Guys the textures are already developed and in their existing regional sceneries of AU, PNW, NZ, PFJ, CRM, EU.

 

All they are doing it replacing, mix and matching their existing textures and replacing (ie turning off the default [or if you have GEX, then the GEX replaced] textures)....They will need a GUI to assist you in the replacement process, which would allow you to restore your originals.

 

It's a clever idea and should produce a "reasonable facimile" of world textures.

 

You will still need to buy the regional sets as they are completed, so they will still have cashflow. The regional sets will give you the local airports like are available now, and landclass updated to something more realistic than default. If you have UT and GEX you already have a combo that provides this stuff, except in this case you will get Orbx textures.

 

I like the idea it's just that I can't afford this package.

Combine this with something like FSGlobal, Scenerytech landclasses and some road/coastline data if you can find it...you could get something quite close to Orbx regional quality for the whole world.

No, that's not right. As I said, as they are describing it right now, it is NOT the same quality of the other Orbx addons, not by a MILE. It's just **textures* nothing else. The existing Orbx products are textures, custom autogen, custom landclass, custom vector data, partial photo scenery and hand-placed scenery.

 

To quote John Venema...

 

"In 2013 we will be releasing a FTX product that covers the entire world with FTX textures combined from the twelve different regions we have developed since 2008 including England and Wales. It won't be a perfect solution because it is textures only (no landclass, airports, POIs, or geodata), but it will cover the whole globe with Orbx so you never have to experience FSX default again.

 

It will include custom autogen, 3D lights and some custom trees as well, which will need an installer that manages some global files, but you will be able to uninstall it and revert to default FSX again if you wish"

 

You're right, its clearly not the full treatment, but it appears to certainly be more than "just" textures.

 

Register on their forum....it costs nothing and there are some screenshots in this thread that look pretty impressive to be fair (page 4 onwards):

 

http://www.orbxsystems.com/forum/topic/52594-what-is-your-dream-orbx-area/

 

Regards

 

Steve

Combine this with something like FSGlobal, Scenerytech landclasses and some road/coastline data if you can find it...you could get something quite close to Orbx regional quality for the whole world.

 

Yep, if you use Ultimate Terrain series where avilable, and XClass or Scenerytech Landclass for everything else you'll have the world as good as it gets presently in FSX.

 

For urban areas I prefer UTX over ORBX, so getting UTX with ORBX textures is like getting the best of both worlds.

If you don't mind my suggesting it ......well actually i don't care if you do mind ...Some of you are showing signs of "Gold Rush Fever"?

 

Personally this is the totally opposite way I'd like them to proceed. Let me explain that.

 

Yeah we all want to see our bit of turf in high detail in FSX. Yeah we all want to fly from local airports we know well. Yeah it sounds great that it's GLOBAL.

 

BUT .......It's not going to be the same as the current regions. It's going to be a compromise. It'll be different but as Bryan points out there's other stuff out there already. Then there's the issue of Tubeliners and Long Haul. A recent thread revealed that many leave long haul running whilst they sleep or do other things. On a REAL flight from Heathrow to Houston once I flew from Canada right down the centre of the US and saw NOTHING but cloud cover the whole way. Many Long Haul FS users actually break or accelerated their flights to "cut out the boring bit in the middle".

 

Why have I concentrated on Tubeliner jockeys? Well that's the only thing with the range and speed to make "Global" a plus?

 

FTX's areas so far have really come into their own for GA and regional flights. That's where you can fly for a couple of hours at lower altitudes or even VFR and then the detail pays off.

 

What I'd like to have seen is SMALLER areas at HIGHER detail. What this offers is EVERYWHERE at LOWER detail.

 

Coming from Train Simming where your virtual world is as high a detail as possible 2km either side of the track, I'm used to having to wait for somebody or some team to get together and create a specific route. There IS NO Global solution. Even there the longer the route the poorer the scenery usually. It just takes too long to do it as well as the other funcionality that's required.

 

This is not as dissimilar to FS as you might think. Hours of flying to land at an airport that's basically "generic" (albeit a step up from default FSX) is not that great a leap forward.

 

At present the "Regions" FTX have created mean that in the NW US you can actually fly for hours over pretty high detailed scenery. Same in Australasia. (BTW NZ & Oz are in Oceania FTX Region) and with NZ covered now, a Flight from thw West Coast of Oz to NZNI would be a good haul even in a tubeliner?

 

Their (ORBX) other game plan is (was) to start on the US East Coast. Perfect for GA pilots like me and it would mean Long Haul fights across the States would all be in one Region too climbing out and descending in high detailed areas.

 

So really I'm not sure why, other than some sort of greed (?), anyone would actually want GLOBAL at lower quality? That's not what FTX WERE about? In reality many FSX users will already have other packages mentioned already. FSX default was just SO bad. I wonder how many when they stop to consider and compare this new entry will consider it worth the money? I've bought every area they've done so far and if the forthcoming patch for FTX ENG fixes it's many issues then I'll look at the next detailed region too ....but $190 when I already have hundreds of square miles to fly in ...It will have to be utterly amazing?

 

Geoff

LOL! That sums up the average AVSIM'er pretty well Michael. As a community there is always someone who finds something wrong with everything... ORBX textures might be too dark, but they are way better than almost all of the default textures, wouldn't you agree?

 

Thats the way the world works .. no one likes 100% of anything, anywhere. I think its good that he wasnt afraid to speak his opinion.

Fantastic news! The price is high, too high for me, but who knows, maybe I will save some money until february.

One concerne is a compatibility with UTX? I know that GEX have option to install comaptibility textures for UTX users, I guess ORBX maybe will have that too.

By the way I'm a huge fan of photo textures, cause they look realistic, logically. :lol: But since I'm flying over the areas that I don't know so good (Germany, France, Spain...), ORBX World will make these areas to look realistic as photo textures, that is enoough for me. No need for detailed representation of villages, minor towns, rivers, etc... I just want a utter visual realism when I look throgh a cockpit window. And best of all, better 10-20gb of photorealistic textures for the whole world, than ~50gb for Germany VFR from Aerosoft, which, to be honest, are not good quality, bad colors, contrast...

Geoff, I just have a completely different perspective than you. To me ORBX World is HIGHER quality. How on earth could you not think ORBX textures are much better than the default FSX ones? Add Ultimate Terrain, FS Genesis or FS Global Mesh and you'll have the best FSX WORLD scenery in history.

 

ORBX World is (among other things) replacing the most awful thing in FSX, the dreadful landscape textures. To me this is the best and most important FSX upgrade EVER! It is the one upgrade I've been wanting above all others since getting FSX in october 2006. If I were to install just one addon, this would be it. The rest of FSX is pretty OK.

 

I think its good that he wasnt afraid to speak his opinion.

 

Me too, and why should he be afraid...

I think since they aren't overwritting exiisting coatline textures you could just leave UTX on an let it call the existing coastline textures. Along with using whatever lanclass you have installed it will call the ORBX textures for cities, forrests, etc.

 

Utx will still be used for all the vector data and will use its own textures for roads and stuff.

 

Sounds like a good way to get global replacement textures ib one pack and still use UTX for all of its existing vector data placement.

I will delete all of my scenery addons in order to make room for this. ABSOULUTELY. If ORBX is doing it, it's going to be awesome, and I want it. The mere size of it though almost requires that everything else be eliminated. That's my opinion. Correct me if I'm wrong. It must not conflict with some of the other less detailed stuff.

 

Stan

Easily one of the most exciting announcements that I have heard in quite some time. The price tag just seems a bit steep for me.... :unsure:

I will delete all of my scenery addons in order to make room for this. ABSOULUTELY. If ORBX is doing it, it's going to be awesome, and I want it. The mere size of it though almost requires that everything else be eliminated. That's my opinion. Correct me if I'm wrong. It must not conflict with some of the other less detailed stuff.

 

Stan

 

 

Sure, go on and delete everything. Nothing can be better than an orbx scenery, even if its just a set of textures plus autogen.

 

 

 

 

Very exited about this as well. Time to shake out some change from the cushions... ^_^

 

 

 

Sure, go on and delete everything. Nothing can be better than an orbx scenery, even if its just a set of textures plus autogen.

 

Of course, I'll wait to see the whole deal. I want to see screenies and I'll make that drastic move if and when it's what I believe it will be.

 

Stan

If this is like England be ready to beta test for Orbx......used to be that beta tester were paid for their work...lol

 

Wondering if they will have palm trees in Florida?