stock bgls from scenedb\world\scenery\

[shphawk]

After upgrading to Rhumbaflappy's mesh, I'm interested in trying to recreate the beaches, but I have no idea where to begin. I was hoping to mod the original versus making my own from scratch. To the point, I'm wondering if anyone knows what each of the stock bgls actually do. It would be beyond tedious to remove one at a time and search for missing scenery. Thanks in advance.

ShpHawK

[Rami]

Shiphawk,

I hope it isn't too late to tell you this, but for the Pacific, it is actually recommended that you do not remove the stock coastlines, because not only do you lose the beaches, it also causes a lot of problems for airfields built on the stock coastlines.

You can do the LOD 5, 7, and 8 mesh levels, but in most cases, it's best to leave the stock coastlines for the Pacific in.

[shphawk]

Thanks for getting back to me Mr. Rami. I'm actually thinking about fixing the stock airbases, or some of them anyway. First I want to make some beaches. I was thinking about plugging the stock bgls back in in groups hopefully to get an idea what they each do. Hard headed, I know. Thanks again for the help.

[Rami]

Shiphawk,

When you also begin to install some of UncleTgt's new scenery packages, (Marianas, Truk, Carolines, etc.) those also have coastlines and enhanced scenery. I also helped to coordinate Rabaul to an extent and some of the other area GSL work in 2015 on behalf of Talon to match the newest scenery sets.

[UncleTgt]

ShpHawk,

If you want to do any modding of the stock bases, I recommend you install Gavin Cole's mod first. It separates each MS stock base out into it's own entries, so you don't have trouble recompiling the combined bgls (eg allrunways.bgl, cfs2AFD.bgl).

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=45&id=5572

As regards coastlines for the PTO, I don't want to discourage you but it takes a long time to redraw stuff to match Rhumbas new world mesh. For the most part it involves using lots of different tools & software packages, & not all of these are guaranteed to work on operating systems later than XP.

My Carolines, New Britain & New Ireland packages took approx. 6 months each to compile, putting in 2-3 hours each night:p87:. IMHO, that investment in time & effort is the real reason why the rest of the PTO hasn't been done. And that's before you start looking at shorelines elsewhere, like the CBI etc.:dizzy:.

[kdriver]

Speak of the devil ShpHawk,

I've just been testing Maskrider's latest masterpiece - an update of the Dutch East Indies. MR bases his scenery on Rhumba's 2009 water masking, which requires the stock coastlines to be deleted in order to prevent double coastlines. These are the pac****p.bgl files in the SCENEDB/World/scenery folder. Not only do these files contain the beaches, but also the rivers and roads.

MR and I are presently looking at extracting the pac****p.bgl files and placing them in a separate scenery folder which can be deactivated when Rhumba's water masks are activated to view MR's scenery correctly. When the water masks are deactivated, the stock coastlines can be reactivated, along with Rhumba's 2002 coastal flattens and water files if installed.

This is not an ideal solution but probably the closest we can get at this stage to having our cake and eating it too.

Kevin

[skylane]

Ok, since we have this thread now I might as well ask:

Some time ago I made a new install for the PTO with Rumba´s mesh and coastlines, according to Rami´s guide.
Now, what exactly do I have to do to get the stock coastlines again?

I believe this is about the part in the Guide where it says to remove all the files in the scenedb-world-scenery Folder, and then putting the LOD5 mesh and the new watermasking into this folder?
If I remove everything from this folder, but do not install any watermasking files, I will end up with no coastlines at all, right?
So should remove the files starting with "cst.." (the new watermasks) and get the cst-bgls back from a stock install?


Uncle Tgt, another question for you:
If I change my install like this, with the stock coastlines and Rumba´s mesh, will your New Britain and New Ireland airfield work?
I´m looking for a way to use your airfields and the ones Maskrider and Pen32win made for New Guinea in the same install...

[UncleTgt]

Hi Wolfgang,

My scenery projects were originally designed for an install with Rhumbas new world mesh. However very early on in the process Jean Bomber advised that I should also include excludes so they can be used in a stock install, to which Rhumbas mesh has been added, just as you describe.:triumphant: Just don't use Rhumbas new mesh watermasks, they are way too aggressive for my liking & can cause issues (& not only with my scenery areas).

[shphawk]

Shiphawk,

When you also begin to install some of UncleTgt's new scenery packages, (Marianas, Truk, Carolines, etc.) those also have coastlines and enhanced scenery. I also helped to coordinate Rabaul to an extent and some of the other area GSL work in 2015 on behalf of Talon to match the newest scenery sets.

Thanks for that. I'm getting nearer to installing custom scenery. I've been reinstalling and tweaking for over a month. Lol.

[shphawk]

ShpHawk,

If you want to do any modding of the stock bases, I recommend you install Gavin Cole's mod first. It separates each MS stock base out into it's own entries, so you don't have trouble recompiling the combined bgls (eg allrunways.bgl, cfs2AFD.bgl).

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=45&id=5572

As regards coastlines for the PTO, I don't want to discourage you but it takes a long time to redraw stuff to match Rhumbas new world mesh. For the most part it involves using lots of different tools & software packages, & not all of these are guaranteed to work on operating systems later than XP.

My Carolines, New Britain & New Ireland packages took approx. 6 months each to compile, putting in 2-3 hours each night:p87:. IMHO, that investment in time & effort is the real reason why the rest of the PTO hasn't been done. And that's before you start looking at shorelines elsewhere, like the CBI etc.:dizzy:.

Thanks UncleTgt for the info and the link. I don't really know where I'm going to start yet, nor do I have that much time to dedicate, but I think if I take it one step at a time and don't get carried away by trying to do the entire PTO all at once, I should be able to contribute something to improve our over all experience. Even if I only manage to fix a base or two.

ShpHawK
Chuck

[shphawk]

Speak of the devil ShpHawk,

I've just been testing Maskrider's latest masterpiece - an update of the Dutch East Indies. MR bases his scenery on Rhumba's 2009 water masking, which requires the stock coastlines to be deleted in order to prevent double coastlines. These are the pac****p.bgl files in the SCENEDB/World/scenery folder. Not only do these files contain the beaches, but also the rivers and roads.

MR and I are presently looking at extracting the pac****p.bgl files and placing them in a separate scenery folder which can be deactivated when Rhumba's water masks are activated to view MR's scenery correctly. When the water masks are deactivated, the stock coastlines can be reactivated, along with Rhumba's 2002 coastal flattens and water files if installed.

This is not an ideal solution but probably the closest we can get at this stage to having our cake and eating it too.

Kevin

Thanks for letting me know about that and the bgl's. I can't wait to hear about what you guys come up with. I really want to get a peek at the contents of those bgl's and see what kind of trouble I'd be getting myself into. I want my cake and eat it too!

ShpHawK
Chuck

[shphawk]

"These are the pac****p.bgl files in the SCENEDB/World/scenery folder. Not only do these files contain the beaches, but also the rivers and roads." -Kdriver

If you put these bgl's back, you will have coastlines everywhere but on the coasts, your roads and rivers will extend into the ocean, and it just looks weird. Seems like we all want the same thing. Rhumba's mesh and coastlines, rivers, and roads. Hopefully, we all work together and come up with a solution.

ShpHawk
Chuck

[kdriver]

Hi Skylane,

I would restore your SCENEDB/World/scenery folder to its original condition, then do the following. If you have Maskrider's and UncleTgt's scenery installed, you can get rid of these files from this folder:

Guam9.bgl
Iwajima9.bgl
Okinawa9.bgl
Palau9.bgl
Pnga19.bgl
Pnga29.bgl
Pnga39.bgl
Pnga49.bgl
Pnga59.bgl
Pngb9.bgl
Pohnpei9.bgl
Rota9.bgl
Saipan_tinian9.bgl
Solomon9.bgl
South.bgl
Truk9.bgl
Vanuata9.bgl
Truk_Islnds_SRTM_3ARCSEC.bgl (Jean Bombers Truk)

You can keep Rhumba's water masks in a separate scenery layer folder which can be activated when using Maskrider's latest scenery. Otherwise, as UncleTgt says, turn it off. Rhumba's cst****_m.bgl mask files will override the stock cst****m.bgl and pac****m.bgl mask files in the SCENEDB/World/scenery folder - no need to delete them. The presence of the pac****p.bgl files in that folder will, however, cause double coastlines around some of Maskrider's newer scenery.

If you install Rhumba's LOD 5, 7 and 8 mesh, then the stock LOD 5 mesh files - de******.bgl and dw******.bgl in the SCENEDB/World/scenery folder will be overwritten.

Kevin

[skylane]

Hello Kevin and Uncle Tgt!
Thank you for explaining! I think I understand now!
I now have a very busy week at work, but I hope I can try it next weekend!

Cheers,
Wolfgang