Changing autogen in FS9

[betelgeuse 41]

I'm making a new scenery for an Alaskan island. The summer default textures show this island densely covered in pine trees. In fact there's barely a shrub on the real world, windswept island. I suppose I could go over it bit by bit and make exclude rectangles (ExcBuilder) but it would be very laborious. Is there an easy way to create a more barren landscape which retains seasonal changes? I suspect not but am hoping.... :-hmmm

[LuisFelizTirado 33]

Never give up hope, John, it is the last thing to go.Why don't you just change the land class assignments? That should do what you want. Is that tundra up there?Best regards.Luis

[betelgeuse 41]

:D The last time I worked with landclass I ended up with endless CTDs and had to reinstall FS9. So, I am nervous of landclass, very.Please explain to this simple old Joe how exactly to change the landclass assignments. Tundra might be the nearest in FS9. Ice and snow in winter, grass, wildflowers in summer, that sort of thing - nothing cultivated. There's a freshwater lake which I must preserve. I have photos. Thanks, Luis.John

[LuisFelizTirado 33]

Hello John, Changing the land class is probably the easiest and quickest way to make scenery, and it should never crash, except of course when it does!There is a document explaining how to do this for FS 9 in the Avsim library:Simple Instructions for Modifying Land Classhttp://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?&DLID=60908But, for an experienced designer like you, I would recommend SBuilder, much easier to use and let's you see what you will get.Best regards.Luis

[betelgeuse 41]

Thanks, Luis, for the vote of confidence, but I could never in a million years be described as an experienced scenery designer. Oh, my word! My scenery design experiences have almost all been bad and if I had any sense, or consideration for folks like you and scruffyduck Jon, I would have stopped pestering you both years ago. ;-)I will try SBuilder and see what happens.John