3. Additional Tips
In part 3 of the POI tutorial, we show you additional techniques and tips that enable the creation of more complex scenes and a better integration of buildings into the terrain model.
This part assumes that you have successfully followed and practically completed part 2 of the tutorial. The individual steps are therefore no longer explained in as much detail, as they build on the foundations introduced there.
3.1 Multiple Map Tiles
In section 2.2, it is also possible to import multiple map tiles into a POI project. This can be useful when POIs need to be placed at different locations on a large airport. In this case, multiple small map tiles replace one large tile covering the entire airport. However, after each import of a map tile, the map should also be saved as a PNG with a new name so that the relation between a map tile and its corresponding map image remains clear.
The reference point and the Web Mercator coordinates always depend on the most recently imported map tile and must be adjusted in the name of the gsat.jpg after importing another map tile and rescaling it!
3.2 Placing Objects at Different Heights
If multiple objects are to be placed on terrain with significant elevation differences, it is advisable to assign different elevations to the objects within a single Blender file.
As shown in the image, this is achieved through an additional parent-child hierarchy with an absolute elevation value included in the name. For example, all objects contained in __abs_675 are imported at an elevation of 675 m, regardless of the elevation of the reference point.
A Blender file with this hierarchy is provided as a sample in the working directory under \input\edtd_trial\ __blender_sample_with_autoheight.
In addition to the absolute height specification __af_abs, there is also the automatic height specification__af_auto. Objects under this hierarchy are automatically positioned relative to the height of the map tile’s reference point.
3.4 Adapting the Terrain to an Object
Depending on the terrain conditions and the size of a building, it is not always possible to integrate it cleanly into the landscape. In sloped or uneven terrain, it is therefore possible to insert a ground plate between the building and the terrain, which automatically adopts the terrain texture and thereby creates a clean transition.
To do this, create a new hierarchy in Blender called __af_grd. The ground plate is created and modeled within it as a 3D object. The object name of the ground plate can be freely chosen, e.g. baseplate01. The ground plate connects to the bottom of the building and extends sufficiently far into the map tile.
To ensure that the ground plate adopts the terrain texture during conversion, the mesh of the ground plate must be assigned a specific attribute for the converter. To do this, select the mesh of the ground plate…
… and in Object Data Properties, under Color Attributes, add a new attribute using the selection FaceCorner and ByteColor.
Finally, rename the new color attribute to __af_vc.
After conversion, all objects in the __af_grd hierarchy and with the color attribute __af_vc will have adopted the terrain texture. The building continues to appear with the texture mapped in Blender.
If the automatic transfer of the ground texture is not optimal, the ground plate can also be created as a 3D object in the OBJ hierarchy and assigned its own texture.
3.5 Working Data
Depending on the size of the Blender scene, backup copies of the Blender file and additional data may accumulate that are no longer needed. To prevent unnecessary data from being converted into Aerofly FS, these files can be moved into a** __archiv** folder, for example. Folders with a double underscore are excluded from the conversion.
3.6 Increasing the Map Tile Resolution
When importing a map tile according to section 2.2, the section and resolution can be adjusted. After zooming into a map section, it is possible to lock it using the L key. Afterwards, the zoom factor (= resolution) can be increased using the mouse wheel.
If the section and zoom factor are correct and the download is fully completed, the map tile can be imported again using the E key.
3.7 Separate Blender Files for Map Tiles and 3D Objects
Depending on the complexity of a Blender scene, it may be useful to store all map tiles in a separate Blender file and create and position only the 3D objects in a second Blender file. In this case, the Blender file containing the map tiles is stored and saved in the __aerial folder. In the Blender file with the 3D objects, the file containing the map tiles is then linked via File → Append. In the selection menu, only **Objects** should be selected.