Theater developmental notes - Questions questions
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@Arty
I checked in Korea:You can not do anything.
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No expert here, something came to mind. Maybe valid, maybe not….
Are the tiles below the area when they “fall” water? Maybe because of the type it’s changing their behavior?
If you replaced the “water” tiles with “land” tiles painted like water tiles would that work?
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TBH, why would anyone expect AI GU to follow higher level of 3D bridge roadway if they always told by the code to follow the tile (which is @ lower level). It looks that they initially follow the tile then the bridge , but because of excessive lenght of it (bridge or causeway) they drop to lower level. It is not normal case anyway.
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do u have proof that it works?
Uhmmm, No, … I was just thinking about a good lad from the UK.
I had the privilege to work with him quite a few years ago and he accomplished things
by “just” trying harder, where some said it’s not possible.The BMS community still benefits from his doggedness.
That’s why I’ve said try harder.
I didn’t mean any harm by saying that.… on the other hand I could’nt resist to ROFL on Brian’s post (once again).
Cheers,
LS -
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hmm… one could get the impression from reading stuff here that the whole engine needs a massive overhaul. http://www.smileygarden.de/smilie/Sonstige/yikes.gif
Yeah Tim, … one could indeed, but it seems there are other things on their priority list:
https://www.benchmarksims.org/forum/showthread.php?14164-Improvements-how-much-more
(post #6 and downwards)Cheers,
LS -
And a solution to my previous question… That I answered - found by my self with a help from Sparta… thanx m8.
How to view the tiles in the Falcon Editor after u copied the correct folders…
At the bottom where X and Y fields are u get the X Y from Terrain Editor (Monsters great tool) and u put them in reverse to the Falcon editor… like at the X u enter the Y value from Terrain Editor and at the Y u enter the X value from Terrain Editor…
And Voila… u have the correct tiles at the correct position…
Enjoy…
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Another addition that makes placing 3d objects way easier in the speed of lightning and getting rid of LodEditor wich is WAY SLOW…
So u need LE just to Import to the database the LOD’s nothing else… unless this also can be done bu the Falcon Editor and I haven’t discovered it yet.Back…
On the left area where are the Move Rotate Center buttons… they work like this…
From the left area u select the features-objects u want to move-rotate etc… U can use Shift to select many (start - end) or with control to select specific which objects u want.Then press and hold Move… Now while holding the move pressed, move your mouse and u will see your features-objects move… unpress move and press and hold rotate… move your mouse left - right and u will see the features rotate…
When u want a new feature u can press insert on the left down button and choose the one u want… So not to travel the feature from one side to the other first select a feature that is near by to the area where u want to place the new feature.
Final u can easily add same features with copy paste like this:
Select the features u want to duplicate. Now Press Ctrl+c then Ctrl+v. Now as above move (press and hold move button) and move the mouse u will see the duplicated features appear… (Magic… lol)So to alter the Database u need…
Viceversa (works fine for me) to easily compare folders between your theater folder and Korea folders and back. That way only altered files are transferred.
1. f4browse with the AddCopy trick to add objectives to your theater. Copy a similar objective to the one (new) u want to create. There is no create new objective. So u copy and u Alter. Those objectives are internal Database Objectives. U don’t see their names in Falcon. The objectives u see in Falcon are in step 3.
2. Terrain Editor to locate the tile coordinates where u will place the objective.
3. Then Tacedit to create the objective record to the theater with the name u want. Now this objective is the one that shows up on the Map of the Falcon UI.
4. Then Viceversa to move changed files from your theater to Korea folders so that Falcon editor will show your theaters map and objective and not Korea’s. This program compares files in the Terrdata Folder so to transfer them back and forth. Actually u transfer your theater Terrdata folders to the Korea Folders. U do your changes with Falcon editor and then u get the altered files back to your theater.
5. Then Falcon editor to place the objective where it should be. Don’t forget to save… well save many times so u don’t loose your work… For me I had no crash not even once… in contrast to LodEditor.
Also have Google Earth open so to compare and fine tune your objects to your 3d as realistic as u can.
Final on this step don’t forget to check night also for lights and etc…6. Then u will do the Viceversa again to put the altered files back to your theaters folder.
7. Now if u open Terrain Editor and display the objectives to the map u must see them all ok and aligned perfectly.
8. Now go fly and enjoy…The above procedure although headache and troubling it’s extra super fast compared to anything else… (for me).
I made Greece’s major ports In about half an hour with many many many objects… -
And a video for the above guide… Since U5 no need to copy files back and forth just switch to your theater and use Falcon Editor…
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Kudos for the effort, but this tutorial Project needs corrections. Changing CT record is fubared and perhaps double fubared. Please take a look and tell me what is the old CT and what should be new one.
EDIT: still I found the subject of objectives editing and inserting pretty complex and your tutotrial makes it much easier. Can you perhaps also make it shorter?
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The source ct that I used to addcopy was 3836.
The last ct was 3847. So the new ct after the addcopy must be 3848. As u seen I left it 3836.Edit: no problem in real I opened the wrong file…
well instead of making it shorter I will add a time index to the description of the video in youtube so to jump to where u want.
Ready in the youtube Description click on show more and it will show this:
How to create - add objectives in the falcon database and add objectives to TE’s and Campaigns… How to place object on the terrain as u want them…
ADDCOPY.pdf Link: https://www.benchmarksims.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13787&d=1354464088
F4Browse Creating the Objective to the Database.
AddCopy guide: 00:27
Objective addcopy: 00:53
Class Table addcopy: 04:16
Check with LodEditor the new Objective: 06:42Placing the new database Objective to the theater (TE or Campaign)
TerrainEditor find the coordinates: 08:00
tacedit to create the theater (TE or Campaign) entry
Add Objective: 16:05
Crosscheck added Objective with Terrain Editor: 18:59Fine tune features of the objective… Correctly place and alter the position of the 3d objects of the objective.
Falcon Editor: 20:25
Crosscheck altered Objective with Terrain Editor: 33:40Transfer Objectives from TE or Campaign to Instant Action
with tacedit: 35:49Test in Falcon (Instant Action): 38:45
Test in Falcon (Mission Editor): 40:55clicking on time will take u directly at the point u want…
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Important for theater building stuff. Watched it all and thank you.Total newcomers may find it little complicated, but some stuff in Falcon is just that.
Creating and editing objectives appears to be really very tedious process and this maybe is where community members cooperation and dividing work among several willing participants can play crucial role, which eventually may yield some effects as we all agree that proper coordination of 3d with 2d is quite pressing issue for Falcon.
This video tutorial is truly great step in right direction and help.
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The one thing which needs perhaps some clarification is how the best to implement new objectives into respective te_new.tac, save*.cam or instant.cam file. You show export and import in the video and mention Viceversa above. Which of these method should be used and are the methods safe as to not to alter those files in other areas.
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Well it depends how u work on the files…
what I mean:
There are common things and uncommon things to those files.Common
ObjectivesUncommon
Campaign files are similar in structure to training and TE files. Generally they do not have flights allocated though, leaving them to the mission planner to generate.
Unit
Victory conditions
Teams
Primary Objectives
Events
CMP campaignSo u have different data for all those… thus exporting importing is only for Unit’s and Objectives… the rest must be different… specific to each Campaign this is why campaigns are different.
Units ??? well so not to build them from scratch u can import export and then alter them… Better then start from zero and redo.
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Hypothetical question.
If each terrain tile had its own “objective” build (read here coordinated 3d content of the tile), would they need to be placed in the terrain each separately one at the time , or this would be auto? Would they need to be linked or they could be left unattached? Would they bog CPU/GPU? -
Hypothetical question.
If each terrain tile had its own “objective” build (read here coordinated 3d content of the tile), would they need to be placed in the terrain each separately one at the time , or this would be auto? Would they need to be linked or they could be left unattached? Would they bog CPU/GPU?Depends what u want to do and how u have build your Objectives.
Means that if u want generic objectives like cities and junctions are then yes u can just add them without going to the trouble to place them with Falcon Editor. But If u want realism then u have to build custom tiles for some areas and put those objectives and their features where they should as close to reality as u can.
An example here is the Thessaloniki port I created for Aegan and the work area for Thessaloniki (Macedonia) Airport.
We have already changed the airport work area and now looks like this… (more realistic):
The smoke is constant as the cranes work 24/7 and pοur dirt and materials in the sea to raise it to pure cement afterwards… and In case someone thinks this is unrealistic well I leave next to this airport and I see them every day from my window, and I hear the cranes working all night long…
So doing them automatically ain’t the best… have in mind rivers lakes and mountain tops… areas u have to avoid for some objectives…
also binding objectives to one tile is the same as GU’s movement that don’t follow paths (roads - bridges-etc) and they move to the center of the tiles only that takes realism away as u can’t put roads and bridges where u like them or where they should be as real. Well real is overestimated meaning close to real.
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My question was: if I build objective corresponding to the particular terrain tile, do I need to place this newly created objective manually one at the time in the terrain wherever that tile is present? Is there any mechanism (script) which could attach 3D objects to a tile.
In upcoming autogen feature (if and when that ever becomes a reality) , I think, features will be attached to a tile with the separate file scripting type of 3D , location and orientation of such on the tile. -
P.M. Inbound… T.O.T.: -00:00:10.
I don’t know of the existence of any script… to do such… there are scripts for campaigns (Perl IIRC) don’t know if they can be used for this also.
Again doing so u will end up with many fubared places… mostly like coastline area. But I see where u are getting it… u know which tiles are on the Land so spread the objectives with a script…
Yes but u can’t put a whole city in a tile… right?
A bridge? maybe yes maybe no.
A port? Mostly Not…
Factories? small one’s yes.
Army bases? well small ones
So u see my point…U must have them all small and it will be very auto moto if u understand what I mean…
For me the path is to go more realistic…
Yes it;s a good Idea to have tiles bound to objectives… Same thought was for 3Dcities… as u have cityxxx.dds have and the corresponding objective and match them automatically yes but u will have the same repetitive objective as now u have the same repetitive tiles. I don’t like - want this to continue… Making them more tailor made will overcome the repetitive tiles and brake the repetitiveness in Falcon.
Doing the same with objectives will have the same impact and will make it more worst than it is… Yes it might look more staffed (more objectives, and look better) for starters but when u will realize that all are the same… I don’t know…
For heading u can go as with tiles and as tilesets create objective sets and spread them as u do with tiles but this kills the auto script thing.
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ok Airbases question now…
I rotated an airbase to it’s correct heading and now I want to change it’s textures so it also displays correctly.
Ok for the taxi signs I will be ok I believe with the addcopy function. My q is mostly with the runway heading numbers.
For Aegean example :
Objective CT# 125 02_20 Airbase 2Rvr.
Feature 1382 Runway.On the objective the same feature is used on both sides of the runway and it shows a different texture 02R and 20L.
Now this feature has 46 textures sets… is there somewhere that we declare which textures to use? and according to it’s heading?
I can overcome the problem by the addcopy and use of two different features to do my job but I would like the logic of current setup and how is done.Thanx in advance.
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… is there somewhere that we declare which textures to use?
Should be a similar/ identically procedure to AC skins I think, so
in LE doubleclick the root node of your RW object.… and according to it’s heading?
If there are already textures for the changed RW available in the DB
then simply change the texture numbers in LE. (doubleclick the root node)If not then copy and change the 02R 20L textures in photoshop to your liking,
then append those new textures to the DB using LE,
then change the texture numbers to fit the appended texture numbers in LE. (doubleclick the root node)… hope this helps.
Cheers,
LS