New Library and Installers Released, 3D Previews too!

There is a new version of OpenSceneryX out, v4.3.0, which includes 3D previews of objects, lines, polygons and forests which are now displayed on the website. You can also preview all seasonal variants where they exist:

Here are the full release notes:

  • New scenery objects in this version:
  • Modified scenery objects in this version:
    • The spring and winter (no snow) forests were showing with a white ‘halo’ around them, which has now been fixed.
    • Discovered that the build process wasn’t always copying both DDS and PNG textures if they were both available. As a result, many more objects now have DDS textures.
    • Corrected a number of the polygons which contained invalid commands.
  • Other changes:
    • Added support for season switching using the Scenery Animation Manager plugin (SAM).
    • When delivering winter seasonal variants, we now prioritise specific snow / non-snow variants over default winter variants. This ensures, for example, that you will always see a snowy variant if you are using a plugin that requests snowy assets (provided there is a snowy version available for that item, of course!).
    • Improved the documentation for the asphalt surface polygon variants which are designed to be used over the top of opaque asphalt to give a more weathered look.
    • 3D previews of objects, lines, polygons and forests are now displayed on the website.

Also, to accompany the new library version, there is a new installer too, which has the following changes:

  1. Added support for season switching using the Scenery Animation Manager plugin (SAM).
  2. New application icon.
  3. Improve button and drop-down menu layouts on Linux.
  4. The Spanish and Catalan translations have been updated, thank you to Haris Amiel.
  5. No longer use an internal web browser to show the license – open the default web browser (e.g. Edge, Safari, Chrome) instead.
  6. Memory leak fixed on Windows. May have been causing the installer to hang towards the end of large installs.

Grab the new installer from the website home page: www.opensceneryx.com.

OpenSceneryX 4.2.0 Released

We have just released a new version of the OpenSceneryX library – 4.2.0. Here is the list of changes:

  • New scenery objects in this version:
    • A mobile boarding bridge suitable for regional commuter aircraft.
    • A new set of five seasonal volumetric grass forests, in a variety of heights and colours.
    • Two new forests of volumetric flowers.
  • Modified scenery objects in this version:
    • Incorporated updates from FlyAgi’s vegetation library – forests and objects no longer cast shadows because they look ugly on vegetation and also cause a hit on framerate.
    • The deep winter texture variant for FlyAgi’s vegetation has been replaced with a new one with less of a blue hue, which fits better with e.g. xflyer’s Winter Mod.
    • The previous ‘bluer’ deep winter texture is now used when TerraMaxx is selected as the season mechanism, as the colour works well with TerraMaxx’s textures.
  • Other changes:
    • Major new feature: Core X-Plane® forest overrides. OpenSceneryX now has the ability to replace all core X-Plane® autogen forests with FlyAgi’s high definition versions, this is optional and can be chosen on install. This feature does most of what FlyAgi’s Vegetation Global Trees package does, except it does not replace any core X-Plane® textures in the ‘Resources’ folder.
    • The website now provides more information about facades in the library.
    • Fixed ‘Missing object’ errors for the 15 items excluded from RE Library.

Also, to accompany the new library version, there is a new installer too, which has the following changes:

  1. The library now includes the ability to override core X-Plane® forests with HD forests from OpenSceneryX. The installer now gives the user the choice of whether this should happen.
  2. Fixed “The parameter is incorrect” error which was thrown when running the installer in Hebrew.
  3. The installer now remembers your preferences even if you switch language.
  4. The installer now has an Italian translation, thank you to Matteo Lorenzini.
  5. The Russian translation has been updated, thank you to Murat Vishnyakov.
  6. The Dutch translation has been updated, thank you to Gerrit-Jan Rebel.
  7. The French translation has been updated, thank you to Olivier Faivre.

Grab the new installer from www.opensceneryx.com.

Installer Bug Fix Release

We have just released a new version of the OpenSceneryX installer (v2.5.1). This is just an installer bug fix release and there are no changes in the OpenScenery library itself, so if you are not experiencing one of the problems below then there is not a lot of point in downloading this.

Issues fixed:

  • Text in the main panel is now easier to read when using dark themes on Linux.
  • The installer is now more robust when a network error occurs during file download – the download will be retried which should cope better with problematic and unreliable networks.

Get the new release from www.opensceneryx.com

OpenSceneryX 4.0.0 Released

We have just released a major new release of OpenSceneryX, version 4.0.0. You will also need the new installer v2.5.0, so please download that from the home page. Here is the list of new stuff:

  • New scenery objects in this version:
    • Incorporated DT Library by Darrell Thompson into OpenSceneryX, which includes a large set of markings suitable for small to medium airports.
    • einstein has contributed seasonal variants (autumn and winter without snow) for the original OpenSceneryX tree forests. This enables autumn and winter (without snow) for any sceneries that use original OpenSceneryX forests, as well as most of the individual plant and tree objects.
    • madmaxland has contributed a spring seasonal variant for the original OpenSceneryX tree forests. This enables springtime for any sceneries that use original OpenSceneryX forests, as well as most of the individual plant and tree objects.
    • FlyAgi has contributed seasonal variants (autumn, winter mild and winter deep) for all his vegetation forests.
  • Modified scenery objects in this version:
    • The runway closed ‘X’ marking has been replaced by an improved version from DT Library which includes normals.
    • Some aircraft, both jets and props, are now incorporated into the X-Plane® static aircraft system.
    • Fixed missing TEXTURE_NORMAL in oil fired power station.
  • Other changes:
    • Major new feature: Support for seasons. OpenSceneryX now exports seasonal regions compatible with core X-Plane, the Four Seasons plugin, the TerraMaxx plugin and the xAmbience plugin. Seasonal support is optional and can be chosen on install. Note that we only support seasons for library contributions that have seasonal alternatives.
    • Major new feature: Support for injecting OpenSceneryX items into X-Plane® built-in libraries. This can be used to enhance the X-Plane® automatic object placement and autogen. This is optional and can be selected on install. Currently some of the OpenSceneryX aircraft are exported to be used for static aircraft around airports.
    • Updated the Backup Library to v2.2.0
    • The library still includes the Backup Library but it is now separate and the installer gives the choice of using or not using it.
    • The website now provides more information about lines in the library – layer group, layer offset, line width and whether the line is mirrored.
    • The website now provides more information about objects in the library – whether they have multiple LODs, custom lights, named lights, parameterised lights, spill lighting, whether the object tilts on uneven ground and whether it emits black or white smoke. Also, objects are marked as ‘animated’ automatically now, by directly examining the .obj file for animation commands.
    • Markdown is now supported for all descriptions of items. This is automatically converted to HTML for publishing on the website. Many descriptions that were being squashed down to a single paragraph have been rewritten using Markdown and tables, e.g. many of the polygons, making them far more readable.

OpenSceneryX v4 Beta Testing

Because it’s so big and contains significant new features, we have taken the unusual step of running an open beta test of the next release of OpenSceneryX (v4.0.0).

The beta test is being run over on the thresholdx.net forums so if you want to take part and get early access to the next release, head over there now – all the details are in the README post.

Note: If you want to take part in the beta, please be aware there may be bugs and issues that cause problems with your X-Plane® simulator, so if you don’t feel comfortable with this please wait for the full release.

New Installer Released

We’ve released a new version of the OpenSceneryX installer (v2.4.0) for all platforms.  No changes to the library itself, but this version introduces the ‘Steam’ button for Windows and Linux, as well as fixing some bugs and changing the hosting.  Here are the full release notes:

  1. Library update hosting has now switched to AWS + CloudFront + CloudFlare, to reduce load on the web servers for static files (even with full Cloudflare caching the origin servers were still serving ~200k requests per day).  Should be faster for you too.
  2. Steam install button now implemented on Linux and Windows.
  3. Fixed a problem in the Mac version where the X-Plane folder was not remembered between executions.
  4. Mac version is now notarized (security audited by Apple).
  5. Mac version now supports new ‘Dark Mode’ in macOS Mojave.
  6. Fixed missing logo banner in about box.

Download the new version from the home page: www.opensceneryx.com

OpenSceneryX on YouTube

Also, for those of you just starting out with X-Plane and OpenSceneryX, we’ve produced a series of ‘How-to’ videos on YouTube. There’s some for all users of X-Plane and a couple for scenery developers who want to use the library. Not for the experts, but if you’re having trouble with first steps, take a look and let me have any feedback in the comments.

New Installer Released

There is a new version of the installer out – v2.3.0. This doesn’t include any changes to the OpenSceneryX library itself, but does include the following improvements:

  • The new backup library was missing placeholders for .net (roads) and .str (object strings) which could cause issues with some scenery packs installed.
  • Added a PayPal donation button to the installer to try to help cover the costs of running the library.
  • Fixed some display issues on Linux, mainly related to button sizes.
  • The ‘Steam’ button on Mac now finds an X-Plane 11 install if one exists, and if not it will try to find an X-Plane 10 install.

Grab it for all platforms from the OpenSceneryX home page.

New Mac Beta Installer

There’s a new beta version of the Mac installer available, which hopefully fixes the issue where it couldn’t find an X-Plane 11 Steam install when hitting the ‘Steam’ button.  It’s available for download here.

Edit: The beta period has now finished, get the latest release version of the installer from the OpenSceneryX home page.

There are a couple of other changes, the full release notes are:

  • The new backup library was missing placeholders for .net (roads) and .str (object strings) which could cause issues with some scenery packs installed.
  • Added a PayPal donation button to the installer to try to help cover the costs of running the library.
  • The ‘Steam’ button on Mac now finds an X-Plane 11 install if one exists, and if not it will try to find an X-Plane 10 install.

More New Installers

Another new installer version has just been released for all platforms. I’ve spent a lot of time optimising and improving the networking code, so this version should be a lot faster, smoother and also (especially on Windows) the user interface should be more responsive.

Also, the Mac version is now a Disk Image download, with a customised look and feel.

The full release notes:

  • The intensive local file checking process is now threaded, improving application responsiveness and redraw. The improvements are especially noticeable on Windows.
  • Both intensive file operations now yield some time to other threads to improve application responsiveness and redraw. The improvements are especially noticeable on Windows.
  • The install operation is now much faster, and can make full use of fast Internet connections.
  • The Mac and Windows installers are now code signed, meaning they will not be blocked from running.
  • The Windows installer now runs as an administrator, using the proper UAC mechanism, specified in the application’s Manifest.
  • The Mac installer is now distributed as a Disk Image (DMG) with a custom design.
  • Cross-platform bugs in the license confirmation dialog fixed.

Download the new versions from the OpenSceneryX Home Page.

New Installer Version Released

A new version of the installer has been released, which hopefully fixes some of the recent problems with failed file downloads.  The Mac and Windows builds are 64 bit and we also now have Linux x86-64 bit, Linux x86-32 bit and Linux ARM 32 bit builds.

This release includes the following changes:

Version 2.1.0

  1. The Mac installer now provides support for the default Steam location.  A new button allows you to select the Steam folder if it exists.
  2. The installer now includes the Backup Library that chris k originally built and einstein took control of.  This means that if you have OpenSceneryX installed, you no longer need the Backup Library.  The installer allows you to choose whether the placeholders used are visible or invisible – the visible ones should be bright red.
  3. The Mac version is now a full Cocoa application.
  4. There are three Linux versions: x86-32 bit, x86-64 bit and ARM 32 bit.
  5. The installer should be a bit more robust if your network connection is interrupted.
  6. We now support high resolution displays.
  7. Switched to secure HTTPS for all server communications. This required a rebuild of the network code.
  8. Small design refresh.

Download the new installer from the OpenSceneryX home page.