Support archive for MAIW Packages in FSX

[Ripcord]

OK this does help.

So if the location is not featured, like KNFW, then there is no bgl with hangars/buildings, etc. So maybe I can rule out a few of these locations just due to the fact that there isn't supposed to be anything there.

Secondly, I am going to begin systematically 'uncombining' some of the detailed scenery locations and putting htem back into their own folders, like I had them before, to see if that yields better results. That might well be part of my problem.

No doubt UTX and FS Genesis mesh have some role to play in this. I will say that KNUW is just perfect, but I have it sitting in it's own folder area and registered above ORBX Pacific NW. Otherwise it doesn't quite work.

Thanks for taking the time for this explanation.

A couple follow up questions here if I may?

1. Before I had a few sceneries by Jim Dhaenens, such as KNIP and KNTU, and the parking on the ramp wasn't perfect and organized but it was at least there. I took those out, having seen the quality of NAS Lemoore, China Lake and a few others -- I'm wondering now if maybe some of these packages were built to compliment Jim's work and not replace it. Is that the case? Or did it just kinda work out that way?

I will say that the MAIW KNPA is flawless, maybe as good or better than Jim's. Hell maybe Jim contributed to the project for all I know.

2. I managed to get the hangars showing at KTCM. All I did was put two files in their own folder and added that as scenery. The two files were a MAIW_AF2_KTCM_Default and MAIW_KTCM_Excude -- that is all there is. No scenery or object placement bgls at all that I could find. So how then are these hangars showing up? Are they contained in this AF2 file?

Ripcord

[Ripcord]

One thing about our packages. A decision was taken right at the beginning of the org was not to supply afcads for each place aircraft from a package as it would take too long to create packages.
By the same token we don't have scenery upgrades for all the places that our aircraft use.

KNFW is a case in point we haven't, as yet, released any scenery update for it. KNQX scenery is included as part of our recent VFA-106 Gladiators package. A very full scenery designed by the most excellent John Stinstrom. It might be worth double checking that you have that scenery installed.

Now on adding scenery there is more than one way to do it, like most things in life. What we try to do is make our instructions as fool proof and as simple as possible, so we separate individual installations. However, you are 100% correct in that as long as you have a global MAIW Addon Scenery folder added correctly then any scenery bgls and bmps that you add to that global location will work.

So after checking that the bgls are there it might be worth checking that there are no exclude files for KNQX higher up the pecking order. If there are then it will exclude scenery from a lower priority.
I could go onto a topic of which is the correct way of organizing your priority order but the simple answer is that no way is perfect and no way is without traps for the unwary. The way we describe in our package docs is seen as the least problematic for most people.

On to why some places don't have addon scenery is simply that we haven't gotten around to them. If you look at our earliest offerings they had afcads only and relied on default scenery. Later on we occasionally had quality full scenery from people like John and Rocket included. We realised, as did they, that there just isn't enough time to do full scenery. We we did hit on was our addon library system that allows scenery upgrades to be done fairly quickly. These days it is rare not to find at least one scenery upgrade included, however this still relies upon is people to produce them.
However, the original premise still lives on. If we can't produce afcads for every flight then we obviously aren't going to produce scenery for every base we visit. If there was a package based upon NAS Fort Worth, for instance, then there is a every chance that we would include at least a scenery upgrade.

Hopefully this answers your questions.

OK now I think I'm getting somewhere.

Made some headway here with NAS Key West. Seems I didn't have the NAS Key West (KNQX) folder added as scenery. So I did that, and..... no change. So then I moved the scenery up the list, got it up above the UTX entries, and shazam -- there it is. So the answer is there.

John Stinstrom, it must be said, is freaking brilliant. I not only reconize the tower and bunch of the buildings, hell I think I see the old enlisted barracks and the parking lot where I drank beers with the guys after my first mission -- back in the way. Only think he didn't model here was Fat Tuesdays and Sloppy Joes over on Duvall Street. Incredible.

Cheers and thanks

RIpcord

[Firebird]

A couple follow up questions here if I may?

1. Before I had a few sceneries by Jim Dhaenens, such as KNIP and KNTU, and the parking on the ramp wasn't perfect and organized but it was at least there. I took those out, having seen the quality of NAS Lemoore, China Lake and a few others -- I'm wondering now if maybe some of these packages were built to compliment Jim's work and not replace it. Is that the case? Or did it just kinda work out that way?

I will say that the MAIW KNPA is flawless, maybe as good or better than Jim's. Hell maybe Jim contributed to the project for all I know.

2. I managed to get the hangars showing at KTCM. All I did was put two files in their own folder and added that as scenery. The two files were a MAIW_AF2_KTCM_Default and MAIW_KTCM_Excude -- that is all there is. No scenery or object placement bgls at all that I could find. So how then are these hangars showing up? Are they contained in this AF2 file?

Ripcord

Although our documentation may be created for the FS9 package it does contain useful info for the FSX user. Each doc will tell you if you need to remove any old or redundant files and will tell you what addon scenery comes with that package. What we always do is give credit to the various authors of the package components. If anyone's work is included it will at least be mentioned there.
Another third part feature that occasionally gets added with be in the optional files area which will be also mentioned in the package doc. As an example for the West Coast C-17 package it states that whilst there is no scenery included it does include optional afcads if you use Brian Voight's McChord scenery.
As you are a fan of his work I should also point out that John S has since released his scenery for KTCM. Which is up to his usual quality.

This leads nicely on to the second question. If you have hangars showing up at McChord then either you have other scenery there or the hangars are default FSX ones.

I am glad that you were able to at least sort out Key West. Without being able to confirm the situation it would appear that some excludes in the UTX level was affecting that scenery.

[Ripcord]

Thank you again for your responses -- I will keep experimenting further and I'll try not to abuse your patience and good will.

I'll definately search for KTCM scenery by John S -- big fan of his work.

[Ripcord]

Part of my problem was that I had changed my scenery settings in FSX somehow -- either I reduced the autogen too low or reduced detail or something. Now I changed it back, evidently, and there are my old default FSX hangars back on my tarmacs again. I checked this out for KNGP, KNFW and KNBG.

[Firebird]

That is the upside of a problem. You learn an awful lot.

[Greg]

This thread is now closed. Please make a new post if you have a question about converting one of our packages for FSX.