Don Grovestine's Developer Utilities (Stuff4FS)

Edge Lights Processor V.1.0.0

The default spacing for apron edge lights in both FS9 and FSX is 200 ft. A light is placed at the beginning of the string and at 200' intervals after that, regardless of the length of the string. This means that if a string of edge lights is 450' ft. long, the last light in the string is only 50' from the end. There is no facility available to the user to adjust this spacing.

Edge Lights Processor will "massage" the airport .bgl file output by the FS9 or FSX compiler by calculating the length of the string and space the lights evenly along the string. You may specify a nominal separation - which, in fact, is the maximum spacing used by Edge Lights Processor. You may also adjust the color of the lights.

Extract FS9 Airport XML V.1.0.4

StripXML is a utility that may be useful to airport designers who create airports for use with both FS9 and FSX. It examines an XML file that contains data for an airport - and which may also include scenery objects - and:

StripXML allows you to generate a FS9-compatible airport from the XML version of a FSX airport created with ADE or any other airport design application - with certain limitations. StripXML will "remember" your settings from one session to the next.

List Mdl V.1.0.1

List Mdl is a small utility that creates a plain-English listing of Microsoft Flight Simulator and Lockheed Martin Prepar3D scenery and aircraft models. The model data may be in either standalone *.mdl files or collected in *.bgl files. List Mdl will be of interest to scenery or aircraft developers and anyone else who manipulates ".mdl" files.

Click on the Select button, browse to the file of interest and select it. List MDL maintains a record of the last 10 models accessed. The listing presented will fully detail the sections checked on the panel.

GUID and Name Processor V.1.0.0

GUID and Name Processor allows users to examine and change the guid and/or "friendly name" included in scenery or aircraft.mdl files for FSX and P3D. To create a new guid, click the New GUID button. The guid will be displayed in both FS9 and FSX formats. Paste a guid into either format text box and the alternate format will be displayed automatically.

To change the friendly name and/or guid:

Image2PhotoReal V.1.0.2

Image2PhotoReal is a small NET Framework 4.5 application that requires you only to supply the ortho-image and any necessary masks, and accurately locate the real-world position of its corners. Image2PhotoReal does the rest! It automatically locates mask files, processes the image, and generates a mesh-following .BGL file for FS9, FSX and P3D.

MipMap Manager V.0.0.6

Mipmap Manager is a utility to add or remove mipmaps from a set of textures. It uses Martin Wright's mwgfx.dll and mwdll.dll. Specify the source folder, indicate whether mipmaps are to be added or deleted and click Process Textures. You can also specify a mask (using standard Windows wildcards) to define the files of interest.

Separation Plane Calculator V.1.0.0

The programming of hold-short "wigwags", PAPIs, VASIs, and threshold lights requires assembly language Separation Planes. Separation Plane Calculator generates the .asm code for up to three separation planes used in combination. Enter the direction and orientation, click Calculate, and paste the code into your .asm file.

SlewMaster V.1.0.2

SlewMaster is a utility to assist in the precise placement of scenery objects. It allows you to slew your aircraft to a position and heading and capture that data for use in your scenery design application. It communicates with Flightsim via FSUIPC or SimConnect.

Texture Manager V.2.1.3

Texture Manager ("TM") is a utility for converting compressed and uncompressed image files between formats. TM will convert a single file, all the files in a folder and its subfolders, and many steps in between. It processes both standard Windows .bmp files and .tga files. Compressed texture files may be converted back to their Windows 24-bit equivalent. With appropriately named source image files, TM does the rest for both FS9 and FSX versions.

Tweak FS2002 Ground Poly V.1.0.5

Many designers use FS2002 ground polys, but they require "tweaking" to avoid flickering. TweakGP reduces that task to a single mouse click once the affected file and folder(s) have been selected. Version 1.05 further tweaks the .asm file to avoid autogen suppression and fixes DX-10 Preview mode display issues.

Tutorial Drive-Through Parking

Don's comprehensive Drive-Through Parking tutorial explains how to implement this specific parking behavior in your airports. Essential for realistic airport operations.

Tutorial Adding Realism to Airports

Don's Tutorial how to add realism to your airport. This guide covers various techniques to move your scenery design from "standard" to "outstanding".