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Trubshaw

How do I inject Scenery from external device

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Hello All.

i have Photgraphic Sceanery installed on an external drive on my network.

How do I get FSX to read it,  ie The steps involved in pointing FSX towards the Scenery 

on the external device.

Trubshaw

 

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Can you point your scenery Library to that location on the external Device?


Charlie Aron

Awaiting the new Microsoft Flight Sim and the purchase of a new system.  Running a Chromebook for now! :cool:

                                     

 

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Hi .

Two places I see reference to Add on Scenery

Free Flight, Currant Location, Select Airport at bottom two radar boxes called.

Default  and (Add On Scenery,)nothing showing up there.)

In Settings FSX Sceanery library there’s an ADD Scenery button,,I click on ,

This brings up the Select Sceanery Directory dialogue Panel , > LOOK  IN >

Navigate  a path to the External Drive called DISKSTATION,  Then In my case a folder called  “ FSX World Scenery on DISKSTATION” which then bring up to show the folders containing the photo scenery in the larger part of the dialogue box below , titled Names.

I can click on these folder to open all the files .

But the two boxes at the bottom of this dialogue panel labelled.

Directory 

Scenery Area Title 

Nothing appears in them , so you can’t click OK and move on.

I see , Look In > FSX World Scenery DISKSTATION 

Name > Volume folders  1 to 4 ( which I can click and see all the files)

Directory   nothing 

Scenery Area Titlle :   nothing 

What am I missing , is they something else I should have done .

Trubshaw

 

 

 

 

 

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Hi All

From the FSX library, FSX can see the folders, but it will not run them.

Do I need to install something in them so FSX will read them or start them.

Trubshaw

 

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Hello All.

Im still have not got this working, A Synology network drive, no different from any other type of exterior hard drive, It spins round and the data goes down the wire to FSX. The adaptors and cable are rated at a transfer rate up to 1 gb/ sec , very fast , what it actually spins out at I haven’t a clue.

In FSX Scenery Library I can navigate to show the folder on the Synology drive.

But as  the directory, and title boxes are not aulto filled  the add area can’t be clicked add.

I have always thought you just click on the folder , the boxes  with titles aultofilled and click OK then add area,

Which then appears in the Scenary CFG folder deep in FSX , as  Remote Area  126  true False etc etc.

This then appears when you load you Aircraft under the radar dot.

search for Add on scenery. Highlight it and away you go.

There was no need for Windows Junctions, FSX exe , ect ect,. Is just worked. But I am missing something 

Trubshaw

 

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Exactly what "Photographic Scenery" are you using?  What type of files are they?  Where did the README say to place these files?


Charlie Aron

Awaiting the new Microsoft Flight Sim and the purchase of a new system.  Running a Chromebook for now! :cool:

                                     

 

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Hi.

Its been a long time since I’ve done this.

Its Horizon Photographic Scenery, 4 dics 26 Gb of space .

Has Self installer, files seem to be blg files. The read me don’t know.

i have loaded the into FSx World Scenery folder which I created on my Synology Ethernet Hardrive which is raid 1 ie mirrored.

No router involved in network, Shielded cables speed 1 Gb/ sec max.

The Synology has its own processor plus two HDs.

( I remember years ago I had it all working, Did all this advanced technology  give me a better frame rate   NO, it was about the same as another drive on the PC.

The transfer speed is about the top , the computer cpu is fixed at 5.1 gbs .

I really done know what I am doing, trial and error and hours of time.

Today on second loading of scenery I got it working, still have problems but it was nice to see it working.,  High spec KingAir 350. With default scenery 2000m in rain, base 300ft  on runway 26 to 28 FPS.

Same  place VFR  using photo scenery 33 FPS. I’d better frame rate using photo scenery, in all aspects of flight , compared with default  IMC conditions. Hard to believe, but fact.

I have the next 4 dics  to load,  My path is Diskstation, FSX World Scenery,

then the Horizon Fold  which was dumped there from the last install. 

The install automatically put 10 new scenery entries at the top of the FSX  Scenery Library. All ticked., No change in the Scerery CFG, folder.

Nothing appears  in the FSX load main page if you click Search for Addon Scenery.

Scenery Loads automatically for lthe FSX start up screen, ie no search.

if you want to use default scenery , you have to un tick photo in Library.

i rember before I use the radar dot to bring up the scenery on the Main page or Screen.

But this seem better.

My worry, if I let the next load of scenery go into the Horizon Folder along with the first lot, I think it will auto come up in the Library as new scenery entries, But the darn thing wont  run any more.

Crazy FSX , I think it was put together in bits and pieces  and gets lost in its workings.

Trubshaw, lost in space.

 

 

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This is how I would have attempted to add all of the photo scenery using and external HDD.  From what I understand you saying, there is a folder called Horizon (containing many .bgl files) sitting in a folder called World Scenery on your external drive.

I would have it setup like this:  Make a folder called Scenery and put all .bgls in there.  Make a folder called Texture and leave it empty.  Place the Scenery folder and Texture folder into a new folder called Horizon Photo Scenery.  This new folder sits on your external HDD by itself.

Now in FSX/Settings/Scenery Library I would click add area and search the eternal HDD for Horizon Photo Scenery and add it.  DONE!

I think you made it 100 times harder on yourself.


Charlie Aron

Awaiting the new Microsoft Flight Sim and the purchase of a new system.  Running a Chromebook for now! :cool:

                                     

 

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Hi.

Just to be sure,  External HD called DISKSTATION which is a mapped drive to the computer. 

In this drive I created a folder named it FSX World Scenery this being directly on the drive.

Loaded the disc and pointed it to FSX Would Scenery via the Brouse chain 

Button on the Horizon Installer., then pressed install.

After completion the installer had placed its own folder called Horizon  within the FSX World Scenery Folder.

(If you open this Horizon folder it has bgl , filer , read me , ete ete, ).    

In the  Scenery Library it appears al the  areas have been added, 

you can move up down, delete, edit, ete.

I never used the Add button.

If I loaded as you describe,  all  the folders all the files would be in the folder on the drive,

Then I would navigate to this folder from within the FSX Scenery Library and click Add Area..

What would appear in the library, ?

The Ten  lines  I have now, which are say , Area 1 Mesh, 2.8 photo, 1.4 night, ete, Area 2 and so on , Area 3 and so on

or just one entry in the library, as on the package, South and  South West England.

 

Trubshaw 

 

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OK, you are saying that the areas are in the Library but not showing?  Only other thing I can think of is a setting is not right in the Scenery sliders or Autogen slider is not high enough.


Charlie Aron

Awaiting the new Microsoft Flight Sim and the purchase of a new system.  Running a Chromebook for now! :cool:

                                     

 

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Hello, Moderator

Hope you stay with me on this,

Your comments, on this, and answers to my question , with many thanks for your time.


Got to bed late late night but have all of England and the Western Isles on the Synology Ethernet Server.
The last one was the Western Isles had to load it twice then tried a few more time but cancelling install and roll back , due to the folder structure not as the others in the Synology Server.

I load all into the Gen-X V2 folder all loaded OK except the last as it was different on the installer, I opened the disc and tried another two but ended up rolling back.
Finally used the first one and started in a slightly different position in the folder tree. 16 DVDs at 25 minutes each, plus try to work it out.

Open Synology, 
DISKSTATION.                                  (Given name to Hardware }
  FSX WORLD SCENERY                 (Self created Folder)
     VFR- GEN - X SCENERY Vr2.    ( This being self generated by First install of volume 1)
          Volume 1
          Volume 2
          Volume 3
          Volume 4
Then if you open the folder you get
                                Area 1
                                Area 2
                                And so on. Etc.

My old Carpentry teacher said , If it looks right then it is right, and it looks right.
The first THREE VOLUMES all automatically added themselves to the FSX Scenery Library,
Not as I expected , ie Volume 1 then Volume 2 then Volume 3 then Volume 4, This taking up 4 lines in the FSX Scenery Library.

The Library had the default 120 line showing, Now has 160.  Why ?
I it installed as 4 entries per Volume in the Library as follows all ticked.
VFR GEN-X. Vol 1. Area1. 2.4 Night Scenery.
VFR GEN-X. Vol 1. Area1. 1.2 Photo Scenery.
VFR GEN-X. Vol 1. Area1. 4.8 Mesh v2.0
VFR GEN-X. Vol 1. Area1. 2.4 Photo Scenery 

The last Volume 4 although the folder structure was correct in the Synology Drive.
It did not auto add in the FSX Library ,So added all the five entries manually using the Add Area Button in the FSX Library .

I presume from the above that the 2.4 Photo Scenery below the Mesh is not visible.
And you would have to swap the Photo Scenery 1.2 and 2.4 around if you where struggling with Frame rates. Why it can’t be placed above the Mesh and not ticked for not used . Why ?
This is quite amazing,  First of all I should have  defraged the hard drive. HOW DO I DEFRAGE IT.  Ultimate Defrage is only seeing the drive on my computer, it’s not seeing the external hard drive. Perhaps you can give it a go on your Synology or external.

Reading the instructions book again it tell you to operate with all the FSX Scenery sliders way down and turn off nearly all the features, and states that even the most powerful pc will not cope in maximum settings, this must have been around 2008 around the time FSX came on the market.
Last night I had all the sliders at fall, all the turn off things turned on , With the default twin engine Baron, sitting on the runway with 140 FPS and Flying over countryside at about 90 FPS over 6. Monitors.
The photo Scenery is most likely as today bgl files, but the CPU, Ram Drives, GPU ete ete have advance so much over the passed ten years has put Horizons Instruction way out of date.

My FSX start to on the runway ,from the ram drives on the motherboard was say about 20 seconds, 

Now with the scenery on ,loading takes about 5 minutes., but once loaded, is fine,  Smooth, even in a 60 bank turn , I do notice the slight jumps as the finer scenery details fill in,

All sliders maxed out, 6 monitors, Cananado King Air 350 , 220 kts, 2000 ft, over county side , many fields with a few towns, about 44 FPS in a turn.

loading time is the main problem, the Synology has dual HDs and onboard processor. Hi 

Trubshaw 



 

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Hi All

I see quite a few views on this, so I will update you.

I loaded  Horizon Gen X  Version 2 , Photo scenery, 

4  Volumes 16 DVDs or 85 Gbs took about 5 to 6 hours.

I see it comes on a USB fast drive today at £45 per Volume. Times 4

The impact on frame rate is very small conpairig it wth Default, I notice   Opening sub panel view within the main view also has no impact on frame rate, But it drops dramatically with the more views you have open. ie Instrumemt Panel, Outside Cockpits View, Overhead Panet, ete.

The scenery is running well,,  But if you say, do anything in the menu that requires a rebuild of scenery over multi monitors it goes haywire and needs a full FSX re start.

The problem is loading time,  I can get from starting FSX and having the Caranado King Air on the runway  in less than 40 seconds with default scenery.

With the Photo Scenery its taking 5 to 6 minutes , Iff I untick the boxes in the library the more Boxes i untick the quicker loading time becomes., all untick 40 seconds.

So what’s going on!  Why does FSX think it has to load all this scenery in one go, when all it really needs is say a 60 mile radius of scenery., not the whole 85 Gbs.

Something is wrong.

I have raptors spinning at over 10,000 rpms, I’m thinking the day of the spinning drive has long gone! 

The 40 seconds is coming from two 235 Gb  motherboard M2 mounted drives , in fact I have to get the mouse and click on that Remote Area 115 error so I can knock 3 seconds off for that.

My advice to anyone starting anew, is to get the biggest  onboard drives you can buy, and maybe one, I will call it old SSD.

Sitting there for 6 minutes is just to long.

Trubshaw.

But if anyone can held me out please post in.

 

 

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Hello, Moderator

Hope you stay with me on this,

Your comments, on this, and answers to my question , with many thanks for your time.


Got to bed late late night but have all of England and the Western Isles on the Synology Ethernet Server.
The last one was the Western Isles had to load it twice then tried a few more time but cancelling install and roll back , due to the folder structure not as the others in the Synology Server.

I load all into the Gen-X V2 folder all loaded OK except the last as it was different on the installer, I opened the disc and tried another two but ended up rolling back.
Finally used the first one and started in a slightly different position in the folder tree. 16 DVDs at 25 minutes each, plus try to work it out.

Open Synology, 
DISKSTATION.                                  (Given name to Hardware }
  FSX WORLD SCENERY                 (Self created Folder)
     VFR- GEN - X SCENERY Vr2.    ( This being self generated by First install of volume 1)
          Volume 1
          Volume 2
          Volume 3
          Volume 4
Then if you open the folder you get
                                Area 1
                                Area 2
                                And so on. Etc.

My old Carpentry teacher said , If it looks right then it is right, and it looks right.
The first THREE VOLUMES all automatically added themselves to the FSX Scenery Library,
Not as I expected , ie Volume 1 then Volume 2 then Volume 3 then Volume 4, This taking up 4 lines in the FSX Scenery Library.

The Library had the default 120 line showing, Now has 160.  Why ?
I it installed as 4 entries per Volume in the Library as follows all ticked.
VFR GEN-X. Vol 1. Area1. 2.4 Night Scenery.
VFR GEN-X. Vol 1. Area1. 1.2 Photo Scenery.
VFR GEN-X. Vol 1. Area1. 4.8 Mesh v2.0
VFR GEN-X. Vol 1. Area1. 2.4 Photo Scenery 

The last Volume 4 although the folder structure was correct in the Synology Drive.
It did not auto add in the FSX Library ,So added all the five entries manually using the Add Area Button in the FSX Library .

I presume from the above that the 2.4 Photo Scenery below the Mesh is not visible.
And you would have to swap the Photo Scenery 1.2 and 2.4 around if you where struggling with Frame rates. Why it can’t be placed above the Mesh and not ticked for not used . Why ?
This is quite amazing,  First of all I should have  defraged the hard drive. HOW DO I DEFRAGE IT.  Ultimate Defrage is only seeing the drive on my computer, it’s not seeing the external hard drive. Perhaps you can give it a go on your Synology or external.

Reading the instructions book again it tell you to operate with all the FSX Scenery sliders way down and turn off nearly all the features, and states that even the most powerful pc will not cope in maximum settings, this must have been around 2008 around the time FSX came on the market.
Last night I had all the sliders at fall, all the turn off things turned on , With the default twin engine Baron, sitting on the runway with 140 FPS and Flying over countryside at about 90 FPS over 6. Monitors.
The photo Scenery is most likely as today bgl files, but the CPU, Ram Drives, GPU ete ete have advance so much over the passed ten years has put Horizons Instruction way out of date.

My FSX start to on the runway ,from the ram drives on the motherboard was say about 20 seconds, 

Now with the scenery on ,loading takes about 5 minutes., but once loaded, is fine,  Smooth, even in a 60 bank turn , I do notice the slight jumps as the finer scenery details fill in,

All sliders maxed out, 6 monitors, Cananado King Air 350 , 220 kts, 2000 ft, over county side , many fields with a few towns, about 44 FPS in a turn.

loading time is the main problem, the Synology has dual HDs and onboard processor. Hi 

Trubshaw 

Well I spent no money, But got a reply from Horizon as follows , Well done Horizon. In the reply it states as I thought FSX just loads the scenery around itself, 

So why does the loading time decrease with the more boxes I untick in the Library, It may just load around itself in flight as it’s quite smooth .

But the initial load is 6 minutes this decreases  each time I untick some boxes  in the library, So I’m not fully happy will the answer 

Horizon
Hi 

All seems to be fine. 
 
Extra scenery library entries are due to additional scenery elements since the manual was written:
 
High resolution inserts
3D Landmarks
Additional vector data
 
FSX loads data required only for the immediate area around the airport you’re flying over. 
 
Loading time is possibly due to:
1. Hard drive speed. We recommend SSD for optimum performance.
2. Antivirus. Depends on which you use. If yours scans all data on loading, this can significantly extend loading times.
 
To improve:
1. Add SSD if you don’t already have one and copy VFRGX volumes to that instead.
2. Exclude FSX/VFRGX from antivirus real-time scan.
 
Best, x
Horizon Simulation Ltd
W: www.horizonsimulation.com
 
 

On 27 Jan 2019, at 19:58, Alan Carter <alancarteresq@icloud.com> wrote:
 

Hello
Years ago I purchase the DVD sets, Vol 1.  Vol 2. Vol 3, and 4
I have been trying to install them, or more correctly have now installed them on my External Synology Ethernet Server, Dual HDs and onboard processor .
 
Each disc took about 18 minutes, so about 5 to 6 hours work.
I run FSX after install of each Volume to check it was working,
The first 3 volumes all self appeared in the FSX Library , Volume Four seemed to have a different installer, so I had to add each entry manually using the Scenery Library add button.
 
I installed about 85 Gbs spent some 6 hours doing it.
The Library had the default 120 entries in at the start , end up with over 160.
 
The Library had the default 120 line showing, Now has 160.  Why ?
It has installed as 12 entries per Volume in the Library as follows all where auto  ticked.

VFR GEN-X. Vol 1. Area1. 2.4 Night Scenery.
VFR GEN-X. Vol 1. Area1. 1.2 Photo Scenery.
VFR GEN-X. Vol 1. Area1. 4.8 Mesh v2.0
VFR GEN-X. Vol 1. Area1. 2.4 Photo Scenery 
 
The above shows entire for 1 Area , same entries for Area 2, and the same entries for Area 3.        Some 12 lines per Volume. I’m ending up with some 50 entries for my Scenery,  your manual would show as below 3 time 4 Volumes =12 entries.
 
The Horizon Manual shows 3 entire per Volume in the Library 
VFR-GEN 2    Volume 1  Area 1
VFR-GEN 2.   Volume 1. Area 2
VFR-GEN 2    Volume 1  Area 3
 
As you can see it does not look right, why has it installed with so many Library entries.
It self found and wrote the line in FSX Library and ticked it.
Is each layer in the right order as shown above.
 
I have really self built top component Computer, running at 5.1 Gzs, FSX is on M2 drives. directly on the motherboard, Microsoft Installed performance test gives 7.9 you can get higher that’s the max it can go to.
 
High spec King Air 350 default scenery, from FSX start to on the runway 40 seconds.
As above with the VFR Scenery boxes ticked about 5 to 6 minutes.
As you un tick the boxes the quicker it gets, So with just the South East corner ticked it about 1 m 40 sec.
 
What is it doing in this 6 minutes, seems to be loading 85 gbs of scenery the loading line in the loading dialogue box hardly moves, it reaches the other end five or six mins later,  I really mean 5m 40sec I not joking.
 
My connections can take up to 1 GB, per sec.
Something is not right,
 
Await you comments 
 
 

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I have no comments!  Good luck!


Charlie Aron

Awaiting the new Microsoft Flight Sim and the purchase of a new system.  Running a Chromebook for now! :cool:

                                     

 

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Hello, And thank you for your reply.

I will turn anti virus off, I also plan to buy a new 2 Tb SSD with a read of 550 mbs , sec, I would use Thunderbolt but have no spare PCIE slots left. So it looks like USB 3.1 C interface at 6 Gb, sec. Far more than the SSD can transfer.
 
First can you look at the attached picture, so many ticks per Volume, is the structure correct, and do I need the 2.4 layer below the Mesh should I delete it if it not being used.
 
Second,  I think the same as you about FSX loading  the scenery around the the airport or country side you are flying over.
 
But consider this,  From clicking the FSX start icon, I can be on the runway within 37 seconds 
With all the 4 Volumes ticked in the Library it takes about 5 to 6 minutes,  
All 1 to 4 Volumes ticked. 5 to 6 minutes 
If I untick one Volume the time reduces,
If I untick two volumes the time reduces even more.
If I untick three volumes the time reduces still more
If I untick the last Volume I’m back down to 37 seconds on default scenery.
 
As you can see this initial loading appears to be loading the whole country, ie not just an area around say Gatwick. ( I have Not added the Horizon Airports yet as that would be even longer)
Something feels wrong,  Where is all this scenery being loaded to.
As things stand if I added another 4 volumes I would be sitting there for 12 mins,
 
I hope my explanation is understandable.
Look forward to your comments.
 
Many thanks 
 

On 29 Jan 2019, at 16:41,
 
 
All seems to be fine. 
 
Extra scenery library entries are due to additional scenery elements since the manual was written:
 
High resolution inserts
3D Landmarks
Additional vector data
 
FSX loads data required only for the immediate area around the airport you’re flying over. 
 
Loading time is possibly due to:
1. Hard drive speed. We recommend SSD for optimum performance.
2. Antivirus. Depends on which you use. If yours scans all data on loading, this can significantly extend loading times.
 
To improve:
1. Add SSD if you don’t already have one and copy VFRGX volumes to that instead.
2. Exclude FSX/VFRGX from antivirus real-time scan.
Edited by Trubshaw
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