Hi Gijs,
how are you succeeding? Could you manage to convert some of your buildings?
If not, there are two possibilities. First, ask me if you have problems using Blender. Or mail the stuff to me and I do the work for you over the next week.
I forgot to give you a link to the converted Breitner Center model for testing purposes:
http://home.arcor.de/vollnhals-bremen/Gijs/
Just copy the "data" folder into your basic "FlightGear" folder and overwrite already existing files (should do no harm if you have only the default Amsterdam scenery without any personal models placed).
For the second step (model placement) I put some extra stuff into that package.[/b]
1. M. Franz calc-tile.pl Perl script and a textfile with a link for a free perl package download for windows).
2. Some documentation, a ReadMe.Scenery.txt, just copied from my FlightGear CVS Doc folder - so you get the newest one and don't have to search for it. Read the passage about using the calc-tile.pl script. And there is a lot of other useful information for an upcoming FG scenery designer contained in this file.
But some extra hints from me now for placing your converted model into FlightGear:
1. Using the Perl script
You get all info from the script output. Now you have to decide whether to place your model as a SHARED or STATIC one. In my example I used the SHARED version because this was more comfortable for me as I made all the work with a personal tool I have.
As your buildings are not generic it would be better to make STATIC entries:
a) Put all the model stuff (*.ac, (optional *.xml), *.rgb files) into the data/Scenery/Objects/XXXX/YYYY folder you get from the output of the calc-tile.pl file.
b) If it is not already there, create a ZZZZZ.stg file with a simple texteditor (no formatting!!!), you get the ZZZZZ name also from the calc-tile.pl output. If there is already a *.stg file with that name, use that. Then open your ZZZZZ.stg file and add one line with the following syntax:
(partly copied from "README.scenery"):
OBJECT_STATIC <object-path> <longitude> <latitude> <elevation-m> <heading-deg>
IMPORTANT, different to the SHARED version:
... the path is relative to the tile directory where the *.stg file with this entry is located.
Example for the Breitner Center (if placed as a STATIC! model):
OBJECT_STATIC BreitnerCenter03.ac 4.91821658 52.34387959 8.36 68.0
(This are not the REAL coordinates - I avoided placing the model into the water)
c) Save the *.stg file.
d) For fine-tuning (heading, elevation, visual correction//not in water) you could fly to the now existing model with the UFO, place an optimized second "twin-model" over it, export the data as described under 2) and edit the *.stg file with the new (optimized) data.
2. If you don't want to use the Perl script, however, you might do it in a more simple way with the UFO (thanks to Thorsten):
a) place the UFO ground-near with --lat=xxxx --lon=yyyy --elevation=zzzz
b) don't move the UFO
c) look straight down to the ground
d) place your model with the UFO functionality directly under the UFO (so you should have nearly the right lat/lon coordinates)
e) save the position to the "ufo-model-export.xml" file with the "e" key or print it to the console with the "d" key
f) proceed as I explained with the calc-tile.pl script, only using the data from the "ufo-model-export.xml" file.
(Please search with a file-search program for it as I don't know where it is written to under Win32).
Hope this helps a little
Regards
Georg EDDW
BTW:
I could not make this post earlier as it really is a lot of work and I had to spend much time on my job!