CONTENTS 

About YSFLIGHT Scenery Editor

Making Payment ($15) Online

Updates

Setup

Basic Operations

Main Windows, View Control Dialog
Changing Viewpoint
Input Coordinate
Input Multiple Coordinates
Input Rectangle
Rotation

About Scenery Data

Overview
Scenery Item
Start Position
About Drawing Speed

File

Opening a Scenery File
Opening a Start Position File
Saving a Scenery File
Saving a Start Position File
Importing from an External File
Exporting to an External File

Edit

Current Item, Current Scenery
Multi Selection
Specifying Color
Editing Map
Editing Elevation Grid
Editing Ground Object
Editing Rect Region
Editing Motion Path
Other Scenery Item Edit Operations
Editing Child Scenery
Editing Start Position
Specifying Areas of Water/Land

Making High-Elevation Airport

About Scenery Parts

Auxiliary Features

Installing Scenery in YSFLIGHT

About YSFLIGHT Scenery Editor

YSFLIGHT Scenery Editor is $15 shareware.  If you use the program without paying, the program will show a dialog asking you to pay when the program is started.  However, there is no other limitation of functionality.

I suppose that many of you are students and do not have your own income and own credit card.  If so, please pay $15 when you have your own income in the future.

If you get any damage caused by this program (I guess it is unlikely though,) the author does not take any responsibility for the damage.  Please understand the disclaimer, and please do not use this program unless you agree with it..

Making Payment Online

You can make payment online.  Please click the following link for making payment.

http://buyscnedit.ysflight.com

After you make payment, you will receive a registration key.  Please enter the key by selecting "Help" -> "About," and then clicking "Enter Registration Key" button on the dialog.

Updates

In 20090426 version, the following features have been added.

• Making a non-zero-elevation airports
• Adding street lights along roads drawn as thick line
• Manual splitting of polygon and polygon merging
• Making a polygon neighboring a polygon
• Selection Dialog
• Defining Water/Land

In 20051003 version, four new types of map elements are added: GRADATION QUAD STRIP, QUAD STRIP, TRIANGLES, and QUADRILATERALS.  OpenGL version of YSFLIGHT draws a scene much faster when multiple quadrilaterals / triangles with same color are grouped into a single element than having those quadrilaterals and triangles as individual elements.  However, it is a tedious task to manually pick such quadrilaterals and triangles and group them into a single element.  So, the program can automatically do it for you.  If you choose "Map" menu -> "Optimize by Grouping Consecutive Quads/Tris," the program searches for the quadrilaterals and triangles that can be grouped, and group them into one element automatically.  Doing this will considerablly improve the drawing performance of OpenGL version of YSFLIGHT.  There is little effect on the performance of Non-OpenGL version.

Setup

You need to specify the directory in which YSFLIGHT is installed.

Please specify the directory with the steps below.

(1) "Choose Option" -> "Option" (The following dialog appears)

(2) Click "Browse" button.

(3) Move to the directory in which YSFLIGHT is installed, (by default "C:\Program Files\YSFLIGHT.COM\YSFLIGHT"), and select fsmaino.exe 

Meanings of other items are as follows:

Auto Load STP If this option is on, starting-position file will automatically be loaded when a field file is loaded.

Auto Save STP If this option is on, starting-position file will automatically be saved when a field file is saved.

Auto Save LST If this option is on, LST file (needed for YS FLIGHT SIMULATOR program to recognize the field) will automatically be saved when a field file is saved.

Ground Lattice Size Specifies the size of lattice drawn on the ground.

Font Size Specifies the font size used in Scenery Editor

Language You can choose from "AUTOMATIC", "FORCE_ENGLISH", and "SPECIFY_FILE"

Language File If you have a language file (.uitxt), you can specify it here.

Basic Operations

Main Window, View Control Dialog

When you start the program, you'll see a window and two dialogs as shown on the right.

The window titled as "YSFLIGHT SCENERY EDITOR" is the main window, which is used for specifying coordinates, picking objects, selecting menus, etc.

The dialog titled as "Select Color" is the color dialog.  Please click here for more details about the color dialog.

Changing Viewpoint

You can change the viewpoint by moving mouse cursor while SHIFT key and mouse button are held down.  (You can check "Rotate/Scroll by Dragging" on "Viewing Control" dialog, instead of holding down SHIFT key.)  Functionalities of shift key and mouse button combinations are as follows.

You can press F1 through F6 keys to change the view angle to a preset angle.  In Scenery Editor, you may use F2 key (look down) often because this angle shows the map from the straight up, like satellite camera.

When you need to move your viewpoint so that a particular point on the scenery is centered, follow the steps below.

1. Press F2 key and look down.
2. Hold Shift Key + Left Button + Right Button, and move the mouse cursor down (you'll see like a satellite view)
3. Release Shift Key and buttons.
4. Hold Shift Key + Left Button and move the mouse cursor so that the point you want to look at comes to the center of the main window.
5. Release Shift Key and Left Button
6. Hold Shift Key + Left Button + Right Button, and move the mouse cursor up so that you get appropriate zoom.
7. Release Shift Key and buttons.

Input Coordinate

There are two methods of specifying a coordinate.  In general, when you need to specify only one coordinate, move the cursor to the location of your choice by one of the following methods, and press SPACE key to settle.

INPUT COORDINATE 1

When the program shows a green cursor as shown below, you can move the cursor in horizontal directions by moving mouse with the left button held down, and in vertical direction with right button held down.

INPUT COORDINATE 2

When the program shows a green cursor as follows (the number of axes can be less than three), you can move the mouse by pressing mouse left button on one of the axes and move mouse without releasing the button.

Input Multiple Coordinates

Please follow the instruction below when you need to specify more than one coordinates.

(1) Move a cursor to the point of your choice, and press ENTER key

(2) Repeat (1) until you specify all the coordinates

(3) Press SPACE key

You can also edit points.  If you press Page Up key, a rectangular marker appears as shown below.  If you press page up key again, the marker moves to the previous point, or if you press page down key, the marker moves to the next point.  If you press space key when the rectangular marker is shown, the point enclosed by the rectangular marker will move to the location of the INPUT COORDINATE 1 cursor.

If you press insert key when the rectangular marker is shown, a point is inserted at the INPUT COORDINATE 1 cursor before the point enclosed by the rectangular marker as shown below.

If you press back space key, the point enclosed by the rectangular marker is deleted as shown below.

Input Rectangle

In this program, you can specify a rectangle by specifying multiple coordinates.  The rectangle will be the smallest rectangle that encloses all the coordinates and two of the edges are parallel to the line connecting the first and the second coordinates.

In other words, the first two coordinates specify the orientation of the rectangle, and the size of the rectangle is specified by all the coordinates.

Example:

Specifying the orientation by the first two coordinates

Specifying the width by the third and the fourth coordinates

The rectangle can also be elongated

Rotation

The program shows a cylinder as shown below when you need to rotate something.

You can rotate the target by left-clicking the thick green line and move mouse without releasing the button in the direction of the thick line.  I have to admit that this method is not very intuitive, but please get used to it.

About Scenery Data

Overview

You can edit the following data in this program.

• Scenery
• Start Position

Scenery is a set of scenery items.  A scenery item defines a visible object (such as a map, an elevation grid, etc.), or an invisible object (such as a motion path of a ground object).

You also can make a child scenery by grouping some scenery items.  A child scenery can have its child scenery, hence, you can make a hierarchical structure of sceneries.  A child scenery can be created in the program or can create from a file.  For example, once you made a scenery of a typical airport, you can save it to a file and re-use it when you create a new scenery.

Another important advantage of making a hierarchical structure is improvement in graphics drawing efficiency.  For example, in Hawaii map, included in YSFLIGHT default package, each island is defined as a child scenery.  Thus, an island behind, far left, far right, or too far away from the viewpoint is excluded from the drawing queue.  The drawing efficiency improves significantly as a result.

A start position defines a location and conditions of starting a flight.

CAUTION:  The filename must consist of only alphabetical characters, numbers and '_' (underscore).

By the way, Z axis in this editor is reversed from the coordinate axes of YSFLIGHT.

Scenery Item

Map
A map is a two-dimensional picture drawn on XZ plane with points, lines and polygons.

Elevation Grid
An elevation grid defines a terrain by specifying elevation at each node of a rectangular grid.

Ground Object
Ground object in YSFLIGHT such as buildings, bridges, control towers, etc.

Rect Region
A rect region is an invisible scenery item that defines special region in the scenery.  A rect region has a number that identifies a type of the region, and a tag for arbitrary purposes.  Currently, there are three type numbers, 1:Runway, 2:Taxiway, and 10:viewpoint.  Tag is not currently used in YSFLIGHT, but may be used in the future versions.

Motion Path/Area
A motion path is an invisible item and defines a path that a ground object follows.  It also can be used for defining area of water/land.

Child Scenery
A child scenery is a group of scenery items.  You can also create a child scenery of a child scenery to make a hierarchical structure.

Start Position

A start position defines a starting point of a flight.  For each start position, you can specify a name, initial speed, landing gear state (extended/retracted), initial engine power, and initial fuel loading.

About Drawing Speed

Naturally, if a scenery with more items takes more time to draw than a scenery with less items.  If you make a too much detailed map, your map can practically be used in only super-fast PCs.  You thus need to be careful in how much details you put in your scenery if you want your map to be used by many players.  I suggest you to start with a scenery with small number of items, try it in YSFLIGHT, and add more features if you feel comfortable.

The drawing efficiency can also be improved by grouping items in some child sceneries.  If you do it appropriately, YSFLIGHT excludes obviously invisible child sceneries from drawing queue, and the efficiency improves as a result.  For example, in the HAWAII scenery, included in the default YSFLIGHT package, each island is a child scenery, and airports are child sceneries of islands.  This way, most of the islands are excluded from the drawing queue because usually only one or two islands are visible.

The Non-OpenGL version of YSFLIGHT draws the scene faster if it includes less polygons regardless convex or concave.  In contary, the OpenGL version of YSFLIGHT in general draws the scene faster if it includes less concave polygons even if the total number of polygon is large.

File

Opening a Scenery File

To open a scenery file (.FLD file,) select "File" -> "Open FLD" and select the filename in the file dialog.

Opening a Start Position File

To open a start position file (.STP file,) select "File" -> "Open STP" and specify the filename in the file dialog.

Saving a Scenery File

To save a scenery file (.FLD file,) select "File" -> "Save FLD" and specify the filename in the file dialog.

Saving a Start Position File

To save a start position file (.STP file,) select "File" -> "Save STP" and specify the filename in the file dialog.

Importing from an External File

You can import a scenery item from an external file.  The file types you can import are .PC2 file (Map), .TER file (Elevation Grid), .FLD file (Child Scenery), and .YFS file (Ground Object configuration.)  To import a file, select "File" -> "Import" -> "Map", "Elevation Grid", "Scenery", or "YFS."  Then, specify the filename in the file dialog.

Exporting to an External File

You can export a scenery item to an external file for re-using in another scenery.  The scenery item types you can export are Map (.PC2 file), Elevation Grid (.TER file), Child Scenery (.FLD file), and Ground Object configuration (.YFS file.)  To export a scenery item, select a scenery item or a child scenery (* you don't need to select anything for exporting Ground Object configuration,) and select "File" -> "Export" -> "Map", "Elevation Grid", "Scenery", or "YFS."  Then, specify the filename in the file dialog.

Edit

Current Item, Current Scenery

When you edit the data, you often need to choose a target scenery item or a target child scenery.  Most of the operations modify a selected scenery item (current item) or a selected child scenery (current scenery).  Initially (when the program starts) no item is selected, and the current scenery is the top most scenery, which is a scenery without a parent scenery.

To select a current item, choose "Select" -> "Select Item", and click a scenery item (or its frame) that you want to select.  When you choose a current item, a current scenery is automatically set to the child scenery in which the current item belongs.

To unselect a current item, choose "Select" -> "Unselect Item".

To select a current scenery, choose "Select" -> "Select Scenery", and click a child scenery's axes (yellow) or frame.

To unselect a current scenery (to select the top most scenery), choose "Select" -> "Unselect Scenery".

When you add a new scenery item, the item belongs to the current scenery.

Selection Dialog

You can select an item of specific type, tag, id, or ground object type by using Selection Dialog.  You can open the dialog by choosing "Select"=>"Open Select Dialog".  You can select a specific scenery item by setting conditions on the dialog and clicking "Select and Move View Point" or "Select" button.

Multi Selection

You may want to select multiple current items when, for example, assigning a same motion path to multiple ground objects.  When you need to select more than one current item, click the item while holding CTRL key.  If you click an already selected current item with CTRL key down, it will be unselected.

Specifying Color

To choose a color (for map elements, elevation grid, etc.), please choose one of the colors from the palette of the color dialog, or you can change RGB values by clicking on boxes to the right of the R, G, and B values..

Contents of the color dialogs can be saved and loaded by Save and Load buttons.

Editing Map

Inserting a Map

Please follow the instruction below to insert a map.

(1) Select "Edit" -> "Insert" -> "Map Frame"
(2) Specify the location of the new map by the method explained in INPUT COORDINATE 1
(3) Press SPACE key

Changing Priority of a Map

A map inserted later will be drawn over a map inserted earlier when some portion of the map overlaps each other, i.e., a map inserted later has a higher priority than a map inserted earlier by default.  Please follow the instruction below when you need to change the priority of a map.

(1) Choose the map as current item
(2) Select "Edit" -> "Map Priority" -> "Top Priority", "Bottom Priority", "Priority Up", or "Priority Down".

Inserting an Element

To insert an element in a map, select "Map" -> "Insert Element".  You will see the following dialog.

You can choose the type of an element and the number of subdivision (if subdivision is necessary) with this dialog.  There are eight types of the element as follows.

• POINTS
  A group of points.   Specify coordinates by the method explained in Input Multiple Coordinates, and press SPACE key.
• LINE SEGMENTS
  Continuous line segments.  Specify coordinates by the method explained in Input Multiple Coordinates, and press SPACE key.
• LINES
  Individual line segments.  Specify coordinates by the method explained in Input Multiple Coordinates, and press SPACE key.
• POLYGON
  A polygon.  Specify coordinates by the method explained in Input Multiple Coordinates, and press SPACE key.

• RECTANGLE
  A rectangle.  Specify a rectangle by the method explained in Input Rectangle, and press SPACE key.

• CENTER LINE
  An array of rectangles, like a center line of a runway. Specify a rectangle by the method explained in Input Rectangle, specify the number of segments in the Subdivision column on the dialog, and press SPACE key. 
• RUNWAY LIGHT
  An array of lights on two sides of a rectangle, like runway lights. Specify a rectangle by the method explained in Input Rectangle, specify the number of lights in the Subdivision column on the dialog, and press SPACE key. 
• POINT ARRAY
  An array of lights, like a lights along roads.  Specify coordinates by the method explained in Input Multiple Coordinates, specify the number of lights in the Subdivision column on the dialog, and press SPACE key. 
• APPROACH LIGHT
  It is similar to POINT ARRAY, but the points blink and give a visual effect as if the light was repeatedly moving from the first point to the end point by blinking the points.
• GRADATION QUAD STRIP
  This element draws a continuous quadrilaterals by connecting 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 3rd points, 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 5th points, and (4n+1)th, (4n+2)th, (4n+4)th, and (4n+3)th points.  You can specify a secondary color, and the secondary color will be assigned to the even number points.  The color inside the polygon will be interpolated to show a smooth gradation effect.
  (Example)
  <- Input
  <- Result
• QUAD STRIP
  Same as GRADATION QUAD STRIP, but there's no second color.
• TRIANGLES
  Draws multiple triangles.
• QUADRILATERALS
  Draws multiple quadrilatera.s

When you press SPACE key, the main window must be active.  Nothing will happen if you press SPACE key when the dialog is active.

RECTANGLEs, CENTER LINEs will be same as polygons, RUNWAY LIGHTs and POINT ARRAYs are same as POINTS after inserted.

Selecting Elements

When you need to modify map elements, you first need to select target elements.  Please follow the instruction below to select elements.

(1) If the map that includes the target elements is not a current item, choose the map as current item.
(2) Press ESC or select "Edit" -> "Clear Interface"
(3) Click map elements (Click once more to unselect)

To select all elements, select "Map" -> "Select All Elements".

To unselect all elements, select "Map" -> "Unselect All Elements".

Cut & Paste

To cut (or copy) & paste elements, select target elements, and select "Map" -> "Cut" (or "Copy"), and select "Map" -> "Paste".  Elements will be pasted at the same location, and initially pasted elements are automatically selected.  (Hence, it may not be visible until you move or rotate the pasted elements.)

You can Cut (Copy )& Paste elements across different maps.

Deleting Elements

To delete elements, select target elements, and select "Map" -> "Delete".

Changing Priority of Elements

By default an element inserted later is shown over an element inserted earlier.  If you need to change the priority of the elements, select target elements, and select "Map" -> "Element Priority" -> "Top", "Bottom", "Up", or "Down".

The priority you can change is the priority within the map.

Moving, Rotating, and Scaling

To move elements, select target elements, select "Map" -> "Move Selected Elements", and move the elements by the method explained in INPUT COORDINATE1, and press SPACE key.

To rotate elements, select target elements, select "Map" -> "Rotate Selected Elements", and rotate the elements by the method explained in Rotation.

To expand or shrink elements, select target elements, select "Map" -> "Scaling", and specify the scaling ratio in the dialog.

Changing Color of Elements

To change color of elements, first choose color that you want to paint.

If you want to change color of elements by picking, select "Map" -> "Paint by Picking", and click target elements.

If you want to change color of all elements, select "Map" -> "Paint All".

If you want to change color of selected elements, select "Map" -> "Paint Selected Elements".

Selecting Color from an Element

If you want to select color of an existing element, select "Map" -> "Pick Up Color", and click the element.

Drawing Letters

To draw letters, select "Map" -> "Text".  You will see a dialog box below.

Type a word you want to draw, specify size and angle in this dialog.  Then specify a location by the method explained in INPUT COORDINATE 1, and press SPACE key.

Drawing Thick Lines (eg. roads)

To draw a thick line, like roads, select "Map" -> "Thick Line".  You will see the following dialog.

You can specify the thickness (or width) of the line in this dialog.  

Then specify coordinates by the method explained in Input Multiple Coordinates, and press SPACE key.

Street Lights along Roads

You can make street lights along a road drawn by using "Map" -> "Thick Line."  Please follow the steps below.

1. Select a thick line on the map.
2. Choose "Map" -> "Make Multi-Coordinate Input from..." -> "Odd-Numbered Points of Selected Element" or "Even-Numbered Points of Selected Element"
3. Unselect the thick line.  (By "Select" -> "Unselect Element/Face/Node" or pressing Shift + U)
4. Choose "Map" -> "Insert Element", and select POINT ARRAY as element type.
5. Specify interval or number of points and press space key on the main window.

	=>
Selecting a thick line.		After choosing "Map" -> "Make Multi-Coordinate Input from...." -> "Odd-Numbered Points of Selected Element", and selected "POINT ARRAY"

Automatic Subdivision of Concave Polygons to Convex Polygons

YSFLIGHT OpenGL version can draw a scene faster if it includes less concave polygons.  The Scenery Editor can automatically subdivide concave polygons into convex polygons.

To subdivide selected polygons into convex polygons, select "Map" -> "Convexnize" Selected.

To subdivide all polygons into convex polygons, select "Map" -> "Convexnize All".

The appearance of the polygons does not change.

Manual Splitting of a Polygon

Since YSFLIGHT 20070415 version, an executable for Direct 3D is included in the package.  However, there is one problem in Direct 3D.  It is incapable of drawing concave polygon.  (It is not a matter of fast or slow.  It's incapable.)  So, the YSFLIGHT program needs to internally subdivide any concave polygons into triangles and convex quadrilaterals before it is drawn.  If a field includes many concave polygons with large number of points, it takes long time when a scenery is loaded.  One way to avoid this delay is convexnize all polygons.  However, having too many polygons is not very convenient for editing.  The compromise is to split some complex polygon manually into reasonable number of points.  You can do it by following the steps below.

1. Select a polygon that you want to split.
2. Select "Map" -> "Split Selected Polygon"
3. Pick two corners by which you want to split the polygon, and press space key.

The polygons split by this steps can be merged later if necessary by "Map" -> Merge Selected Polygons" (explained below)

	=>
A polygon and two corners are selected.		Pressing space key to split.

Merging Polygons

You can merge multiple polygons sharing at least one edge by the following steps:

1. Selecting polygons that you want to merge.
2. Select "Map" -> "Merge Selected Polygons"

Polygons to be merged need to share at least one edge.  Tolerance of the vertices is 0.1 meter.

Inserting a Polygon neighboring another Polygon

You can make a polygon that is neighboring another polygon (by sharing some edges) by the following steps.

1. Select a polygon
2. Select "Map"->"Make Multi-Coordinate Input from...."->"Selected Polygon Step-by-Step"
3. Pick a corner to be shared.
4. If you want the new polygon share an edge, pick the next corner.
5. If you want the new polygon share more than one edge, you can press X key to select the next corner.
6. Select "Map"->"Insert Element" and select POLYGON as element type.
7. Specify the rest corners by Multi-Point Input and press space key.

	=>
Steps 1 and 2		Steps 3 and 4
	=>
Step 5		Steps 6 and 7
A new polygon sharing two edges with the first polygon.

You can also make the third polygon that is neighboring the first two polygons by following the steps below.

1. Clear the polygon selection once by pressing Shift + U or selecting "Select"->"Unselect Elements/Node/Faces"
2. Select the first polygon and select "Map"->"Make Multi-Coordinate Input from...."->"Selected Polygon Step-by-Step"
3. Pick corners to be shared.
4. Cancel the mode by pressing ESC (Note that the multi-coordinate input is NOT cancelled although the mode is cancelled.)
5. Clear the polygon selection once by pressing Shift + U or selecting "Select"->"Unselect Elements/Node/Faces"
6. Select the second polygon and select "Map"->"Make Multi-Coordinate Input from...."->"Selected Polygon Step-by-Step"
7. Pick corners to be shared.
8. Select "Map"->"Insert Element" and select POLYGON as element type.
9. Specify the rest corners by Multi-Point Input and press space key.

	=>
Steps 1 to 3		Steps 4 to 7
	=>
Steps 8 and 9		Neighboring polygon.

Editing Elevation Grid

Inserting An Elevation Grid

To insert an elevation grid, select "Edit" -> "Insert" -> "Elevation Grid", specify the region with the method explained in Input Rectangle, specify the number of grids in the dialog, and click "Insert Elv Grid" button (or press SPACE key).

(Specifying the region)

(Inserted Elevation Grid)

Selecting Nodes and Triangles

To specify elevation of nodes, or show/hide faces, you need to select target nodes and faces first.

To select nodes and faces, choose the target elevation grid as current, and select "Edit" -> "Clear Interface".  You can then choose nodes and triangles (faces) by clicking.  You can unselect nodes and triangles by clicking again.

Specifying Elevation of Nodes

To specify elevation of nodes, select target nodes, and select "Elevation Grid" -> "Move Node".  You can then elevate/lower nodes by the method explained in INPUT COORDINATE 2.  Press SPACE key after moving nodes to the desired elevation.

(Specifying Elevation of Nodes)

Smoothing Elevation Grid

You can smooth elevation grid by selecting nodes that need to be fixed, and selecting "Elevation Grid" -> "Laplacian Smoothing".

(Before smoothing)

(After smoothing)

Make Nodes/Triangles Zero Elevation

You can make selected node zero elevation by selecting "Elevation Grid" -> "Set Zero Elevation" -> "Selected Nodes".

You can make selected triangles zero elevation by selecting "Elevation Grid" -> "Set Zero Elevation" -> "Selected Faces".

Make Zero Elevation Triangles Invisible

You can make zero elevation triangles invisible by selecting "Elevation Grid" -> "Hide Flat Faces".

(Hiding Zero Elevation Triangles)

Showing/Hiding Selected Triangles

To hide (make invisible) selected triangles, select "Elevation Grid" -> "Hide Selected Faces".

To unhide (make visible) selected triangles, select "Elevation Grid" -> "Unhide Selected Faces".

Showing All Triangles

To make all triangles visible, select "Elevation Grid" -> "Unhide All Faces".

Specifying Color of the Elevation Grid

You can specify color of the elevation grid by choosing color with Color Dialog, and selecting "Elevation Grid" -> "Paint All Faces".

Adjusting Triangulation

You can adjust triangulation so that the elevation grid will have less unnatural unevenness by selecting "Elevation Grid" -> "Apply Delaunay Triangulation".

Applying Color Gradation Based on the Elevation

You can set color gradation based on the elevation by selecting "Elevation Grid" -> "Apply Color Gradation".  You can specify the color at the peak and at the foot of the elevation grid by the dialog shown below.

If you choose to apply color gradation, the color specified by Paint All Faces will not be shown.  If you want to remove color gradation and use the color specified by Paint All Faces, select "Elevation Grid" -> "Flip Gradation Flag".

(Selecting colors at the peak and foot of the Elevation Grid)

(Example of gradation)

Showing/Hiding Side Walls

You can make side wall of the elevation grid by selecting "Elevation Grid" -> "Show/Hide Side Wall".

Editing Ground Object

Inserting a Ground Object

To insert a Ground Object, select "Edit" -> "Insert" -> "Ground Object" (a dialog box pops up), then choose on the dialog type, IFF code, and Primary Target Flag (if on, attacker airplanes in the Intercept Mission will bomb it) of the ground object, and use INPUT COORDINATE 1 to specify the location, and press SPACE key.

(Specifying type, IFF code, and Primary Target Flag)

Modifying Attributes of a Ground Object (IFF code and Primary Target Flag)

To modify attributes (IFF code, Primary Target Flag, and other flags) of a ground object, choose target objects as current items (see Current Item, Current Scenery and Multi Selection), and select "Ground Object" -> "Modify".  Then select new IFF code, primary target flag, and other flags on the dialog, and click OK button.  Currently, the meanings of flags 0 to 7 are as follows.

Flag 0 Primary ILS
Flag 1 Primary Aircraft Carrier
Flag 2 Move toward the ground target.
Flag 3 Target any ground object (if this flag is on, the ground object only targets its threats)
Flag 4 Not used
Flag 5 Not used
Flag 6 Not used
Flag 7 Not used

(Specifying IFF code, Primary Target Flag, etc.)

Setting Tag and ID number

A Ground Object can have a tag (name) and an ID number for identification purposes.  Currently, tag is used for relating a start position and an aircraft carrier.  So, the aircraft carrier which can be a start position must have a unique tag name.

To set tag and id of a ground object, choose target objects as current items (see Current Item, Current Scenery and Multi Selection), and select "Ground Object" -> "Set Tag and Id".  Then specify an id number and a tag name, and click OK button.

(Specifying Id and Tag)

Assigning Motion Path

You can assign a motion path to a ground object that can move (like, tanks and aircraft carriers.)  You need to specify the name of the motion path, and offset flag.

If the offset flag is off, the ground object follows as exactly as possible on the motion path.  If the initial location of the object is far away from the starting point of the motion path, the object first moves to the starting point, and then follows the path.

If the offset flag is on, the ground object does not follow the motion path exactly, but moves parallel to the motion path.  It is convenient for a group of ground objects moving together, like a formation of tanks.  If you want to move a group of object all together, you can create only one motion path, and assign it to all the objects in a group, and turn on the offset flag.  Then, all the objects in the group follows a parallel path to the assigned motion path.  So, as long as the objects in the group move at the same speed, they tend to maintain the original formation.

To assign a motion path and an offset flag, choose target objects as current items (see Current Item, Current Scenery and Multi Selection), and select "Ground Object" -> "Set Motion Path" (the following dialog box pops up.)  Then specify the name of the motion path and offset flag in the dialog, and click OK button.

(Specifying a motion path name, and an offset flag)

Resetting Display Models of Ground Objects

Sometimes, the appearance of the ground objects get corrupted (or become invisible left coordinate axes.)  In such a case, select "Ground Object" -> "Re-Link Templates".

Editing Rect Region

Inserting a Rect Region

To insert a rect region, select "Edit" -> "Insert" -> "Rectangular Region".  The following dialog pops up.

Please choose ID (1 for runway, 2 for taxiway, and 10 for viewpoint.  The center of a rect region with ID of 10 can be chosen as a viewpoint by pressing F9 key in YSFLIGHT), and Tag name (not currently used) with this dialog.

Then, use the method explained in Input Rectangle, and press SPACE key in the main window.

Modifying Rect Regions

To modify an existing rect region, choose target rect regions as current items (see Current Item, Current Scenery and Multi Selection), and select "Rect Region" -> "Modify".  The dialog pops up as shown below.  Choose ID and Tag in the dialog, and click OK button.

Editing Motion Path

Inserting a Motion Path

To insert a Motion Path, select "Edit" -> "Insert" -> "Motion Path", and select an ID number and a tag name on the dialog as shown below.  Then specify the waypoints by the method explained in Input Multiple Coordinates, and press SPACE key.

An ID number is currently not used in YSFLIGHT, but may be used in the future versions.

A tag name is required for connecting a ground object to the motion path.

Modifying a Motion Path

To modify an existing motion path, choose target rect regions as current items (see Current Item, Current Scenery and Multi Selection), and select "Motion Path" -> "Modify".  The dialog pops up as shown below.  Then select a new ID number and a tag name on the dialog, and click OK button.

Editing Motion Path Coordinates

You can edit motion path coordinates by selecting a motion path and selecting "Motion Path" -> "Reedit Motion Path."  Then, edit the points by the method described in Input Multi Points.

Other Scenery Item Edit Operations

Deleting Scenery Items

To delete a scenery item, select scenery items and select "Edit" -> "Delete" -> "Delete Current Item".  You can press Delete key instead of selecting the menu, however, if you delete scenery items by pressing Delete key, only scenery items must be selected, and no map elements and no start positions must be selected.

Moving Scenery Items

To move scenery items, select scenery items and select "Edit" -> "Move" -> "Current Item".  Then, move the items by the method described in INPUT COORDINATE 1, and press space key.

Rotating Scenery Items

To rotate scenery items, select scenery items and select "Edit" -> "Rotate" -> "Current Item".  Then, rotate the items by the method described in ROTATION, and press space key.

Transferring Scenery Items to Another Child Scenery

When you placed scenery items in a wrong child scenery, you can transfer the item to the correct scenery without changing the position and the rotation of the items.  To transfer scenery items to another child scenery, select scenery items and select "Edit" -> "Transfer to Another Scenery" -> "Current Item", and click the destination child scenery.

Aligning Scenery Items

When you need to align angles of selected scenery items, select "Edit" -> "Align" -> "Angle."  All the selected items' angles will be aligned to the angle of the lastly selected item.

Editing Child Scenery

The main purposes of using child sceneries are as follows:

• More efficient graphics drawing.
  YSFLIGHT program excludes child sceneries that are entirely out of the field of view from scene drawing.  For example, each island of Hawaii scenery is a child scenery, and airports are child sceneries of a child scenery of an island.
• Reusing data
  When you create your own scenery, you need to create similar facility many times, like airports.  If you make such a pattern as a child scenery, you can later export a child scenery to an independent .FLD file, and read it in another scenery.

The following explains the edit operations related to child sceneries.

Inserting a Child Scenery

To insert a child scenery, select "Edit" -> "Insert" -> "Child Scenery".  Specify the location by INPUT COORDINATE 1, and then press space key.  If a current scenery is selected, the following dialog will pop up.

If you want to create a child scenery of the current scenery, click "Child of Current Scenery."  If you want to create a child scenery that is a direct child of the top-most scenery, click "Child of Root Scenery."

The new child scenery will be automatically selected as a current scenery.  A scenery item inserted after creating a new child scenery will belong to the newly created child scenery.  If you want to insert a scenery item to another scenery, you need to choose a current scenery.  Please see Current Item, Current Scenery for how to select a current scenery.

Deleting Child Scenery

To delete a child scenery, select child scenery and select "Edit" -> "Delete" -> "Delete Current Scenery".  All the scenery items and child sceneries of the selected child scenery will be deleted as well.

Moving Child Scenery

To move scenery items, select child scenery and select "Edit" -> "Move" -> "Current Scenery".  Then, move the child scenery by the method described in INPUT COORDINATE 1, and press space key.

Rotating Child Scenery

To rotate scenery items, select child scenery and select "Edit" -> "Rotate" -> "Current Scenery".  Then, rotate the child scenery by the method described in ROTATION, and press space key.

Changing the Parent of a Child Scenery

When you created a child scenery in a wrong parent scenery, you can change the parent scenery without changing the position and the orientation of the child scenery.  To change a parent of a child scenery, select child scenery and select "Edit" -> "Transfer to Another Scenery" -> "Current Scenery", and then click the new parent scenery.

Editing Start Position

A start position describes an initial condition of an airplane that the user can choose in YSFLIGHT.  The start positions must be saved in a .STP file separate from other scenery items.  A .FLD file and a .STP file are needed to use a scenery created in the scenery editor in YSFLIGHT.

There are some standard start positions, which YSFLIGHT expects to exist in any scenery.  If some of standard start positions are missing, some missions, like Endurance Mode, Intercept Mission, or Close Air Support Mission cannot be played.  For more details, please see Creating YSFLIGHT Mission Ready Sceneries.

Creating a Start Position

To insert a start position, select "Start Position" -> "Insert", and specify the location by INPUT COORDINATE 1, and then press space key.  The following dialog will pop up.  In the dialog, specify the name of the start position, initial speed, throttle setting, IFF restriction (select ANY if no restriction,) and the name of an aircraft carrier if the position is on the aircraft carrier.  To create a start position on an aircraft carrier, the carrier must have a unique tag.  To specify a tag, see Editing Ground Objects.

Selecting Start Positions

To change a start position name, initial speed, initial engine setting, etc., you need to select start positions.  To select a start position, select "Select" -> "Select Start Position", and then click a start position in the main window.  Start positions are drawn with wireframe.  Make sure to click one of the lines of the start position wireframe.

You can also select multiple start positions by clicking a start position while holding down ctrl key.  If you click a already-selected start position while holding down ctrl key, the clicked start position will be unselected.

Deleing Start Positions

To delete start positions, select start positions to be deleted and then select "Start Position" -> "Delete".

Moving Start Positions

To move start positions, select start positions to be moved and then select "Start Position" -> "Move".  Then move the start positions by INPUT COORDINATE 1, and press space key.

Rotating Start Positions

To rotate start positions, select start positions to be rotated and then select "Start Position" -> "Rotate".  Then rotate the start positions by the method explained in Rotation and press space key.

Changing Order of Start Positions Shown in Start Position Selection Dialog of YSFLIGHT

To change order of Start Positions shown in the start position selection dialog of YSFLIGHT, select "Start Position" -> "Change Order" and change the order of start positions on the dialog.

Modifying Start Positions

To modify start position name, initial speed, etc., select a start position to be modified, and then modify the values in the dialog as shown below and click "Set" button.

Inserting Standard Mid-Air Start Positions

To insert standard mid-air start positions -- NORTH10000_01 to 05 and SOUTH10000_01 to 05 -- in bulk, select "Start Position" -> "Make Standard Air Start Position" and specify location by INPUT COORDINATE 1 and press space key.

Aligning Start Positions

If you choose "Start Position" -> "Align" -> "Angle" when multiple start positions are selected, angles of the selected start positions will be aligned to the angle of the lastly selected start position.

Specifying Areas of Land/Sea

Since YSFLIGHT 20090611 version, you can specify areas of land and sea.  For example, if you drop a weapon to the area specified as water, you will see a plume of water rather than an explosion.

Specifying Default Area

See Specifying Field Property.

Specifying Areas of Land or Sea

To specify areas of land or sea (water), select Edit -> Insert -> Motion Path / Area, then select the area type (water/land) from the Motion Path Property dialog.  Then use Multi-Point Input and specify a polygonal region in which you want to set as land or sea, and press space key to confirm.  If you want to change the area type later, you can select the area and select Motion Path/Area -> Modify, and then change the area type.

Specifying Field Property

You can specify the field property by selecting "Edit" -> "Field Property (O)".  The following dialog will open.

Field Name

Specifies the name of the field that appears in YS FLIGHT SIMULATOR.

Sky Color / Ground Color

Specifies the default sky and ground colors.

Base Elevation

Specifies the base elevation in feet.  (This feature is ignored in YSFLIGHT version 20110207 and earlier.)

Default Area

Specifies the default area type. 

Making High-Elevation Airport

You can create an airport higher than sea level by following the three steps below.

1. Create an Elevation Grid on which the airport is located.
2. Make polygons of the Elevation Grid that cover the airport area Protect Polygons.
3. Create or import an airport and locate it on the protect polygons.

Please refer to this section for creating and editing an Elevation Grid.

You can make protect polygons by selecting faces of the Elevation Grid that covers the area of the airport, and choose "Elevation Grid" -> "Make Protected Picture from Selected Faces."  The program makes selected faces transparent and creates a map that includes a polygon that exactly fits the selected faces.  (The transparent faces of the elevation grid are called protect polygons, and the picture that fits the protect polygons is called protected picture.)  Protect polygons need to be zero-slope polygons, and the program automatically makes them zero-slope if they were not.  You can also make protect polygons by selecting "Elevation Grid" -> "Set Protect Polygon", however, in that case you need to manually create a protected picture.

	=>
Faces for the airport is selected.		After choosing "Make Protected Picture from Selected Faces."

Next, you need to make an airport.  I recommend to create an airport as a separate .FLD file, and import it by "File" -> "Import" -> "Scenery."  The requirement is that the airport needs to be a child scenery of the parent scenery of the elevation grid on which the high-elevation airport is placed.  So, the hierarchy must look like as follows.

+---Parent scenery of the elevation grid
    +---Elevation grid on which the high-elevation airport is placed
    +---Protected Picture
    +---Child Scenery of the airport

Otherwise, the airport mayl not be drawn correctly.  I assume that you imported an airport from an external file for the following explanation.  After importing an airport, you first need to move the airport so that the origin of the airport lies underneath the protect polygons by "Edit" -> "Move" -> "Current Scenery".  Turning off "Draw Polygons" in "View" menu, and pressing F2 key to set the camera facing vertically down will make it easier.

Lastly, you need to choose "Edit" -> "Move" -> "Current Scenery to  Terrain Elevation" to move the airport to the elevation of the protect polygons.

	=>
Oblique view after moving the airport to under the protect polygons		After choosing "Edit" -> "Move" -> "Current Scenery to Terrain Elevation"

One thing you need to keep in mind is that if you make too many high-elevation airports, you may lose frame rate in YSFLIGHT.  However, actually, the number of elevations matters, not number of airports.  I.e., if you make two separate high-elevation airports both are at the same elevation, the effect will be just same as one high-elevation airport.  So, if you make two airports one at 240ft and the other at 250ft, I recommend to make both of them 245ft.  If you really need to make airports of different elevations, I recommend to keep them less than 10.  YSFLIGHT will be able to draw the scene even if you make airports with more than 10 different elevations, but it may get slower.

About Scenery Parts

When you create your own scenery, you need to make similar things over and over again, like airports.  You can draw runways, center lines, and everything every time, but it's tedious.  Instead, you can import some ready-made parts.  Such parts are stored in 'parts' sub-directory.  You can freely import the parts in the 'parts' sub-directory in your own scenery.  You do not need to ask me for permission for using those parts when you make your scenery open to the public.

Auxiliary Features

Reference Bitmap

You can edit scenery while looking at the semi-transparent bitmap drawn behind the scenery items.  You can resize, move, and rotate the bitmap.  So, you can adjust the size of the bitmap so that the size of the bitmap matches the real scale.  The bitmap is invisible in YSFLIGHT.

The unit of length in YSFLIGHT is meters.  So, the distance between (0,0,0) and (1000,0,0) is 1km.

Pasting a Bitmap

To paste a bitmap, select "Reference Bitmap" -> "Open Control Dialog."  The following dialog pops up.

Then press Load button, and specify the filename of the bitmap.

To move or resize the bitmap, press Move button.  Cursors of INPUT COORDINATE 2 will appear around the bitmap.  To move the bitmap, pick one of the cursors by mouse right button and drag.  To resize the bitmap, pick one of the cursors by mouse left button and drag.  After adjusting the position and size, press space key.  If you don't press space key and do another operation, the new position and size will be cancelled.

To rotate the bitmap, press Rotate button, and rotate it by the method described in Rotation.  Similar to moving, press space key to confirm the rotation.

To erase the bitmap temporarily, turn off Show button.

You can paste multiple bitmaps.  To paste a new bitmap, change REF1 to one of REF2 to REF8, and press Load button.

Saving Bitmap Configuration

You can save the configuration of bitmaps by selecting "Reference Bitmap" -> "Save Configuration."  The bitmap configuration will not be saved in .FLD file.  The configuration will thus be lost unless you save it by this way.

Loading Bitmap Configuration

To load a saved bitmap configuration, select "Reference Bitmap" -> "Load Configuration," and specify the filename by the file dialog.

Creating YSFLIGHT Mission Ready Sceneries

Endurance Mode

To enable Endurance Mode, the scenery must have five standard air start positions -- NORTH10000_01, NORTH10000_02, NORTH10000_03, NORTH10000_01, and NORTH10000_05.

Intercept Mission

To enable Intercept Mission, the scenery must satisfy the following conditions.

(1) At least one standard ground start position (a start position that has a name starting with 'RW') exists.
(2) At least one ground object with IFF1 and Primary Target flag turned on exists.

The airplane is located at the first standard ground start position.  The enemy attacks ground objects with IFF1 and Primary Target flag turned on.  Hence, if the first standard ground start position is far away from the ground objects that are attacked by the enemy airplanes, the mission will become difficult.

Close Air Support Mission

To enable Close Air Support Mission, the scenery must satisfy the following conditions.

(1) At least one standard ground start position (a start position that has a name starting with 'RW') exists.
(2) At least one ground object with IFF1 and Primary Target flag turned on exists.
(3) At least one rect region with ID 6 exists.

Also, if you want YSFLIGHT to generate friendly tanks that defends the position, a rect region with ID 7 must exist.

When YSFLIGHT starts a close air support mission, friendly tanks are generated in a rect region with ID 7.  During the mission, enemy tanks will be generated in a rect region with ID 6, and move toward friendly ground objects with Primary Target flat turned on.  (No friendly tanks are generated in Close Air Support Mission in network mode.)

The player airplane will initially be located at the first standard ground start position.

Installing Scenery in YSFLIGHT

Easy Install (Recommended)

You can save the field to:

(your document directory)/YSFLIGHT.COM/YSFLIGHT/scenery

and, your scenery will appear on YS FLIGHT SIMULATOR.

Make sure to turn on "Auto Save STP" and "Auto Save LST" options in the option dialog to use Easy Install.  These two options are on by default.

Manual Install

To install a scenery created by this program to YSFLIGHT, please follow the steps below.  (The following explanation assumes YSFLIGHT install directory is "C:\Program Files\YSFLIGHT.COM\YSFLIGHT", the scenery file is "myscenery.fld", the start position file is "mystartpos.stp", and the name of the scenery is "MYSCENERY".  Please replace them according to your environment.)

CAUTION: When you save your scenery and start position, the filename should consist only of alphabets, numbers and '_' (underscore.)  Using other characters may make YSFLIGHT unstable, or even may crash the program.

1. Copy the start position file (mystartpos.stp) and the scenery file (myscenery.fld) to the "scenery" sub-directory of the YSFLIGHT install directory (C:\Program Files\YSFLIGHT.COM\YSFLIGHT\scenery).

2. Make a text file with the following content with a text editor such as NotePad.  The filename of the text file must start with "sce", and end with ".lst"  (Example: "sce_myscenery.lst")

"MYSCENERY" scenery/myscenery.fld scenery/mystartpos.stp

3. Copy the text file to the "scenery" sub-directory of the YSFLIGHT install directory (C:\Program Files\YSFLIGHT.COM\YSFLIGHT\scenery).