Avsim Exclusive Screenshots For X-plane10

[virtualstuff 758]

Have to say I agree with this. I've seen some nice lighting preview screenies of XP10, but the shots on this thread are not that impressive in my opinion. The cockpit shot looks like a fairly average MSFS affair from a few years back and the cloud and terrain shots are nothing which bowl me over either if I'm being brutally honest. Although as far as most flight sims are concerned, I tend to regard systems and flight fidelity as being of more importance than eye candy, so I do intend to try XP10 out, beause it has been a few versions of XP since I've used it and I'm intrigued to see if things have improved significantly on that score. Not to turn this into a ''vs' thread, but with two new sims on the way, I've got more expectations and hopes with XP10 than I have with MS Flight - the crown is there for the taking if Laminar have stepped their game up, and I'll happily use XP if it brings enough to the party, which is looking like a possibility this time around. Al

Hence I would go even further it scared me and not even close to my standards so I will wait and see ;-) Cheers

[Simmo W 24]

Sorry but don't you read the previous comments? It's only early days before all the elements are combined, none of xplane 10's terrain or trees is in these pics. Nor the ai planes. But zoom in close in the shot of the buildings, all those dynamic shadows, wow. You should keep comments positive or they'll just not post anything until release day, or even worse, keep us all in the dark like Microsoft Flight!

[FloB 34]

The comparision to FSX visuals is just one side of the medal IMHO. To judge the improvement and direction x-plane made it has to be compared to x-plane 9.X and that improvement is huge.Following xp-developer´s blog for a while I have to admit that the general approach LR takes looks very convincing to me cause it´s all build to be easily extended, scaled, upgraded during version run by users, LR and 3PD. They added a lot of new features and techniques and it will take some time to make full use of it... but as a package XP10 seems definately a winner to me, even if the visuals might still not compete with Flight or FSX-Addons. I´m a longtime MSFS fan and never owned a XP-versions but I will have a look at XP this time.

[manuthie 242]

You should keep two things in mind when judging these screenshots: First: as already mentioned above - they are work in progress screenshots that don't show all improvements combinedSecond: many people seem to compare standard X-Plane scenery and aircraft to the best addons available for FSX like "but REX-Clounds look better" or "That is nowhere near OrbX". If anything you should compare them to standard FSX. And if MS Flight scenery will cover the whole planet I bet it wont have the quality of the Hawai screenshots shown so far. I'm glad to finally see at least some screenshots of XP10. Compared to XP9 this is definitely a huge improvement. Hopefully we will see more screenshots soon. What I would like to know is: is the look of trees themselves improved in XP10 or only tree placement? Because - honestly - the trees in XP9 do not look that great.

[tkyler 88]

Have to say I agree with this. I've seen some nice lighting preview screenies of XP10, but the shots on this thread are not that impressive in my opinion

You know chock, I work for Laminar and I have to agree with you on this one, the pictures don't really contain too much except some atmospheric lighting effects. (except the big autogen one of houses...but even that one shows generic houses in a "not too impressive" area of the world). It will be nearly impossible to convey what the final product will look like...as has been said, nobody has really seen it all together. Though we all speculate here, I'm pretty sure everybody will make their own judgements once the final product comes out. I was reeled in by laminar as a community developer who just enjoyed the sim...and being on the inside, having been on the outside, I am very excited about what x-plane 10 is bringing. I know for myself, it will allow me to do scenery that I have only wanted to do since 2005...and it also has several features that FSX doesn't have. BUT what it still doesn't have are massive amounts of add-ons...and though x-plane 10 is very anticipated, it will take some time to get this add-on base built. There is no doubt that it is growing though...so I believe for many that are not ready for x-plane just yet, it will just be a matter of "when" does the x-plane add-on market finally have enough to make someone get x-plane....and of course that will be different for all of us. One thing I have noticed is that many times, users will compare default x-plane to FSX add-ons and really the two aren't comparable. The motives, goals and incentives are just not the same for the developers. So Laminar can only show default...what it offers and a lot of times, I agree, this just doesn't measure up to screenshots of FSX with some add-ons in it. BUT...I can tell you from a technical perspective.....rendering tech, shaders, layering, lighting and shadows, customization and programming...x-plane VERY easily contains everything it needs to in order to be at the top of the flight sim pyramid visually, but it will need an army of developers to showcase it....and I understand for many though, that until that time comes, it's just not there for them.

the trees in XP9 do not look that great.

I totally agree and I am not sure what is happening to the trees. There is much work on their placement but I do not know if the trees themselves are changed. My first guess is no and I'll tell you why. Trees and foliage are my pet peeve as a "wannabe" scenery developer and I have spoken with some laminar team members and we agree that "next generation foliage" is a very high priority and is next in line for a major revamp. It is not worthwhile to x-plane users to withold the release of the sim any longer just to wait for trees. Since x-plane is updated so easily over the web, it's better in our opinion to release the sim and then work on the trees....but if nothing else, I can tell you we ALL want better trees, and quick! Tom Kyler

[alpilotx 505]

What I would like to know is: is the look of trees themselves improved in XP10 or only tree placement? Because - honestly - the trees in XP9 do not look that great.

Well, the tree rendering itself will not change .... At least not in the first run (there are some vague ideas floating around about improvements, but if anything in that direction comes, then it will take time). This means, the large forests will still - mostly - be built up from double-billboard trees. What will change in comparison to the XP9 Global Scenery is the placement and form of the forests (as the underlying raw data for the terrain - the landuse - has changed big time too). And we will have a larger versatility in forest styles (mostly dictated by climate) and textures - which by the way is based on my old forest scenery project (from time where XP8 had no forests at all, and XP9 forests were too ... uhm ... simple). And with the trees its always relative. Yes, of course, these "not too high res" textures don't look sooo nice if looked at very closely (like a hovering helicopter), but as soon as you move a bit faster (not uncommon in flight simulators ), the overall effect is quite good and convincing. Especially when the new shadow effects kick in (oh yes, they work on forests too - but will tax you hardware little bit more).

[airlinejets 709]

Most people who posted negative comments are totally missing the point here. I want this sim to succeed. FSX out of the box is by no means a champion. It's been out for several years and the only reason it has survived is because of third party developers. I've spent thousands of dollars in computer builds in the hope getting this software working correctly, and it's far from perfect. What Laminar needs to do is get this one right from the get go. The architecture needs to be user friendly in the hope that third party developers will contribute, as this is the only path to success. Laminar has a golden opportunity here, with MS Flight far out in the future and FSX riddled with woes, now's the time to step up and bring something amazing to end users. No gimmicks please, just a solid foundation. By the way Tom, did you just mention X-PlaneX is about to be released?

[tkyler 88]

By the way Tom, did you just mention X-PlaneX is about to be released?

"By Christmas" is the official laminar stance...I can neither confirm nor deny otherwise :) I definitely believe XP10 is a very solid foundation and while many will be expecting extensive custom 3D content throughout, this will not be the case. What we are really focusing on is making the creation of 3D content fast and easy, even for the laymen. Some of you might have read the XPlane 10 blog talking about "lego bricks" for scenery design. What we have here with xp10 is a basic lego set. Lego pieces are not very exciting in and of themselves. You don't go to legoland and stand and stare at a box full of unassembled lego pieces, you stare at the creations made with them. Our "first" lego set here is small, but it exists now and that is the cool thing. As time grows, we'll eventually get us a "technic" series and even more cool scenery will result. We want the "everyman" to be able to open up WED, grab some scenery pieces and make some scenery. I'll slip in a quick screenshot here that some of the AVSIM staff saw recently. IGNORE the terrain and scenery, this is all V9 stuff. The 3D is independent of the world in which is resides...this is my development sandbox. What I want to show here is this scene was made in about 10 minutes using the WED program and the default artwork in x-plane 10. Anybody without any 3D experience will be able to open up WED, draw a shape to represent a generic terminal, drag in some ready to go "jetway scenes", throw down some aircraft or other buildings and have a scene in a matter of minutes. Anybody would be able to build this scene in 15 minutes or less once they know how. Like Legos, it will be the imagination of the author (and the limitation of the lego set) to see what people develop. Consequent to this idea is that we can begin building better and more extensive lego sets though laminar will probably have a much smaller "lego budget" than the 3rd party world. We're more interested in enabling and fostering development, not shouldering it all. This interactive nature of development among the community is part of the appeal of x-plane and gives a bit more purpose to the sim than just jumping in and "flying it", though I know for some that's what they want. Now along with a scene like this comes real ramp lighting and shadows....and if the more enterprising 3D developer chooses to make a few custom 3D parts to make a scene more authentic, then they can do that also. Recall this is default x-plane and not custom...there is a limit to how much accuracy we can pursue and as Austin stated, our goal is to get high quality plausible airports insim...and the 3rd party guys can do whatever they want. Tom KylerV10 airport scenery

[60North 120]

As an aircraft developer, I can also assure everyone that the next generation addon X-Plane aircraftwill be a totally new experience with regards to systems simulation, 3D and flightmodel.

[zabbko33 0]

Looks like someone took a half of a KATL terminal and plopped it down in Innsbruck But in all seriousness, this sounds awesome! The 3rd party community could really put their spin on the sim world very rapidly! So I guess..... hey Everyone! BIG time forum lurker, and 27 year flight sim enthusiast. Guess you could say I'm part of the silent majority Anyway, I'm very excited about both Flight & XP10, and I plan on getting both. While Flight speculation is apparently running amok, I think this is a very exciting time for our hobby, and can't wait until we have 2 new flight sims to play with! "By Christmas" can't come soon enough!

[tkyler 88]

Looks like someone took a half of a KATL

Indeed it does! What can I say, I had to pick something Being one of the busiest airports in the world helped get it some love. At least we can expect Atlanta to get developed :D

[meshman 109]

...Most of us at laminar haven't seen it all together yet. As it comes together, all the parts will be filled in.

While the thought of modularity in design sounds good, I can only wonder about the time when all the pieces of the puzzle come together and someone says "Huh. how'd that happen?". Especially with two months to go until release. But I look forward to XP10 and seeing what it offers. Wonder if there will be an upgrade for those who bought XP9, like me?

[PingPong 60]

I can't see a single reason why anyone who considers themself a "flight simmer" would not dip a toe into XP10, it's come so far from XP9, it's the cost of one or two addons for FSX, and the shots looks very promising.

[tkyler 88]

"Huh. how'd that happen?". Especially with two months to go until release.

Well "most of us" doesn't mean all of us. There is someone who is responsible for putting the puzzle together and they've been minding their P's and Q's along the way for quite some time. Fortunately, the team has lots of experiene in software development and we can anticipate a lot of gotchas...but of course there will be a few surprises as this goes out to a vast diversity of hardware and situations and as is the norm in software development, we'll address those as they arise. One thing is for sure...we will keep on working to improve whatever we can.

[SQUAWKIDENT 3]

As an aircraft developer, I can also assure everyone that the next generation addon X-Plane aircraftwill be a totally new experience with regards to systems simulation, 3D and flightmodel.

Well if it looks better than FSX and flies more realistically I'll swap. For now I'm back to FSX.