I got an email from the flightsim store informing of a sale on ORBX products. I have appreciated several users this holiday season letting me know about sales I would not have other wise known about. I am passing on the favor."To celebrate the holiday season Orbx Simulation Systems is now offering 33% off all of their download products only at The FlightSim Store."http://www.flightsimstore.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=92

Thanks for the heads up, I wouldn't have known about it otherwise.Seeing as how eveythings 33% off, maybe I will finally buy an ORBX product (PNW) and give it a try after all these years of seeing screen shots and thinking about it. Seems like you can't really go wrong with $28.oo for the PNW package even if you end up not using it much.By any chance you know how long the sale lasts? I'd like to contemplate it a bit before I buy, but yet I dont want to think about it too long, then decide to buy a product only to end up missing the sale.

Some great deals there...

By any chance you know how long the sale lasts?

Never mind. I made a profile on thier site and found the answer.11:59pm AEDT on Friday the 31st of December 2010

Seeing as how eveythings 33% off, maybe I will finally buy an ORBX product (PNW) and give it a try after all these years of seeing screen shots and thinking about it. Seems like you can't really go wrong with $28.oo for the PNW package even if you end up not using it much.

PNW is one of the very few add-ons I would recommend without any reservation at all. It's not that it's good - it's that it is great! It is simply hours and hours and hours of smile inducing fun. If you ever flew the FZ02 Portland scenery for FS9, it's like that. As soon as you load it up you get a smile on your face and you're having a great time. You can talk about terrain accuracy and mesh quality and this and that, but my review of PNW is short and sweet: It's fun!

PNW is one of the very few add-ons I would recommend without any reservation at all. It's not that it's good - it's that it is great! It is simply hours and hours and hours of smile inducing fun. If you ever flew the FZ02 Portland scenery for FS9, it's like that. As soon as you load it up you get a smile on your face and you're having a great time. You can talk about terrain accuracy and mesh quality and this and that, but my review of PNW is short and sweet: It's fun!

I had the FZ02 Portland scenery for FS9 and agree it was really cool and probably one of the best scenery areas ever developed for FS9. I also owned Orcas Island for FS9 and even though I dont fly GA very often it was one of my favorite sceneries as well. I have never had such a hard time deciding on whether or not to buy an FS addon as I do with ORBX products, which is funny since its such good looking scenery.In my case I think all the indecision comes down to just a few things: I dont fly that part of the county that often, mainly fly airliners, unsure about the performance hit when flying a complex a/c into KSEA (I currently get really good FPS at KSEA using MegaSceneryEarth). However, if I am ever going to get it and try it out now is the time while its on sale. Plus I have kind of been wanting to get Orcas Island since I miss it once in a while from my FS9 days, and the fact that I will be wanting to get KPDX when it comes out. I know they say that KPDX will run as a stand alone airport, but it will probably look and blend better if I have PNW installed.At least I still have another few days to think it over.

I had the FZ02 Portland scenery for FS9 and agree it was really cool and probably one of the best scenery areas ever developed for FS9. I also owned Orcas Island for FS9 and even though I dont fly GA very often it was one of my favorite sceneries as well. I have never had such a hard time deciding on whether or not to buy an FS addon as I do with ORBX products, which is funny since its such good looking scenery.In my case I think all the indecision comes down to just a few things: I dont fly that part of the county that often, mainly fly airliners, unsure about the performance hit when flying a complex a/c into KSEA (I currently get really good FPS at KSEA using MegaSceneryEarth). However, if I am ever going to get it and try it out now is the time while its on sale. Plus I have kind of been wanting to get Orcas Island since I miss it once in a while from my FS9 days, and the fact that I will be wanting to get KPDX when it comes out. I know they say that KPDX will run as a stand alone airport, but it will probably look and blend better if I have PNW installed.At least I still have another few days to think it over.

Of course performance is relative but I have no problem using complex aircraft like PMDG, Level-D, Captainsim in PNW. The only aircraft that causes issues is the VRS Superbug, it seems that the sim has a hard time keeping up at Mach 1. ;)

...it seems that the sim has a hard time keeping up at Mach 1. ;)

LOL, I can imagine.Maybe you could save me some time in doing research on their forum. What happens when you fly into or out of the scenery area as far as textures go? Specifically, if I start a flight at KSEA with PNW active and fly to KLAX will I still have ORBX textures being rendered or will I be seeing my GEX textures when I leave the area? Or the same could be said when flying around the US but not in the PNW area, do you need to deactivate PNW when your not flying in that area?

I'm forcing myself to fly in that area. Using the Pilatus PC-12, Carenado Super Cargomaster, and Captain Sim 727F I can do realistic flights in the area. Just bought Orcas Island, going back and forth about the other airports. They look nice but I usually fly into bigger airports or smaller back country ones.

Maybe you could save me some time in doing research on their forum. What happens when you fly into or out of the scenery area as far as textures go? Specifically, if I start a flight at KSEA with PNW active and fly to KLAX will I still have ORBX textures being rendered or will I be seeing my GEX textures when I leave the area? Or the same could be said when flying around the US but not in the PNW area, do you need to deactivate PNW when your not flying in that area?

I have flights in and out of the Northwest every few days and there's nothing really objectionable vis-à-vis Orbx and GEX textures (or with Ultimate Terrain features either).I seem to recall that there are some roof textures that can be misplaced - seeing a gable on top of a roof for instance. But I often enable an Orbx mode and fly for weeks in other parts of the world with no cringe-inducing result.The only real "downside" is forcing oneself to remember to use the FTX control panel to return to FSX default mode before installing other sceneries. Even then, the occassional time that I've neglected to do that hasn't brought any ill effect.I'm not a big bush flyer, but I may use the sale to pick up the other regions - if they're included.

I have flights in and out of the Northwest every few days and there's nothing really objectionable vis-à-vis Orbx and GEX textures (or with Ultimate Terrain features either).I seem to recall that there are some roof textures that can be misplaced - seeing a gable on top of a roof for instance. But I often enable an Orbx mode and fly for weeks in other parts of the world with no cringe-inducing result.The only real "downside" is forcing oneself to remember to use the FTX control panel to return to FSX default mode before installing other scenery. Even then, the occasional time that I've neglected to do that hasn't brought any ill effect.I'm not a big bush flyer, but I may use the sale to pick up the other regions - if they're included.

Not much to add. That was very well said. I can tell you that I have never noticed any odd effects. I don't use autogen when flying jetliners just for GA. I have never noticed any issues with the roof textures. ORBX blends quite nice with GEX so when I fly out of the area it is not very drastic. I always use PNW and NR activated and there are no issues that I can perceive. This is one of the reasons I don't like using photoscenery. I fly jetliners 90% of the time. So having consistency is very important to me. It all comes down to personal choice and preference. You will notice a difference when you fly out of the ORBX area partially because all the clear-cut ends. I believe that ORBX have plans to extend their scenery all the way to Mexico. I will by every one of their products that covers the West Coast. With FSDreamteam releasing KLAX and KSFO being done by Flightbeam, I would be content to fly up and down the coast of North America. Eventually there will be a freeware CYVR and ORBX are working on KPDX and I also believe a KSAN is in the works. One day a developer is going to get smart and develop KSEA and the West Coast will be amazing.

Not much to add. That was very well said. I can tell you that I have never noticed any odd effects. I don't use autogen when flying jetliners just for GA. I have never noticed any issues with the roof textures. ORBX blends quite nice with GEX so when I fly out of the area it is not very drastic. I always use PNW and NR activated and there are no issues that I can perceive. This is one of the reasons I don't like using photoscenery. I fly jetliners 90% of the time. So having consistency is very important to me. It all comes down to personal choice and preference. You will notice a difference when you fly out of the ORBX area partially because all the clear-cut ends. I believe that ORBX have plans to extend their scenery all the way to Mexico. I will by every one of their products that covers the West Coast. With FSDreamteam releasing KLAX and KSFO being done by Flightbeam, I would be content to fly up and down the coast of North America. Eventually there will be a freeware CYVR and ORBX are working on KPDX and I also believe a KSAN is in the works. One day a developer is going to get smart and develop KSEA and the West Coast will be amazing.

Thanks for the info Mike and Fenric as well.I decided to go ahead and FINALLY do it.I am going to get the PNW, Australia SP3, and Orcas Island to get started. I've had reservations about buying Australia since I dont ever fly there now as it stands, but am thinking that it wouldn't be a bad place to do some flights to Europe, the middle East, or Asia, plus for $66 its hard to pass up. As far as all the other little airports for PNW I think I will pass on those for the time being since they are most likely be better suited to the bush/GA crowd.I agree as well that once we get KLAX, KSFO, KPDX, and someone finally does KSEA and KSAN (Cielosim), we will finally have some good airliner flying to do on the west coast. I am hoping that since FlyTampa is slowing revamping some of their older stuff like the newly released KTPA, they will go ahead and do KSEA as well. But at least having KLAX, KSFO and ORBXs' KPDX, that will be enought to get going on the western side of the US.

I just bought the ORBX NRM (Northern Rocky Mountains) for $27. Still downloading. $27 for a couple of hundred-thousand square kilometers of top notch terrain with to-the-meter accuracy and super-sweet eye candy, what's not to love?For you heavy iron guys, tonight, if you way look down and see some dwoob flying a Spitfire at treetop level like a Guinness-soaked degenerate, that'll be me. :(

Still downloading. $27 for a couple of hundred-thousand square kilometers of top notch terrain with to-the-meter accuracy and super-sweet eye candy, what's not to love?

Yeah its a good deal and i'm glad I finally did it, plus getting it for 1/3 off reduces the pain if I end up not using it much.Better get downloading since I have about 10GB worth.

I never flew in OZ either until I got the Orbx FTX OZ DVD (the older one included Choffs Harbour airport too).Now it is one of my favortie places for G/A flying. I even went as far as to get some Aussie VFR real world charts.ORBX FTX made me a fan of FSX.