AFCAD modifications

[pierrec]

Hello,

I have tried to modified AFCAD file for various FSDT sceneries with limited success.  I have read several posts on this subject in this forum but I am missing a piece of information to achieve what I want...  What I want to do is common and simple.  To modify parking radius and airline codes. 

I have read about the danger about modifying the AFCAD with 3rd party software such as ADE or AFX.  FSDT creates the AFCD from xml directly and compiles using the FSX SDK (bglcomp).  We, the customers, do not have that original xml file so we have to create it by decompiling the bgl.  I used BGL2XML.  It created the what seemed to be a legit xml file.  I am able to modify the xml and to recompile it with the SDK.  However, the result is not good.  It appears that the default AFCAD takes over (even though it is at lower priority) with few parking spots, bumpy taxiways (PHNL), default buildings showing on top of FSDT buildings (PHLI), etc.  The exclusions don't seem to be there anymore, even though they show in the xml.  I am thinking that BGL2XML is not the right tool for me to create the xml file.

Which tool do you recommend I use?  Thanks

Pierre

[virtuali]

BGL2XML should work fine. I guess you don't have an current version because it's should be able to decompile exclusions. Missing exclusions are the cause of default scenery taking over.

However, I don't think there are any problems editing with ADE or AFX, as long as you use current versions (ADE is updated very often) and, an easier solution might be working with ADE, and use the option to keep the XML source, so you can check if all parameters are correct (exclusions zones and the "DeleteApproaches=False" we usually use).

It's not that ADE does anything magical: it STILL compiles the XML source it produces with BGLCOMP, and the option to keep the XML source is only there to prevent it from *deleting* it after the .BGL is ready.

AFX might be a bit tricky, because it doesn't work with an intermediate XML and doesn't use BGLCOMP: it compiles directly to binary format so, if you use AFX, you usually have to decompile it with BGL2XML and the recompile it with BGLCOMP.

But in any case, the only reason to do this, is to be sure exclusion zones are preserved and the "DeleteApproaches=False" is preserved too. If you check they are preserved using just the editors (in their most current version), you don't have to do all this decompiling and recompiling.

Just keep in mind that, whenever you reinstall a scenery or the Stand-Alone Addon Manager, your modified files will be renamed and the original file that comes with the scenery will be restored.

[pierrec]

Thanks a lot for the explanation.  I'll give it a try this weekend.

[pierrec]

OK, success.

It appears that the only problem I had was to have the original FSDT AFCAD present in the same folder, albeit rename with a different extension (AFX_PHNL.BGL.ORI).  I thought changing the extension should be the equivalent of removing the file but it appears to have been the issue.

On a separate note I still have an issue with double aircrafts parking at the same spot, for instance at PHNL (see attached).  This is strange since I have no other AFCAD other than the modified FSDT and the FSX original (at least AFX does not find anything else.