I'm loving the 3D modelling in Ovi's new 3D maps. Do you think we can expect something like this for high detailed area's in MS Flight?http://maps.ovi.com/3d/#landmark-44I prefer it over google's 3d buildings. Looks more realisticRegardsSpen

Looks like it's using a single topology mesh unless I'm mistaken, there's a lot of limitations to doing this if this is the case. Also noticed that If you zoom into some of the areas it has the weird effect of looking like a post-apocalyptic war zone. I do like it for what it is though, hopefully they cover more of the planet with 3D over time.

Looks like it's using a single topology mesh unless I'm mistaken, there's a lot of limitations to doing this if this is the case. Also noticed that If you zoom into some of the areas it has the weird effect of looking like a post-apocalyptic war zone. I do like it for what it is though, hopefully they cover more of the planet with 3D over time.

I did read how this was done a while back but I can't quite remember. I know it involves taking several reference points (at least 3) images and using now declassified software the images are put through a post processing engine to build a 3d image.This stuff comes from a Swedish company called C3 Technologies which has been around since 2007. I've been using YELL.com which also has this tech. checking on the progress of the 2012 Olympic site LOL! C3 Technologies have over 100 cities mapped already and the results are stunning. Sure the technology isn't perfect and if you zoom close up you'll see some artifacts which look exactly like an post-apocalyptic war zone but you also get so much more beautifully rendered scenery as well.C3 Technologies Websitehttp://www.c3technologies.com/Some demos are online here:http://www.c3technol...n_democlips.phpThe image rendering is completely dynamic too and doesn't require a fridge to run. Similar tech can been seen in Google Earth Flight Simulator (0.6 out now). I think this is a rival technology using a similar system (nothing mentioned on C3T's website). I've attached an image for you to check out. It just so happens that San Francisco is one of the images covered by C3 Technologies as well and you can also see the post-apocalyptic war zone effect. What blows you away is that you think the buildings are all predrawn, until you realise that there are millions of them everywhere with insane levels of detail.Google Earth Flight Simulator (beta 0.6)http://www.ge-flightsimulator.com/C3 Technologies although it appears is suitable for a Flight Simulation, it's certainly not perfect and you get all the drawbacks that you would get with any Photoreal scenery. i.e. no day night cycle, no dynamic light, heavy diskspace usage, buildings not perfect, building popup effects apparent too. However streamed over the net on a world which already uses photographic imagary this seems to work quite well. C3 Technologies also publish an SDK to use this tech in other sources, and given that FSX can support TileProxy, then it wouldn't be too far fetch to suggest (licensing issues aside) that something similar could be achievable with FSX or Flight in the future.Cheers,Dave.

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Thanks for the links and extra info Dave. I can imagine how this tech could be developed and refined in the future. For example if a company had the means to get global satellite night and day images as well as seasonal at a common resolution, blended them into an engine with atmospheric effects. With fiber optic cable connections and running of a cloud network the results would be amazing.