THE BLENDER PLUGINS

This section of the SDK documentation is for help with the support for Blender. This software is partially supported by the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 SDK and can be used when creating models, animations and materials for your add-ons. The SDK installation supplies two separate plugins for blender available in the following locations:

 

  • [SDK ROOT]\Tools\Blender\addons\io_scene_gltf2_msfs_2024

    This is the core set of tools required for blender to create add-ons for MSFS 2024.

 

  • [SDK ROOT]\Tools\Blender\addons\wipermask_generator_msfs_2024

    This is an additional tool designed to help artists create the complex Wiper Mask (RGBA) texture that is used to create realistic rain and wiper effects on aircraft windshields. You can find out how to use this tool on the following page: Wiper Mask Generator Tool

 

IMPORTANT!
  • You can have both the MSFS 2020 plugin and the MSFS 2024 plugins installed in Blender, however we recommend not enabling both plugins at the same time. Only enable the one required for your export/import process, based on the specific version of the simulation you are creating for (Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 or Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024). Make sure to switch between plugins depending on which version it's intended for.
  • The Blender plugins are not compatible with the legacy exporter developed for FSX and other simulations. You should remove this legacy plugin if you have it, or at least disable it (we recommend that you remove it, see here for more details: Uninstalling The Blender Add-on).
  • These plugins are only compatible with Blender 3.3.x LTS and 3.6.x LTS. Other versions are not supported.
  • The io_scene_gltf2_msfs_2024 Blender plugin cannot import glTF files that have been built for a Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 package using the Project Editor within the simulation.

 

 

Installing The Plugins

There are three ways to install the io_scene_gltf2_msfs_2024 and wipermask_generator_msfs_2024 plugin, which are all explained below. Note the steps below are focused on the general MSFS 2024 plugin, but the proces is the exact same for the Wiper Mask Tool plugin.

NOTE: You may need to restart Blender again after activating the plugin (using any of the methods listed below) for all the options to be visible in the IDE.

 

Install Using Blender And The Add-On ZIP

This guide assumes you are getting the plugin from the SDK installer.

 

  1. Zip the folder "io_scene_gltf2_msfs_2024" (or the "wipermask_generator_msfs_2024" folder if installing that).
     
  2. Open Blender and go to: Edit > Preferences.
    The Preferences Option In Blender 
  3. Go to Add-ons and click on Install....
    Installing An Addon In Blender 
  4. This will bring up the Blender file dialog, where you should navigate to the folder where you have your io_scene_gltf2_msfs2024.zip (or wipermask_generator_msfs_2024.zip) file, select it, and then click the Install add-on button.
    The Blender File Dialog 
  5. Back in the Preferences window, click on the checkbox beside the listed plugin to enable it.
    Enabling The Plugin After Installing It

 

 

Installing Using Copy/Paste To AppData

This guide assumes you are getting the plugin from the SDK installer. Regardless of where you got the plugin from, please ensure that you have closed Blender before proceeding.

 

  1. Select the io_scene_gltf2_msfs2024 (or wipermask_generator_msfs_2024) folder and then copy it to the clipboard (Ctrl + C).
    The Unzipped Blender Plugin Folder 
  2. Now you need to browse to the Blender add-ons folder, which - by default - can be found in one of the following locations:
    • Windows: This will usually be in %AppData%\Blender Foundation\Blender\<blender-version>\scripts\add-ons\
    • Mac OS X: This will be in your Library (Press the Option key when in Finder's Go menu to open your Library folder) - \Users\<username>\Library\Application Support\Blender\<blender-version>\scripts\add-ons\

     

  3. Paste the io_scene_gltf2_msfs (or wipermask_generator_msfs_2024) folder here (Ctrl + V).
     
  4. After completing this process, you will need to start Blender and then activate the plugin. Activation is done from the Preferences (Edit > Preferences). In the Preferences window, click on the checkbox beside the listed plugin to enable it.
    Enabling The Plugin After Installing It

 

 

Installing Using The Add-Ons Path

This guide assumes you are getting the plugin from the SDK installer. Note that this way of installing the plugins will install both the io_scene_gltf2_msfs and wipermask_generator_msfs_2024 at once.

 

  1. Open Blender and go to: Edit > Preferences.
    The Preferences Option In Blender 
  2. In the Preferences, you want to go to the File Paths section, then click on the Add button under the Script Directories sub-section:
     
  3. Select the Blender folder in your SDK directory for the Path and then give it an appropriate name:
     
  4. After completing this process, you will need to start Blender and then activate the plugin. Activation is done from the Preferences (Edit > Preferences). In the Preferences window, click on the checkbox beside the listed plugin to enable it.
    Enabling The Plugin After Installing It

 

 

Uninstalling The Blender Add-ons

If you previously installed the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 add-ons for Blender and wish to remove them before installing an updated version, you need to go ahead and do the following:

 

  1. Start by opening Blender and go to: Edit > Preferences.
    The Preferences Option In Blender 
  2. In the Preferences, you need to go to the add-ons tab, then use the Search function using "flight" (for the io_scene_gltf2_msfs plugin) or "wiper" (for the wipermask_generator_msfs_2024 plugin). This will bring up the installed Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 SDK plugins, and from there you can click on the Uninstall button to remove them from Blender.Removing The Asobo Add-on From Blender

 

 

Note On The Shader Nodes Tree

Modifying the shader nodes tree will directly impact the results from the exporter. Therefor, it is important ot be aware that the properties of the various FlightSim materials must only be modified through the MSFS2024 Material Panel section.

 

 

Add-on limitations

Below is a list of the limitations of the Blender plug-in with respect to the corresponding 3DS Max Plugin:

  • There is no Texture Tool for Blender in the current iteration of the plugin, however this may change in future updates. The XML files for the textures need to be generated from the exporter with the options Generate texturelib and Keep original checked.
  • Some shaders (ClearCoat, Windshield, Decal / GeoDecal Blended Mask) do not render correctly in Blender but will be exported correctly and get the right parameters in the simulation.
  • There are no Groups in the Presets panel and the Option preset associated with a group in Blender for now, as we have in 3DS Max.
  • Material animations works only with some parameters listed here:

 

Related Topics

  1. Plugins
  2. The Blender Plugins
  3. Models And Textures