See which global scenery add-ons are compatible with X-Plane 12, what each changes, and how to avoid mesh, overlay and load-order conflicts.
X-Plane 12 is compatible with HD Mesh Scenery v4, UHD Mesh Scenery v4, X-World regional packages, Ortho4XP tiles and AutoOrtho imagery. They are not interchangeable: HD and UHD replace the base mesh, X-World adds roads and 3D objects, while Ortho4XP and AutoOrtho provide photo-textured base mesh. Load order is essential.
Compatible X-Plane 12 global scenery options
| Add-on | Coverage and purpose | X-Plane 12 compatibility |
|---|---|---|
| Downloadable HD Mesh v4 regions | Broad worldwide terrain, landclass, roads and related scenery data. It is installed by region rather than as one small global package. | Confirmed compatible. It works well as an offline base-mesh upgrade or fallback beneath more detailed regional scenery. |
| Higher-detail UHD Mesh v4 regional packages | Denser terrain data for selected areas, including mountainous regions. Coverage is limited and storage demands are higher than HD Mesh. | Confirmed compatible. Place it above HD Mesh where their coverage overlaps. |
| X-World | Separate regional packages supplying roads, buildings, vegetation and other overlay objects. Combined regions provide extensive global coverage, but it is not replacement terrain imagery. | Use packages explicitly labelled for X-Plane 12. Older X-Plane 11 editions may load but can use unsuitable assets or dependencies. |
| Ortho4XP | User-created orthophoto tiles with their own terrain mesh and aerial ground imagery. | Compatible, although water, coastlines and other X-Plane 12-specific behaviour depend on how the tile was built. Orthophotos do not provide seasonal ground textures. |
| AutoOrtho | Streams and caches aerial imagery for supported regions instead of storing every completed tile in advance. | Compatible when installed with its X-Plane 12 configuration and scenery packages. Our AutoOrtho installation and configuration steps cover the required folder and load-order setup. |
Other global vegetation, texture and autogen packages may work, but compatibility is product- and version-specific. An X-Plane 11 package loading without an error does not prove that it supports X-Plane 12 vegetation, water, seasons or lighting correctly.
Which global scenery option should you choose?
- Choose HD Mesh for broad offline coverage, moderate detail and a dependable fallback beneath regional scenery.
- Choose UHD Mesh for its supported regions when terrain definition matters more than storage use and loading time.
- Add X-World when the main problem is sparse roads, buildings or vegetation rather than terrain textures.
- Build Ortho4XP tiles when you want permanent local orthophotos and control over imagery, elevation data and tile preparation.
- Use AutoOrtho when you want extensive aerial imagery without keeping a complete static orthophoto collection, and have a reliable connection and sufficient cache space.
For a wider comparison of these layers, see how X-World, mesh and imagery can be combined in X-Plane 12.
Can HD Mesh, X-World and orthophotos work together?
They can work together only when their scenery types do not compete for the same role. X-World is an overlay, so it can sit above HD Mesh, UHD Mesh, Ortho4XP or AutoOrtho and place objects over the active terrain.
HD Mesh, UHD Mesh, Ortho4XP and AutoOrtho are base-mesh scenery. X-Plane loads only the highest-priority base mesh for a given tile; it cannot take terrain elevation from UHD Mesh and ground imagery from an Ortho4XP tile at the same time. You can use different base meshes in different regions, but overlapping tiles do not merge.
What scenery_packs.ini order should you use?
Higher entries in scenery_packs.ini have priority over lower entries. A practical order for a mixed global installation is:
- Place custom airports first. They need priority over broad object and road overlays.
- Place X-World and orthophoto overlay layers next. These supply buildings, roads and other objects without replacing the underlying terrain.
- Place Ortho4XP or AutoOrtho base-mesh layers below the overlays. Put them above HD or UHD Mesh where you want aerial imagery to win.
- Place UHD Mesh below orthophotos but above HD Mesh. This gives UHD priority in overlapping non-orthophoto regions.
- Keep HD Mesh near the bottom. It then provides fallback coverage where no higher base-mesh package supplies the tile.
X-Plane's default Global Scenery remains the automatic final fallback and should not be deleted. Some packages contain several separately ordered components, so retain the internal order specified in their documentation.
Why is global scenery not showing in X-Plane 12?
The usual cause is another base-mesh package winning the same tile. A newly detected scenery folder may also be added near the top of scenery_packs.ini, leaving airports or overlays in the wrong position.
- Confirm that the area being flown is actually included in the package's coverage.
- Check that
Earth nav datasits inside the scenery package itself rather than inside an accidental extra folder level. - Open
scenery_packs.iniafter X-Plane has detected the package and correct the priority order. - Inspect
Log.txtfor missing libraries, unreadable scenery files or failed tile loads. - Disable duplicate X-Plane 11 and X-Plane 12 editions of the same overlay rather than loading both.
Do add-ons replace X-Plane 12 Global Scenery?
Custom scenery overrides the default only in tiles where the add-on provides matching coverage. Removing or disabling that add-on allows X-Plane 12 Global Scenery to appear again, so there is no reason to delete the simulator's original scenery when installing a global mesh, X-World or orthophotos.