FlightGear wiki - User contributions [en]

Photoscenery

2026-07-29T23:59:54Z

FWST: /* Obtaining orthoimagery */Added Útil paisagem as an alternative to Julia Photoscenary

[[File:Brest.jpg|thumb|270px|A [[Cessna 172P]] flying over 1 m/pixel photoscenery of Brest, France.]]
'''Photoscenery''' is [[scenery]] in which orthoimagery (aerial photographs) is placed over the terrain.

== Why use photoscenery? ==
'''Advantages:'''
* Photoscenery shows the real world, it does not try to resemble it.
* Areas blend realistically, instead of a hard cut between urban and forest, or water and land for example.
* For VFR flight, more easy navigation in known locations because landmarks are more easily recognized.

'''Disadvantages:'''
* One needs large (or many) textures for high resolution scenery. For low level (VFR) flying, {{abbr|1 m/pixel|1 pixel spans 1 x 1 m}} is the absolute minimum.
* Orthoimagery is often hard to obtain, especially under an open license.
* The system running photoscenery has a higher memory (RAM) demand.

== Enabling photoscenery ==
Photoscenery can be enabled by navigating to the menubar: View, Rendering Options, and click on the Satellite Photoscenery checkbox.

This will load Photoscenery from your normal Scenery folders (subfolder "Orthophotos/").

== Obtaining orthoimagery ==
* [http://www.usgs.gov/ USGS], provides {{abbr|3 m/pixel|1 pixel spans 3 x 3 m}} imagery for the entire United States of America, released in the public domain (and thus GNU GPL compatible).

The prefered way of downloading these images depends on the used method Please read [[#Creating photoscenery|how to create photoscenery]], before starting.

{{note|There are currently two applications for easy and quick generation of photosceneries from orthoimagery: the command line [[Julia photoscenery generator]] and the graphical [https://github.com/leandroarndt/util-paisagem/wiki Útil paisagem].}}

=== Preprocessing ===
* Since FlightGear adds haze to the scene, the textures should be "unhazed" to avoid double hazing.
* Shadows included in the images will conflict with shadows added by FlightGear. When creating small areas, shadows can be removed by hand from the textures, but this is usually undoable.

== Creating photoscenery ==
There are several ways of creating photoscenery for [[FlightGear]], of which some are discussed here.
{| class="wikitable"
! Feature
! [[#Texture overlays|Texture overlays]]
! [[#Texture materials|Texture materials]]
! [[#3D Model|3D Model]]
! [[Building FlightGear with osgEarth Integration|osgEarth]]

! Comment
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Supported by stable FlightGear release (requires no patching)
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Toggle on run-time
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| With the current patch, the textures overlays are always loaded.
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Water reflections, random buildings/trees
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| Depends on accuracy of underlying terrain (shapefiles)
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Texture masks (not-so random objects)
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Requires no adapted scenery
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | High resolution
| {{no|ca. {{abbr|4m/pixel|1 pixel spans 4 x 4 m}}}}
| {{yes|{{abbr|1m/pixel|1 pixel spans 1 x 1 m}} or higher|colspan{{=}}"2"}}
| {{yes}}
|
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Advanced weather support
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| Depends on accuracy of underlying terrain (shapefiles)
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Requires no custom materials file
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|
|}

=== Texture overlays ===
This method places the photo texture on top of the normal scenery. It requires [http://blaniel.free.fr/pub/flightgear/brest/ patches to be applied] to the FGData and SimGear sources.

# Calculate the tile bounds.
# Cut the orthoimagery to the bounds of the tile and save it with the name of the tile (for example <code>3023737.png</code>).
#: A 4096 x 4096 pixel texture gives roughly a 4 m/pixel resolution. Most graphics cards cannot handle larger textures, so when distributing the scenery this can be considered to be the limit. Tests on various machines showed that 16384 x 16384 pixel textures are possible (1 m/pixel).
# Mirror the texture upside down.
# Convert the texture to <code>.dds</code> via NVidia's nvcompress (part of the [http://developer.nvidia.com/legacy-texture-tools NVidia Tools]).
#: It was found that 16384 x 16384 pixel textures can not be processed by nvcompress. The [http://code.google.com/p/gimp-dds/ DDS plugin for GIMP] worked fine though.
# Place this texture next to the respective <code>.btg.gz</code> file.
Simply launch FlightGear with [[$FG_SCENERY]] set to your scenery directory. Disable all shaders in the ''Main Menu'' > ''View'' > ''Rendering Options'' dialog. Model and Water can be enabled, but all other shaders will disable the photoscenery.

{{note|Step 1 to 5 can be done by the photoscenery perl script from the {{sourceforge source|flightgear|fgscenery/tools|path=Photoscenery|text=FGScenery tools}}, when the imagery is obtained via a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Map_Service Web Map Service] (WMS).}}

=== Texture materials ===
Another approach is to add each photo texture as a "material" in the <code>materials.xml</code> file.

# Calculate the tile bounds with the python scripts from http://fgphotoscenery.square7.ch/#howto.
#: When creating low resolution scenery ({{abbr|4 m/pixel|1 pixel spans 4 x 4 m}} or lower), a single 4096 x 4096 pixel texture can cover one tile. Higher resolution scenery requires the tile to be cut into smaller pieces: we'll call those photo tiles.
# Repeat the following steps for each single photo tile.
## Mirror the texture upside down.
## Convert the texture to <code>.dds</code> via NVidia's nvcompress (part of the [http://developer.nvidia.com/legacy-texture-tools NVidia Tools]).
## Create a shapefile with the size/location of the texture. Save the shapefile with an unique name (for example <code>302373_3_2.shp</code>, where the <code>3_2</code> indicates the horizontal/vertical tile id. This is not needed when using just one texture per tile).
# Generate the scenery with [[TerraGear]], using the shapefiles as input.
# Currently TerraGear does not create good UV maps, so some manual steps are needed:
# Import (one of) the <code>.btg.gz</code> file(s) in [[Blender]] via the [[Blender and BTG]] plugin.
## Correct the uvmapping of each single sub-tile. The map should cover the texture exactly.
## Export the file again. Please note that you cannot re-import the file after exporting, so do not close Blender before verifying that the UV mapping is correct!
# Create a <code>materials.xml</code> file for your project. For example <code>[[$FG_ROOT]]/Photoscenery/materials-nl.xml</code> for Dutch scenery.
# Add a material definition for each single sub-tile, like:
#: <code><nowiki><material><name>3023745_1_1</name><texture>NL/3023745/3023745.1.1.dds</texture></material></nowiki></code>
#: The texture path is relative to <code>[[$FG_ROOT]]/Textures</code>.
Now launch FlightGear with [[$FG_SCENERY]] set to the output directory of TerraGear and the command <code>--materials-file=Photoscenery/materials-nl.xml</code> (for example).

=== 3D Model ===
[[File:Prague 3D photoscenery.png|thumb|270px|Prague, using the 3D model method.]]
Instead of using the normal terrain, one could replace it by a big 3D model.
# Create a 3D model of the terrain and texturize it with the orthoimagery.
# Place the model as any other 3D object in the scenery.
# Remove the corresponding <code>Terrain/.../... .stg</code> file to hide the normal scenery.

== Projects ==
Several example photoscenery projects. The text between brackets indicates what method is used.
* [[Brest]], France (texture materials)
* [http://helijah.free.fr/flightgear/scenes.html Paris and surroundings], France (texture overlay)
* [http://flightgear-cz.wz.cz/ Prague], Czech Republic (3D Model)
* Selected places of the [http://fgphotoscenery.square7.ch/ United States of America] (texture overlay)

== Related content ==
=== Wiki articles ===
* [[Julia photoscenery generator]]

=== Forum topics ===
* {{forum link|t=44533|title=Útil paisagem: new photoscenery tool for FlightGear}} (July 2026-) Software for easy creation of photoscenery for FlightGear with a graphical user interface and correction of download errors
* {{forum link|t=39066|title=Photoscenery generator for Julia compiler}} (April 2021-) Programs to generate and manipulate photoscenery for FGFS
* {{forum link|t=38057|title=16k Photoscenery}} (September 2020-)
* {{forum link|t=37866|title=Photoscenery?}} (August 2020-) Discussing a patch that simplifies adding photoscenery, that later was added to FlightGear
* {{forum link|p=201862|title=Re: DDS for textures Rotterdam}} (February 2014)
* {{forum link|t=22784|title=A project to create a source of free geo-referenced instrument charts}} (April 2014-June 2014)

[[Category:Photoscenery]]
[[Category:Scenery]]

Photoscenery

2026-07-29T23:51:48Z

FWST: /* Forum topics */Corrected typo

[[File:Brest.jpg|thumb|270px|A [[Cessna 172P]] flying over 1 m/pixel photoscenery of Brest, France.]]
'''Photoscenery''' is [[scenery]] in which orthoimagery (aerial photographs) is placed over the terrain.

== Why use photoscenery? ==
'''Advantages:'''
* Photoscenery shows the real world, it does not try to resemble it.
* Areas blend realistically, instead of a hard cut between urban and forest, or water and land for example.
* For VFR flight, more easy navigation in known locations because landmarks are more easily recognized.

'''Disadvantages:'''
* One needs large (or many) textures for high resolution scenery. For low level (VFR) flying, {{abbr|1 m/pixel|1 pixel spans 1 x 1 m}} is the absolute minimum.
* Orthoimagery is often hard to obtain, especially under an open license.
* The system running photoscenery has a higher memory (RAM) demand.

== Enabling photoscenery ==
Photoscenery can be enabled by navigating to the menubar: View, Rendering Options, and click on the Satellite Photoscenery checkbox.

This will load Photoscenery from your normal Scenery folders (subfolder "Orthophotos/").

== Obtaining orthoimagery ==
* [http://www.usgs.gov/ USGS], provides {{abbr|3 m/pixel|1 pixel spans 3 x 3 m}} imagery for the entire United States of America, released in the public domain (and thus GNU GPL compatible).

The prefered way of downloading these images depends on the used method Please read [[#Creating photoscenery|how to create photoscenery]], before starting.

{{note|The most easy and quick way nowadays is to install [https://julialang.org/ Julia] and use the [[Julia photoscenery generator]].}}

=== Preprocessing ===
* Since FlightGear adds haze to the scene, the textures should be "unhazed" to avoid double hazing.
* Shadows included in the images will conflict with shadows added by FlightGear. When creating small areas, shadows can be removed by hand from the textures, but this is usually undoable.

== Creating photoscenery ==
There are several ways of creating photoscenery for [[FlightGear]], of which some are discussed here.
{| class="wikitable"
! Feature
! [[#Texture overlays|Texture overlays]]
! [[#Texture materials|Texture materials]]
! [[#3D Model|3D Model]]
! [[Building FlightGear with osgEarth Integration|osgEarth]]

! Comment
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Supported by stable FlightGear release (requires no patching)
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Toggle on run-time
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| With the current patch, the textures overlays are always loaded.
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Water reflections, random buildings/trees
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| Depends on accuracy of underlying terrain (shapefiles)
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Texture masks (not-so random objects)
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Requires no adapted scenery
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | High resolution
| {{no|ca. {{abbr|4m/pixel|1 pixel spans 4 x 4 m}}}}
| {{yes|{{abbr|1m/pixel|1 pixel spans 1 x 1 m}} or higher|colspan{{=}}"2"}}
| {{yes}}
|
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Advanced weather support
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| Depends on accuracy of underlying terrain (shapefiles)
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Requires no custom materials file
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|
|}

=== Texture overlays ===
This method places the photo texture on top of the normal scenery. It requires [http://blaniel.free.fr/pub/flightgear/brest/ patches to be applied] to the FGData and SimGear sources.

# Calculate the tile bounds.
# Cut the orthoimagery to the bounds of the tile and save it with the name of the tile (for example <code>3023737.png</code>).
#: A 4096 x 4096 pixel texture gives roughly a 4 m/pixel resolution. Most graphics cards cannot handle larger textures, so when distributing the scenery this can be considered to be the limit. Tests on various machines showed that 16384 x 16384 pixel textures are possible (1 m/pixel).
# Mirror the texture upside down.
# Convert the texture to <code>.dds</code> via NVidia's nvcompress (part of the [http://developer.nvidia.com/legacy-texture-tools NVidia Tools]).
#: It was found that 16384 x 16384 pixel textures can not be processed by nvcompress. The [http://code.google.com/p/gimp-dds/ DDS plugin for GIMP] worked fine though.
# Place this texture next to the respective <code>.btg.gz</code> file.
Simply launch FlightGear with [[$FG_SCENERY]] set to your scenery directory. Disable all shaders in the ''Main Menu'' > ''View'' > ''Rendering Options'' dialog. Model and Water can be enabled, but all other shaders will disable the photoscenery.

{{note|Step 1 to 5 can be done by the photoscenery perl script from the {{sourceforge source|flightgear|fgscenery/tools|path=Photoscenery|text=FGScenery tools}}, when the imagery is obtained via a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Map_Service Web Map Service] (WMS).}}

=== Texture materials ===
Another approach is to add each photo texture as a "material" in the <code>materials.xml</code> file.

# Calculate the tile bounds with the python scripts from http://fgphotoscenery.square7.ch/#howto.
#: When creating low resolution scenery ({{abbr|4 m/pixel|1 pixel spans 4 x 4 m}} or lower), a single 4096 x 4096 pixel texture can cover one tile. Higher resolution scenery requires the tile to be cut into smaller pieces: we'll call those photo tiles.
# Repeat the following steps for each single photo tile.
## Mirror the texture upside down.
## Convert the texture to <code>.dds</code> via NVidia's nvcompress (part of the [http://developer.nvidia.com/legacy-texture-tools NVidia Tools]).
## Create a shapefile with the size/location of the texture. Save the shapefile with an unique name (for example <code>302373_3_2.shp</code>, where the <code>3_2</code> indicates the horizontal/vertical tile id. This is not needed when using just one texture per tile).
# Generate the scenery with [[TerraGear]], using the shapefiles as input.
# Currently TerraGear does not create good UV maps, so some manual steps are needed:
# Import (one of) the <code>.btg.gz</code> file(s) in [[Blender]] via the [[Blender and BTG]] plugin.
## Correct the uvmapping of each single sub-tile. The map should cover the texture exactly.
## Export the file again. Please note that you cannot re-import the file after exporting, so do not close Blender before verifying that the UV mapping is correct!
# Create a <code>materials.xml</code> file for your project. For example <code>[[$FG_ROOT]]/Photoscenery/materials-nl.xml</code> for Dutch scenery.
# Add a material definition for each single sub-tile, like:
#: <code><nowiki><material><name>3023745_1_1</name><texture>NL/3023745/3023745.1.1.dds</texture></material></nowiki></code>
#: The texture path is relative to <code>[[$FG_ROOT]]/Textures</code>.
Now launch FlightGear with [[$FG_SCENERY]] set to the output directory of TerraGear and the command <code>--materials-file=Photoscenery/materials-nl.xml</code> (for example).

=== 3D Model ===
[[File:Prague 3D photoscenery.png|thumb|270px|Prague, using the 3D model method.]]
Instead of using the normal terrain, one could replace it by a big 3D model.
# Create a 3D model of the terrain and texturize it with the orthoimagery.
# Place the model as any other 3D object in the scenery.
# Remove the corresponding <code>Terrain/.../... .stg</code> file to hide the normal scenery.

== Projects ==
Several example photoscenery projects. The text between brackets indicates what method is used.
* [[Brest]], France (texture materials)
* [http://helijah.free.fr/flightgear/scenes.html Paris and surroundings], France (texture overlay)
* [http://flightgear-cz.wz.cz/ Prague], Czech Republic (3D Model)
* Selected places of the [http://fgphotoscenery.square7.ch/ United States of America] (texture overlay)

== Related content ==
=== Wiki articles ===
* [[Julia photoscenery generator]]

=== Forum topics ===
* {{forum link|t=44533|title=Útil paisagem: new photoscenery tool for FlightGear}} (July 2026-) Software for easy creation of photoscenery for FlightGear with a graphical user interface and correction of download errors
* {{forum link|t=39066|title=Photoscenery generator for Julia compiler}} (April 2021-) Programs to generate and manipulate photoscenery for FGFS
* {{forum link|t=38057|title=16k Photoscenery}} (September 2020-)
* {{forum link|t=37866|title=Photoscenery?}} (August 2020-) Discussing a patch that simplifies adding photoscenery, that later was added to FlightGear
* {{forum link|p=201862|title=Re: DDS for textures Rotterdam}} (February 2014)
* {{forum link|t=22784|title=A project to create a source of free geo-referenced instrument charts}} (April 2014-June 2014)

[[Category:Photoscenery]]
[[Category:Scenery]]

Photoscenery

2026-07-29T23:51:12Z

FWST: /* Forum topics */Added forum topic

[[File:Brest.jpg|thumb|270px|A [[Cessna 172P]] flying over 1 m/pixel photoscenery of Brest, France.]]
'''Photoscenery''' is [[scenery]] in which orthoimagery (aerial photographs) is placed over the terrain.

== Why use photoscenery? ==
'''Advantages:'''
* Photoscenery shows the real world, it does not try to resemble it.
* Areas blend realistically, instead of a hard cut between urban and forest, or water and land for example.
* For VFR flight, more easy navigation in known locations because landmarks are more easily recognized.

'''Disadvantages:'''
* One needs large (or many) textures for high resolution scenery. For low level (VFR) flying, {{abbr|1 m/pixel|1 pixel spans 1 x 1 m}} is the absolute minimum.
* Orthoimagery is often hard to obtain, especially under an open license.
* The system running photoscenery has a higher memory (RAM) demand.

== Enabling photoscenery ==
Photoscenery can be enabled by navigating to the menubar: View, Rendering Options, and click on the Satellite Photoscenery checkbox.

This will load Photoscenery from your normal Scenery folders (subfolder "Orthophotos/").

== Obtaining orthoimagery ==
* [http://www.usgs.gov/ USGS], provides {{abbr|3 m/pixel|1 pixel spans 3 x 3 m}} imagery for the entire United States of America, released in the public domain (and thus GNU GPL compatible).

The prefered way of downloading these images depends on the used method Please read [[#Creating photoscenery|how to create photoscenery]], before starting.

{{note|The most easy and quick way nowadays is to install [https://julialang.org/ Julia] and use the [[Julia photoscenery generator]].}}

=== Preprocessing ===
* Since FlightGear adds haze to the scene, the textures should be "unhazed" to avoid double hazing.
* Shadows included in the images will conflict with shadows added by FlightGear. When creating small areas, shadows can be removed by hand from the textures, but this is usually undoable.

== Creating photoscenery ==
There are several ways of creating photoscenery for [[FlightGear]], of which some are discussed here.
{| class="wikitable"
! Feature
! [[#Texture overlays|Texture overlays]]
! [[#Texture materials|Texture materials]]
! [[#3D Model|3D Model]]
! [[Building FlightGear with osgEarth Integration|osgEarth]]

! Comment
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Supported by stable FlightGear release (requires no patching)
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Toggle on run-time
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| With the current patch, the textures overlays are always loaded.
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Water reflections, random buildings/trees
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| Depends on accuracy of underlying terrain (shapefiles)
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Texture masks (not-so random objects)
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Requires no adapted scenery
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | High resolution
| {{no|ca. {{abbr|4m/pixel|1 pixel spans 4 x 4 m}}}}
| {{yes|{{abbr|1m/pixel|1 pixel spans 1 x 1 m}} or higher|colspan{{=}}"2"}}
| {{yes}}
|
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Advanced weather support
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| Depends on accuracy of underlying terrain (shapefiles)
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Requires no custom materials file
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|
|}

=== Texture overlays ===
This method places the photo texture on top of the normal scenery. It requires [http://blaniel.free.fr/pub/flightgear/brest/ patches to be applied] to the FGData and SimGear sources.

# Calculate the tile bounds.
# Cut the orthoimagery to the bounds of the tile and save it with the name of the tile (for example <code>3023737.png</code>).
#: A 4096 x 4096 pixel texture gives roughly a 4 m/pixel resolution. Most graphics cards cannot handle larger textures, so when distributing the scenery this can be considered to be the limit. Tests on various machines showed that 16384 x 16384 pixel textures are possible (1 m/pixel).
# Mirror the texture upside down.
# Convert the texture to <code>.dds</code> via NVidia's nvcompress (part of the [http://developer.nvidia.com/legacy-texture-tools NVidia Tools]).
#: It was found that 16384 x 16384 pixel textures can not be processed by nvcompress. The [http://code.google.com/p/gimp-dds/ DDS plugin for GIMP] worked fine though.
# Place this texture next to the respective <code>.btg.gz</code> file.
Simply launch FlightGear with [[$FG_SCENERY]] set to your scenery directory. Disable all shaders in the ''Main Menu'' > ''View'' > ''Rendering Options'' dialog. Model and Water can be enabled, but all other shaders will disable the photoscenery.

{{note|Step 1 to 5 can be done by the photoscenery perl script from the {{sourceforge source|flightgear|fgscenery/tools|path=Photoscenery|text=FGScenery tools}}, when the imagery is obtained via a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Map_Service Web Map Service] (WMS).}}

=== Texture materials ===
Another approach is to add each photo texture as a "material" in the <code>materials.xml</code> file.

# Calculate the tile bounds with the python scripts from http://fgphotoscenery.square7.ch/#howto.
#: When creating low resolution scenery ({{abbr|4 m/pixel|1 pixel spans 4 x 4 m}} or lower), a single 4096 x 4096 pixel texture can cover one tile. Higher resolution scenery requires the tile to be cut into smaller pieces: we'll call those photo tiles.
# Repeat the following steps for each single photo tile.
## Mirror the texture upside down.
## Convert the texture to <code>.dds</code> via NVidia's nvcompress (part of the [http://developer.nvidia.com/legacy-texture-tools NVidia Tools]).
## Create a shapefile with the size/location of the texture. Save the shapefile with an unique name (for example <code>302373_3_2.shp</code>, where the <code>3_2</code> indicates the horizontal/vertical tile id. This is not needed when using just one texture per tile).
# Generate the scenery with [[TerraGear]], using the shapefiles as input.
# Currently TerraGear does not create good UV maps, so some manual steps are needed:
# Import (one of) the <code>.btg.gz</code> file(s) in [[Blender]] via the [[Blender and BTG]] plugin.
## Correct the uvmapping of each single sub-tile. The map should cover the texture exactly.
## Export the file again. Please note that you cannot re-import the file after exporting, so do not close Blender before verifying that the UV mapping is correct!
# Create a <code>materials.xml</code> file for your project. For example <code>[[$FG_ROOT]]/Photoscenery/materials-nl.xml</code> for Dutch scenery.
# Add a material definition for each single sub-tile, like:
#: <code><nowiki><material><name>3023745_1_1</name><texture>NL/3023745/3023745.1.1.dds</texture></material></nowiki></code>
#: The texture path is relative to <code>[[$FG_ROOT]]/Textures</code>.
Now launch FlightGear with [[$FG_SCENERY]] set to the output directory of TerraGear and the command <code>--materials-file=Photoscenery/materials-nl.xml</code> (for example).

=== 3D Model ===
[[File:Prague 3D photoscenery.png|thumb|270px|Prague, using the 3D model method.]]
Instead of using the normal terrain, one could replace it by a big 3D model.
# Create a 3D model of the terrain and texturize it with the orthoimagery.
# Place the model as any other 3D object in the scenery.
# Remove the corresponding <code>Terrain/.../... .stg</code> file to hide the normal scenery.

== Projects ==
Several example photoscenery projects. The text between brackets indicates what method is used.
* [[Brest]], France (texture materials)
* [http://helijah.free.fr/flightgear/scenes.html Paris and surroundings], France (texture overlay)
* [http://flightgear-cz.wz.cz/ Prague], Czech Republic (3D Model)
* Selected places of the [http://fgphotoscenery.square7.ch/ United States of America] (texture overlay)

== Related content ==
=== Wiki articles ===
* [[Julia photoscenery generator]]

=== Forum topics ===
* {{fórum link|t=44533|title=Útil paisagem: new photoscenery tool for FlightGear}} (July 2026-) Software for easy creation of photoscenery for FlightGear with a graphical user interface and correction of download errors
* {{forum link|t=39066|title=Photoscenery generator for Julia compiler}} (April 2021-) Programs to generate and manipulate photoscenery for FGFS
* {{forum link|t=38057|title=16k Photoscenery}} (September 2020-)
* {{forum link|t=37866|title=Photoscenery?}} (August 2020-) Discussing a patch that simplifies adding photoscenery, that later was added to FlightGear
* {{forum link|p=201862|title=Re: DDS for textures Rotterdam}} (February 2014)
* {{forum link|t=22784|title=A project to create a source of free geo-referenced instrument charts}} (April 2014-June 2014)

[[Category:Photoscenery]]
[[Category:Scenery]]