FlightGear Newsletter August 2015: Difference between revisions
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=== Germany === | === Germany === | ||
New buildings near EDDL: LTU/espirt arena and Düsseldorf trade fair and another arena in Köln(EDDK). The first 2 static models for the city of Bochum: a soccer stadium and an office building. Bochum has no airport, nearby are EDLM, EDLE and EDLW. | New buildings near EDDL: LTU/espirt arena and Düsseldorf trade fair and another arena in Köln(EDDK). The first 2 static models for the city of Bochum: a soccer stadium and an office building. Bochum has no airport, nearby are EDLM, EDLE and EDLW. | ||
=== Belgium === | |||
The Atomium did get some renovation. Are there any other Buildings in Flightgear that use Effects/Shaders ? | |||
== Community news == | == Community news == |
Revision as of 08:23, 12 August 2015
This newsletter is a draft.
Please feel free to add content you think will be of interest to the FlightGear community. You can read the latest newsletter at FlightGear Newsletter July 2015. |
Development news |
Scenery Corner |
Contributing |
Development news
Atmospheric Light Scattering
Thunderstorms
In combination with Advanced Weather, ALS now simulates the flashes of lightning illuminating clouds at night during a thunderstorm. The simulation keeps track of all thunderstorms inside the field of view and generates a changing pattern of lightning strikes with variable frequency.
At night, dependent on the intensity of the lightning bolt, clouds in a distance of up to 20 kilometers may light up, giving rather stunning visuals of massive clouds suddenly torn out of the darkness.
Since the simulation writes the position of the lightning strike relative to the current eye position into the property tree (/environment/lightning/lightning-pos-x and /environment/lightning/lightning-pos-y), aircraft modelers can use this information as a timing signal to trigger a thunder ambience sound after the sound speed delay.
The lightning bolt simulation will work without ALS, but clouds and rain will not be illuminated.
Irradiance maps
As part of a more detailed interior model effect, the ALS framework now offers the possibility to select irradiance maps for the cabin. What is this, and what is it for?
Most simple rendering schemes make a difference between directional (specular and diffuse) light and non-directional (ambient) light. However, in reality indirect light is not really non-directional. Even if the sun (the main source of directional light) is hidden by an overcast layer, the sky is still brighter than the ground, i.e. upward-facing surfaces will be brighter than downward-facing surfaces. The indirect light has a weak directionality - it is stronger from the zenith than from the ground, but it is never really absent.
Irradiance maps modify the ambient light channel to mimic these effects. ALS has long used an open sky irradiance map for the terrain and the exterior of models, but the interesting thing is that irradiance is different in enclosed spaces. In particular, in a GA aircraft cockpit, the light usually doesn't fall through the ceiling but through the windows, i.e. the irradiance distribution is strongest at the horizon. In contrast, in a fighter cockpit, most of the light comes from directly above.
The most pronounced visual effect of irradiance is that it sculptures the 3d-structure of objects even in the absence of direct light by a gentle shading. Consider the interior of the C-172p rendered without an irradiance map in the absence of direct light underneath full cloud cover (i.e. using omnidirectional ambient light):
Thes scene appears largely bland and featureless. Now compare with the second scene rendered with an irradiance map maximizing the horizontal ambient light (where the windows are located) - suddenly gentle shades sculpt the 3-dim structure of the roof:
In addition, the effect also allows to specify an internal residual ambient light (e.g. the illumination of the cockpit from lit instruments) - with its own irradiance map, thus the glow of the instruments will produce a soft light coming from the front of the aircraft into the cabin.
Read more on ALS technical notes.
In the hangar
Scenery corner
Germany
New buildings near EDDL: LTU/espirt arena and Düsseldorf trade fair and another arena in Köln(EDDK). The first 2 static models for the city of Bochum: a soccer stadium and an office building. Bochum has no airport, nearby are EDLM, EDLE and EDLW.
Belgium
The Atomium did get some renovation. Are there any other Buildings in Flightgear that use Effects/Shaders ?
Community news
Wiki updated to MediaWiki 1.25
On August 10, the MediaWiki software was updated to the latest stable 1.25.1 release. Coming from the previous 1.24 major release, this brings plenty of new features and improvements. An extensive overview can be found in the release notes. Issues can be repoted at FlightGear wiki:Village pump#MediaWiki updated to 1.25.1
Contributing
Translators required
The FlightGear Wiki still needs help for translating it into various languages. If you are interested in making the FlightGear Wiki multi-language then start at Help:Translate. | |
Das FlightGear Wiki benötigt immer noch Hilfe bei der Übersetzung in verschiedene Sprachen. Wenn Du Interesse daran hast, das FlightGear Wiki Mehrsprachig zu machen, dann fang doch mit Help:Übersetzen an. | |
De FlightGear Wiki kan nog steed hulp gebruiken bij het vertalen van artikelen. Als je interesse hebt om de wiki meertalig te maken, raden we je aan om een kijkje te nemen bij Help:Vertalen. | |
La wiki de FlightGear todavía necesita ayuda para traducirla a varios lenguajes. Si estás interesado en hacer la FlightGear wiki multilingüe, entonces comienza en Help:Traducir. | |
La wiki de FlightGear encara necessita ajuda per traduir-la a diverses llengües. Si esteu interessat en fer la wiki de FlightGear multilingüe, llavors comenceu a Help:Traduir. | |
A wiki de FlightGear ainda necessita de ajuda para traduzi-la em vários idiomas. Se estás interessado em tornar a wiki de FlightGear multi-lingual, por favor começa em Help: Traduzir. |
FlightGear logos
If you want some graphic elements for your FlightGear-related site (such as a hangar or YouTube channel), please feel free to visit FlightGear logos for a repository of logos. And if you have some art skills, please don't hesitate to contribute with your own design creations.
Screenshots
The FlightGear project always needs screenshots, which show features that were added since the last release. These should be of good quality, especially in content and technical image properties. It is therefore recommended to use the best viable filter settings (anti-aliasing, texture sharpening, etc.). More info at Howto:Make nice screenshots.
Screenshot of the Month
As usual, the screenshot of the month contest continues. Suggestions for this months best screenshot can be submitted to this forum topic. Be sure to see the first post for participation rules. For purposes of convenience and organization, after all entries have been submitted, a new post will be started containing all shots in an easy to view layout. There voting will take place. The best screenshot which will be presented on this page.