GSLMan issue

[Paul_Kernow]

I have just set up an install for ETO in CFS2 on Win7 machine, E:\CFS2_ETO, I can add 1 GSL, but that's it when I try and add another one it just hangs and won't complete. I tried running it with admin rights. I only have CFS2 BoB and Battle of France, in it at the moment, which appear to have a few GSL options to add.

I tested on a dummy GSL folder on win10, with just a stock cfs2.gsl file, and added 3 x different GSL's with no issue. Could that be a work around load them in windows 10 and transfer the loaded cfs2.gsl file to the GSL folder on win 7.

Can anyone suggest anything, or point me in the direction of some instructions there doesn't appear to be anything on Martin Wrights site

As an aside I tried sitting in the cockpit of the Fairy Battle in the first RAF - Battle of France mission, and noted while the mission loaded there were scenery missing notices coming up, looked like ordnance specs (cant remember specifics) , have i missed some weapon installs or could that be related to the GSL blobs not loaded correctly or at all.

Kernow

 

[kdriver]

Hi Paul,

Here's an empty cfs2.gsl file. Try adding GSL scenery to this one. The file you're using might have become corrupted. There shouldn't be any issues caused by the operating system.

Good luck!

Kevin

 

[Paul_Kernow]

Thanks Kevin

Looking at install for Battle of France, and Battle of Britain, associated scenery and objects list I have amassed the following list of GSL's, for this early war BoB/BoF Theatre:

Arnhem
Battle of Britain RAF
Battle of France
Battle of France lite
BENL
CFS2 BoB Gary Burns
CFS2 BoB Gary Burns Orig
CFS2 BoB Gary Burns Rami
DamDerwent
DamMoehne
Denmark
Dover
Germany
JHS France North
Ldm Lon 1
Ldm Lon 2
Ldm Lon 3
Oldeburg
Rami Ports Europe
UK Hawkinge
UK Waddington
V1 Noval

So do I just add the relevant GSL for the campaign I am flying, which means keeping a track of what I've added or do I need to add all the relevant scenery GSL's as well.

The no response message still comes up on GSL man, but I can now see the GSL file carries on growing - so its just a matter of time for it to finish.

The empty GSL was very useful as Battle of France GSL is 9,409 kb, is there a size limit on this for CFS2, I've added BoB RAF 204 kb and Gary Burns_Rami GSL 248 kb, the CFS2.GSL file is 9,469Kb, so I assume it doesn't double up on whatever might already be loaded.

The missing scenery is LDW trees so I am hopping there are now on the GSL - so just off to test the loaded file.

Kernow

Updated: Missing scenery seems I must of missed some objects, now sorted and running, nothing to do with GSL, but question about what to load still stands.

 

[RWILLS]

I'm not sure about size limit for GSL, (every file/folder in CFS2 seems to eventually have a limit which causes problems), but I found the the BoB GSL was enough to mess up mission builder. - It seems that if there are too many object s in the GSL file, then whenever Mission Builder saves a mission file, it re-numbers all of the assorted objects (aircraft etc) with much higher (ID) numbers than it would normally reserve for these, and the mission has to be hand edited in order to run. Mission builder itself becomes effectively useless for that install. Removing the vast GSL file by either removing some of the files of by replacing with an smaller GSL file does nothing to repair Mission Builder which seems permanently disrupted. Having experience this, I don't really bother with GSL any more and just add the objects I need for each mission. Apart from destroying Mission Builder, the rest of CFS2 seems to function OK, but you need to keep an install as backup with a small/basic GSL file, and assume that any CFS2 install with a massive GSL file is not going to have a fully functioning Mission Builder.

 

[Paul_Kernow]

I am personally not a mission building type person, quite happy to fly them, but no desire to make them.
So if I am just flying, and not mission building, does that mean I don't really need to add GSL blobs or worry about mdlname adding.

 

[kdriver]

Yes, because of this problem, I have a separate install for Mission Builder which contains only the aircraft needed for building a particular mission and the empty GSL.

My ETO install's GSL is 19MB while my PTO's one is 15MB. The file size is not a problem as long as you don't use MB.

When using GSLMan to add scenery, the order in which you add the scenery is critical when more than one GSL covers the same geographical area. The later GSL file will overwrite the earlier one. For example, if you install the latest GSL scenery for London done by Rami and me, then add the Gary Burns aerodromes, urban London GSL scenery will be wiped out around Croydon, Kenley, Hornchurch and Gravesend. When Rami and I have made new GSL scenery, we always incorporated the earlier scenery done by Gary or Achim.

 

[kdriver]

Just saw your latest post Paul. Regarding the mdlnames file, it has a size limit of about 37kb. The vast number of objects we have these days won't fit into a file that size, so it means being selective when adding entries.

I think adding as much GSL scenery as possible adds to the realism of a mission.

 

[aussie]

If there’s overlapping gobs you can export them and run gob check and that will split them as required. There is an object limit per gob. I’m at work so the exact number alludes me but from memory it’s over 6000.

Cheers
Aussie

 

[Paul_Kernow]

S!

Thank you all for the input, what's gob check and is there an app for that, I have seen refs to a GSL editor, but not seen one yet..

I don't what to appear needy...

So I'm not mission building, so I can load up the GSL file, but need to load them up in the right order, any suggestions, as to the correct order, above.

Might have to crack open a gsl file, and take a look inside, any clues as to what the file format is, it sounds a bit apple like, (not a good thing) with all the talk of blobs.

 

[aussie]

Hi Paul,

Gob check is a small utility program developed by Martin Wright. Its purpose is to be used by the original designer to check that scenery objects fall within the boundaries of a gob. Consider a gob as a grid that covers the Lat/Lon boundaries of the sim.

The GSL Editor is built into the mission builder and can be used to add GSL objects to the scenery. It has a few bugs and as a result gob check is used on the .lay files exported from the mission builder to correct any boundary deputes.

Problems can occur when using gsl files from multiple developers as they have the potential to conflict. That's why KDriver mentions the importance of installing them in the correct order.

I wouldn't recommend trying to hand edit the .gsl file as would almost certainly result in its corruption.

Cheers
Aussie

 

[kdriver]

Paul, regarding order of installation, the general rule would be chronological - the order the scenery uploads were added to the SOH CFS2 Scenery library.

For example, install all of the ETO airfield scenery by Gary Burns, Achim and Captain Kurt first, followed by Rami's cities and ports, then his BoF and BoB mission/scenery packages. You can then add my more recent contributions to northern France and Belgium, as well as European landmarks if you want them.

If you wish, I can send you Martin Wright's GSLEdit program which is not on his website. It enables you to see the contents of GOB areas contained within GSL files, as well as add or remove GOBs from GSLs.

 

[UncleTgt]

Go to: MW Graphics (mwgfx.co.uk)

In LH menu choose Developers Corner

CFS2 GSL Tools	Available	Tools, instructions and tutorials for creating Global Scenery Layer (GSL) Scenery for Combat Flight Simulator 2. This type of scenery is the same as the method used for the default airbases and provides buildings and objects that are crashable and destroyable in all flight modes. Intended for people already experienced in "normal" scenery design for CFS2.

EMAIL[FONT=&quot]Please include the word Developer in the subject line[/FONT]
to avoid it getting missed or removed by the spam filter!

gsledit & gobcheck are designed for scenery designers, not really casual users. For most people GSLman should be more than adequate.

Just remember GSLman is making additions to the cfs2.gsl file. Just remember these are old programmes, they take time to process.

Create a backup before making additions to the gsl. Add items in small chunks, & fire up the sim just to check all is well. Rinse & repeat until you've added all the gsl needed.

I think most of the issues are with the limitations of Mission & Layout files. Aussie is correct, each gob can contain many thousands of objects, but I've found your PC hardware can influence things quite a bit. I find a practical limit for me is around 1800-1900 objects.

Kevin is correct, gsl can greatly increase the immersion factor. Its a way of putting "passive" mission eye candy objects (trees, buildings) into the sim without running into issues with having too many objects in your mission files.

What the gsl layer does:

Each time you move from one gob (ground object area) to another, the sim will load the gsl for the cell you're entering. In object heavy zones, you'll notice this as a (slight) pause whilst these object positions are loaded into the sim.

Now remember just how old the cfs2.exe is - so it's not a surprise that editing the gsl itself can take a while, which is what GSLman does.​

 

[Paul_Kernow]

Paul, regarding order of installation, the general rule would be chronological - the order the scenery uploads were added to the SOH CFS2 Scenery library.

For example, install all of the ETO airfield scenery by Gary Burns, Achim and Captain Kurt first, followed by Rami's cities and ports, then his BoF and BoB mission/scenery packages. You can then add my more recent contributions to northern France and Belgium, as well as European landmarks if you want them.
.

Thanks again.

Okay I'll try and work with that, and have look back of the scenery I've downloaded and figure out the order in the soh scenery library. Only slight difficulty with that is I usually downloaded from the links provided in read me instructions, which only gives the download urn and not the zip file of folder name. But should be able to get an idea of a running order for the GDLs.

Don't think my coding skills would be up for manual editing from what has been said.

Kernow