Edit Photo Field for Real Flight G3.5

This page shows how to edit a photo field. Click [Simulation]-[Edit(Airfield name)] in the menu upside RealFlight to go into edit mode.

1. Setup of the sun position

Move the position of the sun of a simulator to the position of the sun of a photograph.

• Disply the white point (the sun position of simulater) and the sun of photograph in "Pilot Spawn" right under of editor screen by dragging mouse and rotating mouse wheel on Pilot Spawn.

• Adjust the angle of "Sun Inclination" in Properties left under to move white point for same distance as between initial white point and the sun of photograph. (This operation means to adjust the latitide of the sun of a simulator as photograph's one.)

• Adjust the angle of "Sun Azimuth" in Properties to fit the white point to the sun of a potograph. (It means to adjust the longitude of the sun of a simulator as a photograph's one.)
• Fly aircraft to the sun direction, check the sun halo position. If the sun halo position is different from the sun of photograph, adjust again each angles. If a sun halo isn't necessary, set "Sun Halo" in properties to "No".

2. Setup of Position of Helicopter

Set a helicopter starting position.

• Click Objects of upper left Folder Listing.
• Click [RealFlight G3.5]-[Conrol Objects]-[Heli Spawn] of upper right "Object Palette", click the Add button.
• Right-click a central airfield editing window, click [Pivot Camera] to change view point. Display a place which will be helicopter position by dragging mouse and rotating mouse wheel.
• Right-click a central airfield editing window, click [Normal Camera] to move object,
• Right-click Heli Spawn in a Folder Listing, click [Center View on Object] to move view point as center of view is the object.
• Right-click Heli Spawn in a Folder Listing, click [Fit Object in View] to set appropriate magnification.

• Pushing Shift, drag the red portion of an edit display to set helicopter direction by left-clicking.

• Drag the red portion of an edit display by left-click to the initial position of a helicopter.
• The position of an airplane is set up similarly.

3. Setup of Obstacle

This section set a grassy place to front. Place [Object Palette]-[RealFlight G3.5]-[Depth BUffers]-[Bump] as same way of above-mentioned helicopter.

• Set height of lower left Properties to the height of a grassy place.
• If necessary, please return to a simulator, carry out taxiing of the airplane, throw a grassy place, and check that a position is right.
• Direction of Object is changeable if Orientation of Properties is changed. For example, a wall will become level if X of RealFlight G3.5-Depth Buffers-Wall Primitive of ObjectPalette and Y are made into 90 degrees.

• Set Render To Depth Buffer Only of lower left Properties to Yes, not to display a red obstacle. (An obstacle disappears from lower right Pilot Spawn.)
• Set Cast Shadow of lower left Properties to No, then the shadow of an obstacle is made undisplayed.
• When you copy Object, please left-click Object of a copied material in an edit display, right-click at a place to copy, and left-click Copy Here.

4. How to create Distribution File

Click [Simulation]-[Export-Airpor (include Panoramic Image)] from the menu of the upper part of a simulator to make the distribution file of the photograph field open now. A file name is airfield name_PI.G3X. (G3X file is just compressed by ZIP.)

5. Tips: How to erase the tripod of file composition and a step

• C:\Program Files\RealFlightG3\Airports\
  • [Airfield name].airportG3
  • [Airfield name].objectsG3
• C:\Program Files\RealFlightG3\Airports\PhotoFields\
  • [Airfield name].photofield
• C:\Program Files\RealFlightG3\Airports\PhotoFields\[airfield name]\
  • [Airfield name]_1.dds
  • [Airfield name]_2.dds
  • [Airfield name]_3.dds
  • [Airfield name]_4.dds
  • [Airfield name]_5.dds
  • [Airfield name]_6.dds

  Their are DirectDraw Surface (DDS) format. Since airfield name_6.dds is a file of under image, erase the tripod from it by paint software. Since airfield name_5.dds is above image, if a conical pattern is on the top, erace it from this file by paint software. There is Paint.NET as paint software which can read and write the DDS file of RealFlight G3.5.

  
  

  1) Download and use Paint.NET (external link)
  - Source : http://www.getpaint.net/
  - Usage : http://paintnet.web.fc2.com/

  2) Edit example (GIMP)
  Open a DDS file by Paint.NET, save it as BMP format. Read BMP by GIMP. Chose a layer which has a tripod, click [Layer]-[Transparence]-[Add alpha channel]. Erace a toripod by black eracer to transparentize a tripod. Read a photograph which hasn't a tripod itto new layer, resize, rotate and move it to fit it to a photograph which was erased a tripod. When a photograph without a tripod is larger than layer size, read it into new layer after scaling down it. Erase a boundary and the remaind part of tripod by a stamp tool or a correction brush tool after compounding layers. Save it by GIMP, read it by Paint.NET, save it in DDS file format by Paint.NET.
  

  3) Edit example (Paint.NET)
  Read "airfield name_6.dds". Erase a tripod by an eraser. Click [Layer]-[Import from file], read a photograph without tripod. Click [Layer]-[Rotate/Zoom], rotate, resize and move it to fit it to a photograph which was erased a tripod roughly. Move a layer with a tripod to top, rotate, resize and move it to fit it to a photograph which was erased a tripod aprecisely. Erase a boundary and the remaind part of tripod by a stamp tool after compounding layers.

  4) Setting of Paint.NET when saving (*: indispensable)

  (1) Setup : DXT3 (explicit alpha) *

  (2) Compression : Cluster Fit (a low speed/high definition)

  (3) Error Metric : perceptual

  (4) An additional option
  - Weight of the color by alpha : No check
  - Generation of a mip map: Check *

  
  

  - The DDS file of RealFlight G3.5 cannot be read in GIMP+DDS plug-in. Read the DDS IrfanView + Formats plugin, save as BMP. Read BMP by GIMP, edit BMP by GIMP, save DDS by GIMP + DDS plugin with checking compression DC3/DXT5(or DC3/DXT3) and Generate mipmaps. It is possible to read by RealFlight. However, since tone changes a little, this method cannot be used.

  
  
• C:\Program Files\RealFlightG3\Previews\
  • [Airfield name].preview
  • [Airfield name]_1.jpg
  • [Airfield name]_2.jpg
  • [Airfield name]_3.jpg
  • [Airfield name]_4.jpg
  • [Airfield name]_5.jpg
  • [Airfield name]_6.jpg

2011/08/05 - 2009/04/30