Landclass priority in scenery library

[martinlest2 58]

I have seen threads in this forum where Holger has posted screenshots of his scenery library, with the landclass files grouped pretty much per country towards the bottom of the library (an arrangement I have adopted too).However, in some addons, such as the BC Victoria scenery - in which Holger himself had a hand (vicenh05.zip), the installation instructions and screenshots show the landclass folders placed above the scenery itself. I know that LC is like normal scenery (and unlike mesh), the higher up the library it is the higher its priority, but in effect being shown opposite installation instructions like this is proving a bit confusing.Elucidation welcome! :-)Thanks,Martin

[Mike... 7]

After doing my own research a while ago, in FS I have the following:Default Aerial PhotosUT USAUT Canada (the part that comes with UT USA)UT EU LightsUT EU LandclassUT EU 6UT EU 5UT EU 4UT EU 3UT EU 2UT EU 1My World LandclassIf a scenery comes with its own LC. It's Scenery LandclassLayer priority can be confusing. If a scenery comes with specific instructions, you could follow them, but I think it makes sense to have the scenery itself a higher priority than the landclass is comes with (and is "placed one"). By my own reasoning, UT EU Landclass could go below UT EU 1. But perhaps there's a reason it's not and I've forgotten it. If you do a search for this topic, you'll finds years worth of reading material.:D

[Holger 0]

Hi guys,here's a recycled post of mine to a similar question a while ago. It's mostly about terrain mesh files but it mentions land class files and the issue with complex add-ons like Victoria+.==================FS knows several different categories of landscape elements: terrain mesh, ground textures (landclass plus autogen), vector and polygon data (streams, roads, water bodies, etc.), airfield data (AFCAD) and custom objects (building models).The important thing to remember is that FS loads files by category meaning scenery library position is relevant only within a category not between categories.In other words, it does not matter whether mesh file entries are above or below land class file entries, or water files below AFCADs etc. FS will sort it out just fine.So why the often mixed message about priorities in the scenery library?First, there is the issue of priority of terrain mesh files. FS will automatically display the local mesh file with the highest level of detail (LOD), regardless of where its entry is in the scenery library. The only time scenery library priority comes into play is if there are overlapping mesh files of the same LOD. In FS2002 and FSX, the rule for this case is handled logically: the mesh of the same LOD but with higher display priority in the scenery library menu (i.e., above the other mesh entry) will be used. For some strange reason, in FS9 this rule is reversed; it's the mesh file lower down in the menu that will be displayed. Since FSGenesis, FSGlobal, etc. are considered base mesh files, and other scenery add-ons may include their own mesh file of the same LOD, the suggestion for FS9 users is to place the library entries of FSGenesis etc. at the top of the scenery library menu. That way the local mesh files will be used in their own coverage area. Again, it's the opposite if you're using FS2002 or FSX!For example, our FS9 Vancouver+ product includes custom 38-m terrain mesh files. The Canadian parts of FSGenesis' 38-m Cordillera files are similar but not identical (different processing). The difference isn't major but you'd notice it at bridge ramps, helipads, etc. If the Vancouver+ scenery library entries were placed above the FSGenesis entries it's the FSGenesis mesh that would be displayed, which is undesirable.In short, if you have installed add-ons with terrain mesh of the same LOD then you need to consider scenery library position. If you don't then it doesn't matter where your mesh file entries are relative to one another or other entries.The other issue is that complex add-ons like VicPlus/VanPlus or Misty/Tongass Fjords require a specific order of their multiple scenery library entries so that local excludes work correctly. That's the only other case in which order of scenery library entries is important. The add-on's manual should give the required order of entries.Actually, there's one more case: if you have different airport facility (AFCAD) files of the same airfield in separate scenery library entries then it's the one with the highest priority that will be used. That's why many people suggest that all AFCAD files be placed in a single add-on folder (usually Addon Sceneryscenery) so that duplicates are easier to spot. Alternatively, tools that detect duplicates can be used to prevent issues with AFCAD files.Of course, there is something to be said for keeping a scenery library with many add-on entries in some kind of order. For example, I sort my library by region/continent so that I can spot more easily whether there may be potential overlaps or conflicts between specific entries. ============================Hope that helps.Cheers, Holger