Building using CMake - Windows: Difference between revisions

From FlightGear wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(Added link to Qt offline download section.)
 
(61 intermediate revisions by 14 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Main article|Building Flightgear}}
{{Main article|Building FlightGear}}
This article is intended to give an overview of '''building FlightGear on modern Windows systems'''. It was created using Windows 10 and VS 2022. It ought to be transferable to earlier versions of the Windows OS and software.
 
As FlightGear is now 64-bit only, the guide only describes building on a 64-bit system.


== Required software ==
== Required software ==
* [http://www.cmake.org CMake GUI]
* [https://cmake.org/download/ CMake for Windows]. Download and install the Windows Win64-x64 Installer.
* [http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us/products/2010-editions/visual-cpp-express Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express] (MSVC)
* [https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/ Microsoft Visual Studio 2022] (MSVC). The Community version is free. There is no need for the premium versions; none of their features are required to build FlightGear. The C++ compiler will not be installed by default. You either choose this component during installation or after installation by starting MSVC and trying to create a new C++ project. The one to download is "Desktop Development with C++". Make sure to have the latest version of the Windows SDK for your Windows version and the C++ Compiler checked. As of 12/19/2023, the latest version of the compiler is "MSVC v143 - VS 2022 C++ x64/86 build tools".
* [http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8279 Microsoft Windows SDK] (only required for 64-bit builds)
* [https://www.qt.io/download-open-source/ Qt5] for the [[Integrated Qt5 Launcher]]. Download the online installer, and choose the version matching your toolchain of Visual Studio e.g. "Qt 5.15.2 --> MSVC 2019 64-bit". Any version past 5.9 will be fine; latest 5.x recommended. Leave the default Developer and Designer Tools selection - these are needed for coding and compiling. Otherwise, here is [https://www.qt.io/offline-installers Offline Qt Downloads] for the optional offline-installer versions of Qt.
: If you get an error during the installation of the SDK, try uninstalling MSVC first, then installing the SDK and finally re-installing MSVC.
* [https://git-scm.com/download/win Git] to keep your build up to date. It also simplifies downloads of components. Optional, but can't recommend it enough!


== Obtaining source ==
== Obtaining source ==
{{Main article|FlightGear and Git}}
{{Main article|FlightGear and Git}}
Throughout this article it is assumed that you've already set up git clones of the various source repositories (FlightGear, SimGear, data...).
Throughout this article it is assumed that you have set up git clones of the various source repositories (FlightGear, SimGear, data...).
Using an organized directory (see below) will help significantly.
 
The commands to run are:
 
{{code|git clone https://git.code.sf.net/p/flightgear/simgear simgear}}
 
{{code|git clone https://git.code.sf.net/p/flightgear/flightgear flightgear}}
 
{{code|git clone https://git.code.sf.net/p/flightgear/fgdata fgdata}}
 
{{code|git clone https://git.code.sf.net/p/flightgear/windows-3rd-party windows-3rd-party}}
 
{{code|git clone -b fgfs-osg-36-1 https://github.com/zakalawe/osg.git osg}}
 
{{caution| Cloning fgdata from SourceForge often fails. Therefore, we suggest you use a GitLab mirror repository. Instead of
 
{{code|git clone https://git.code.sf.net/p/flightgear/fgdata fgdata}}
 
call:


== Directory tree ==
{{code|git clone https://gitlab.com/flightgear/fgdata.git fgdata}}
On Windows, assumptions on the directory structure are made to automate the discovery of dependencies.


This recommended directory structure is described below. Clicking the links allows you to download pre-built parts (for 3rdParty, make sure to download the right bits version. You need only one of the zips.). If you do not use the recommended structure you will need to enter paths by hand. Source and build directories can be located anywhere.
and after downloaded all data:


'''If you get a login dialog on the ftp server listed above, this means that the max allowed users are reach. Please try a few minutes later.'''
<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
cd fgdata
git checkout next
git remote set-url origin https://git.code.sf.net/p/flightgear/fgdata
git pull
</syntaxhighlight>
}}
 
After downloading these, I would suggest assembling a folder structure as below:
 
== Directory Tree ==
On Windows, assumptions on the directory structure are made to automate the discovery of dependencies. This recommended directory structure is described below. The components can be downloaded from the links above. If you do not use the recommended structure you will need to enter paths by hand and some parts may not input correctly.
 
 
Caveat -- spaces in the directory names will cause errors. It is best to make sure there are no spaces in the path anywhere.


=== 32-bits ===
<tt>
<tt>
: ${MSVC_3RDPARTY_ROOT} /
: FlightGearBuild / </tt> (Main root directory) <tt>
:: [ftp://ftp.ihg.uni-duisburg.de/FlightGear/Win32/MSVC/ 3rdParty] / </tt> ( includes boost, plib, fltk, zlib, libpng, libjpeg, libtiff, freetype, libsvn, gdal, ... ) <tt>
:: fgdata / </tt> (FlightGear data files) <tt>
::: bin /
:: flightgear / </tt> (FlightGear sources) <tt>
::: include /
:: install / </tt> (Directory where you will install the built binaries to) <tt>
::: lib /
::: launch.bat / </tt> (launch script if desired, see below) <tt>
:: [http://www.boost.org/ boost_1_53_0] / </tt> (an old version is included in the 3rdParty package, latest version can be downloaded from http://www.boost.org/) <tt>
:: osg / </tt> (OSG sources) <tt>
::: boost /
:: simgear / </tt> (SimGear sources) <tt>
:: install /
:: windows-3rd-party /
::: msvc100 / </tt> ( for VS2010 32 bits, or msvc90 for VS2008 32-bits ) <tt>
:: build.bat / </tt> (build script, see below) <tt>
:::: [http://flightgear.simpits.org:8080/job/OSG-stable-Win/lastSuccessfulBuild/artifact/*zip*/archive.zip OpenSceneGraph] / </tt> ( OSG CMake install ) <tt>
:: update.bat / </tt> (update script, see below)
::::: bin /
::::: include /
::::: lib /
:::: SimGear / </tt> (create this empty for now, subfolders will be created by build process) <tt>
::::: include /
::::: lib /
:::: FlightGear / </tt> (create this empty for now) <tt>
::::: include /
::::: lib /</tt>


=== 64-bits ===
== Building ==
<tt>
=== Scripted Compilation ===
: ${MSVC_3RDPARTY_ROOT} /
This script will allow you to build OpenSceneGraph, SimGear and FlightGear automatically.
:: [ftp://ftp.ihg.uni-duisburg.de/FlightGear/Win32/MSVC/ 3rdParty.x64] /
::: bin /
{{collapsible script
::: include /
| type  = Windows batch file
::: lib /
| title  = The <code>build.bat</code> script for configuring and compiling OSG, SG, and FG
:: [http://www.boost.org/ boost_1_53_0] / </tt> (an old version is included in the 3rdParty package, latest version can be downloaded from http://www.boost.org/) <tt>
| lang  = batch
::: boost /
| script =
:: install /
SET PATH=%PATH%;%ProgramFiles%\CMake\bin
::: msvc100-64 / </tt> ( for VS2010 64-bits, or msvc90-64 for VS2008 64-bits ) <tt>
SET QT5SDK64=C:\Qt\5.15.2\msvc2019_64
:::: [http://flightgear.simpits.org:8080/job/OSG-stable-Win64/lastSuccessfulBuild/artifact/*zip*/archive.zip OpenSceneGraph] / </tt> ( OSG CMake install ) <tt>
SET CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN="Visual Studio 17 2022"
::::: bin /
SET ROOT_DIR=C:\path\to\FlightGearBuild
::::: include /
 
::::: lib /
md osg-build
:::: SimGear / </tt> (create this empty for now, subfolders will be created by build process) <tt>
md simgear-build
::::: include /
md flightgear-build
::::: lib /
 
:::: FlightGear / </tt> (create this empty for now) <tt>
cd %ROOT_DIR%\osg-build
::::: include /
 
::::: lib /</tt>
cmake  %ROOT_DIR%\osg -G  %CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN% -A x64 ^
                -DACTUAL_3RDPARTY_DIR=%ROOT_DIR%\windows-3rd-party/msvc140/3rdParty.x64 ^
                -DCMAKE_RELWITHDEBINFO_POSTFIX:STRING= ^
                -DOSG_USE_UTF8_FILENAME:BOOL=ON ^
                -DWIN32_USE_MP:BOOL=ON ^
                -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:PATH=%ROOT_DIR%\install
cmake --build . --config RelWithDebInfo --target INSTALL
 
cd %ROOT_DIR%\simgear-build
cmake  %ROOT_DIR%\simgear -G  %CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN% -A x64 ^
                -DOSG_FSTREAM_EXPORT_FIXED:BOOL=ON ^
                -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:PATH=%ROOT_DIR%\install
cmake --build . --config RelWithDebInfo --target INSTALL
 
cd %ROOT_DIR%\flightgear-build
cmake  %ROOT_DIR%\flightgear -G  %CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN% -A x64 ^
                  -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:PATH=%ROOT_DIR%\install ^
                  -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=%QT5SDK64% ^
                  -DOSG_FSTREAM_EXPORT_FIXED:BOOL=ON
                   
cmake --build . --config RelWithDebInfo --target INSTALL
 
pause
| show  = 1
}}
 
Before starting to use the script, you need to edit the top few lines of the script. You will have to:
 
1. Set the path to your CMake installation.
 
2. Ensure that the path to your QT SDK is correct for your version of MSVC.
 
3. Ensure your toolchain version matches, e.g. "Visual Studio 16 2019" for MSVC 2019 or "Visual Studio 15 2017" for MSVC 2017.
 
4. Set ROOT_DIR to the FlightGearBuild folder you created (the above directory structure)
 
==== Post-compilation: Launching FlightGear ====
'''In the debugger:'''
Open flightgear-build/FlightGear.sln. You can then perform all your development / debugging directly in VS. You normally only need to run build.bat again, if you update SimGear or OSG.  
 
To launch FlightGear from Visual Studio, you can follow the following steps:
The first time only:
# Make sure you set your build type to RelWithDebInfo in the top bar.
# To start with the launcher, click on the small black arrow beside Local Windows Debugger to open 'fgfs debug properties'. Switch to debugging; add {{code|--launcher}} to the 'Command Arguments'. Click Apply and then OK.
# Press the green arrow (Local Windows Debugger) to start up FlightGear.
# The first time you'll have to choose where FGDATA is -- to do this, select the 'fgdata' directory you cloned at the start.
 
Thereafter, simply press the green arrow directly each time you want to start. If there are any local changes, it will recompile; alternatively it will start up directly. It will take a little longer to start as it loads symbols; however you also have the benefit that any segfaults will be caught allowing you to report them!


NdT: glut is missing for the 64bits build, you can use [http://www.transmissionzero.co.uk/software/freeglut-devel/ freeglut].
'''As a standard .exe:'''
NB these instructions overall are intended for setting up for development; there's a slightly more convoluted process for setting up for just plain flying (e.g. taking advantage of new features for aircraft development).


== Building ==
Essentially, Visual Studio doesn't copy in the DLLs into the /bin/ folder. It's also not ideal to manually copy in the DLLs as it can cause all sorts of issues. However, without the DLLs FlightGear won't work; therefore, you need to set the PATH so it knows where to look for them.
# Set up a work directory as described above.
This launch script should work, put into your /install/bin/ folder:
# '''Building SimGear'''
{{collapsible script
## Open the CMake gui.
| type  = Windows batch file
## Set <tt>"Where is the source code"</tt> to wherever you put the SimGear sources (from the released tarball or the git repository).
| title  = The <code>launch.bat</code> script for launching flightgear
## Set <tt>"Where to build the binaries"</tt> to a new empty directory (could be anywhere and any name, for example naming it simgear-build, at the same folder location as your unzipped SimGear source folder was put).
| lang  = batch
## Press [[File:CMake GUI Configure.png]]. The first time that the project is configured, CMake will bring up a window asking you to "Specify the generator for this project" i.e. which compiler you wish to use. Select Visual Studio 10 (or Visual Studio 10 Win64 for 64-bit), and press Finish. CMake will now do a check on your system and will produce a preliminary build configuration.
| script =
## CMake adds new configuration variables in red. Some have a value ending with <tt>-NOTFOUND</tt>. These variables should receive your attention. Some errors will prevent SimGear from building and others will simply invalidate some options without causing build errors.
SET PATH=C:\path\to\FlightGearBuild\install\bin;C:\path\to\FlightGearBuild\windows-3rd-party\msvc140\3rdParty.x64\bin;C:\Qt\5.15.2\msvc2019_64\bin;%PATH%
### First check the <tt>MSVC_3RDPARTY_ROOT</tt> variable. If it is not set, chances are that there will be a lot of <tt>-NOTFOUND</tt> errors. Instead of trying to fix every error individually, set that variable to the location of the directory structure that is presented above. Then press [[File:CMake GUI Configure.png]] again.
fgfs.exe --launcher
### Set the  <tt>CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX</tt> variable to <tt>${MSVC_3RDPARTY_ROOT}/install/msvc100/SimGear</tt>.
| show  = 1
### Also check the lines with a checkbox. These are build options and may impact the feature set of the built program.
}}
## Repeat the process from step 5, until [[File:CMake GUI Generate.png]] is enabled.
## Press [[File:CMake GUI Generate.png]].
## Start Visual Studio 2010 and load the SimGear solution (SimGear.sln) located in <tt>"Where to build the binaries"</tt>.
## Choose the <tt>"Release"</tt> build in the VS2010 "Generation" toolbar. The right menu should read Win32 for 32-bits or x64 for 64-bits. [[File:MVSC 2010 solution.png|right]]
## Generate the solution with F7 key or right-click the top level "Solution SimGear" in the Solution Explorer and choose Build.
## If there are build errors, return to CMake, clear remaining errors, [[File:CMake GUI Configure.png]] and [[File:CMake GUI Generate.png]].
## When Visual Studio is able to build everything without errors, right-click on the <tt>INSTALL</tt> project (further down within the "Solution Simgear" solution) and choose Build, which will put the include and lib files in <tt>${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}</tt>
# '''Building FlightGear'''
#: Repeat the steps under Building Simgear, but change the <tt>SimGear</tt> paths to <tt>FlightGear</tt>.
# Enjoy!


==== Build options ====
Adjust the "path\to" references to suit your own personal installation, as well as the QT5 path.
To include [[LaRCsim]]/[[UIUC]] in your build, set:
ENABLE_LARCSIM:BOOL=ON
ENABLE_UIUC_MODEL:BOOL=ON


=== Updating ===
=== Updating ===
When updating the source from [[git]], it is usually unnecessary to restart CMake as the solution is able to reconfigure itself when CMake files are changed. Simply rebuild the solution from Visual Studio and accept the reload of updated projects. When the Simgear/FlightGear version numbers change, you do have to re-run CMake.
To update FlightGear, in general, just run ''git pull'' on the source directories and then re-run the build.bat script -- it will update what it needs to, relatively quickly.
 
{{collapsible script
| type  = Windows batch file
| title  = The <code>update.bat</code> script for updating repositories
| lang  = batch
| script =
SET ROOT_DIR=C:\path\to\FlightGearBuild
 
cd %ROOT_DIR%\osg
git pull
 
cd %ROOT_DIR%\fgdata
git pull
 
cd %ROOT_DIR%\flightgear
git pull


It is also possible to edit CMakeList.txt files directly in Visual Studio as they also appear in the solution, and projects will be reconfigured on the next generation. To change build options or directory path, it is mandatory to use the CMake Gui. In case of problems, locate the <tt>CMakeCache.txt</tt> file in <tt>"Where to build the binaries”</tt> directory and delete it to reconfigure from scratch or use the menu item <tt>File > Delete Cache</tt>.
cd %ROOT_DIR%\simgear
git pull


=== TerraGear ===
cd %ROOT_DIR%\windows-3rd-party
TerraGear can be built the same way as FlightGear, just change the paths to your TerraGear source and directories.
git pull


== Jenkins Windows configurations ==
pause
When using CMake GUI, you can add those entries by clicking the Add entry button. Note that you should omit the -D prefix.
| show  = 1
}}


=== OSG-stable-Win ===
=== Changing the Configuration ===
cmake ..\svn -G "Visual Studio 10"
When the SimGear/FlightGear version numbers change, or you change configuration options (e.g. toggling Compositor, changing OSG versions, changing Qt versions) you do have to re-configure in CMake. To do this, it's usually safest to delete the simgear-build and flightgear-build folders and re-run the build.bat script, to ensure the build is clean. There is no need to delete osg-build unless changing OSG version.
      -DACTUAL_3RDPARTY_DIR:PATH=%WORKSPACE%/3rdParty
      -DBUILD_OSG_APPLICATIONS:BOOL=ON
      -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:PATH=%WORKSPACE%/install/msvc100/OpenSceneGraph
      -DOSG_PLUGIN_SEARCH_INSTALL_DIR_FOR_PLUGINS:BOOL=OFF
      -DFREETYPE_LIBRARY:FILEPATH=%WORKSPACE%/3rdParty/lib/freetype243.lib
      -DGDAL_INCLUDE_DIR:PATH=
      -DGDAL_LIBRARY:FILEPATH=
=== SimGear-Win-CMake ===
cmake ..\SimGear -G "Visual Studio 10"
      -DMSVC_3RDPARTY_ROOT=%WORKSPACE%
      -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:PATH=%WORKSPACE%/install/msvc100/SimGear
=== FlightGear-Win-CMake ===
cmake ..\FlightGear -G "Visual Studio 10"
      -DMSVC_3RDPARTY_ROOT=%WORKSPACE%
      -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:PATH=%WORKSPACE%/install/msvc100/FlightGear
      -DFLTK_FLUID_EXECUTABLE=%WORKSPACE%/3rdParty/bin/fluid.exe
=== FGRun-Win-CMake ===
cmake ..\svn -G "Visual Studio 10"
      -DMSVC_3RDPARTY_ROOT:PATH=%WORKSPACE%
      -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:PATH=%WORKSPACE%/install/msvc100/FGRun
      -DFLTK_FLUID_EXECUTABLE:FILEPATH=%WORKSPACE%/3rdParty/bin/fluid.exe
      -DGETTEXT_MSGFMT_EXECUTABLE:FILEPATH=%WORKSPACE%/3rdParty/bin/msgfmt.exe
      -DGETTEXT_MSGMERGE_EXECUTABLE:FILEPATH=%WORKSPACE%/3rdParty/bin/msgmerge.exe
=== TerraGear-Win-CMake ===
cmake ..\TerraGear -G "Visual Studio 10"
      -DMSVC_3RDPARTY_ROOT=%WORKSPACE%
      -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:PATH=%WORKSPACE%/install/msvc100/TerraGear
      -DGPC_LIBRARY=%WORKSPACE%/3rdParty/lib/gpc232.lib
      -DNEWMAT_LIBRARY=%WORKSPACE%/3rdParty/lib/newmat11.lib


== External link ==
In case of problems, most of the time deleting the simgear-build and flightgear-build folders and re-running the build.bat script will be sufficient.
* [https://gitorious.org/fg/flightgear/blobs/next/docs-mini/README.MSVC README.MSVC] (at Gitorious)


{{building}}
{{building}}
[[fr:compiler flightear avec CMake - Windows]]
[[fr:compiler flightear avec CMake - Windows]]
[[Category:Windows specific]]
[[Category:Hackathon Materials]]

Latest revision as of 07:58, 21 March 2024

1rightarrow.png See Building FlightGear for the main article about this subject.

This article is intended to give an overview of building FlightGear on modern Windows systems. It was created using Windows 10 and VS 2022. It ought to be transferable to earlier versions of the Windows OS and software.

As FlightGear is now 64-bit only, the guide only describes building on a 64-bit system.

Required software

  • CMake for Windows. Download and install the Windows Win64-x64 Installer.
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2022 (MSVC). The Community version is free. There is no need for the premium versions; none of their features are required to build FlightGear. The C++ compiler will not be installed by default. You either choose this component during installation or after installation by starting MSVC and trying to create a new C++ project. The one to download is "Desktop Development with C++". Make sure to have the latest version of the Windows SDK for your Windows version and the C++ Compiler checked. As of 12/19/2023, the latest version of the compiler is "MSVC v143 - VS 2022 C++ x64/86 build tools".
  • Qt5 for the Integrated Qt5 Launcher. Download the online installer, and choose the version matching your toolchain of Visual Studio e.g. "Qt 5.15.2 --> MSVC 2019 64-bit". Any version past 5.9 will be fine; latest 5.x recommended. Leave the default Developer and Designer Tools selection - these are needed for coding and compiling. Otherwise, here is Offline Qt Downloads for the optional offline-installer versions of Qt.
  • Git to keep your build up to date. It also simplifies downloads of components. Optional, but can't recommend it enough!

Obtaining source

1rightarrow.png See FlightGear and Git for the main article about this subject.

Throughout this article it is assumed that you have set up git clones of the various source repositories (FlightGear, SimGear, data...). Using an organized directory (see below) will help significantly.

The commands to run are:

git clone https://git.code.sf.net/p/flightgear/simgear simgear

git clone https://git.code.sf.net/p/flightgear/flightgear flightgear

git clone https://git.code.sf.net/p/flightgear/fgdata fgdata

git clone https://git.code.sf.net/p/flightgear/windows-3rd-party windows-3rd-party

git clone -b fgfs-osg-36-1 https://github.com/zakalawe/osg.git osg

Caution  Cloning fgdata from SourceForge often fails. Therefore, we suggest you use a GitLab mirror repository. Instead of

git clone https://git.code.sf.net/p/flightgear/fgdata fgdata

call:

git clone https://gitlab.com/flightgear/fgdata.git fgdata

and after downloaded all data:

cd fgdata
git checkout next
git remote set-url origin https://git.code.sf.net/p/flightgear/fgdata
git pull

After downloading these, I would suggest assembling a folder structure as below:

Directory Tree

On Windows, assumptions on the directory structure are made to automate the discovery of dependencies. This recommended directory structure is described below. The components can be downloaded from the links above. If you do not use the recommended structure you will need to enter paths by hand and some parts may not input correctly.


Caveat -- spaces in the directory names will cause errors. It is best to make sure there are no spaces in the path anywhere.

FlightGearBuild / (Main root directory)
fgdata / (FlightGear data files)
flightgear / (FlightGear sources)
install / (Directory where you will install the built binaries to)
launch.bat / (launch script if desired, see below)
osg / (OSG sources)
simgear / (SimGear sources)
windows-3rd-party /
build.bat / (build script, see below)
update.bat / (update script, see below)

Building

Scripted Compilation

This script will allow you to build OpenSceneGraph, SimGear and FlightGear automatically.

Before starting to use the script, you need to edit the top few lines of the script. You will have to:

1. Set the path to your CMake installation.

2. Ensure that the path to your QT SDK is correct for your version of MSVC.

3. Ensure your toolchain version matches, e.g. "Visual Studio 16 2019" for MSVC 2019 or "Visual Studio 15 2017" for MSVC 2017.

4. Set ROOT_DIR to the FlightGearBuild folder you created (the above directory structure)

Post-compilation: Launching FlightGear

In the debugger: Open flightgear-build/FlightGear.sln. You can then perform all your development / debugging directly in VS. You normally only need to run build.bat again, if you update SimGear or OSG.

To launch FlightGear from Visual Studio, you can follow the following steps: The first time only:

  1. Make sure you set your build type to RelWithDebInfo in the top bar.
  2. To start with the launcher, click on the small black arrow beside Local Windows Debugger to open 'fgfs debug properties'. Switch to debugging; add --launcher to the 'Command Arguments'. Click Apply and then OK.
  3. Press the green arrow (Local Windows Debugger) to start up FlightGear.
  4. The first time you'll have to choose where FGDATA is -- to do this, select the 'fgdata' directory you cloned at the start.

Thereafter, simply press the green arrow directly each time you want to start. If there are any local changes, it will recompile; alternatively it will start up directly. It will take a little longer to start as it loads symbols; however you also have the benefit that any segfaults will be caught allowing you to report them!

As a standard .exe: NB these instructions overall are intended for setting up for development; there's a slightly more convoluted process for setting up for just plain flying (e.g. taking advantage of new features for aircraft development).

Essentially, Visual Studio doesn't copy in the DLLs into the /bin/ folder. It's also not ideal to manually copy in the DLLs as it can cause all sorts of issues. However, without the DLLs FlightGear won't work; therefore, you need to set the PATH so it knows where to look for them. This launch script should work, put into your /install/bin/ folder:

Adjust the "path\to" references to suit your own personal installation, as well as the QT5 path.

Updating

To update FlightGear, in general, just run git pull on the source directories and then re-run the build.bat script -- it will update what it needs to, relatively quickly.

Changing the Configuration

When the SimGear/FlightGear version numbers change, or you change configuration options (e.g. toggling Compositor, changing OSG versions, changing Qt versions) you do have to re-configure in CMake. To do this, it's usually safest to delete the simgear-build and flightgear-build folders and re-run the build.bat script, to ensure the build is clean. There is no need to delete osg-build unless changing OSG version.

In case of problems, most of the time deleting the simgear-build and flightgear-build folders and re-running the build.bat script will be sufficient.