Hi, i was starting to edit my first airport with a control tower and on looking through the scenery objects, all i saw was on generic-airport-tower. Are there no other variations of control towers included in the default SDK scenery objects ??
I am also looking for a library of other objects, such as domed hangars (hangars with curved roofs)
Does anyone know of a library / link/ website where i can download more scenery objects for the SDK to add variety in creating airports etc for MFS 2020 ?
YouTube has quite a few tutorials on this.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=add+objects+to+MSFS
Why not learn to make your own? It isnât that difficult. You can use Google maps and the measure tool to get the size of the objects you want to model. I use Sketchup and then use the free tool, Model Converter X (MCX), to export to a suitable model for FS2020. If you can go to the actual airport and take pictures of the objects and use those for textures, you can get a very life like airport.
Thank you for these tips!
No problem. Itâs pretty fun and kind of addictive once you start. Just start small and work your way up and you will be creating airports in no time. Feel free to message me if you get stumped.
Hi ab353,
I have been struggling for a week now trying to get my Sketchup models into MSFS 2020 using the recommended detour via Blender. But it seems like me and Blender have a lot of problems with each other. I always thought ModelconverterX was only usable for FSX/P3D scenery.
Could you please explain in detail how you do it? Which Sketchup export format? In Blender there are a lot of parameters which you can set the wrong way. Is it easier with your method?
Make sure you have the latest version of MCX.
So here are the steps I follow.
I create a top-level folder for my airport called something like âAirport XXX - Modelsâ Inside of that I create a subfolder for each object that I am going to model. In that folder I create a sub folder called âSketchup exportâ and one called âFS2020 Modelâ. This folder structure is not mandatory but it keeps me organized.
When my model is done and I am ready to export it from Sketchup, I go to File > Export > 3D Model. I select my folder called âSketchup exportâ in step #1 above as my location to export it to and then click the âexportâ button. This will save the .dae file and a folder with the same name as your model. In that folder is the textures you will use. A word of caution: FS2020 requires certain sizes of textures so use 1024x1024 or 2048x2048 or something like that. Otherwise you will have issues.
Startup MCX and drag your .dae file from step #2 above in to it. It will load your model. You can use the left mouse button and hold it down to rotate the model to look at it.
At this point I click on the icon just to the left of the one that looks like a little wrench. Itâs called the âmaterial editorâ and will show you the materials for your model, the ones in the folder from step #2 above. You may see one called something like âcolorFFFFFFâ. That is the default SketchUp color and if you see that it probably means you missed putting a texture on something. I delete this texture. You may notice after you delete it that part of your model is missing. If so, go back to step #2 and double check you have everything textured. If all is well, close out of the material editor and click âexport objectâ. Select the âFS2020 Modelâ folder that you created in step #1 above and export your model to that.
Now you have a working model for FS2020. At this point just to keep everything organized, I go back in to my âSketchup exportâ folder and in to my folder that contains my texture(s). I copy those textures over to my âFS2020 modelâ folder just so everything is in one place.
Now you need to copy your model over to FS2020 so it will work. You should have a projects folder that you created for the airport that you are working on. There should also be a âmodellibâ folder that will contain your objects. In that folder you will create a new folder and give it the name of your model. Now place the 3 files that were created and placed in your âFS2020 Modelâ folder. The three should be a .bin file, a .gtlf file, and a .xml file. Inside of that âmodellibâ folder you should also have a âtextureâ folder. Place the texture file(s) that you have in your âFS2020 Modelâ folder in that folder. Now you are ready to go.
Start FS2020. Go to your airport and load up your project that you are working on. I am not going to go in to detail about how to do that but I can if needed. Once your project is loaded and in the scenery editor you will not initially see your new object in the list of scenery objects to use. The process I use, and I am not sure if there is an easier process or not, is to build the package. Then I close out of FS2020 and copy my built package to my community folder. I then start FS2020 back up and the new object should be in editor as an available object to select. Note â when you build your package you will see all kinds of errors in the output window. That is normal but if you see anything that failed then that will be an issue. You should see a line of text that says something like âfailed = 0â. That is what you want to see. If it says âfailed = 1â then something went wrong. Lastly donât forget to save the scenery any time you make a change to it.
P.S. I donât recall having to make any settings changes to MCX after I downloaded it. Also if your model has animation such as a rotating radar antenna, etc. then you will need to use Blender. If it doesnât then Sketchup seems to work fine.
Thank you so much, you are awesome! You should post this as a starting tutorial as a basic guide for those looking to create / export scenery into FS2020. I did download sketchup but only spent a few mins with it. still working at the home office ( yawn) Id rather be flying.
You are welcome. I need to put that together. I would recommend starting with a simple box in Sketchup. Create a .jpg file in paint and make the size 1024x1024 and give it a solid color like red or something. Use that for your texture sheet. After you get that in FS2020 then you can start with more complicated objects. Perhaps put a sloped roof on it, etc.
A nice tutorial might be how to create one of those air race circuits, with sets of gates to fly though.
or just creating a basic hangar, and maybe a basic control tower
Wow, thatâs what I call a detailed explanation! Thank you for that. Tomorrow is the last day of my free week and I know what Iâll be doing with my time. If it works, youâll be my hero.
No problem. If you get stumped let me know.
Iâm actually not superstitious, but Iâm beginning to believe that Iâm cursed. Or itâs some kind of karmic thing.
ok.
Iâm using Sketchup Shop (web application) so my export options might look a little different. But I can select Collada or KMZ which both deliver a dae file. So I tried both. To avoid any texture problems I exported a simple cube without any textures.
I tried the latest MCX version 1.4 and the latest development version. Both showed the same result. I can load the model and I can see and rotate it. But⊠I also see a warning down below saying âError while loading modeldef.xml fileâ.
In the export dialog there is no option called âFS2020 modelâ but I can choose âglTFâ so I select that and get the 3 files plus the textures folder. So far so good, it seems. I can double-click the glTF file and view it in the Windows 3d-viewer.
ok.
I copied the package to the community folder and restarted the sim. Of course there is nothing to see, as I hadnât been able to place the objects in the scenery before.
Unfortunately the fsdeveloper is temporarily down for maintenance. So I canât search for answers there concerning the error in MCX. Do you have any idea what I can do now?
And something elseâŠ
I havenât got the power-of-two thing yet. What does it exactly mean? Do I have to create a 1024x1024 or 2048x2048 pixel file, place all my textures in there and upload it in Sketchup? Then apply the textures there on my model? And then export it all once again?
Or do I have to have to create a 1024x1024 file for each of my textures? The main picture is 2100x700 pixel. How am I going to handle this?
MCX can do that for you. When you have the model loaded in mcx go to material editor, click textures and there is a button called âresize all to power of 2â. Then just before the save textures button is a drop down box, select which format you want the textures saved as, then hit save textures.
Thank you. But now Iâm asked for the path to something called ImageTool. I have no idea what that is.
Ah, itâs part of fsx SDK. You can get it from the prepar3d sdk too.
http://cloud.prepar3d.com/SDK/Prepar3D_v3_SDK_Setup_3.4.22.19868.msi
Just to make sure, the only thing you need to copy over in to the modellib folder are the 3 files and the texture file. You donât need to copy the .dae file, .skp from Sketchup or anything else to the modellib. Inside of the modellib folder you should have a texture folder and that is where the texture goes.
As far as the texture size, I always resize my sheets before I use them in Sketchup. It just makes the whole process much easier. You can use Paint or I also use Gimp to do that and yes that is the pixel size of the sheet.
I donât have MSFS in front of me but make sure you have your folder set up is correct for MSFS. I watched this video and use his format.
