OpenStreetMaps and autogen

[Fox]

I'm assuming an osm custom scenery, or any custom scenery, will turn of the autogen houses that x plane creates? I'm torn between real house placement that osm offers and nice graphics that autogen offers.

[🐉 Ðŗąçø 🐉]

You can still use the autogen houses, roads, lights etc., as long as you structure the file "scenery packs.ini" (W/O quotes) correctly. They might look really out of place though, but I guess it's worth a try.

I remember that if you use Ortho4XP, you need to also check the option to use autogen overlays when you download and convert the overlays - or else they won't work at all. There's a YouTube video that demonstrates how to install Ortho4XP, but the important part in it is how to structure that .ini file. Ortho4XP tiles go right at the bottom, whilst the Ortho4XP overlays go above global airports (from what I can remember).

[Fox]

I looked at ortho4xp briefly but the installation video was 20+ minutes and it needed about 4 pieces of freeware so I noped out of that. I might revisit later.

What I want to do is:

Search for my home town in OpenStreetMaps
Export an OSM
Use OSMConvert to make a PBF file
Use World2XP to make a custom scenery file
Put custom scenery in custom scenary folder.

XPLANE will automatically put that at the top of my scenary packs.ini but I'm guessing that will force the bland square boxes that W2P uses to depict houses.

The autogen houses are MUCH better - but obviously randomly placed.

To be honest choosing between accurate placement and great looking 3D objects is a GREAT problem to have. =)

[opjose]

Ortho4XP creates an autogen placement layer from OSM data and a set of .dds tiles on a separate layer from whatever source you choose or looks best (e.g. Bing looks better than Google Maps for the Carribean).

The autogen layer then corresponds most of the items you see in the scenery (picture) tile.

It's pretty neat, though not perfect... sometimes buildings will be missing completely or they are of the wrong kind, but overall it does a nice job.

I did this for my small town which barely shows up in Xplane's default scenery and is unrecognizable.

After Ortho4XP houses are propery placed along roads and look much better than the default scenery.

The 20 minutes are merely to teach you how to use it. After you make your first tile you'll want to make many more.

It is worth the time to learn how to use it.

[Fox]

> Ortho4XP creates an autogen placement layer from OSM data

This sounds like exactly what I was looking for.

I find, and not surprisingly, the autogen in cities is woeful. It makes my home city look like a medieval hamlet of low rise dwellings. On the other hand, autogen makes outback towns look great, because they ARE lowset dwellings with lots of trees.

OSM is the exact reverse - it makes city's look great and accurate (poor textures) but the lack of osm data on those remote places make them seem completely empty.

I might have to sink some time into ortho4xp and see if that is a nice compromise. Cheers!

[alpilotx]

Ortho4XP does NOT generate any kind of overlay on itself, but needs an other source of already existing (either from default scenery, HD / UHD Mesh or any other OSM based scenery - like w2xp) autogen / object / road overlay to be included in in the photo scenery it creates.

So, if you want really OSM based object placement, take w2xp and generate your region or take existing w2xp created scenery (there are few sources on the net).

if you only want the autogen style overlay, then take the default X-Plane scenery (and that autogen is OSM based too in a way ... at least the road / railroad network comes from OSM ... and some building height data too ... but the rest of the buildings is more landclass - and some other heuristics - dependent).

[opjose]

alpilotx の投稿を引用：

Ortho4XP does NOT generate any kind of overlay on itself, but needs an other source of already existing (either from default scenery,

I thought Ortho4Xp uses OSM as a source to create the overlays it generates in the "Ortho4XP Overlays" folders.

[Fox]

Will Ortho4XP give me similar quality textures as auto-gen while placing them based on OSM data? I might be asking too much - but that's really my goal here.

I've found myself doing a lot of OSM editing in the browser during GA flights knowing that every new building I place will make my departure/arrival airport just that tiny bit better. =)

[Fox]

I got ortho4xp working with "native" autogen. It's amazing. o4xp is now a single exe and you don't have to go thorugh all the BS installs anymore. It's now simple as and to produce output is really as simple as 5 or 6 clicks.

I now have to work out how to get OpenStreetMap airfields blended into the terrain without interfering/halting the autogen in the cities/towns.

[opjose]

Yeah the problem is quickly running out of disk space, even on multi-terrabyte drives!

[Fox]

I'm not going to go crazy with ZL 16's all over the country. I'll just do the places I fly into and out of and be content with default scenery for the ad hoc places I visit. The default scenery is not that bad really. It's a compromise I can live with.

My next focus will be working out how I can have a large space of native autogen work with one "space" of w2xp in the middle - blending almost seamlessly.

I've found that native autogen is amazing in the suburbs but OSM buildings are far superior in built up cities. For that reason, my next focus is to work out how to mix the two.

[opjose]

Heh... I've been doing ZL 17's. They look great!

Let us know how it goes with the OSM buildings. I am curios as to what you find and how you like it.

[Fox]

Here is something I'm going to post at length about:

http://i.imgur.com/gnm5f7e.png

You'll see ortho all over with native autogen on the left with w2xp osm buildings in the "city".

As per previous comment - native autogen is great for suburbs but OSM buildings are far superior in city centres.

You'll see a large expanse of blank space where there is ortho but no autogen/buildings to the right. That is what I need to resolve and when I get that sorted I can have autogen suburbs with w2xp OSM building city centres.

Best of both worlds. =)

Edit: If you're a reddit reader:

https://www.reddit.com/r/flightsim/comments/6bmfia/xplane_11_autogen_and_w2xp_blending_together/