VMap0

[Polak]

So in the spirit of somehow reinvigorated interest in terrain making for F4 how about contributing some "dear to heart" and "usually close to the chest" secrets?

Perhaps I go first with this IMO pretty nifty resource.

It is called VMap (vector map). There are 2 flavours of it VMap0 and 1 , the latter much more detailed (but not free or easy available). This data is best viewed with NIMA's currently hashed out little utility called VPFView , which I happen to downloaded once upon the time and still have on my HD. Here on this attached below photo explaining how all this works.

I just have asked the program to show me all Lighthouses in the area of the PMC ODS theater. It supposedly shows me all, however from comparison with other data I know that this is not the case. It shows MOST of them (because its free). What is cute though, that with few presses of the menu buttons one may obtain hard copy of the report with all locations (lat, lon). No that perhaps is something for the populating F4 terrains.

But who cares about Lighthouses? how about 100 other things that gizmo can get you on the snap ?

AA010 Mine/Quarry ind\ extractp.pft
extracta.aft
AA050 Well ind\ extractp.pft
AA052 Oil/Gas Field ind\ extractp.pft
extracta.aft
AC000 Processing Plant/Treatment Plant ind\ misindp.pft
AC040 Oil/Gas Facilities ind\ misindp.pft
AD010 Power Plant util\ utilp.pft
AD030 Substation/Transformer Yard util\ utilp.pft
AI030 Camp pop\ mispopp.pft
AK040 Athletic Field pop\ mispopa.aft
AK130 Race Track pop\ mispopa.aft
AK160 Stadium/Amphitheatre pop\ mispopp.pft
AL015 Building pop\ mispopp.pft
AL020 Built-Up Area pop\ builtupp.pft
builtupa.aft
AL025 Cairn pop\ mispopp.pft
AL105 Settlement pop\ mispopp.pft
AL130 Monument pop\ mispopp.pft
AL135 Native Settlement pop\ mispopp.pft
mispopa.aft
AL200 Ruins pop\ mispopp.pft
AL210 Snow Shed/Rock Shed trans\ transtrc.pft
transtrl.lft
AL240 Tower (Non-communication) ind\ misindp.pft
AL260 Wall bnd\ barrierl.lft
mispopp.pft
AM010 Depot (Storage) ind\ storagep.pft
AM070 Tank ind\ storagep.pft
AM080 Water Tower ind\ storagep.pft
AN010 Railroad trans\ railrdl.lft
AN060 Railroad Yard/Marshalling Yard trans\ rryardp.pft
AP030 Road trans\ roadl.lft
AP050 Trail trans\ traill.lft
AQ010 Aerial Cableway Lines/Ski Lift Lines trans\ mistranl.lft
AQ040 Bridge/Overpass/Viaduct trans\ transtrc.pft
transtrl.lft
AQ064 Causeway trans\ transtrc.pft
transtrl.lft
AQ070 Ferry Crossing trans\ transtrc.pft
transtrl.lft
AQ113 Pipeline/Pipe util\ pipel.lft
AQ116 Pumping Station util\ utilp.pft
AQ130 Tunnel trans\ transtrc.pft
transtrl.lft
AT030 Power Transmission Line util\ utill.lft
AT050 Communication Building util\ utilp.pft
AT060 Telephone Line/Telegraph Line util\ utill.lft
AT080 Communication Tower util\ utilp.pft
BA010 Coastline/Shoreline bnd\ coastl.lft
BA030 Island hydro\ miscp.pft
BA040 Water (except Inland) bnd\ oceansea.aft
BB040 Breakwater/Groyne hydro\ miscl.lft
BB190 Pier/Wharf/Quay trans\ mistranl.lft
BB230 Seawall hydro\ miscl.lft
BC050 Lighthouse pop\ mispopp.pft
BD000 Underwater-Danger/Hazard hydro\ dangerl.lft
BD120 Reef hydro\ dangerl.lft
BD130 Rock hydro\ dangerp.pft
BD180 Wreck hydro\ dangerp.pft
BE015 Depth Contour bnd\ depthl.lft
BH000 Inland Water hydro\ aquecanl.lft
inwatera.aft
BH015 Bog veg\ swampa.aft
BH050 Fish Hatchery/Fish Farm/Marine Farm ind\ fishinda.aft
BH070 Ford trans\ transtrc.pft
transtrl.lft
BH077 Hummock veg\ grassa.aft
BH090 Land Subject to Inundation hydro\ inwatera.aft
BH095 Marsh/Swamp veg\ swampa.aft
BH120 Rapids hydro\ miscp.pft
BH135 Rice Field veg\ cropa.aft
BH140 River/Stream hydro\ watrcrsl.lft
BH155 Salt Evaporator ind\ extractp.pft
extracta.aft
BH170 Spring/Water-Hole hydro\ miscp.pft
BH180 Waterfall hydro\ miscp.pft
BI020 Dam/Weir hydro\ miscp.pft
miscl.lft
BI030 Lock hydro\ miscp.pft
BI040 Sluice Gate hydro\ miscp.pft
BJ040 Ice Cliff phys\ lndfrml.lft
BJ065 Ice Shelf phys\ seaicea.aft
BJ070 Pack Ice phys\ seaicea.aft
BJ080 Polar Ice phys\ seaicea.aft
BJ100 Snow Field/Ice Field phys\ landicea.aft
BJ110 Tundra veg\ tundraa.aft
CA010 Contour Line (Land) elev\ contourl.lft
CA030 Spot Elevation elev\ elevp.pft
CA035 Inland Water Elevation elev\ elevp.pft
DA010 Ground Surface Element phys\ grounda.aft
DB010 Bluff/Cliff/Escarpment phys\ lndfrml.lft
DB080 Depression phys\ lndfrml.lft
DB090 Embankment/Fill phys\ cutfill.lft
lndfrml.lft
DB110 Fault phys\ lndfrml.lft
DB160 Rock Strata/Rock Formation phys\ lndfrml.lft
EA010 Cropland veg\ cropa.aft
EA020 Hedgerow veg\ hedgel.lft
EA030 Nursery veg\ orcharda.aft
EA040 Orchard/Plantation veg\ orcharda.aft
EA050 Vineyards veg\ orcharda.aft
EB010 Grassland veg\ grassa.aft
EB020 Scrub/Brush veg\ grassa.aft
EC010 Bamboo/Cane veg\ grassa.aft
EC020 Oasis veg\ oasisa.aft
EC030 Trees veg\ treesa.aft
EC040 Cleared Way/Cut Line/Firebreak veg\ firebrkl.lft
FA000 Administrative Boundary bnd\ polbndl.lft
FA001 Administrative Area bnd\ polbndp.pft
polbnda.aft
FA020 Armistice Line bnd\ polbndl.lft
FA030 Cease-Fire Line bnd\ polbndl.lft
FA040 Claim Line bnd\ polbndl.lft
FA050 Mandate Line/Convention Line bnd\ polbndl.lft
FA060 Defacto Boundary bnd\ polbndl.lft
FA070 Demilitarized Zone bnd\ polbnda.aft
FA110 International Date Line bnd\ polbndl.lft
FA170 Zone of Occupation bnd\ polbnda.aft
GB005 Airport/Airfield trans\ aerofacp.pft
SU001 Military Base pop\ mispopp.pft
mispopa.aft

Care to share something you know?

[Polak]

This does not seem to catch too much of the interest.

But, let me add that according to VMap0 all content of ONC charts is made up.
http://www.maptown.com/worldaviation/af-1.html

I have H6 and H7 scanned and on the computer HD. Our ODS theather has even more of them: G4, G5 ,H5, J5, J6, J7.
It is a way too much for a kneemap, but my dream is to have them in flight and below terrain made in accordance.

Where in F4 informations to 3D object location is stored and according to what database this is made for the new terrain?

[ccc]

hmm... i still don't understand this Vmap thing

is it a collection of 3d models? or just objective list/coordinate data?

[Polak]

ccc
the latter, just objective list/coordinate data. Where is the data in F4 telling the program where to place the 3D objects. Is there any form of library of objects?

[ccc]

the latter, just objective list/coordinate data. Where is the data in F4 telling the program where to place the 3D objects. Is there any form of library of objects?

i see.. now it's clear. i can't rememer which file store the obj data in falcon4..

TacEdit is the tool of choice to edit objective list. you can add new obj and place them manually.. then link it up with other neighboring obj. of course you can choose adequate 3d model for it from existing f4 3d databbase.

if you mean an automatic way to add MANY new obj with new tool/program.. well that's another story. If this Vmap can provide good coordinate data of a obj, coder may write a simple tool to convert the coordinates into usable digits for theater use, after that you still got to finish the tweaking in TacEdit.

[Sherlock]

the latter, just objective list/coordinate data. Where is the data in F4 telling the program where to place the 3D objects. Is there any form of library of objects?

i see.. now it's clear. i can't rememer which file store the obj data in falcon4..

TacEdit is the tool of choice to edit objective list. you can add new obj and place them manually.. then link it up with other neighboring obj. of course you can choose adequate 3d model for it from existing f4 3d databbase.

if you mean an automatic way to add MANY new obj with new tool/program.. well that's another story. If this Vmap can provide good coordinate data of a obj, coder may write a simple tool to convert the coordinates into usable digits for theater use, after that you still got to finish the tweaking in TacEdit.

I find it much easier to do my "tweaking" in MS Excel spreadsheet (.cvs format) while using TacEdit as a reference tool with the map pulled in tacedit. That way I can put in the coordinates and save the spreadsheet as I work. I can always re-import the spreadsheet into a clean .cam file whenever I want. It's much more reproducible IMHO.

[Polak]

My question really is: what is the source /resource of the locations of 3D objects for the new terrain. Format is not that crucial as it can be converted.

[Sherlock]

My question really is: what is the source /resource of the locations of 3D objects for the new terrain. Format is not that crucial as it can be converted.

In the past the source for the objective placement data was from a website that provided DCW data upon request for free. This is the link: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/mgg/ff ... stomdatacd

At this site you get all road, river, terrain elevation, city/town, etc. data to build a new theater. However, the accuracy of the city/town data can be off especially in the names for the towns. A lot of them are usually blank.

This website gives the LOCATIONS of the 3D objects. It is up to the theater builder to choose which 3D model in the Falcon database to use for a specific object with regards to cities, towns and airbases/airstrips. There are tools (tcl scripts for TacEdit) that can be run to auto-generate the factories, SAM sites, refineries, etc., around cities/towns in a somewhat "random" fashion based on input parameters. There is another utility which places bridges in the theater at the points where rivers and roads meet.

[Polak]

Interesting exchange , thank you.

It is very surprising that after some many years of being involved in computerized terrain I came to see NOAA site. However, to my knowledge NOAA is the source of excellent bathymetry data (underwater) and not the land.

Anyway, I just peeked into my terrain Bible terrainmap.com to see what ranking NOAA data has there. I am still analyzing , but this I know for sure - MSFS always used VMap data (I can even disassemble their bgl format to show and prove it) it makes me wonder why they stick to that source of geographical formation. The fact that there is a correlation between ONC and VMap reinforces my conviction that the VMap is something to be considered.

[derStef]

TacEdit is the tool of choice to edit objective list. you can add new obj and place them manually.. then link it up with other neighboring obj. of course you can choose adequate 3d model for it from existing f4 3d databbase.

yes, but then you have still the "leveling problem". also the tiles will not change automatically if you add a Airbase for example. this needs another step, in terrainview, i think.

[Sherlock]

TacEdit is the tool of choice to edit objective list. you can add new obj and place them manually.. then link it up with other neighboring obj. of course you can choose adequate 3d model for it from existing f4 3d databbase.

yes, but then you have still the "leveling problem". also the tiles will not change automatically if you add a Airbase for example. this needs another step, in terrainview, i think.

Both true ccc. I was just addressing his question regarding objectives data. Didn't even want to get into the terrain tile end of things. I think he already realizes how the terrain tiles work in conjunction with the 3D model objectives.

[87th_striker]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vector_Map

[Sherlock]

Here is some more information regarding getting VMAP0 data in Shape format and then converting it to coverage data.

Get World Wide VMAP0 data here FREE, in ESRI Shapefile format :

http://gis-lab.info/qa/vmap0-eng.html

Use this link to convert the Shapefile data to coverage data with the ARCVIEW program:

http://homepages.cae.wisc.edu/~cee655/final-shp.html