Book on Programming Flight Sim 2004 and Flight Sim X

Hello, my name is Paul, I am new and very inexperienced at using forums, so if I am not going about this properly my apologies. I want to know if there are any books about the programming or how to program FS9 and FSX? I want to learn how it all works and start learning how to manipulate, change and/or upgarde the programs, and how to create aircraft, scenery. AI etc? So if anyone can tell me if there are actually book on how to do this I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you

Wow! You're new. Welcome to the forums.

As to "Programming" FS9 and FSX, did you mean changing the root software? Like, say, FSX.EXE? If so, I hope you're a darn good programmer in, I believe it is, C++. And the executable are rather large. Lotsa coding there to work through. VERY long learning curve indeed. And remember, I think they're still under copyright to Microsoft.

Making scenery is actually not as hard as one might think, with the right software. I believe there is a tutorial on it around the forums someplace.

Making aircraft is a horse of a different color, and I am not certain, but you may need payware to create the .mdl file, which is the basis of any aircraft. I would go to the MSFS Developers Forum, located HERE, for more detailed info on every aspect of aircraft, as well as scenery, effects, sounds, and so on, creation and development. You are talking a long, involved process, though. Aircraft take a little to make operate CORRECTLY. IE: in a realistic manner. Just creating the special instruments for that particular plane is an entire discipline in and of it's self.

NOW, if you just mean how do I make the sims work/look/sound/fly better, that's is a an entirely different animal. Hamster, I believe :) Determine your particular questions, and feel free to ask them in the appropriate forum.

Or, to give you a short(er) answer, I don't think there's a single book that covers everything. Especially the root executables of the sims. Those are still under copyright to Microsoft, and they aren't telling...

Not real helpful, but the best I can do. Maybe someone around here can give a better answer. Not to mention any particular names :D

Pat☺

The software architecture of FS9 and FSX was designed as a simulator core platform with attached SDK and API. And that SDK and API are what you use to expand the core through modelling and/or programmatically.

Be careful with all those (paper) books out there, quite a few of them are nothing more than a reiteration of the SDK documation. Depending on what you want to do you need different skillsets and different experience. If you want to build aircraft and scenery, you should have some background in 3D modelling and a basic understanding of how computer game graphics generally work. But to create sophisticated addons like aircraft systems, external weather engines, ATC programs etc. you need some background in programming (C++ is a must, C# is optional, plus software architecture, coding and testing methods) on top of knowledge about the simulator API (which again is already described in the SDK documentation).

The first "book" to check out would be the SDK documentation. You will find it for FSX right in the root folder of the SDK. It contains quite a lot about everything you want to know, how the tools have to be used and what you generally need to do to achieve what you want, including examples. The rest comes with months/years of experience.

On a side note: changing the simulator core in any meaningful way is impossible, unless you have the source code files, compiler and project structure. You will only get these if you pay Microsoft for full development and distribution rights - like Lockheed Martin and Dovetail Games did.

Perhaps the best thing to do as your "very first step" is to download a couple of sceneries and/or repaints to default aircraft and/or aircraft; all from here, and follow their installation procedures. That will give you a fabulous start in understanding the file and folder structures and how to incorporate new entities into them.

You will need to be very skilled in this before you start rolling your own, which of course you would add the same way. Because when you make you own, obviously, they are unlikely to come with installation guides :D

The learning curve is not particularly steep, but it can be rather long. But it can be extremely rewarding.

FS9 SDKs are archived here:

http://www.avsim.com/topic/383312-all-the-sdks-fs2004-available-here/

They include the bgl language compiler and component specifics with examples. Some FS9 components specifically gauges may be programmed in XML as well as C and C++.

Look through the various SDKs to get an idea of the "flow" of things via the documentation sample code.

Thankfully there are freeware and payware construction kits to reduce the need of high level language programming.

For FSX the SDK was part of the Gold FSX package. The SDKs were not completely included in the Steam FSX Gold edition released by Dovetail Games.

Remember it took a team (called Microsoft ACES) of specialists where design genres were divided among its members. Trying to do it all is a very huge task and requires multiple specialties.

First off thank you all for responding, but I think I didn't ask properly what the information was that I am looking for. I do NOT want to reprogram the simulator, just understand how to use or understand some of the info and perameters, like what are all the entries that can be put in the aircraft config file like when you add the text to activate a new livery in an aircraft, when you get it from people that have made them already there seems to be discrepancies or some have more perameters in the the list than others, so I want a book or information to understand how it all works, not to really reprogram it. Over the last ten years I have learned to install new aircraft, scenery, AI aircraft and make flightplans already, so can anyone tell me where in the programs this info can be found or which books might help with this. Also and this is probably off topic, but how do you find where there are Flight Sim Conventions if any to go to, I live in Toronto Canada, or Flight Sim Clubs in my area perhaps.

Thank you all again

Paul

First off thank you all for responding, but I think I didn't ask properly what the information was that I am looking for. I do NOT want to reprogram the simulator, just understand how to use or understand some of the info and perameters, like what are all the entries that can be put in the aircraft config file like when you add the text to activate a new livery in an aircraft, when you get it from people that have made them already there seems to be discrepancies or some have more perameters in the the list than others, so I want a book or information to understand how it all works, not to really reprogram it. Over the last ten years I have learned to install new aircraft, scenery, AI aircraft and make flightplans already, so can anyone tell me where in the programs this info can be found or which books might help with this. Also and this is probably off topic, but how do you find where there are Flight Sim Conventions if any to go to, I live in Toronto Canada, or Flight Sim Clubs in my area perhaps.

 

Thank you all again

 

Paul

As previous posters were saying, the information and details you are looking for are in the FS9 and FSX SDKs (software development kits). The included documentation has the details.

I assume you run both FS9 and FSX? If so, can you say why you want to learn certain aspects of two very similar FS apps?

As you probably know, FSX is an updated version, with slightly better graphics, more sophisticated freeware and payware aircraft and scenery, among other improvements.

There is NO book. You learn by doing. Getting in the airplane and doing it is how you learn. Of course there is the SDK. But you need to learn the terminology. Without it you won't understand any of it.

So you want to model, eh? Tell us your specs please (ie: CPU speed, video card model, ram, etc). Then expect to be visiting FltSim site's forums, and reading for hours, to get specific information on topc 'XYZ'. From there you do 'trial-n-error' (for hours daily). Then 10 years down the road you can help some other 'super ambitious' simmer that wants to jump into the deep end but doesn't even know how to swim yet. The Sims are meant to be FUN. But it takes a lot of work to 'be happy' doing it. Good luck.

Chuck B

Napamule

Since no one else mentioned it, here's my advice...

ALWAYS back up any changes that you make to a *.cfg file. Two ways to do it easily:

1. Copy the original file, and paste it back in the same folder. Windows will give it a 'copy' name.

2. When editing the file, anything after "//" is ignored by the program. You can copy an entire line, paste it in below the original, and prefix one with "//". Edit the other. Or, you can edit the value of one parameter and keep the prior value after //.

Nadlzfw