FlightGear Newsletter September 2014: Difference between revisions

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== DDS feedack ==
== DDS feedback needed ==


We are looking for feedback about possibly adopting DDS textures in FlightGear. There are several advantages in doing so:
We are looking for feedback about possibly adopting DDS textures in FlightGear. There are several advantages in doing so:


* DDS is a compressed format, hence the download size of the FG base package may be decreased
* DDS is a more compact format than png, hence the download size of the FG base package may be decreased
* compressed DDS can be directly used by many graphics cards, reducing also GPU memory consumption
* Compressed DDS can be directly used by many graphics cards, reducing also GPU memory consumption
* DDS stores all texture resolution levels, i.e. no lower resolution levels have to be generated when the texture is used, hence it loads much faster into memory
* DDS stores all texture resolution levels, i.e. no lower resolution levels have to be generated when the texture is used, hence it loads much faster into memory
* the resolution levels ('mipmaps') can be customized, allowing for some interesting effects at no performance cost
* The resolution levels ('mipmaps') can be customized, allowing for some interesting effects at no performance cost


Practically all commercial simulations use DDS for these reasons.  
Practically all commercial simulations use DDS for these reasons.  


However, the DDS compression algorithm is patented, which means that it is not readily available for open source graphics drivers used by most Linux distributions. Dependent on the specific hardware, this may or may not be a problem (modern graphics cards typically do not need the driver to process DDS, for older graphics cards there are non-patented workarounds available which decompress the dds on the software level). The development team is concerned about making the Flightgear experience pleasant for all users, hence we would like to gather feedback how many users would be affected by a change in practice.
However, the DDS compression algorithm is patented, which means that it is not readily available for open source graphics drivers used by most Linux distributions. Dependent on the specific hardware, this may or may not be a problem (modern graphics cards typically do not need the driver to process DDS, for older graphics cards there are non-patented workarounds available which decompress the DDS on the software level). The development team is concerned about making the FlightGear experience pleasant for all users, hence we would like to gather feedback how many users would be affected by a change in practice.


If there are no problems reported, FG will change defaults to textures in DDS format with the 3.4 release, and then phase out the use of pngPNGtextures.
If there are no problems reported, FG will change defaults to textures in DDS format with the 3.4 release, and then phase out the use of png textures.
Continue reading at [[DDS Textures in FlightGear]]...


Continue reading at [[Switching default texture format to DDS]]...


== Interview with a contributor ==
== Interview with a contributor ==

Revision as of 23:46, 4 September 2014

Magagazine.png
Enjoy reading the latest edition!
Please help us write the coming edition!
September 2014

FlightGear 3.2 released (this time for real!)
DDS feedback

(this is the second column)

Interview with a contributor

DDS feedback needed

We are looking for feedback about possibly adopting DDS textures in FlightGear. There are several advantages in doing so:

  • DDS is a more compact format than png, hence the download size of the FG base package may be decreased
  • Compressed DDS can be directly used by many graphics cards, reducing also GPU memory consumption
  • DDS stores all texture resolution levels, i.e. no lower resolution levels have to be generated when the texture is used, hence it loads much faster into memory
  • The resolution levels ('mipmaps') can be customized, allowing for some interesting effects at no performance cost

Practically all commercial simulations use DDS for these reasons.

However, the DDS compression algorithm is patented, which means that it is not readily available for open source graphics drivers used by most Linux distributions. Dependent on the specific hardware, this may or may not be a problem (modern graphics cards typically do not need the driver to process DDS, for older graphics cards there are non-patented workarounds available which decompress the DDS on the software level). The development team is concerned about making the FlightGear experience pleasant for all users, hence we would like to gather feedback how many users would be affected by a change in practice.

If there are no problems reported, FG will change defaults to textures in DDS format with the 3.4 release, and then phase out the use of png textures.

Continue reading at Switching default texture format to DDS...

Interview with a contributor

This month, the interview comes back. Hey everyone, I'm ZLSA. I've used FlightGear for a while now, but I only got into the development side recently.

Um, I'm supposed to ask myself questions? Wait, nobody said I'd have to ask myself questions.

What is your forum nickname, ZLSA? ZLSA.

How long have you been involved with FlightGear? The first version I used was 1.9.1, I think. So circa 2008?

What are your major interests in FlightGear? Well, I like 3d modeling and I'm rather good at it. Do you think I'm good at 3d modeling?

I think you're pretty good at it. So my primary interest in FlightGear is modeling things; I modeled the Piper Archer CX exterior and interior. I also enjoy writing Nasal.

What projects are you working on right now? Well I worked a bit on the Piper last night (just minor tweaks). Did you know that unless you use textures, the ambient color shown in FlightGear is always gray regardless of the exported ambient color? Makes cockpits look awful. Anyway, right now I'm working on a tee hangar. FlightGear doesn't seem to have any tee hangars.

What do you plan on doing in the future? Finish the Piper and add more scenery objects. Having shaders on full with Rembrandt on doesn't help if the only buildings are 80-meter wide cubes.

Why is it that you are interested in flight simulation or aviation in general? FlightGear sparked my interest in aviation when I first played used it. I was just wondering what this fgfs program was.

Are you happy with the way the FlightGear project is going? In general, yes. It's come very far in the past few years. The biggest issue in my opinion is the scenery; I realize that at this point it's infeasible to redesign the scenery model to support dynamic subdivision and landclass transitions, but nothing breaks immersion more than flying over the desert until it suddenly turns into grass.

What do you enjoy most about contributing to FlightGear? Seeing my creations used by other people.

Are there any "hidden features" you have worked on in FlightGear that new users may miss? Nope, sorry.

What advice can you give to new contributors who want to get started on their first aircraft/new feature/Nasal script? Well I'll start this off with an example: when I first started making aircraft (it was an abysmally-modeled aircraft with horrible proportions that I stupidly released) I had no idea what I was doing. It took me several hours to figure out that the <PropertyList> XML file was actually just the property tree in XML. That made things much easier for me. The same thing happened with Nasal when I realized that the name of the <file> parent tag was just the Nasal "namespace". So it might seem complicated, but once you play around with things for a bit, it will make sense.

Have you previously used other flight simulators or simulation software in general? No.

How does FlightGear compare in your opinion? If FSX and X-Plane were both free and open-source, I'd probably choose X-Plane because of the incredible graphics. But since they're both closed and paid products (and FSX is Windows-only while I use Linux), I would (and did) choose FlightGear over the other two major contenders.

What was your first impression about FlightGear? How the heck do you pronounce ornithopter?

Compared to other flight simulation software, what are FlightGear's major benefits in your opinion? It's free and open source. That attracts people, some of whom will contribute back. That is a huge benefit that's often overlooked.

Do you think it is necessary to know how to program in order to contribute to FlightGear? Of course not. It would help, but it's definitely not needed. If every 3d artist reading this contributed a high-quality (but low-poly) model to the scenery database, it would make a huge difference. Similarly, placing objects with the UFO doesn't require any programming and makes a huge difference in the quality of a single FlightGear's airport.

Have you ever used FlightGear professionally or for educational purposes? No and yes. While I haven't ever sat in any GA aircraft, FlightGear has helped me understand flight much better than reading and watching videos ever would.

What about FlightGear as a "game", do you think it can be used as such? Of course. It can also be used as a filler for your hard drive. It's whatever you want to use it for.

On average, how much time do you spend working with/contributing to FlightGear? Probably in the hundreds of hours at this point.

Which of the more recent FlightGear developments do you consider most interesting/appealing? Procedural textures. Rembrandt. Atmospheric light scattering/cloud shadows.

Is there some feature that you'd truly like to see in FlightGear one day? Procedural terrain like in Outerra (not to add craters but to allow client-side scenery improvements while using the same dataset.)

What do you think could be done to attract even more new users and contributors to FlightGear? Higher quality in general. Many users want a flight simulator that just works and looks good; currently, FlightGear is not suited to them.

What about interacting with the FlightGear community? Any tips/experiences you'd like to share? Back up your FlightGear data directory and play around with things.

Have you ever recommended FlightGear to other users, friends/family? No, whenever I mention it they suddenly disappear...

Is there anything else you'd like to share with us? No.

Good day then, and thanks for agreeing to this interview. No problem.