclusionRectangle. For this you need a different type of exclude which involves excluding certain numbered scenery layers.

I don't know what tools you are currently using but I am sorry to say that in most cases you cannot do everything with one tool. For FS9 (which I presume you are working with) AFCAD2 is probably the best tool to modify runways etc. For everything else I would suggest SBuilder. It has a bit of a learning curve but there are some tutorials on my website (www.scruffyduckscenery.co.uk) which include removing things like roads and utilities.

[Wingding]

Thanks! Yes, I'm using FS9 + AFCAD2. I'm resigned to the fact that I'm going to have to use some other scenery program, so I'll try what you suggest and see if I can keep from screwing it up! Who knows, maybe I'll end up designing tons of new scenery.

Thanks again!

Chris

[scruffyduck]

Good luck

SBuilder can seem quite difficult at the start but it is worth the effort :-)

[Wingding]

Well, after about 12 hours yesterday, I finally got rid of those darn things where I needed to. Fhew! I had trouble with the flatten polygon (ended up with either a plateau or a valley where the runway sat), so I stuck with the original line of code I put in the Scenery.cfg file which worked perfectly.

The trouble I have now, is that I can't seem to add any objects to the scenery (taxiway signs, ILS transmitters, etc. - all "stock"). I can insert and orient them correctly in SBuilder, but they don't show up in FS. I read the tutorial, but I must still be missing something?

Here are some screen shots of what I've got so far. In the 2004 forum, I had a question about the new runway... I got the info from airnav.com, where you can pull up PDF's of the current FAA diagrams of pretty much any US airport. I'm more than happy to upload all the files I created here, for others to use, once I get everything just right, if anyone is interested. Thanks again for all the help/suggestions!

Chris



Here is the AFCAD file, looking north. The new runway is to the right (East). The pink line is the line of power transmission towers, with the "+" symbol representing the location of each tower.
http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/Attachments/up1/125087.jpg


First aerial shot of the airport. New runway to the right.
http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/Attachments/up1/125088.jpg


2nd aerial shot, still looking north. Closer and lower to the new runway.
http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/Attachments/up1/125089.jpg



Here's one of the power towers - see how close they ran along the runway/taxiways? They ran in a straight line towards the horizon (this view is NORTH of the runway, looking SOUTH)
http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/Attachments/up1/125090.jpg



Finally, for those who are interested, this is the basic AFCAD runway data, taken from airnav.com
http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/Attachments/up1/125091.jpg

[Wingding]

.... to keep from duplicating myself, I have a good thread on this subject going in the FS2004 forum (scenery.cfg help), so please check over there.

Chris.

[miketull]

To exclude objects next to the taxiway or runway, I just put a grass runway next the taxiway or runway. This has worked for me in ACFCAD2 or the 2000(2002) airport builder. If I have trees or buildings showing up on the ramp I just put perpendicular extra taxiways on top of existing taxiways.