MSFS: Scenery Load Order (Content.xml)

Overview

Those of you that have used X-Plane in the past know that load order is a big deal! While not as important in MSFS, it still can cause some issues if not set up correctly. In most cases, this should not be necessary, if you think it is, please, save yourself some trouble, and reach out to me via the Contact page to see if that is indeed the case.

In MSFS, the load order is controlled by the content.xml. The content .xml is located in "%LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache". It uses a system of priority levels where lower values represent higher priorities, that is, a package with priority 1 will load before a package with priority 3, and that package with priority 3 will load before a package with priority 10, and so on.

By default, since SU10, packages have to be added to the content.xml. There is an editor... but it's less than intuitive. Hopefully Asobo will improve this in the future. Please see "Adding Packages to Content.xml" section at the end.

Summary

• Content.xml is located in "%LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache"

• The lower the priority number, the higher the priority

• Packages in the Content.xml have a higher priority than those not

• Packages must be added to the Content.xml to have their order edited

Finding

To access the Content.xml:

• Open a File Explorer Window

• Click the top bar and paste the following text (circled in image) %LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache

• The Content.xml is in this folder

Editing

To edit the Content.xml order:

1. Follow the steps in "Adding Packages to Content.xml" below to add the packages that need their order edited to the Content.xml

2. Go to "%LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache" in File Explorer

3. Open the file "Content.xml" in a text editor (I recommend Notepad++ for it's speed, clarity, and syntax highlighting).

4. Find the package that is conflicting with the desired package (ie, the package that needs a lower priority. For example, if you have an autogen package that is conflicting with an airport, you want to find the autogen package)

5. Set the priority to a lower value than that of the package that is interfering with it.

6. Save and close the Content.xml

Demo Video

Here is a demonstration video:

Adding Packages to Content.xml

Since SU10, by default, there is no Content.xml, and packages are not auto added to the content.xml. You need to add packages to the Content.xml yourself. Here's how:

Now the packages are added to your Content.xml and can have their order edited! By default, packages in the Content.xml will have a higher priority than packages not in the Content.xml.

If you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out via the Contact Us page!