resolved EGNX - building section in the sky!

[DaveRuk]

Just picked up EGNX today, running on P3D v4.5 and seeing a strange issue with what looks like part of a building raised very high in the air.
 

I did one flight with EGNX as destination, and saw the issue. Decided to restart, went back to the airport to see and it looked just fine. I then did another flight to EGNX and it reappeared. Another sim restart sorted it, but it'd be nice if it went away completely. It seems to wait for me being on final!

My settings are the same as or higher than those stated in the user guide, and I also tried a file verify which was fine. Help!

thanks

Dave

[DaveRuk]

Overlooked this screen grab I should have included in original post, showing oddities in another location. I don't know if this is some scenery order issue perhaps, so if I can provide any more info please let me know.

 

 

 

 

[DaveRuk]

Apologies, forgot order info

5dff707eba29f

[Doug Sawatzky]

Hi Dave

 

Please start by applying or confirming the below basics.

 

Ensure the Orbx Libs are installed and up to date, and I would do a verify files of them from within Orbx Central.

 

Then make sure Objectflow is installed and that there is only one instance of it as per the below topic.

 

 

 

I would then go to settings/help and run the Sync Simulator function.

 

 Then you can go to settings/Insertion Point and set them like this.

Ensure all of your 3rd party non Orbx addons are at the top of your scenery library and above your FTX entries.

Then in Orbx Central Insertion points "Orbx Airports and Regions”, put your last non Orbx 3rd party listed in your scenery library addon in the INSERTED BELOW window.

Then for the "Orbx Global openLC” ensure the Orbx Airports and Regions are in the INSERTED BELOW window.

[DaveRuk]

Hi Doug and thanks for your reply and suggestions
 

I've just done some checks and can advise as follows:

-Orbx libraries - are installed and up to date v19.6.2, verify ok
-ObjectFlow - installed (v2.1.0 - May 2019, verify ok) in ...Orbx Library\p3dv4\Orbx Libraries
There does not seem to be another instance within ...Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons

-After the verifications I can see that Orbx Libraries Lookup and Orbx Libraries Global have moved to the top of my scenery list. is that to be expected? I also noticed what looked like some content download during the process, but no errors were shown.
 

I do see some 3rd party addons which are below the Orbx FTX entries e.g. FlyTampa and Aerosoft, and I also see some FlyTampa "World" entries way down the listing.

I'm unsure of the difference between each type. However if I opt to uninstall those addons, and reinstall them, would they automatically insert themselves at the top of the P3D scenery library list? This is a key query for me, as I don't mind putting some time into uninstall/reinstall, so long as I have a confident result.
 

Regarding the step you suggest for Insertion Point, am I correct in thinking that once this is set within Orbx Central (with my last 3rd party addon selected as the "insert below") that future Orbx installations would then always be placed lower than non-Orbx products? Incidentally my issues seemed to arise following install of ESGG last week, which upset some UK2000 content. In fixing that I removed the UK2000 addon, and changed the insertion point to show the last UK2000 product but did not consider non UK2000 addons. The reinstall of the UK2000 product did cure the issue that appeared post ESGG install though. I thought I was done with glitches, until I installed EGNX yesterday that is! I have to say this is the first time I've run into any issues with Orbx products, and am looking forward to getting everything sweet again, so I can add more Orbx to my sim.
 

I've not used the "Sync Simulator" option before, is that to handle any previous use of FTX (which I will have used for installs) and bring it in line with the current Orbx Central product, or does it go further than that where non-Orbx addons are concerned?

If it is potentially a cure-all for simulator scenery order that would re-order such that all non-Orbx are above Orbx entries that would be great, but I wanted to ask before I start making changes, so that I can hopefully avoid a train-wreck!
 

I have a full set of P3D scenery library screen grabs and can share them here if it would help you direct the best actions I can take.

Thanks for your time!

Dave

[Doug Sawatzky]

10 minutes ago, DaveRuk said:

-After the verifications I can see that Orbx Libraries Lookup and Orbx Libraries Global have moved to the top of my scenery list. is that to be expected? I also noticed what looked like some content download during the process, but no errors were shown.

 Yes, this is correct.

 

12 minutes ago, DaveRuk said:

I do see some 3rd party addons which are below the Orbx FTX entries e.g. FlyTampa and Aerosoft, and I also see some FlyTampa "World" entries way down the listing.

I'm unsure of the difference between each type. However if I opt to uninstall those addons, and reinstall them, would they automatically insert themselves at the top of the P3D scenery library list? This is a key query for me, as I don't mind putting some time into uninstall/reinstall, so long as I have a confident result.

I would leave the "World" entries where they are (I also have these), but all my other FlyTampa stuff is at the top.

 

15 minutes ago, DaveRuk said:

Regarding the step you suggest for Insertion Point, am I correct in thinking that once this is set within Orbx Central (with my last 3rd party addon selected as the "insert below") that future Orbx installations would then always be placed lower than non-Orbx products?

Yes, this is also correct.

 

26 minutes ago, DaveRuk said:

I've not used the "Sync Simulator" option before, is that to handle any previous use of FTX (which I will have used for installs) and bring it in line with the current Orbx Central product,

Yes, it activates any settings or external library links that have been created in Orbx Central and will adjust the scenery library also according to the users insertion point settings as well ensuring it sees the correct paths to scenery.cfg files etc.

 

I am sure you are also aware of the user guide found at settings/help/user guide.

[DaveRuk]

Thanks again Doug. I know I asked a lot of questions but I don’t have a great depth of knowledge in this area, and am wary of making things worse by just blundering in! Hopefully this will improve my grasp of things too. 

 

Thinking on, as I have a bunch of addons that are currently below FTX, it might be sensible to reinstall anyway to get them showing at the top of the library, see how that goes and then maybe try the sync option too. Does that sound like a half decent plan?

 

And yes, I started perusing the manual this afternoon 

 

Cheers

Dave

[Doug Sawatzky]

10 minutes ago, DaveRuk said:

Thinking on, as I have a bunch of addons that are currently below FTX, it might be sensible to reinstall anyway to get them showing at the top of the library, see how that goes and then maybe try the sync option too. Does that sound like a half decent plan?

 

Dave

 

That does sound like a good plan.  I would definitively do the sync simulator function, it is harmless and will be required. 

 

[DaveRuk]

I've spent some time (ok, a lot!) removing and re-adding other 3rd party sceneries, as well as carrying out the sync function. Unfortunately the problem still shows. For interest I even tried the opposite runway to see if that gave any hints, but it shows there too.

 

I have a couple of thoughts as to what next...
First is a bit off the wall but recalling the practice of removing Orbx scenery FTX files that may cause conflict with 3rd party addons, I noticed the following files within
...\Orbx Library\p3dv4\EU England\ORBX\FTX_EU\FTX_EU_ENG_05_SCENERY\scenery

ADE_FTX_ENG_EGNX.BGL
ADE_FTX_ENG_EGNX_CVX.bgl

 

now I am assuming they should integrate with Orbx EGNX, but is there any value/risk in removing them temporarily to see if that helps, or is it more likely to negatively affect the area around EGNX?
 

The other is the simple, uninstall/reinstall of EGNX. I've already verified it, with no obvious errors but would a reinstall possibly help nevertheless?

It's a frustrating one as no other addons have given such a persistent problem like this, and EGNX looks great apart from this, as well as offering me some entertaining approaches

Cheers

Dave

[Doug Sawatzky]

Hi Dave

 

All of your suggestions and troubleshooting ideas sound reasonable and worth a try....I have not been able to replicate this issue or find anyone else that has experienced this, so please feel free to also post a copy of your “scenery.cfg” file and the “add-ons.cfg” and the “scenery_add-ons.xml” file found at C:\ProgramData\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4 for us to have a look at.

 

 

 

 

[DaveRuk]

Hi Doug, thanks once more for your support on this one.
I haven't tried the notion regarding the x2 *EGNX*.BGL files within ...\Orbx Library\p3dv4\EU England\ORBX\FTX_EU\FTX_EU_ENG_05_SCENERY\scenery, as I'm assuming if they were unnecessary following installation of EGNX, then the install process would have quietly dealt with that. If it's worth a go though, I'm happy to try that. Equally I've not used Central to uninstall EGNX and reinstall it yet either.

What seems weird to me, is that whilst there is a visible issue, it seems very limited to what looks like the roof of one building close to the tower. If instead there were huge elevation issues all over EGNX then that's the sort of thing I've come across when running other products alongside Orbx and I've learnt how to deal with those.

In the process of removing/reinstalling 3rd party airports I did run into an issue where the sim threw up some errors regarding duplicate layers (136&137 which related to Aerosoft Madeira X package) Never seen that before and the actual installations flagged no issues. At this point I was regretting starting the remove/reload of 3rd party airports, however a friend who understands CFG/XML stuff way better than I, helped and we got rid of the error. Whilst I've not tested all airports yet, Madeira etc was ok, and so that's true for others I've checked, with the only remaining problem I can see (so far!) being that building in EGNX.

Any thoughts on the files you've asked to check out would be appreciated

many thanks

Dave

scenery.cfg add-ons.cfg scenery_add-ons.xml

[Doug Sawatzky]

Thanks Dave

 

There are just two changes I would like you to try please.

 

First, uninstall the Orbx Liibraries from the E:\Orbx Library\p3dv4 location and reinstall them to your simulator root ORBX folder.

 

Second, move your two XEvolution addons above the FTX Orbx block in your scenery library, currently they are just below your Orbx ESGG, you will probably then need to reset the insertion point in Orbx Central to reflect that change.

[DaveRuk]

Thanks for continuing to offer suggestions Gary, much appreciated, I’ll hope to try those ideas over the next couple of days.

I cant recall how the Aerosoft products show in the scenery list upon installation, or if they allow “move up/down” so I’ll check that first.
 

As a general query though, is it considered “safe” to reinstall or move scenery items? I’m just thinking if this sort of maintenance is considered to be outside the core sim code as it were, and therefore shouldn’t cause irretrievable damage if things don’t go quite to plan.

 

cheers

Dave

[Doug Sawatzky]

5 minutes ago, DaveRuk said:

As a general query though, is it considered “safe” to reinstall or move scenery items?

 

Yes, it is considered perfectly safe and I have never encountered "irretrievable" damage.

 

 

[DaveRuk]

Thanks Doug - I was just about to start with removal of Orbx library from current location using Orbx Central, and noticed the subfolder content as shown here (Orbx Library Folders.png)

Each of those has subfolders too amounting to just under 50GB in total (Airport Subfolders.png shows example, with further subfolders not visible here)

 

Before I press the button I was wondering what will happen to all those airports and regional content - or will the reinstall as you suggest deal with that content also?

 

Just to be sure I presume the target you mean for reinstalling Orbx Library would be E:\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4\ORBX (Orbx Root in Sim.png)

I have also taken a look at the Aerosoft Evolution entries in my sim scenery library GUI and they do appear to allow selection and re-ordering.

 

many thanks for your patience

Dave

[Doug Sawatzky]

3 hours ago, DaveRuk said:

Just to be sure I presume the target you mean for reinstalling Orbx Library would be E:\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4\ORBX (Orbx Root in Sim.png)

 

Hi Dave

 

I think we may have a slight misunderstanding, I meant to ask you to uninstall and reinstall only the Orbx Libraries, not the Library full of products....there is the specific product called "Orbx Libraries" this is the only item I had wished for you to move, and the E:\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4\ORBX would be the correct location to reinstall to.

[DaveRuk]

3 minutes ago, Doug Sawatzky said:

 

Hi Dave

 

I think we may have a slight misunderstanding, I meant to ask you to uninstall and reinstall only the Orbx Libraries, not the Library full of products....there is the specific product called "Orbx Libraries" this is the only item I had wished for you to move, and the E:\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4\ORBX would be the correct location to reinstall to.

 

3 minutes ago, Doug Sawatzky said:

 

Hi Dave

 

I think we may have a slight misunderstanding, I meant to ask you to uninstall and reinstall only the Orbx Libraries, not the Library full of products....there is the specific product called "Orbx Libraries" this is the only item I had wished for you to move, and the E:\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4\ORBX would be the correct location to reinstall to.

Ahh right Doug, so if I specifically uninstall Orbx Library using Central it will only target content in \Orbx library\p3d v4\orbx libraries, and all the other airports/regions will be left untouched within \orbx library\p3d v4\airport or region name subfolders?

 

if that’s right I’ve read too much into the folder naming and assumed incorrectly, but I’m learning more with each step you are helping me on!

 

cheers

Dave

[Doug Sawatzky]

1 minute ago, DaveRuk said:

Ahh right Doug, so if I specifically uninstall Orbx Library using Central it will only target content in \Orbx library\p3d v4\orbx libraries, and all the other airports/regions will be left untouched within \orbx library\p3d v4\airport or region name subfolders?

 

Yes, this is correct.

[DaveRuk]

6 minutes ago, Doug Sawatzky said:

 

Yes, this is correct.

Thanks so much, I’ll give that a go! 

[DaveRuk]

Thanks for all your suggestions Doug, which I think I've followed as advised, but I've just completed a trip to EGNX and "the thing" is still there!

If there's anything else I can check I'm happy to do that, but it's looking elusive right now!

 

thanks

Dave

[Doug Sawatzky]

Hmmm it is bizarre....maybe try cycling the P3D autogen and complexity setting sliders back and forth and resetting the scenery at different settings and see what happens.  

[DaveRuk]

I’m thinking I must have some permutation going on here that hasn’t been encountered in testing, When I noticed the config options for EGNX weren’t the same as my other Orbx products, I thought I was onto something but referring to the user guide, I see that’s correct. For a moment on descent, I thought it was ok, but around the FAF I zoomed the view from the VC and there it was, grr! Still perplexed why it’s not there if I start a session at EGNX though.
 

In terms of sim settings I followed the guide, which has always given good results for my other Orbx purchases, but will have a play. I’m unsure if tinkering can be done dynamically, whilst the issue is visible but may give that a try too. Next step has to be uninstall via Central and give it another go, with the changed approach to library as per your suggestion,. Failing that I may nuke all airport/region addons, install all bar Orbx, then reinstall from Global Base through regions to airports maybe.

 

You’ve been very helpful and I’ve picked up some knowledge along the way and I thank you for that. Had some ideas lined up for more Orbx sale goodness but unsure how to progress now. That said this is the first glitch I’ve had with my Orbx addons.

 

thanks again 

Dave

[Doug Sawatzky]

Thanks Dave

 

Although I wish I could be more helpful.

 

I have read about scenarios where users have just moved the sliders from one side to the other and experienced positive results, and yes you can do this on the fly dynamically and see the changes with P3Dv4, which did required a restart of the sim in the previous versions and with FSX.

 

I have blown up my sim many times intentionally and unintentionally all in the name of learning and testing,  and my experience keeps getting better, and yes unfortunately it is a fact that with all the different players including the core simulator developers continuously moving the goal posts and changing the rules it is not surprising to me anymore that we will always encounter strange anomalies that affect some or one but not all that make no sense or have no easy answer. But I am sure at some point it will work out, there are many others looking at this post and hopefully something may soon come to light.  

 

 

[DaveRuk]

Hello again Doug, and Happy New Year.
Since our last exchange I've rebuilt my sim from scratch.

I thought I had made progress in that EGNX was ok (!) and EGLC was fine, apart from one oddity - if I used the configurator to deselect the TrueEarth GB South (opting for Global Base which I do have), it put sections underwater. Reverting back to the TEGB selection fixed that.

I've been testing each airport I have and all was well until tonight just before touchdown @ LOWI where a wall of scenery appeared just outside the cockpit.

I think I still have scenery order issues, some of which may be the result of well meaning pointers from a sim friend - who recommended I install Orbx products first, Global, Regions, then airports, followed by non-Orbx products.

Up till then I had rather been thinking the other way around... install all my 3rd party stuff, then use Central to define the Orbx insertion point as last 3rd party.

Apart from Global Base, which I now know does its own thing, I opted to put all my Orbx product in an external library.

Looking at the resulting scenery library I don't think it's right. I have a lot of Orbx airports at the top then a mix of Orbx and 3rd party content much of which does not allow movement in the library. If more detail is needed I can provide some screen shots, but that's the overview.
 

If you could offer guidance on the following I'd be grateful:

 

-Using Central, and the Insertion Point, are changes made there only applicable to scenery yet to be installed, or if I change the Insertion Point in consideration of "last 3rd party", will Central restructure the existing library for me?

-If the above is not possible, would uninstalling all my Orbx again (leaving Global Base and 3rd party content only), followed by setting Insertion Point to "last 3rd party" ensure that reinstallation of my Orbx Regions and Airports should then work out ok?

Referring to your guidance on Insertion Point, I don't have Orbx Global OpenLC, just Global Base, so don't know if the selection there has any relevance to my products.

One day I'll get there.. I hope!

kind regards
Dave

[Doug Sawatzky]

Hi Dave

 

It is my understanding that any scenery installed outside the simulator via .xml method can not be and does not require to be ordered in a specific way, and only items that are installed in the simulator root folder are relevant to the insertion point tool.

 

I have chosen to keep as much scenery as possible installed in my simulator root folder so I have not tested this theory to be certain. Also as general rule of thumb, the order of installing products (especially via .xml) does not matter, other than the logical installing of base and global products first usually makes sense.

[Stewart Hobson]

3 hours ago, Doug Sawatzky said:

It is my understanding that any scenery installed outside the simulator via .xml method can not be and does not require to be ordered in a specific way,

This is my understanding as well, and I can confirm that this is indeed the case.  The important phrase is "...via .xml method".

[DaveRuk]

Thanks for the replies gents. XML is not something I have used consciously, and in all honesty I’m at a level where I just want addons to install simply, and to get on with each other. If a product uses xml behind the scenes of an installer perhaps I just want it to do its job cleanly.

 

What would you suggest regarding the 2 Orbx issues I’ve encountered? Obviously I’m delighted that EGNX has improved but what can you  suggest regarding:

-EGLC, where selecting the Global Base option in the configurator results in sections going underwater. This one is not so important as I’ve fixed it but don’t follow why the wrong setting improved it

-LOWI, where vertical walls of scenery appear on approach, making it unusable

 

would it be sensible to uninstall those and reinstall after defining an insertion point below 3rd party content perhaps?

 

indeed regarding the insertion point, if I removed all Orbx then reset insertion to the “below last 3rd party” rule, and reloaded my Orbx, should that help here (?) then if I added further 3rd party at some point, revisit the insertion point setting each time to update insertion point taking into account that non Orbx addition?

As I’ve said before I don’t mind putting the time in but I’m frustrated that I’m not getting the results I hoped for, and feel I must be doing something wrong. I’ll add scenery library shots later in case that offers an insight to a simple mistake I’ve made. 
 

hope you can help

Regards

Dave

 

 

 

 

 

[DaveRuk]

Hi Doug

Sorry I can't edit my edit previous posts (I think) so I am adding to the thread here. Apologies for long post due to screen shots, but I can't expect help without providing what I hope is helpful information.

 

My current scenery library listing is included and I also include a screen capture of the issue that has arisen at LOWI, and an example of EGLC when Global Base is selected in the config tool.  On other occasions the taxiways at the runway edge have been totally submerged.

I'd value your thoughts on this, and if I've got it horribly wrong, suggestions as to best approach to sort things out. I don't mind the time, but clearly this is an area I am struggling with, and not getting the best from my products as a result. Equally if my experience helps others then that's great too. Sim config is a complex beast and I am sure others can learn from my experiences too

 

My install approach as follows:
-Orbx Global Base
-Orbx Regions
-Orbx airports
-3rd party airports

As I said, this was using the install to external library option, so everything bar Global Base is installed in E:\Orbx Library\p3dv4\product subfolder
 

This was largely based on the suggestion made to me, being advised that Central would sort things out, and I was anticipating that 3rd parties would install to the top of the list and would then set the Insertion Point, once done, ready for future additions.
 

Steps I am considering, in case my library setup is incorrect and further problems await:
1 Verify LOWI to see if that fixes the approach issue
2 Reinstall LOWI, not to external library, but the "in-sim" option instead
3 If 2 works, consider removing all Orbx except Global, which can't be done, and reinstall all to "in-sim"
4 If 3 works, then set Orbx Central Insertion Point to last 3rd party addon, ready for any future additions.

5 any ideas you can suggest!

 

I've even considered trying one of the 3rd party addon organisers, but fear that may complicate things further, and really hope I've overlooked something simple, but obvious, even if time consuming to carry out.

Kind regards

Dave


 

[Doug Sawatzky]

Hi Dave

 

I had previously advised you to install the Orbx Libraries item into your root sim folder, but I see you have reinstalled them to the external location using the .xml method. Please uninstall them and reinstall them to the root simulator folder named ORBX (please see our above #17/18 posts).

Then reset your insertion point using the #29 item called PortoSantoXevolution as your last non Orbx 3rd party entry.

The items that are grayed out are items that have been installed via .xml in an external library and can not be moved, but can be deactivated from the addons menu.

The items that are not grayed out with a blue check mark are the items that are installed in your simulator root folder, these are the only items relevant to the insertion point tool.

 

For EGLC , yes I would do a full uninstall and reinstall of the airport, this usually fixes control panel issues. But first please put the Orbx Libs in the correct location

For LOWI, I would also do a full uninstall and reinstall of the airport. But first please put the Orbx Libs in the correct location

[DaveRuk]

Hi Doug

many thanks for your guidance. I will take that approach and and update!

 

kind regards 

Dave

[nigelgrant]

I have EGLC and TrueEarth South v2 in P3Dv4, and I too think I am having the same problem with airborne structure components at EGLC.

Starting a flight at EGLC, everything looks fine.  But when I fly into EGLC from elsewhere, there are lots of structures? in mid-air, see attached screen shots.

Libraries are up to date, I have re-installed EGLC, there are no add-on sceneries below the ORBx sceneries except for FreeMesh-X Europe and ORBx HD buildings, no stray copies of EGLC and I think only one copy of ObjectFlow2. Basically the Sim is running well and I am a bit lost as to what to try next.

Nigel

Vancouver

[DaveRuk]

Hello Doug
An update..good news, mostly!

 

I followed your last suggestions, by uninstalling the Library, LOWI and EGLC.
I then set Insertion Point to last 3rd party airport, and installed the Library to sim folders, then reinstalled LOWI/EGLC as previous, to the external library location my other Orbx airports use.

 

LOWI still had issues with that vertical scenery on short final (nowhere to be seen, approaching the rabbits, it was literally on getting to the runway boundary, then boom!).

I then decided to uninstall LOWI again, and go for in sim folders. I think that's sorted it

Returning to the odd config behaviour of EGLC, I decided to put that in the same location, hey you never know.

However, on selecting the Global Base option in the configurator, it became nasty, with water where it should not be. Using the configurator once more, and telling it I had TE installed, normal service seems to be resumed, quite odd!

 

I've also returned to the start of my woes, EGNX, and have just landed there (badly, the weather was horrible! ) and the approach is a joy, no airborne bits of building any more!

 

So it took a lot of effort, and a lot of support from yourself, but I think I've got there despite not understanding what EGLC is doing.

Huge thanks are due to you for your patience and guidance, it is hugely appreciated!

 

kind regards
Dave

[nigelgrant]

I think I have found the culprit at EGLC -if I disable the ORBx HD Buildings, everything shows correctly.  But I suspect the  HD Buildings are layered incorrectly, they are down near the bottom amongst my different mesh scenery layers, should the HD Buildings not be up beside the ORBx library layerÉ. I would appreciate if somebody could clarify this for me.

 

 

 

However there is maybe another anomaly, just before RWY 09 there is a white and red lattice mast which is close to the glide path, see attached picture -  is this correctÉ (Sorry  I cannot show question marks since É  is what shows and I would need to reboot my machine to correct it and lose my text!)

 

Of interest, I tried my test flight into EGLC using FTXEngland instead of TrueEarth - there is absolutely no comparison, I am sold on True Earth, and its performance in fact might have been slightly better!

 

Nigel

Vancouver

[Nick Cooper]

Hello Nigel,

If installed outside P3D, the HD Buildings entry is indeed well down the scenery library.

Google Earth does not show that mast.

You can avail yourself of Google Earth here