Best tools for making custom airport scenery?

What are folks favorite tools for making realistic airports.

I'm looking for pointers or FAQ's to get started.
I interested in making more realistic signs, buildings and pavement.


I haven't decided on a sim yet. It could be MSFS, X-Plane, FlightGear or
whatever depending on the the airport scenery tools and peoples
experiences with them.

Thanks for your opinions,
Drew

Hi Drew:

If you're asking for a recommendation in scenery design tools to
create your hometown airport, I recommend the following programs:

FS2000/2002:

FS Architect 2002: http://www.pouksim.com/ The software is very easy
to install and use. You can download a Freeware version for evaluation
purposes, plus a commercial version 3.00 build 14 is also available.

FS 2004 Compatibility: FS Architect's main features for creating BGL
scenery and mesh terrain ARE compatible with Flight Simulator 2004
since FS2004 supports the legacy BGL format. Importing of FS2004 BGL
files is not functional due to the file format changes. If you would
like to create scenery for FS2004, download FS Architect and try it.

FS Scenery Creator: http://www.fssc.avsim.net/index.html FS Scenery
Creator is my pick for a very nice freeware program.

There are other FS2000/2002 programs as well, such as:

Airport for Windows: http://www.airportforwindows.com/

SCASM: http://www.scasm.de/

FS2004:

Gmax: http://www.discreet.com/products/gmax/ The gold standard for
creating objects in both FS2002 and 2004. The program comes with
Microsoft's Pro version of FS2002, or downloads a copy directly from
Descreet's Website.

For modeling the balance of your scenery (airports, runways, taxiways,
etc) you'll require additional tools. I recommend SceneGenX
(www.airportforwindows.com) or AFCAD to handle this area of design.

One final note of caution; the programs mentioned are in a constant
state of development, therefore it’s always in your best interest to
secure the latest version available.

All have a learning curve... practice does make perfect.

PS; I highly recommend the following:

Beginner's Guide to Scenery Design.

This is a "must-read" for anyone interested in scenery design, the
single most comprehensive guide of its type today! available in our
tutorial area.

I hope this helps in some small way, visit the URL below (see sig),
for additional ideas and suggestions.

Good luck

Tom G, Sr.


On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 14:23:19 GMT, Dot
wrote:

What are folks favorite tools for making realistic airports.

I'm looking for pointers or FAQ's to get started.
I interested in making more realistic signs, buildings and pavement.


I haven't decided on a sim yet. It could be MSFS, X-Plane, FlightGear or
whatever depending on the the airport scenery tools and peoples
experiences with them.

Thanks for your opinions,
Drew

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

Name: T. & D. Gregor, Sr.
E-Mail:
Web-Site: http://www.scenery.org
"The Scenery Hall of Fame"
Subscribe to our Newsletter:


_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

MS FS2004 seems to have more tools and a vast community of
users creating many add-ons. You can always get advice on most subjects.

That being said, I have not personally made many visual changes in FS2004,
but used Airport For Windows extensively in earlier versions. (The current
release
is Airport 3.0, I believe). Rwy12 Object Placer is another. Afcad2 is very
useful
for adding AI parking, navaids, taxiways to FS airports.
Good luck, welcome to Hell!
WS


"Dot" wrote in message
ink.net...
What are folks favorite tools for making realistic airports.

I'm looking for pointers or FAQ's to get started.
I interested in making more realistic signs, buildings and pavement.


I haven't decided on a sim yet. It could be MSFS, X-Plane, FlightGear or
whatever depending on the the airport scenery tools and peoples
experiences with them.

Thanks for your opinions,
Drew