8,567
edits
FlightGear Newsletter November 2011: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
FlightGear Newsletter November 2011 (view source)
Revision as of 16:35, 23 November 2011
, 23 November 2011no edit summary
No edit summary |
|||
| Line 5: | Line 5: | ||
== Development news == | == Development news == | ||
=== 2.6.0 release preperations === | |||
On December 17, our [[Git]] repository will be declared "frozen". This means that no new features or major changes shall be pushed onto the development streams (neither source nor data). This period is for preparing the code for the release and make sure there are no major issues. It lasts for four weeks until creation of the release branches. | |||
Keep in mind that the people that are able to commit your stuff are just as busy finishing their own work as you are! Therefore it is important that you create merge requests for everything that you'd like to see included in the upcoming release, as soon as possible. This includes new aircraft and large updates to existing aircraft. | |||
' | Don't let it wait for tomorrow, do it today! | ||
Emilian and Vivian have been very busy over the last months updating and improving our shaders. The plan is to rationalize some into one "aircraft" shader, to use just one method of computing fog, and to improve the appearance of the sea by adding foam and aligning the waves with the surface wind. Along the way the appearance of wakes was improved | === Shaders === | ||
[[Image:Wakes.jpg|thumb|left|[[Aircraft carrier|USS Vinson]] (CVN-70) and USS Lake Champlain (CG-57)]] | |||
Emilian and Vivian have been very busy over the last months updating and improving our [[shaders]]. The plan is to rationalize some into one "aircraft" shader, to use just one method of computing fog, and to improve the appearance of the sea by adding foam and aligning the waves with the surface wind. Along the way the appearance of wakes was improved. There is still much to be done, but the work should start to be uploaded to git soon. | |||
It's not without cost to the frame rate, so you will need a pretty powerful video card to run all the features at the same time with the slider set to high quality: nVidia GTX 260, or the ATI equivalent is probably the minimum. By selecting a lower slider setting the old shaders will still be available. | It's not without cost to the frame rate, so you will need a pretty powerful video card to run all the features at the same time with the slider set to high quality: nVidia GTX 260, or the ATI equivalent is probably the minimum. By selecting a lower quality vs performance slider setting the old shaders will still be available. | ||
== Interview with a contributor (NAME) == | == Interview with a contributor (NAME) == | ||
See [[FlightGear Newsletter: Interview questions]] for more questions. | |||
* How long have you been involved in FlightGear? | * How long have you been involved in FlightGear? | ||
| Line 39: | Line 44: | ||
=== Liveries === | === Liveries === | ||
The [[FlightGear livery database]] is re-opened for contributions! Due to some problems in the uploadscript no submissions were accepted for several weeks. | The [[FlightGear livery database]] is re-opened for contributions! Due to some problems in the uploadscript no submissions were accepted for several weeks. The uploadform has been redesigned, to allow quicker and easier processing of livery packages. Comments and ideas are highly appreciated. And so are liveries of course, [http://liveries.flightgear.org/contribute.php at this link]! | ||
At the same time, the airlines page received a new "paging", based on first letter of the airlines. This allows you to find what you're looking for in an instant. | |||
== Scenery corner == | == Scenery corner == | ||
[[Image:2011-11-20_-_scenery_buckets.png|thumb|left|Scenery buckets of FG mapserver.]] | [[Image:2011-11-20_-_scenery_buckets.png|thumb|left|Scenery buckets of FG mapserver.]] | ||
As of November 20th, there are 1,122,603 objects positions known in [[FlightGear Scenery | As of November 20th, there are 1,122,603 objects positions known in [[FlightGear Scenery Database|FlightGear's scenery database]]. | ||
It is now possible to show on FG scenery map the scenery buckets. This may be useful for our fellow contributors. Thanks to Martin, Tuxklok and Elmaxo for this nice and useful update. Never seen FG's scenery mapserver? | It is now possible to show on FG scenery map the scenery buckets. This may be useful for our fellow contributors. Thanks to Martin, Tuxklok and Elmaxo for this nice and useful update. Never seen FG's scenery mapserver? [http://mapserver.flightgear.org/map/?lon=-3.77802&lat=48.29945&zoom=9&layers=B00000TTFFTTFFTTTFTF Click here] to see how it looks like and play with the different layers to the upper right. Enjoy! | ||
=== Airports === | === Airports === | ||
| Line 139: | Line 144: | ||
== And finally ... == | == And finally ... == | ||
===A christmas present for you=== | ===A christmas present for you=== | ||
[[File:Gerbrandytoren_christmas.jpg|thumb|World's largest Christmas tree.|270px]] | [[File:Gerbrandytoren_christmas.jpg|thumb|World's (and thus FlightGear's) largest Christmas tree.|270px]] | ||
Do not forget to pay a visit to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerbrandy_Tower Gerbrandytoren] in the Netherlands. With a height of 366.8m and 120 lights, it is the world's largest Christmas tree between December 11 and January 6. The tower is located 21 nm South East (HDG 120h) of [[Amsterdam Airport Schiphol]] ([http://mpmap02.flightgear.org/?ll=52.009982,5.053582&z=15 location on MPMap]) and accurately modeled in FlightGear, including the Christmas decoration! | Do not forget to pay a visit to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerbrandy_Tower Gerbrandytoren] in the Netherlands. With a height of 366.8m and 120 lights, it is the world's largest Christmas tree between December 11 and January 6. The tower is located 21 nm South East (HDG 120h) of [[Amsterdam Airport Schiphol]] ([http://mpmap02.flightgear.org/?ll=52.009982,5.053582&z=15 location on MPMap]) and accurately modeled in FlightGear, including the Christmas decoration! | ||