Unable to read SURFACE TYPE value?

[MSFS 2020] Questions & Community Discussions Airports & Sceneries
1

Is A:SURFACE TYPE (Aircraft Misc. Variables) locked down to a certain SimObject category or simply not able to be read outside of the user SimObject?

I’m trying to read this value in a scenery SimObject so that I can tie my snow berms into the Snow Depth slider, which I feel is a more proper solution than using month of year or temperature. However, my SimObject seems to be able to read that the value is there, but it is completely ignoring the value and stays hidden the entire time.

Now, I know from experience that you cannot write anything with a scenery SimObject, but I have yet to run into a situation where a value cannot be read…

Am I missing something or is this just another dead-end limitation?
(I have double checked that the object actually shows up using code tied to temperature)

<Behaviors>
    <Include ModelBehaviorFile="Asobo\Common.xml"/>
    <Component ID="Snow_Berm" Node="berm">
        <UseTemplate Name="ASOBO_GT_Visibility">
            <VISIBILITY_CODE>
                (A:SURFACE TYPE, Enum) 8 ==
            </VISIBILITY_CODE>
        </UseTemplate>
    </Component>
</Behaviors>

debug
debug836×727 326 KB

2

Hello @Rotornut44

The base surface type is written for all SimObject types but only user aircraft will take surface condition like water or snow into account in the returned value.
So that’s a limitation from the current design.

Regards,
Sylvain

3

…iiiiiiiiiiiis there a way you could push for this to be integrated? would be kinda cool. a lot of airport creators want seasonal stuff (snow berms and ploughs) only where there’s actual snow on the ground. the precip state/temperature settings are kinda hacky…

4

I found a way to work around this using Simmission.Calculator in a Worldscript, however this method is partially broke in 2024, no longer updating after initial load. It does work in 2020 though.

I honestly would much rather this method work again, because it unlocks even more functionality, like the ability to plug these variables into Wwise packages to control sounds using Lvars.

Though, basic read support would also be welcomed, because stuff like this really shouldn’t need to be overly complex (for 3rd part devs to implement). Having snow objects tied to the snow depth slider keeps things looking much more natural. Temperature based I have ran into a lot of conditions where it is cold enough, but there is no snow, and it looks really out of place.