External add-ons that don't work in Win 10/11?

[Skywatcher12]

I've resolved every FS9 Win 10/11 issue I know of.
I'm basically out of long term projects.

Does anyone know of any external programs for FS9 that don't function properly under Win 10/11?
Please don't not include weather programs or anything that is not functioning because the online aspect has been shut down. 
There is nothing that can be done for things like that.

[chris_eve]

Not sure if it comes under your remit, but SceneGenX under W10 now gives "Run-time Error '380' : Invalid Property Value" when trying to create a new scenery, probably after a recent W10 update, but I'm not sure which one.

I had a hard-drive crash a couple of weeks ago, (fortunately all my data was backed up), but I'm still re-installing all my programs after re-installing and updating W10 on a new drive ... my PC is unsuitable for upgrading to W11, apparently 

Having established I could still load, edit and re-save existing files, I've figured a crude work-around by creating a "dummy" file, which I can load and re-edit to suit, but if you fancy a challenge, being able to operate "normally" would be a bonus  

[Skywatcher12]

5 hours ago, chris_eve said:

Not sure if it comes under your remit, but SceneGenX under W10 now gives "Run-time Error '380' : Invalid Property Value" when trying to create a new scenery, probably after a recent W10 update, but I'm not sure which one.

I had a hard-drive crash a couple of weeks ago, (fortunately all my data was backed up), but I'm still re-installing all my programs after re-installing and updating W10 on a new drive ... my PC is unsuitable for upgrading to W11, apparently 

Having established I could still load, edit and re-save existing files, I've figured a crude work-around by creating a "dummy" file, which I can load and re-edit to suit, but if you fancy a challenge, being able to operate "normally" would be a bonus  

I'll check it out. No time frame but seems like it shouldn't be impossible to fix.
There should be quite a few issues with add-ons but FS2004 today has few users and so many run relatively simple add-ons so you rarely read about complaints.
Either that or they just accept problems as being "how it is."

[chris_eve]

On 3/27/2024 at 5:13 AM, Skywatcher12 said:

I'll check it out. No time frame but seems like it shouldn't be impossible to fix.
There should be quite a few issues with add-ons but FS2004 today has few users and so many run relatively simple add-ons so you rarely read about complaints.
Either that or they just accept problems as being "how it is."

Hope I haven't sent you on too much of a "wild goose chase", but when similar symptoms occurred with another (old) application I performed a re-install and the problems went away!

I'm guessing there was some kind of DLL or OCX registration that got "broke" during an update and needed to be reinstated.

I'm familiar with using regsvr32 from an elevated Command Prompt to register files, if I know which file is required, unfortunately there wasn't any indication in the error message as to which module was causing the problem.

These things happen

[Skywatcher12]

11 hours ago, chris_eve said:

Hope I haven't sent you on too much of a "wild goose chase", but when similar symptoms occurred with another (old) application I performed a re-install and the problems went away!

I'm guessing there was some kind of DLL or OCX registration that got "broke" during an update and needed to be reinstated.

I'm familiar with using regsvr32 from an elevated Command Prompt to register files, if I know which file is required, unfortunately there wasn't any indication in the error message as to which module was causing the problem.

These things happen

If it works on my system won't be much I could probably do.
Win 10/11 can cause so many issues and those issues can be very dependent on the users specific system.
There are things that have broken under Win 10/11 for everyone, these can likely be fixed.

[Skywatcher12]

Is there a download link for the last version of SceneGenX anywhere?

[chris_eve]

7 hours ago, Skywatcher12 said:

Is there a download link for the last version of SceneGenX anywhere?

As far as I'm aware these are the final iterations of SceneGenX ... if I remember correctly they were never actually released!

I struggled to find these very many years ago ... take good care of them

SceneGenX Distribution.zip SceneGenX Update for FSX.Zip

[ViperPilot2]

2 hours ago, chris_eve said:

As far as I'm aware these are the final iterations of SceneGenX ... if I remember correctly they were never actually released!

I struggled to find these very many years ago ... take good care of them

SceneGenX Distribution.zip 13 MB · 2 downloads SceneGenX Update for FSX.Zip 7.21 MB · 0 downloads

 

Chris,

 

I'm still using W7 64 bit... would Scene Gen X be an adequate Scenery generator for a rank amateur like me if all I wanted to do was create something like single grass or asphalt Strips with maybe 1 or 2 small buildings? You helped me with FS9 Scenery before, and I value your guidance... 

[chris_eve]

13 minutes ago, ViperPilot2 said:

 

Chris,

 

I'm still using W7 64 bit... would Scene Gen X be an adequate Scenery generator for a rank amateur like me if all I wanted to do was create something like single grass or asphalt Strips with maybe 1 or 2 small buildings? You helped me with FS9 Scenery before, and I value your guidance... 

SceneGenX is exactly what I used (and still use) to generate my "Private Strips", "Irish Airstrips" and "100 Irish Runways" (all uploaded here) plus a whole hatful of other bits and pieces, many originally under XP 32-bit, so W7 64-bit should be no issue

The guy who wrote SceneGenX was previously responsible for the "Airport for Windows" programs for the earlier versions of FS, so he had a good idea of what he was doing!

I do have the advantage of using EZ-Scenery for building and object placement, once the airport layout is completed, which really speeds things up, but SceneGenX can do object placement, as can some other programs, which I've not bothered to familiarise myself with.

One feature SceneGenX incorporates, possibly uniquely, is the ability to generate "default" buildings from scratch. These are relatively low detail and very low performance-hit, great for an industrial estate or military barracks where you may want dozens of similar buildings - see attached Catterick and Longtown facilities, shown here in the UKVFR photo scenery.

As with many shareware programs, SceneGenX can be a bit "quirky" in places ... it always was "in development", but I got to grips with it quite readily and have never felt the need to use anything else.

If you're not working on photo scenery, I'd also suggest getting to grips with sBuilder, which can do a really nice job of generating airport backgrounds that blend in well with the surrounding scenery as well as creating very impressive fencing and a few other tricks

 

Enjoy!

[Skywatcher12]

7 hours ago, chris_eve said:

As far as I'm aware these are the final iterations of SceneGenX ... if I remember correctly they were never actually released!

I struggled to find these very many years ago ... take good care of them

SceneGenX Distribution.zip 13 MB · 4 downloads SceneGenX Update for FSX.Zip 7.21 MB · 0 downloads

Thanks Chris.

I've just tried it and clicking new and loading the Example.sgx,  I'm not getting any errors on Win 11.
Let me know if there is something else specific I need to do to bring on the error?

I also noticed you mention you can't upgrade to Win 11 due to your PC not being compatible.
Unless it's quite old, many users simply have to enable TPM and then Win 11 can be installed.
Article on this below if you want to take a look:

https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/how-to-fix-this-pc-cant-run-windows-11-error-tpm-and-secure-boot/

[chris_eve]

32 minutes ago, Skywatcher12 said:

Thanks Chris.

I've just tried it and clicking new and loading the Example.sgx,  I'm not getting any errors on Win 11.
Let me know if there is something else specific I need to do to bring on the error?

I also noticed you mention you can't upgrade to Win 11 due to your PC not being compatible.
Unless it's quite old, many users simply have to enable TPM and then Win 11 can be installed.
Article on this below if you want to take a look:

https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/how-to-fix-this-pc-cant-run-windows-11-error-tpm-and-secure-boot/

I was only getting the problem before I updated several other programs, at least one of which I suspect uses the same modules as SceneGenX, so once they were re-installed/re-enabled the problems went away for both programs ... so now, of course, I can't generate the errors, neither am I sure of which program rectified the issue 

All part of the hassle of having to find and install all the apps I had on the old drive before it crashed ... fortunately my data is on a separate disk and regularly backed up to external devices

As for the TPM, my HP Z230 is over seven years old, it was Windows 7 when purchased ... I retired seven years ago and bought the machine before then. It only has TPM 1.3 (I think) which is enabled. I did look into it but having found I needed TPM 2 I didn't look any further. No big deal, W10 runs out of support next year so I'll probably need a replacement machine anyway 

[Skywatcher12]

12 minutes ago, chris_eve said:

I was only getting the problem before I updated several other programs, at least one of which I suspect uses the same modules as SceneGenX, so once they were re-installed/re-enabled the problems went away for both programs ... so now, of course, I can't generate the errors, neither am I sure of which program rectified the issue 

 

Ok, this points to what I was already thinking. Glad it's all sorted for you!
You possibly needed a Visual C++ Runtime and the later program took care of this for you allowing SceneGenX to function normally again.
If running old software, the Visual C++ Runtimes are often required or all sorts of issues can occur without warning.
You may wish to download and save the all-in-one installer below to cover yourself in the future.
I have them all installed on my machine.

https://www.techpowerup.com/download/visual-c-redistributable-runtime-package-all-in-one/