However, after more than 10 years of simming and real flying, I prefer X Plane.

And I still prefer FSX by a wee bit.... :) L.Adamson

Can you confirm that XP10 will ship with a new terrain/texture engine or is it possible you start off shipping it with XP9 scenery until the other is ready like is being shown in these shots?

Worry you should not.You know, there are serious problems out there, which need people to worry (earthquakes, flooding, poverty, hunger etc. etc.), but its for sure not a simulator ... BUT philosophy aside, I think you still didn't exactly understand what is engine, what is data/scenery, what is artwork. So, here we go. The engine is the sims (XP10) ability to render data in a given way on screen. THAT technology IS definitely there and it is working. And it can render scenery from XP9 (very important for backward compatibility) which is the reason for screenshots with old scenery, and all the new stuff from XP10 too (the things, which XP9 wouldn't understand in the scenery and couldn't render adequately). This also suggests, that there are many aspects in the new scenery system, which share the same basis ... and it is still able to show a lot of new tricks. This is one of the strong points of the X-Plane Scenery format (DSF), which is very flexible and extensible but can still retain backward compatibility (which doesn't mean, that XP9 can render all new stuff, but XP10 can render the "old" one).So, in short, yes, there is a working new engine ... but one which will/can for sure get some nice extensions/fixes over the lifetime of XP10 (read my post about the update strategy in X-Plane). Then there is the data/scenery. This will be there too. It needs to be, as it makes up by far the largest chunk of the delivered software (thats why we need many DVDs). This is maybe the only point which is hard to be updated over the version run, as its hard to sync Gigabytes of data to thousands of users (even if many of us might already have fast connections). So, the scenery (the data structure that defines it) is maybe one of the most crucial parts that needs to be finished for the release, and we are working on that with high pressure. AND it already looks good .... but still, we are tuning aspects of it. Finally the artwork. To have the scenery work for the users, it also needs a lot (really lot lot) of artwork (which in the end defines how the data in the scenery will be visualized - see my point?). All the ground textures, all the buildings, all the roads, all the "who knows what" ... Many guys are working on it, and it is coming together like a puzzle. And it too already looks very good in many areas. And the first release will already ship the best level we can get it to. Still, this is an are which won't be completely finished. BUT, the good thing is, that the artwork (which in many ways is nicely abstracted from the scenery data) can always be updated step by step (this is very important for you and us). So, you will get improvements every now or then ... BUT I think, that even the initial set will already please many of you (but for definitely not everybody - that lies in the nature of the thing ). So, all in all, there will be a lot of new stuff for your eyes!

The mountains don't even have trees, they are just painted on the terrain.

Good lord..mountains DON'T have trees. Their peaks are ABOVE the tree line. Hills do. Mountains DON'T.

Tell that to the Smokey Mountains and the Rockies.

Good lord..mountains DON'T have trees. Their peaks are ABOVE the tree line. Hills do. Mountains DON'T.

You need to read up on your geography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_forest Al

He? Who did tell you that mountains don't have trees? Our mountains will have theme ... at least where they have to bee (we use quite good geodata which tell us what to put where).

Shot #3 and shot #4 is what I've been waiting for all my life in MSFS. I want to feel like I'm moving when I'm down low and autogen just doesn't do it. That's amazing. Maybe I keep FS for commercial flights and use x-plane for VFR.

Good lord..mountains DON'T have trees. Their peaks are ABOVE the tree line. Hills do. Mountains DON'T.

Most mountains have trees .. Rebel without a clue

Is this okay? Pretty good terrain from what I can see, and having used FSX recently, well above the default and some addons I've used.

That didn't answer my question

Been back packing up in the Rockies (around Banf and Jasper) , did the Chilkoot Trail , flown over the range on the way to Vancouver and trust me , when you get up in the mountains , there are no trees. Snow fields , barren rock , some shrubs but that's about all.Suppose some of the lower "mountains" down across the border might have trees but up here we refer to those as "hills"

http://photos.igougo.com/images/p119675-Rocky_Mountain_National_Park-Mills_Lake.jpghttp://www.rlrouse.com/pic-of-the-day/rocky-mountain-scenery.jpghttp://www.planetware.com/i/photo/rocky-mountain-national-park-colorado-col110.jpgYou really don't have a clue.

Since I do live in a mountainous area (approx 13000' peaks), I do see a lot of tree lines, where the trees just stop, and bare rock takes over. However, I did Google for tree lines. Found out that they can vary from around 4500' msl in some parts of the world, to 13000+ in others.L.Adamson

http://photos.igougo...-Mills_Lake.jpghttp://www.rlrouse.c...ain-scenery.jpghttp://www.planetwar...rado-col110.jpgYou really don't have a clue.

Jim, are these pics from Flight....

My fun video (hell I love that song, and the plane) shows xplane 9 has stacks of trees up high, with xp10 it can only get better. Personally I don't get the obsession with trees and particularly their quality (don't think quantity will be an issue, given how well 9 sprays them everywhere), at these altitudes a good pilot is more likely to be sweating over their engine and oil temps, hoping NOT to see the trees too closely! And yes, the best combo is with photoscenery to get the right patterns/colours.

Since I do live in a mountainous area (approx 13000' peaks), I do see a lot of tree lines, where the trees just stop, and bare rock takes over. However, I did Google for tree lines. Found out that they can vary from around 4500' msl in some parts of the world, to 13000+ in others.L.Adamson

I am planning to move to a mountain area (where the Sierra Nevadas and the Cascades begin). At 5000' there are tons of trees-the trees stop at about 9000'.