NOTE: All files contained herein are to remain FREEWARE. Absolutely no portion of this upload is to be used for the purposes of profit. Anyone wishing to redistribute, or modify for the purposes of redistribution, any file contained herein, must contact the originator(s) for permission beforehand.
***Please note that, although the files contained within have been thoroughly tested, I cannot be held responsible for any problems or damages resulting from your decision to use any part of this folder, whether having followed the above instructions or otherwise.***
Thank you for downloading my Edmonton scenery addon for FS9 (FS2004). Edmonton is located in Alberta, Canada, the sixth Canadian city to have a population of 1 million (including outlying areas). Edmonton is home to CYXD, an active airport used mostly for private flying and some charter business. Scheduled airline flights are run out of CYEG, approximately 30 minutes driving time, southwest of the city. This project took 15 months to complete, with the goal being a realistic representation of the city, including everything that would be seen from the sky. The reasons for this are threefold: (1) as mentioned, CYXD is located near downtown Edmonton, hence the skyline is very obvious when flying around this airport; (2) West Edmonton Mall, due to it's sheer size, is visible from nearly any altitude and at great distances, and this prompted me to include other major buildings that would also be visible for the sake of consistency; (3) it's my hometown and a great place to live.
Although software programs were employed that are compatible with FS2002, the files have not been tested accordingly, and I cannot verify whether the desired results will be obtained. If you have added my earlier West Edmonton Mall scenery, this will need to be deleted. If other addon scenery has been installed (with the exception of Canada Roads by Joel Gill), it is unknown whether any scenery conflicts may arise.
On with it - here's how to install:
(1) Unzip/extract the downloaded file to a temporary location (e.g., desktop).
(2) Open the folder named COPY INTO SCENERY-CITIES FOLDER. Cut/copy the folder contained within, namely Edmonton, and paste it into your Sceneries>Cities folder within FS9 (e.g., the location of default cities, such as Atlanta, Chicago, Heathrow, Hongkong). You will most likely need to then activate the Edmonton file in FS9. To do so, with FS9 open, click on SETTINGS and then SCENERY LIBRARY. In the next screen, click ADD AREA and then navigate to the location of the Edmonton folder. You may need to check the box upon returning to the former screen, however I believe if an area is added it adds a check automatically.
(3) OPTIONAL STEP - Open the folder named COPY INTO ADDON SCENERY FOLDER. Copy the two .bgl files into your Addon Scenery folder, within FS9. These two files are AFCAD modifications to both CYXD and CYEG, reconfiguring some aircraft parking areas only.
Once you start FS9 again, you should be prompted that scenery files are being updated. Then you will be ready to enjoy your new scenery!
A few things to consider:
- Because of the number of .bgl files (200) and texture files (355), this project has become quite a frame-rate hog. I make no apologies for this, as the intent was to create something that captures the feel of the real thing. Measures have been taken to reduce the number of polys, and use textures instead of multiple parts where possible; however, the overall scale of the additions will have a noticeable impact on the performance of most any computer.
- Some suggestions to aid performance: try turning off all shadows, reduce cloud detail, and limit the amount of AI traffic.
- I have found that, upon loading the sim intially, it takes a very long time to boot up; after reloading a few flights in the Edmonton area, it seems to boot up quicker, and fly smoother.
Features:
- Reflective buildings, particularly the downtown towers, do display a reflective quality once you get fairly close to them.
- In addition to Edmonton proper, the refineries and outlying towns have a generic representation as well. Among the latter are included the following: Fort Saskatchewan, Sherwood Park, St-Albert, Stony Plain, Spruce Grove, Devon, Nisku and Leduc.
The latter is located just east of Runway 30 at CYEG. Major roads throughout Edmonton are represented, as well as Highway 2 all the way to Calgary. The hill at the west end of Runway 10 at CYYC has also been modified, with the Highway running underneath it.
- Special night-lighting effects include "neon" (e.g., the Holiday Inn on Gateway Boulevard, and the Muttart Conservatory), and if flying during late-evening in summertime, you will notice lighting effects at the Commonwealth Stadium and Telus Field.
- I did not pattern this scenery based on satellite or any other maps, but rather added everything by eyeballing it, and using photos. Some items therefore may not appear exactly where they should (down to 1 meter accuracy). The idea was to create a representation that has a "feel" for the city, and hopefully this has been accomplished.
Any comments or questions are welcome, my e-mail address is bsturton@telusplanet.net
