BASIC Tools for Scenery Editing/Additions

My objective is to know what Tools I need to make basic Edits to the Default FS9 Scenery, such as moving Coors Field in Denver to a more realistic location closer to the skyscrapers downtown instead of its present location out in the flat, or maybe create a basic Scenery somewhere with a basic cabin and a gravel runway.

 

Based on recommendations in the other Thread, I have picked up copies of:

 

SceneGenX

Airport for Windows 3.0

ExBuilder 2.0 (with the FSConnect 3.0 module)

Airport Design Editor (ADE)

 

Now I presume if I need a Default object like a fence, cabin or dock, I can pull those from the existing RWY12, EZ-Scenery or Nova Textures I already have installed in the Sim.

 

Can anyone else suggest any other Tools, Tutorials or other Scenery Libraries I need to achieve what I want to do?

 

Explanations that a somewhat addled mind like mine can handle, please... be kind!

 

Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

SceneGenX is a good one to go with. I used it for 15 years and 600 or so airfields and float bases and it does a lot without becoming too complicated.

SceneGenX is a good one to go with. I used it for 15 years and 600 or so airfields and float bases and it does a lot without becoming too complicated.

 

Agreed … SceneGenX very good … I too have used it for several hundred small airfields :)

However, "out in the country" SBuilder has a lot going for it if you're not working with photographic scenery, as it allows the creation of the underlying scenery onto which you can build your airfields using SceneGenX (or ADE … I've not used this, but understand it's also very good!)

Another useful addition can be AFCAD2 … it may seem a little limited, compared to SceneGenX or ADE, but it does have a couple of useful tricks … especially scanning your installation to see if you've got two representations of the same airfield installed ;)

Have a look around for a copy of EZ-Scenery … remember you'll need a serial number to get it to work, but it's probably the easiest tool to use for accurately positioning features from the various libraries.

Airport for Windows is possibly superfluous, as SceneGenX can also position "old-style" API obects.

As for additional libraries, I find the UK VFR Libraries indispensable … well worth digging out if you don't already have them.

Edited September 13, 2022 by chris_eve

urushi,

 

If you get Coors Field situated in the correct 'location' relative to the rest of Downtown Denver, I would love to have a copy of what you compile. Like you, I always cringe about where the Default scenery put Coors at! :p

 

Alan :)

With Instant Scenery and its WYSIWYG interface it's quite easy to install and exclude objects, especially Coors Field, as it's a default object.

 

 

Bernard

Unfortunately I don't believe that IS is supported anymore, although you can buy it? It's good enough to use without support, if you're lucky.

 

But ADE can place your airport objects, but not objects like stadiums far from any airport.

Unfortunately I don't believe that IS is supported anymore, although you can buy it?

 

I didn't went head, but it seems still to be available.

 

 

Bernard

I bought it last saturday

Haha :)

I'd assumed "Coors Field" was an airfield, not a stadium!

To shift this, you'll need to establish which default scenery file it is stored in and what the GUID for the object is, then simply create a positioning file, putting this GUID at the required location and incorporate an "exclude" to "hide" the original entity.

Alternatively, edit and re-compile the original scenery file with the new location … remember to keep a backup ;)

Unfortunately some scenery objects are "location specific" and can't be easily moved, but that's not a scenario I've ever dealt with.

You can place any scenery with ADE, it doesn't have to be an airfield. And you can take a screenshot from Google Earth and use it as a background to place objects accurately. Then just save the compiled scenery with its textures (if necessary) in AddOn Scenery or in its own folder if you add that folder to your scenery.cfg. The background doesn't show in the sim, but there are ways around that too.

Just a few minutes work using SceneGenX ;)

 

The xml for a repositioned Coors Field is as below :-

 

version = "9.0"

xmlns:xsi='http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance'

xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="bglcomp.xsd" >

 

 

lat = "39.7561021162856"

lon = "-104.994166699082"

alt = "0.0"

altitudeIsAgl = "TRUE"

pitch = "0.0"

bank = "0.0"

heading = "0.0"

imageComplexity = "SPARSE">

name = "e76b5ec64324f21309199a8a35928ada" scale = "1.0"/>

 

latitudeMinimum = "39.7767984935918"

latitudeMaximum = "39.7803978635581"

longitudeMinimum = "-104.971958435695"

longitudeMaximum = "-104.967281605754"

excludeAllObjects = "TRUE"/>

 

 

Copy everything from into a text file, save it as Coors_Field.xml then compile it with BGLCOMP from the SDK to give you Coors_Field.bgl.

Put this file in your Addon Scenery\Scenery folder (or wherever you choose) and the default stadium will disappear and the relocated stadium will show up more or less where it's supposed to be (using the location info found on WikiPedia)

Unfortunately the grey background polygon doesn't form part of the model and would have to be dealt with separately, but this should get you going ;)

Okay....

 

Got the FS 2004 SDK, and ran the BGLCOMP Setup program. Cut and pasted the .xml info into a Notepad file, saved it as Coors_Field.xml and tried to compile it using BGLCOMP.

 

Obviously I'm missing something here, because I cannot create the .bgl file.

 

HELP!!:p

Okay....

 

Got the FS 2004 SDK, and ran the BGLCOMP Setup program. Cut and pasted the .xml info into a Notepad file, saved it as Coors_Field.xml and tried to compile it using BGLCOMP.

 

Obviously I'm missing something here, because I cannot create the .bgl file.

 

HELP!!:p

 

I've just double checked and it does work.

You don't mention what (if any) error messages you receive.

There must be no blank lines before the initial "

Have you complied with the installation requirements for BGLCOMP as detailed in the SDK … specifically "you must make sure that MSXML 4 is installed on any machines that will run BGLComp" also "BGLComp.xsd This file must be located in the same directory as BGLComp.exe for the compiler to function properly" ?

Edited September 20, 2022 by chris_eve

I've just double checked and it does work.

You don't mention what (if any) error messages you receive.

There must be no blank lines before the initial "

Have you complied with the installation requirements for BGLCOMP as detailed in the SDK … specifically "you must make sure that MSXML 4 is installed on any machines that will run BGLComp" also "BGLComp.xsd This file must be located in the same directory as BGLComp.exe for the compiler to function properly" ?

 

I have MSXML 6.0 installed on my machine. Both the .exe and the .xsd files are in the same File Folder on my hard drive. If I run the BGLComp.exe file or open the Coors_Field.xml with BGLComp, the Command Prompt Screen flashes on momentarily, then disappears.

 

What next? :confused:

I have MSXML 6.0 installed on my machine. Both the .exe and the .xsd files are in the same File Folder on my hard drive. If I run the BGLComp.exe file or open the Coors_Field.xml with BGLComp, the Command Prompt Screen flashes on momentarily, then disappears.

 

What next? :confused:

 

Maybe you've got BGLCOMP installed in the Program Files (x86) folder and Windows is preventing it from writing to the disc?

I keep all my little "old fashioned" utilities in sub-directories on my D: drive, where W10 is less "protective", but a sub-directory in the root of the C: drive would probably be as good.

I've just checked and indeed, with BGLCOMP installed in Program Files (x86) it doesn't write a file, though it doesn't generate an error either!

These are hoops I jumped through many years ago when I set up my W10 machine and I'll confess that once I got it all working I've managed to forget a lot of the details of how I achieved it :(

 

I had a feeling of "deja vue" when dealing with this problem … I find I've already answered a lot of these questions in reply to your previous query https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?335298-BASIC-Tools-for-Scenery-Editing-Additions !!

Edited September 23, 2022 by chris_eve

But ADE can place your airport objects, but not objects like stadiums far from any airport.

 

Actually ADE can put things most anywhere, though I think you have to start with an airport reference. I've done things many miles from an airport, such as the parking lot and some buildings on top of Sandia peak near Albuquerque.

 

And you can take a screenshot from Google Earth and use it as a background to place objects accurately.

Very true, but for runways and some other things you have to be careful about magnetic vs true orientation, since the magnetic north pole has shifted quite a bit since FSX and FS2004 were made.

Chris,

 

BGLComp is installed in a File Folder outside of Program Files.

 

I will refer back to the Thread you mentioned, and see if I can figure this out.

 

As always, many thanks for your assistance! ;)

Chris,

 

BGLComp is installed in a File Folder outside of Program Files.

 

I will refer back to the Thread you mentioned, and see if I can figure this out.

 

As always, many thanks for your assistance! ;)

 

Try running BGLCOMP from a Command Prompt in a Command Window (or "DOS Box" as we used to call it) … you should at least then get some kind of error message or status report.

I'm just a little concerned about your statement that you have "MSXML 6.0 installed" … possibly it's not totally backward compatible with MSXML 4 or that BGLCOMP will only accept MSXML 4 and reject anything else. I've definitely got MSXML 4 installed on my machine (I just checked in Program Files).

Gi'day Alan,

 

You haven't, by chance, installed the FS9 ATC SDK recently? If so, then read: https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/warning-installing-fs9-atc-sdk-prevents-any-bgl-compilation.442267/ If not, then simply disregard.

 

Regards,

Dorian

I had a feeling of "deja vue" when dealing with this problem … I find I've already answered a lot of these questions in reply to your previous query https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?335298-BASIC-Tools-for-Scenery-Editing-Additions !!

 

Just looked at this further and realised that the OP in this thread had simply "copied and edited" from the previous thread and has since been conspicuous by his absence …