Can't find good scenery!

[Colin S]

X-Plane comes with one good thing, which spoils all it's users: AMAZING default scenery. Since I have been spoiled from this, I would like to shout out to the whole community: Where can I find even BETTER scenery? I know about all the addons from X-Plane.org, but are there other less known websites that no ones knows about that create any addon scenery?

[Simmo W]

I love xpfr's stuff. not much else, that's one reason I'm learning to do my own, to contribute to opensceneryx as that's so easy to use. The R2 library is great as well. my kmpi is looking busier now, I know not accurate but so much better to fly around. When I can texture Chip's terminal, that'll be almost payware qual!

I guess the 'relative' ease of converting msfs scenery using fs2xpl prevents major development?

http://xplane10.wordpress.com/2010/08/07/scenery-adventure-2-update-with-first-shed/

[Oliver]

I love xpfr's stuff. not much else, that's one reason I'm learning to do my own, to contribute to opensceneryx as that's so easy to use. The R2 library is great as well. my kmpi is looking busier now, I know not accurate but so much better to fly around. When I can texture Chip's terminal, that'll be almost payware qual!

I guess the 'relative' ease of converting msfs scenery using fs2xpl prevents major development?

http://xplane10.wordpress.com/2010/08/07/scenery-adventure-2-update-with-first-shed/

Yes, by far some of the best scenery comes from the FSX and FS2004 developers, most my sceneries are just converts of FS. There are some good freeware ones, but the thing about XP and sceneries is you have to do most of it yourself, i.e if you want photoscenery you must configure the plugin's ini file yourself and then find out how to create it, as opposed to FSX and FS2004 because of the size difference in their community then ours they have a lot more sceneries created, that's why FS2Xplane is such an AMAZING (I say thanks to Marginal again!) tool to use! When you can't find an scenery for XP and you find it for FSX simply convert it 

[Colin S]

I own Microsoft Flight Simulator X, and I like the way they have auto-buildings at all the airports. Is there some way I could convert the default scenery into X-Plane Scenery?

[Oliver]

I own Microsoft Flight Simulator X, and I like the way they have auto-buildings at all the airports. Is there some way I could convert the default scenery into X-Plane Scenery?

Well I like tweaking my sceneries and converting and such, but no I don't think there is a way to convert autogen from FSX to XP only custom made sceneries, if I'm wrong please correct me

[XPAfrica]

i don't want to be the smarta**, but considering this  you're developping payware scenery yourself, so reading the readme's of the file i downloaded from the org, i feel like i'm not getting the whole picture here.

@pilotman: no, there's no way to convert autogen from FS to x-plane, but there are some interresting technological progresses involving .fac files that came up lately, maybe we'll soon have a way to create good autogen. (consider having a look at SceneryBuilder XP - some of its features are stunning)

Converting scenery from FS also has one major drawback: most FS sceneries have objects which refer to multiple texture files (for example: one for the roof, ne for the facade and another one for the back of the building) and FS2XPLANE will split the objects in as much parts as they have textures because x-plane can only handle one texture file per object. This results in scenery that is pretty heavy to load considering its original complexity and it is therefore very valuable to learn how to use 3D tools to create native x-plane scenery (which will therefore allow more complexity for the same ressource usage).

[Simmo W]

@xpafrica, I have pm'd Torsten but no reply yet re getting scenery builder.

as a scenery noob, hear hear for more scenery development and hopefully easier tools. WED I find a bitch compared to overlay editor, so touchy. I've discovered google sketchup, if u didn't have to use the texture workarounds our world would be filled with beautiful airports! I'll be doing my best to help..

[Kesomir]

I think there's a better scenery tool coming with XP10 that claims to make it easier to model airports.

Wait and see

[XPAfrica]

@Simon: Yes, it seems Torsten has (too) strong spam filters on but you can download SBXP from his site - as long as you don't use it commercially (for payware) it's free.

As for WED, i got the v1.1b1 from the x-plane.com scenery central beta page and it is a fabulously powerful tool, i almost never open OE anymore. It is true that it takes some getting used to, but WED is imho the best tool out there yet, especially if you work with orthophotos as ground textures.

@Kesomir: I heard so too from the french guys who went to the last two congresses in France, it seems this will be kind-of an autogen tool for airports, using a building library and allowing quick layout for airports, but that will hardly replace today's scenery tools, unless im wrong (which i truly hope).

Fact is, x-plane's scenery system is somewhat esoteric to say the least, but once you start getting into it, it becomes just brilliant - the possibilities are just plain HUGE. As long as you don't get into low-level dsf mesh editing it remains humanly readable, yet allowing very complex operations.

[emin0413]

FS2X-plane is your friend.

[XPAfrica]

FS2XPLANE definitely is agood friend what are these sceneries you converted in your screencaps ? I think i recognize TNCM in the first screenshot, but i don't think i knwo that version...

[Oliver]

FS2XPLANE definitely is agood friend what are these sceneries you converted in your screencaps ? I think i recognize TNCM in the first screenshot, but i don't think i knwo that version...

1st one is KATL - Atlanta Intl

2nd one is TNCM- St Marteen

I don't know 3rd one

4th one is KLAX - Los Angeles

5th one is EGGL - Heathrow

and I don't know what the 6th one is 

[XPAfrica]

Thank you pilotman - any clue as to what versions of these FS sceneries these are ?

[Oliver]

Thank you pilotman - any clue as to what versions of these FS sceneries these are ?

What do you mean by versions?

[Kaphias]

Thank you pilotman - any clue as to what versions of these FS sceneries these are ?

What do you mean by versions?

Where to download them I'm guessing... :

[Oliver]

Thank you pilotman - any clue as to what versions of these FS sceneries these are ?

What do you mean by versions?

Where to download them I'm guessing... :

Ah ok! Well in that case KATL is by imagine sim

TNCM- FlyTampa

Los Angeles - Cloud 9

EGGL - UK2000 or Aerosoft dunno which, they look a lot alike

[XPAfrica]

ok, thanks for the info - i had Tampa's TNCM on FS, but the converted scenery i did a while back did not look that good..i'll have to try again

[WombatBoy]

3rd picture is WSSS Singapore Changi

6th picture is KPDX Portland

WSSS is also by ImagineSim

KPDX is by FlightScenery and can be found here: http://secure.simmarket.com/flight-scenery-flightzone-02-portland.phtml

[emin0413]

1st- KATL by imaginesim, no editing done.

2nd- TNCM by Fly tampa some editing done

3rd- WSSS by imaginesim some editing done

4th- KLAX by cloud9 some editing done

5th- EGLL by aerosoft Lots of editing done

6th- KPDX by flightscenery, no editing done.

[XPAfrica]

Thanks for the info guys, i had bought some of these a while back for FS, so i'll try converting again, but my days of buying FS add-ons are over, so for the other ones, i'll wait for propper X-Plane versions.

[dpny]

Thanks for the info guys, i had bought some of these a while back for FS, so i'll try converting again, but my days of buying FS add-ons are over, so for the other ones, i'll wait for propper X-Plane versions.

There's a slightly better way to do this: email the companies to tell them you've converted their sceneries to run with X-Plane, but that you really wish they'd come out with X-Plane native versions. The more people who email them, the more they may think about developing for us.

[XPAfrica]

Oh, believe me, i've done that with some of them already - the answer is actually pretty often the same: they have a solid platorm with FS and are affraid of being forced to follow Austin's workflow and update schedule, especially the companies that also produce aircraft. Then again some of them show real interrest...wait and see....

[Oliver]

Oh, believe me, i've done that with some of them already - the answer is actually pretty often the same: they have a solid platorm with FS and are affraid of being forced to follow Austin's workflow and update schedule, especially the companies that also produce aircraft. Then again some of them show real interrest...wait and see....

It happened with REX so it's possible other companies will start working with XP as well. Thing is, I think they might be better if they used intermediates (people who are very good and know every little trick with XP). The intermediates could convert sceneries for them, and the company could pay the scenery converters 

[XPAfrica]

That would indeed be a possibility, but simply converting via FS2XPLANE wouldn't do the trick in most cases, at least not to offer high quality payware content.

Converting a large scenery from FS to X-Plane might require reassembling objects and retexture them (and therefore assembling texture files, implying having the skills in Photoshop/GIMP), changing object altitudes etc. ... If the FS devs are ok to provide their source files (mainly the 3D objects and textures), it may be easier to do.

[Oliver]

That would indeed be a possibility, but simply converting via FS2XPLANE wouldn't do the trick in most cases, at least not to offer high quality payware content.

Converting a large scenery from FS to X-Plane might require reassembling objects and retexture them (and therefore assembling texture files, implying having the skills in Photoshop/GIMP), changing object altitudes etc. ... If the FS devs are ok to provide their source files (mainly the 3D objects and textures), it may be easier to do.

It would be a good start