Re: How to change planes in static aircraft scenery?

[barney]

I would like to find out how to change an aircraft featured in a group of
static aircraft in static scenery (add-on, not default). For example, I
downloaded Reno Static Scenery from FlightSim.Com and it comes with a variety
of static aircraft that you would see on the ground when you load up the
airport, but it features Reno Air which is not in existence nor do I want on
the ground in Reno; so I was wondering how would I switch the Reno Air aircraft


with another one such as the Alaska MD-83 (of which I already have on my
computer). Do I re-configure the .af texture files? Thanks!


HELLO,

Is there an apparent *.bgl which contains just the static aircraft only? If so,
is there perhaps a more specific *.bgl for the particular "Reno Air" A/C? If
the answer to the last question is 'yes', then merely remove that *.bgl.

If the first question pertains, and this is more likely I would think, then the
problem is a bit more involved. Once the *.bgl that contains the A/C is
identified, that *.bgl can then be "disassembled" with a tool called "SCDIS",
which should be available here in the Library. It can then be edited and
"re-assembled".

Another option would be a tool called "AreaKill", also available here, which
removes objects according to specified coordinates. The trouble here though, is
that "collateral" damage results; that is to say, anything within the defined
coordinates gets the axe!

BTW, just as a reminder, since any of this re-engineering is considered
anti-copyright, you wouldn't be in very good standing with the community if you
were to up-load these changes and claim as your own work!! But I'm sure you
realize this!

Anyway, whichever route you choose to remove the offending A/C is one thing;
you will still need to create your own *.bgl to install the particular A/C of
your choice (the "replacement", if you will). This would best be done as a
separate scenery file, made by you using Apt2.6 for example, containing the
object of your desire.

Barney

[matvej]

HELLO,

Is there an apparent *.bgl which contains just the static aircraft only? If so,


is there perhaps a more specific *.bgl for the particular "Reno Air" A/C? If
the answer to the last question is 'yes', then merely remove that *.bgl.

If the first question pertains, and this is more likely I would think, then the


problem is a bit more involved. Once the *.bgl that contains the A/C is
identified, that *.bgl can then be "disassembled" with a tool called "SCDIS",
which should be available here in the Library. It can then be edited and
"re-assembled".

Another option would be a tool called "AreaKill", also available here, which
removes objects according to specified coordinates. The trouble here though, is


that "collateral" damage results; that is to say, anything within the defined
coordinates gets the axe!

BTW, just as a reminder, since any of this re-engineering is considered
anti-copyright, you wouldn't be in very good standing with the community if you


were to up-load these changes and claim as your own work!! But I'm sure you
realize this!

Anyway, whichever route you choose to remove the offending A/C is one thing;
you will still need to create your own *.bgl to install the particular A/C of
your choice (the "replacement", if you will). This would best be done as a
separate scenery file, made by you using Apt2.6 for example, containing the
object of your desire.

Barney



No there is not ONE scenery file for all aircraft or for even just one
particular aircraft. For example, the Reno Air had *.af files such as
renoair01.af, renoair02.af, etc.; there were about 7 per plane. Where can I
get Apt2.6? I cannot find here.

[barney]

HELLO,

Is there an apparent *.bgl which contains just the static aircraft only? If so,




is there perhaps a more specific *.bgl for the particular "Reno Air" A/C? If
the answer to the last question is 'yes', then merely remove that *.bgl.

If the first question pertains, and this is more likely I would think, then the




problem is a bit more involved. Once the *.bgl that contains the A/C is
identified, that *.bgl can then be "disassembled" with a tool called "SCDIS",
which should be available here in the Library. It can then be edited and
"re-assembled".

Another option would be a tool called "AreaKill", also available here, which
removes objects according to specified coordinates. The trouble here though, is




that "collateral" damage results; that is to say, anything within the defined
coordinates gets the axe!

BTW, just as a reminder, since any of this re-engineering is considered
anti-copyright, you wouldn't be in very good standing with the community if you




were to up-load these changes and claim as your own work!! But I'm sure you
realize this!

Anyway, whichever route you choose to remove the offending A/C is one thing;
you will still need to create your own *.bgl to install the particular A/C of
your choice (the "replacement", if you will). This would best be done as a
separate scenery file, made by you using Apt2.6 for example, containing the
object of your desire.

Barney



No there is not ONE scenery file for all aircraft or for even just one
particular aircraft. For example, the Reno Air had *.af files such as
renoair01.af, renoair02.af, etc.; there were about 7 per plane. Where can I
get Apt2.6? I cannot find here.

HELLO,

Here's the address for the Airport design program:


http://ourworld-top.cs.com/AirportSupport/index.htm

Just click on the link that says: "Airport Downloads"

You can also use another "free" program called FSSC which should be available
from the flightsim Library.

The *.af files that you quote are TEXTURE files which describe, or "paint", the
particular aircraft for which they are named.

The actual aircraft objects, as are all of the other objects, are contained in
a SCENERY file, which has the extension: .BGL

It appears then that those aircraft are contained in one or more of the *.bgl
files which contain all of the scenery. Thus you have a daunting task!! You'll
need to disassemble each of the *.bgl files to determine which one actually
contains the Reno Air plane that is your target.

Have you considered writing the original author of the scenery and ask if he
could modify it for you? You never know.....he just might be willing!

Barney

[dragnhorn]

HELLO,

Is there an apparent *.bgl which contains just the static aircraft only? If so,






is there perhaps a more specific *.bgl for the particular "Reno Air" A/C? If
the answer to the last question is 'yes', then merely remove that *.bgl.

If the first question pertains, and this is more likely I would think, then the






problem is a bit more involved. Once the *.bgl that contains the A/C is
identified, that *.bgl can then be "disassembled" with a tool called "SCDIS",
which should be available here in the Library. It can then be edited and
"re-assembled".

Another option would be a tool called "AreaKill", also available here, which
removes objects according to specified coordinates. The trouble here though, is






that "collateral" damage results; that is to say, anything within the defined
coordinates gets the axe!

BTW, just as a reminder, since any of this re-engineering is considered
anti-copyright, you wouldn't be in very good standing with the community if you






were to up-load these changes and claim as your own work!! But I'm sure you
realize this!

Anyway, whichever route you choose to remove the offending A/C is one thing;
you will still need to create your own *.bgl to install the particular A/C of
your choice (the "replacement", if you will). This would best be done as a
separate scenery file, made by you using Apt2.6 for example, containing the
object of your desire.

Barney



No there is not ONE scenery file for all aircraft or for even just one
particular aircraft. For example, the Reno Air had *.af files such as
renoair01.af, renoair02.af, etc.; there were about 7 per plane. Where can I
get Apt2.6? I cannot find here.

HELLO,

Here's the address for the Airport design program:


http://ourworld-top.cs.com/AirportSupport/index.htm

Just click on the link that says: "Airport Downloads"

You can also use another "free" program called FSSC which should be available
from the flightsim Library.

The *.af files that you quote are TEXTURE files which describe, or "paint", the


particular aircraft for which they are named.

The actual aircraft objects, as are all of the other objects, are contained in
a SCENERY file, which has the extension: .BGL

It appears then that those aircraft are contained in one or more of the *.bgl
files which contain all of the scenery. Thus you have a daunting task!! You'll
need to disassemble each of the *.bgl files to determine which one actually
contains the Reno Air plane that is your target.

Have you considered writing the original author of the scenery and ask if he
could modify it for you? You never know.....he just might be willing!

Barney


Hi Barney,
Might be a dumb question, but what if you just delete the .af files of the
offending aircraft. Won't it then just not show up??

Best, Rob

[matvej]

HELLO,

Is there an apparent *.bgl which contains just the static aircraft only? If so,








is there perhaps a more specific *.bgl for the particular "Reno Air" A/C? If
the answer to the last question is 'yes', then merely remove that *.bgl.

If the first question pertains, and this is more likely I would think, then the








problem is a bit more involved. Once the *.bgl that contains the A/C is
identified, that *.bgl can then be "disassembled" with a tool called "SCDIS",
which should be available here in the Library. It can then be edited and
"re-assembled".

Another option would be a tool called "AreaKill", also available here, which
removes objects according to specified coordinates. The trouble here though, is








that "collateral" damage results; that is to say, anything within the defined
coordinates gets the axe!

BTW, just as a reminder, since any of this re-engineering is considered
anti-copyright, you wouldn't be in very good standing with the community if you








were to up-load these changes and claim as your own work!! But I'm sure you
realize this!

Anyway, whichever route you choose to remove the offending A/C is one thing;
you will still need to create your own *.bgl to install the particular A/C of
your choice (the "replacement", if you will). This would best be done as a
separate scenery file, made by you using Apt2.6 for example, containing the
object of your desire.

Barney



No there is not ONE scenery file for all aircraft or for even just one
particular aircraft. For example, the Reno Air had *.af files such as
renoair01.af, renoair02.af, etc.; there were about 7 per plane. Where can I
get Apt2.6? I cannot find here.

HELLO,

Here's the address for the Airport design program:


http://ourworld-top.cs.com/AirportSupport/index.htm

Just click on the link that says: "Airport Downloads"

You can also use another "free" program called FSSC which should be available
from the flightsim Library.

The *.af files that you quote are TEXTURE files which describe, or "paint", the




particular aircraft for which they are named.

The actual aircraft objects, as are all of the other objects, are contained in
a SCENERY file, which has the extension: .BGL

It appears then that those aircraft are contained in one or more of the *.bgl
files which contain all of the scenery. Thus you have a daunting task!! You'll
need to disassemble each of the *.bgl files to determine which one actually
contains the Reno Air plane that is your target.

Have you considered writing the original author of the scenery and ask if he
could modify it for you? You never know.....he just might be willing!

Barney


Hi Barney,
Might be a dumb question, but what if you just delete the .af files of the
offending aircraft. Won't it then just not show up??

Best, Rob


Yes it will not show up and that is what I did, but I want to replace it with
another aircraft that I already have to fly but not for static scenery, that is
my problem.

[barney]

HELLO,

Is there an apparent *.bgl which contains just the static aircraft only? If so,








is there perhaps a more specific *.bgl for the particular "Reno Air" A/C? If
the answer to the last question is 'yes', then merely remove that *.bgl.

If the first question pertains, and this is more likely I would think, then the








problem is a bit more involved. Once the *.bgl that contains the A/C is
identified, that *.bgl can then be "disassembled" with a tool called "SCDIS",
which should be available here in the Library. It can then be edited and
"re-assembled".

Another option would be a tool called "AreaKill", also available here, which
removes objects according to specified coordinates. The trouble here though, is








that "collateral" damage results; that is to say, anything within the defined
coordinates gets the axe!

BTW, just as a reminder, since any of this re-engineering is considered
anti-copyright, you wouldn't be in very good standing with the community if you








were to up-load these changes and claim as your own work!! But I'm sure you
realize this!

Anyway, whichever route you choose to remove the offending A/C is one thing;
you will still need to create your own *.bgl to install the particular A/C of
your choice (the "replacement", if you will). This would best be done as a
separate scenery file, made by you using Apt2.6 for example, containing the
object of your desire.

Barney



No there is not ONE scenery file for all aircraft or for even just one
particular aircraft. For example, the Reno Air had *.af files such as
renoair01.af, renoair02.af, etc.; there were about 7 per plane. Where can I
get Apt2.6? I cannot find here.

HELLO,

Here's the address for the Airport design program:


http://ourworld-top.cs.com/AirportSupport/index.htm

Just click on the link that says: "Airport Downloads"

You can also use another "free" program called FSSC which should be available
from the flightsim Library.

The *.af files that you quote are TEXTURE files which describe, or "paint", the




particular aircraft for which they are named.

The actual aircraft objects, as are all of the other objects, are contained in
a SCENERY file, which has the extension: .BGL

It appears then that those aircraft are contained in one or more of the *.bgl
files which contain all of the scenery. Thus you have a daunting task!! You'll
need to disassemble each of the *.bgl files to determine which one actually
contains the Reno Air plane that is your target.

Have you considered writing the original author of the scenery and ask if he
could modify it for you? You never know.....he just might be willing!

Barney


Hi Barney,
Might be a dumb question, but what if you just delete the .af files of the
offending aircraft. Won't it then just not show up??

Best, Rob


ROB,

No such thing as a dumb question......we all learn something new in here
everyday and that can only happen when questions are posed.

Your suggestion will only remove the TEXTURE files; that is, those which
"paint" the particular object. In this case, *.af files are being used to
describe the airplanes that appear as static objects in this scenery package.
In order to establish an object, any object, a "macro", or series of commands
is constructed and this information is contained in the SCENERY file(s) and has
the extension .BGL.

So in effect, two files are required for an object to display: (1)*.bgl which
has the macro and other necessary info; plus (2) a *.af, *.R8, *.bmp, etc.,
which tells what colouring, shading, texture, etc., that the particular objects
(macro's) and/or other polygons require to be drawn correctly within the
simulator.

Therefore, while removing the *.af (TEXTURE) files will indeed remove the
appearance of any and all traces that are peculiar to a particular object, the
object itself will still be present since the macro instructions haven't been
removed! Since there are no colouring instructions, the object then displays in
the colour that the author used for his base colouring when creating the
airplane in his design program, which is usually a shade of light grey.

Hope this explains everything.

Barney

[barney]

HELLO,

Is there an apparent *.bgl which contains just the static aircraft only? If so,










is there perhaps a more specific *.bgl for the particular "Reno Air" A/C? If
the answer to the last question is 'yes', then merely remove that *.bgl.

If the first question pertains, and this is more likely I would think, then the










problem is a bit more involved. Once the *.bgl that contains the A/C is
identified, that *.bgl can then be "disassembled" with a tool called "SCDIS",
which should be available here in the Library. It can then be edited and
"re-assembled".

Another option would be a tool called "AreaKill", also available here, which
removes objects according to specified coordinates. The trouble here though, is










that "collateral" damage results; that is to say, anything within the defined
coordinates gets the axe!

BTW, just as a reminder, since any of this re-engineering is considered
anti-copyright, you wouldn't be in very good standing with the community if you










were to up-load these changes and claim as your own work!! But I'm sure you
realize this!

Anyway, whichever route you choose to remove the offending A/C is one thing;
you will still need to create your own *.bgl to install the particular A/C of
your choice (the "replacement", if you will). This would best be done as a
separate scenery file, made by you using Apt2.6 for example, containing the
object of your desire.

Barney



No there is not ONE scenery file for all aircraft or for even just one
particular aircraft. For example, the Reno Air had *.af files such as
renoair01.af, renoair02.af, etc.; there were about 7 per plane. Where can I
get Apt2.6? I cannot find here.

HELLO,

Here's the address for the Airport design program:


http://ourworld-top.cs.com/AirportSupport/index.htm

Just click on the link that says: "Airport Downloads"

You can also use another "free" program called FSSC which should be available
from the flightsim Library.

The *.af files that you quote are TEXTURE files which describe, or "paint", the






particular aircraft for which they are named.

The actual aircraft objects, as are all of the other objects, are contained in
a SCENERY file, which has the extension: .BGL

It appears then that those aircraft are contained in one or more of the *.bgl
files which contain all of the scenery. Thus you have a daunting task!! You'll
need to disassemble each of the *.bgl files to determine which one actually
contains the Reno Air plane that is your target.

Have you considered writing the original author of the scenery and ask if he
could modify it for you? You never know.....he just might be willing!

Barney


Hi Barney,
Might be a dumb question, but what if you just delete the .af files of the
offending aircraft. Won't it then just not show up??

Best, Rob


Yes it will not show up and that is what I did, but I want to replace it with
another aircraft that I already have to fly but not for static scenery, that is


my problem.

HELLO,

If you don't mind the target aircraft itself being where it is, then you could
just "re-paint" it!! You would take the existing textures and change them to
whatever you like basically, by creating your own set of textures (*.af) files.
BUT, the naming of the "new" textures will have to retain the names of the
files you are replacing, otherwise the object won't display except in that grey
colour I referred to in a previous answer. In effect, what you are doing, is
"fooling" the macro into thinking the set of textures you've assigned are the
correct ones.

This method accomplishes what you want without having to disassemble/reassemble
the *.bgl file(s); thus, no requirement for a design program.

Barney

[dragnhorn]

Hi Barney,
Might be a dumb question, but what if you just delete the .af files of the
offending aircraft. Won't it then just not show up??

Best, Rob


ROB,

No such thing as a dumb question......we all learn something new in here
everyday and that can only happen when questions are posed.

Your suggestion will only remove the TEXTURE files; that is, those which
"paint" the particular object. In this case, *.af files are being used to
describe the airplanes that appear as static objects in this scenery package.
In order to establish an object, any object, a "macro", or series of commands
is constructed and this information is contained in the SCENERY file(s) and has


the extension .BGL.

So in effect, two files are required for an object to display: (1)*.bgl which
has the macro and other necessary info; plus (2) a *.af, *.R8, *.bmp, etc.,
which tells what colouring, shading, texture, etc., that the particular objects


(macro's) and/or other polygons require to be drawn correctly within the
simulator.

Therefore, while removing the *.af (TEXTURE) files will indeed remove the
appearance of any and all traces that are peculiar to a particular object, the
object itself will still be present since the macro instructions haven't been
removed! Since there are no colouring instructions, the object then displays in


the colour that the author used for his base colouring when creating the
airplane in his design program, which is usually a shade of light grey.

Hope this explains everything.

Barney


Thanks Barney. :-) You describe what we're doing in making any scenery design
also. So, the aircraft might still show up as grey because of the macro
commands and underlying base color of the aircraft. Too bad.
I'll give it a try myself, but what happens if you place a macro on top of
another with the first one having no textures?? Would the one with textures
cover the bottom one?


Best, Rob

[barney]

Hi Barney,
Might be a dumb question, but what if you just delete the .af files of the
offending aircraft. Won't it then just not show up??

Best, Rob


ROB,

No such thing as a dumb question......we all learn something new in here
everyday and that can only happen when questions are posed.

Your suggestion will only remove the TEXTURE files; that is, those which
"paint" the particular object. In this case, *.af files are being used to
describe the airplanes that appear as static objects in this scenery package.
In order to establish an object, any object, a "macro", or series of commands
is constructed and this information is contained in the SCENERY file(s) and has




the extension .BGL.

So in effect, two files are required for an object to display: (1)*.bgl which
has the macro and other necessary info; plus (2) a *.af, *.R8, *.bmp, etc.,
which tells what colouring, shading, texture, etc., that the particular objects




(macro's) and/or other polygons require to be drawn correctly within the
simulator.

Therefore, while removing the *.af (TEXTURE) files will indeed remove the
appearance of any and all traces that are peculiar to a particular object, the
object itself will still be present since the macro instructions haven't been
removed! Since there are no colouring instructions, the object then displays in




the colour that the author used for his base colouring when creating the
airplane in his design program, which is usually a shade of light grey.

Hope this explains everything.

Barney


Thanks Barney. :-) You describe what we're doing in making any scenery design


also. So, the aircraft might still show up as grey because of the macro
commands and underlying base color of the aircraft. Too bad.
I'll give it a try myself, but what happens if you place a macro on top of
another with the first one having no textures?? Would the one with textures
cover the bottom one?


Best, Rob



BOB,

Sorry to be so long answering.

I have no idea what it would look like; never have I tried what you propose.

Depending on how your object is textured (darker=better), and its over-all
size, and how accurately its positioned, you just might get away with doing
that. Experiment, I guess......you can't hurt anything by trying!

Let us know how it turns out.

Barney