FS Earth Tiles

ebsloop · Post by **ebsloop** » Tue Mar 04, 2014 11:53 pm

I have been working on some photoreal scenery using FS Earth Tiles and have some amazing results (still trying to upload image to forum successfully). I'm curious to see if there is a way to place 3D buildings on top of the new BGL files that I create for each area. I'm mostly concerned with airport buildings. I also have ADE, SBuilderX, and Gimp 2. Here is one of my .inf files.

[Source]

Type = MultiSource

NumberOfSources = 3

[Source1]

Season = Summer

Variation = June,July,August,September,October,November,December,January,February

Type = BMP

Layer = Imagery

Layer = Imagery

Variation =Day

NullValue =255,255,255

SourceDir = "C:\Program Files (x86)\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v2 SDK 2.1.9936.0\Environment SDK\FS Earth Tiles\fset1nr\F\FS EarthTiles"

SourceFile = AreaSummer_Lp1_SnapOff_N047371098_N047295701_W123524720_W123382697.bmp

Lon = -123.879790306091 ;for top left and bottom right is: -123.640823364258

Lat = 47.6197242736816 ;for top left and bottom right is: 47.4991643428802

NumOfCellsPerLine = 16705 ;Pixel is not used in FSX

NumOfLines = 11237 ;Pixel is not used in FSX

CellXdimensionDeg = 1.43051147460938E-05

CellYdimensionDeg = 1.07288360595703E-05

PixelIsPoint = 0

SamplingMethod = Point

Channel_BlendMask = 3.0 ;red channel, (note:green channel is the grey-info)

Channel_LandWaterMask = 3.2 ;blue channel

[Source2]

Season = Spring

Variation = March,April,May

Type = BMP

Layer = Imagery

Layer = Imagery

Variation =Day

NullValue =255,255,255

SourceDir = "C:\Program Files (x86)\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v2 SDK 2.1.9936.0\Environment SDK\FS Earth Tiles\fset1nr\F\FS EarthTiles"

SourceFile = AreaSpring_Lp1_SnapOff_N047371098_N047295701_W123524720_W123382697.bmp

Lon = -123.879790306091 ;for top left and bottom right is: -123.640823364258

Lat = 47.6197242736816 ;for top left and bottom right is: 47.4991643428802

NumOfCellsPerLine = 16705 ;Pixel is not used in FSX

NumOfLines = 11237 ;Pixel is not used in FSX

CellXdimensionDeg = 1.43051147460938E-05

CellYdimensionDeg = 1.07288360595703E-05

PixelIsPoint = 0

SamplingMethod = Point

Channel_BlendMask = 3.0 ;red channel, (note:green channel is the grey-info)

Channel_LandWaterMask = 3.2 ;blue channel

[Source3]

Type = BMP

Layer = None

Layer = Imagery

Variation =Day

NullValue =255,255,255

SourceDir = "C:\Program Files (x86)\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v2 SDK 2.1.9936.0\Environment SDK\FS Earth Tiles\fset1nr\F\FS EarthTiles"

SourceFile = AreaMask_Lp1_SnapOff_N047371098_N047295701_W123524720_W123382697.bmp

Lon = -123.879790306091 ;for top left and bottom right is: -123.640823364258

Lat = 47.6197242736816 ;for top left and bottom right is: 47.4991643428802

NumOfCellsPerLine = 16705 ;Pixel is not used in FSX

NumOfLines = 11237 ;Pixel is not used in FSX

CellXdimensionDeg = 1.43051147460938E-05

CellYdimensionDeg = 1.07288360595703E-05

PixelIsPoint = 0

SamplingMethod = Point

[Destination]

DestDir = C:\Program Files (x86)\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v2\Addon Scenery\Scenery

DestBaseFileName = WA_Olympic Forest_12

BuildSeasons = 1

UseSourceDimensions = 1

CompressionQuality = 95

LOD = Auto

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

v/r

ebsloop

timmo · Post by **timmo** » Mon Mar 10, 2014 7:49 pm

Yes- there are two types of building types you can place on aerial photography: Autogen for larger areas of less accurately modelled buildings and placed buildings/objects for more specific buildings (i.e. a 3D model of a specific building that exists in real life).

For placing autogen, there is a tool in the SDK to place it (called annotator)- Autogen is stored in .agn files within the texture subfolder (and also contain vegetation)

For other objects, you can use ADE, the built in tools or other third party tools (i.e. Whisplacer)to place them- These are stored in .bgl files and their associated texture sheets will need to be placed in the 'texture' folder also.

An airport with photo scenery usually uses a combination of these two methods to create a realistic scene- Check out the scenery section of the SDK!

ebsloop · Post by **ebsloop** » Mon Mar 10, 2014 11:11 pm

Thanks for the reply. I'll look into this and hopefully I can get some good results.

rfputtini · Post by **rfputtini** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 6:25 pm

As a tip, if you end using ADE, take a look at FS EarthTiles working folder, you should see a (pretty large) BMP file containing the whole image of the scenery that went into the BGL. Using the coordinates that are in the INF files FSET used to compile the BGL, you should be able to very precisely use the image as a background in ADE. Just beware that it does not work for very large areas, as the BMP (or even JPG image) file size is often too big for ADE to handle.

Good luck!

timmo · Post by **timmo** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 8:39 pm

That's a handy tip- Thanks Raphael!

ebsloop · Post by **ebsloop** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 1:06 am

I've been using FS Earth Files for about 2 months now. I have found good settings that work in the .ini file. I'm currently working on the Southern California Coast with pretty good results. The only issues I currently have is that the resample takes a long time to create one BGL and I don't see any 3D buildings on top of my photoreal scenery. I only use Spring (Season) and Area Mask to edit the coast line with Gimp 2. The only issue I have is that the resample takes quite a while to run. I have an I-7 950 processor (3.01G, 8 cores). Nvidia 550ti Graphics card (1G). Any advice to increase the speed of resample??? I would like to respectively like to get a response from Max Perry if it is possible. I enjoy making photoreal scenery as a hobby.

V/R

ebsloop

armeredith · Post by **armeredith** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 12:19 pm

If you want California, Arizona, Nevada etc already processed to save time visit: http://www.blueskyscenery.com/index.html

Regards,

TonyM

rfputtini · Post by **rfputtini** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 1:03 pm

It's normal that you don't see any buildings over your photoreal scenery, you must "annotate" it using the Autogen Annotator Tool (found in the SDK), as timmo said. And the time it takes to process the BGL is "normal" also, it depends a lot on the size of the scenery and processing power. My personal tip on this is while the resample tool is working, go take a cup of your favorite beverage. Works every time.

ebsloop · Post by **ebsloop** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 1:21 pm

LOL. Thanks. I did the "beverage trick" last night. I will try to figure out how to work the Autogen Annotation Tool. I've never used it before.

Thanks for the advice.

rfputtini · Post by **rfputtini** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 3:36 pm

No problem! I'll later try to make a Quick Reference Card comparing beverages and resampling time.

For the Autogen Annotator, there is one of the most comprehensive (so far) guides I found. The best thing (comparing to the SDK manual) is that at the end of the page the author shows you image samples of each vegetation/object, making it easier for you to select the right vegetation. Good luck!

http://lhsimulations.com/LHSimulations/ ... tator.html

ebsloop · Post by **ebsloop** » Tue Mar 18, 2014 10:33 am

Great news! I figured out how to get buildings to show up in airports on top of photoreal scenery. When I was using Gimp to edit the coast, I selected: Layer, Transparency, add alfa channel to my blend mask. This also enables REX water textures to show up on top of photoreal scenery. In the Prepar3D CFG file, I also changed POP_FREE_AUTOGEN to 0 in the scenery section of the CFG file. I'm not sure if this is old news to some people, but it works for me (glad I got it to work).

Thanks to everyone for all the advice and patients.

v/r

ebsloop

ebsloop · Post by **ebsloop** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 2:08 am

I relocated FS Earth Tiles and the SDK resample out of the X86 folder and installed it into my F:\ Drive. They run quite a bit faster out of the X86 location.

ebsloop · Post by **ebsloop** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 11:37 am

RESOLVED. I am fully satisfied with the progress I'm making on large scale photo real scenery.

Thanks again,

ebsloop

BG2518 · Post by **BG2518** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 12:58 pm

Any chance that you can share your #--- Services Configuration --- # contained within the FSEarthTiles.ini ??

Having a devil of a task to get this working for me and I really want to follow the lead here.

Cheers,

BG2518 - Bob

ebsloop · Post by **ebsloop** » Sat Mar 29, 2014 5:46 pm

[Service1]

ServiceCodeing = 0123

ServiceUrl = http://a1.ortho.tiles.virtualearth.net/ ... jpeg?g=104 #you need to replace the * with a service base url

#Referer = http://a1.ortho.tiles.virtualearth.net #optional (older versions g=104, g=52)

#UserAgent = Mozilla/4.0 #optional

ServerVariations = a0,a1,a2,a3 #Server variations that all have to contain the same Tiles

[Service2]

ServiceCodeing = xyz

ServiceUrl = http://us.maps3.yimg.com/aerial.maps.yi ... &v=1.8&t=a # You need to replace both groups of ****.***

#Referer = http://us.maps3.yimg.com # (old versions v=1.7, v=1.5)

#UserAgent = Mozilla/4.0

DownloadResolution = 3 #-4...8

StartWithService = Service1

SelectedSceneryCompiler = FSX #choose: FSX or FS2004

AreaSnap = Yes #Off/LOD13/LatLong/Tiles/Pixel, IMPORTANT: Select LOD13 for FS2004 to avoid water borders!

CreateAreaMaskBmp = Yes #if Yes Area Mask Bitmap will be created that are used for Blend and Water and Seasons. (note FS2004 does not know blend)

CompileScenery = No #Yes = Compile the Scenery, No = Download the Area only.

AutoReferenceMode = 1 # 1..4 only active if AreaSnap is not off

# 1 = match exact Area Dimensions, 2 = allow to go one large, 3 = maximum freedom in going larger (largest areas simular to Area Snap Off), 4 = divide into single units

Zoom = 1 # -4...18

##The D/L Resolution and Zoom settings is trial and error with quality/size of the files you want (also depends on your HD Space). I have 2 internal Tera Byte HDD's (plenty of storage memory). I mostly use Virtual Earth. If you have any issues with these settings, Open the "World Wide Web" icon/option at the bottom right of the FS Earth Tiles with the three black squares on it. Then start a download with your selected area. I like to use D/L Resolution 3 for large areas. The quality is pretty amazing above 5,000 ft. Below 5,000ft, I use D/L Resolution of 0 or 1.

Do you know how to upload screen shots to a post?

Hope this helps.