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OpenStreetmap? and User Interface

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OpenStreetmap? and User Interface

Postby kepardue » Mon Dec 27, 2010 5:01 pm

Does the Flightgear project use (or plan to use) OpenStreetmap data for its roadways? OpenStreetmap seems like such a feasible project from which to build a complete open source replica of the living, breathing world, it seems only fitting that Flightgear would strive to use it's data. I've spend a heck of a lot of time in my local area making sure that it's not only as good as, but more accurate than, Google and Bing maps. It would be neat to see that replicated in a Flight Sim world. Extra kudos if FlightGear could be turned into more of a world simulator that would allow cars to be driven down the roads, etc. I'm excited to see this direction in X-Plane being taken for the next version.

Also, it seems to me that it's somewhat difficult to get a consistent user experience across platforms. I may be asking for a lambasting by CLI diehards for asking this, but is there perhaps a consistent user interface that will at some point be packaged with the program that will allow the creation of flights, perhaps flight planning utilities, and the management of scenery areas installed into the sim? I'm thinking something that doesn't require the user to run a separate program to configure and set up a flight. Such a unified interface would probably make FlightGear seem much more cohesive, as well as increase the quality of branding for the project. (Says the joker that has no programming or interface design skills. :-/) On Ubuntu in particular (with its focus on usability and less on the command line) it's easy to install FlightGear from the repos, but more difficult to figure out how to add more scenery to it. On that note, does anyone know why Ubuntu still has the older 1.9 version available?

I'm hoping for a new general public release in early 2011 that showcases the advancements you guys have put into the sim over the last year! I'm not much of a build-from-source kind of person.
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Re: OpenStreetmap? and User Interface

Postby Chrison » Mon Dec 27, 2010 6:04 pm

kepardue wrote:On Ubuntu in particular (with its focus on usability and less on the command line) it's easy to install FlightGear from the repos, but more difficult to figure out how to add more scenery to it. On that note, does anyone know why Ubuntu still has the older 1.9 version available?


I remember seeing a link somewhere here in the Forums to a FG 2.0 Debian package, but I've searched high and low and, for the life of me, I can't find it again. Maybe someone else knows what the link is, or which Forum it's in???

Regards,

Chris
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Re: OpenStreetmap? and User Interface

Postby statto » Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:00 pm

kepardue wrote:Does the Flightgear project use (or plan to use) OpenStreetmap data for its roadways? OpenStreetmap seems like such a feasible project from which to build a complete open source replica of the living, breathing world, it seems only fitting that Flightgear would strive to use it's data.


The OpenStreetMap license isn't currently compatible with ours and while it may be after their license change it doesn't change the fact the topology and accuracy of OSM data isn't so good, especially in certain areas, whereas the current vmap0 coverage isn't very good but it isn't very good worldwide. Plus, we have the ability to add in or fix roads and railroads in our scenery design.

Plus there are too many roads in some parts of OSM, and there is significant processing time in figuring out just which roads to take on a worldwide scale.

You can see OSM roads in certain third-party scenery projects and they look great but I doubt OSM will make an impact on the FlightGear World Scenery for a long time.
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Re: OpenStreetmap? and User Interface

Postby Sealbhach » Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:21 pm

Chrison wrote:
kepardue wrote:
I remember seeing a link somewhere here in the Forums to a FG 2.0 Debian package, but I've searched high and low and, for the life of me, I can't find it again. Maybe someone else knows what the link is, or which Forum it's in???


If you add the getdeb PPA you can upgrade to 2.0.

See here: http://www.ubuntuupdates.org/ppas/25

You can add scenery by getting it here: http://www.flightgear.org/Downloads/scenery-1.0.1.html

and copying it into your /data/Scenery folder.


.
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Re: OpenStreetmap? and User Interface

Postby Chrison » Tue Dec 28, 2010 2:56 am

Sealbhach wrote:
Chrison wrote:I remember seeing a link somewhere here in the Forums to a FG 2.0 Debian package, but I've searched high and low and, for the life of me, I can't find it again. Maybe someone else knows what the link is, or which Forum it's in???

If you add the getdeb PPA you can upgrade to 2.0.

See here: http://www.ubuntuupdates.org/ppas/25


Ah, yes! Now I remember... it's on PlayDeb.net here.

Regards,

Chris
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Re: OpenStreetmap? and User Interface

Postby b166er » Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:32 pm

user Quebec has same wish here: flightgear.org/forums...
and here are some test's with auto-generation from OSM database!
already in progress to integrate OSM data to FG map: nice howto about building Europe scenery with SRTM v4, Corine landclass and OpenStreetMap data
I would also like very much to auto generate scenery from OSM! and maybe in future-> fetch last map-data in realtime from OSM like TerraSync!
or better, FG-server rsyncing data with OSM (to stay up-to-date), and convert/generate data to FG-scenery compatible format.
because, OSM have very active community with many contributors, every minute the OSM DB become more updates and more precision data! it would be nice to participate on this benefit!
and with tags in OSM Database it has incredible amount of details as meta-information! with some tags like buildings and some coding-logic it's possible to generate 3D-objects/buildings from OSM data! next nice thing is to bring standard texture to auto-generated buildings in dependence of osm-tags (like: building:roof*, building:type, etc..)
statto wrote in Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:00 pm:...it doesn't change the fact the topology and accuracy of OSM data isn't so good, especially in certain areas, whereas the current vmap0 coverage isn't very good but it isn't very good worldwide...

if OSM can now already mess with Google Maps, i believe that in future OSM will better as anything else! like wikipedia! open-thinking rules!

statto wrote in Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:00 pm:...Plus, we have the ability to add in or fix roads and railroads in our scenery design...

everyone have the same ability to edit all data on OSM too! it would be better to edit/add things in one central place (like OSM-database), then the quality and amount of data will be higher increase => synergy effect!

statto wrote in Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:00 pm:...Plus there are too many roads in some parts of OSM, and there is significant processing time in figuring out just which roads to take on a worldwide scale...

with one central coded logic, like a server based script that sync with OSM and generate fg-scenery it is possible to filter some small streets/roads or anything what we want! reminder: tags in OSM-DB give us very much details to filter and sort information that we need!

statto wrote in Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:00 pm:...You can see OSM roads in certain third-party scenery projects and they look great but I doubt OSM will make an impact on the FlightGear World Scenery for a long time...
i hope OSM will make an impact on FG scenery as soon as possible!


just my two cents!

thanks!

update: add more links for comparing OSM vs GM
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Re: OpenStreetmap? and User Interface

Postby statto » Tue Feb 01, 2011 6:38 pm

We don't use Google Maps and there are still a number of significant hurdles to incorporating OSM data into the FlightGear scenery, even with the license change... And if we can overcome those hurdles, we should have the capability of using the data without huge issues. Likely if the licenses are compatible someone will need to clean the data before officially adding it into FlightGear - I don't think there will ever be one common database which is what you are somewhat suggesting.

There are more important things to spend time coding in my opinion.
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