Some downloadable sceneries for XTR are pretty bad.

[HankF]

I have downloaded 4 or 5 XTR sceneries from: http://www.rc-sim.de/dl_engine_eng/index.php?subcat=1
An example was "Dormagen".

You can fly right at the trees and never get to them and the visual horizon doesn't match the geometric horizion so you can land above the runway when far enough out.

Obviously, no collision objects have been specified so there are no limits imposed on flying. A look at the S2_1a.BMP file shows it to be blank (black). I presume this is where the collision objects are supposed to be.

The effect is really bad on the indoor scenery - the gymnasium is apparently infinite in size.

Is there a modeler for creating scenery and collision geometry for XTR?

Hank

[BurkhardE]

You're completely right (as ever, imo). The RSK scenery modeler program is (more or less by rumor) announced for (this year's) summer. But look out for new models at the Reflex website this week (another rumor at rc-sim.de).
Burkhard

[HankF]

Hi Burkard, nice to hear from you again.

Can you describe the basic construction of the scenes? Is there some sort of default world geometry on to which the S2.bmp image is mapped? What does the xx.wlp file contain? It looks like it might be geometry.

Obviously some folks are constructing scenery even though it may be deficient in some respects. It will be nice to be able to do that.

I have several scenerys which I "simulated" in Realflight but they weren't very faithful to the originals. They never did provide a capability to edit their "Photodome" model, just their 3D scenery. The individual shrubbery objects were made up of "billboards" which always were normal to the camera direction. They did have a limited assortment of real 3D objects. I understand that they no longer support the Photodome concept in version G3.

I will look forward to the scenery editor.

Hank

[BurkhardE]

Hi Hank,

unfortunately I don't know anything about Reflex scenery construction. Several people just started to create their own panoramic pictures. It seems to be a nontrivial task of it's own, but if you master it the scenery will still have many deficiencies. The S1_1a.bmp obviously renders the shape of collision objects, the S1.wlp file seems to contain all parameters including the properties of collision objects. But who knows why in some cases the files are called S1 and S2 in others.

People put up with wrong sunlight direction and collision objects or completely deleted them by wiping the S1_1a.bmp, or they at least tried to approximate a correct scenery by choosing a similar camera position/direction as in an original scenery. That all seems futile to me, so I didn't deal with sceneries at all.

Maybe I should have a look at G2/G3 again?

Burkhard

[steelgtr]

Burkhard,

Do you have any plans for a 3D (foamie) model? Your Slow Stick was so accurate that I learned to fly on it and the real deal was a piece of cake! Now I'm moving on to 3d Foam and don't trust any of the models :)

thx

bob

[BurkhardE]

Bob,

nice to hear that, but unfortunately I can't help with neither foamies nor 3D at all. I'll stick to wooden models and classical flying style since I feel I will no more learn 3D flying. I think the models coming with Reflex (indoor update) should be quite realistic, maybe more than 95%. That should be no problem, but different setups/trims would make really big differences in flight behaviour. So I would trust the Reflex models as far as they are suited to learn 3D flying to a 95% level (using different models, each harder to fly) so that a real 3D foamie would be a piece of cake like the Slow Stick.

Burkhard

[Wright Flyer]

Can you describe the basic construction of the scenes? Is there some sort of default world geometry on to which the S2.bmp image is mapped? What does the xx.wlp file contain? It looks like it might be geometry.

I will look forward to the scenery editor.


Hank,

Format of the WLP is the million dollar question for everyone who's stitched together a bunch of panaromic photos and tried to make an XTR scenery out of it. The one thing we can't generate is the WLP and it IS (amongst other things) the landscape geometry definition. So all that anyone making scenery so far can so is to put their .BMP on top of one of the 6 existing .WLPs and try and find the one that is as close in perspective and lumps&bumps to the pictures they've just taken. This seldom works well!

The great hope is that the RSK is going to be a WLP editor/generator but I have a feeling that the WLP's for the 6 existing scenes (and the more recent indoor ones) were probably painstakingly generated manually and the thing that's been missing is an auto-WLP generator (aka RSK)

Cliff

[Brian Koester]

Can someone give me a step by step instructions on how to download and install XTR scenes and planes? I know a Mac inside and out but know very little about Windows XP. I built this computer just to run cool simulators like this. I tried saving a scene to disk but it contained no installer that I could see. Appears you have to do it manually?

[AndyOne]

Brian,

Once you have mastered the secrets of downloading the models in the first place...
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=328023

You then have to get them into correct folder.

1. Open a window from desktop ...REFLEX\Flugzeug (fixed wing), Heli for Helis, Umwelt\Wlp for scenery.

2. Open the ZIP file that the models come in.

3. In the Flugzeug folder make a folder of the same name as the .mod file inside the ZIP file but leave off the ".mod" bit. I have found that if you don't keep the same name, it often doesn't work.

4. Copy all the files into the new folder.

5. Repeat steps 1 to 4 for each model.

After all that be prepared for them not to work as there are bugs in some of the 3rd party models.

To install the update...

1. Open ...REFLEX\Indoor

2. Double click on...

Reflex_Update_5010us.exe.

3. Follow the prompts, this will install the update.

I hope this helps,

Andy.

[Roger Lombard]

.............After all that be prepared for them not to work as there are bugs in some of the 3rd party models................


Andy.

More often than not you can sort a plane that either won't fly or is (more likely) silent by clicking on "model" then "modify model parameters". Make sure the plane you are flying appears in "model appearance" and that the .wav (sound) file that came with the downloaded files appears in "model sound". That should solve your problem but remember that when you next select a different model it will ask you if you want to save the modified model and of course you need to do that. Btw you can have a lot of fun "pasting" one plane's appearance onto anothers flight characteristics and similarly with the sound. Hope this helps as well.

[arcavasion]

I was also looking forward to using the slope scenery I downloaded for XTR, and what a surprise when I got when I dove below the ridge and hit a solid sheet of Plexiglas at ridge level. The shadows on the Plexiglas should have been a dead giveaway.

Really this is a limitation that needs to be figured out, because no one can complete a scenery. It really detracts from an otherwise excellent sim.

[AndyOne]

Make sure the plane you are flying appears in "model appearance" and that the .wav (sound) file that came with the downloaded files appears in "model sound".

Roger,

Where do I find these menus?

Thanks,

Andy.

[Roger Lombard]

Hi Andy

I'm starting out assuming you're in XTR and you've got a scene up with a plane in it. With the transmitter off you should have a menu bar across the top of the screen window. Top left is "file", next is "model" - that's the one you want. Click on "model" and now either click on the third choice down "modify model parameters" OR hit your F5 key which will shortcut you to the same place. That's where you want to be - scroll model appearance for the one you want and scroll model sound for the sound you want. If you're still stuck PM me with your telephone number and I'll talk it through with you.

[AndyOne]

Roger,

I've got it now, thanks, I can take it from here.

Cheers,

Andy

[Roger Lombard]

Well, for all the concerns and faults of some of the downloadable scenery I still have to give the latest one - MFG Falknis - a top score for just a fantastic scene - they can't come much more impressive than this and the systems with synthezised scenes can't get close. And if anyone can get an Airbus 380 into that little ice field they're a better man than me (no surprises there though). Watch out for the snowdrift! All we need now is something on skis or floats.....

[HankF]

I've been playing around with some synthetic scenery using an image editor, making my own .bmp files but I have to use an existing .wlp file from one of the scenerys the came with XTR. It is strange to be taxiing along only to run into an invisible obstruction. It would have been nice if Reflex had provided at least one scenery where there were no ground obstructions - perfectly flat terrain.

Hank