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A Problem for Maskrider

Shadow Wolf 07

Shadow Wolf 07

SOH-CM-2025
I am building an airbase at Miyako Jima (N24 45 E125 20, elevation: 176 ft = 53.65854m) . I'm using FSSC version 1.5.11 on a Windows 7 system (I haven't had a problem on a win7 system before). I have placed 2 runways in the same poly, on a flat area of correct elevation with taxiways, fuel point and NDB laid out. All points conform to the correct elevation.

My problem is that when I export the scenery and go to Free Flight to check it and do a screenshot for texture creation, I see it all on a black square, which is the size and shape of the polygon. In "preferences" under "visible objects", polygon, background image and flat area are turned off = unchecked. Yet, I still see a black square/polygon.

Do you have any suggestions for a solution? I even copied over the textures from scenedb/world/textures to my main textures folder. I'm puzzled. :dizzy: I never had this problem before. What am I forgetting?

Thanks:

SW07
 
Hi SW,

The bitmap needs to be extended 16 bit. MR usually saves as DXT3 with alpha so it "blends". My guess is your viewing 24 bit bitmap.
 
UncleTgt said:
Hi SW,

The bitmap needs to be extended 16 bit. MR usually saves as DXT3 with alpha so it "blends". My guess is your viewing 24 bit bitmap.
Click to expand...

I know, but I'm not to that stage yet. I am creating a bgl to do a screenshot so I can create the BMP. The DXT3 with alpha stage is almost the last thing to be done before GSL creation.
 
Blood_Hawk23 said:
I get this once in a while. Check your layer. it should be higher then any other poly.
Click to expand...

Right... the layer position is the second thing I checked. The layers are as follows from bottom up: 1. polygon; 2. flatten; 3. runways and taxiways (also NDB and fuel point). The first was that the poly was not checked in preferences as "visible." :banghead:
 
Ok, you may have found the issue.

But I use a slightly different sequence for taking the screengrab that will be used to make the background poly, & it might avoid such "poly-related" issues in future.

I create a runway of known length, & use a texture that you can see clearly. Don't create any poly yet.
Create the bgl, & load in Quick Combat
Pause
Using the cfo weather 7.5.7 add on, change a/c heading to 360 deg & altitude to 5000ft at the current location. Load this info & let the scenery rebuild.
Start, & pause immediately once more
Shift view to overhead & take a screenshot
Use this screenshot as a background in FSSC
Scale it to the same position & length as the runway you created.
You now have something the right size & position that you can use to generate a background from
Now I create a square poly, that I can use with Maskrider's instructions on creating blended backgrounds.
Don't forget to change the runway properties later on if you need to.

I find this a useful way of making non-airport scenery/ flattens too, just remove the runway before your final bgl compile.
 
Last edited:
Yup. That's it! I created the polygon too soon. It goes in after the background image is taken. Doh!!! I'll remove it and get back to work... :applause:
 
MaskRider said:
Glad you guys got it handled. Nicely done!

MR
Click to expand...

Everything went well and I created the new bgl. The only thing that is wrong is that the Paintshop/DXTbmp created texture is floating about 50-100m above the ground. I had that problem once before but I forgot the solution. Can any of you help out?
 
Last edited:
Shadow Wolf,

I know it has to do with elevation, or as the FSSC puts it ALT and the flattens, but I am not sure how you cure it.

I have encountered it before also. My Henderson runway was the same and I finally went through all scenery folders and searched for everything that had "Henderson" in the bgl and deleted all of them except one.

Sorry I can't help you.
 
I'm sure you've done this but... Check list...

---Are you set to the correct elevation in CFS2?
---Are you using the lowest point?
---Did you use the Flatener?

I think your flatener isn't working. I've had this issue with FSSC. Thats why I use groundmaker for my flatener. If all of your elevation data matchs your airbase.dat then that would be the next thing to look at.

Verify that your Poly is set right. you may have something entered wrong and have overlooked it. After staring at it over and over its easy to do.

If you'd like send me an email and I can look it over. Maybe an extra set of eyes will help.

I know you'll laught and kick yourself once you find it.
 
SW,

I haven't fired up FSSC since I changed to WIN 7 from XP, but I vaguely remember the ALT for polys etc. being the ALT above the value you have already set as the airbase ALT when you first created the airbase.

So for something to stay at the airbase altitude, it should be zero ALT for the poly (0m above the airbase ALT).:indecisiveness:
 
is there any other scenery close by?

I had an issue with Hulliun and Hulluin-ost. they were too close together. the flatteners were conflicting. once set to the same alt it was all fixed.
 
Blood_Hawk,

Is groundmaker a program we have in the library here, or is it a MW program available to us?
 
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