iniBuilds Scenery & MSFS2024: The Case of The Pink Textures

[NickDAL]

All, this post is largely my ongoing study of how iniBuilds Sceneries interact with the Sim and one another. Specifically, the packages uploaded to the Sim's Marketplace as I am on Xbox X. My original thread on the ongoing pink textures for Xbox users at KDFW is here: 

Lately, many users, including those on PC, have noticed more and more pink textures appearing in iniBuilds sceneries as the Sim evolves and updates itself but also, and importantly, more and more iniBuilds sceneries come onto the scene and loaded into the Sim. 

This is a story of how one corrupt scenery package, and, more specifically, using the same texture files over and over again in multiple sceneries without fixing their text pathways, corrupt multiple iniBuilds sceneries over time. For our study we'll look at how updating one scenery, KLAX v1.0.2, which has many user complaints in the forum, can create bugs in other iniSceneries.

In our study today we'll look at the effects on KPSP v1.0.0 and KDTW v1.0.5. All are packages streamed from the in-game Marketplace. It's important to note that all three of these iniSceneries are updated ports from MSFS2020, meaning they are not original to the 2024 SDK, simply enhanced and updated for 2024. For every test below, everything was streamed directly from the Microsoft servers and all caches were cleared to ensure old or conflicting data was removed. Let's dive in...

First let's look at KLAX's effect when installed and updated piecemeal by the user over time on KPSP...below we see that KLAX v1.0.2's texture files has corrupted ramp equipment at KPSP. Other user report even cars are pink in the parking lots.  

Now let's watch what happens when KLAX is completely removed from the game and KPSP is allowed to stream on its own...the textures are restored but notice the stairs truck has completely vanished. 

Now that we've cleared out corrupt files let's re-stream KLAX on the Xbox.....not only has the stairs truck reappeared at KPSP but it has its correct textures applied, no more pink textures at KPSP.

 

OK great, but what about KLAX v1.0.2's effect on other iniSceneries? Let's go to KDTW v.1.0.5 and check for pink corruption.

Bingo, there it is, didn't take long to find one. KLAX's runway caution lights have duped over KDTW's texture/object file and not only corrupted it, but now they face the wrong way. Now let's disable KLAX and see what happens at KDTW...

Look at that, KDTW's caution lights revert to their original texture/object file used in MSFS2020 and they face the correct way now. So now let's uninstall KDTW and stream both the latest versions of KLAX and KDTW to see the effect on a clean Xbox system...

A mixed bag, KLAX has placed its texture and object file for the runway caution lights at KDTW but it still faces the wrong way as in our first example....

 

Now back to KDFW, a 2024 SDK original scenery that has been missing texture files since release on Xbox...texture files we should note, DO show up in original 2020 sceneries now enhanced for 2024 but still not native to the SDK....KLAX and KJFK. 

Below we see two pics of one of the two missing texture files at KDFW (see my original KDFW post above) correctly show up at the older two airports.

Even with KJFK and KLAX disabled and the cache cleared, it still does not load at KDFW....you can see the pics of this in my other post linked above.

That means the script for the textures files submitted for Xbox in a full 2024 SDK made scenery were copy and pasted from older 2020 enhanced versions and do not read the same in the new SDK. The bad code must be located and cleaned up to fix these overlaps and corruption across iniBuild's sceneries with particular attention paid to old texture and object code that predates the 2024 SDK kit and was used in older 2020 ports. 

I hope this helps out the developers, especially when it comes to Xbox and how packages are loaded to the Marketplace and read but the system. I'll continue to test out all these things are updates and fixes are released over time. Please reach out with questions, thank you so much!

--Nick N.

cc: @IniJamir @IniSteve