Learn how to create photoreal scenery in MSFS using licensed aerial imagery, SDK CGL assets, edge blending and clean package testing.
To create photoreal scenery for Microsoft Flight Simulator, obtain redistributable aerial imagery, georeference and colour-correct it in a GIS editor, import it as an SDK aerial-image/CGL asset, build the package, and test it from the Community folder. Use 3D meshes only when you need actual photogrammetry rather than flat orthophotos.
Which type of photoreal scenery should you create?
CGL aerial imagery is the usual choice for replacing the simulator's ground textures across an airport, town or wider region. It follows the underlying terrain but does not create buildings, trees or terrain elevation.
| Method | Best use | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| CGL aerial imagery | Orthophotos covering airports, cities and regions | Supplies ground imagery only; package size grows rapidly with coverage and resolution |
| Draped or decal surface | Small, precisely placed areas such as an airport compound | Unsuitable for broad regional coverage and more prone to layering artefacts |
| Optimised 3D mesh | True photogrammetry, landmarks or terrain with visible geometry | Requires mesh processing, materials, level-of-detail models and careful performance control |
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 may expose different editor options, so install the SDK matching the simulator you are building for. We would not assume a package behaves identically in both versions without testing it in each one.
What aerial imagery can you legally use?
Use imagery whose licence explicitly permits modification and redistribution. Being able to view an image through an online map does not grant permission to extract it, convert it into scenery and distribute the resulting package.
- Imagery you captured yourself, provided you have the necessary flight, property and distribution rights
- Public-domain or open-data orthophotos whose terms permit derivative works and redistribution
- Commercial imagery covered by a licence that specifically allows distribution inside a simulator add-on
Keep the licence, attribution wording and source date with your project records. If the terms are unclear, do not publish the imagery until the rights holder has confirmed what is allowed.
How do I turn aerial imagery into an MSFS package?
- Set up the correct SDK. Enable Developer Mode on PC and install the SDK that matches your MSFS generation and build. Our SDK set-up walkthrough covers the initial tools and project creation.
- Choose sensible coverage. Use high-resolution imagery over a small airport or landmark area and lower resolution for a large region. Upscaling a poor source only creates larger files; it cannot restore missing detail.
- Georeference the image. Align several recognisable points spread around the coverage area, not just one runway threshold or road junction. Reproject the pixels into the coordinate system required by the matching SDK workflow; merely changing the coordinate-system label will produce displaced or distorted scenery.
- Prepare the artwork. Correct brightness, colour cast and contrast so the replacement does not stand out against surrounding default imagery. Remove borders, map labels, clouds and empty pixels, then crop or mask the image cleanly.
- Create the scenery project. Give the project and package unique identifiers, then add an aerial-imagery asset group using the source layout required by that SDK. The broader MSFS scenery package workflow explains how projects, asset groups, building and Community-folder testing fit together.
- Add non-image corrections separately. An orthophoto cannot repair an incorrect hill, shoreline or building. Use the SDK's terrain, polygon, vegetation and object tools where those corrections are necessary rather than trying to paint them into the photograph.
- Build the package. Run the package builder and inspect its console for missing source assets, invalid tile data and coordinate errors. Do not treat a completed build command as proof that every tile was accepted.
- Test a clean build. Remove the previous copy, place one newly built package in the Community folder and restart the simulator. Check the area from ground level and several altitudes, with online data both enabled and disabled, and inspect every boundary of the coverage.
How do you blend photoreal imagery into default scenery?
Good blending depends on colour matching and controlled edges, not simply lowering the resolution. Hard rectangular borders are the most common sign that an otherwise accurate orthophoto has not been prepared properly.
- Match exposure and colour: compensate for different seasons, sun angles and camera passes without crushing shadow detail.
- Feather the boundary: use a gradual edge or a carefully drawn no-data mask supported by the chosen asset method.
- Follow natural features: place transitions along woodland, fields, roads or shorelines rather than cutting across visually uniform ground.
- Treat water carefully: photographic water can conflict with the simulator's animated water, reflections and shore effects.
- Avoid overlapping replacements: two CGL packages covering the same coordinates can produce inconsistent layering or cause one package to hide another.
A finished city-scale photoreal scenery package provides a useful example of satellite tiles, blended boundaries and height data being combined rather than expecting one image layer to perform every job.
Why is my photoreal scenery missing, blurry or displaced?
Most failures come from package mounting, incorrect georeferencing, inadequate source resolution or overlapping scenery rather than the simulator refusing photoreal imagery.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing appears | Build failure, wrong coverage coordinates or nested package folders | Check the build console and ensure manifest.json and layout.json are at the package root. Then work through our package-loading checks. |
| Imagery is shifted or rotated | Wrong coordinate reference system or weak georeferencing | Reproject the source correctly and align several widely separated control points. |
| Imagery becomes blurry with altitude | Missing detail levels, excessive compression or low-resolution source material | Rebuild the tile pyramid and verify that the source contains real detail at the intended viewing height. |
| A rectangular border is visible | No edge mask or poor colour matching | Correct the image against its surroundings and feather or redraw the boundary. |
| Tiles flicker or disappear in patches | Another package covers the same coordinates | Disable overlapping scenery, remove duplicate builds and retest with an otherwise empty Community folder. |
| The old version remains visible | Stale mounted content or an old duplicate package | Delete every previous copy, install one clean build and fully restart MSFS; CGL changes are not always dependable under hot reload. |
Does orthophoto scenery include 3D buildings and elevation?
No. Orthophoto scenery is a flat photographic layer draped over Microsoft Flight Simulator's existing terrain. Add separate terrain corrections where elevations are wrong, and use optimised 3D models or photogrammetry meshes where actual building geometry is required.
Large 3D captures need cleaned geometry, efficient materials and multiple levels of detail. Importing an unprocessed city mesh usually causes excessive package size, poor frame rates, shimmering surfaces and visible holes.
Can photoreal Community scenery be installed on console?
The SDK creation workflow and direct Community-folder installation are PC features. Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro do not expose a Community folder for arbitrary sideloaded packages; console distribution must use a supported in-simulator distribution route and meet its submission requirements.