Integration of FS9 Scenery into FSX

[Mav_316]

I should have known that there would be problems placing FS9 scenery into FSX. But I tried it anyway and got some nasty results.

For one thing I couldn't start the sim because It said my aircraft was in collision with another object and for me to pick another start point. (I tried to install V.C.Bird -TAPA)

So i started at TNCM-Juliana. As I neared V.C.Bird I think I was taking view of the demo's no fly zone because the ocean and the GPS radar displayed a blacked out area just Beyond Antigua.

Anyhow as I made the descent into V.C. Bird the frame rates started going bonkers. I saw the airport was displayed but i couldn't land on it. As I made a wacky landing attempt on final i crashed into an invisible building!

I should have known that all scenery files have flatten zones that all the scenery to exist in certain areas. Those flatten zones eliminate objects from the general area of the addon scenery.

Guess the only way for FS9 scenery to be placed in FSX is for someone to figure out these flatten zones for each scenery file.  :( Orelese we will be waiting a very long time for the creators to design scenery especially designed for FSX.

[Daube]

I should have known that there would be problems placing FS9 scenery into FSX.

Yep, you should have read the posts from the other members, you would have saved some time.

So i started at TNCM-Juliana. As I neared V.C.Bird I think I was taking view of the demo's no fly zone because the ocean and the GPS radar displayed a blacked out area just Beyond Antigua.

For sure it's black, there are no textures in the demo, so your scenery could not display anything.

[quote]Guess the only way for FS9 scenery to be placed in FSX is for someone to figure out these flatten zones for each scenery file.

[PisTon]

Some addons work, others don't . Once the SDK is released I expect it to outline why.

[Mav_316]

Some addons work, others don't . Once the SDK is released I expect it to outline why.

Which have you experimented with and worked?

[Daube]

For the demo, any scenery that uses no textures and only default objects should be OK.
The problem is that the demo has only some textures, for the area of StMartin and the objects included in the demo.

So if you try to add a scenery of another place on the globe, you will see some of the objects, but you will not see any textures, because the default textures are not included in the demo for that area

[RollerBall]

You obviously didn't see my postings several days ago Mav.

At this stage we do not know for sure what the situation is because nothing has been officially posted and it's futile just to try an summise and second-guess. Que sera, sera.

However, it appears that not only do addons made for FS9 using GMAX and XML work, but even older sceneries made using old, technically obsolete methods (SCASM) are visible in FSX and may work although nobody outside of MS and official testers knows for sure.

The Princess Juliana package works fine.



I was getting a princely 0.6 FPS on the runway and 1.5 FPS in the air on my rig so this isn't something you'll see again from me. What you can't see is that because the scenery moves the road, the FSX AI traffic now drives right through the terminal building so this is something developers will have to think about in the future.

The FSX demo only contains scenery files for a very limited area around the Netherlands Antilles. It's a waste of time therefore trying to install an airport outside that area.

However, if you add back all the 'missing' areas, then you can. I've posted screen shots of AI traffic at London Heathrow and chasing AI over Gatwick.

This is the GPS on the runway at Princess Juliana zoomed out to the max.

[img]http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rol_jul2a.jpg
[/img]

If I then head roughly south west for a few hunderd miles you can see the rest of the world is there.



However, the textures aren't so although you can 'go to' any airport it's surrounded by black terrain.

Hope this helps!  ;)

[wealthysoup]

A while ago I added some afcads from fs9 to fsx they worked fine and also tried some of the 78m terrain mesh (both for areas outside the demo area) the terrain mesh creates hills (and valleys probably) but I couldn't find a way to add textures to the ground

[RollerBall]

There's a high degree of backward compatability. As you found, FS9 AFCAD files work fine - but obviously the FSX ones are in a different format because ACAD can't read the FSX scenery bgls.

Also, FS9 AI traffic works fine but the traffic bgl is again in a different format because TTools can't read it.

Same goes for FS9 aircraft - the FSX mdl file is in a different format but FS9 aircraft work OK.

[Overspeed]

Which have you experimented with and worked?

George Grimshaws Logan V2, tried to load up boston on the airport list and fsx crashed...

[RollerBall]

George Grimshaws Logan V2, tried to load up boston on the airport list and fsx crashed...

Yeah, but have you added back the Name scenery area? If not it will crash.

[Mav_316]

Like I said Rollerball i just started using FSXdemo and i am doing the same experiments everyoneelse has failed at. Thanks for the input though, i kind of figured that it wouldn't work any how?