A scenery developer mode that isn't overcomplicated

Gromit1065 · September 7, 2025, 11:45am

(Well actually also for ‘2020). I have managed scenery alterations for X-Plane and had no problems as well as with previous iterations of microsoft flightsims. But the current two are desperately in need of automation given the complex steps to even get started.

The scenery I made for 2020 was a struggle with all those elements but I suceeded (almost losing the will to live) but then it failed to compile it into a useable file/folder set for export so my only way out was to manually edit some files to suit.

But now I am trying to make a 2024 version (new objects required etc) and have created so far 5 attempts to get modding. All fail at the save project stage. I have a laptop handy with all the steps and carefully open sim, go to airfield, start dev and dev camera, ensure sim pause is off, make new project, add package (the airfield via wizard), But then when I am supposed to save package it won’t let me - only save as. I can (and have) got the editing process beyond that but any saving of scenery and packages afterwards results in something I can’t access a second time.

Way too complicated - there must be a foolproof way of automating a lot of this so it does everything it needs to make a project that can be easily loaded later and carried on with - and of course made ready to publish without more weird barriers. A more extensive wizard or an AI assisted procedure might do the trick. Also airfields without the texture masking of several areas might allow autogen to get them much more nearly correct anyway.

Please add the msfs-2020 or msfs-2024 tag to your post, depending on which sim your post is about.

Pilotfirst9999 · September 7, 2025, 5:50pm