FS2004 Bay Area Bridges version 2.0

Thanks for downloading this scenery! I hope this enhances your Flight Simulator flying experience around the San Francisco Bay Area. This scenery replaces some default bridges with gmax versions.

Included are:
- Golden Gate bridge (updated)
- San Franciso Bay bridge 
- San Mateo-Hayward Bridge (New!)
- Dumbarton bridge and piers, part of the Hetch Hetchy Aquaduct, and Cutoff train bridge. (New!)
- Powerline scenery around the San Mateo and Dumbarton bridges. (New!)

Also included are revised coastlines around the Golden Gate area for more accurate placement of the GG bridge. This version is compatible with VFR sceneries like Megascenery, and road and coastline sceneries like Ultimate Terrain. I also changed the color of the Golden Gate bridge for a more faded look, and added FS2002 compatibility. 

Note: I created the powerlines around the bridges using RWY12 Scenery object placer. They should display correctly without installation of that program, since the bridge scenery references default objects. However, if they don't appear in your scenery, they should display after installation of RWY12. This program is available both on avsim.com and flightsim.com.



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Installation of bridges 

*Please uninstall the previous version first if you have it before proceeding. *

1. Unzip the "Bay Area Bridges" Folder into the addon scenery directory or folder of your choice, e.g. ...\FS9\Addon Scenery\.

If using an accurate road addon, such as the FSGenesis American Data, NorCal Megascenery, Flight One's Ultimate Terrain:USA or USA roads, I have designed a version of the Bay Bridge and Dumbarton bridge which will fit more accurately with those sceneries. First, remove the dumbarton.bgl, bay_bridge.bgl, and bay_bridge_1.bgl files from the Bay Area bridge/scenery folder. Then place the three *.bgl files from the "Megascenery - UT files" folder into the "Bay Area bridge/scenery" folder. I also included 2 flatten files for UT:USA users which will prevent Fort Point and Alcatraz island from floating above the terrain. If you use UT:USA, then place those files into the scenery folder as well.

Optional: You can choose if you want textured cars on the Golden Gate bridge at night. Either backup or replace the "golden_gate1_lm.bmp" in the texture folder with the one in the "no headlights" folder. Default texture is with headlights and cars.

2. Addition of coastlines. If using Ultimate Terrain:USA or a similar coastline addon, SKIP this step (a and b.)

a. Backup the file "HP915180.bgl" located in the "Flight Simulator 9\scenery\NAMW\scenery\" folder, e.g. "HP915180.bgl.original". Then place the file "HP915180_new.bgl" from the "New Water Mask" folder into the "Flight Simulator 9\scenery\NAMW\scenery\" folder. If you are not comfortable replacing this default file, you can skip this step. However, the terrain mesh around the coastlines won't be as detailed, and the terrain won't match up with the Golden Gate bridge.

b. Place the *.bgl files from the "Coastlines" folder into the "Bay Area Bridges\scenery" folder.


3. Add the scenery within Flight Simulator by using the scenery library function. 

With NorCal Megascenery or Ultimate Terrain, make sure the Bay Area Bridges scenery entry is above those layers on the scenery list.

That's it!

4. FS2002 users please read the text file in the "for FS2002 users" folder.

5. To remove the scenery, simply reverse the above steps.



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Known Issues

1. I recommend using a terrain mesh of at least 38.2m resolution. Without this, the Golden Gate bridge doesn't line up correctly with the roads or land.

2. The bridges' textures may unrealistically flash and shimmer from further away.

3. Some of the bridge ends don't correctly line up with the default roads. This is not an issue with an accurate road addon such as USA roads, Megascenery, etc. 

4. The autogen around the bridges might disappear.
 
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Thanks go to the many free scenery design resources on the internet which helped me create this scenery, including the AVSIM scenery design forum, Coast-line-Maker, RWY12, gmax, and DXTBmp. Big thanks also go to Peter Manion who helped me with resources for these bridges. I hope you enjoy this scenery as much as I did in making it! If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail me at mikemahat@hotmail.com. Also please do not upload to any web sites without my permission.

Mike Mahat