FlightGear Newsletter October 2016: Difference between revisions

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   |script_version = 0.40  
   |script_version = 0.40  
   }}</ref>
   }}</ref>
Terragear was never meant as a 'users' tool.  It was designed to generate world scenery ( the whole planet at once ), not individual custom scenery locations.
That said, there have been some ( mostly unsuccessful ) attempts to make it more user friendly.  We will see how far the new scenery experiments get us.  If it shows enough promise, perhaps it will become the way forward, and terragear will mostly disappear.  QGIS or GRASS, along with a few scripts will all that you would need to generate custom scenery, then.<ref>{{cite web
  |url    =  https://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?p=296211#p296211
  |title  =  <nowiki> Re: terragear wont build </nowiki>
  |author =  <nowiki> psadro_gm </nowiki>
  |date  =  Oct 7th, 2016
  |added  =  Oct 7th, 2016
  |script_version = 0.40
  }}</ref>





Revision as of 11:45, 29 October 2016

This newsletter is a draft.

Please feel free to add content that you think will be of interest to the FlightGear community.
You can read the latest newsletter at FlightGear Newsletter September 2016.


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Enjoy reading the latest edition!
Please help us write the coming edition!
October 2016

Development news
Git multimail script updated
In the hangar

Scenery Corner
Scenery/LOD experiments
Community News

Contributing
Translators required
FlightGear logos
Screenshots
Screenshot of the Month

Development news

LSZH (Zürich) has been chosen as the FlightGear v2016.4 default airport.

Git multimail script updated

For all git repositories on SourceForge, Edward d'Auvergne has updated the git-multimail repository hook script to 1.5-dev (the current master branch) from 1.2-dev, with a few customisations/simplifications for our commitlogs ML [1,2]. If you see any error messages when committing, please report these. A failure of the git-multimail Python script will only result in a failure of the sending of an email to the ML, as this is a post-receive hook - the commit will have been successfully pushed/etc.[1]


Local apt.dat versions support

apt.dat now supports local versions:

It is now possible to have one or more local apt.dat files each containing data for one or more airfields. The airfields in the local apt.dat files take precedence over the contents of the apt.dat.g file that is distributed as part of fgdata. - in much the same way as local custom scenery takes preference over terragear scenery. If you are using WED, the apt.dat output by that program is suitable. To use it add a folder NavData/apt in your fg-scenery and place your private files in that folder. [2] Of course, your apt.dat changes should continue to be submitted to the Xplane gateway so that they will eventually be included in the main distribution.[3]


No need for any command-line option. As I wrote in <https://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/mailman/message/35424973/>;, you have to put your apt.dat files (any name ending with .dat or .dat.g is OK) in a structure like the following:

Scenery path
├── NavData
│   ├── apt
|   |   ├── vrmg.dat
|   |   ├── vrmh.dat
|   |   ├── vrmk.dat
        ├── vrmm.dat
        ├── vrmo.dat.gz
        └── vrmt.dat

where "Scenery path" can be any of you scenery paths (e.g., any component of --fg-scenery/$FG_SCENERY; the path given to --terrasync-dir is also one). The files read are all NavData/apt/*.dat[.gz] files inside each scenery path, followed by the default $FG_ROOT/Airports/apt.dat.gz (last in precedence order, thus allowing your custom sceneries to override airports already present in $FG_ROOT/Airports/apt.dat.gz). In the typical case, just put your apt.dat files(*) in the NavData/apt subdirectory of your custom scenery and they will be picked up automatically. In each of these files, you may include as many airport definitions as you want. (*) Actually, any name ending with .dat or .dat.gz---but the syntax inside, of course, must be valid "apt.dat syntax". And if the file name ends in .gz, of course the contents must be gzipped-compressed. [4]

References

In the hangar

MBB BK117

HHS, the author of the Eurocopter EC 135 P2, EC 130 B4 and Cessna 182 S will try again to get the MBB BK 117 model ready for FGAddon. Unfortunately time is limited, so he will need help.

When you have some spare time left, interested in heliopters and always wished to improve things, you might want to apply to this job. More informations on: MBB Bk 117 wiki-page

2016 Camaro SS and more

Auskunst is currently seeking help to improve the handling of his 2016 Camaro SS and another future automobile project. If you have experience of tweaking YASIM FDM, you can apply the job by clicking here

Scenery corner

Scenery/LOD experiments

psadro_gm has the normal calculations, now. Everything is being generated on the fly. psadro_gm sees very little CPU usage. Still lot's to do - e.g. need to sample 1 extra pixel in the DEM so edges of tiles get correct normals ( you can see the edges )

Also, psadro_gm hasn't created skirts, yet, so there are gaps between levels.

psadro_gm will add to Mathias' tunables to select grid spacing at each LOD level, to see if we can minimie the popping. Note: the texture is just 1 4096x4096 sheet for the whole planet. It'll be nice to see what we can do with procedural texturing.[1]

As far as creating ws3.0, let's see how the experimental engine works out. It basically does away with terragear, and uses standard gis tools for all elevation, landclass editing.[2]

Terragear was never meant as a 'users' tool. It was designed to generate world scenery ( the whole planet at once ), not individual custom scenery locations.

That said, there have been some ( mostly unsuccessful ) attempts to make it more user friendly. We will see how far the new scenery experiments get us. If it shows enough promise, perhaps it will become the way forward, and terragear will mostly disappear. QGIS or GRASS, along with a few scripts will all that you would need to generate custom scenery, then.[3]


To learn more, see Experimental terrain engine

Community news

Contributing

Translators required

En.gif The FlightGear Wiki still needs help for translating it into various languages. If you are interested in making the FlightGear Wiki multilingual, you can start by looking at Help:Translate.
Fr.gif Le wiki de FlightGear a toujours besoin d'aide pour être traduit en différentes langues. Si vous êtes intéressé par le rendre multilingue, commencez par lire Help:Traduire.
De.gif 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 mit dem Help:Übersetzen an.
Nl.gif 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.
Es.gif 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.
Cat.gif 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.
Pt.gif 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

Entries for this month's 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 the entries have been submitted, a new forum topic will be started containing all shots in an easy-to-view layout. The voting will then take place there. Once the voting has finished, the best screenshot will be presented on this page.

  1. psadro_gm  (Oct 1st, 2016).  Re: Next-generation scenery generating? .
  2. Peter Sadrozinski  (Oct 24th, 2016).  Re: [Flightgear-devel] apt.dat - add local version ? .
  3. psadro_gm  (Oct 7th, 2016).  Re: terragear wont build .