FsDeveloper down this weekend

Part of this weekend the FsDeveloper site will be down. That is because we are going to move it to another server and also improve the site in other aspects. For example a better Wiki integration and an easier navigation menu are on the todo list. So don’t panic when you can’t reach the site this weekend. 

Geoids, projections, datum, what?

At work I came across this nice article that explains some basics of GIS data projections, datums, geoids, etc. Although the target audiance of it is more the oil industry, I think it would also be good reading for people making FsX terrain scenery and wanting to know a little more about what could be involved when using GIS data. Because knowing that the data is in the right projection, etc is very important for the best result.

Little update from abroad

As you can see I do have internet access while on travel for my work at the moment. Yesterday we arrived on our destination and today we had a sort of free day to rest from the travelling and enjoy the surrounding landscape a bit. So together with my collegue we drove around in the car a bit, we have seen Paris and Montpelier. Mind you, we are not in France, but in the United States. From Salt Lake City we drove north in the direction of Bear Lake and it seemed that in Southern Idaho they also have a Paris, is it only slightly smaller than the well known Paris.

But I am not only writing this blog post to talk about my travelling. Just before I left, I was able to post a new version of ModelConverterX. This new alpha versions solves most of the problems reported before and should hopefully make the tool a little more useful. Of course there are still more then enough features on my todo list, but it should at least allow the conversion of some simple macro objects.

Although I have internet here, I will probably not be able to follow the forums as closely as I can do at home. So don’t expect me to reply as often as normal and I might also not reply to all emails. But at least I can still monitor things a little bit.

I am back for a little while

Just a quick note to let you all know I got back from my vacation safely. I still have to do some unpacking of bags, washing of cloths, etc. So I will be doing that first, before I return fully online and start to read my email and the forums again.

Also, next week I will be away travelling for my work, so I will only be home for a few days. Hopefully just enough to catch up with everything going around.

 

See you in two weeks

My vacation is now really getting near. Tomorrow morning I will have to leave very early to get to Schiphol and fly to Malaga, Spain. I am really looking forward to get cycling again in an area that is not so extremely flat as the Dutch polder landscape I live in.

I have also been able to put an updated version of ModelConverterX online. It solves some of the problems the first alpha release had, so that should allow you to convert more objects without trouble. Of course it is still an alpha version, so I am sure you will be able to find some more bugs while I am away. But that is something for me to worry about when I get back.

So, see you in two weeks time and don’t expect me to reply to forum posts or emails until then.

Wat was waar

This title probably makes no sense to the non-Dutch readers, but it is the name of a website I came across today. On this website you can watch old maps and aerial photos of the Netherlands in a Google Earth style. And in this case with old I mean maps from the 19th century or aerial photos from the Second World War. So if that interests have a look at the site, I enjoyed it a lot browsing through it.

Vacation is getting nearer

It is Thursday morning now and I don’t have to work, that’s a nice feeling. Or maybe I should say I am not sitting in the office, as there is some hard work ahead. I’ll have to try to pack all my stuff for my vacation that starts this Monday. I am going to Andalusia (Spain) this year and just like last year I will be going to do a combination of cycling and camping again.

But where I travelled by bus last year, we are going to fly this time. So how do I get my sleeping bag, mattress, cycling helmet, and all those stuff you need in one bag of less than 20 kg? It is good that I have some time now to try how to get that done.

And the first alpha version of ModelConverterX has also resulted in the first bug reports, so I hope to get an updated version done before I leave. But let’s first pack all the stuff.

 

Working with the GeoTIFF library

I came across this interesting article on how to use the GeoTIFF library today. This might be of interest for FS scenery tool designers as well, since the GeoTIFF format can now be used with the FsX resample. So that makes the GeoTIFF format also interesting for background images in tools for example.