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CFS2 Rhumba's watermasks

J

Jean Bomber

Landscape Gardener
HI all :Banane31:
The news Rhumba's watermasks are ready to download this morning
CFS2_Watermasks_01
CFS2_Watermasks_02

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/index.php?loc=downloads&page=info&FileID=13731#download
Many Thanks to him for this essential addon that make the mesh fully usable in our cfs2 world .

:Banane35::Banane01::Banane33::Banane27:

PS :
I advice you if you can to check the watermasks bgls with tmf viewer to identify them and you could after install only those you want ,if not you could have some desagrement with the shorelines particulary in the PTO ,and for ETO with the SDC stuffs .A time adaptation will surely needed

JB
 
CFS2 Watermasks question

Should these new watermask bgl's be added directly in the "...\SCENEDB\world\scenery and overwrite the originals?

Is anyone setting up a separate file outside of CFS2 and adding through the scenery add on screen? Similar to how the LOD7 file can be utilized as a scenery add-on?

I know this is only for CFS2 but just curious if there would be any benefit for a single CFS2 install? For multiple installs? Is it advantageous for an outside file install for CFS2 in any way?

Just tired of delete-start again reinstalls is all. I like the idea of an outside CFS2 master scenery file which saves time and alot of aggravation.

Thanks much guys...
 
p14u2nv said:
Should these new watermask bgl's be added directly in the "...\SCENEDB\world\scenery and overwrite the originals?

Is anyone setting up a separate file outside of CFS2 and adding through the scenery add on screen? Similar to how the LOD7 file can be utilized as a scenery add-on?

I know this is only for CFS2 but just curious if there would be any benefit for a single CFS2 install? For multiple installs? Is it advantageous for an outside file install for CFS2 in any way?

Just tired of delete-start again reinstalls is all. I like the idea of an outside CFS2 master scenery file which saves time and alot of aggravation.

Thanks much guys...
Click to expand...

For multiple cfs2 installs ,to use with severals ,a extern install is the best like any scenery and down just upper terrain in scenery hierarchy in the library

JP
 
Hi all.

I haven't checked SDC's work with my own, but I believe if you place these watermasks earlier in the Scenery Library than SDC's, then his work will override mine, and you could still use his masking.

Sander used FS9 as his source for his european work. I used the SRTM mesh and masking. They would work together only if FS9 used the SRTM as it's source ( unlikely )... but as I write, the Scenery Library should control the display.

These masks are much better than the originals, but as Jean writes, they will invalidate the default VTP shorelines, roads and streams.

Over the next few days I'll be uploading CFS2 LOD8 mesh to match these watermasks. The mesh has been trimmed to the ocean to reduce the need for flattens. The mesh will most likely invalidate the default LOD9 mesh.

The watermasking and mesh represent a new base level of scenery for CFS2 that more accurately depicts the world. I recommend further work to lay over these masks ( much as SDC has done ) at the LOD5-sized level, to add shorelines, roads, streams, more accurate masking, and LOD9+ mesh, where detailed sources can be found.

There might be a need to replace improperly placed airfields that do not fit the mesh or masking... or new masks and mesh made where the airfields are correct, but the mesh and masking is not right ( less likely ).

Land/Water masking can be made to override the underlying layers, which is what I have done with these. the default files can be left alone where they are, and a new scenery foldemade to holde the new masks... and that folder can be added to the Scenery Library in multiple installations of CFS2.

Dick
 
These are great!! Of course, I did find a disconcerting number of ships resting a half mile inland in some missions ( I know, it suggests that possibility in the read-me) ..
 
Good work Dick,

Regarding the LOD8 mesh, should your earlier work - European and Pacific coastal flattens and water files be de-activated?

Kevin
 
For some reason adding a separate CFS2_Watermasking file for 01 and 02 through the scenery add area will not work. I have deleted and unzipped 3 times and it will not high lite the directory path so I can add it.

And I did manually type in the path a few times, clicked ok but no go...I guess I will have no choice but to add to the "...\SCENEDB\world\scenery directly.

[LINESTRIKE]
Has anyone any ideas on this? Thanks in advance.
[/LINESTRIKE]

I missed the fact that I needed to unzip all the BGL's from each watermasking file into a scenery folder. Funny how you can miss the simple stuff sometimes...
 
kdriver said:
Good work Dick,

Regarding the LOD8 mesh, should your earlier work - European and Pacific coastal flattens and water files be de-activated?

Kevin
Click to expand...


Hi Kevin.

I would not use the earlier coastal flattens with this watermasking or with SDC's european watermasking. They were based on FS2000 flattens, and the old CIA-based data Microsoft used in the first few sims... including the default CFS2 BGLs.

Dick
 
This stuff looks great (even if Darwin looks like a tsunami just swamped the town)! Thanks Rhumba.:ernae:
 
rhumbaflappy said:
Hi all.

I haven't checked SDC's work with my own, but I believe if you place these watermasks earlier in the Scenery Library than SDC's, then his work will override mine, and you could still use his masking....
Click to expand...

Yessir, it works exactly that way!

I placed the watermasks right above the first entry, which is terrain, even though I always thought mesh files were supposed to be placed there with watermasks right after, and it works real well with SdC's sceneries.

Since I keep separate theaters, I had already moved out the pac*.bgl's from the scenedb\world\scenery folder for Europe, thinking that pac prefix was intended for Pacific sceneries. What suprised me is finding regular coastlines again in the PTO area, while before, with the pac*.bgl's missing, it showed extremely jagged coastlines.

I have two questions:

  1. In order to keep theatres separated without loading in memory unnecessary stuff, is it possible keeping the European/Mediterranean watermasks in separate folders from the Pacific ones?
  2. Do these watermasks affect framerate? It seems like I lost some fps with these watermasks in place, but I couldn't tell if it was due to a combination with some non-GSL sceneries I still have in England.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS NEW EYE-CANDY, RHUMBA!
:jump: :applause: :jump: :applause: :jump: :applause: :jump:

​
Cheers!
KH :ernae:
 
So I took out the old Water and Coast flattens. Is that right?

UPDATE: I took them out (The old water and the flattens) and everything still looked great.
 
Hi all.

I don't think flattens would be needed with the new watermasks, as the LOD8 mesh is already pre-flattened in most places. They are intended to work rogether.

There isn't a need to separate the Pacific and Eurpean theatres. CFS2 loads only what it needs during runtime, so deactivating one part of the set isn't a good idea.

The watermasks shouldn't affect the framerates to any great extent, but the LOD8 mesh will... you can still use the watermasks without the LOD8 mesh, but the coasts might then need flattens... and those flattens will again reduce framerates.


I haven't looked at Darwin, but anomalies in the masks wouldn't surprise me. That's why further reworking of small areas of interest is still needed. But overall, the placement is much better than the originals.

Dick
 
These new files certainly get my vote - we now have the Yalu River in all it's glory (but I forgot to check if the Chosin Reservoir is there as well). These weren't covered in the earlier water files and so it's good news for the Korean War buffs.

Many thanks for these and all the new mesh files, Rhumba. It's much appreciated.

Cheers
BuV
 
Rhumba I have not install your new mesh yet but I"am sure they a improvement over the original one.

Thank you very much!:ernae:
 
The Chosin Resevoir is there, but not as detailed as you may like. That's true for most of the data... there but not fully detailed. But for a base watermask, it works OK and does help to orientate yourself in visually.

The same is true of the mesh. More detailed watermasking should not hit the framerates too hard, but adding shorelines, streams and roads will, as they all have texture references that will slow the cpu and file access.


You can use Google Earth to view scenery, and then start CFS2 with the watermasks and mesh and check areas for comparison. It's actually kind of fun to do this... to check the data.

I looked at Darwin, and the sim does look a bit waterlogged... but the Darwin area is still recognizable. In the defaults, not much is recognizable. Improving areas would probably mean using LandSat7 satellite images, and hand editing the masks.

This set is about as good as it can get with freeware sources, and an automated process ( using slartibartfast and LWMViewer, by Jim Keir... and CFS2CONV by Edgar Knobloch ).

Dick
 
Hi Rhumba,

please forgive my thickness, but I haven't understood yet whether your old world water files should be removed or not with these new watermasks in place. You have been very clear about your old flattens being obsolete since they were based upon wrong data, now I am talking about the water files. I read only Rami deactivated them in his install.

So far, I checked only Western Europe and, as I wrote before, once placed in the right order in the Scenery Lib, they work fine with all of SdC Euro sceneries in place. SdC, with his last exclude files, stated in his intructions your water files could be used with all of his shorelines work. I had both installed since and everything looked fine.

I installed your watermasks without deleting your water files and took a flight over Southern England. I did not notice any conflict or bizarre-looking coastlines and/or rivers, other than the old problems exhisting in FS9 that SdC carried over to CFS2 in his Euro rivers and roads.

If I remember correctly, your old water files were supposed to provide true water even in places where they were missing in stock CFS2, if I get rid of them will I loose those areas then?

Thank you!
KH :ernae:
 
kelticheart said:
If I remember correctly, your old water files were supposed to provide true water even in places where they were missing in stock CFS2, if I get rid of them will I loose those areas then?
Click to expand...

Hi KH.

Get rid of the old stuff. It was based on FS2002 data, and that data wasn't very good... but was the best we had at the time.

Dick
 
rhumbaflappy said:
Hi KH.

Get rid of the old stuff. It was based on FS2002 data, and that data wasn't very good... but was the best we had at the time.

Dick
Click to expand...


Roger Dick, loud and clear!

Now I know what to do, thanks a lot for your hard work and your patience.

Cheers!
KH :ernae:
 
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