Runway Markings Improvement Pack

[Voltaire 52]

This thread contains development snapshots and member comments concerning the Runway Markings Improvement Pack which I worked on in November 2005. The project is completed and posted on the STEX, but please feel free to leave questions or comments. I have moved on to other work, and RL is a drag, so I may not answer for a while, please have patience!



-------- Here is the text of my original post:

Hello, world! (first post/first thread)

I've been coming to ST for a while now, and I have gotten so much more enjoyment out of the game because of the excellent BATs, Mods, Maps, and Lots to be found here. I'll feel guilty unless I make a small contribution of my own.

I have no experience BATting, besides my computer can't handle it, but I'm good with Photoshop and I love the aviation lots, so I've decided to do some runway pieces that will blend seamlessly with the newly released SWAP 2.2. I plan on making lots that fill in elements missing from the airport packs, like runway numbers and the lines further down the runway, between the centerline and the edge. I will probably end up with at least a dozen lots, because there are two runway widths to handle.

I realize there's a very limited number of people who will be interested in these lots, but it's a perfect $%&^! project - I can break it up into small, manageable bites while I learn to handle FiSHman and the Reader.

I'm going to read some FAA AC's now, to try and get some accurate numbers and letters. Then I have to figure out how to get them into the LE. Probably take me a week just to figure that out - I'll post pics when I have something interesting to show.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Check out SC4Tool as well - there are some texture tools included. I haven't used them yet, but afaik, there's some kind of a texture scanner and also a function for making new textures. Sorry I can't be more precise, but before I tell BS, I'd better just restrict myself to the little bit I know.

[SamFlash 0]

Welcome to Simtropolis.  We can always use another batter.  Good luck with your project and don't hesitate to ask if you need help.  There are some very talented and knowledgable people here.

[Voltaire 52]

Thanks for the encouragement T Wrecks and SamFlash!

I'm off to a good start - the applicable Advisory Circulars at FAA.gov include scale drawings and placement regulations. Here are the types of lots I want to make for the initial release of RMIP:

1. Runway Designators 9, 18, 27, 36, corresponding to the compass headings of E-W and N-S runways.
2. Runway Designators R, C, L, for when two or three runways have the same heading.
3. Aiming Points - every runway has these, even Visual Approach landing strips.
4. Touchdown Zones - runways with Precision Approach procedures (at large airports) have these.

:Edit: Due to the fast pace of work so far, I will also be making these items:

5. Displaced Thresholds
6. Stopways
7. Runway-taxiway intersections
8. Complete makeover of wide runways

Not Necessarily in that order.

:end Edit:

Of course, I'll need to make separate versions of each lot for small and wide runways. If I get good at this texture business, I'll keep on going - maybe re-do the runway ends, as they're not very realistic right now. I'll have time on the weekend to create things in Photoshop, so I may have some in-development pics soon.


:Edit Sat. 11/5:

Hey, this is easier than I thought! Thanks to DarkMatter's tutorial in the Modding Files area, it only took a couple of hours fiddling with the Reader to extract what I needed, edit the bitmaps, and create my own .dat file. FiSHman's Batch Processor makes it ridiculously easy to get all the zoom levels from one bitmap. I managed to get the number 9 lots put together today, here's an in-game shot:



At the moment, the lots make farm noises when you query them because I used the blank_IR lot from RalphaelNinja's set. I will concentrate on fixing this in the reader tomorrow.


:Edit Sun. 11/6:

Moving right along ...



Yes, that is a new custom threshold-to-taxiway transition in there. Still working on the small runway lots, I may get to the wide ones later this week. Making textures is easy, getting the basic lots is easy ... but modding them is very repetitive. I am also being slowed down by having to make custom icons for each lot - be nice if the LE did it right the first time (see the 18 icon above, it's one that I haven't done yet.)

Any comments? feedback makes me work faster .

Also, does anyone know how to make the prop lights stop blinking? Can someone BAT them for me or tell me how? None of the lights in the entire airport should blink, except the sequenced strobes in approach lighting.

[kaji 0]

hi voltaire - some great work going on there - im glad youre finding it easy =) i was wondering if it were at all possible if you could convert the 3 tile 2 white line runway into a 3 tile single white line runway if that makes any sense. also i was wondering if you could use another texture for the main runway as modern airports use a darker, blacker tarmac if im correct (i hope).

 

i hope to see an update soon. great work again

 

~kaji

[GMT 389]

this is EXACTLY what i was looking for...
i wanna mark my runways like this but i cant find a way to do it (since im quite untalented with all those lot things)
i hope this will come out very soon

[Voltaire 52]

GMT, I'm glad you like my work, keep watching this thread, I may release the small runway lots soon.

kaji, you read my mind - I will be completely re-doing the basic textures for the wide runways, but in light concrete. I

[luckydakota 0]

AAA.....Aviation Stuff?? Very nice! lol That's so cool, man! I love these precise works of aviation stuffs. Thanks for contributing your skills for us. I am looking forward to seeing more development like this in the future!  

[choco1 4]

Great looking runway, very realistic and fantastic work! I cannot wait to see it with a new texture!

[kaji 0]

*dies* wow looking really great man like the new end piecess - very realistic. hehe great minds think alike eh looking forward to the weekend update then. something to get me through work i guess

 

im glad you like Project AI's work - thanks

 

~kaji

[toxicpiano 125]

im liking this very much! keep it up.

[Lord_Bertrum 3]

Have you considered putting any rubber marks on the runways as a texture?

[Voltaire 52]

Thanks everyone for the praise, it's really nice that so many people like my work already .

Lord_Bertrum, I do want to try and make the tire scuff marks when I get to the wide runways. The threshold area will be clean though, to imitate the pattern seen in real life (see the Google Maps link in my last post). Planes usually touch down quite a ways from the threshold, which creates that pattern. I'll only do it if I can make it look good - I still have to think about how to transition between the clean area and the tire marks.

Here's tonight's snapshot:



I made these as Stopways instead of Blast Pads. They're designed as emergency runway space for planes that have to abort takeoff. Blast pads don't have edge lighting, and they're made of weaker pavement that can't support aircraft. The darker texture is on purpose - stopways are not used often, so the asphalt stays fresh.

There are two varieties: a standalone lot for displaced thresholds, and a series of threshold-taxiway junctions with integrated stopways. I had to do it that way in order to keep the white threshold bar's position accurate.

Tomorrow ... taxiway junctions.

[kaji 0]

*rubs eyes* have you been digging up (rea life) runways and just plonking them into the game?? so realistic is what i mean to say hmm hope that update arrives soon =) btw, did you get my PM?

 

~kaji

[1dera3 28]

Very nice job. I like seeing noobs who know what they're doing from the start. Those runways look great!

(I was clueless as a $%&^!... )

Keep up the good work!
//1D3

[Voltaire 52]

Thanks 1dera3, glad you like my stuff. I like to think of myself as an Enlightened $%&^! .

kaji, Thanks again for the nice words. Check your mail, I sent a note around 6:00pm.

I had less time than usual for this project today, because I had to keep my computer off during a series of rather strong thunderstorms. So instead of finished Lot pics, I have a screenshot of the next (final?) item, which is still coming together in Photoshop:



This Rapid Runoff Exit Taxiway is going to be a major undertaking, because there are 29 or 30 individual tiles that must be cut out, paired with alpha maps, run through FiSHMan, and inserted into the textures .dat file. Then I have to assemble, test, and modd the lots, make the menu icons, and game-test the 6 lots that will make this taxiway type. Don't worry, the top side will be smoothed out like the runway side, but that's for tomorrow.

:Edit Fri 11/11:

And here's the completed lots:



They still need icons, but once that's done... onward to the wide runways!

I will try and write the readme soon, so I can distribute the small runway lots during the weekend.

[kaji 0]

great work yet again voltaire, cant wait for those wider runways pieces.

 

~kaji

[Voltaire 52]

RMIP Version 0.5 Uploaded to STEX

I have just uploaded the .zip with the small runway lots to the STEX, they should be available on the server soon.

Let me know what happens when you use them - I tested the heck out of 'em, but I'm still nervous because I've never done this before, and I need to know if other people's installations handle these smoothly.

[meowza 230]

very cool textures. gives a bit more life to my SC airports.

[Voltaire 52]

Hello again world!

I have not been idle for the past week; I just haven't had anything worth showing until now:



There are 17 unique lots with 24 scratch-built textures in there. But it's very tough to see any edges, right? That's the point! I spent 20 hours on the six basic textures, making their edges fit together was pretty hard.

The skid marks are 12m across, faded at the edge. The main gear of the Boeing 747 (11m across) and Lockheed C-5 (11.5m) would fit into these skid patterns. They might look a bit light, but that's on purpose - any darker makes them obnoxious/distracting at zoom 1 and 2.

I'm still working on these, I expect to have them polished up over the weekend. Then I can move on to the designators and TDZ/AP marks.

Thanks to everyone who downloaded and left comments on the small runway pack in the STEX. Sorry I haven't had time for personal replies, RL and the new textures took up all my time this week.

[allan_kuan1992 6]

Hmm... they look good in the screenshots... nice work!

Here is what a fellow member blahdy is doing; his thread is here:

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/view.asp?mode=viewtopic&topicID=67064&num=30&pageNo=10

 

He though is currently away and for a few weeks now... some of us are waiting for him to finish some unique and nice CUSTOM AIRPORT BATS, as seen in the overview picture:

http://65.124.20.196/~blahdy/stex/kpax/20051015/overview-large.jpg width=2065 border=0>

 

 

Use these for ideas and inspiration of your custom BAT runways and taxiways.

 

Allan

[NicolaiS 8]

Resize the picture, will ya.

[kaji 0]

yes please rezise that pic it totally screws viewing up =/

anyways back on topic, i was worried that you'd gave up glad to see youve been pluging away at it lovely work so far and yes no edges, very good work.

 

on a side note: if youve got my email(s) then you should no the predicament im in at the moment. pm so i know things are still good.

 

keep up the great work! cant wait to use these bigger and better pieces =)

 

~kaji

[allan_kuan1992 6]

As you can see, the picture has been resized...

I hope no one asks me to make it larger for clarity on the compressed and squished image.

 

Allan

 

[Voltaire 52]

Right then, old business first:

kaji, thanks for the continued support. I recieved one email on the 14th, anything since then it hasn't made it through - please send a PM instead, more reliable that way I think.

allan_kuan1992, you think an airport nut like me hasn't seen blahdy's work before? I've had Pakkusena and Walnut Creek bookmarked for months. Those projects, along with mrkeacher88's showcase thread, were my inspiration for doing RMIP in the first place.

Seriously, though - just link those oversize images, instead of cut-and-paste into your post. That way, the quality is not compromised (the actual image is full size), and people don't complain. blahdy linked that exact picture from the Pakkusena thread, instead of posting it directly.

And now the new business:



I am still fiddling with the stopway chevrons, I probably will space them out more. And I might make the taxiway curves wider since these runways are for larger planes.

I have stepped up the brightness of the markings, which required re-making 45 textures. Not going to do that again, so I hope everyone likes them as they are now.

I will be away on holiday for most of the week, so this project is on hold for now - next update should be this weekend. I have a target release date of December 3rd, assuming work continues at the current pace. I still need to modd the lots, make icons, and get a nicer readme together, but the major texturing work is finished.

[kaji 0]

more goodness.. i can really see the progress made and its great =)

just a thought -  this thread now has more replies then my and tp's airport thread. i guess no one likes me *feels sorry for self* lol.....

 

anyways.. enjoy your holiday and hopefully we'll see these on the STEX as an early xams prezie

 

~kaji

[Voltaire 52]

Hi everybody! I'm back from my trip, and ready to get back to work on this runway pack. I am pleased to announce the completion of texture-making.

Here is the last batch of new lots:



I have made the improvements to the taxiway curves and stopways mentioned in my last post. I will begin modding the 37 wide runway lots (and making icons) starting tomorrow. I will try and post some finished runway pics this week as I finish the lots.

Total new content created for RMIP stands at 128 textures on 65 lots. The total filesize will be around 1.5 Megabytes edit: unpacked files may be about 4 Megs including the readme and its pics. I was looking at the two .dat files only when I wrote 1.5MB. Lightweight this project ain't ...

[twistie 3]

This is one of the most amazing attempts at realism i have seen around simtropolis. Will this be a separate pack or a add-on to another pack?

[Voltaire 52]

RMIP version 1.0 released to STEX

Here's one last screenshot to show what these lots look like when put together properly:



Thanks twistie, hope you like the final product. This is definitely an add-on, since it requires SWAP installed in order to function properly (for technical reasons that would probably take half a page to explain).

This is probably the last development work I will do in public view for a while. I'll be helping out the AI project with ground textures for their modular terminals soon, and I'm thinking on the taxiways. But probably nothing new until next month at least.