Changing an airport name in P3d 4.1

[jabloomf1230]

This used to work in FSX and I'm pretty sure that it worked in some previous versions of P3d. But now I can't get any stub airport BGL files to change the airport name via either placing them in scenery/world/scenery or using the add-on.xml method, type=WORLD and layer=3.

For example, the stock airport CYAZ used to be called Tofino, but now is referred to in the real world as Long Beach. Creating a new version staring from the stock CYAZ in ADE changed the name in both the BGL file and the stub BGL file (confirmed by looking at the ID=0x0019 record type in both BGL files with a hex editor). But unfortunately, the display of the airport name in P3d V4.1 is still Tofino both in the "go to airport" and flight planner lists. The sim is still apparently getting the information from the stock APX BGL file, located in scenery/world/scenery. This has nothing to do with the ATC, as I can change the audio name to Long Beach quite easily with EditVoicePack.

People here claimed in previous threads that changing the airport altitude in the same fashion works in P3d 4.1, so I'm at a loss.

[DavidButler]

Try using Airport Design Editor from www.scruffyduck.org. Only trouble is that you cannot delete the original file, but you can load the original file and delete everything except the ARP.

Dave Butler

[jabloomf1230]

Dave,

Thanks. I am using ADE. It creates a stub airport BGL file in the correct location (/scenery/world/scenery) but the sim just doesn't recognize the new name. It will only display the names that are in various numbered airport BGL files (0000-1107). I tried this again in my FSX-SE installation just to see if the stub BGL process still works and it does.

I also tried the add-on.xml method as stated in my previous post and that doesn't work either, despite being loaded before the numbered airport BGL files. I'm going to experiment more by disabling the corresponding numbered airport BGL file (APX14140.bgl) temporarily and see what happens.

I hope you didn't mean that I should edit the stock airport BGL file (APX14140.bgl) with ADE which is probably not a good idea. Considering that there are multiple airports included in that file, it would take a lot of work to disaggregate everything into XML, edit CYAZ's name and then reconstitute it with BGLComp. And even then, every P3d4 scenery installer update might potentially overwrite that file.

Jay

[jabloomf1230]

UPDATE:
1) Disabling fsaerodata and returning to the default P3d scenery had no effect. The name of CYAZ (Tofino) was unchanged.
2) Renaming folder scenery/0101/APX14140.bgl to APX14140.bgl.orig makes the revised name (Long Beach) show up correctly in the sim's various airport lists.

CONCLUSION: The previous stub BGL method for changing an airport name in FSX does not work in P3d4. P3d4 always obtains airport names from the numbered scenery folders, even when there is a lower priority stub BGL (which is loaded first) and a higher priority modified version (which is loaded after the numbered scenery folders) of that airport with the revised name. It does not matter whether the stub BGL is located in scenery/world/scenery or is added via the add-on.xml method as type=WORLD and layer=3.

3) Copying the stub BGL to scenery/0101/ and renaming it APX14140.bgl while also renaming the original file to APX14140a.bgl works. The name is changed in the P3d lists, and P3d still will find the remainder of the airports included in the default file renamed APX14140a.bgl.

CONCLUSION: It is possible to rename an airport in P3d4, but it requires some fiddling.

[DavidButler]

No I do not recommend changing the original file.
Here's what I did to change the name: (all using ADE only)

Start ADE and load the default AFCAD
In ADE go to Tools\ Change Airport Reference data
Change airport name and also change altitude(make a note of original) save and compile scenery to an active scenery folder
Reload saved AFCAD change altitude back to original
Save and compile file

This worked for me

Dave

[jabloomf1230]

Dave,

Thanks. So what's wrong is that without a temporary altitude edit, the process doesn't work in P3d4? That's strange. But thanks for the tip. I'll try that today.

EDIT: Great! That worked and not only that just changing CYAZ's altitude temporarily fixed a few other revised airport names that had never worked before. P3d4 must have some flag set somewhere in its scenery indexing that prevents changing a name without first changing at least one airport altitude. That doesn't make any sense to me at all, but I'm not going to argue with success.

Jay

[DavidButler]

Glad it worked. I do not understand either why changing the altitude makes it work. Only thing I can think of is that a file is created in scenery\world\scenery called CYAZ_ADEP4_DB_ALT

Dave

[jabloomf1230]

The only file that I saw is named CYAZ_ADEP4_JAB_ALT.bgl, but it must be some kind of temporary file that the sim creates when it runs??? Very confusing.

[DavidButler]

It's not a temporary file. With the sim not running look in scenery\world\scenery you will see its there.

Dave

[jabloomf1230]

I didn't mean it was temporary. Supposedly, this has been the same since FSX:

http://scruffyduck.screenstepslive.com/ ... 8/l/212671

I guess that I must have forgotten. Why changing one airport, fixed the others is a mystery though.

[jabloomf1230]

Dan,

At least I figured out what ADE does. If one changes the altitude and compiles the file, then ADE maintains an internal Boolean variable in the airport file called "Revised Altitude". Once that internal ADE variable is changed by editing the altitude, unless one goes into raw editing mode in ADE and changes it back, that internal variable remains set to TRUE no matter what is done in the future in ADE to the airport altitude.

Somehow that ADE internal variable must translate to either a similar setting in either the main or the stub (ALT) BGL file and the sim picks up on that when restructuring its scenery index, etc.. Unfortunately, I looked at the BGL files with a hex editor and I don't see anywhere where such a "Revised Altitude" variable is carried forward by BGLComp. That doesn't mean it isn't there. It is possible that just be making a minor change to the altitude compiling, changing it back and compiling again, that the new altitude does not match the stock altitude bit by bit, due to rounding error. This could also be what triggers the sim to recognize the new airport properties including the name.

In any case, the "trick" works and I was remiss in not remembering it, so thanks for jogging my failing memory.

Jay

[jabloomf1230]

I also realized why the name change technique sometimes doesn't always work. P3d V4 doesn't completely rebuild the folder SceneryIndexes_64. If one deletes all entries in that folder (or just creates an empty version of the folder) the scenery indexes are completely rebuilt and the name changes all show up correctly.