FSX & FSX: Steam Edition Updated Mon, 14 Sep 2026 20:18:54 GMT 8 min read

How do I install AI ship traffic in FSX or Prepar3D?

By Adam McEnroeFile Library Manager

In short

Install AI ship traffic in FSX, FSX: Steam Edition or Prepar3D with the right boat folders, BGL placement, traffic settings and missing-ship fixes.

To install AI ship traffic in FSX, FSX: Steam Edition or Prepar3D, place each vessel in SimObjects\Boats, copy its effects and sounds as instructed, and put the traffic BGL in an active scenery folder. Enable Ships and ferries; boat models alone cannot generate scheduled traffic.

What does a global AI ship traffic add-on contain?

A working global AI ship traffic package needs both the vessel models and compiled instructions defining where and when those vessels operate.

Component	Usual destination	What it does
Vessel SimObjects	`SimObjects\Boats`	Provides each hull, model, texture and `sim.cfg` entry.
Traffic BGL	An active scenery folder	Contains routes, schedules, density values and references to vessel titles.
Effects	Usually `Effects`	Provides wakes, smoke, lights and other supplied visual effects.
Sounds	Inside the vessel or the destination named by the package	Provides engine, horn and ambient sounds where included.
Optional scenery	A dedicated active scenery area	Adds ports, terminals or scenery objects used alongside the routes.

Installing only the boats creates a model library but no scheduled movement. Installing only the BGL leaves the simulator looking for vessel titles that are not installed. Our large global ship-traffic package example shows how boat folders, effects, scenery and worldwide route files fit together.

The traffic BGL normally identifies a boat through the exact title= entry in its sim.cfg. Renaming that title, even while leaving the folder name unchanged, can make the scheduled vessel invisible.

How do I install AI ships in FSX and Prepar3D?

The safest installation method is to unpack the download into a temporary folder, identify each component, and then copy it to the matching simulator location.

Read the included instructions first. Some packages use direct folder copying, while others provide a self-contained scenery area or a Prepar3D add-on.xml package. Back up any same-named files before an instructed replacement.
Find the correct simulator installation. The FSX root contains fsx.exe; the Prepar3D root contains Prepar3D.exe. Boxed FSX and FSX: Steam Edition use similar internal folders but normally have different installation roots.
Install each complete vessel folder. Copy it into SimObjects\Boats. A correct result resembles SimObjects\Boats\VesselName\sim.cfg. If you have SimObjects\Boats\Boats\VesselName, an unwanted extra directory level has been introduced.
Preserve the configuration titles. Do not alter the vessel's title= value unless you are also rebuilding every traffic file that refers to it.
Merge supporting files carefully. Copy supplied effects, sounds and textures to the locations specified by the author. Merge their contents with existing folders; never replace an entire simulator Effects, Sound or Texture directory.
Install the traffic BGL once. Use the package's stated destination. Scenery\World\Scenery is common in FSX, while a dedicated add-on scenery folder is easier to disable, update and remove.
Activate a dedicated scenery area. If the package has its own scenery subfolder, register and enable its parent folder in the scenery library. In Prepar3D, use the supplied add-on package system when one is provided instead of creating a second direct-copy installation.
Raise the traffic setting for testing. Set Ships and ferries to 100 per cent. The separate Leisure boats slider controls autogenerated small craft and does not replace scheduled BGL traffic.
Restart and test the documented route. Load near a route at the time and date recommended by the package. A ship following a long schedule may be far offshore rather than waiting at its departure port.

Once the package works at 100 per cent, lower Ships and ferries to the density you want. Maximum density is useful for diagnosis, but large packages can increase model, wake and lighting load around busy waterways.

Where should the AI ship traffic BGL go?

The traffic BGL must be inside a scenery folder that the simulator actively scans; it does not belong in SimObjects\Boats.

In FSX and FSX: Steam Edition, Scenery\World\Scenery is already active and is a common destination. A dedicated add-on folder containing a scenery subfolder also works once it has been enabled in the scenery library. Our guide to FSX and Steam Edition traffic-file locations explains both arrangements.

Keep only one active copy of each traffic BGL. Leaving an old version in one scenery area and a replacement in another can produce duplicated ships, overlapping formations or routes that appear to ignore an update.

How does the Ships and ferries setting affect global traffic?

The Ships and ferries percentage acts as a route-selection threshold rather than simply removing the same proportion of boats from every route.

Traffic plans can be compiled with different density values. At a lower simulator setting, plans above the selected threshold are excluded completely. This explains why a particular ferry or cargo route may vanish while other vessels continue operating normally.

“Global” also does not mean that a ship will be visible from every coast or present in every harbour. Routes follow fixed coordinates and timetables, so test near a documented shipping lane. Changes to coastlines or harbour scenery can also leave an older route slightly offshore or, in severe cases, crossing land.

Will FSX AI ship traffic work in Prepar3D v4.5 or P3D v6?

Many model-and-BGL ship packages can be used in Prepar3D, but compatibility must be checked separately for the traffic file, vessel model and effects.

Simulator	Practical guidance
FSX and FSX: Steam Edition	Use the FSX structure supplied by the package. The internal boat and scenery folders are similar, but install into the root belonging to the edition you actually run.
Prepar3D v4.5	Many legacy FSX ship models and traffic BGLs work, but effects and individual models can still require a Prepar3D-compatible release. Prefer an edition that explicitly names v4.5 when available.
P3D v6	Do not assume that compatibility with FSX or v4.5 guarantees v6 support. Prefer a release that explicitly supports P3D v6, particularly when the package contains older models, effects, installers or executable components.

A traffic BGL can load successfully while the referenced model fails to render. Seeing no hull therefore does not prove that the route file itself is incompatible. For more detail on package registration, model-title matching and active traffic files, use our Prepar3D AI model and traffic-BGL workflow.

The 32-bit or 64-bit distinction matters most when an add-on includes a DLL, menu module, executable or other compiled component. A plain package containing only boats, effects and BGL files has no in-simulator DLL to match, but its model and effect formats must still be supported by that Prepar3D version.

Is an X Ship add-on the same as FSX AI ship traffic?

An add-on described as “X Ship” is not automatically an FSX traffic package; install it only in the simulator and format named by its documentation.

An FSX or Prepar3D ship package usually contains .bgl files, SimObjects\Boats folders, sim.cfg files and perhaps .fx effects. An X-Plane ship add-on uses X-Plane scenery, object or plugin structures instead. Copying those files into SimObjects\Boats, or renaming them, does not convert them to FSX format.

Is scheduled ship traffic different from an AI carrier add-on?

Scheduled ship traffic follows routes compiled into a BGL, while an AI carrier utility spawns a carrier or formation on demand near the user's aircraft.

Use scheduled traffic when ships should follow permanent timetables without user input. Use a carrier-spawning utility for selectable naval formations and flight-deck operations; our FSX: Steam Edition carrier-installation guide covers that separate method.

Why are AI ships not showing in FSX or Prepar3D?

Missing ships usually result from an inactive BGL, incorrect boat-folder nesting, a missing model dependency, a changed title= entry or testing the wrong route and time.

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
No ships from the package appear anywhere	The BGL is inactive, Ships and ferries is too low, or the files were installed into another simulator	Set the slider to 100 per cent, confirm scenery activation and verify the installation root.
Some routes work but others do not	Density thresholds, missing vessel dependencies or timetable differences	Test at 100 per cent and check that every required boat library is installed.
A wake appears without a visible hull	Missing textures, an unsupported model or a title pointing to the wrong SimObject	Inspect the complete vessel folder and verify compatibility with the simulator version.
The ship appears but has no wake, smoke or lights	Missing or incorrectly installed effect files	Reinstall the supplied effects without replacing the simulator's entire Effects folder.
Two identical ships occupy the same route	Duplicate or old traffic BGLs remain active	Search active scenery areas and retain one copy of the route file.
A vessel crosses land or misses a harbour entrance	The route was built against different coastline or port scenery	Use compatible scenery or a route revision designed for that coastline.

Check the folder depth before changing anything else: every vessel directory should directly contain its own sim.cfg, model and texture structure. A mistake we see constantly is copying the download's outer container folder into Boats, leaving the actual SimObject one level too deep for the simulator to discover.

If ships appear at 100 per cent but disappear when the slider is reduced, the installation is working. The missing route has simply been compiled for a higher traffic-density threshold.