Here's more support for FSGenesis. I have nothing agains Steve or anyone else. That said, Justin has some of the most comprehensive coverage available. Yes, there is some excellent freeware and payware options available, but with Justin's, I know what I am getting and I don't have to worry about compatibility issues with other mesh packages. In addition, his support has been superb. I too am a Galaxy member, but I started out purchasing individual packages. After awhile, I realized I would save money by purchasing a membership. I have been using Justin's products since FS98, and he has earned my money.Again, feel free to compare. Some of what people want can be found for free. But I have gotten my moneys' worth and then some in supporting Justin over the years. I would be dissappointed if Justin folded up shop tommorrow, but it is ludicris to say that I am publicly supporting Justin and FSGenesis just because I am a member. I personally believe Justin's products are the best value for the money for what I am looking for. I am just as supportive for Lago products, for instance, and there is no membership there.Tony

And I own 3 of the lastest Dreamfleet Planes...And will be getting the 727 and 737 when they are out. :) And I would recommend them to anyone!! Great planes guys!!

---- Thanks for the post, John. I, for one, look forward to hearing more from you. ----1) This is a very unusual comment from you Steve. You are normally a pretty levelheaded guy. To encourage such dribble is very uncharacteristic.You appear (IMHO) to be using this opportunity to go after FSGenesis for some reason only known to you, but that is your choice. It just takes away from your professionalism.2) My comments and several of the others posters simply express the high level of satisfaction we have found with a particular vendor. Buying a membership is just an intelligent, economic decision once you have decided a product is worth it. Many vendors do not offer such a financial option, which makes sense if they are not continually offering new products. In FSGenesis' case however, Justin continues to offer high quality products and superior support. This is a very rare commodity in this arena.3) One additional point: If a person was only interested in a small part of the world, say the NW USA, or the area around Rio, then a FSGenesis membership would not be a viable economic decision. In my case, I fly all over the world and am always searching for the best looking mesh, landclass, scenery, etc., possible to make my "Low and Slow" process the best experience possible. If I find something better than Justin

I think all the comments about look before you buy, research, try demo's where possible, etc. are right on the money. However, my decision to buy a Galaxy membership from FS Genesis is based on the fact that I've tried some of the other payware mesh and landclass products out there, and many of the freeware ones. Having already bought some of the FS Genesis products individually I'm making what is in my mind an informed decision about choosing a "preferred vendor" for my mesh and landclass needs. In this case, a Galaxy membership then makes sense. Hmmm, the Case of the Wandering Thread.... :-)billg

This thread has gone way off topic, but that's alright.I still want to know; though, should I get Land Class and add it to my Genesis mesh terrain that I have just purchased?Or - should I get Land Class and drop the mesh terrain?I could use a little guidance here.Thanks,DonaldS

Get both. You won't be sorry. They work together to enhance the simming experience.

Greg is right they compliment each other. Read my original comment: Terrain mesh defines how the shape of the land reflects reality. Think of the chicken wire forms modelers use to create hills and valleys in HO model train layouts. That is what the terrain mesh does. The lower the value (38.2 meters versus 76.4) the more accurate the representation.Landclass simple tells MS what the land surface should look like, i.e., city, suburb, desert, forest, farm, etc. FSGenesis has a free beta version but the payware version is continually being updated with more accurate city and town data. Go ahead and try the free beta version of the land class if you are unsure. The diffeerence between it and the payware version, is the beta is frozen in time (no further development) whereas the payware product is continually being up dated. Justin takes the input from his customers about certain areas like their home town and improves the landclass accordingly. in fact a new release is due out in the next few days. Racartronit means something, but I just can't remember what

Greg,you made a subtle twist with what Steve was saying...do you see it? Steve said that "members have a financial interest in the success of the vendor". You equated that comment to "choosing a membership...because of ..desire to have a financial interest..". See the difference. You focus on original intentions of the prospective member, Steve is merely pointing out that members indeed find themselves loyal, after the fact.To that end, Steve is right. Your comments are correct, but not relevant to the point Steve was making.Bob Bernstein

Here is a before and after. Not only notice the city addition, but the surrounding areas.

I've been a scenery designer for years, but my attempts to redefine mesh have been feeble. That is, till this past month.On a tip from a friend, I downloaded SRTM_to_bgl utility from the Avsim Library, author is Matthew Styles. Free SRTM data is available for the US, and making mesh using this program has turned out to be very easy.Folks will tell you things that seem to make it all very complicated, and I guess if you pride yourself on perfection, perhaps it can be, but I can tell you that making WONDERFUL mesh is the simplest thing you can do using Matthew's program.Its two mouse clicks to make a bgl. Honestly. All you have to do is download two srtm files, put them in the folder with srtm_to_bgl, and doubleclick on the application that fits your data (either 1arcsec or 3), and then run the corresponding batch file. THats it...then put that bgl in an addon directory and fly over your new mesh.For free!Cheers,Bob Bernstein

Okay in defense of Greg...Here is it again.."One problem with Membership programs is the fact that members have a financial interest in the success of the vendor. If the vendor goes out of business, their memberships are no longer of value. Read it again. You kind of left off an important part. "If the vendor goes out of business, their memberships are no longer of value." Did you miss the part where everyone of us said that we feel that we have already gotten full benifit of our membership? I saved money due to the membership.A quote from Justin's site"Five years ago today, o

I can remember Justin Tyme's conributions to our hobby go back to the FS98 edition. Justin started out with freeware. He still offers some freeware as well as his excellent and more detailed work. I used his Landclass Beta USA in FS2002, then carried it over to FS9 without any problems. So, I figured for all the freeware and advice I have gotten over the years, I could afford $14.95 to download the payware version of the usa landclass. I did, and have no regrets. btw, the only other payware I own is Eddy Denny's Alaska, which I similarly installed into FS9 without a hitch. It looks great. So, there is some great payware out there...some of it actually began as freeware. Our hobby has room for both!Sherm

Hi James! No need to defend Greg, I'm not attacking him!I was pointing out a difference between his reading of Steve's post, and a literal reading. I left off the part you mentioned because it did not contribute to my point.I'm also not attacking Justin, or joining any particular bandwagon. ...just making my points.Justin taught me many skills back in 97, 98 time frame, and I remember his efforts fondly. He was my mentor. Its nice to see his business do well. Steve Greenwood is also a highly valuable person to flightsim...you seen his site? What a great resource!Did you note my other post, bout using Styles AWESOME program, srtm_to_bgl? It'd be fun to have you produce your own version of an area you bought from Justin, just to see if you can tell the difference!I'd do it, but I don't have any payware mesh, so I can't.Best,Bob Bernstein

Could be because I have been up for about 30 hours now. Bad storms came through here last night. Could not fall back to sleep...And if I go to sleep now...I am screwed for tonight. So I probably read way too much into it. On Steve's that it. I never really bought payware for the last few versions, but this time I am kinda going all out. Mostly GA from Dreamfleet. No worries here Bob. It was that original post by John that got me. I should have let it go. BTW...sometime in the near future... I am hoping before Justin leaves for the conference...but he has alot on his plate, there will be a brand new Landclass file. Probably next week. But we can always hope. :) The main thing it does is just break up the scenery, so you do not have 10,000 grass field textures in a row. And adds a bunch of towns MS left off. And those textures let Autogen kick in...So its just a good thing all around.

Att Don,Yes, you want both the mesh and the landclass. Mesh tells Flight Simulator where the hill is and how big it is. Landclass tells Flight Simulator what is on that hill. Trees? Field? City? Suburb? Desert? I live and do much of my simming in western Iowa, USA. In default MSFS, the bluffs along the river with Omaha, Nebraska are completely absent. The small, rolling hills that are typical of my area are absent as well. Mesh puts the bluffs and hills there. The Landclass puts the small town of 5000 people I work in on the map as well. It is absent from default MSFS. The landclass also puts a lot more variety in the scenery. Fields are interspaced with tree groves. The city of Omaha shows up in much more detail. For me, Mesh and Landclass are both "must-haves". The work with each other and accomplish two seperate rolls.Tony