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Trees

All things Military AI that don't fit anywhere else.
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btaylo24
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Trees

Post by btaylo24 »

The trees MAIW use in packages seem to have an issue in FSX...

They end up looking very strange....is there anything that can be done.
Can post a pic if required.

Also autogen also seems to go crazy, get trees every where. An exclude sorts them out. So presume the default exclude does not work in FSX?

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campbeme
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Re: Trees

Post by campbeme »

btaylo24 wrote:The trees MAIW use in packages seem to have an issue in FSX...

They end up looking very strange....is there anything that can be done.
Can post a pic if required.

Also autogen also seems to go crazy, get trees every where. An exclude sorts them out. So presume the default exclude does not work in FSX?

Cheers
barry
I have found the FS9 excludes do not work in FSX for autogen at least. I normally redo them with ADEX.

Not sure about the Trees, but I know what you mean by looking funny.

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BadPvtDan
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Re: Trees

Post by BadPvtDan »

The trees have transparency problems. I usually just go in and replace them with FSX trees.
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btaylo24
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Re: Trees

Post by btaylo24 »

So they usually live in a trees.bgl?
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Victory103
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Re: Trees

Post by Victory103 »

I get the same with the scenery fences and some of the ramp shelters, along with any hangars that have unit "patches" on them, just a transparency issue. Still trying to figure out an easy way to replace the FS9 fences with the stock FSX versions. The trees I normally just remove from the scenery all together.

The latest pack (Maine KC-135's) has some of these issues at KBGR.
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MIKE JG
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Re: Trees

Post by MIKE JG »

As I understand the problem, you have to edit the texture for that object. If it uses FS9 transparency, it is using an FS9 alpha channel that is coded into the FS9 texture. This means that on the FS9 alpha channel, anything in white will be visible, anything in black will be invisible.

I believe in FSX, for whatever reason, the folks at MS decided that the alpha channel definitions would be exactly the opposite. So an alpha channel coded into a FSX texture works exactly opposite of an FS9 alpha channel texture.

To fix it, open up the offending texture in DXTBmp and edit the alpha channel so that the black parts are white and the white parts are black. As I understand it, that should fix the problem.

Please note that by doing this, you are altering the work of someone else which is only cool if you leave in on your system and do not share the files. That's the respectful thing to do for the author who made the file originally.
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Re: Trees

Post by fishlips »

Please note that by doing this, you are altering the work of someone else which is only cool if you leave in on your system and do not share the files. That's the respectful thing to do for the author who made the file originally.
Unless you have already been granted permission to share the files by the author, that is! :P
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MIKE JG
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Re: Trees

Post by MIKE JG »

Yes, that too!
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btaylo24
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Re: Trees

Post by btaylo24 »

Hey Mike

So for trees and lets try the Bangor package.

I open the FS9_Trees.BMP in dxt
then ALPHA/INVERT ALPHA

Then SAVE

If I do this when I look at trees in FSX they are just black and white....I am doing something wrong me things.

Is there a way trees can be made easy to remove , as a FSX consideration??
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campbeme
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Re: Trees

Post by campbeme »

FS9 modeled Trees just do not convert, your best bet is to replace them with pukka FSX modeled trees.

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gsnde
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Re: Trees

Post by gsnde »

To plant trees in FSX I like Whisplacer best. It is kind of an Java based Instant Scenery tool, you can see what you do in real time in the sim, and you can do easy gardener jobs like selecting a polygon shape and say I want oaks, elms and walnuts randomly placed within. :wink:

You can define variations to the object size and the density so that it looks naturally.

It can be downloaded here.
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thetford569
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Re: Trees

Post by thetford569 »

BadPvtDan wrote:The trees have transparency problems. I usually just go in and replace them with FSX trees.
What process do you use to replace the problem trees with FSX trees? Especially when there is no separate bgl to delete in the scenery? For example the Burlington, VT scenery has some of these problem trees in it but I can't get rid of them because they are in a bgl with other objects. There isn't a separate trees bgl to delete to make them go away. I'm just curious how you are doing this because this is really the only problem I have left to fix in the FSX MAIW sceneries on my system.

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BadPvtDan
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Re: Trees

Post by BadPvtDan »

Delete with Instant Scenery.
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Re: Trees

Post by WilliamCall »

BadPvtDan wrote:Delete with Instant Scenery.
Since Instant Scenery only allows you to delete objects that it creates, I'm curious how you were able to delete the trees.
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John Young
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Re: Trees

Post by John Young »

FSX uses the same alpha channel as FS9, except that for a .dds texture, the texture and the alpha are flipped vertically. The problem is that FSX transparency (trees or fences for example) requires a whole host of settings in the Gmax model (presumably in FSDS too) that are not present in FS9 models. The FSX settings are then hard coded into the .bgl or library file.

There is, as far as I'm aware, no way to add those FSX settings to FS9 trees unless you have the source file. Some users I believe, have gone some way to doing it with Arno's ModelconvertorX but the reports I have seen so far are not totally satisfactory. The other problem is that unless the trees are in FSX code, the frame rate will drop dramatically. Dx10 Preview mode in FSX, if you have a compatible graphics card, will however give a much better result, speed-wise.

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Re: Trees

Post by Joecoastie »

Can you change the name of an FSX trees file to the name of the FS9 trees file that's used and go with it ?
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campbeme
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Re: Trees

Post by campbeme »

I used MCX at Minot, Nellis and Offut and got good results in the converting of FS9 trees to FSX code and also editing the material properties.

Minot in FSX
Image

Nellis in FSX
Image

Offut in FSX
Image

Or you can just remove the FS9 trees and place FSX trees like I did in the below IDF package viewed in P3D. This is the easier option by the way. For my own personal use.
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Mario30
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Re: Trees

Post by Mario30 »

How did you replaced the trees, can you give me some pointers or can you send me your bgl placement file for Minot
ejoiner2
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Re: Trees

Post by ejoiner2 »

I have a similar issue with KNLC Lemoore. Its covered in trees and I dont know how to remove them. I use FSX/FTX Global/FTX Vector and win 8.1. How can I get rid of the trees? I tried an exclude using Airport Design Editor, but that didnt seem to work.
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Re: Trees

Post by d nelson »

What is the correct tool and procedure to remove trees from MAIW scenery? After years of not having mil traffic in FSX, I said what the heck I'm putting it back in. Trees and bushes on the taxiways and runways ie. Nellis, needs a bushhog. How? Removing tree bgl's and textures is a given but, that's not enough. How do you guys do it?
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