Compare all the new SRTM based meshs coming out...

[Guest EricL]

Hi,With the availability of the newly available SRTM Europe data, several developers have released new mesh files.There are:- one from Pietro Mauri (not sure the whole Europe is already available). This one is free.- one from FSGenesis : good reputation, and very well priced at $9.95 for the whole europe.- one from Raimondo Taburet : much more expensive, probably prohibitive IMO.Knowing that all are based on the same source data, only the way the data has been processed can make a difference. For now, my preference would go to FSGenesis.Would anyone have any info on how they compare?Eric.

[Guest Paragon]

LAGO also did most of europe and is imo the best. Might be a bit expensive though.

[Guest EricL]

>LAGO also did most of europe and is imo the best. Might be a>bit expensive though.Did you make a comprehensive comparison (if yes, it was quick), or do you just happen to have bought Lago mesh and like it?Eric.

[Guest Paragon]

Oh...no I didn't do a comprehensive comparison as I don't have any of those you mentioned installed, I just have the LAGO installed and I'm very pleased with it. From what I've seen and read, terrain detail and such, LAGO is very good. I did however compare a screenshot from Pietro and one from LAGO, and I gotta say his is very detailed aswell. The one thing I disliked about his mesh, was that he didn't have all the information required and did resamplings and oversamplings...but nothing beats his price. :)

[Guest DanielBu]

I think you're forgetting Nanouk Faitmains work (Germany, England, France, Spain and Switzerland I think). I've been very pleased with those, but I'm currently downloading the "new stuff"...-Daniel

[nudata 10]

Each mesh provider (free or commercial) should clearly state the LOD or distance between points of the ORIGINAL SOURCE data. The specify the degree of oversampling, if any.That said, I prefer FSGenesis mesh because of the honesty of the specifications. Lago looks good but the specifications are not clear to me. Only have their UK mesh. I am not going to make comparisons, I want to use the product so the honest specs are my basis for decision. If someone is dis-honest it will eventually be revealed. Overstating is also dis-honestyDick Boley KLBE

[rhumbaflappy 113]

Nanucq's mesh is made from DTED1 data, so it isn't SRTM. DTED1 might be more accurate than SRTM raw data. DTED1 data is not commonly available... usually costing hundreds or thousands of Euros.Pietro Mauri's mesh is from SRTM 3 arcsecond. SRTM data is free. He's very open about how he made it.SRTM data has holes that need to be filled. Pietro's method seems very good. LOD9 is the extent of what the SRTM 3 arcsecond data should be sampled. The filling material would usually need oversampling... if it didn't, then you would use the filling material for the entire mesh and forget the SRTM entirely.Pietro's mesh is going to be about as good as it gets without marching around the Europe with a GPS unit to verify elevations, and hand building the elevational data.And it's free.Nanucq's mesh is is also about as good as it can get. It uses a different source, and might be slightly different, but it will still be as good as anyone can get.And it's free.Anyone buying mesh for these areas, when there are 2 excellent freeware sources, needs to think out their compulsive buying habits.With a little study, and some time, data sources and tools are available to create your own mesh.And it's free.At this point, all meshes are going to be very similar with the SRTM data available. It then becomes a matter of visual preference, because none of us can verify actual elevations for more than a tiny area. Downloaded freeware, compiled with the care that Pietro and Nanucq have used, should be as good as anything you can buy... maybe better.And it's free.Dick

[Guest EricL]

>Anyone buying mesh for these areas, when there are 2 excellent>freeware sources, needs to think out their compulsive buying>habits.Well, in the case of FSGenesis, the price is so low that I may find it easier to just buy the whole Europe at once than to hunt and check every now and then for the missing parts from the freeware guys.Other than that, you're right : if the quality is the same, there is no question.Eric.

[Guest panda234]

I used both the Lago and FsGenesis europe and can't tell the difference in scenery quality. The big difference is the superb support provided by FsGenesis and the fact that their product will ultimately cover the entire world and a "site, i.e. world" license is only $100. Even without the site license, there is no comparison to the individual package prices. Can't say enough good things about them....billg

[Holger 0]

Hi all:"... compulsive buying habits..." :-xxrotflmao love that quote, Rhumba! Just to add a few words from a mesh developer's perspective:Assuming that we're talking about using the same base data (SRTM), there are at least three criteria that might be helpful for distinguishing the "products" with respect to visual quality and accuracy.1. The fit of the mesh with the default scenery. The default landscape vectors (roads, streams, coastlines, etc.) and polygons (lakes) are very coarse and optimized for the default mesh. Add-on meshes often increase the visual problems, such as streams running uphill, or lakes and airports on plateaus or in holes. These issues are tedious to address but they can be fixed! So keep an eye out for the description of the mesh or ask your (payware) mesh providers what they do to address these kinds of problems. 2. In some places, mesh and default scenery end up with a systematic displacement relative to each other. For example, if you see lots of cliffs along shorelines, and most of them are on the same side of neigboring shores, chances are you're looking at such an offset. Again, this can be fixed by the mesh developer; if so, he or she are likely to point that out in their documentation/advertisement.3. Finally, there are many different methods for filling in or interpolating the numerous areas of missing data in the SRTM source files. Simple interpolation is the worst approach (for larger holes), while careful filling with alternative source data (SRTM30 or ASTER) can make a huge difference. Obviously, the "average" user of add-on meshes won't be able to critically evaluate all the technical details but it's probably a good idea to shop around a bit with a simple check list of the potential issues listed in this and other threads.Happy mesh shopping (freeware of payware)!Cheers, Holger

[Francois_Dumas 10]

Without going into LOD's, SRTM, interpolation and all other 'difficult' words and expressions, I'd just like to approach the issue from the user's perspective. I live in the mountains in Europe part of the year, and know some places as the back of my hand.What I do when evaluating mesh (and yes, I am a sucker for mountains so I get all the mesh I can put my hands on) is just go with my virtual aircraft to those places I know so well and 'look'.So far I have found the Thierry Pignot mesh (which is sold by LAGO as TerraMesh) to be the most accurate for the places I looked (!). The new SRTM mesh comes close, but some of the mountains just look ridiculous. I guess Thierry has either corrected this or used better data.FYI, I looked around Interlaken in Switzerland, especially at the Jungfrau region, and around Courchevel/Meribel in France.Seeing the speed with which the SRTM meshes have been published lately I cannot imagine that these have been corrcted for errors other than in an automated way.... and taht would leave plenty of 'holes' compared to the real world IMHO.Cheers,:-outta Francois :-wave[table border=0 cellpadding=10 cellspacing=0][tr][td valign=bottom" align="center]"At home in the wild"[/td][td valign=bottom" align="center][link:avsim.com/alaska/alaska_052.htm]Don's Alaskan Bush Charters]"Beavers Lead the Way"[/td][td valign=bottom" align="center][br][tr][td valign=top" align="center]http://www.fssupport.com/images/moose4.gif[/td][td valign="top" align="left" colspan=2][/td][tr][/table

[Guest panda234]

yeah, Justin calls his mesh a "work in progress." It can never be perfect, but if there are obvious anomalies he'll fix them for you and post the update. You can never get it exactly right, but you have to be able to listen....billg

[Francois_Dumas 10]

I figure Justin knows me well enough to understand what I am saying ;-):-outta Francois :-wave[table border=0 cellpadding=10 cellspacing=0][tr][td valign=bottom" align="center]"At home in the wild"[/td][td valign=bottom" align="center][link:avsim.com/alaska/alaska_052.htm]Don's Alaskan Bush Charters]"Beavers Lead the Way"[/td][td valign=bottom" align="center][br][tr][td valign=top" align="center]http://www.fssupport.com/images/moose4.gif[/td][td valign="top" align="left" colspan=2][/td][tr][/table

[Guest UweR]

Hi, not really a thorough comparison, but more of an opinion...www.simflight.de just published a review of Raimondo

[Justin Toposim 16]

HI Uwe,"the membership doesn