Be careful when you do CYEG - there is another guy (or is it you??) doing it, already:

 

http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/forums/topic/105969-cyeg-edmonton-intl-wip-gateway-version/

 

Cheers, Jan

Most impressive, thanks for pointing this one out!

On the map key it says: "User enhanced airports already included in current release." Do we still have to download those? Does anybody know?

Good post which should be posted as a sticky post of its own. Way too many (new) XP users see the gateway as a resource for freeware addon airports which it isn't. I get all my airports from x-plane.org. I don't see the use of the link Richard posted, in fact those gateway links are 'dangerous' because afaik they won't be updated anymore at all if you have downloaded and installed them manually.

 

I might write up a little "X-Plane Scenery 101" and get one of the mods to post it. A whole lot of misconception floating around, it seems.

 

Wow, Jan, I am *so* glad you posted that link. No it is not me, I've only put about 10 or 11 hours in... I was starting to work my way down Taxiway B, starting at the farthest out, and I'd only just gotten to the FedEx ramp. I'm very glad that it's being done in that level of detail by someone else. I've been very proud of some of my more recent creations, but that guy is taking it to a whole other level.

 

It'll be wonderful to check it out - not just because I live in Edmonton, but because it looks like there's some really impressive stuff to learn and make notes from. I'd be really interested in seeing which some of those facades in use in those shots are. I get entirely too annoyed with searching though all the facades, I wish WED had a viewer for them.

 

I'll be honest though.. one of my reasons for doing CYEG for the Gateway was because I did a 3D model of the terminal, and eventually, maybe, I'd love to actually build the whole airport around it... maybe.. 

 

Edit: By the way Jan, I'm very grateful for not only the work you've done in fleshing out so many large airports, but also in promoting what the Gateway airports are capable of!

 

Yeah, this is one of the drawbacks of the current system - it is easy to "double" on one airport - but there is not really a way around that...EXCEPT to announce a project in a well-frequented scenery builder forum. Then again, someone might just loose interest and quit working on an airport, and then everyone else would be refraining from starting on it... I wish there was a way to "claim" an airport - but that claim would have to autoclear after 3 months, or so.

 

Jan

 

On the map key it says: "User enhanced airports already included in current release." Do we still have to download those? Does anybody know?

 

 

Read Janov's post: a regular user should not download ANY of the airports. All gateway airports either are already in XP (so why would you download those manually?!?) or they will be added automatically in the near future. Downloading and installing airports from the gateway will even prevent future updates! So a regular user should forget about the gateway and look elsewhere for freeware airport addons if they miss a specific one. I myself use x-plane.org for this. A lot of airports over there have payware quality (though most require additional freeware libraries but they only have to be installed once).

This is all news to me.  I only brought up that link because someone elsewhere recommended it as a great place to find airports to add to XP, so I didn't intend to steer people wrong.  I do however, understand it's purpose for scenery building.  I honestly don't remember if I did download anything directly from there, and I would typically go to this page to see the status of the build and then hop over to the org for the downloads.

Does manually installing a gateway airport (separate folder in custom scenery folder) then prevent that airport from updating in your global airports folder or is it that you won't see the updated gateway airport because the one you downloaded and installed manually was placed in a higher priority?  For example once you learn a gateway airport has been added to release, you would delete the manually downloaded version and the released version would already be there ready to go next time you started XP? 

Ryan, correct, it would be there when you delete the manually downloaded version (or if you placed it at a lower priority). But as Janov said, in theory gateway airports are not supposed to be downloaded, since after they have been approved they will be added to a next X-Plane release.

I might write up a little "X-Plane Scenery 101" and get one of the mods to post it. A whole lot of misconception floating around, it seems.

 

 

Hi Janov,

 

this is a great idea. Thank you! Some guys here at avsim deserve the title "X-Plane MVP". You are one of them.

 

Kind regards from bavaria :smile:

Tom

Right, so misconception number 1 should be that you are not getting the gateway updates as LR releases them because you have manually downloaded an airport before release.  You just have to be cognizant that when LR officially releases the airport, you need to go delete the manually installed one.  I mean, if LR didn't want you to download these airports before they are complete/approved they wouldn't have a big green download button next to them, right?  

 

There are many gateway airports that don't exist at the org and just because it isn't "moderator-approved" doesn't mean the current version won't be moderator-approved, they may have just not reviewed it yet.  I don't think we should discourage responsible use of the system for users that want 3D objects at airports now.  For example, I label these unapproved gateway airports as "ICAO - Gateway Unapproved" in my custom scenery folder so I know to check every so often.

 

I'm by no means an expert and if Janov recommends this not be done then I'll probably take his advice!  So I eagerly await his write-up.

 

From the gateway website:

X-Plane Users

On this web site you can find and download scenery submissions made by our artists and evaluated by a moderator. You can download any approved airport, but only moderator-recommended airports will be included in X-Plane updates.

Read Janov's post: a regular user should not download ANY of the airports. All gateway airports either are already in XP (so why would you download those manually?!?) or they will be added automatically in the near future. Downloading and installing airports from the gateway will even prevent future updates! So a regular user should forget about the gateway and look elsewhere for freeware airport addons if they miss a specific one. I myself use x-plane.org for this. A lot of airports over there have payware quality (though most require additional freeware libraries but they only have to be installed once).

Great, thanks for clearing this up! So basically all is or will be included automatically in X-Plane. But do airports sometimes make it from x-plane.org to the gateway?

 

 

I don't think we should discourage responsible use of the system for users that want 3D objects at airports now.

 

I agree - there are other reasons why one might not want the current moderator approved airport. That link that Jan posted for CYEG is a great example. I suspect that when that version linked to is finished, it may have a noticeable impact on FPS, depending on your hardware. So in that case, you may be better off using Jan's version of the airport (which is quite usable and very lightweight) even though the moderators will likely approve the far more complex one for inclusion.

 

Responsible use is the primary key here. Always be aware of what's in your scenery.ini.

 

Also, I've found the Gateway website itself is a very useful tool in it's own right for seeing what has or doesn't have 3D scenery when planning a flight in XP - it's a very fast database and is easy to search and use.

Cool stuff - if you click on red balloons you will be given a link to download enhanced airport 

 

http://x-plane.cleverest.eu/

 

Sedona and Monterey first on my list   :smile:

 

 

It's a whole new world, isn't it Rich.

Great, thanks for clearing this up! So basically all is or will be included automatically in X-Plane. But do airports sometimes make it from x-plane.org to the gateway?

 

Only if the author uploads a gateway-compatible version to it, that means no custom (or library) objects. Usually (exceptions are the case), the airport on the org will be more detailed. There are some fantastic gateway airports however.

Sorry guys didnt mean to start an uproar - new to this XP11 so not sure how those airport download links work - thank you

It's a whole new world, isn't it Rich.

 

Its Awesome Buddy - get PMDG on board will be even more a treat 

A little how-to regarding scenery is up (pinned at the top)... Enjoy, Jan