Freeware scenery in V4?

Thanks Falcon. That might definitely be the issue as Cecil was compiled for FS9, and NavyChief recompiled it for FSX. I have ran in to other issues too trying to get other airports working where taxiways aren't displaying and such. Might very well be the same problem. I did create an Addon Scenery folder like you suggested, but still the same thing occurred. I may just need to do what I've never done before and get down in the weeks and learn some scenery stuff for once.
 
Taxiways not showing in sceneries compiled for FSX is an issue with P3D since v2. It is a simple checkbox tick if you have ADE to recompile the scenery. I had to update all of mine this way.
 
Roadburner440 said:
Thanks Falcon. That might definitely be the issue as Cecil was compiled for FS9, and NavyChief recompiled it for FSX. I have ran in to other issues too trying to get other airports working where taxiways aren't displaying and such. Might very well be the same problem. I did create an Addon Scenery folder like you suggested, but still the same thing occurred. I may just need to do what I've never done before and get down in the weeks and learn some scenery stuff for once.
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Dimus is correct in referring you to the ADE Program. The missing taxiways can be easily corrected using that program.

As for Scenery, there are two ways to handle them and it has been the same since FS9:
1) Use the Addon Scenery system: Set up a texture folder and a scenery folder inside then dump every bgl file into the "scenery" folder and every bmp/dds and agn file into the texture folder, then go into the Scenery Library in the Sim and make sure that the "Addon Scenery" folder is active. Simple. . .however not a very good way to do scenery now a days as everything is globbed into two folders and you have no control over the individual sceneries.

2) Setup a Scenery Library outside of the Sim. Mine is called "Flightsim Scenery Folder", a screenie is shown below. Everything related to any scenery I own is placed there (with the exception of payware which I allow to install where the installer is set to install).

Scenery-9-001.jpg


Inside each folder (For Regions/States) are the individual areas folders:

Scenery-9-002.jpg


Inside the "Maine" folder for instance are all the custom sceneries I've done for the State.

Scenery-9-003.jpg


. . . .and inside each airport folder is it's respective "scenery" and "texture" folder.

Scenery-9-004.jpg


While my way looks too elaborate, it works for me because it all comes down to the basic idea for maintaining control of airport scenery. Keep Airport Scenery individualized, in the Scenery Library browse to that folder and activate it in the library. "If" you have Orbx installed make your addon scenery airport sit above Orbx. in FTXCentral you can set an "Insertion Point" for addon scenery so that Orbx doesn't move it's scenery back to the top every time you do an update or Migration.

I hope this helps and doesn't confuse you more, but there's no reason your scenery shouldn't work easily every time if you follow the basic setup. Custom buildings that do not show. . .only one reason I can think of if they're no visible and that is that they aren't compiled correctly.
 
That is pretty cool Falcon and thanks for the suggesting. To be honest I never really thought of doing anything like that outside the normal file structure, but it makes so much more sense. Also keeps things in a good order so I know where to find files if they need to be updated. When I did the reinstall of UTX/GEX and all my FlyTampa airports they of course handled that on their own. FlyTampa I had to follow their instructions and manually apply updates for v4 and delete a few files. I am very happy with the switch to v4 even if some of the older freeware scenery isn't compatible out of the box.
 
Freeware scenery in P3D v4

The buildings were most likely compiled for FS9. I compile for FSX and all my buildings display just fine. You can make an Addon Scenery folder with a "texture" and "scenery" folders inside. I also maintain all my scenery outside of the main Sim folder.
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Ed's scenery (e.g. Fishers Island Elizabeth Field) works fine. Thank goodness!

However, some of my older military (Dahaens, Stinstrom, MAIW stuff, KNQX, Cecil, for example) don't show any buildings. Is that because the BGL's were compiled in FS9? Can I simply recompile the scenery as a whole in FSX using ADEX to solve this, or it an issue with the BGL that you cannot change?
 
I have had the same issues many of which were due to the .bgls being compiled in FS9, first I went to the authors site where I got the scenery from and looked for an updated version, if there wasn't one I planned on using MCX to recompile the buildings and ADE to update the taxiways issue and recompile the whole thing for FSX/P3D. Never got to do it other than a few times as development work has taken up time.

For MAIW air bases there is an excellent blog post that shows how to use MCX and other tools to fix some of the older MAIW scenery. Here's a link:

http://www.militaryaiworks.com/briefing-room/developer-blog/item/102-how-to-convert-maiw-packages-to-fsx-p3d

There's a good chance that this one article will help you through a painstaking process.
 
here's a good chance that this one article will help you through a painstaking process.
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Very helpful post docjohnson, thanks.

One more question, I never downloaded the P3D4 SDK. I could never - ever - get the darned thing to install or work properly in FSX.

Will I need this to a) use ADEX and b) MCX to recompile buildings?
 
I'm not sure what the SDK has to do with any of this. The P3D V4 SDK is if you want to develop objects (simobjects with gauges or functionality) in XML or C/C++ or both in 64 bit, use the FSX SDK if your developing for FSX (32 bit) and the P3D V3 (32 bit), I think you can do it with C# but I have very little development experience with C#. I prefer to stick with my first language past Turbo Pascal, C++.

And if your using the V4 SDK that is for 64 bit development. But I don't think you need it unless your going to develop simobjects or gauges. And from my limited experience the method they portray in the SDK for C++ development works, but there is an easier way if the person building the model and the person programming the gauges in C++ work together. But that is a topic for FSDeveloper forum...

As for the tools, you will probable need both ADE (P3D version) to fix the taxi ways and compile everything once you covert the buildings over to P3D, MCX is used to convert the bgl stuff over to P3D which I would do first. Then make sure the new bgls can be read by ADE by making sure they are all still there before you compile the airport.

Its all a process that takes time and effort, but well worth it in the end.
 
Thanks. I think when I recently installed ADEX v 1.7 the install asked for a path to the SDK in order to trigger the bgl compiler it contains - that's the reason I asked.

I now see that the number of objects in each airport that this will entail considerably more time than I have! I suspect a lot of "FSX" freeware airports contain many non converted building bgl's creating this problem. There are exceptions such as Falcon409's bespoke scenery here, but some of the major AFB and NAS I hope to use mostly are lacking.

I have had very good luck so far with aircraft, Orbx scenery and AI carriers in P3D. Airports are going to be a problem until some other kind soul(s) batch covert a good number of these.
 
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