MSFS [GUIDE] How to create custom aerial scenery

[GaryGB]

Hello:

I have not had time to personally test this yet, but AFAIK:

* MSFS SDK compilers require source files for terrain imagery draped texture materials to be submitted as (EPSG:4326) GIS projection format

(EPSG:4326): Projection = Geographic (Lat / Lon), Datum=WGS84, Planar Units = Arc Degrees, Central Longitude=0

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/t...nates-in-msfs2020-from-fsx.448906/post-854869


(EPSG:4326) is to be distinguished from a non-warped (EPSG:3857) GIS Projection format for background maps used to create Airport Facilities Data and/or 3D models:

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/sbuilderx-and-blender-2-79.449019/post-855355


NOTE: (EPSG:3785 has reportedly been deprecated due to its Pseudo-Mercator spherical- rather than IRL ellipsoidal- Geoid world model:

Popular Visualisation CRS / Mercator - Spherical Mercator (deprecated EPSG code wrongly defined) - EPSG:3785

EPSG:3785 Projected coordinate system for World between 85.06°S and 85.06°N. Uses spherical development. Relative to an ellipsoidal development errors of up to 800 metres in position and 0.7% in scale may arise. Some applications call this WGS 84. It is not a recognised geodetic system: see WGS...

epsg.io

Web Mercator projection - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

PS: One might wonder if existing MSFS SDK compilers 'choke' on a USERVAS size of some submitted work sets because of internal re-projection to a required GIS format ?

GaryGB

 

[erocfx]

Thanks for the info GaryGB, but I am not sure how to apply it. Is there something I am doing wrong in QGIS?

 

[jdiegel]

The CGL names are based on the Bing Maps Quadkey numbers see: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/bingmaps/articles/bing-maps-tile-system

Already reported a long time ago. Asobo will add this to their to-do list, but no one knows when it will be fixed.

I am having exactly the same issue.
Hoping that Asobo will find a solution for that.

Seems to be fixed in update 1.9.5.0

 

[bar_rodoy]

Seems to be fixed in update 1.9.5.0

Indeed it works!

 

[Oleh Shevchenko]

No way! I can't believe it! It works... finally.

 

[Hansfly]

works this on P3D?

 

[jdiegel]

For P3Dv4 I used FSEarthiles.
Look at this: https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/content.php?17223-Build-Your-Own-VFR-Scenery-With-FSEarthTiles

 

[Hansfly]

For P3Dv4 I used FSEarthiles.
Look at this: https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/content.php?17223-Build-Your-Own-VFR-Scenery-With-FSEarthTiles

thank you.
i have used ortho4xp. it worked
but i see no good quality in north africa especialy when im on runway.

seems google not offers 3d building in the whole world?

is fsearthiles better than orthoxp?

how about GEviewer.

 

[69Yanks]

Are you all getting the created package put in the community folder to work with no crash to desk? I see my created aerial in the preview but once I click "fly" and take off soon I get the CTD.

 

[geeman72]

Hi All,

I have created a number of aerial images that have all been fine but the latest one I have done, in Australia, won't show in the sim. The default always is there. Around the Brisbane area. It seems the default scenery is far more detailed but can't understand why my imagery won't show, any ideas?

Thanks,

Graham

 

[astaticmusic]

I just found this out today after the newest update, now my images cause the sim to CTD

 

[geeman72]

My issue was photogrammetry being on and it was active in the area I was working in, not sure if it's the same for anyone else.

 

[astaticmusic]

My issue was photogrammetry being on and it was active in the area I was working in, not sure if it's the same for anyone else.

this actually has nothing to do with photogrammetry, this is having made a aerial ground photo that was working fine "under" the airport, now causes the whole sim to CTD if you spawn at the selected airport.
Why would that just suddenly start doing this, unless asobo changed something in the last update

 

[Kenny Chen]

this actually has nothing to do with photogrammetry, this is having made a aerial ground photo that was working fine "under" the airport, now causes the whole sim to CTD if you spawn at the selected airport.
Why would that just suddenly start doing this, unless asobo changed something in the last update

I keep sending crash report to Asobo since 1.9.3 but they never take it seriously. Maybe need more people complaining then they will pay some attention on this area.

 

[katina12]

excellent

 

[apollon01]

Hello everyone,

I am trying to add an aerial image and create an airport that does not exist in MSFS (really bad Bing imagery in the area). The airport creation is OK, the issue is the aerial imagery.

I followed the tutorial, a project was compiled but it does not show in the sim (all addons deactivated).

So before I go and troubleshoot, just a question here - is it possible currently to create successfully custom orthos for the sim? In some threads I can see people are having issues.

Thanks,
Milan

Edit 1: Just tried the Sample SimpleAerial and it works well. I can see the compiled ortho when I teleport to the coordinates. When using the same structure and just replacing "my" aerial pictures, it does not work (ortho does not show; I tried with zl20 and zl19).

Edit 2: Managed to get the aerial imagery to the sim. The issue was that in qgis I was georeferencing on google maps as background since bing had no usable imagery at the place. I did that on bing (using the georeferencing points based on google map background), exported and all OK. Now I need to find out hot to make the grass disappear from the non-green areas (asphalt, etc...).

 

[trfsd]

Managed to get the aerial imagery to the sim.

I am really interested to figure out what you did to make this work. I have tried everything imaginable, but cannot get my custom aerial scenery to display in FS20. Like you, I can get this to work using the images from the sample Simple Aerial. But no matter what I do, my image tiles that I generate from QGIS will not display, even if I stick them into the Simple Aerial project. I am left with the conclusion that there is something wrong with my images. The only difference between my images an those in the sample project is that my images have a "Pixels Per Unit X" and "Pixels Per Unit Y" of 3779, while the images in the sample project have a value of 2834. I have no idea where this value comes from or how to adjust it. But nothing else is different.

 

[rhumbaflappy]

QMID and Bing! and the SDK etc... are a bit confusing. This is what I find:

QGIS tile zoom levels:
Zoom level 17 = scale of 1:4500 (MSFS 16)
Zoom level 18 = scale of 1:2250 (MSFS 17)
Zoom level 19 = scale of 1:1125 (MSFS 18)
Zoom level 20 = scale of 1:562.5 (MSFS 19)
Zoom level 21 = scale of 1:281.25 (MSFS 20)

If the tiles don't show in the scale of 1:281, then you won't get level 20 tiles.

If an image is to be tiled it's resolution should be 0.14844368 horizontally and vertically (level 20 tile layer and QMID level 20) to get the greatest resolution. But QGIS will make tiles at level 20 just fine with a lower resolution image, but you'll have to live with the pixelation..

 

[trfsd]

Unfortunately, I can't get tiles that I create with QGIS to show up in MSFS at ANY scale. I have tried a variety of zoom levels, different map projections, different map sources, etc. But nothing seems to work. I obviously haven't hit on whatever setting is the secret sauce for success, since it is clearly something in my PNG tiles that is at fault.

 

[trfsd]

The aerial scenery that I am trying to create is for KSQL (San Carlos). If there is custom aerial scenery in the MSFS default airport scenery for a nearby airport, like KSFO or KOAK, could that prevent my scenery from displaying?