Some things I'm struggling with:

[Guest JamesT73J]

I've been getting into FLYII recently (thanks mainly to the latest patch seeming to agree with my system!) and I'm having a blast - particularly with PMDG's fab 777. However, I need educating on Scenery. What is Terrascene? What do I need to make scenery work? Do I need it to install airports?

[Guest pilotsim7828]

Welcome to Fly! IITerrascene is a program developed by H.I.T.W ( How In The World.com )to make Scenery Land use , No Models, Airports, ( Wayne Roberts has almost most of the Airports covered )It can make the use of United states geological survey ( U.S.G.S. )Land use data files and create scnenry for fly! IIAs you have seen in the files libary under Fly!IITerrasceneon the front page near the top of the page www.avsim.com/ you can search for any files that you like to download & use for Fly! II.It helps when using Terrascene to have a broadband connection, and have to be connected to the internet when using TerrasceneI had terrascene on dial up connection & it took forever, But with Braodband it seems to go like the wind and download times are lessYou must have the patch 230 for Fly! II for Terrascene to work correctlyHope you enjoy this simmulator tool, I consider this NOT A GAME .It is invaulable to pilots as they have to LOOK around in the cockpit, & as I think the textures are better alsoHere a Preview of alcainte terrascene by A . RubioPic below JeffHope you enjoy this simhttp://www.f2fdesign.com/http://www.flydevelopers.com/anyone else have any suggestions for this new userhttp://www.avsim.com/hangar/fly/dfdg/bannernewja.jpg

[Guest pilotsim7828]

Also this is what Terrascene does for Fly! II see attachmentsGo to the www.avsim.comfile libariesclick on the bottom search box go to Fly!IITerrascene, and search this will bring up the files you can downloadSorry I must have used up all the space for links to pictures Jeffhttp://www.avsim.com/hangar/fly/dfdg/bannernewja.jpg

[Guest JamesT73J]

Oh, I love it. I was really into Fly! originally, largely because it had the first 'serious' large aircraft I'd ever had to play with. I could never get along with the sequel, until I'd got my PC happy with it.I've been playing FS2002 since it's release, again largely for the heavy iron, and it's a pleasure, and...really quite sad..to try out Fly II. Sad, because Fly is really very, very good indeed, and I think it's a travesty that it isn't hugely popular.I'm still trying to get my head round this Terrascene thing. I don't quite get it; aside from the initial file download, where else does having an internet connection factor into it?Edit: I've found terrascene in the file library. Not through searching, but via a third-party site. Boy, was it hard to find. It would really, really help if a referal was placed in the FAQ here.

[RandallR 444]

TerraScene was developed by Todd Klaus to create your own photorealistice scenery and elevations - right doen to the back alley in your local town. It does this by rendering accurate geographic data from the USGS and other sources into scenery by applying graphic textures to the landscape based on land use and drainage (water) data. It also updates elevations of every little hill and hollow that is at least 500' high or deep - even better in some instances. The HITW group that was mentioned partnered in developing the textures and line graphics.This is not model scenery (buildings, trees, etc.), but it accurately creates the appearance of an area when at altitude (and, of course, you can place models with the built-in scenery editor or use programs like TerraModels to create them or install sets authored by others).You need the Internet connection for several things:1. when you create your own scenery, TerraScene must access the USGS and another site online in real time for the necessary data when preparing to render and slice the scenery.2. To download data manually when creating scenery outside the continental U.S.3. To download prepared custom data packages. These custom sets can then be loaded into TerraScene and you render the scenery.TerraScenery is beautiful, but the size of the scenery is large. So I would suggest TerraScening just your favorite areas or the global tiles surrounding favorite flight destination for realistic approaches, etc. Others do more than that, so that they can create a realistic VFR corrider for some areas, etc.

[Guest pilotsim7828]

Her is the file for terrascene 2.1 install:http://library.avsim.net/sendfile.php?DLID=12437 Install TS2.1 and then do the file extraction, You must have Patch 230 for this to work correctly, This file extraction will give you the Tiles needed to transform the sceneryOPPS spoke too soon, HEEEEERRRRRREEEESSSS Randall Hopefully Randall Rocke will show up and explain more to you as he has done for me although he is busy , As we all are, His help has been tremedous.Jeffhttp://www.avsim.com/hangar/fly/dfdg/bannernewja.jpg Here is the program in action Click on the link below

[Guest JamesT73J]

Thanks for all your help Randall and Jeff. I've installed Terrascene 2.1 and have extracted the texture files as suggested. I've not done anything else - I suppose I can just leave it now until I download scenery sections from the file library? Looking at the options, it seems fairly complicated. I had a little play with it, but didn't do much as I was worried about compromising my Fly installation.Is there a tutorial anywhere?

[Guest pilotsim7828]

Your welcome, I do have the manual from terrscene version 1, Along time ago in a far away galaxy, :-lol ......... I have printed the whole Manual for terrascene , And also that gives me an Idea to put this on flydevelopers.com web site But this may take some timeThere are 63 pages I have to scan to put into HTML Format, Or Word Format, then import them into the web site. It is easier than you think to run ts2.1and there is no need to download any files from the libary, TS 2.1 creates the scenery from the Airport IACO ident code you wish to import, My city IACO CODe is KFTW, Serach for airportEnter the distance around the airport, Start with 15 MilesOn the right side click on all the radio buttonsLULC1 DEG DEMS7.5 DemsDGLShape filesOn the left side of the program is MAP DETAILClick on HIGHClick on Airports & riversup on the top toolbar the 8th icon from the left click and get you Land types day& click on the files of 107 pictures you had imported to the editor Pick one & click doneThe 10th Icon from the left "Lines Day", You can Or not use this doesnt matter to start with. but this gives you the water, Roads and other built up scenery.CLICK SAVEThe last icon on the toolbar is renderLeave everything as is , And click render nowThis starts the whole processIf your like me & i hope notMy scenery Takes 8 hours to render, as I draw the box around 8 global tiles .no wonder, huh.yours should take 2 hours, for 15 miles around the airport.Hope This helps, I will get started on the tutorial soon.Jeffhttp://www.avsim.com/hangar/fly/dfdg/bannernewja.jpg

[RandallR 444]

The tutorial comes with the program - it's beautifully done and includes all of the basic operations. You'll find it in the TerraScene2doc folder in PDF form. You may also have it already linked in your Windows menu in the TerraScene group from the install.I would also highly recommend Todd's TextureEnhancer program. When you generate TerraScenery it bumps up the color saturation by about 25% to the luminosity it should have been. Running TextureEnhancer brings up all of the default textures by the same amount - all of the scenery will be much richer in color (and match the luminosity of the TerraScenery). You can find it here: http://ftp.avsim.com/library/sendfile.php?DownloadID=13370This link and the link to TerraScene were posted at the top of the Fly! Developers' Forum BTW. :-)A couple of quick items: 1. Don't worry about making your own custom textures for now - just select the Fly!2 Base Texture Pak and go. After you gain a little experience you could always experiment with changing textures. 2. If you don't think you'll ever make more scenery to adjoin your first, selecting a distance around an airport is OK. But, if you think you're going to make adjoining scenery, don't make anything less than a 1/4 tile (use snap to grid setting) - personally, I never make less than a global tile for the best results.Overall, this is an easy program to use in the most basic modes. Be sure to study all of the readme files that came with it, as there are a number of additions for Fly!2 that weren't around when the manual was written.Have a great time, and of course, you can always download ready-to-render packs from Avsim if you don't want to try the program from a "scratch" startup.