Updating Hawaiian Airports for P3DV4 - Confirmation on New Installer **SOLVED**

[fltsimguy]

I heard that the new installers were updated for P4DV4.
I downloaded the installers and when I launched them they did not list P3D4. However they are pointed to install it into P3D4.

Am I OK to install these using the most recent installer even though its not listing V4?

Bryan

[fltsimguy]

Obviously not.

I tried Hawaiian 1...what a disaster. it corrupted my scenery.cfg file, did not update the xml.

Trying to fix it all now.
As soon as you can please advise me no how I update to P3DV4.

Bryan

[fltsimguy]

Hello, anyone home.

I want to install these airports into P3DV4. It has been listed elsewhere they are updated.
I cant' find where that is the case.

Are they updated or not, if so how the heck do I get them?

[virtuali]

Obviously not.

Obviously yes, of course.

I tried Hawaiian 1...what a disaster. it corrupted my scenery.cfg file, did not update the xml.

Our installers DO NOT touch the scenery.cfg at all in P3DV4, that's the main difference compared to the previous versions so, if your scenery.cfg has been changed, it wasn't the FSDT installer.

And, of course, they will use the add-on.xml method, with their own private add-on.xml file. They are NOT supposed to "update the xml" assuming that with "the xml", you mean the DLL/EXE.XML file which, same as the scenery.cfg, is NOT used or changed anymore, which is precisely how a proper product for P3DV4 should work.

As soon as you can please advise me no how I update to P3DV4.

Download and install the current installers, that's it. Don't try to fix files yourself because, that's more likely what caused the corruption of your scenery.cfg, maybe you assumed the installer should have updated it, and tried to edit it either manually with the wrong editor, or with a 3rd party utility that doesn't support its new Encoding (UTF16), and corrupted it.

As I've said, our installers do not use, change or touch the scenery.cfg when installing in P3D V4 anymore.

The only scenery.cfg files that would be changed, are the ones from the OTHER versions of the sim (FSX or P3D V3), to set the correct path for the scenery, in case of FSX, or removed them altogether from the scenery.cfg in P3D V3.4, since even there we don't use the scenery.cfg anymore, but the add-on.xml method, just like P3DV4.

[fltsimguy]

Thank you for finally getting back to me.

I am sorry to say but the only thing I did that screwed up my scenery.cfg was a Hawaiian #1 install. However, I have fixed it.

NOW
I downloaded the Addon Manager and installed it which I had not done before. It seems to me that this a prerequisite.
I just found out that in fact the scenery has installed into an addon xml in my Root C drive which really ticks me off because I don't want flightsim stuff on my boot drive. So now I have to fix that.  I didn't have a choice it just put it there. Not acceptable.

I launched P3D4, I see the sceneries now in my addons drop down, I see the Addon manager and couatl thingee.

I put in my registration key and it seems to be OK.

I go to PHTO and PHLI and have only part scenery, black boxes everywhere.  Some generic stuff showing through. I do see cars, moving palm trees but the scenery is incomplete no terminals and other stuff.

NOW WHAT!  How do I fix this please?

[fltsimguy]

Here is what I'm getting.

[virtuali]

I am sorry to say but the only thing I did that screwed up my scenery.cfg was a Hawaiian #1 install.

Sorry but, you can repeat it as many times as you like, but it wasn't. As I've said already, Our installers do not touch the scenery.cfg in P3D V4

However, I have fixed it.

That's good to hear, but doesn't change the fact the corruption wasn't caused by our installer to begin with.

I downloaded the Addon Manager and installed it which I had not done before. It seems to me that this a prerequisite.

Is not required to separately download the Addon Manager, all installer comes with it. The only reason to have a separate Addon Manager installer, is to update it separately without downloading an installer but, the same can be achieved by starting the FSDT Live Update.

I just found out that in fact the scenery has installed into an addon xml in my Root C drive

The scenery hasn't installed ANY add-on.xml in the "Root of your C drive". The installer correctly follows the suggested procedure from LM, which is:

- Install the add-on.xml into a sub-folder of your Documents\Prepar3d v4 Add-ons folder, which is the proper place to install an add-on-xml, because it will allow you to reinstall the sim in the future without being forced to reinstall the sceneries again. The only way to achieve this, is to install into a sub-folder of your Documents\Prepar3d v4 Add-ons, as required by the P3D V4 SDK.

This NOT, of course, the "Root of your C drive", but a sub-folder of a folder that the sim already created for you so, it's not as if we used some wrong folder, we use the proper one.

which really ticks me off because I don't want flightsim stuff on my boot drive. So now I have to fix that.  I didn't have a choice it just put it there. Not acceptable.

You first said we installed in the "Root of your C drive", which wasn't obviously true, just like the fact we corrupted your scenery.cfg, which is even impossible, since we don't use it at all.

Now, you are saying you don't want to have "flightsim stuff on my boot drive" so, I'm not sure if you mean the same thing as the "Root of your C drive".

The "Root of your C drive" is the C:\ path, and we don't obviously use it to place the add-on.xml.

if with the "flightsim stuff on my boot drive", you mean you don't want ANY file belonging to the sim to be placed ANYWHERE in the C: drive, this is obviously nonsense since, installing P3D in ANY drive, WILL install A LOT of stuff in your boot drive too, and no, you don't have any choice.

Installing any version of P3D will install lots of stuff in the following folders of your boot drive:

C:\ProgramData\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3d V4
C:\Users\YOURNAME\Appdata\Roaming\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3d V4
C:\Users\YOURNAME\Appdata\Local\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3d V4
C:\Users\Documents\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3d V4 Files

I launched P3D4, I see the sceneries now in my addons drop down, I see the Addon manager and couatl thingee.

I put in my registration key and it seems to be OK.

This seems to indicate the software is running.

I go to PHTO and PHLI and have only part scenery, black boxes everywhere.  Some generic stuff showing through. I do see cars, moving palm trees but the scenery is incomplete no terminals and other stuff.

This doesn't happen. It seems the software is running, but the scenery is not found, most likely because you must have edited the scenery.cfg or the add-on.xml in some way that, instead of "fixing it", has made it wrong somehow.

NOW WHAT!  How do I fix this please?

By using our installer, and not trying to fix anything, because it will surely work as it is.

[fltsimguy]

Perhaps when I shut down P3D4 during its launching it resulted in the corruption of the scenery.cfg file..I can assure you I do know what I'm doing, at least most of the time. I totally respect that fact that your installed do not touch the scenery.cfg file but it was corrupted through some process of my trying to install this scenery.

Just so you know for later reference, something went wrong during this install nothing else, and when I launched the sim it could not read the scenery layers. I did not edit or manual do anything to the scenery.cfg UNTIL I saw it was corrupted with little symbols...I am going to attach a screenshot below to show you what happened to it.  I had to manually fix it, which I did and it works fine again. Below is what happened, little symbols were added to each line in the cfg...and this happened.

[General]਍]
Title=Prepar3D Scenery਍ഀ
Description=Prepar3D Scenery Areas Data਍ഀ
Clean_on_Exit=TRUE਍ഀ

[Area.001]
Title=Default Terrain਍ഀ
Texture_ID=1਍ഀ
Local=Scenery\World਍ഀ
Active=TRUE਍ഀ
Required=TRUE਍ഀ
Layer=1

[Area.002]
Title=Default Scenery਍ഀ
Local=Scenery\BASE਍ഀ
Active=TRUE਍ഀ
Required=TRUE਍ഀ
Layer=2


1. The install of Hawaii #1 put the scenery into my C drive (perhaps I missed something in the install and could have chosen another location, and as you state into the correct subfolders....all as you have stated. Perhaps my language was not specific enough for you.  I just referred to this as my boot drive. Over the decades I have had C drive failures and lost everything in them, so this required complete reinstalls of everything. I organize all my data onto their own data drives and I clone each so if there is a drive failure I can replace it immediately without consequences. I apologize if I was confusing about this.

I will want to delete this install from the C drive and place it - reinstall into some other appropriate data drive. I just now thought to try that and I can't find an uninstall file.

So two issues.
1. I posted a screenshot and my scenery is not showing fully.
2. I will need to uninstall, reinstall to a new location outside of C drive.

You assistance is greatly appreciated.

[fltsimguy]

I also know this, I back this up continually as well.
I meant your data for your sceneries, once again sorry if I'm not clear in what I say.

if with the "flightsim stuff on my boot drive", you mean you don't want ANY file belonging to the sim to be placed ANYWHERE in the C: drive, this is obviously nonsense since, installing P3D in ANY drive, WILL install A LOT of stuff in your boot drive too, and no, you don't have any choice.

Installing any version of P3D will install lots of stuff in the following folders of your boot drive:

C:\ProgramData\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3d V4
C:\Users\YOURNAME\Appdata\Roaming\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3d V4
C:\Users\YOURNAME\Appdata\Local\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3d V4
C:\Users\Documents\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3d V4 Files

[virtuali]

I also know this, I back this up continually as well.
I meant your data for your sceneries, once again sorry if I'm not clear in what I say.

We don't install ANY "data for our sceneries" if with "data for your sceneries", you mean the actual scenery files.

The ONLY file we install in the Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons folder is the TINY add-on.xml file, which paths pointing where the scenery files are actually be found. This is the most proper way to install an add-on package, which allows reinstalling the sim without reinstalling the add-ons in the future which is:

- The small Add-on.xml file in a sub-folder of the Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons folder

- The add-on.xml file will contain Paths pointing where the actual scenery files (.BGL, Textures, Objects ) are located. This can be anywhere and, in case of our installer, it's a folder YOU can choose, or accept as default which, as with every other Windows program out there, defaults to C:\Program Files (x86)\ but, you can change during the installation.

I totally respect that fact that your installed do not touch the scenery.cfg file but it was corrupted through some process of my trying to install this scenery.

Well, a file might end up being corrupted for a number of reasons AND being "related" to your act of installing, but that doesn't obviously mean the installer is at fault! If you had a power loss while you were installing, that's NOT a fault of the installer, even if the corruption DID happen "while you were installing"...

I did not edit or manual do anything to the scenery.cfg UNTIL I saw it was corrupted with little symbols...

This seems the result of either:

- Using an editor or a 3rd party utility that didn't recognize the correct encoding used by P3D V4 (which is NEW from every previous version of the sim), so it corrupted it when saving it back.

- A crash while editing the file.

The ONLY thing sure, it wasn't anything made by our installers, that don't even try to *read* the P3DV4 scenery.cfg, let alone write it.

I will want to delete this install from the C drive and place it - reinstall into some other appropriate data drive. I just now thought to try that and I can't find an uninstall file.

If you are now saying you first decided to accept the default suggested location for the product to be into C:\Program Files (x86)\Addon Manager, changed your mind, and wanted to be elsewhere, you surely can do that, in the following way:

- Uninstall the scenery. Reply YES to the question "Do you want to remove the Addon Manager" that the Uninstaller will make at the end. THIS will allow you to choose a different folder on the next reinstall. Just check this is really the folder you wanted to use, because then all the OTHER FSDT installers will automatically go there. It can be on any drive.

The Uninstaller can be found in the "Programs and Features" section of the Windows Control Panel, just like any other Windows program in existence.

[fltsimguy]

Thank you. I understand the xml situation.

I am going to look at installing in another location following your instructions.

Meanwhile...Have you any idea why only part of the scenery is showing?

Bryan

fyi....my editor is good, no issues with wrong format.

[virtuali]

Meanwhile...Have you any idea why only part of the scenery is showing?

If the software is running, which from your description seems it does, the most likely issue is the scenery is not seen, neither in the scenery.cfg nor in the add-on.xml. What the Addon Manager is saying about it ? If it says "Not installed in the Scenery Library", it means there's a problem with the installation. Note that, a corrupted scenery.cfg might prevent the scenery to be seen, even if we don't install it there.

Or, possibly, it might happen because it seen *twice* (and it shouldn't), and a reason why it has been seen twice, is that you might have tried to fix the problem by adding it manually to the Scenery Library, causing a conflict of the scenery with itself. Yes, adding the same scenery twice, result in no scenery displayed, this was a longstanding bug in FSX that we don't know if it has ever been fixed in P3D.

[fltsimguy]

Thanks for your ongoing support....OK did a reinstall and all the buildings are showing or it appears to be complete.

I'm not touching any files manually.

Is there suppose to be large areas of autogen suppression?  I can't recall this from other installs in my other sim FSX.

Bryan

[fltsimguy]

Issues resolve.

FYI problems with PHLI and PHKO are related to Orbx Global airports.

F:\Lockheed Martin Prepar3D v4\ORBX\FTX_GLOBAL\FTX_FTXG_AIRPORTS\Scenery

Six files need to be either removed or XXX out.
FTX_FTXG_PHLI_objects.bgl
ADE_FTX_FTXG_PHLI_CVX.bgl
ADE_FTX_FTXG_PHLI.BGL

FTX_FTXG_PHKO_objects.bgl
ADE_FTX_FTXG_PHKO_CVX.bgl
ADE_FTX_FTXG_PHKO.BGL

Bryan

[virtuali]

FYI problems with PHLI and PHKO are related to Orbx Global airports.

I was quite sure it wasn't a problem of our scenery...