Vegetation and Bodies of Water

[Mudhen 0]

I have Win XP Home running FS9 - with Rwy12, FSUIPC, and FS9JETS + a few other things I'm told are necessary. I'd like to enhance the scenery in the vicinity of Raleigh/Durham Intl. There are several very large ponds, lots of thick vegetation, and a couple of major highways. Can anyone help me get started with updating scenery so I can make the area around the airport look more like the real thing? Some sort of tutorial and the tools I'll need?Thanks very much, Gary

[scott967 62]

The top thread on the scenery design forum, Beginner's guide to scenery design, would be the place to start.scott s..

[Mudhen 0]

I've already done that, printed the whole topic, and with my level of understanding, it's overkill. It's 18 pages long and I have no idea where to start to specifically find out how to add a small body of water. Can you help me a little more to zero in on what I need for that topic alone?Thanks, Gary

The top thread on the scenery design forum, Beginner's guide to scenery design, would be the place to start.scott s..

[N60JBravo 27]

I'll point you in 2 different directions, the scope of what you want to do is a little too much for a forum topic and more suited for the scenery design forum than this one.Direction number 1, SBuilder - http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=66657With this program you rebuild the whole planet if you wish, or take on a smaller project like you mentioned. There is a learning curve involved, but once you get the hang of it it goes pretty quick. There are several tutorials available for this program as well.Direction number 2, AFCAD2 - http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=46238It is possible to create your small bodies of water with this program by creating custom airport aprons with a water surface. One big limiter doing it this way is no choice of texture used and they tend to look unrealistic. However there is a great readme with this program and with a little "thinking out of the box" it can be used for some fun things. I have seen golf courses made with this program.The simplest way to accomplish what your after might be to buy and install Ultimate Terrain if you haven't. UT will give you realistic roads and water bodies among other things. See it here - http://www.flight1.com/products.asp?product=utusaHope this helps,Joe

[Mudhen 0]

I tried using both versions of SBuilder and have not been able to get them to launch correctly or link me to the Help information. I've spent hours. Have you or anyone else reading this post been able to get it to launch and access the Help? Starting either version results in launching the install process for a completely unrelated application. I've never seen anything like it. I went through the registration process for SBuilder, with the intention of donating something once I determined that it would do what I wanted. I can't even get it off the ground. Any ideas whatsoever?Gary------

I'll point you in 2 different directions, the scope of what you want to do is a little too much for a forum topic and more suited for the scenery design forum than this one.Direction number 1, SBuilder - http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=66657With this program you rebuild the whole planet if you wish, or take on a smaller project like you mentioned. There is a learning curve involved, but once you get the hang of it it goes pretty quick. There are several tutorials available for this program as well.Direction number 2, AFCAD2 - http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=46238It is possible to create your small bodies of water with this program by creating custom airport aprons with a water surface. One big limiter doing it this way is no choice of texture used and they tend to look unrealistic. However there is a great readme with this program and with a little "thinking out of the box" it can be used for some fun things. I have seen golf courses made with this program.The simplest way to accomplish what your after might be to buy and install Ultimate Terrain if you haven't. UT will give you realistic roads and water bodies among other things. See it here - http://www.flight1.com/products.asp?product=utusaHope this helps,Joe