READ ME - Fly! Scenery Editor (1.05)

Notice

	This document accompanies the 1.05 release of the Fly! scenery editing tools.  
	This is a collection of tools used for importing satellite imagery, digital 
	elevation model data, 3D scenery models, as well as .EPD file management, 
	database editing, and taxiway creation.  

	THIS IS A BETA VERSION RELEASE.  This software may contain bugs, and may crash 
	during use.  Crashes may corrupt your existing Fly! installation, or potentially 
	damage your operating system files.  If you are not willing to take these risks, 
	do not install these tools, or remove them if they have already been installed.  
	Terminal Reality makes no warranties or guaranties to the usefulness or 
	functionality of these tools, and offers no support.  These editors are being 
	made available "as is", and should be used at your own risk.

Installation

	Extract the FLYEDIT105.ZIP archive to a temporary folder, then double-click 
	the SETUP.EXE file to begin installation.  You will be asked to read and accept 
	a license agreement for the use and distribution of any materials created with 
	these tools.  Read the license agreement carefully, and accept or decline the 
	terms of the agreement.  You will then be asked to choose an installation 
	directory for the Fly! editor.  This must be the same directory that you 
	installed the retail version of Fly! into.  If the default directory is not 
	correct, you can browse and change the destination folder.

	The installer will install the following tools:

	FLYEDIT.EXE		:	The primary scenery editing application

	\3DS4 Tools
		ASC2MDL.EXE	:	Used to convert models from ASC format to MDL format
		GETOBJ.K3D	:	Plug-in for 3DS4

	\Command Line Tools
		AARAW.EXE	:	Generates anti-aliased edge files for cockpit images
		CUTOUT.EXE	:	Used to cut-out subsections of a .RAW file
		DEM2RAS.EXE	:	Used to convert 1-degree USGS Digital Elevation files
		JOINAAI.EXE	:	Used to concatenate multiple anti-aliased edge files
		JOINRAW.EXE	:	Used to concatenate multiple .RAW files into a single file
		JOINTGA.EXE	:	Used to join .TGA animations into a single file
		PBM2RAW.EXE	:	Used to convert .PBM and .PBG files to .RAW format
		RAW2PBM.EXE	:	Used to convert .RAW files to .PBM or .PBG format
		SLICEMAP.EXE	:	Used for generating tile sets for map creation
		SLICERAW.EXE	:	Used to slice a .RAW image into multiple frames

	\HowTo
		Database Values.txt	:	Describes database fields and values for primary Fly! databases
		HowTo-Models.pdf	:	Describes creating and importing 3D models
		HowTo-SceneryEditor.pdf	:	Basics for placing scenery objects, and creating terrains
		HowTo-Taxiways.pdf	:	Describes how to create airport taxiway models

	\Plug-Ins
		\3DS Max Plugins
			\Max V2
				S3DMPORT.DLI	:	Model import plug-in for 3DS Max 2.x
				S3DXPORT.DLE	:	Model export plug-in for 3DS Max 2.x
			\Max V3
				S3DMAX3.DLI	:	Model import plug-in for 3DS Max 3.x
				S3DMAX3.DLE	:	Model export plug-in for 3DS Max 3.x
		\Lightwave Plugin
			TRIPLUGS.P	:	Model export plug-in for Lightwave
		\Photoshop Plugin
			RAWACT.8BI	:	Automatically loads a .RAW/.ACT combination in Photoshop

	\Tools
		PODVIEW.EXE		:	Visual utility to view and extract files from an .EPD file

After installation, please refer to the following .PDF files installed into the 
\HowTo directory to step you through the basics of importing 3D models, placing 
scenery, creating satellite and elevation imagery, and creating taxiway models.  
These files are in Adobe Acrobat 3.0 format, and can be viewed with the Adobe 
Acrobat Reader.  This is a free program available from www.adobe.com.

Change History

1.05.00 04/13/00

	-	Stack corruption bug would cause assert errors or crashes during the
 		Locating Airports or Flatten Airports stage of creating a new scenery 
		area; fixed.
	-	The editor did not automatically create a \DATA or \WORLD directory 
		when initially launched, causing asserts or errors when attempting to 
		use various editor functions; fixed.
	-	When creating a new scenery area, you now have the option of keeping 
		any textures that have already been created to speed the slicing 
		process. This is useful if you have to quit the render process before 
		it is complete.
	-	When creating a new scenery area, you can now specify that night textures
 		are being created. In this case, Fly! does not replace the existing 
		ground textures but instead simply creates the appropriate night texture
		tiles.  This makes creation of day and night textures in a single 
		directory very easy, and aids in the creation of the final scenery .EPD
		file.

1.04.00 02/21/00

	-	Elevation import bugs introduced in 1.03 caused plateaus to appear when 
		importing DEM data; fixed.
	-	Creating a detail tile would destory existing tile elevation data, 
		causing tears and seams in the scenery; fixed.
	-	Added a new model "browser" to ease in the browsing and adding of scenery 
		models. This is found under the Models menu, listed as "Place Static 
		(.BIN) Model (Browser)". All models in the \MODELS directory will appear, 
		including those contained in mounted .EPD files. You can scan the list by 
		using the mouse, arrow keys, PgUp/PgDn keys, or pressing the first character 
		in the name of the desired model to jump to that name alphabetically.
	-	Added ability to drag models with the mouse for placement. Hold down the 
		shift key, then click and drag the model to it's desired placement. Click 
		anywhere outside of the model on the ground to place the object and 
		deselect it.
	-	You can now simply single-click a model to select it, and then perform 
		operations on the model (rotate, rename, copy, delete, etc.)
	-	Many of the embedded editors would crash when exiting back to the scenery 
		editor. Sometimes this could be cured by extracting all files from the 
		GLOBE.EPD pod. This bug has been fixed.
	-	Lat/Lon coordinates would incorrectly convert the fractional portion of the 
		digits stored to a scenery file, possibly causing shifts in scenery models 
		once you exited and reloaded the editor; fixed.
	-	Database editor would crash when generating indexes for the runway 
		database; fixed.
	-	Some 1-byte database fields contain non-printable values, making it 
		impossible to enter new values by keyboard. You can now enter in a hex 
		value for these fields by preceeding the value with "0x" then the hex value 
		(for example, to enter the value of 1 in the field you would type 0x01). 
	-	You can now clear the contents of a database field by pressing the 'C' key 
		when the field is highlighted.
	-	Database import/export routines are now operational. Make your changes/additions 
		as desired to the database. Afterward, move to each record you wish to export 
		and press the 'M' key to mark the record for export. Once all records have been 
		marked, use the "Export records from database" to export all marked records to a 
		*.DEX file. This file can be shared with other users who have the Editor. 
		To import, choose "Import records from extract file" and type the path of the 
		*.DEX file. The Editor will automatically update, insert, and rebuild all indexes 
		as needed. Beware that this can be a time consuming process.
	-	The Goto Airport dialog now allows search by name or airport ID.
	-	A new ground crosshair has been added to make positioning easier. You can toggle 
		the crosshair by using the View->Ground Crosshair menu item.
	-	Menu layout has been cleaned up to group items more logically.

1.03.00 11/24/99

	-	Scenery can now be imported near the Prime Meridian without access violations.
	-	You can now set the default starting location for the editor by moving to the 
		desired location, then selecting ‘Set Default Editor Position’ from the Utility 
		menu.
	-	The license agreement will only display once (until you accept the terms), then 
		will not display again (YAY!)
	-	S3D plug-in’s had a problem which caused pivot points not to be properly 
		exported; fixed.
	-	New airport flattening logic is much faster, more accurate, and visually will 
		display the progress on the screen.
	-	Creating a normal scenery tile now allows you to bypass importing elevation data.
	-	Information panel now correctly shows eye altitude.
	-	If you were placing or moving a model, then used the Goto Airport function, 
		the Editor would crash; fixed.
	-	The Editor now operates at a fixed time of day to prevent nighttime when you 
		jump between airports.
	-	Default folders (Data, World, etc.) are now automatically created the first 
		time the Editor is run.
	-	Scenery objects would not correctly import and save if their latitude was 
		between -9..0..9.  Fixed.

1.02.00 10/07/99

	-	Added the DEM2RAS.EXE command line tool for converting 1-degree USGS DEM files 
		for use with Flyedit.  Run this command line tool from a Windows DOS prompt with 
		no parameters to see program usage instructions.
	-	Added 1-degree DEM conversion functionality directly inside the Flyedit 
		application.  Access from the Utility menu.
	-	When importing satellite and DEM imagery, you will now have the choice of whether 
		elevations are initially set to zero feet MSL, as well as the difference in feet 
		between ground tile corners that will determine when a tile is further divided into 
		subtiles for more ground elevation detail.
	-	When creating a detail ground tile, you will now have the choice of whether or not 
		elevation data should be imported for the tile.  If not, the original tile elevation 
		will be populated to the tile corners, and interpolated across the subtiles.
	-	The Taxiway Editor would crash if you attempted to create taxiways using the mouse 
		feature.  Fixed.
	-	The Articulated Model editor would crash if you attempted to activate the mouse 
		feature. Fixed.
	-	The Shape Editor would crash when generating texture crams for .S3D model 
		imports. Fixed.
	-	CON, COM, LPT, and PRN airports would crash in the Taxiway editor if you attempted 
		to load or create a taxiway model. Fixed.
	-	You can now specify COM port baud, bit rate, parity, and stop bits through the .INI 
		file (for using tablets).  See the [EDITOR] section of the FLY.INI file.
	-	The Articulated Model editor was incorrectly importing parts from .S3D files, making 
		it impossible to create articulated models. Fixed.
	-	The Editor operated in a "fixed" resolution of 640x480. For those of you running on 
		larger monitors, you can now set the default resolution in the [EDITOR] section of 
		the FLY.INI file.  Add the following lines to this section:
			editorScreenXSize=640
			editorScreenYSize=480
		Valid values are X=640,Y=480; X=800,Y=600; or X=1024,Y=768. Any other values are 
		untested and may cause crashes.

Support

	This is an unsupported product, and is offered AS IS.  Please do not contact Gathering of 
	Developers or Terminal Reality for support.

- END -
Fly! Scenery Editor (Beta)
1.05
04/13/2000