I'm seeing a LOT of mesh files............

[Guest Lindy]

......... in the Library for FS2002. Is it really worth it to install them? How do they impact on the sim's performance. (I am presuming these mesh files are similar to the TerraScene files that Fly!2 uses -- smaller but the same idea, right?) Since I plan to do the majority of my flying in the States, I imagine any of the mesh files that I DO install will be for this area. I was specifically interested in the Alaska files and those for Hawaii. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks. -Lindy :-spacecraft

[Guest]

Lindy - Most of the default USA FS2002 scenery is 75-meter mesh. (Some at 154 meters, or more, in the outlying areas.) So, the 38-meter add-on mesh in the library will be at least twice the detail of the default in most all cases. There will be an impact on your framerate with the higher resoluton scenery but not too great - maybe 10-25% depending on the processor speed. But the difference is very noticeable. Especially Hawaii and Alaska. One thing nice thing about FS2002 is that you can have two mesh sceneries installed and active at the same time. FS2002 will automatically use the one with the highest resolution and you won't need to uninstall or disable anything. I always install the mesh sceneries outside FS2002 so that I can "turn them on and off" but it's not necessary to do so. Try the Ohau 38-meter stuff first - if that doesn't make you want more nothing will.Trip

[Guest]

LindyMy understanding of Terrascene is that it improves both elevation data and textures. Mesh files will only improve elevation data. You will have the same textures as you started with. That said, it is generally considered well worth it to install mesh scenery, particularly for mountainous areas, like, say, Alaska.Doug Dawson

[Guest Heather 636]

Hi Lindy!I download everything I can get for the United States and Canada.Eddie Denney's monster Alaska pack of 16 files takes a while to download at a total of 481 meg (and that's zipped!) but are they worth it!!!Between the improved mesh files and the landclass assistants, I couldn't imagine going back to flying the default scenery.I am running on a PIII, 800mhz, 512RAM system with a GeForceII, 64 Meg vid card. My sliders are all at about the 3/4 mark and I'm suffering very little loss. A wee bit of jerkiness on some of the high-volume eye-candy areas but as far as the mesh files, I couldn't see any difference.They REALLY are worth it. You won't regret it.Cheers!Heather

[Guest DrBob]

Hi Lindy,As one of the pioneers in mesh design, especially high res mesh based on detailed 7.5 minute source data I think I can give some good advice here.1) The BEST USA mesh : is 30m or 38m mesh using source data from the USGS based on 30m DEMS = 7.5 minute DEMS = 1 arc/second Originally all such mesh was made by either Orlando Sotomayer or myself, Bob Shubinski. Now Justin Tyme, Leland Steffensen, mmaxx, and Steve Greenwood have provided mesh using such source data.Frame rate hit is minimal. There is a central location at fsgenesis.com for freeware high quality mesh called Mesh Central. Fsgenesis also offers low cost high quality payware mesh that covers the National parks including much of Alaska. This is what I use!2) 2nd best USA mesh: is based on older 150m or 1 degree DEM source data. The terrain SDK allows one to resample this to a resolution of 153m or 75m with minimal errors. Recently a product offering mesh resampled to 30m was made available. The key to recognizing such mesh is that the resolution of the source data is not clearly announced. All of the authors making quality mesh specify the source data plain and clear. Where no high res 30m mesh is available I recommend using mesh resampled to 75m. Such terrain exists for a small fee at fsgenesis.com for both the USA and Alaska. I downloaded the 400 Mb of mesh made by Eddie Denney but is was less well done than the 75m mesh from fsgenesis.com so I deleted it! Avaoid mesh oversampled to the extreme to 30m using old low resolution data.3) up and coming US mesh : we are starting to see 10m mesh now. Extreme detail in terrain at a cost of large file sizes covering small areas. There is a paucity of source material at 10m also so this mesh is best for areas such as the Grand Canyon or Monument Valley etc ... Satellite data will allow authors to sue new source material and we will see more accurate mesh once that is set up and going.4) non USA mesh : Few countries have allowed acces to the good source material so we only have great mesh for places such as New Zealand and Japan. Other areas can be improved over default mesh by using enhancing programs that interpolate missing data points in order to produce mesh that approximates higher resolutions. Some of this is payware but I like Pietro Mauri's freeware work covering Italy, Switzerland, the UK and Norway. I have downloaded and compared this mesh with gaia mesh, Raimondo's freeware mesh for similar areas and Pignot's mesh but liked Pietro's better. If you have other questions let me know.:-)Bob S Reno, NV

[Guest Heather 636]

Yeah. What Dr Bob said.Here are some examples, a before and after shot of one I just installed.FS Genesis Superstition Mountains 38m TerrainThis is by Roosevelt Lake in ArizonaA picture says a thousand words.Have fun downloading!Cheers!Heather

[Guest Lindy]

.... for your answers. Especially Dr. Bob and Heather. *smile* Heather: my system is comparable to yours, although a little less powerful (P3 700 w/320 mgs system RAM but a GEForce2 Ti 64 mg card) so I guess I can try out some of the mesh terrain. If the performance hit is too great, I can always get rid of it (I hope)! ;-) -Lindy :-spacecraft