Hello MSFS SDK Team,
I would like to share an observation and a small suggestion related to the new terraforming system in MSFS 2024 and its interaction with custom terrain meshes (BGL heightmaps).
During testing of a custom high-resolution terrain mesh (ETM, BGL-based), I noticed a consistent behavior:
- With default (new) terraforming enabled, visible terrain artifacts appear (horizontal steps / shading discontinuities following tile boundaries).
- When enabling DevMode → Options → Rendering → Ground Options → Old Terraforming Method, the artifacts completely disappear and the terrain becomes perfectly smooth and physically correct.
This has been tested repeatedly and is 100% reproducible.
This indicates that:
- The mesh data itself is valid
- The vertical datum and geoid conversion are correct
- The issue lies in how the new terraforming engine interprets or blends custom BGL terrain tiles
The same mesh:
- Works correctly in MSFS 2020
- Works correctly in MSFS 2024 when using Old Terraforming Method
- Shows artifacts only with the new terraforming enabled
So this looks like a limitation or regression in the new terraforming pipeline rather than bad data.
Why this matters for users
Currently, Old Terraforming Method is only accessible via Dev Mode, and:
- The setting is not persisted
- It resets on every simulator restart
For developers this is easy to re-enable, but for normal users of custom scenery it is not:
they cannot reasonably be asked to enable DevMode every time just to fix terrain rendering.
This creates a real barrier for distributing high-quality custom terrain meshes.
Suggestion
Even if the underlying rendering issue cannot be fixed quickly, a very useful improvement would be:
Allow “Old Terraforming Method” to be saved as a persistent option
(for example inUserCfg.optor Rendering Options)
So that users who rely on custom terrain meshes can enable it once and have it remembered across sessions, without using Dev Mode.
This would immediately make many existing terrain add-ons usable for a wider audience.
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Thank you for your time and for considering this suggestion.
This would be a small but very impactful quality-of-life improvement for developers and users of custom terrain meshes.
Regards,
Gio