Trouble understanding SAMM

I am having trouble grasping the high level concepts of adding static aircraft using SAMM. No problems creating a .mdl file and even compiling a .bgl file. Not quite sure of how to place the static aircraft at an airport. Simply adding the .bgl file to the Addon Scenery folder did not work. The compile step included adding the latitude and longitude and altitude which I found on the map view in FSX. I am running FSX Steam edition and really liking it since it runs real smooth with scenery settings a the highest settings.

 

The SAMM user guide spends a lot of time explaining the differences between FSX and FS9 and mixing up aircraft between the two. I just simply found an FSX/SE plane, created the .mdl file of it, compiled it to a .bgl file and placed in the addon scenery in FSX. I was even able to view the aircraft using ModelconverterX. I feel I am missing something very basic in the high level concept of creating the files and placing them in FS. Maybe I need a pointer to some basic instruction that I cannot seem to find. I am not really interested (at least not yet) in installing AI traffic with the World of AI installer.

 

Would appreciate any help..........Thanks.......Jerry

I use SAMM, and it appears to me that you are omitting a step. Once you have made a plane you then make a library, and this can be made on the same window where you have just made a plane. A library can include more than one plane. You then need a scenery-making programme, and I use SceneryGenX (there are others, ADE9 for instance) and with that I can install a library object, selecting the plane from the library and positioning it within GenX. I could also position an mdl object, come to think of it, but the text format for the library object is simpler to make. The point is you need a scenery-making programme to position an object.

Thanks for the tip. Really Appreciate it. I have been omitting the Library Step because I was able to get another plane on my airport by simply adding a .bgl file into Addon Scenery and its texture into the texture folder. (not so lucky with my DC-3 / nothing but a black shell). Been trying to use the .bgl and texture files built by SAMM. I found the SAMM discussion about Libraries very confusing and I tried to avoid it since I only intend to add two or three aircraft and the term library seemed to imply a way to manage a large number of objects.

 

I will change my tack and try including the library step again and investigate the scenery making programs you mention. I guess I thought SAMM was a scenery making program. Still trying to learn the terminology....:) Thanks again.....Jerry

Well... Still no luck..... wasting Hours..... well maybe I'm learning things.. I installed ADE and really like the way I can open up my airport and see where everything goes. Went back to SAMM and included the library step and I can make all kinds of .bgl files and texture files. I've tried putting those files in my own folders as well as creating and compiling right into the Addon Scenery files. I feel like I have compiled a new airport project and have been able to place .bgl objects in it, but still cannot get anything to appear in FSX. I'm beginning to wonder of the Steam edition of FSX supports these addons. I have had no trouble adding magascenenery Earth files like Arizona or Colorado. Those products give me a folder with (scenery and texture subfolders) Adding that folder (including subfolders) in the Addon Scenery Folder, shows up in the list when I add an 'Area' (like Colorado) in the scenery library in FSX. It seems to me that should be able to create a folder named 'myairport' under Addon Scenery and be able to add the .bgl file created by my ADE program to a Scenery older under that and then add the 'myairport' as a new area and place it high in the priority and access it in FSX. I have read articles about being 'connected' between ADE and FSX. Is that the thing I am missing perhaps.....?? It just seems that adding an airport should be as easy as adding an Area. like any other bgl......... really frustrating and I know that when i discover the problem, I will see that I have been staring at it all along...:) Still determined but stepping away for a bit...........

The following thread turned into a guide on using ADE. Its for someone using fs2004 but will work for fsx also.

https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?309198-Old-and-new-fresh-project-flight-simulator

 

And this post is about placing single objects. Applies to Steam in particular.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=437716297

Thanks for the tips. The first one above didn't quite appear to be a guide for ADE though. Still exploring. The second post appears to be very helpful. I did download the Scenery Shortcut from Abacus but so far have not been able to activate the 'Tools' item on the menu. I made the changes to the dll.xml file with no success. I do have the FSX Gold Boxed edition and have FSX running in the C: drive and have the FSX Steam edition running on the D: drive. I am thinking that I am having trouble altering the Path in the XML file to point at the SDK, or I have the wrong SDK somehow. Still reviewing all the information about this on the internet..... I still have hope....Jerry

I don't have time to really dive in and help, sorry.

Sidenote, The thread I linked (1) does have a lot of info about ADE. It started going that way around post 20 in there. He's also building a simulator, and that confused things a bit. But there's a lot of ADE info in there.