39. Documentation

This chapter documents ways to create content and customize SeligSIM beyond what can be done using the various in-sim menu screens and Power Tools program.

The usual reminder applies - make a backup copy of any files that you might decide to tweak.

Update History

Creating Panorama Flying Sites:

12/18/2024 - First upload. Included Creating Panorama Flying Sites.
12/23/2024 - Added the Quick Test section.

39.1. Creating Panorama Flying Sites

The good way to learn how to create a new panorama flying site is to walk through an example panorama file set. The download link is below.

A screen shot of this example panorama in the simulator is shown below.

Image of the Skidpad Pano Site

Screen shot of the example panorama flying site with the Alpha 40 and landing zone map M .
Source image credit: Poly Haven, licensed under CC0 (Public Domain).
Skidpad near Johannesburg, South Africa.
Click image for a larger size.

39.1.1. Download the Example

Download the example here: Fields.zip.

The unzipped contents will look like this with the Fields/ folder at the top level:

├── Fields/Pano/AddNew/
    └── MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.cfg
├── Fields/Pano/MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k/
    └── low/
    └── med/
    └── high/
        └── Image_001.tga  (8192 x 4096 px, 98,305 kB, uncompressed, 24 bits/pixel)
    └── Icon.tga           ( 256 x  128 px,     97 kB, uncompressed, 24 bits/pixel)
    └── IconLarge.tga      (1024 x  512 px,  1,537 kB, uncompressed, 24 bits/pixel)
    └── LandingTarget.txt
    └── MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.col  (optional file not included)
    └── MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.dom
    └── MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.ele
    └── MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.fld

The naming convention requires that the .cfg file, the panorama folder, and the .fld file share the same name, e.g., “MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k” in this example. The names for the .col, .dom, and .ele files do not need to match because their names are explicitly defined in the .fld file.

These files contain the necessary information that includes the site name and description of the flying site, the pano image(s) (icon files and main pano tile(s)), the position of the sun (for casting shadows), the starting point of the aircraft, the position of the pilot stamps (profile images of Pilot 1 and Pilot 2), the outline of the runway (typical landing zone), ground elevation data (for ground reactions), and more. These data for this example are described below along with how to include these files in the simulator.

39.1.2. Quick Test

If you want to quickly test your own panorama image in the sim, there is way to do that. Follow the instructions in the Installation section to install the example panorama files. Then replace the Image_001.tga (file listed above) with your own 360 deg spherical panorama image. The file should have the following properties: .tga file type/format, 8192 x 4096 pixels, uncompressed, 24 bits/pixel. Confirm that the file size is: 98,305 kB. Start SeligSIM and select the skidpad panorama and start a flight. You should then see your image.

39.1.3. Folders and Files

A description of each folder and file in the unzipped directory follows.

AddNew/

This folder contains the file named MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.cfg that is used by the Power Tools program to add the new panorama to the list of panorama flying sites. Only the name of the file is used. The contents of the file are ignored. The extension should be .cfg.

MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k/

This folder contains the files for the panorama, including multiple image resolution levels.

Subfolders:

  • low/, med/, high/: These subfolders store panorama images at different resolution levels to support graphics from basic (marginal) to standard quality for gaming or better.

  • The high/ folder contains the highest-quality panorama: Image_001.tga, a 360 deg spherical panorama image with a resolution of 8192 x 4096 pixels and a file size of 98,305 kB.

    At 8,192 pixels wide, it is referred to as an “8k” panorama in this context.

    The simulator uses files in this folder when Options | Graphics 2 | Pano Quality is set to High.

    This format for the .tga (Targa) file and icon images below must be uncompressed and 24 bits/pixel with no transparency. This is the save setting in Adobe Photoshop:

    Adobe Photoshop with 24 bits per pixel

    The focal point of the panorama image is taken to be 5.58 ft above zero elevation. This corresponds approximately to the height of the eye point of a 6-ft tall person. The bottom of the feet are at zero elevation, and the eye point is actually -5.58 ft in the standard NED coordinate system (North-East-Down system) used by the simulator. For clarity, the NED system corresponds to the XYZ axes, respectively. Positive Z is down.

    Beyond 8k, higher resolutions, for example, 32k (32,768 x 16,384 pixels) and higher, are supported. Also, the .dds image format is accepted. For the dds files, the format needs to be: -dxt1c -nomipmap.

  • In the simulator, if Options | Graphics 2 | Pano Quality is set to “Med” or “Low”, the panorama images in those respective folders will be used. In this example, however, with no images provided in the “med” and “low” folders, the simulator will render the scene completely white.

Files:

  • Icon.tga: A small icon (256 x 128 pixels, uncompressed, 24 bits/pixel, 97 kB) displayed in the Flying Site Selection lists and on fly screens.

  • IconLarge.tga: A larger icon (1024 x 512 pixels, uncompressed, 24 bits/pixel, 1,537 kB) used on the selected flying site on the Flying Site Selection screen.

  • LandingTarget.txt: A text file that defines the landing target location.

  • MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.fld, MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.dom, MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.ele: Configuration files that define the field attributes, panorama settings, and elevation data, respectively. These files are described in more detail below.

For these latter .fld, .dom, and .ele files, key parameters and any non-obvious important settings are explained below.

MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.fld

The following file contains parameters for defining a panorama flying site in the simulator.

; FLD -- Flying Field File

Name  = Skidpad
Name2 = Johannesburg ZA
Name3 = 8k

Description = Skidpad near Johannesburg, South Africa.\nSource image credit: Poly Haven (www.polyhaven.com).\nLicensed under CC0 (Public Domain).

IsAPano    = 1
UseSkydome = 0

DOM    = MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.dom
ELE    = MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.ele
;COL   = MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.col
BASIC_HOT  = 0.0

[EnvironmentMap]
Shiny  = Graphics\Environment\ShinyDefault.dds
Chrome = Graphics\Environment\ChromeDefault.dds

[Colors]
FogRed   = 1.0
FogGreen = 1.0
FogBlue  = 1.0
BackgroundRed   = 1.0
BackgroundGreen = 1.0
BackgroundBlue  = 1.0

[AircraftStartPos1]
AircraftPosX    = 35.0
AircraftPosY    = 11.5
AircraftPosZ    =  0.0
AircraftHeading =  270.0

[AircraftStartPos2]
AircraftPosX    = 25.0
AircraftPosY    = 20.0
AircraftPosZ    = 0.0
AircraftHeading = 270.0

[Pilot1]
PilotPosX = 0.0
PilotPosY = 0.0
PilotPosZ = 0.0

[Pilot2]
PilotPosX = 0.0
PilotPosY = 0.0
PilotPosZ = 0.0

[Runway]
MapCenter.i  = 0.0
MapCenter.j  = 0.0
MapRotation  = 0.0
NumPoints = 19
0.i = 67.6097
0.j = 76.6502
1.i = 67.6097
1.j = -68.7602
2.i = 65.4117
2.j = -71.1609
3.i = 26.966
3.j = -73.1827
4.i = -18.5902
4.j = -75.8245
5.i = -59.2331
5.j = -75.9586
6.i = -59.2331
6.j = -65.5978
7.i = -64.7
7.j = -18.3997
8.i = -67.0211
8.j = 34.4479
9.i = -67.0211
9.j = 64.0794
10.i = -57.7709
10.j = 75.3525
11.i = -42.1092
11.j = 56.3486
12.i = -5.87377
12.j = 56.3486
13.i = -5.87377
13.j = 89.7579
14.i = 11.4795
14.j = 92.9032
15.i = 17.1
15.j = 91.9
16.i = 11.4795
16.j = 57.0065
17.i = 45.5223
17.j = 57.0065
18.i = 66.2843
18.j = 83.9668

Descriptions:

  1. Name, Name2, and Name3: Specifies the name of the flying site.

  2. Description: Gives a description of the site. The “\n” produces a line break in description on the Flying Site Selection screen.

  3. IsAPano (=1) and UseSkydome (=0): Indicates that this is a panorama flying site without a user-selectable sky panorama. The sky is defined implicitly by the full 360 deg panorama itself.

  4. DOM: Specifies the name of the file (MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.dom) that contains detailed data for rendering the panorama. This file includes information about positioning, alignment, and other essential rendering parameters.

  5. ELE: Specifies the name of the file (MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.ele) that defines the ground elevation data.

  6. COL: Specifies the collision data file. In this example, the line is commented out with a “;” so that no collision data is used. No collision data file is included in the zipfile.

    Note that:

    • As this line illustrates, any text following a “;” is treated as a comment and ignored.

    • The “;” can be used to add comments at any location on a line.

  7. Pilot1 and Pilot2: Defines the positions where pilot stamps appear in the panorama scene.

    • The coordinate position (0.0, 0.0, 0.0) in the North-East-Down (NED) system places a pilot stamp at the scene center. When a pilot is positioned at 0-0 (zero) North-East coordinates, this places them at the same vertical line as the panorama camera focal point. At this position, the pilot stamp is not visible because it occupies the same point as the viewer’s perspective.

    • Moving a pilot away from center of the panorama makes them visible. For example, setting Pilot 1’s PilotPosX to 35.0 places that pilot 35 feet North of center, making the pilot visible in the panorama view.

  1. Runway: Defines the Map Overlay outline that displays the runway or the perimeter of the landing zone when the M key is pressed. For this example panorama site, this “runway” was made to be the skidpad asphalt area visible to the pilot.

    • These points can be collected by taxiing the Alpha 40 airplane along the border of the landable asphalt area.

    • The ' key (Save Position widget) can be used to record coordinate point data during this process. These coordinates can then be formatted into the structure shown in the file.

    • Points are indexed sequentially, starting from 0.

    • Rather than being a perfect rectangle with 90 deg corners, the landable area follows the irregular outline of the surrounding concrete barriers, as shown in the map overlay screen shot above.

MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.dom

; DOM -- Full Dome File

UseLensFlare = 0

[DomeRotation]
Azimuth = 0
Pitch   = -.33
Roll    = .33

[Sun]
Azimuth   = 170.
Elevation = 30.

[AmbientLight]
R = 1.0
G = 1.0
B = 1.0

[DiffuseLight]
R = 1.0
G = 1.0
B = 1.0

[SpecularLight]
R = 1.0
G = 1.0
B = 1.0

[Fog]
UseFog    = 0
Mode      = 0
Density   = 0.0001
StartDist = 4000.0
EndDist   = 14000.0
FogColorR = 0.60
FogColorG = 0.70
FogColorB = 0.82

[Images]
NumHorizontal_High = 1
NumVertical_High   = 1

NumHorizontal_Med  = 1
NumVertical_Med    = 1

NumHorizontal_Low  = 1
NumVertical_Low    = 1

Descriptions:

  1. UseLensFlare: Indicates that no lens flare is used. The sun is obscured by clouds, preventing any lens flare.

  2. DomeRotation (angles): Rotates the dome along each of the three axes. The order of the rotation is azimuth, pitch, and then roll in the NED coordinate system. The sign on the rotations use the right hand rule along the NED axes (xyz).

    This example panorama in the simulator required rotation adjustments to effectively level the asphalt landing area when rendered in the simulator. The corrections were determined to be: Pitch = -.33 deg and Roll = .33 deg. Additionally, as a first step, the panorama was edited (shifted horizontally in an image editor) to align the bleachers along an East-West axis. This manual image edit could have been bypassed by adjusting the azimuth angle in the input file.

  3. Sun: Controls the sun’s position to cast proper shadows.

  4. Images: Specifies how the panorama image is subdivided into tiles to create the complete 360 deg panorama in the simulator. For this skidpad panorama, only one image tile is used, so NumHorizontal_High = 1 and NumVertical_High = 1.

    Skidpad Spherical Panorama Image

    Spherical panorama image of the skidpad site (one image tile: Image_001.tga).
    Source image credit: Poly Haven, licensed under CC0 (Public Domain).
    Image has been adapted from original HDRI.

MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.ele

Defines the ground elevation in the NED coordinate system. The file includes (1) the type of surface that defines the surface friction and surface bumps (if any) and (2) the triangular facets that define the surface, i.e., the ground elevation. This example site includes only two triangular facets, which define a level ground plane consistent with the level asphalt area. The format for each facet is:

FACET  surface_type  x1 y1 z1  x2 y2 z2  x3 y3 z3

For this example panorama, the two triangular facets combine to form a square patch centered on the X-Y origin, with each side measuring 100,000 feet in length. The elevation of the square patch is 0.0. The .ele file includes the surface material type, friction multiplier, and triangular facets.

; ELE -- Ground Elevation File

 MAT_TYPE ASPHALT
 MAT_MU   1.00
 MAT_END

 FACET ASPHALT  -50000.0 -50000.0 0.0    -50000.0  50000.0 0.0      50000.0  50000.0 0.0
 FACET ASPHALT   50000.0  50000.0 0.0     50000.0 -50000.0 0.0     -50000.0 -50000.0 0.0

For more detail, see the complete .ele file in your downloaded example.

39.1.4. Installation

Copy the complete Fields/ folder into the SeligSIM installation folder. Then confirm that you see both (1) the MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.cfg file in the Fields/Pano/AddNew/ folder and (2) the new panorama folder in Fields/Pano/MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k/ along with all its contents. Along with this new panorama folder, you should see all the other panorama folders in Fields/Pano.

Next, to add the new pano name to the Pano selection list in the simulator, run the Power Tools program. Navigate to the Flying Sites section. Then, in the Panorama Sites section, find the new name in the Add New list: “Skidpad Johannesburg ZA 8k”. Select the desired position in the main list of installed panoramas. Then click Add New to insert the flying site at that location. Use the up/down arrows if you want to change the position in the list.

If you are running the simulator, your changes to the Pano list should be viewable immediately upon clicking to select a Pano flying site.

Skidpad in the Power Tools pano edit list

New Skidpad site in the New Panos list in Power Tools.
Select it and click Add New to add the new site to the main Installed Panos list.

For this site, these Power Tools camera settings below are recommended. The wide angle (45 deg) makes it easier to see more of the skidpad.

Image of the viewing selections recommended

Recommended camera FOV settings (45 deg) in Power Tools for the example skidpad site.

Archiving a Panorama Flying Site (“Fields/Pano/AddArchived/” folder)

After adding the new panorama to the list, the Fields/Pano/AddNew/MyPano-01-Skidpad-8k.cfg file is automatically deleted by the Power Tools program. If you click to Archive a panorama name in the Power Tools list, the folder name associated with that site will appear as a .cfg file in the Fields/Pano/AddArchived/ folder. If you no longer want to keep that name in the Power Tools list, then manually delete the pano-name file from the archive folder.