I have been working on my hardware for a few months now and feel I have a fast and stable enough system to roll onto the next step. That is to load enough eye candy to make my low and slow GA flying enjoyable. I really don't understand the differences between texture, mesh, landclass etc, but would love to know what makes the experience better. Any chance of getting a little help in understanding and recommendations on the eye candy? I have been flying the northwest US, in the Cessna 182 RG, for the most part because it looks so much better than the rest of the US. I have not ventured much of anywhere else yet. I think I want to get the US down pat before going abroad but am open for suggestions. I am currently using:Ozx NAOzx AUSFEX 2.03GEX NA 1095FTX AU Blue DemoOrbx FSX GoFS Genisis 2.0 US terrain meshFTX NA Blue USA/Canada & Rockie MtnsFTX NA 152 Darrington MunicipalREX 2.0Rex Weather Engine ThanksRick S.Please let me know if I am in the wrong forum.

Digital Scenery is rendered the following way:1. DEM - Digital Elevation Mesh, is the 3D rendering of all ground surface (e.g. flatlands vs, mountains, valleys and canyons).2. Landclass, containing precise land edges for coastlines, rivers and lakes and precise categories for each type of land (i.e. "land class") city, suburb, countryside, hills, mountains, desert, tropical etc. that the FSX Scenery Engine needs to select the proper gorund textures to drape over the DEM mesh, with indications for autogen (cars over roads), trees to cover forested areas, ships for ports).3. Ground Textures, a variety of ground images classified accrding to lanclass types for the FSX Scenery Engine to drape over the DEM mesh.4. Alternatively to 2. and 3., you can use photoreal satellite imagery, in which case the satellite imagery is draped directly over the DEM mesh so no ground textures in 3. are needed and of course no landclass classification as in 2. is needed either.Specific Comments and Recommendations (based on the scenery products you listed):A. You don't FEX (clouds) since you already have REX (clouds + weather).B. You do have GEX (ground textures), so you would also benefit from UTX (landclass).C. I also like PhotoReal, so I have MegaSceneryEarth California State (1.2m/Px) with...D. FS Dreamscapes ProMesh California 4.5 meter elevation meshp.E. FS Global Ultimate Americas DEM Mesh to improve on FSX lousy default DEM for the whole continent.Cheers,- jahman.

Couple questions Jahman; If I do all you suggested should I get the FS Global bundle including FS Global 2010 with the FS Global Ultimate-Americas? Also, I see I will be getting detail on California, will those help in any way with the rest of the US? Seem to remember some of what I have helps in other areas than what the package was designed for; will some of these be the same?ThanksRick S.

Digital Scenery is rendered the following way:1. DEM - Digital Elevation Mesh, is the 3D rendering of all ground surface (e.g. flatlands vs, mountains, valleys and canyons).2. Landclass, containing precise land edges for coastlines, rivers and lakes and precise categories for each type of land (i.e. "land class") city, suburb, countryside, hills, mountains, desert, tropical etc. that the FSX Scenery Engine needs to select the proper gorund textures to drape over the DEM mesh, with indications for autogen (cars over roads), trees to cover forested areas, ships for ports).3. Ground Textures, a variety of ground images classified accrding to lanclass types for the FSX Scenery Engine to drape over the DEM mesh.4. Alternatively to 2. and 3., you can use photoreal satellite imagery, in which case the satellite imagery is draped directly over the DEM mesh so no ground textures in 3. are needed and of course no landclass classification as in 2. is needed either.Specific Comments and Recommendations (based on the scenery products you listed):A. You don't FEX (clouds) since you already have REX (clouds + weather).B. You do have GEX (ground textures), so you would also benefit from UTX (landclass).C. I also like PhotoReal, so I have MegaSceneryEarth California State (1.2m/Px) with...D. FS Dreamscapes ProMesh California 4.5 meter elevation meshp.E. FS Global Ultimate Americas DEM Mesh to improve on FSX lousy default DEM for the whole continent.Cheers,- jahman.

FS Global 2010 will only be of use to you if you fly outside the Americas.The detail for California (photoscenery and DEM) will only be good for California.Cheers,- jahman.

Personally I dont care much for the photo scenery but that is just me. UTX and GEX combination works well for me although I do use the ORBX also. Bob

Couple questions Jahman; If I do all you suggested should I get the FS Global bundle including FS Global 2010 with the FS Global Ultimate-Americas? Also, I see I will be getting detail on California, will those help in any way with the rest of the US? Seem to remember some of what I have helps in other areas than what the package was designed for; will some of these be the same?ThanksRick S.

Personally I dont care much for the photo scenery but that is just me. UTX and GEX combination works well for me although I do use the ORBX also. Bob

Okay, I think I am ready to bite the bullet on FS Global Ultimate The Americas.I thought I might also get the Europe & Africa too. If I do this should I get the Bundle deal that includes the Ultimate Americas and the FS Global product? Not sure if FS Global is of a particular benefit when getting both the Americas and Europe?ThanksRick S.

...Not sure if FS Global is of a particular benefit when getting both the Americas and Europe?ThanksRick S.

FSGU Americas + Europe/Africa don't cover Asia, Autralia, New Zealand...Cheers,- jahman.

FSGU Americas + Europe/Africa don't cover Asia, Autralia, New Zealand...Cheers,- jahman.

Would Orbix/FTX AU be better for Australia then? Won't AU take several different packages from FTX though?Rick S.

Would Orbix/FTX AU be better for Australia then? Won't AU take several different packages from FTX though?Rick S.

Orbx is ground textures plus landclass, while FS Global 2010 is elevation mesh, so you "need" both. :( Cheers,- jahman.

Orbx is ground textures plus landclass, while FS Global 2010 is elevation mesh, so you "need" both. :( Cheers,- jahman.

Will I ever understand this?Okay, ordered all three FS Global, Ultimate Americas & Europe/Africa.What else? Orbx AU? Isn't that like a whole bunch of different pieces? And do I need Orbx for Europe, if there is such a thing?I am not against the CA stuff but would like to get more than one state at a time.ThanksRick S.BTW Jahman, I do have Ultimate Terrain X v1.49 already, forgot to mention that.

Edited July 12, 201114 yr by RickSinGA

Will I ever understand this?Okay, ordered all three FS Global, Ultimate Americas & Europe/Africa.What else? Orbx AU? Isn't that like a whole bunch of different pieces? And do I need Orbx for Europe, if there is such a thing?I am not against the CA stuff but would like to get more than one state at a time.ThanksRick S.BTW Jahman, I do have Ultimate Terrain X v1.49 already, forgot to mention that.

1. At this stage you probably do understand elevation mesh vs. either a. landclass + ground simulated textures or b. photoreal ground imagery, it's just that you don't know which scenery product is which. We all went through this and rest assured it's a finite process so there's light at the end of the tunnel! :-)
2. You can get Orbx AU in one piece (and it's cheaper!)
3. There is no Orbx Europe, but there is Orbx for the U.S. Pacific North West which you might prefer over photoreal scenery (some prefere photoreal, some prefer Orbx). There is also Northern Rocky Mountains from Orbx, with Central Rockies in the works.
4. Here are the states covered by MegaSceneryEath (WA, 1/2 of OR, CA, AZ, 1/2 UT, 1/3 LA, 1/2 FL, NJ, MA and other bits and pieces). Note Photoscenery is very large (140 GBy for CA alone!) and also that your FSX load times will be rather long if you use HDDs for scenery rather than the 10x faster load times of SSDs.

For each scenery product you buy, make sure you also get the updates (there are none for MegaSceneryEarth, some for UTX and GEX and many for Orbx.) The FS Global mesh products come with nice tools that let you reset certain airport altitudes to their true elevation so they better fit-in with the surrounding mesh (MS took the shortcut of changing many airport elevations to fit the FSX low-quality mesh), or "adabpt" the local mesh to better fit-in with the airport in question.Have fun, you are about to enter a New World (literally) in flight simming!Cheers,- jahman.

1. At this stage you probably do understand elevation mesh vs. either a. landclass + ground simulated textures or b. photoreal ground imagery, it's just that you don't know which scenery product is which. We all went through this and rest assured it's a finite process so there's light at the end of the tunnel! :-)
2. You can get Orbx AU in one piece (and it's cheaper!)
3. There is no Orbx Europe, but there is Orbx for the U.S. Pacific North West which you might prefer over photoreal scenery (some prefere photoreal, some prefer Orbx). There is also Northern Rocky Mountains from Orbx, with Central Rockies in the works.
4. Here are the states covered by MegaSceneryEath (WA, 1/2 of OR, CA, AZ, 1/2 UT, 1/3 LA, 1/2 FL, NJ, MA and other bits and pieces). Note Photoscenery is very large (140 GBy for CA alone!) and also that your FSX load times will be rather long if you use HDDs for scenery rather than the 10x faster load times of SSDs.

For each scenery product you buy, make sure you also get the updates (there are none for MegaSceneryEarth, some for UTX and GEX and many for Orbx.) The FS Global mesh products come with nice tools that let you reset certain airport altitudes to their true elevation so they better fit-in with the surrounding mesh (MS took the shortcut of changing many airport elevations to fit the FSX low-quality mesh), or "adabpt" the local mesh to better fit-in with the airport in question.Have fun, you are about to enter a New World (literally) in flight simming!Cheers,- jahman.

I already have the Orbx PNW and the Rockies, will get the Orbx AU tomorrow already had the demo.Do I still need the MegaSceneryEarth? Okay, now you brought up the SSD. Started to get a couple at MicroCenter the other day but got to thinking about reloading everything! Not a pleasant thought. How big should I get and what needs to be loaded on it?It already takes way to long to load FSX today, so what could I expect?ThanksRick S.

I already have the Orbx PNW and the Rockies, will get the Orbx AU tomorrow already had the demo.Do I still need the MegaSceneryEarth? Okay, now you brought up the SSD. Started to get a couple at MicroCenter the other day but got to thinking about reloading everything! Not a pleasant thought. How big should I get and what needs to be loaded on it?It already takes way to long to load FSX today, so what could I expect?ThanksRick S.

1. Yes, you "need" MegaSceneryEarth for California. The mountains there are gorgeous, especially with the 1m California precision mesh from FS Dreamscapes. Warning: There are some colour problems (greenish vs. brownish tint in different sections) that some simmers object to (I don't)-
2. Put all scenery on the SSD. As I said, SSDs will speed your FSX load time by 10x. (I don't have one yet, but thats what others are reporting on this forum.) Make sure it supports the Trim command!

Cheers,- jahman.

1. Yes, you "need" MegaSceneryEarth for California. The mountains there are gorgeous, especially with the 1m California precision mesh from FS Dreamscapes. Warning: There are some colour problems (greenish vs. brownish tint in different sections) that some simmers object to (I don't)-
2. Put all scenery on the SSD. As I said, SSDs will speed your FSX load time by 10x. (I don't have one yet, but thats what others are reporting on this forum.) Make sure it supports the Trim command!

Cheers,- jahman.

Thanks, how big an SSD do I need? I don't need to load FSX on it? What about all the other addon's I have picked up?Rick S.

Thanks, how big an SSD do I need? I don't need to load FSX on it? What about all the other addon's I have picked up?Rick S.

Get the biggest you can afford! :Big Grin:If ca$h is no object, I would recommend one SSD (128 GBy) for Windows + FSX and the other for Sceneries (256 GBy). Or you could put Windows and FSX each on separate 64 GBy SSDs, and the scenery on the 256 GBy SSD. The more SSDs the merrier since you increase concurreny (throughput). Say each SSD has 100 MBy/Sec, three SSDs will have a max BW of 300 MBy/Sec rather than only 100 MBy/Sec for a single SSD three times the size. Of course the temptaion would be to arrange multiple SSDs in parallell in a RAID 0 arrangement to guarantee maximum BW, but unfortunatley the all-important Trim command doesn't work yet on arrayed SSDs.Cheers,- jahman.