This FS2000 terrain mesh, at 30 meters horizontal resolution, covers an area including Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, and extends west to include Pikes Peak and mountains nearby, part of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Pikes Peak, at 14110 ft. (4301 meters), is noted for a commanding view.
As anything of this complexity in flight simulator, this scenery demands plenty of computer power, including CPU and RAM, to achieve acceptable frame rates and a smooth image. I recommended to try this terrain mesh only if you are experienced in tuning your FS installation for performance.
To Install:
This terrain mesh is contained in a file called cos30m10.bgl which you can install as any other scenery file. If you are not familiar with this process, please read Tim Dickens tutorial. Point your browser to:
This is a summary of the main steps, more details in the tutorial above:
1) Place the cos30m10.bgl file into the scenery subfolder of the folder where you would like to install very high resolution terrain mesh files like this one. Keep these very high resolution files in separate folder(s) from the lower resolution terrain mesh files available from Eddie Denney, and others.
2) Start FS2000 and select Scenery Library from the World menu, then select Add area and find the folder where you placed the cos30m10.bgl file. Click OK and if needed, click the checkmark to make the scenery active.
3) To make sure the simulator installs the scenery file correctly the first time, quit the simulator and start it again. If you skip this step, you may risk crashing the simulator or your computer, or not having your scenery loaded correctly. This step is a workaround required by possible bugs in the MSFS 2000 software.
Performance Tip:
Included is a screenshot (display_settings.jpg) of the display settings that can be used to evaluate the effect on frame rates of complex terrain mesh files like this one. In general, the "Terrain mesh complexity" setting can be moved from 100 to 1, doubling the frame rates while sacrificing some of the detail and accuracy of the elevated terrain mesh.
Take a tour:
Colorado Springs Municipal (KCOS) is a good starting point for a scenic tour of the mountains. An early morning ride is the best to appreciate the effects of light on the terrain.
Technical Information ---
Source data: 55 7.5 Minute DEM files from the USGS (at 30 meters horizontal resolution) converted to 1x1 arc second DTED files and merged to form one BGL file. This is the standard method I use in generating large 30 meter resolution terrain mesh files. In addition, the equivalent of 9 7.5 minute DEM files were used to cover gaps in 30 meter coverage. These 9 files were derived from 90 meter resolution DEMs, and resampled via interpolation. The interporlation technique needs improvement, as you may notice some areas where stepped slopes are too prominent.
Level of Detail (LOD): 10
Approximate area covered: 7967 sq. km. (3112 sq. miles)
Corners of the area covered (WGS84):
NW NE
N 39.37000° W 105.62500° N 39.37000° W 104.62556°
N 38.37639° W 105.62500° N 38.37639° W 104.62556°
SW SE
Calibration point:
Pikes Peak (highest point in this map)
Elevation and Geographic Coordinates from DEM
14111 ft, N 38 50 32.99, W 105 2 41.97 (WGS84)
Elevation and Geographic Coordinates in FS 2000 with this file
14111 ft, N 38 50 33.05, W 105 2 42.35
Tools used:
Microsoft Terrain SDK ( http://www.microsoft.com/games/fs2000/devdesk.asp )
Microdem ( http://www.usna.edu/Users/oceano/pguth/website/microdem.htm ) (latest debugging version)
DEMconvert ( http://members.bellatlantic.net/~pguth/demconv.htm ) (version that can export BSQ files)
Notes about this first release:
FS2000 runways can only be rendered absolutely flat. That's the way it works. The side effect is that if an airport lies on terrain that is on a gentle slope, the flattening of the runway will create ridges that are not really there in real life. This is annoying and distracting, but there's no way around it.
You will find that the default placement of textures is not covering the summit of Pikes Peak with snow, as it should. Also, a couple of private landing strips (7CO1 and CO96), southwest of Pikes Peak, appear sunken on the terrain. This happens because the elevation of those strips as implemented in the default scenery, is lower than the elevated terrain provided by this terrain mesh. Flatten switches can be used to lower the elevation of the surrounding terrain to the elevation of these strips.
Finally, just as a reminder, terrain mesh files don't change roads, rivers, coastlines and the placement of textures over the terrain. Odd things can happen, like floating lakes, rivers and roads, as well as farmland on top of a rain forest, snowless alpine elevations, or suburban streets on the sides of steep slopes, etc. This can be fixed, but it's an entirely different project.
Other 30 Meter Resolution Projects Previously Released:
Riverside Area, California, USA (ral30m10.zip)
Las Vegas Area, Nevada, USA (las30m10.zip)
El Paso, Texas, and South Central New Mexico, USA (elp30m10.zip)
Phoenix Area, Arizona, USA (merges with Tucson Area) (phx30m10.zip)
Tucson Area, Arizona, USA (merges with Phoenix Area) (tus30m10.zip)
Puerto Rico (purtmv1.zip)
Next Project:
San Diego, California, USA
Acknowledgements:
Dr. Peter Guth (creator of Microdem and DEMconvert) fine tuned his tools to make this work possible. He offered valuable insight on the method to use to convert multiple 7.5 minute DEM files into a single seamless terrain file for flight simulator.
Copyright and License to Use:
This archive is Copyright by Orlando Sotomayor. You have the right to use for your personal enjoyment. Redistribution on a commercial basis is strictly prohibited. October 7, 2000.
