Scenery Installation Tutorial for starters [Archive]

falcon409

December 27th, 2009, 08:56

Before I start this project, is anyone aware of anything like this that has already been done? (I actually can't imagine there hasn't by now).

I'm thinking of doing a detailed tutorial on how to install addon scenery (freeware mostly) that doesn't come with it's own installer and must be done manually. It has been my assumption (wrongly) that most everyone knows how to do this, but with all the scenery that I've been releasing, it's become clear that it's still an acquired talent that not everyone possesses. This is not a slam on anyone, just something that has come to light and I'd like to rectify it.

What are your thoughts?

MCDesigns

December 27th, 2009, 09:24

If you search for how to install scenery into FSX, you get quite a few hits and tutorials.
this one makes the most sense

http://flightsim.andyjohnston.net/instutX.html

Marvin Carter

December 27th, 2009, 10:33

This is how I state mine!!!

Installation
Place Bear Camp Reasearch folder in you main add on scenery folder in FSX, In your sim go to your scenery Library in settings, Click Add Area, pick Bear Camp Research folder in Add on
scenery. Click on OK only once, then in main scenery page click OK only once also, building database for new scenery files will start, may take a minute, or place all thee BGL files in
your Addon scenery folder in main sim Addon file, and it will do it automatically for you. Then your good to go.
I have added ez-fuel_tanks scenery objects by Sidney Schwartz they are for FS9 buy work well in FSX.
To install.
Place ez-fuel_tanks folder in you main add on scenery folder in FSX, In your sim go to your scenery Library in settings, Click Add Area, pick ez-fuel_tanks folder in Add on
scenery. Click on OK only once, then in main scenery page click OK only once also, building database for new scenery files will start, may take a minute. Or place just the BGL file in
your Addon scenery folder in main sim Addon file,and then place the textures your Addon texture folder in main sim Addon file,and it will do it automatically for you. Then your good to go.

calypsos

December 27th, 2009, 13:33

I have had over 1000 D/L's of my scenery in about 6 weeks and (as yet) nobody has contacted me with any problems. Maybe they just bin it if they cannot get it to work first time!

falcon409

December 27th, 2009, 14:22

Doesn't appear that there's much need for it. . .

modelr

January 1st, 2010, 18:27

SirBenn21

January 1st, 2010, 19:01

Nope, doesn't work. just blues out (highlites) or blanks out. Cannot add.
Tried security resets, no good.
Here's the real odd part... I installed UTX, it shows up in scenery library list, but NOT in scenery.cfg I'm lost.

UAC controls??? I saw them once, but can't find them again.

Let me make your day!

Go here --> http://www.tweak-uac.com/home/

and enjoy. It was made for VISTA, but works on Win 7

Henry

January 1st, 2010, 19:27

one must remember with vista there is more than one scenery cfg file
some of us are familiar with scenery add ons some are not
never hurts to have a simple tutorial
H

guzler

January 2nd, 2010, 01:25

I am waiting for a new PC with Win7 on to arrive. I believe there are some differences coming from XP on how to activate scenery, so I will welcome any advice on what to do differently, cheers

falcon409

January 2nd, 2010, 05:16

The direction I would have taken had nothing at all to do with the scenery.cfg file(s). In the 10+ years I've been flying MSFS, I think I "looked" inside a scenery.cfg file once. I didn't see anything in there that made me want to stick around and mess with, so I closed it and that was the one and only time I felt the need to look, lol.

My direction would have been from the point that the scenery files are unzipped and would include correct installation (manual) into the FSX file system, activation within the scenery library and a few variations possible in between.

I'm still a bit amazed that the process I just described, unzipping, installing and activating can be as difficult as some make it out to be, when it's really quite simple.

Anyway, I may still put something together when I have time.

falcon409

January 2nd, 2010, 05:20

I am waiting for a new PC with Win7 on to arrive. I believe there are some differences coming from XP on how to activate scenery, so I will welcome any advice on what to do differently, cheers
Really, the basic steps to unzip a scenery file (and I'm talking "basic steps here") and manually install it into flight sim do not vary from OS to OS, the File structure for FS has stayed more or less consistent over the different platforms and changing to a different OS doesn't change how you install scenery files.

falcon409

January 2nd, 2010, 05:25

. . . . .Here's the real odd part... I installed UTX, it shows up in scenery library list, but NOT in scenery.cfg I'm lost.
Here's a question modelr. . .does UTX work correctly in the sim?

guzler

January 2nd, 2010, 05:57

Really, the basic steps to unzip a scenery file (and I'm talking "basic steps here") and manually install it into flight sim do not vary from OS to OS, the File structure for FS has stayed more or less consistent over the different platforms and changing to a different OS doesn't change how you install scenery files.

I have no problem installing them manually, as you say this is very straight forward, but read that activating them can cause problems when you "add" the scenery to the scenery list within the game when using Win7 64.

Sorry for the confusion.

falcon409

January 2nd, 2010, 06:11

I have no problem installing them manually, as you say this is very straight forward, but read that activating them can cause problems when you "add" the scenery to the scenery list within the game when using Win7 64.

Sorry for the confusion.
I'm using Win7/64 and I install (and activate) scenery addons the same as I did back when I was running XP. I know that payware addons are handled somewhat differently, especially if there is landclass involved and how that is situated in the hierarchy of the Scenery Library, but for simple freeware addon scenery, I've never seen anything from OS to OS that made me think it had to be installed (or activated) differently.

modelr

January 2nd, 2010, 18:02

Guzler is having the same problem I am. Inserting the scenery into the sim folder itself is not the problem. It's activating it in the scenery library that doesn't work.

Falcon, I know how to do it normally, bacause I've had XP, FS9 and FSX, plus came into FS way back with FS95. But, for some reason, with MY installation of Win7/64, I can't install in the scenery library. The directory highlights, then dissapears when I click 'OK". Nothing else happens. I can click all day. I do NOT get the ok, it does NOT show up on the list, and when I hit "cancel", that's just what it does.

Now, to really make say HUH???, over in FS9, with this installation, in WIN 7, it does ALMOST the same thing, EXCEPT, when I hit "cancel" the new scenery shows up on the list, and it IS activated!
Otherwise, it does EXACTLY the SAME thing as FSX! And this isn't normal! I'm at a total loss!

Oh, by the way, yes, my UTX is active.

SirBenn21

January 2nd, 2010, 18:10

EDIT - None

falcon409

January 2nd, 2010, 18:28

Ok, try this modelr:
browse to your addon scenery folder, find the scenery folder you want to activate. . .now "double click" on that folder so that what you see next is the interior showing both the scenery and texture folders, click "ok", then go up and click the area that says "name". As soon as you click "name" it will take you out to the scenery library list and the new scenery is installed. Click OK and FSX will install the new scenery. . .ready to use.

Note: the last image doesn't show exactly what I wanted to show, but you see what I mean though, when you see the scenery and texture folders click ok, then name and you're done.

modelr

January 2nd, 2010, 18:55

I'll give it a try.

modelr

January 2nd, 2010, 19:11

Here's what happens.

Notice "directory" is blue. clicking ok only blinks it, that's ALL it does.

falcon409

January 2nd, 2010, 19:17

Here's what happens.

Notice "directory" is blue. clicking ok only blinks it, that's ALL it does.
Ok, but did you then go up and click "name"?

modelr

January 2nd, 2010, 19:39

yep. again and again. nothing happens, except it changes the "order" arrow. I also clicked in the "look in" dialog, all it did was highlight it. Nothing happens, which is where my frustration lies. Before this installation, it always worked fine.

Just as an aside, I had to call Microsoft and discuss what I had done, as to why my activation code wouldn't work, with four people, explaining that I had recently, (two weeks ago) installed FSX on this same external harddrive, but hooked to my HP XP machine, bofore I had purchased the parts to build this new one. It worked flawlessly then. No problems adding scenery, or editing aircraft cfgs. However, when I built this new machine, and installed WIN7, it wouldn't recognize FSX, and absolutely refused to run it. I had to uninstall from the XP machine, then reinstall with it hooked to WIN7. Just reinstalling OVER the original install absolutely refused to happen. Error after error after error. So, MS saw it as installed on two machines, and refused to activate, until I explained it all, four times, to people who could barely understand English. Took over an hour. Luckily, they were able to reactivate Acceleration on the same call. Since then, nothing has worked right.

I did NOT have to reinstall FS9! Go figure. I DID have to copy my FS9.cfg four different times to get my other three versions, FSGW3, FSSW, and FS80's working, because for some reason, they wouldn't restart/rebuild their cfgs. After copying the original one to each, they worked. Not having any real problem, except that I do have to hit cancel on them, and that's when the scenery is added to the directory list. I'm flabberbusted.

Overshoe

January 2nd, 2010, 19:44

Here's what happens.

Notice "directory" is blue. clicking ok only blinks it, that's ALL it does.

Don-
Try a right click in the middle of that window.

modelr

January 2nd, 2010, 19:52

Don-
Try a right click in the middle of that window.

BADA BING!!!! :applause: :applause: :applause:

That did it!! :jump::jump: THANK YOU Tom! :guinness:

I knew someone here at the SOH would figure it out.

And thank you very much for your efforts, Falcon.

Overshoe

January 2nd, 2010, 20:09

BADA BING!!!! :applause: :applause: :applause:

That did it!! :jump::jump: THANK YOU Tom! :guinness:

I knew someone here at the SOH would figure it out.

And thank you very much for your efforts, Falcon.

Good news. I had been manually editing my scenery cfg for weeks after upgrading to Win7 when I ran across that hint in another forum. Glad it worked for you too.

falcon409

January 2nd, 2010, 21:09

Another good reason for not getting into doing a tutorial like I had planned. . .what I told modelr works for me, not for anyone else. . .Tom your suggestion. . .not for me but works for you guys.:isadizzy:

Overshoe

January 2nd, 2010, 21:54

Yup, it's been one puzzle after another.

guzler

January 3rd, 2010, 01:39

Aha,

That was what I read somewhere. I don't have the pc yet, but being the anally retentive person I am, I am wanting to learn everything I can and this was one of the problems I had read about. I didn't understand the solution but Overshoe has explained it very well, many thanks.

Thanks Falcon and glad it has helped Modelr

I spent £50 or so on my bloody FSX plus god knows how much on addons, how many computers I run it on should be my business not theirs. I am wanting to leave FSX on this pc for the kids and install it on the new rig as well when it arrives. Should I be expecting problems with that ?

IanP

January 3rd, 2010, 02:09

Apart from the fact that it breaches the license, which is for a single installation on a single computer? No, there shouldn't be a problem. I had it technically installed on two PCs when I had my system dual booting W7 64/XP32 - even though it was the same physical hardware, it had two entirely different IDs. It activated fine on both, however. Microsoft now have no idea whether it was uninstalled from that PC before I took the hard drives out of it and gave it to my wife (I hadn't), but it also activated fine on the single PC it is now installed on. Windows 7, however, was a different issue and I had to go through the telephone farce to get that activated.

The problem with the "I've paid for it, how many computers I run it on should be my business not theirs" line is that although it's a very minor thing here, when a company with several thousand installations of a piece of commercially critical software says "we've got one license, use that on all of them", it's seen a bit differently and a lot of very large organisations have been stung very hard when they have been caught doing it.

guzler

January 3rd, 2010, 03:02

I do understand that as you are completey right, however my own personal ethics perhaps disagree with the license then which I realise means jack sh** in the corporate world. This computer is 5 years old and won't live forever, especially running FSX !!!! It may die tomorrow, maybe in two years, but having invested alot of money and my own time getting FSX to run as it does on this PC, who in the right mind would uninstall it because they want to put it on a more uptodate computer. I feel myself getting on my soapbox with this...lol.

If you buy a DVD, you are alowed to copy it for your own private use (in fact one of my sons dvd's recommends this !!!), so why should it be any different for a game ? I suspect greed is a greater reason than piracy prevention.

IanP

January 3rd, 2010, 03:39

There's plenty of developers around here. I'll let them answer greed versus attempting to stop illegal copying - they're normally pretty vocal and unequivocal on the subject, for good reason.

Anyway, that's between you and them. The answer to your question is that MS won't stop you installing to multiple PCs.

guzler

January 3rd, 2010, 05:26

I appogise if I have upset any developers around here, my comment was referring to MS. I don't have any payware addons that don't let you install on more than one computer as far as I'm aware, although I will find out soon enough !!!

Piracy should be dealt with by tackling the servers that offer the downloads IMO (by some kind of policing method, after all it is theft), not the consumers that try to make honest purchases. I guess this thread could spiral, so back onto the point.... I now understand how to overcome the installation problem if it arises............ Ye Ha !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

falcon409

January 3rd, 2010, 06:22

For myself, as long as I have purchased the program/addon through legal means, installed it per the instructions and registered it as instructed and the program remains in-house, then If I want to install it on 10 computers I don't see a problem with that really.

You go to the Business applications arena and it's a totally different animal and for good reason (although I had a boss who didn't really see it that way, lol). I spent about 30+ years working as a Graphic Artist and Desktop Publishing guru. I used programs like Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, Corel Paint and QuarkXpress. Each of those programs (even at that time in the 80's and 90's) could go for $300, to $400 each per station. So if we had had 4 or 5 artists (it was just me, lol), it would have cost us that much per station. Now many of the companies that offered those programs had stipulations that one purchase could be used for multiple stations up to a certain number and then they wanted you to buy an additional program for anything beyond that preset number. When you're talking about that kind of money, you can see where they're coming from. A large graphics house with a huge staff of artists could save a ton by buying one program and then networking that one program to 20 artists. . .just don't get caught. It could cost you far more than you ever hoped to save, lol.

In this realm of Flight Sim, we're not talking about those kinds of prices and for the most part the program/addon is bought and installed by one individual for personal use. Putting it on 2 or 3 puters in your house shouldn't be a problem.

modelr

January 3rd, 2010, 08:15

Falcon, I still applaud your efforts at a scenery install how to. If you hadn't started this thread, I would probably still be tearing my hair out. Someone, at least making a list of the things that work, since it seems there are going to be different ways, some for some, some for others. A single place to look is going to be handy. Maybe a dedicated line, as in the three child forums for FSX and hardware tips.

Again, thanks to all who helped. :ernae: