These are introductory articles for authors and general users.
| Title | Date | Description |
| Getting Started | 01/27/09 | A few starting-points for creating scenery. |
| About the new Global Scenery | 01/27/09 | An overview of what's new in the global scenery. |
| Airport Layouts and Global Scenery | 01/27/09 | Tips on building airport layouts and submitting them for the next global scenery. |
These articles explain various aspects of the scenery system and are intended for authors creating scenery.
| Title | Date | Description |
| Scenery Package Organization | 01/27/09 | Layout Information for Scenery Packages |
| Scenery System Overview | 01/27/09 | A mostly non-technical overview of the entire X-Plane scenery system. |
| Building DSF Meshes | 01/27/09 | Details for programmers on how to build custom DSF meshes. |
| Performance Tuning and Scenery | 01/27/09 | How to maximize framerate in a custom scenery package |
| About Overlays | 01/27/09 | A description of the overlay system and its uses. |
| X-Plane 8 Library System | 01/27/09 | Customizing artwork with the X-Plane 8 Library. |
| Object Overview | 01/27/09 | A semi-technical description of the new OBJ8 object format. |
| DSF Overview | 01/27/09 | A semi-technical description of the new scenery format. |
| Facades Overview | 01/27/09 | A description of facade objects and their role in the new scenery system. |
The various scenery tools can be found on the tools page; the tools have a text file (usually called README) with complete instructions. WorldEditor's help is available from the Help Menu once WorldEditor is launched.
You can also find PDF editions of some of the manuals below.
| Title | Date | Description |
| AC3D Exporter Plugin Manual | 12/25/09 | This manual is also available in .txt form with the plugin download. |
| WorldEditor Manual | 12/25/09 | WorldEditor 1.0 User's Manual. This manual is also available via the online help in WorldEditor. |
These are detailed specifications of the various X-Plane specific file types used by the X-Plane scenery system. They are intended primarily for programmers, although in some cases authors may need to create these files by hand with a text editor.
| Title | Date | Description |
| .dsf (Low Level Format) | 01/27/09 | Distribution Scenery Format Specification |
| .dsf (Usage by X-Plane) | 10/09/09 | DSF X-Plane Integration Information |
| .fac (building facade) | 01/27/09 | Facade definition specification |
| .for (forest) | 01/27/09 | Forest definition specification |
| .lin (painted line) | 10/09/09 | Painted Line definition specification |
| .net (road network) | 01/27/09 | Road Network definition specification. |
| .obj (Object 8) | 12/25/09 | OBJ Version 8 File Format Specification |
| .pol (draped polygon) | 01/27/09 | Draped Polygon definition specification |
| .str (object string) | 01/27/09 | Object String definition specification |
| .ter (terrain) | 01/27/09 | Terrain definition specification |
| Library (library.txt) | 01/27/09 | Specification of the library.txt file format |
These documents describe the old X-Plane 7 scenery system, and are included for historical reference.
| Title | Date | Description |
| LEGACY: V7 Scenery Packages | 01/27/09 | The version 7 scenery packaging system. |
| LEGACY: Env File Format Specification | 01/27/09 | Explanation of the version 7 ENV file format. |
| LEGACY: V7 Default Scenery Overview | 01/27/09 | An Author's Guide to V7 Default Scenery. |
If you would like to translate a tutorial into another language, please email me to receive the raw source document!