Exploring The Potential Of Automated Content Generation

The WED concept, or World Editor, is a tool used in X-Plane to edit autogen zones. Autogen is automated computer-generated scenery in X-Plane, a flight simulation engine. It includes buildings, roads, trees, and ground textures. AutoGen is also the name of a company that provides DNA and RNA extraction devices and services.

Autogen art development

The X-Plane 10 Autogen art development process involves two key tasks: creating buildings and fragments of buildings that are aesthetically pleasing and performance-efficient, and assembling these components into specific autogen art assets that build entire city blocks. The use of a "lego kit" approach allows for the creation of diverse and realistic urban environments.

The first task entails designing building meshes and textures that not only look good but also perform well. To optimize performance, Alex, the developer, aims to reuse sets of autogen where possible. This involves creating individual buildings and fragments of buildings, such as walls, roofs, and windows, that can be combined in various ways to form complete structures. This "lego kit" approach allows for a wide range of building designs while minimizing the amount of new content that needs to be created from scratch.

The second task involves taking these building fragments and assembling them into specific autogen art assets. These art assets go beyond individual buildings; instead, a single art asset is used to build an entire city block. Each art asset encodes rules for how a subset of the building fragments should be used, allowing for the creation of diverse and realistic urban environments. This includes varying building heights, densities, and shapes to match the characteristics of different cities.

One of the main improvements in the new autogen is the ability to generate irregular autogen with higher-density urban buildings. This addresses the issue of using ranch houses as default structures, which looked out of place in urban areas. Additionally, the new autogen includes more vertical development, with buildings that respond to vertical information, such as the height of surrounding structures. This allows for more accurate representations of city skylines, like the Manhattan skyline.

The autogen art development process also involves creating ground tiles that match the urban environment and ensuring that the autogen system is sensitive to approach paths, lowering building heights as the airport is approached. The development team is also working on adding night textures to buildings and improving the variety and placement of trees.

The X-Plane community provides feedback and suggestions for further improvements, such as adding people to sidewalks and improving the placement of roads around mountains. The development team takes these suggestions into account and makes adjustments accordingly. They also plan to add heavy industry autogen, such as gas storage tanks and power stations, by clearing out small access roads and terminal railway lines to make room for larger industrial areas.

Autogen file formats

The first definition in the file is used to identify it as an Autogen file, followed by the default template name and a terminating semi-colon. The template name is then used to find the corresponding template file. The template file defines the content of the output text and is composed of two parts: the pseudo-macro and the template proper.

The pseudo-macro tells Autogen how to process a template, including the start and end macro markers, the list of suffixes, and any shell specifications. The template proper starts after the pseudo-macro and contains the actual text to be copied into the output file until a start macro marker is found.

Autogen has two types of expressions: full expressions and basic expressions. Full expressions can appear by themselves or as arguments to certain built-in macros, while basic expressions are used when passing arguments to user-defined macros. The syntax of a full Autogen expression includes the apply code, value name, and basic expression. The "apply code" determines how the expression is evaluated, and there are five options to choose from.

In addition to the standard Autogen definitions and template files, there are also several add-on packages available that provide extra functionality, such as Automated Option Processing and AutoOpts.

Autogen tools in WED

The WorldEditor (WED) is a tool for editing airport sceneries in X-Plane. It allows users to import data, add objects and facades, and export the created scenery pack. WED also has tutorials and manuals available online, which cover topics such as creating airports from scratch, using decals to add detail, and creating open hangars.

WED has several features and tools that can assist in autogen editing. One of these is the ability to create and debug airport flows, which can help in placing autogen objects around the airport. Additionally, WED provides guidelines for AI aircraft airport use, which includes information on how to use airports in X-Plane.

WED also offers tips and tricks for editing airports more efficiently, as well as guidelines for drawing airport boundaries. It provides information on using embankment and pier facades to customise buildings and jetways. WED further enables users to replace built-in ground service vehicles with their own custom models.

Overall, WED is a comprehensive tool for editing airport sceneries in X-Plane, offering a range of features and tutorials to assist users in creating and customising their airport environments, including autogen editing capabilities.

Autogen extraction services

AutoGen provides DNA and RNA extraction services for research and clinical labs, both in the United States and internationally. The company offers boutique end-to-end extraction services, with quick and easy sample submission processes, fast turnaround times, and stringent quality control procedures.

AutoGen's extraction services cover a wide range of sample types, including blood, saliva, and RNA from a variety of starting materials. The company also provides custom protocols and experiences with a variety of sample types to ensure successful outcomes for their clients.

The company's extraction laboratory is equipped with the latest technology, including the QuickGene-Auto12S and QuickGene-Mini8L devices, which enable the processing of multiple samples simultaneously with high efficiency and quality.

AutoGen's extraction services are known for their responsiveness, agility, and personalised service. The company takes pride in building lasting partnerships and providing unmatched services to its clients.

Autogen instruments and consumables

AutoGen offers a range of instruments and consumables for DNA and RNA extraction. Their instruments include the QuickGene-Auto12S, which processes up to 12 samples in 23 minutes, and the QuickGene-Mini8L, a compact device for large genomic DNA isolation. They also offer the XTRACT 16+ platform, which is a fully automated DNA extraction platform employing precipitation chemistry for large volume blood, buffy coats, saliva, and more.

In terms of consumables, AutoGen provides chemical reagents and consumable collection kits. The specific reagents and kits depend on the sample type, protocol, and instrumentation. Some commonly used chemical reagents include lysis buffers, proteinase K, RNase for DNA isolation, and DNase for RNA isolation. They also offer a range of barcoded tubes and SBS format racks for sample management and tracking.

AutoGen's instruments and consumables are designed to help laboratories perform high-quality DNA and RNA extractions efficiently and effectively.

Frequently asked questions