EXCEPTIONAL X-PLANE 10 FREEWARE SCENERY

[cavaricooper 2,615]

After the visceral response evoked by a single criticism of X-Plane default scenery in my previous post, I wanted to do my bit to demonstrate my willingness to learn more about this new (to me) platform. I'll venture that I'm not alone (especially here in a heretofore FSX/P3D centric ecosystem). I'd also suggest that as most of us here already have a considerable investment in FSX and/or P3D, it would be great to get a comprehensive understanding of X-Plane's possibilities, before embarking on another purchase path.

 

When PMDG releases the DC-6 I'll hazard that the X-Plane user base will exponentially multiply. FOR MANY, it will be the reason for purchasing X-Plane (it was for me). To save us neophytes further angst- would you please provide links to SUPERLATIVE FREEWARE X-Plane Scener here? Please- ONLY FREEWARE X-PLANE 10 SCENERY OF EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY.

 

Ta!

[Alpha Floor 237]

Spain UHD

 

Covers Spain (continental and Canary Islands) and since recently, Portugal (continental only) as well.

[RudiJG1 172]

Any airport by MisterX6, all available and free at xplane.org; here's a sample: http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/29166-ksfo-san-francisco-international-airport-and-city/

 

More here: http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/profile/125097-misterx6/content/&type=downloads_file

[x-plane 123 61]

In addition to the excellent sceneries already mentioned:

XPFR

 

Cami De Bellis

 

Relicroy

 

Munich

 

TDG

 

gpb500

 

Frede

 

Belga12345

 

DKM

 

Skylark 2992

 

SCSE

 

SBSP

 

AXDG

 

Rudeboysheva

 

Aerobridge

 

Colin/ Hawaii Photoreal

 

ISDG

 

IXPT

 

Non airport: W2XP (autopen) HD/ UHD Mesh, and Ortho4XP (orthophotos)

 

Edit: One more handy link. A great tool to search for airport scenery.

[Alpha Floor 237]

Thanks for those links Jon! I will be using those when I re-install my XP-10!

[x-plane 123 61]

No problem! Hopefully it'll help some new users as well.

[ferrariman15 13]

I tried to install World2Xplane scenery into my Xplane. Found it so difficult to do I just gave up. Unless you understand how Xplane scenery works installing anything but the meshes and airports is terrible. Some airport scenery requires up to seven different libraries to be downloaded to not get an error.

[Jimmy RFR 406]

I tried to install World2Xplane scenery into my Xplane. Found it so difficult to do I just gave up. Unless you understand how Xplane scenery works installing anything but the meshes and airports is terrible. Some airport scenery requires up to seven different libraries to be downloaded to not get an error.

 

I'd highly recommend coming over to the XP forum and asking for installation tips - none of it is difficult once you learn a bit. It's pretty much all just moving a downloaded folder into where it needs to go, and ensuring that it loads up in the proper order so that it isn't covered up by something else.  Might not be as automated as working with the scenery library in FSX/P3D, but it's not nearly as complex either, since there's very little layering that you have to be aware of.

 

The bit about some airport scenery needing tons of libraries can indeed be a bit of annoyance, but once you have said libraries (and there's only really half a dozen essential ones), then it becomes a non-issue. Plus, there's a few tools available that try to help automate the process a bit.  The object libraries serve to point out just how rich the freeware scene is in XP; though them, there's a vast collection of objects that anyone else can place in their airport scenery.

 

I'll be honest - I fly FSX+P3D+XP, and I've had far more difficult times troubleshooting Orbx scenery issues in FSX/P3D.  Or, the mega-job of trying to install the awesome photoreal scenery for the Hawaii islands chain + the various FSDT airports + George Keough's freeware airports and make it all work together.  I did that from scratch a couple of years ago, it took at least a week or so to make it all perfect.

 

XP is no different than FSX/P3D in that it has a bit of a learning curve if you want to fly anything but the default scenery.

[ferrariman15 13]

I'd highly recommend coming over to the XP forum and asking for installation tips - none of it is difficult once you learn a bit. It's pretty much all just moving a downloaded folder into where it needs to go, and ensuring that it loads up in the proper order so that it isn't covered up by something else.  Might not be as automated as working with the scenery library in FSX/P3D, but it's not nearly as complex either, since there's very little layering that you have to be aware of.

 

The bit about some airport scenery needing tons of libraries can indeed be a bit of annoyance, but once you have said libraries (and there's only really half a dozen essential ones), then it becomes a non-issue. Plus, there's a few tools available that try to help automate the process a bit.  The object libraries serve to point out just how rich the freeware scene is in XP; though them, there's a vast collection of objects that anyone else can place in their airport scenery.

 

I'll be honest - I fly FSX+P3D+XP, and I've had far more difficult times troubleshooting Orbx scenery issues in FSX/P3D.  Or, the mega-job of trying to install the awesome photoreal scenery for the Hawaii islands chain + the various FSDT airports + George Keough's freeware airports and make it all work together.  I did that from scratch a couple of years ago, it took at least a week or so to make it all perfect.

 

XP is no different than FSX/P3D in that it has a bit of a learning curve if you want to fly anything but the default scenery.

 

Jimmy, thanks for your comments but the posted link from xplane 123 above highlight my issues perfectly. With P3D my Orbx scenery just installs perfectly because the installer does it all. With airport scenery I just have to make sure the scenery library is in the right order which is really easy. Those links above for World2Xplane, Meshes and Ortho4XP (whatever that is!) just link to a series of downloads with no explanation of how to install. One of the downloads for the World2Xplane for Europe has installation instructions of basically 'delete all old files in world2xplane europe and replace with new ones', well what if you have no clue how to install them in the first place!!! And people wonder why Xplane has never taken off as much as the Xplane community wants it to? 

[finkelstein 25]

Jimmy, thanks for your comments but the posted link from xplane 123 above highlight my issues perfectly. With P3D my Orbx scenery just installs perfectly because the installer does it all. With airport scenery I just have to make sure the scenery library is in the right order which is really easy. Those links above for World2Xplane, Meshes and Ortho4XP (whatever that is!) just link to a series of downloads with no explanation of how to install. One of the downloads for the World2Xplane for Europe has installation instructions of basically 'delete all old files in world2xplane europe and replace with new ones', well what if you have no clue how to install them in the first place!!! And people wonder why Xplane has never taken off as much as the Xplane community wants it to? 

 

Try this: http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/31085-xorganizer-windows/ It should solve all your qualms about scenery management in X-Plane.

This is also a good read to help you understand the structure. Once you understand it, it's really a no-brainer: http://asn-xp.aerosoft.com/?page_id=9708

 

Just like any serious sim, X-Plane's environment has a learning curve to it. Think of it this way: to anyone coming to FSX/P3D from X-Plane, terms like meshes, textures and landclass, global bases and vectors and what not will make equally little sense while they are likely obvious to you. 

With any perceived disadvantage, you'll also find advantages (like not having dozens of installers that do god knows what to Windows and its registry, thus being able to simply copy paste your X-Plane install as a backup whenever and however you please).

[ferrariman15 13]

Marius, thank you for the link to that application. BUT your post is exactly the same tone as I've had before from the Xplane community before which really really bugs me. I've spent a lot of time trying to understand the structure of Xplane scenery, with lots of time spent downloading enormous files, to then boot up Xplane and find that it crashes because a file is missing. You really need to understand that Xplane is not intuitive at all! I've read that page on the Aerosoft forums before. Was it any use in helping me install World2Xplane, no because W2XP assumes that everyone already knows exactly which files and folders to download and where to put them. Not helpful to people who don't understand to start with! And that Ortho4XP thing, what is going on with that? Just a load of files and folders with no clear instructions. I don't want to spend hours trying to structure my scenery folders correctly, just want an installer that does it all for you, which is incidentally exactly what Aerosoft EGLL for Xplane does.

[Desaix 235]

Nturally payware products come with their own installer, I have no complain if a freeware scenery doesn't.

I think that the scenery ini file is the same as FSX. It's a simple bottom to top list of sceneries: mesh goes to the bottom, libraries in the middle, scenery to the top. X-Organizer helps a lot managing the files.

 

Regarding W2xp and ortho4XP I don't think they're mandatory to enjoy the sim, I tried once W2XP but fps took

a huge hit.

 

Anyway is this the right section for such a post?

[ferrariman15 13]

It's not really the right section TBH no but until PMDG release the upcoming DC-6 then all I use X-plane for is to fly helicopters. And at that height above the ground you really want some decent scenery. I'm sure when I'm flying the DC-6, and I use flying in the loosest possible sense of the word (more like attempting not to crash it!), I'm sure I won't care about scenery except airport scenery.

 

The one big advantage that the X-Plane community is at pains stress is the availability of freeware scenery. But what is the point of all that if the people you are trying to attract from ESP platform can't install it because they don't understand the file structure and don't have hours of free time to start learning it.

[kevinh 409]

Questions about X-Plane scenery are surely better asked in the X-Plane forum. This forum is supposed to be about PMDG products.

[yidahoo 365]

There are two tools that make scenery insallation a breeze in X-Plane. Firstly Tom Knudsen's library installer. This will install pretty much all the third party libraries for you in the correct location

 

http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/30252-x-plane-library-installer/

 

Secondly, X-Organiser will arrange the sceneries in the right order, allow you to activate/deactivate plugins and even start up X-Plane for you.

 

http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/31085-xorganizer-windows/

 

Jason Row