We recently received many requests on if or why our scenery objects are not excluded or don't exclude objects from other sceneries. With this post, we'll give you more insights into this matter, so you can control exclusions and scenery ordering yourself.
First of all, there is no scenery.cfg in MSFS like there is in FSX or P3D. Sceneries don't have to be added to any file to be found and loaded by MSFS. You simply put an addon scenery folder into the community folder, and it is added automatically by MSFS.
So, is there no file that stores all active scenery files?
There is!
MSFS just introduced new options in the MSFS General Options, including the "Package Reorder Tool".
If you open that tool/window, you'll notice that new entries are listed at the bottom of the list, similar to the scenery.cfg in FSX/P3D.
MSFS loads and sorts sceneries using this list. An addon further down the list will have a higher priority than addons above it.
Now, if an addon uses exclude rectangles to remove objects from other sceneries, it has to be below those other sceneries in this package list. That way, its exclude calls will be able to remove objects from those sceneries that are listed above it.
We suggest to manually check the Package Reorder Tool window from time to time (or if you have any scenery issues) to see if the ordering is ok.
As a general rule, the 'bigger' an addon, the further up the list it should be sorted, as an airport scenery will probably include a more detailed and realistic version of an object than a landmarks pack or regional scenery which might include the same object.
- fs-base entries
- asobo entries
- regional scenery entries
- landmarks packs entries
- airport scenery entries
After you reordered the packages, you can close the Package Reorder Tool window - the changes will automatically be saved and applied to MSFS.
You can use this thread to discuss or ask questions regarding the old content.xml method, the new Package Reorder Tool or the scenery load order in general.
