(FSX) Adding items to existing airport question

D

DB93

Charter Member
Hi all,

I've got a question about adding objects to an existing FSX airport, specifically taxiways and aprons. Is it possible to create a new .bgl file that contains *just* the new objects, so that it would overlay over the existing airport, or do taxiways and aprons have to been in the same .bgl as the airport they belong to? For example, let's say I want to add an apron to an airport. Do I have to edit the existing airport to add the apron, or can I create a new .bgl that contains just the apron at the proper coordinates that will work in addition to the existing airport?

Thanks for any help on this, I'm new to airport editing and need to know if this is even possible before trying to figuring out how it would be done. :p
 
Working on that DX10 thingy, huh!

I haven't tried what I'm going to try and explain, so take it for what it's worth.

Most every "AFCAD" type file contains certain data, such as name, location, ICAO identifier, blah, blah. It also will almost always contain statements that instruct FSX to delete what has already been read and placed, the general concept being DELETE the old and ADD the new. It is these delete statements that *might* allow you to simply add an apron area or a taxiway to any airport without deleting what is already there.

You could take a test airport and try this out. If you're using a tool like ADE which allows you to save the XML code, I would find a test airport, edit the airport to add what you need to eliminate the flickering and then save/compile. With that save compile should be some XML code, where I would go in and delete all but the apron/taxiway code, while keeping the necessary header information. There will also be many DELETE statements that would be set to TRUE and I would change those to FALSE. Save the XML, compile the file, drop it into FSX and see if it works or not.

Have I left you feeling :isadizzy: ?
 
Yeah, working on that DX10 thingy. :icon_lol:

Today I tried taking a stock airport and deleting everything in it, leaving just one building with the aprons and taxiways needed for the fix underneath it. I then just tried putting the resulting .bgl in a folder that I gave a higher priority to, but when I loaded up the airport, all the paint lines for the runways and such were there, but the actual surfaces were not. I didn't even realize that ADE could export .xml files, but that sounds like it could work with the DELETE statements set to FALSE. At least, it's something for me to try. :) I'm thinking if I can just add the aprons and taxiways as their own separate .bgl file to any airport, then they should (in the theory in my head, anyway lol) be able to fix *any* airport (stock or third party) as long as the apron/taxiway .bgl has a higher priority than the third party one. Obviously, I don't know if it will or won't work until trying it, but your method of editing the .xml may be the way to get this accomplished (I know my first attempt sure wasn't it lol). I'll try it out when I get back on my main machine, and will post back my results (and possibly any additional questions) after I get a chance to try it out. Thanks for the tips, they're most appreciated. :)
 
Yup, the DELETE statements need to be changed to FALSE, as they will read TRUE. As I mentioned, the concept is that what's there gets removed and replaced, but changing the concept to leave what is there and add a small part could work??

I'm also curious, after following the thread at Avsim, if the necessary apron and probably the taxi link that are needed to fix the flicker couldn't be placed under the existing runway and still have the desired effect? Couple of reasons why I wonder about placing under the existing runway;

1.) some airports are nothing more than a runway. Introducing an apron area or taxi link away from the single runway distorts the airport layout and *could* create flattening problems.

2. Programmatically, there are already tools available that list default airport data, such as runway, aprons, etc. If all that was necessary was to add an apron under the runway (where the runway *SHOULD* have rendering priority), then the output from these existing tools could serve as the basis for programming a tool to go in and make quick and dirty changes.


One last thing to keep in mind. Any airport file that would seek to ADD, rather than replace, would have to be layered above any other type of addon that might seek to alter the airport(s) in question. Otherwise, any other airport's file that contained the DELETE statements set to TRUE would override the purpose of the DX10 fix files.
 
Hi LCSims,

Well I tried it out with mixed results. I had to remove all the excludes as well as set all the DELETE statements to false, and the underlying airport did show up, however the paint lines and a few small pieces of taxiways disappeared. It appears to me (at least my first impression) is that the areas that usually flicker and are typically 'fixed' with the addition of the taxiway links and aprons, just don't appear at all when the fix is overlaid in a higher scenery priority than the airport it's supposed to fix.

I'll keep trying a few more times, to see if I haven't missed anything, but I'm starting to think the fix only works properly if it's included in the original airport's .bgl.

Thanks for the help and the tips. If I manage to make any progress with a way to overlay the fix, I'll certainly post back here. :)

Thanks again,

-George
 
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