How do I create X-Plane 12 scenery with WED?

To create X-Plane 12 scenery with WorldEditor (WED), make a scenery package in X-Plane’s Custom Scenery folder, define or import the airport, place runways, taxiways, markings, objects and exclusions, validate against X-Plane 12, then export the scenery pack and test it in the simulator. Saving the WED project alone is not enough.

How do I start a WED project for X-Plane 12?

Use a WED release that offers X-Plane 12 as a target, and keep every project in its own Custom Scenery package. Never edit the simulator’s default airport or global scenery files directly; an update can replace them, and a mistake may affect airports far beyond your project.

1. Select the correct X-Plane installation. Point WED at the root X-Plane 12 folder. If you have several installations, confirm the path before creating anything; editing a package in an old copy is a common reason changes appear to vanish.
2. Create a new scenery package. Use WED’s new-package command and give the project a distinct folder name. It should sit directly at X-Plane 12/Custom Scenery/Your Package/, not inside a second identically named folder.
3. Set X-Plane 12 as the target. WED’s target-version setting controls validation and available scenery features. An older target can miss X-Plane 12-specific checks.
4. Import or create the airport. If the airport already exists, use WED’s built-in Gateway import rather than drawing a second airport over it. For a new airport, create an airport parent, enter the correct identifier and metadata, then keep all airport elements organised beneath it in the hierarchy.
5. Save the editable project. WED stores its source in earth.wed.xml. Keep backup copies before major edits, especially when replacing runways or taxi-route networks.

For a useful look at package anatomy, this complete WED project and exported airport example includes earth.wed.xml, apt.dat, DSF data and a validation report. It predates X-Plane 12, so use it to study the structure rather than copying its validation settings unchanged.

What should I build in WED, and in what order?

Build the operational airport geometry first, then add visual detail around it. This makes alignment and validation errors much easier to correct than if the airport is already crowded with buildings and ground equipment.

1. Establish an accurate reference. Align the project using suitable imagery or survey data, but remember that a background image displayed by WED is normally only an editing reference. It does not automatically become visible scenery.
2. Create the runways. Set their endpoints, width, surface, displaced thresholds, markings and lighting from reliable airport data. Check both ends carefully; an attractive terminal cannot compensate for a runway placed several metres off its real centreline.
3. Draw taxiways and aprons. Use pavement polygons for the visible surfaces, then add centre lines, edge markings, lights and signs. Avoid producing one huge, complicated polygon when several simpler shapes will be easier to edit and less prone to geometry errors.
4. Add ramp starts and traffic logic. Ramp starts need suitable aircraft types and orientations. Painted taxi lines do not guide AI aircraft: WED’s ATC taxi routes are a separate connected network, with runway segments and hot zones where required. Airport flows are optional, but poorly configured flows can select unsuitable runways.
5. Place objects, facades and vegetation. WED places scenery resources such as .obj, .fac, .for and .pol assets; it is not a 3D modelling application. Custom models must be created separately and stored in the package with valid resource paths.
6. Control surrounding scenery carefully. Use narrowly targeted exclusion zones to remove only conflicting objects, forests, roads or facades. An oversized exclusion can erase several kilometres of useful autogen. Draw a sensible airport boundary where appropriate, but do not treat it as a live flattening tool: exporting a boundary does not rebuild the installed terrain mesh.

For large photographic areas, use our X-Plane 12 Ortho4XP creation workflow instead of trying to turn WED into a terrain generator. WED can then hold the airport overlay above that base scenery.

Default library assets make a distributable package easier to manage. If you reference a third-party library, every user needs the same dependency; our OpenSceneryX installation and missing-library guide covers one of the dependencies commonly encountered in airport packages.

How do I validate, export and test WED scenery?

Run X-Plane 12 validation, export the scenery pack and inspect it inside the simulator after every substantial group of changes. WED’s saved source file is not the scenery X-Plane loads.

1. Save and validate. Run WED’s validation command with X-Plane 12 selected as the target. Correct errors before exporting and investigate warnings rather than automatically ignoring them. Do not select an older target merely to silence a check.
2. Export the scenery pack. Use Export Scenery Pack for a local installation or downloadable package. The separate Gateway export is only for projects that meet Gateway restrictions.
3. Check the exported files. Confirm that WED has generated the expected files under the package’s Earth nav data folder. A DSF is produced when the project contains overlay placements that require one.
4. Load the airport in X-Plane 12. Inspect runway and taxiway alignment, object placement, lighting, exclusions and approaches. Test both day and night; rain is also useful for spotting unexpected surface or material behaviour.
5. Read Log.txt. After closing or reloading the flight, inspect the file in the X-Plane root folder for missing resources, failed DSF loads and library errors. The log normally identifies the exact resource path that failed.
6. Check scenery priority. In Custom Scenery/scenery_packs.ini, keep the custom airport above the global-airports entry and above regional overlays, orthophotos and base meshes. Our orthophoto installation and scenery-priority explanation shows how those layers should be ordered.

X-Plane’s scenery-reload command can shorten testing for simple placement changes, but restart the simulator if airport data, terrain, libraries or resource paths do not refresh reliably.

Why is my WED scenery missing or broken?

Missing WED scenery usually comes from an unexported project, incorrect folder nesting, scenery priority or a failed resource dependency. Check the package structure and Log.txt before redrawing the airport.

• Only earth.wed.xml exists: the project was saved but not exported. Run validation, then use Export Scenery Pack.
• The airport never appears: confirm that the package is directly inside Custom Scenery, is not marked SCENERY_PACK_DISABLED, and was created in the same X-Plane installation you are running.
• The default and custom airports overlap: check that the custom package uses the correct airport identifier and sits above global airports. Disable any second custom package covering the same field.
• Objects are missing or shown as placeholders: look for Failed to find resource or library-related messages in Log.txt. Install the exact required library or replace the object with a default asset. Resource paths are case-sensitive on Linux.
• Autogen covers the apron: add a tightly drawn exclusion for the specific scenery class causing the conflict. Do not exclude roads, forests and objects together unless all three genuinely need removing.
• AI aircraft stop or take impossible routes: inspect the ATC network for disconnected nodes, incorrect one-way segments, missing runway routes and unsuitable ramp types. Painted centre lines have no effect on routing.
• The runway sits in a trench or on a plateau: this is normally a base-mesh or elevation problem, not an object-placement error. An airport boundary will not recut an existing mesh; correct or replace the underlying terrain instead.
• Validation reports crossing or malformed geometry: zoom in and simplify the offending polygon or route. Very short segments, duplicate points and self-intersections are frequent causes.