Fledermaus Offshore, Fledermaus 8.6.0 and Fledermaus v7
Fledermaus Offshore and Fledermaus v8 have been major releases that involves a number of changes in the applications and functionality previously bundled with Fledermaus v7. These changes are both to support the new role in the full QPS product suite, and to establish a solid platform for future growth.
Dynamic and Static Surfaces now called Grids
Historically all Fledermaus v8 surfaces and gridded objects were called .surface. In Fledermaus 8.6.0 the .surface files are now either .statgrid for static grids and .dyngrid for dynamic grids. The rest of the objects continue to have individual extensions. The following table explains the transition of each object type:
Fledermaus 7 Object Name | Fledermaus 8 Object Name | Fledermaus 8 New Extension | Fledermaus 8.6.0 Extension Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
SonarDTM Surface | GRID5 Surface | .surface | .dyngrid .statgrid |
Scalar | GRID5 Scalar | .scalar | |
Geoimage | GRID5 Geoimage | .geoimage | |
Lines | Lines | .lines | |
Points | Points | .points | |
Midwater Beam | MWBeam | .mwbeam | |
Midwater Fan | MWFan | .mwfan | |
Plane | Plane | .plane | |
Solid Model | Solid Model | .model | |
Vertical Curtain | Vertical Curtain | .vcurtain | |
Grid Lines | Grid Lines | .gridlines | |
Labels | Text | .text | |
Volume | Volume | .volume | |
Pipeline | Pipeline | .pipeline | |
Tracked Object | .vesseltrackline | ||
Image Collection | .imagecollection | ||
SD and Scene Conversion
When a Fledermaus 8 object that has had updates needs to be upgraded, you will have a question dialog for it. This is case for .surfaces and .statgrid and .dyngrid. When a Fledermaus 7 scene or SD file is opened in Fledermaus 8, the upgrade dialog will be displayed. Each object will then be upgraded to the new format, leaving the original FM7 files alone. For scene files, a new .qscene file is created and each object will be upgraded and saved as a new standalone object.
Removed and Significantly Changed Functionality
Item | Notes |
|---|---|
Spherical Rendering Mode | The spherical display is a special render mode that has been used a lot less than the standard render modes. In addition it did not have full feature parity with the standard rendering modes. For now there is no immediate plan to support this in FM8, however this will be evaluated for future releases. |
Graphical object transformation tools | The graphical transformation tools allowed an object to be manipulated in 3D space. However they were difficult to use for a lot of object types and with larger scenes. This functionality is being evaluated some functionality has been re-introduced with v8.5.0 |
Keyframe System | Although powerful, the keyframe system in FM7 was difficult to use and hard to expand with new features. Fledermaus 8 has completely new approach to animation and movie creation with automated flightpaths and the new presentation tools. |
Area Based Editing / PFM | All functionality for editing and processing points has moved over to the Qimera application. Note that all existing users who purchased an FMHydro and FMPro license have access to the Qimera Clean application as the new location for point editing. |
External Video Player | Video playback has been moved directly into the main application to allow for a better integrated experience |
View Manager | The View Manager functionality has been completely replaced and enhanced by the new Space Time Notes system which goes beyond just recording view |
Geopicking | The GeoPicking functionality has also moved into the Space Time Notes system, as well as the new annotation tools |
Delayed Functionality (coming to FM after v8.0.0)
Functionality | Notes | Timeframe |
|---|---|---|
Recording with Hardware Flight control | As of FM8.5.0 we support using these tools for navigation and flying around 3D scenes. However we do not yet use them to record a flight path to render a movie. | TDB |
Split-Screen Stereo Rendering Mode | We are evaluating our support for Stereo Rendering and how to best support support this going forward. | TBD |
Graphical Positioning and Transformation tools | There is now some support in the object operations for this but not the interactive 3D scene transformation tools from fm7. | TBD |
Eventing | Eventing for pipeline/cable analysis tools. | TBD |
Interpretation Object | TBD |
Deprecated Applications
Application | Replacement | Timeframe |
|---|---|---|
DMagic | Functionality moved directly into Fledermaus
| 8.0.0 |
3DEditor | Point editing is now handled by Qimera | 8.0.0 |
Crosscheck independant application | Functionality directly supported in Qimera | 8.0.0 |
Routeplanner independantc application | Functionality will move directly into Fledermaus | 8.6.0 |
FMCommand/cmdop | Scripting options being evaluated for cmdop replacement | 8.3.0 |
iView4D | Fledermaus will be able to run in an "unlicensed" free mode with limited functionality | 8.1.0 |
Bundle Transitions
For Fledermaus 7 users there are a few changes from the original bundles. The table below shows what and where the functionality exists with the release of Fledermaus 8.
If you have any questions, please contact QPS.
FM7 Bundle | FM 8 Equivalent Products |
|---|---|
FM Hydro | Fledermaus Qimera Clean |
FM Offshore | Fledermaus Offshore |
FM Habitat | Fledermaus + FMGIS Addon FMGT |
FM Viz4D | Fledermaus |
FM Pro | Fledermaus Offshore FMGT Qimera Clean |
FMGT and FMMidwater
The FMGT and FMMidwater applications are now released and versioned independently of Fledermaus, FMGT is a Fledermaus Product and FMMW continues to be an Add-on of Fledermaus in. You need to download and install the applications separately from Fledermaus. FMMidwater will in time be integrated into Fledermaus main application.