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The Complete Beginner’s Guide to DCS World
Welcome to the world of Digital Combat Simulator (DCS World), the ultimate flight combat simulation that brings the thrill of…
New Scenery Assets and Gateway Contributions in X-Plane 12
Spotlight on New Scenery Assets and Gateway Contributions in X-Plane 12
A Community-Powered Visual Evolution.
With the release of X-Plane 12.1 and beyond, Laminar Research has continued its commitment to the gateway contributions in X-Plane 12 to increase realism and community engagement. Through its robust Scenery Gateway system and expanded scenery asset library X Plane continues to grow and evolve. These updated libraries are the backbone of our scenery in and around airports encompassing textures, Trees, Structures and vehicles to name a few.
These updates not only enhance the look and feel of the simulator globally but also allow the passionate user base to shape the virtual world in a hands-on way.
What Is the X-Plane Scenery Gateway?
Community-Sourced Quality Control
The X-Plane Scenery Gateway is Laminar Research’s corridor for Gateway contributions in X-Plane 12 community driven platform for sharing, reviewing, and distributing custom airport scenery for use in X-Plane. This is where anyone in the X Plane community can create airports as well as 3D objects if you have the talent to do so and offer them as .
Rather than relying solely on internal development, Laminar has empowered its passionate global user base to contribute to the sim’s realism by building and refining airports with World Editor (WED) and submitting them directly to the Gateway.
Once reviewed and approved, these user-submitted airport gateway contributions in X-Plane 12 are incorporated into official X-Plane updates—meaning your local airfield, your regional hub, or even your favorite vacation runway can be included for users worldwide.
Outside flying in X Plane 12 creating local airports and even towns is an interesting and enjoyable pastime and adding to the gateway contributions in X-Plane 12 is an added bonus. Its great to return something to the community when you create a new or update an airport.
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Who Can Contribute?
Open to Everyone – From Hobbyists to Professionals
Anyone with a copy of X Plane 12 can get World Editor (WED), which is free and publicly available from Laminar Research, can start building airports. You don’t need to be a professional 3D artist or scenery designer. The learning curve is approachable, and there are hundreds of tutorials and YouTube walkthroughs that guide new creators from concept to submission.
The whole system is as simple as selecting buildings, aircraft, fences, roads, ground textures from asphalt to mud and dirt and placing them where needed. There are photo scenery to help guide you create these airports from scratch or updating current airports to be more accurate to real life.
Whether you want to:
- Add accurate taxiway signs and runway lights to your local GA airfield
- Improve the layout and buildings at your regional international airport
- Create small touches of realism with accurate vegetation and objects
You can do it as well and you can contribute to your X Plane 12 Community.
Beyond Airports: Custom 3D Asset Contributions
Houses, Vehicles, People, and Trees
While WED is primarily used for airport development, more advanced users can also create standalone custom 3D objects—ranging from realistic houses, cars, aircraft tugs, and fuel trucks, to trees, people, and even animals.
These contributions typically require external tools such as Blender or AC3D, allowing creators to model, texture, and export custom assets compatible with X-Plane’s object format (.obj). These can then be submitted to Laminar or shared through third-party libraries.
What’s New in X-Plane 12.1 and Onward?
Officially Accepted Assets from the Community
The latest version of X-Plane 12.1 brings with it a significant expansion in scenery assets—many of which come directly from community Gateway submissions and Laminar’s internal efforts. These include:
- New and updated airport terminal facades
- More detailed hangars, control towers, and ground vehicles
- Expanded library of static aircraft
- Realistic vegetation and forestry types for diverse biomes
- Improved urban and suburban buildings reflecting global architecture
Worldwide Improvements
Importantly, these assets are not just USA-focused. Laminar Research has integrated new scenery elements that reflect European, Asian, Oceanic, and Australian architecture and natural environments. Users can now expect to see regional-specific houses, trees, vehicles, signage, and airport buildings across continents.
This focus on global realism marks a shift from the more USA-centric scenery enhancements of past iterations, and helps make flights in Asia, the Middle East, and the Southern Hemisphere more immersive than ever.
What Is WED and Why Should You Use It?
World Editor (WED) – Building Airports from the Ground Up
WED is a free tool provided by Laminar Research for creating and editing X-Plane scenery packages, primarily focused on airports. With it, you can:
- Design taxiways, ramps, runways, and buildings
- Place scenery assets from the default library
- Match your airport layout to satellite images or diagrams
- Export your airport for personal use or submit to the Gateway
A Rewarding Creative Journey
WED is incredibly empowering. You can:
- Recreate your local airfield in stunning detail
- Improve the accuracy of default airports
- Share your creation with the entire X-Plane community
For beginners, a vast number of YouTube tutorials, official documentation, and community forums make it surprisingly approachable—even for those without prior 3D experience.
X-Plane’s Future: The Road to Version 12.2 and Beyond
A Bright Future with a Powerful New Engine
Looking ahead, X-Plane 12.2 is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated updates in the simulator’s history. Some features currently in development or already teased by Laminar Research include:
- A brand new graphics engine (covered in our recent blog) bringing improved lighting, atmospheric effects, and rendering performance
- Enhanced multi-core CPU utilization for better performance
- Improved AI traffic logic and regional liveries
- Additional ATC improvements
- Further expansion of the autogen scenery system and worldwide assets
These upgrades will not only improve performance and visual fidelity but also deepen the level of immersion and accuracy—especially when combined with the growing volume of Gateway and custom scenery contributions.
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Final Thoughts
X-Plane 12 is entering a golden age of user-driven content and official development harmony. The Scenery Gateway allows everyone to play a role in improving the simulator, whether you’re fixing a taxiway or modeling a village in rural Thailand.
With the introduction of expanded scenery assets, community-developed content, and global architectural diversity, version 12.1 represents a major step forward in X-Plane’s visual realism. And with version 12.2 promising a new graphics engine and even more community integration, the future looks exceptionally bright.
Whether you’re a casual simmer, a student pilot, or a scenery developer, there’s never been a better time to explore the skies and contribute to X-Plane’s ever-evolving world.
Explore. Create. Contribute.
Let’s Fly VFR.
Author
Brendon McAliece (Aka Gunnie) is a military veteran with 23 years working on Jet Fighters, their weapons systems and ejection seat/module systems as well as munitions and R&D. Involved with flight simulation since the 1980s, he has flown all the major flight simulators over the years.
He is an Australian expat who has lived in Malaysia, UK, Saudi Arabia and more recently Thailand. He is a multi-lingual blogger who loves to share his life experiences here on LetsFlyVFR.com and DreamingGuitar.com, with his lifestyle and Travel experiences Blog plus his Dreaming Coffee website.
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