Updating the AF file in Taxigate KMCO for FS

[cregwalker]

I have replaced my old Blueprint KMCO (Orlando) scenery with TAXIGATE KMCO scenery.

 

The AFCAD file needs to be updated for airline parking assignments. but when I amend it with either AFCAD or Airport Design Editor and insert the new file into the proper locations, the Buildings including terminals have the default buildings jammed in with the new buildings.

 

Can someone tell me what program to use and how to make this change without the default buildings being there?

 

In the TAXIGATE scenery, the AFCAD file is named KMCO_AF.bgl

 

I have tried replacing that file with the generated AF2 file or the ADE generated file.

 

I have even renamed these files KMCO_AF.bgl.

 

I either r get the added default buildings or FS will not load at all.

 

Help

[hjwalter]

By the sound of it your original Afcad file contained (strangely enough) one or more exclude entries, which excluded objects, like default buildings, etc from your old scenery. I say "strangely enough" because normal Afcad files do not contain exclude entries.

 

It also seems that after you had edited this Afcad file and had re-compiled it, these original exclude entries were not included in your new file and/or scenery. You will now need to exclude these default objects from your new scenery separately, by using, e.g. a program called "Exclude Maker".

I have no direct experience with ADE but I've understood that excludes are also possible via this program.

 

Good luck.

Hans

[StringBean]

I say "strangely enough" because normal Afcad files do not contain exclude entries.

 

Oh yes, depending on the program used to create them, "afcad" files can indeed contain excludes.

 

In fact that is how ADE was designed to work. It creates excludes to remove all of the stock elements, then adds the elements back in with the files ADE creates.

 

ADE should be able to handle excludes from files that were created with ADE.

 

Unfortunately AFX works a little differently. If you open an AFX-generated .bgl file in ADE, ADE will see AFX excludes as unknown scenery objects. Since ADE does not understand what those objects are it has no way of dealing with them, so they get stripped out of the ADE file causing those excluded objects to reappear.

 

While you have the file open in ADE, import the stock objects, then delete them.

 

This is easiest to do using the Lists, IMO.

 

Do not try to remove stock airport objects with excludes in ADE, this will cause excludes being stacked on excludes, which can cause them to not work as desired.

 

Yes, it requires a few extra steps, it is the price you pay for modifying someone else's work instead of starting from scratch on your own.

 

peace,

the Bean

[hjwalter]

"Oh yes, depending on the program used to create them, "afcad" files can indeed contain excludes."

 

Hey there Mr. Stringbean,

 

Which other programs outside Mr. Lee Swody's original AFCAD program, can create AFCAD (AF2) files in which exclude entries can routinely be entered and which then survive the (re-)compilation process ?

 

Peace to all and regards.

Hans

[StringBean]

"Oh yes, depending on the program used to create them, "afcad" files can indeed contain excludes."

 

Hey there Mr. Stringbean,

 

Which other programs outside Mr. Lee Swody's original AFCAD program, can create AFCAD (AF2) files in which exclude entries can routinely be entered and which then survive the (re-)compilation process ?

 

Peace to all and regards.

Hans

 

Technically speaking, no other program than Afcad2.21 creates AF2 files, or at least files with that extension.

 

ADE creates Airport Facilities Data (AFD) type files which are similar to AF2 files, that can (and do) contain excludes.

 

AFX can also create files that contain excludes, as I understand it. I have never, and will never, use AFX so my knowledge of it is somewhat anecdotal.

 

I hope this answers your question as I am not sure what you mean by "survive the (re-)compilation process ".

 

BTW, his name is Swordy.

 

peace,

the Bean

[tgibson_new]

First of all, your file may not be an AFCAD file, since AFCAD generates filenames with the format AF2_ICAO.bgl. Yours is not in that format and thus may have been created by a different program.

 

As the Bean says, "AFCAD file" is often used as a generic term for "airport file". These are sometimes abbreviated AFD files - even AFCAD files are AFD files. The difference is that ADE and AFX create AFD files (or extra BGL files) containing many more components than AFCAD can, such as excludes, taxi signs, approaches, etc. But they all use the same basic AFD file format.

 

Hope this helps,

[hjwalter]

Sorry Mr. Stringbean, about my "Swody's" instead of "Swordy's".

 

What I meant about "survive the (re-)compilation process" was that any file created, e.g. by ADE and which contains excludes, etc, those excludes will be lost if such a file is subsequently compiled via Mr. Swordy's AFCAD program into an AF2_ICAO.bgl file. Moreover, any "normal" AF2_ICAO.bgl file directly created via Mr. Swordy's AFCAD program, contains only AFD (airport facility data) and can never contain any excludes, etc.

 

Yes Tom, you are absolutely right about the terminologies used and my mixup was based on Mr. Stringbean's and the original poster's use of the word "AFCAD" which I interpreted incorrectly as being an AF2_ICAO.bgl file.

 

The original poster will either need to get his excludes correctly set up in his ADE program or, if he uses Mr. Swordy's AFCAD program, to use the "Exclude Maker" program to create one or more separate exclude.bgl files.

 

Hans