Installing add ons in V4

[TonyD 132]

I think it's time to sound a word of caution.

I really like the add-on.xml method but there are some drawbacks when it comes to scenery.
Any third party application that needs to harvest scenery bgl data now has a problem, as nearly all use the standard scenery.cfg file as the source.

Some of those programs affected:

MakeRunways - used by a number or 3rd parts apps including RAAS
Aivlasoft EFB
Plan-G
SimpleAirportScanner

Also whilst some sceneries will work quite happily externally, UK2000 for example, some do not.

At the moment its a bit of trial and error.

[joemiller 269]

1 hour ago, Lorby_SI said:

Hi Joe,

First a word of caution: I strongly advise against this. A lot of the old addons are no longer compatible. To be on the safe side, read this as "all". Be preared that every single old addon that you drop into the sim will cause issues. Activate the "Enable Content Error Reporting" on the first page of the application options and check the resulting log file "\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Files\ContentErrors.txt" if you really want to keep that addon or if it is better to drop it. Every error that you see in that log will cause the simulator to pause and think about it when that specific item is called. For example, I put a rather recent payware aircraft model into the sim which instantly caused my terrain to blur and the sim to stutter - although FPS were still high. The reason was sloppy coding of the gauges and errors in the config files. As there is no point in trying to correct them, I removed it.

I see a danger here, that even senior members of the community are currently runshing in, applying the "old ways" to the new simulator. In the end this will mean that we get the same chaos that we always had - including degraded performance and stuttering.

 

Thank you, kind sir!  This took you time and effort; this will be helpful to  a lot of people, here. 
- Will try it myself and see how it goes. 

- If I understand correctly, I can copy and paste the above template for every addon I install right below the previous one within a single XML? Then What do I replace in the template?

- Also, the folder where I will install the addons, do I create one folder then open sub-folders for each addon and name these sub-folders according to what I'll install in there? (I.E.: Aerosoft A320, FB KSFO, PMDG 747, etc. etc.) ? 

- And last but not least, when I save the document, do I  Save As/ Save as Type:  EXtensible Markup Language *xml:*

[Lorby_SI 2,067]

46 minutes ago, TonyD said:

I think it's time to sound a word of caution.

I really like the add-on.xml method but there are some drawbacks when it comes to scenery.
Any third party application that needs to harvest scenery bgl data now has a problem, as nearly all use the standard scenery.cfg file as the source.

Some of those programs affected:

MakeRunways - used by a number or 3rd parts apps including RAAS
Aivlasoft EFB
Plan-G
SimpleAirportScanner

Also whilst some sceneries will work quite happily externally, UK2000 for example, some do not.

At the moment its a bit of trial and error.

That problem already existed in V3, it is not like devs have much of an excuse now. The only thing that has changed is the automatic discovery function. All that scenery scanners will have to do is to query add-ons.cfg in AppData/Roaming and parse those locations as well.

But ultimately it is up to the 3rd party developers. I am thinking that LM did this for a reason. I don't know which one it was, but it makes a lot of sense if they are planning to overwrite the default directories and standard cfg files when they update the simulator itself. After having reinstalled all their addons for the third time after three point releases, I suppose users themselves will demand the XML method. And you certainly can't expect a professional user to invest all that time for reinstalling again and again.

And then there are rules. You never install content into the runtime directory of another application, and most certainly not into "Program Files".

Best regards

[ricka47 612]

3 hours ago, Lorby_SI said:

Hi Joe,

First a word of caution: I strongly advise against this. A lot of the old addons are no longer compatible. To be on the safe side, read this as "all". Be preared that every single old addon that you drop into the sim will cause issues. Activate the "Enable Content Error Reporting" on the first page of the application options and check the resulting log file "\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Files\ContentErrors.txt" if you really want to keep that addon or if it is better to drop it. Every error that you see in that log will cause the simulator to pause and think about it when that specific item is called. For example, I put a rather recent payware aircraft model into the sim which instantly caused my terrain to blur and the sim to stutter - although FPS were still high. The reason was sloppy coding of the gauges and errors in the config files. As there is no point in trying to correct them, I removed it.

I see a danger here, that even senior members of the community are currently runshing in, applying the "old ways" to the new simulator. In the end this will mean that we get the same chaos that we always had - including degraded performance and stuttering.

With this new simulator, a user should decide early on how he wants to go about it, use the old techniques or the new ones (btw. if I were in LMs shoes, I would have removed all content from the base simulator and put it into an external folder right from the start (including add-on.xml) - that way there wouldn't be so much confusion now).

1. Get Notepad++. Take care to download it from the developer - there are many websites where you can get it - but you may get something else too, that you didn't want. Use this app to create and edit the XML files, make sure to select "UTF-8 without BOM" from the "Encoding" menu

2. All add-on.xml go into "\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\<subfolder of your choice>\add-on.xml".

3. Make a plan how you want to structure this. Using one single XML for multiple addons seems to be preferable over making individual ones.

Example:
When I installed the addon aircraft mentioned above, I did it this way:
- Created a folder structure on my D: drive:
  "D:\OtherAircraft"
- Then I pointed the installer of the aircraft at "D:\OtherAircraft"
- After installation I ended up with this:
  "D:\OtherAircraft\SimObjects\Airplanes"
  "D:\OtherAircraft\Gauges"
  "D:\OtherAircraft\Effects"
  "D:\OtherAircraft\Sound"

The installer created all the necessary folders that would normally be in my simulator directory

- Then I created this add-on.xml:
 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<SimBase.Document Type="AddOnXml" version="4,0" id="add-on">
<AddOn.Name>Other Aircraft</AddOn.Name>
<AddOn.Description>Content for old addons</AddOn.Description>
<AddOn.Component>
<Category>SimObjects</Category>
<Path>D:\OtherAircraft\SimObjects\Airplanes</Path>
</AddOn.Component>
<AddOn.Component>
<Category>Effects</Category>
<Path>D:\OtherAircraft\Effects</Path>
</AddOn.Component>
<AddOn.Component>
<Category>Gauges</Category>
<Path>D:\OtherAircraft\Gauges</Path>
</AddOn.Component>
<AddOn.Component>
<Category>Sound</Category>
<Path>D:\OtherAircraft\Sound</Path>
</AddOn.Component>
</SimBase.Document>

and saved it here:

"\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\OtherAircraft\add-on.xml"

Thats it. Aircraft shows up in the sim. You can now install more aircraft into the "D:\OtherAircraft" folder and remove them from there, or make an individual folder for every addon.

Be mindful that this is still the early days, and that this technique has a few teething problems. But by and large it works OK.

 

I added a FlyTampa airport last night that was supposedly v4 ready.  However, it did not use the new add-on method.  But, it worked.  However, it bothered me so much that I woke up early and uninstalled it and all the traces of it from the P3D folders.  It was amazing all the files that were put all over.

All I have now (I’m starting from scratch and only have v4 installed) is MyTraffic 6 installed as you suggested and the ORBX libraries which were installed the “old way.”  I have not re-installed anything else and am particularly concerned about my ORBX products since it seems that FTX Central 3 installs the way that it did in v3.

What do we do with installers that insist on using the another method of installing add-ons?  Thanks for your help on this important issue, Rick

[Lorby_SI 2,067]

1 hour ago, ricka47 said:

What do we do with installers that insist on using the another method of installing add-ons?  Thanks for your help on this important issue, Rick

Hi Rick,

honestly, I don't know. The way things are turning out currently makes me nervous too.

I am contemplating to use a dummy P3D directory somewhere and link it with an add-on.xml for scenery and one for aircraft. To fool installers, I can always just copy the prepar3d.exe into it and/or alter the registry keys. For example, if there is a \Scenery\World folder in there at some point, I would give it the layer number "1" in the xml, assuming that this will place it between Area.001 and Area.002.

The urge to write a tool is becoming stronger. But first I will have to finish the x64 conversion of my existing products.

Best regards

[ricka47 612]

Just now, Lorby_SI said:

Hi Rick,

honestly, I don't know. I am contemplating to use a dummy P3D directory somewhere and link it with an add-on.xml for scenery and one for aircraft. To fool installers, I can always just copy the prepar3d.exe into it and/or alter the registry keys. If there is a \Scenery\World folder in there at some point, I would give it the layer number "1" in the xml, assuming that this will place it between Area.001 and Area.002.

The urge to write a tool is becoming stronger. But first I will have to finisch the x64 conversion of my existing products.

Best regards

Thanks Oliver - creating the dummy directory and altering the registry occurred to me as well.  I have to wonder why, since the major developers knew of this longer than many of us, they didn't cooperate with LM in their installation method?  It has always been a pain to re-install add-ons after a major update and this method of installing add-ons eliminates that.  I hope that you give in to the urge to write that tool!

[TonyD 132]

I found anothe use for this very adaptable method - Ultimate Traffic Live

For UTLive to work - only 2 things are required
 
a path to the UTLive aircraft
a means of activating the 'utl_client.exe'
 
This can be done a number of different ways.

-------------------------------------------------------
Part 1 - The Aircraft
 
I created a small add-on.xml that tells P3D (v3 or V4) where to find th UTLive aircraft
This avoids messing with the P3D system exe.xml
 
My version of UTLive is installed in C:\FSApps\Ultimate Traffic Live

<SimBase.Document Type="AddOnXml" version="3,3" id="add-on">
    <AddOn.Name>UT Live</AddOn.Name>
    <AddOn.Description>Ultimate Traffic Live</AddOn.Description>
    <AddOn.Component>
        <Category>SimObjects</Category>
        <Path>C:\FSApps\Ultimate Traffic Live\utLive Aircraft</Path>
    </AddOn.Component>
</SimBase.Document>

This add-on.xml is stored in a subfolder (any name will do) created in C:\Users\myname\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons.
The first time you run P3D after creating this file it will ask you if you want to activate it - yes.
 
-------------------------------------------------------
 
Part 2 - The Program
 
I don't like UTLive starting automatically, if I am bush flying or testing scenery I really don't want it.
All I do is create a desktop shortcut for 'utl_client.exe'
Once P3D has started I just click the shortcut - it's that simple.

[cannow 61]

using this method is great but cannot adjust the scenary order once done how do I achieve this 

[Lorby_SI 2,067]

4 minutes ago, cannow said:

using this method is great but cannot adjust the scenary order once done how do I achieve this 

This is where a tool would come in handy. It is not that hard to implement, but that takes time nevertheless. 

To do it manually, there are two points of interest:

- Inside of the add-on.xml you can change the order of the components or add layer-tags

- After activiation, change the order of the additions in \AppData\Roaming\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4\add-ons.cfg

Best regards

[cannow 61]

must have missed a step the scenarys are activated in p3dv4 and install they are not in add ons config do they have to be entered manually . this is feeling a complete waste of time at the moment .createing an xml then still manually editing.

[Lorby_SI 2,067]

1 minute ago, cannow said:

must have missed a step the scenarys are activated in p3dv4 and install they are not in add ons config do they have to be entered manually . this is feeling a complete waste of time at the moment .createing an xml then still manually editing.

If done correctly, after you have created the add-on.xml and started P3D, then it will ask you if you want to activate that addon. If you click "yes", then it will be added to "\AppData\Roaming\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4\add-ons.cfg"

Best regards

[cannow 61]

got it looking at the wrong add on config but makes no difference to the scenary order 

 

 

[Lorby_SI 2,067]

7 minutes ago, cannow said:

got it looking at the wrong add on config but makes no difference to the scenary order 

 

 

Strange. It does for me - make sure to change the numbering as well.

Best regards

[evaamo 549]

Well, this is turning into a real mess.

What I've been doing so far (and kudos to FSDT for doing it RIGHT):

1) Created a "Legacy World Scenery" folder and then dumped all of the BGLs that scenery builders such as FlyTampa usually place into "C:\Program Files(x86)\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3d v3\Scenery\World\Scenery".

2) Made a "Legacy World Scenery" folder into Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\ and then created my own add-on.xml  that looks like this:

 

<SimBase.Document Type="AddOnXml" version="4,0" id="add-on">
  <AddOn.Name>Legacy World Scenery</AddOn.Name>
  <AddOn.Description>Legacy World Scenery</AddOn.Description>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Name>3rd Party World Scenery (Legacy)</Name>
    <Category>Scenery</Category>
    <Path>F:\FS_Scenery\World\Scenery</Path>
    <Layer>3</Layer>
  </AddOn.Component>
</SimBase.Document>

The reason I'm using "<Layer>3</Layer>"  entry is because there seems to be no other way to add World-level Scenery priority insider individual scenery packages. That is until Lockheed Martin adds support to a " World"  type entry for scenery and not just textures, I guess (at least according to the SDK).

3) In the case of FlyTampa, I copied all of their files in the Effects & Effects\Texture folders into their own scenery folder, so that you have:

 

F:\FS_SCENERY\
	FlyTampa\
		St.Maarten\
			Doc\
			Effects\
				Texture\
			Scenery
			Texture

 

It's a pain the bottom, but it seems we'll have to create a dummy Prepar3d v4 folder into our hard drives and install scenery there and then start fixing the mess ourselves manually, until developers decide to update their installers and follow the rules.

Until then, and for those of us looking to keep things "tidy" and compliant with LM's rules, I see no other way. I'm open to suggestions!.

BTW, the "scenery.cfg" file is still very much in use. If you add your own scenery in the way I mention above, Prepar3D will add it automagically into the scenery.cfg.

Edit: No it won't add it to the scenery.cfg file. But it will show in the "Scenery Library" in the order specified by the XML entry "layer". - thanks Colin.

I still don't know of any other way you'll be able to sort the scenery priorities but through the "Scenery Library" or through the great SCE.

The only thing the xml entry "<layer>"  seems to do is to place your scenery entry in a "higher priority" with regards of the "default" Prepar3D entries (that's why I chose "layer 3" for the "Legacy World Scenery" entry). But so far (I haven't done extensive research at all) I don't see how the "Layer" option in the xml will help in things such as keeping ORBX or FlyTampa Libraries on top without user intervention (either editing the scenery.cfg file directly or via SCE or FTX Central, in the case of ORBX).

I'm sure this will get better in a few months - hopefully.

Cheers

-E

 

 

[cannow 61]

personally for me it does not add to scenary.cfg but scenary add ons.xml . Appears in the the sims scenary editor though