This is book 2 in the X-Plane 12 Handbook series.
In it, I focus on the topic of scenery in X-Plane 12. If you are looking to enhance the appearance of the scenery outside the cockpit, then I believe this book is a must-read. X-Plane 12 already has many freeware and payware scenery packages available, but how do you know which ones to choose and if they are payware, whether they are worth the investment? This is where my book comes in handy.
I’ve created an e-book that features a small interactive slide-show for each scenery mentioned. The slide-show compares the third-party scenery to the same view of the default scenery. Please note that the book only contains a scenery slide-show if the author has certified that it is compatible with X-Plane 12. I have ignored any scenery that has yet to be specifically updated for X-Plane 12. Once a scenery has been updated, it becomes a candidate for inclusion in this book.
By the very nature of this book, it is never finished – more and more 3rd party scenery (freeware, donationware, coffeeware and payware) is being published daily. As a result, the book will be updated every few months with new scenery packages being compared to the default. You need only purchase this book once – all future updates are free – simply re-download the book from your account at the store where you purchased it.
The book contains the following:
- 52x payware scenery comparison slide-shows – nearly every payware scenery available (that qualifies for inclusion).
- 64x freeware scenery comparison slideshows (There are many more excellent sceneries that I just haven’t been able to include here).
- 17x large-area payware comparison scenery slideshows.
- 2x ortho scenery comparison slideshows.
- 7x Simheaven X-World scenery comparison slideshows.
- Links to each scenery and links to associated videos and reviews.
- Links and complete installation instructions for all 37 scenery libraries mentioned in the book.
- A detailed discussion on the different kinds of scenery, how scenery works and how 3rd party sceneries are installed.
- Clear instructions on how to install each scenery library (some of them have very confusing installation methods. Hopefully, this book brings some order to the chaos.
- Instructions on how to set up symlinks to sceneries stored on other drives.
- And all sorts of little goodies.
This book is highly recommended for those who want to enhance the stock vanilla sceneries of X-Plane 12. It contains a lot of useful information and is the third major update of Book 2-Scenery in the X-Plane 12 Handbook series. In this latest update, there are 353 pages, which is nearly double the amount of scenery comparisons than the original Version 1.0 release. Each slide-show comparison takes up two pages.
The book focuses specifically on the subject of scenery in X-Plane 12. If you want to improve the appearance of the scenery outside of the cockpit, this book is essential. There are various freeware and payware scenery packages available that are already approved to work with X-Plane 12. However, it can be challenging to decide which package to download or purchase and whether the difference compared to the default scenery is worth it. This e-book provides you with the necessary information to make an informed decision..
I have built the book to contain a small interactive slideshow for each scenery mentioned here – each slide-show compares the 3rd party scenery to the exact same view of the default scenery.
Most payware scenery packages currently available (as at March 2024) that passes my requirements have their own included slideshow!
Although there are many freeware slideshows included, there are now so many freeware sceneries available that is quite impossible to include a slideshow for each one.
The book only contains a scenery slide-show if the scenery has been explicitly certified by the author to be X-Plane 12 compatible. While thousands of sceneries are available for earlier versions of X-Plane (and may or may not work correctly), I have ignored any scenery that has yet to be specifically updated/explicitly made for X-Plane 12. Once a scenery has been updated and declared X-Plane 12 compatible, it becomes a candidate for inclusion in this book.
By the very nature of this book, it is never finished – more and more 3rd party scenery (freeware, donationware, coffeeware and payware) is being published daily. As a result, the book will be updated every few months with new scenery packages being compared to the default. You need only purchase this book once – all future updates are free – simply re-download it.
This book’s intention is to grow to become a master 3rd party scenery reference for all “usable” and “affordable” scenery packages certified for X-Plane 12.
Remember, updates are free.
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