BGL SDK Released

[Felix/FFDS]

If anyone's interested...

http://www.microsoft.com/games/flightsi ... dk.asp#bgl

[RollerBall]

Interested !!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOWWWWWW

This is fantastic. People have been trying to decode the object library for some time. Now ALL is revealed. Do you know what this means folks?

EVERY LIBRARY OBJECT IN FS9 CAN NOW BE USED BY SCENERY DESIGNERS!!!

That includes buildings, bridges, vehicles, a/c carriers - you name it. Look at this



I quickly dropped a cruise liner and the little 57 ft powerboat you can see in the middle into my fs9 Kai Tak scenery. Look how much better they are than the 'old' objects I used originally!

BUT this also means that pretty soon the design progs like FSSC and Airport will be updated to use the new XML standard - and it's my guess the next thing will be that some very clever guy out there will work out how to make the objects dynamic - shouldn't be too hard

That means things like MOVING LANDABLE CARRIERS

This is a BIG, IMPORTANT development I think

Thanks for the news Felix

Roger

PS

Anyone who wants to experiment like I did MUST download and install XML4 from the M$ website in order to create the bgl files

[bm]

Thats great news,

Do you know what this means folks?

Youre right I didn't have a clue what it did! Ill have to have a go when my Computers fixed or when my new one arrives.

Does anyone know if FSSC is being updated to be fully compatible with FS9? or Is it possible Roller to load these objects ito FSSC as they are now?

BUT this also means that pretty soon the design progs like FSSC and Airport will be updated to use the new XML standard

I imagine thats whats going to be next for AFCAD too. The ability to place objects would be a huge step forward for AFCAD'ers....

PS. FSSC V1.5.11 has been released but not a huge update from V1.5.10

[RollerBall]

Hi Bird

This is how AFCAD is gonna become a full design prog. Now all of the objects have been catalogued it won't be difficult to start manipulating them within a prog like AFCAD2.

Airport and FSSC will need big revamps I think as they use the old bgl opcodes so I can't see them being able to interface with library objects directly for a while yet. I think AFCAD2 will get there first (any bets? )

But FSSC and Airport both handle 'autogen' OK for now and we are mainly talking about 'feature' objects here ie a bridge, an aircraft carrier, a supertanker, a sailboat, a powerboat, the Tower of Pisa, the London Eye, the Eiffel Tower, a terminal building etc. That being so, it's easy for now to do what I did ie drop single items into a scenery by hand.

My next experiment will be to combine several objects in a single XML file ie a single bgl which will make things a lot more convenient.

Remember - it's still early days!

Roger

[RollerBall]

Yeeee  HAAAAAhhhha! Look at this



2 objects placed using 1 XML file. So you can probably include as many as you like in a single bgl.

BUT - THIS IS THE GREAT THING

The library objects include EVERYTHING including all of the CFS stuff as well - vehicles, shell holes you name it!

This is gonna have a BIG impact on future fs sceneries I think

[bm]

Anyone who wants to experiment like I did MUST download and install XML4 from the M$ website in order to create the bgl files

Do you have a link Roller? I searched on the main microsoft website for it but nothing came up - where do I go?

I think my old computer will finished being mended by today so Ill be back in the sky and able to experiment. I might need some help though figuring out what to do  ;) But perhaps the SDK will tell me.

Those ships look great - I can see everyone will be busy placing these things everywhere!

[RollerBall]

Do you have a link Roller?

Try here Bird

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... laylang=en

You want to get hold of the XML msi installer (you'll know what I mean when you see the options on the page)

It's 5.04 MB and called ..... wait for it ..... msxml.msi

[rhumbaflappy]

Hi Rollerball.

"The library objects include EVERYTHING including all of the CFS stuff as well - vehicles, shell holes you name it!"

[RollerBall]

Hi Dick, nice to see you over here.

I've been following the posts over at Avsim and after my initial euphoria I found out for myself what you are saying about the objects in the list. After knocking out all the ones that don't apply or aren't re-usable outside their specific area I've reduced my spreadsheet matrix to 216 objects and as I've not tested every one, there may still be one or two in there that can't be used.

Interesting about your suspicions that the design team didn't use XML themselves and that there might be another as yet undisclosed tool in the background!

Yep, I've already used CoastLineMaker and Ken's LMdraw in a 2004 scenery so thankfully there are no problems there.

As you say, reasons to be a bit cynical but the problems you describe seem to have a habit of eventually being solved by you and the other design gurus!

For people at my level we at least get a few more decent objects that we can incorporate in our sceneries so I suppose we have to be thankful for that. And if as we both seem to have summised, Lee Swordy can incorporate this stuff into AFCAD2 (although might the bounds limits present a bit of a problem there for 'specific' objects?) then there may yet me a cause for celebration.

Roger

[rhumbaflappy]

Hi Roger.

Right now, there is little reason for scenery designers to use the new bglcomp.

The default objects ( including the "ag_ " autogen can still be placed by SCASM or BGLC code.  This also allows us to use our own object libraries. Dynamic scenery remains the same as before.

Airports are another matter, and Lee Swordy has already mastered most of the code, so we still don't need bglcomp.

Something we do need is a MakeMDL SDK with the proper files included to help get more people designing scenery objects with GMax, and we can also get ready for FS10, which may not support the old BGLC commands.

Arno Gerretsen has been fooling around with an object placer program:

http://www.scenerydesign.org/modules.ph ... e&artid=28

and that may be better to use than bglcomp.

Dick

[SaVas]

If this means I can put ships and such out in the middle of the big empty oceans, and a few other boats on rivers and such, vehicles on streets, Im ALL about learning this.

Printing it off now

Going to read up on it