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CDB potential troubles

CDB potential troubles

Owned by Patrick Lavoie
Last updated: Jun 23, 2025 by Katherine Witbeck

Some CDB databases are now produced by Triangraphics software. You can verify the tool used to publish the CDB database you are looking at by opening \Metadata\Version.xml and looking at the <Comment> section.

Here are problems seen with CDB databases published by Triangraphics software:

  • The elevation GeoTIFF files are published with the Raster_type : “Pixel is Area” instead of “Pixel is Point”. This can lead to imprecise elevation heights at certain locations and cracks between tiles in VR-Force and VR-Vantage.

  • In the dataset 300_GSModelGeometry, OpenFlight files with multiple LODs are not published according to the CDB specification. Triangraphics software CDB terrains have been seen with multiple LOD geometries in the same OpenFlight file (contained in the zip file) when, according to the CDB specification, they should be split into different OpenFlight files in different LOD folders. This can lead to strange display behavior in VR-Vantage and the VR-Forces GUI, as well as multiple geometries loaded at the same time in the VR-Forces sim. engine. It was also seen that OpenFlight switch nodes from Triangraphics software were using “Switch In/Switch Out” values and they should be using SIG size. This can also display unwanted behaviors.

  • It was also seen that .dbf files (associated with CDB shapefiles) duplicate the attributes in the CDB class and instance .dbf files. This makes the CDB database published with Triangraphics software larger and slower to load.