FlightGear Newsletter May 2017
| This newsletter is a draft.
Please feel free to add content that you think will be of interest to the FlightGear community. |
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Development news |
Scenery Corner |
Contributing |
Development news
MapGear is out!
MapGear.py is a mapping tool for FlightGear that saves the flight path as an animated .GIF.
The aim is to create a nice map projection/animation for any log file submitted. For this to happen a good degree of numerical tuning is required so the more feedback the project has from users the better. Feedback would be greatly appreciated!
So far the program seems to be stable enough, so it is worth publishing here in the FlightGear Newsletter.
It consists of a small python script and a few Geo information data files taken from NaturalEarth.
Stay tuned via the announcement thread.
You can see MapGear GIF output here.
Licensed under the GPLv2+
Volumetric grass effect
A new volumetric grass effect has been added to the Atmospheric Light Scattering (ALS) rendering framework using a technique known as shell texturing. The effect requires geometry shaders, which are known to be problematic on integrated Intel GPUs.
This effect can also be combined with the previous volumetric grass technique based on instancing, as demonstrated by forum user wlbragg.
For more information see the forum thread.
In the hangar
- System improvements and bug fixes of A320Family and Future A3XX aircraft by it0uchpods, legoboyvdlp, J Maverick 16 and Wecsje.
- Improvements to the Boeing 737-800 by GabrielYV
- New version of R44 Raven II helicopter by paju1986
- Improvements to MD-10 by Skyboat and J Maverick 16
- Improvements to KC-137R by J Maverick 16
Scenery corner
USA airports
Catalanoic has added buildings and 3D objects to Boston Logan Intl Airport (KBOS) for next default airport shipped under new FlightGear 2017.2. Some other recently developed airports include Norfolk Intl (KORF) and Portland Jetport (KPWM).
New OSM2City areas
Recently paju1986 has created OSM buildings (Osm2city) for Portugal and Spain, including Canary Islands.
Direct Downloads:
- [Canary Islands|https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5TeZxXfefn3NUp4NkM2b1hPVDQ]
More specific information of this work available in the forum thread
Osm2city Download List
Furthermore, there are some other users working with Osm2city.py. A Python script used to improve generation of urban areas for the FlightGear scenery. Buildings, roads, rail tracks, and objects based on Open Street Map real data. Developer oriented users will find interesting information in how to generate new areas in the FGWiki page of the Osm2city.py project.
For the regular user, also, there is a dedicated FGWiki page with a list of Areas populated with osm2city scenery where you can download many of them. Among others San Francisco Area KSFO and Boston Logan Int KBOS
Community news
Contributing
Translators required
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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FlightGear 百科仍然需要志愿者将其翻译为各种语言。如果你有兴趣让FlightGear百科支持更多语言, 你可以查看 Help:Translate. |
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
FlightGear's Screenshot of the Month May 2017 is Sightseeing over Sint Maarten by Icecode GL
If you want to participate in the screenshot contest of June, you can submit your candidate 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 in the Newsletter edition of June.