I don't own any of these 2 new products yet, but by comparing the screenshots, I must say that HD Environment looks much more realistic and natural than REX - and that for half the price! Since I already have a perfect weather engine (AS6.6) and a great flightplanner (FSNav) I think I will go for HD Environment rather than for REX.Wolfgang

I don't own any of these 2 new products yet, but by comparing the screenshots, I must say that HD Environment looks much more realistic and natural than REX - and that for half the price! Since I already have a perfect weather engine (AS6.6) and a great flightplanner (FSNav) I think I will go for HD Environment rather than for REX.Wolfgang

Hi Wolfgang,Well, I see the exact opposite. I believe REX is far superior to the limited screen shots I've seen on HD Environments web site. HD's clouds seem to be washed out and blurry, REX's tropical waters plankton shots are absolutely stunning. I did not see one screenshot from HD that depicts plankton/underwater growth. Sky textures from both companies seem fine to me, I wouldn't say one is better than the other. With the GUI interface that comes with REX and its ability to change countless features/options you can have a completely different look to your flightsim environment every time you start REX. So the realistic look you talk about and/or see with HD I'm sure is obtainable with REX.As far as the difference in price, you are getting so much more with REX, just take a look at all the features on their webpage. Guess what it comes down to is personal taste, for me nothing on the market can touch REX2004 and/or REXFSX (I Purchased Both). Also keep in mind we haven't seen the first patch to REX2004 yet, so things can only get better.I can assure you I am no REX fan-boy as they say, I call it as I see it. When I first purchased REXFSX and attempted to get my product via download I had numerous problems, I slammed the company pretty hard, more than they deserved I suspect in retrospect. That's when I learned that this company's support staff was also top notch, despite my attitude/remarks toward the company. Customer Support/After Market Sales is an area that seems to be lacking with "MANY" online companies, not so with REX.To be honest, If I was asked by any of my close friends that run flight simulation which product to choose, I would have to say without hesitation REX.It do not want to take anything away from HD Environment it looks like a really good product, it just seems REX has raised the realistic bar a little further when it comes to this area of flight sim.Just my two cents

HD Environment says they use virtually lossless textures. How can something be virtually lossless? Is that a marketing phrase for lossy textures that are almost lossless the same way preowned cars are virtually new used cars? That entire line in their website just jumped out at me and made me chuckle. I lost a little confidence in the product too because of that hyped line.I'd like to hear from someone that purchased HD Environment how they compare to the other texture products that are available.Anyone notice that texture sets seem to be the most plentiful way to enhance the sim?Bruce

I saw that HD thing, and i must say NOT EVEN CLOSE TO REX! Clouds somehow are not clouds, its more like some puffy white thing on the sky. So mu choice is REX with no doubt!

Just to note, there are more and more of both HD and Rex samples from owners showing up in our screen shot forum if you care to visit........

My only guestion is why would you want to purchase something that you can get for free! Look for the file (HDE_1.0) at www.simviation.com the clouds are 3D Hi-Def, the sky looks so crisp and the land textures mesh with the water pretty cool. I didnt use the water files with this download because they were too calm and lacked that coral effect in the caribbeans. I just use "water2 and new waves" water files for my water and they look pretty much realistic to me. give that a whirl before you toss your dough! I garuntee you will like the sky, cloud, and landclass textures!

My only guestion is why would you want to purchase something that you can get for free! Look for the file (HDE_1.0) at www.simviation.com the clouds are 3D Hi-Def, the sky looks so crisp and the land textures mesh with the water pretty cool. I didnt use the water files with this download because they were too calm and lacked that coral effect in the caribbeans. I just use "water2 and new waves" water files for my water and they look pretty much realistic to me. give that a whirl before you toss your dough! I garuntee you will like the sky, cloud, and landclass textures!

HelloHDE 1.0 is very nice, the author did a great job giving these textures to the community for freeBut its not in the same league as REX 2004

I own REX2004 and I have been flying with the HDE textures for a while, and in my opinion they are of equal quality.That is not to say that it is not worth investing in REX, as it gives you a large variation to pick from. In my humble opinion, what FS needs more than anything to make it more enjoyable is variety and Randomness.I would 100% recommend REX, but that is not to say that HDE isn't as good. It is!!!

I don't own any of these 2 new products yet, but by comparing the screenshots, I must say that HD Environment looks much more realistic and natural than REX - and that for half the price! Since I already have a perfect weather engine (AS6.6) and a great flightplanner (FSNav) I think I will go for HD Environment rather than for REX.Wolfgang

I have Real Environment Pro and ZT Ultimate Water advanced and FS elemental natural pack. Is REX or HDE worth spending money on in such case?

I have Real Environment Pro and ZT Ultimate Water advanced and FS elemental natural pack. Is REX or HDE worth spending money on in such case?

I've pretty much tried everything before I got REX. I'd say go for it. I've had the free HD 1.0 clouds before, and although not major, I can def see that REX clouds are better. And although all the other things (water, sky, runway textures, etc) are available freeware, its very convenient to have it all in one package like REX and be able to customize easily.

I've pretty much tried everything before I got REX. I'd say go for it. I've had the free HD 1.0 clouds before, and although not major, I can def see that REX clouds are better. And although all the other things (water, sky, runway textures, etc) are available freeware, its very convenient to have it all in one package like REX and be able to customize easily.

So if we have REX we don't need anything else since nothing else is better than REX correct?

REX clouds.....won't see this with HDE and that alone makes it worth the money to me.

So if we have REX we don't need anything else since nothing else is better than REX correct?

Well I didn't quite say that. I'd say having so many textures in one place is worth the price in convenience, and as far as clouds go, I say yes, nothing is 'better'. The other textures one can argue about, as some say they don't like the sky or water textures. But I personally have experimented with many of the textures available in REX and I can see they are equal to, if not the best, out there.And keep in mind that REX doesn't have ALL textures, you still need programs like GEPro and FE...and I can say I still use AS6.5 instead of the weather program in REX.

Well I didn't quite say that. I'd say having so many textures in one place is worth the price in convenience, and as far as clouds go, I say yes, nothing is 'better'. The other textures one can argue about, as some say they don't like the sky or water textures. But I personally have experimented with many of the textures available in REX and I can see they are equal to, if not the best, out there.And keep in mind that REX doesn't have ALL textures, you still need programs like GEPro and FE...and I can say I still use AS6.5 instead of the weather program in REX.

I understand that I also need GEPro. But I certainly don't understand why I would also need FE. FE=Flight Environment from flight 1? I own it but have it not installed since I now get clouds sky and water from other programs and that would be covered by REX I suppose.

I understand that I also need GEPro. But I certainly don't understand why I would also need FE. FE=Flight Environment from flight 1? I own it but have it not installed since I now get clouds sky and water from other programs and that would be covered by REX I suppose.

I don't understand why you need FE=Flight Environment either... :(