This is the download that I wish had existed when I first started making scenery mods for MSFS.
It’s a bunch of written guides with example files about every aspect of scenery creation for MSFS.
Included is -
A written guide that covers every aspect of the SDK, or every aspect I use, including project set up, a description of all the tools, what they do and how to use them.
Four versions of the project files for an airport mod. In this case it’s KPVC Provincetown. You get the first empty folder set up, a built example ready to start work on, a built example with a 3d model imported and finally a near complete version that only needs a small amount of refining to complete.
A written guide with example models on how to import 3d models into the sim.
A written guide with example textures on how to import your own custom ground textures into the sim.
The project files for a heliport with a few 3d models and several different runways in various states of disaster.
The project files for a water airport.
The project files for an airport lighting only project. This is KMEM Memphis.
I have no way of judging how comprehensible this is to a total newcomer, but I tried to make it as clear as possible. With a few readthroughs hopefully this should get you creating too.
This is horrible word but I guess it needs to be in here for search results - tutorial.
Is there an update for the newest version of SDK? It seems to be different in many respects.. can’t update on the fly, getting some messages that weren’t there before, not saving properly.. not loading the scenery edit menus etc.
Have you had a chance to look into this after all?
I think they should have simplified it all, not saving 1000 files “shape” “BGL” whatever… even Xplane does this better despite the rest of the tool in MSFS being really good-ish.
This is massively out of date, I’ll try to update it in the next month or so, but the helicopter bit is still valid. I’m not sure I’d advise the rest of it as there’s a lot of irrelevant info and things are now simpler in general when it comes to setting up projects.
Now that we are able to do more detailed scenery on MSFS2024, and we can walk, I want to start again with the modeling and scenery stuff, so I’m looking for some guides to learn how to do it.
I’m only interested in the scenery stuff, not airport. My main problem is terraformation, I tried it again on MSFS2024 SDK and I still find it very lacking.
For example, if I want to flatten a road on a hill, I have to do it with the brushes and it isn’t very precise.
This is what I want to improve on MSFS 2024 (Cerro de San Miguel, Burgos, Spain)
I started recreating this area for rFactor (a racing sim) on 2016 just for fun and because I used to walk there when I lived on Burgos. That is the reason why I already have some low poly 3D models and I worked with Bob’s Track Builder. Here is a preview of the map exported to .dae and then imported to Blender:
Terraforming is a miserable business that I try to avoid.
For that, the first thing I’d check is to see if there’s any high quality DEM available.
Many European governments supply it for free.
For a small area like that I’d be looking for a 1 metre or less resolution. Most of the stuff out there is much bigger like 30 metres which will be useless.
You’ll probably still have to do a lot of manual adjustments to the final result.
There is a DEM section in the download for this thread, but the tool mentioned there is dead. The stuff you have to do in Qgis still applies.
2024 seems to have a bit of an issue with imported height maps.
I think its terrain is too high resolution so you get some pretty ugly ridges where the elevations change, but you might be lucky and it won’t be noticeable.
Thanks!
I was thinking just fine tuning by hand the MSFS2024 terain mesh, but as you said, Terraforming is a miserable bussines because it’s really hard to finetune the terrain. I even prefer if I could just drag the individual points of the mesh even if that is painfully slow
