Scenery question about Prepar3dv4

[spilok 1,132]

Many of the sceneries and airports that I used to enjoy in FSX also had Prepar3d install exe's.  Most of them were for version 2 or version3 of P3.

Question is - Can I install these in version 4?  Would there be any problems doing that?

 

Stan

[AviatorMan 253]

Yes, you may have problems. First of all, the sceneries should specifically be described by the developer as compatible with P3Dv4. And secondly, depending upon the developer's installation process, you may still run into issues which have been described in previous threads here are Avsim. The only sceneries that I have discovered that are guaranteed to install are Orbx sceneries that are stated on Orbx's web site as P3Dv4 compatible. Orbx sceneries are installed via FTX Central, and this does a superb job of installing into P3Dv4. UK2000 has modified nearly all of their sceneries for P3Dv4, but when I recently tried to install two of them, one installed and the second one didn't, and I have not been able to figure out a straightforward way to make it install. So for the time being, the only sceneries I am attempting to install in P3Dv4 are Orbx sceneries and airports. Their airports are still under modification for P3Dv4, but their regions and Global products are ready to install.

[Jim Young 2,356]

1 hour ago, spilok said:

Many of the sceneries and airports that I used to enjoy in FSX also had Prepar3d install exe's.  Most of them were for version 2 or version3 of P3.

Question is - Can I install these in version 4?  Would there be any problems doing that?

 

Stan

Hopefully you did not remove any of your P3DV3 sceneries.  You can then use Lorby-Si's Addon Organizer_P3DV4 tool to add it to P3DV4.

[DaveCT2003 1,820]

3 hours ago, spilok said:

Many of the sceneries and airports that I used to enjoy in FSX also had Prepar3d install exe's.  Most of them were for version 2 or version3 of P3.

Question is - Can I install these in version 4?  Would there be any problems doing that?

 

Stan,

I have countless FSX/P3DV3 payware airports and almost all of them work just fine.  I even have FlyTampa Boston running perfectly, and that's a very old scenery!

What Jim Young is staying is spot on.  DO NOT USE THE INSTALLERS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.  Instead, simply point the Lorby-Si's Addon Organizer_P3DV4 tool to where you already have the scenery installed (FSX/P3DV3) and add it that way.  Note that you will have to manually move any of the files associated with the scenery that may be located in the Effects, Scenery/World/Scenery, Scenery/World/Texture, Scenery/Global/Scenery, Scenery/Global/Texture, Sounds, and maybe a few other locations.  Just open those folders and search for associated files (example:  For Boston scenery the associated files should have "KBOS" or "BOS" as part of the file name).  The more you do this, the better you'll get with knowing what goes with what scenery.

Best wishes.

 

[BuddyDog 36]

I'm in the same boat as Stan, but I have not yet purchased v4.

So Dave, when I purchase v4, and want to install ORBX, FSDT, Flightbeam, Taxi2gate KSEA and DD KEWR, I just install v4, then the Lorby tool, then point it to my v3.4?

I must confess, I am having a little problem with FSDT's new GSX, as it has installed the FSDT & FB stuff via the .xml method (I think) because they are greyed out in v3.4 and GSX keeps running to MyTraffic for .bgl's for the KSFO and KEWR and then SODE cannot find operable jetways.

The Lorby tool fixes all that?

BTW, thanks for all your beta posts about the CRJ over at Aerosoft forums.

[Jim Young 2,356]

9 hours ago, BuddyDog said:

I must confess, I am having a little problem with FSDT's new GSX, as it has installed the FSDT & FB stuff via the .xml method (I think) because they are greyed out in v3.4 and GSX keeps running to MyTraffic for .bgl's for the KSFO and KEWR and then SODE cannot find operable jetways.

FSDT/FB will "discover" your already installed airports/GSX and install it just like it did for V3.  You can enable/disable FSDT/FB via the Lorby-Si tool or, while in P3D, open up Options>Addons.  Just do not open up the Scenery.cfg via SceneryConfigEditor (if you have it installed) as it is not compatible (UTF-8 format).  Use P3D's built in Scenery Library or Options>Addons.

You should disable any .bgl's in MyTrafficX if you have bought other commercial scenery.  So, if you have FSDT KLAS, go into MyTraffic/Scenery and disable BR_KLAS.bgl by renaming it to BR_KLAS.bgl.OFF.

More info about FSDT/FB stuff can be found in the following topic beginning at the following link: 
https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/516223-shouldnt-addon-developers-commonly-decide-where-to-install/?do=findComment&comment=3683229

 

[BuddyDog 36]

Thank you, Jim!

[pgde 571]

Actually version 1.1.9 of SCE handles encoding fine and works well with P3D V4.

[Jim Young 2,356]

1 hour ago, pgde said:

Actually version 1.1.9 of SCE handles encoding fine and works well with P3D V4.

Certainly the scenery.cfg will function properly but it does not handle any required encoding whatsoever.  In other words, it does not create addon.xml's in UTF-8 format which is the format that the addon.xml has to be in for P3D to read the file and display the addon scenery.

I actually used SCE 1.1.9 for some time with P3Dv4 as I was the one who found SCE was updated (right after P3D was released) and put it in the AVSIM FSX Configuration Guide as a suggestion to download and use it for FSX. But, in V4, I got crashes and more crashes because some of my addons were converted to the Addon.xml format and conflicted with the scenery.cfg.  Let's take for instance, Washington X.  Updated for P3DV4 and placed in the scenery.cfg.  Then it was further updated to the Addon.xml format.  Then it was updated again to get it in the format (UTF-8) so it could be read.  It was not removed from the scenery.cfg.  So, I had an entry in the scenery.cfg and an entry in the Addon.xml installed by the installer for Washington X.  So P3Dv4 crashed and it took me some time to figure out why as my sim had been working great in the past.  Removed the duplicate entry in the P3D scenery.cfg and the problem was fixed. 

My only advice with SCE and the scenery.cfg is to be careful.  If you get a crash or P3D just shuts down for no reason at all without an error message or any entry in the Event Viewer, it is a conflict with the scenery.cfg and the new UTF-8 format.

Best regards,

Jim

 

[pgde 571]

Hi: I agree -- as with any program, you should use it with care. It sounds like you have had two issues: non-support of the new UTF of scenery.cfg, and secondly, duplication of entries in scenery.cfg and addon.xmls. Just FYI the following is a cut and paste from 1.1.9's version history -- V1.1.9
• Charset detection was too aggressive in P3Dv4 mode - and was assuming UTF16 incorrectly too much of the time.
V1.1.8
• Add support for Prepar3D v4 - including the change of file-encoding

Been using this since 1.1.8 without any problems. I know which add-ons use the LM preferred procedure and which don't --  ultimately IMHO we all will be using the preferred addon.xml procedure. Lorby's great freeware utility is probably the medium-term future once the preponderance of developers start following the LM preferred way. BTW, noticed the same issue with Washington X. I just deleted one of the duplicates (I think out of scenery.cfg and then adjusted proper order with Lorby's tool).

Good suggestions about troubleshooting. 

Regards,

P.

[duckbilled 310]

Until yesterday, I only installed scenery that was updated for v4 - FSDT, FB, PIS, IS and a few Latin VFR items - basically anything I already owned for FSX that had updates at Simmarket. Yesterday I installed some T2G products by downloading in the most recent installer, Installing to a temp location, copying all of the files over to v4 (separate directory) and used the Addon Organizer to get them in v4. Some worked well and some had a few issues. There is a recent thread here about my results.

Using the above method, I was able to get Tropicalsim's Punta Cana installed as well and it looks great.

I guess the approach I am taking this approach for now: If it has a native v4 installer that has been verified to be ok, I'll install it directly into v4. If I am installing anything that doesn't have a native installer, I'll install it to a temp location first and add it to the scenery library using Addon Organizer. This way, if I run into an issue with the sim or the scenery, I can easily uninstall it.

I could also just point Addon Organizer to FSX, but I think I prefer starting with the most recent installer just to make sure I don't miss any additional files that may be hiding out in effects, scenery/world/scenery or somewhere else.

[howevr 39]

11 minutes ago, duckbilled said:

 

I guess the approach I am taking this approach for now: If it has a native v4 installer that has been verified to be ok, I'll install it directly into v4. If I am installing anything that doesn't have a native installer, I'll install it to a temp location first and add it to the scenery library using Addon Organizer. This way, if I run into an issue with the sim or the scenery, I can easily uninstall it.

I could also just point Addon Organizer to FSX, but I think I prefer starting with the most recent installer just to make sure I don't miss any additional files that may be hiding out in effects, scenery/world/scenery or somewhere else.

I like this plan. Seems like a clean solution. Thank you.

 

[Jonathan93102 3]

On 06/08/2017 at 0:02 AM, duckbilled said:

Until yesterday, I only installed scenery that was updated for v4 - FSDT, FB, PIS, IS and a few Latin VFR items - basically anything I already owned for FSX that had updates at Simmarket. Yesterday I installed some T2G products by downloading in the most recent installer, Installing to a temp location, copying all of the files over to v4 (separate directory) and used the Addon Organizer to get them in v4. Some worked well and some had a few issues. There is a recent thread here about my results.

Using the above method, I was able to get Tropicalsim's Punta Cana installed as well and it looks great.

I guess the approach I am taking this approach for now: If it has a native v4 installer that has been verified to be ok, I'll install it directly into v4. If I am installing anything that doesn't have a native installer, I'll install it to a temp location first and add it to the scenery library using Addon Organizer. This way, if I run into an issue with the sim or the scenery, I can easily uninstall it.

I could also just point Addon Organizer to FSX, but I think I prefer starting with the most recent installer just to make sure I don't miss any additional files that may be hiding out in effects, scenery/world/scenery or somewhere else.

 

On 06/08/2017 at 0:18 AM, howevr said:

I like this plan. Seems like a clean solution. Thank you.

 

Hello Guys, 

I've been following this thread for a few days and I'm really interested in what you've been discussing. I have quite a number of FSX and V3 sceneries that I loved flying into but I won't risk putting them into V4 since suffering a huge problem a few weeks back where I lost all my default airports which I believed was due to downloading incompatible sceneries/airports The airports I want to install are DreamFlight Studios Puerto Plata and Latin VFR Bermuda. 

Is the the Addon Organiser an easy thing to set up? I was wondering if someone would be able to step by step explain how they would go about installing a FSX or V3 scenery.

Thanks for your time, 

Jonathan

(Forgot to quote so I apologise for the double post)

[Jim Young 2,356]

4 hours ago, Jonathan93102 said:

Is the the Addon Organiser an easy thing to set up? I was wondering if someone would be able to step by step explain how they would go about installing a FSX or V3 scenery.

This is how I do it.  It is very basic but shows you how easy it is to just add a scenery using the Addon Organizer -

First of all you need to download and install the Addon_Organizer from Lorby_Si.  Once installed, you will have an icon on your desktop such as the following.  Double click the icon to open.

This is what you will see when you open the program.  Dark green means the program has been added to your Documents/Prepar3Dv4 Add-Ons folder.  Light green means the scenery is only in the Scenery Library/Scenery.cfg.  I want to add Washington X so I will click on Add Scenery as follows:

This is what you will see once you click on Add Scenery.  You now want to click on 'Select Scenery'.

This will open up your directories on your system as follows.  Go to the folder where Washington X (or the scenery you want to add) is located and select it -

The following screen will appear.  Note that the program automatically names the Add-on.xml as Washington X.  You can name it whatever you want and provide a description but I would leave the description blank.  You now simply click on 'Submit'

When you click on 'Submit' the following screen will appear and you will see WashingtonX was added.  It will appear at the top of all of the scenery and you will have to use the "Down" button on the left to move the scenery down to where you want it located in your scenery.cfg.  You MUST click Save at the bottom to save the add-on.xml.

That's it!  Very basic. 

You also would want to add a component to the scenery such as Texture, Scripts, perhaps Effects, Sound, etc., that came with the scenery.  In this case, click Other addons tab at top and then click on Add Component. You will see Categories of things that can be added and Texture is one.  Go to the directory where Washington X (an example) is located, click on Texture folder and then click on Submit.  If the Washington X folder has Scripts, you will want to add that too.  FS Dreamteam addons are already listed in the Component section.  You can see what they did to add their components.  Make sure you click on Save when you are finished with Components or the component will not be added.

Many add-on developers will do everything I stated above when they install the scenery but most will not.  As I stated at the beginning, if the scenery is shown in dark green, it has been successfully added and no further action is required on your part.

Hope this helps.

Best regards,

Jim

 

[Jonathan93102 3]

5 hours ago, Jim Young said:

This is how I do it.  It is very basic but shows you how easy it is to just add a scenery using the Addon Organizer -

First of all you need to download and install the Addon_Organizer from Lorby_Si.  Once installed, you will have an icon on your desktop such as the following.  Double click the icon to open.

This is what you will see when you open the program.  Dark green means the program has been added to your Documents/Prepar3Dv4 Add-Ons folder.  Light green means the scenery is only in the Scenery Library/Scenery.cfg.  I want to add Washington X so I will click on Add Scenery as follows:

This is what you will see once you click on Add Scenery.  You now want to click on 'Select Scenery'.

This will open up your directories on your system as follows.  Go to the folder where Washington X (or the scenery you want to add) is located and select it -

The following screen will appear.  Note that the program automatically names the Add-on.xml as Washington X.  You can name it whatever you want and provide a description but I would leave the description blank.  You now simply click on 'Submit'

When you click on 'Submit' the following screen will appear and you will see WashingtonX was added.  It will appear at the top of all of the scenery and you will have to use the "Down" button on the left to move the scenery down to where you want it located in your scenery.cfg.  You MUST click Save at the bottom to save the add-on.xml.

That's it!  Very basic. 

You also would want to add a component to the scenery such as Texture, Scripts, perhaps Effects, Sound, etc., that came with the scenery.  In this case, click Other addons tab at top and then click on Add Component. You will see Categories of things that can be added and Texture is one.  Go to the directory where Washington X (an example) is located, click on Texture folder and then click on Submit.  If the Washington X folder has Scripts, you will want to add that too.  FS Dreamteam addons are already listed in the Component section.  You can see what they did to add their components.  Make sure you click on Save when you are finished with Components or the component will not be added.

Many add-on developers will do everything I stated above when they install the scenery but most will not.  As I stated at the beginning, if the scenery is shown in dark green, it has been successfully added and no further action is required on your part.

Hope this helps.

Best regards,

Jim

 

Hi Jim, 

Thank you very much for the detailed post, I'll look forward to trying it out tomorrow when I'm off work. 

Thanks for your time, 

Jonathan