MODELS AND TEXTURES

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 permits you to add your own assets to the game so you can expand the number of aircraft available as well as edit the world that they inhabit. This SDK along with the in-game Developer Mode allows you to create packages of assets for personal use, or to distribute to friends, or even distribute through the Microsoft Marketplace or third-party distribution services.

 

This section of the documentation covers the basic creation of the visual assets, but this is only half the story since - after creating the assets - you will need to then configure them correctly to be used in an add-on package. Assets can be configured through the different Developer Mode editors, as well as more directly through the various files that are described in the section on Content Configuration, although in general both these will be required to correctly generate a full add-on package of any complexity.

 

The visual assets you can create externally for use in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 require 3D models with textures, and these textures are then passed into shaders to create materials, which generally describe how the given textures will reflect and transmit light. For Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, these materials require very specific setup which is done through the use of plugins for your modelling tools, and these plugins also incorporate extra tools to help with the export process for the final models so that they are ready to be used in the simulation. You can find information on these plugins on the following page:

• Plugins

 

Due to the specific requirements of the simulation, there are rules and guidelines that need to be followed when creating your visual assets, and the following pages will help guide you through the creation process, starting with some sections that are relevant to the creation of all models (whether a helicopter or a car or a building):

• Modeling Technical Information
• Texturing Techincal Information
• Submodel Merging
• Model Attachments

 

Within the simulation all models can be split into two main categories, and each one has it's own section since they have different requirements:

• Modeling Aircraft - This focuses on modeling planes, but all the principles described can be applied to any aircraft.
• Modeling Scenery - This focuses on mainly on modeling buildings and static scenery objects.

 

We recommend that if you wish to see an illustration of correct modelling principles for aircraft, then you should check out the DA62 and Cabri G2 models included with the SDK:

• DA62
• Cabri G2

 

This document also includes some scenery sample projects for 3Ds Max. These models were designed to show good practices when modelling scenery elements and were specifically created with optimisation for the Xbox target in mind, however the principles on show should be applied to all scenery assets whether your asset will be sold on the Xbox marketplace or not. You can find the samples on the following page:

• Scenery Model Samples

 

Finally, there are a number of tools available to you from the DevMode Options and Tools menus that permit you to test various aspects of the visual models in the simulation and ensure that they are as optimised as possible:

• SimObject Stats - see the different statistics associated with a SimObject
• The Statistics Profiler - see the different statistics associated with scenery and airport objects
• Debug LODs - see the different LODs for the models in a scene

 

 

Shared Assets

When you install the SDK there will be a Shared Assets folder included with the rest of the SDK folders. This folder contains numerous assets that you will need to use when creating your aircraft, and they will be clearly referenced in the appropriate sections of the Modelling and Texturing documentation. It is strongly suggested that you use the assets here when prompted to do so, as many of them are required for the various aircraft features to look good and work correctly.

 

These assets fall into the following three categories:

 

• Characters

  This folder contains a 3DS Max file of very simple character sitting down. This file is required when making Seats And Seatbelts, as it ensures that your aircraft will be compatible with the animations used by the various procedural characters in the simulation.

 

• Planes

  This folder contains various 3DS Max files that are required by aircraft when setting up Fuel Truck And GPU Connections. Using these files will ensure that your aircraft connects correctly with the ground power and fuel utility trucks in the simulation.

 

• Textures

  This folder contains various files that are used in the material texture slots when working on your aircraft. In most cases, the use of these materials is a requirement, as they have been very carefully designed to work with the simulation shaders to achieve specific effects, for example, the Insect Splatter on the aircraft windshield.