How do I create photoreal scenery for FS2004?

To create photoreal scenery for FS2004, obtain legally usable aerial imagery, georeference and crop it, describe its coordinates in a Resample INF file, then compile it with the FS2004 Terrain SDK’s Resample tool. Install the resulting BGL in an active scenery layer and check alignment, seasons, water and night appearance.

In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 (FS9), photoreal scenery is an aerial or satellite image draped over the simulator’s terrain. It does not create buildings, trees, accurate elevations or animated water by itself.

What tools and source files do I need?

The essential compiler is Resample, supplied with the Terrain SDK. Our complete FS2004 SDK pack with the terrain tools provides the official compiler and documentation.

• Aerial or satellite imagery licensed for modification and distribution
• An image or GIS editor capable of cropping, reprojection and colour correction
• Accurate latitude and longitude bounds for the image
• The FS2004 Terrain SDK and its Resample compiler
• Enough free storage for the source rasters and compiled BGL files

Do not assume that imagery visible in an online map may be republished. Screenshots can also contain labels, perspective distortion and projection errors. Removing a watermark does not grant redistribution rights.

A mistake we see constantly is copying a JPG or BMP directly into an FS2004 Texture folder. FS9 does not treat that as photo terrain; the source image must be georeferenced and compiled into a scenery BGL.

How do I make photoreal ground textures in FS2004?

1. Choose a small test area. Start with several recognisable features such as a runway, road junction and shoreline. A small tile makes coordinate errors much easier to identify than a complete region.
2. Prepare the source image. Crop unwanted borders, remove labels where the licence permits editing, and correct severe colour or brightness differences. Keep the original resolution; enlarging a low-resolution image only creates more pixels, not more ground detail. Split very large coverage into manageable tiles with matching boundaries.
3. Georeference the raster. Reproject it to the geographic coordinate system expected by the SDK, normally WGS84 latitude and longitude, and make it north-up without rotation or skew. Record the exact upper-left coordinate and the image’s pixel spacing. Do not confuse metres per pixel with degrees per pixel.
4. Create the Resample INF file. Begin with the example supplied in the Terrain SDK rather than an INF written for FSX or a later simulator. The source section identifies the raster and uses Layer=Imagery. For an image without usable embedded georeferencing, fields such as ulxMap, ulyMap, xDim and yDim describe its upper-left position and pixel spacing. The destination section defines the output folder, BGL name and detail level.
5. Select a sensible output detail level. Match it to the real source resolution and the range supported by the FS2004 compiler. Selecting finer output than the photograph contains increases file size without making the scenery sharper.
6. Compile the scenery. Run resample.exe project.inf from a command prompt, using full or correctly relative paths. Read the compiler messages rather than assuming a generated file is valid; malformed paths, unsupported source formats and incorrect dimensions can stop compilation.
7. Install the BGL. Copy the generated file or files into a dedicated structure such as Addon Scenery\MyPhoto\Scenery. Add the project through FS2004’s Scenery Library and place it above any local scenery that supplies competing photo coverage.
8. Test from several positions. Inspect the centre, all four edges and known landmarks at low and medium altitude. Correct alignment before creating seasonal, night or water variants, because every derivative must use identical bounds.

Why is my FS2004 photoreal scenery shifted or blurry?

Most alignment failures come from incorrect projection data, while persistent blur usually comes from limited source resolution, an unsuitable compilation level or simulator display settings.

FS2004’s roads, coastlines and airports may not perfectly match real aerial photography. If the image aligns with surveyed coordinates but a default road does not, the default vector scenery may be the inaccurate element. Moving the photograph to match one feature can make the rest of the tile worse.

How do I add seasons, night lighting, water and autogen?

These features require separate image variants or companion scenery; a single daytime aerial photograph cannot generate convincing versions automatically.

• Seasons: Prepare colour-corrected seasonal rasters using exactly the same dimensions, bounds and pixel spacing, then assign the appropriate variation according to the FS2004 Terrain SDK documentation.
• Night: Build a separate night source with lighting applied selectively. Simply darkening the entire daytime photograph produces glowing fields, water and roofs.
• Water: Water photographed in the source remains a static ground image. Use FS2004-compatible masks or companion shoreline and water scenery where reflections and normal simulator water behaviour are needed.
• Autogen and objects: Resample does not infer trees or buildings from the photograph, and photo coverage may suppress default autogen over affected tiles. Add custom autogen or placed scenery objects separately. A step-by-step FS2004 scenery-design workflow can help organise that companion work, but it does not replace Resample for the photographic ground layer.
• Elevation: The image follows the installed terrain mesh. Correcting hills, cliffs or airport elevation requires separate mesh, flatten or airport work rather than editing the photograph.

Build and verify the daytime tile first. Once its coordinates and edges are correct, preserve that INF file as the common reference for every seasonal, night and masked variant.