WED 1.1 Feature List

As 920 beta finishes up, I am working on some WED features. Future WED updates will be small and more frequent; I think it's more useful to get at least some features into WED quickly, rather than holding them until I have a huge update.

So this list is short - that doesn't mean that other features won't happen - they just won't happen as soon. In particular, I am very aware that WED needs better taxiway sign editing and better polygon editing. Those will have to wait though.

WED 1.1 will provide overlay editing. WED will not be a replacement for overlay editor - Marginal has done a really great job with his tools. However, having overlay editing in WED will allow people making airports to see complete apt.dat 850 data and overlay data at the same time. This is particularly useful for authors making custom scenery where the apt.dat format is augmented with custom DSF overlay pavement and lines.*

WED 1.1 will have 3 features:

• Ability to edit these DSF overlay types: object placements, facades, forests, object strings, draped lines, and draped polygons (both tiled and textured with ST coordinates).
• Very limited preview of those types. I know you will be able to see the texture for a draped polygon for orthophoto placement. I do not know if I will even have OBJ preview in 1.1. Editing will not be WYSIWYG. It will be more CAD-like.
  
• Import and export of DSF overlay types to DSF overlay files.

Note that while roads and beaches are technically allowed in overlays, they are not on the list. The reason is that right now both of them require elevation data in the road and beach itself. Since WED doesn't have a base mesh, it can't sanely provide this information.

Eventually we will have some way to "drape" roads - at that point it will make sense to provide WED road editing too. But let's not delay at least some overlay editing that long!

I don't know exactly how long this work will take - my rough guesstimate is about 2 weeks. But...that depends on my working on WED for two weeks straight without interruption!

* Every type of element in apt.dat can also be created with custom-provided artwork and an overlay DSF -- draped polygons for taxiways, draped lines for taxiway lines, object strings for taxiway lights, etc. The idea is to provide a way for authors who want to extend realism beyond the scope of apt.dat 850 to insert custom artwork. Apt.dat 850 is not a modeling format, so you cannot provide PNG files with it.

If you look at the LOWI demo area, you'll see that some of the pavement in that layout is in the apt.dat file, but some pavement is in the DSF overlay. Creating this demo area required a bunch of DSF2Text hacking by Sergio and myself. With WED 1.1 it will be possible to do this completely using WED.