FTX Global delayed to next week

[Manny 1,293]

ShawnG, on 15 Jul 2013 - 10:52 AM, said:

However, this may come as a shock to you, but some folks, myself included

No reason to get snippy about it.... I was talking about myself and what I thought of it. from my perspective and my needs. Yes...some of us have invested 1000's of $$$ collecting sceneries...so we have lots of choices... and like I said, when I started out.. I found GEX and UTX to be beneficial since I did not have custom sceneries. Once I started collecting specific high detailed sceneries including ORBX wonderful PNW area and their Australia series,  there was diminishing returns for generic scenery enhancement for me. I am yet to  purchase their NZ series. That is on my future purchase list.  I am yet to purchase the Brazil scenery... I have been salivating at it for a while. IMO,  I have no need for enhancing Generic scenery for NA or even Western EU since these are covered with tons of sceneries... leaving Asia, Africa and the middle east. 

 

And since there are no photoscenries like FSAltitude or other sceneries for Asia... this could help me to fly that part of the world... With awesome airport sceneries from Thai Creations like Kathmandu and Mumbai and Paro, I have been looking at how good the Himalayas are in this product. So I still may benefit from this and I have not ruled out the purchase.

[Ponk 51]

This is when PMDG method is better, say nothing, then release when ready, saves a lot of hassle.

[mr340 56]

+1 I am not into photoreal as I am a GA guy and spend my time at altitudes where Photoreal scenery looks like a tablecloth.

 

As for FTXG, textures alone are at the mercy of landclass and if the default landclass is WRONG, it will still look wrong. Just a different color/texture. In FSX default where things are wrong (which much of it is) ala missing towns, lakes, square shorelines, missing highways and rivers and the like, your just changing textures. You will need some groovy landclass products to make FTXG shine. Period. In other words.... be prepared now for the battle of the landclass providers!

 

 

This is textures. They added very little else. FSX came with textures. FTX is not updating airports or adding anything extra to the scenery with this product except textures. If the existing FSX tile calls for farmland, farmland texture is colored onto the tile. Again. You will want/need landclass added to make the TILES acurate now or your just changing colors/textures.

 

Everything ORBX needed on the GLOBE is/was already there. They are mass dumping a pile of texture files into a folder from which FSX will pull depending on what is supposed to be under your plane (tiles) <----- oversimplification here.

 

Yes. They are making a few corrections in a few obvious areas to the landclass tiles. But nothing like UTX and Scenerytech have already done. Although ORBX will release thier own brand of lanclass products to compete and will no doubt favor the FTXG texture pack they are about to release.

 

I could have saved myself ALOT of time.... Here. Read this and replace GEX with FTXG as you read it.

 

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/331273-scenery-tech-na-vs-utx-na/

 

C.

With all do respect an am not trying to start an argument but you make it sound so simple what Orbx are doing with FTX Global. I understand what you are saying an when i said how they finish it so fast it really doesn't matter if everything they needed was there already. The point is that if they had to work on the whole world with texture being there or not it still should take up lots of time an i am very impress with what they have done  . The world is kind of big you know !

[cvearl 60]

With all do respect an am not trying to start an argument but you make it sound so simple what Orbx are doing with FTX Global. I understand what you are saying an when i said how they finish it so fast it really doesn't matter if everything they needed was there already. The point is that if they had to work on the whole world with texture being there or not it still should take up lots of time an i am very impress with what they have done  . The world is kind of big you know !

 

No offence intended. Please accept my opologies. I am impressed too.

 

C.

[AviatorMan 253]

FTX is not updating airports or adding anything extra to the scenery with this product except textures.

 

 

Not sure that is accurate.  The many preview screenshots from ORBX we have seen over the last few weeks show more than just new textures - e.g., cityscapes with apparent custom objects and new autogen. In any case, I definitely will buy this product, and will continue to purchase upcoming Orbx regions (Eire, Northern Ireland, Southern Norway, Northern California) and other regional VFR products and airports that are autogen compatible with Orbx regions (Germany VFR, 29 Palms).   I believe that Orbx are setting a new standard for FSX scenery products and hope that other developers will decide to cooperate with them.

[Jean-Paul 167]

New autogen for the ground textures,  yes. Custom cityscapes and POI's, no. All those are already in FSX.

[Kami 1]

People expect way too much of these TEXTURES, it´s only new textures, please be kind to yourself and relax, or you will get very disappointed!

If you look at the screenshots over there, it´s an "FTX World" - with the same textures all over the world, and please note that the coastlines still looks horrible, so IMO people expect way too much of this, and they should relax a bit and carefully read, again and again, what John V. actually say what this product IS and what it NOT is, just my 2 Turkish Lira on this matter, thanks...

[bonchie 2,305]

This is when PMDG method is better, say nothing, then release when ready, saves a lot of hassle.

 

I not really seeing the hassle. I'm sure everyone is happy that Orbx is forthcoming with what's going on.

 

I prefer that to the silent treatment.

[Jimmy RFR 406]

It'll be worth getting out the popcorn when this releases - to so many people, Orbx means 'complete makeover'; despite how careful they've been to explain everything, there's still going to be a lot of people upset, I think. I personally think they've done a fine job of explaining and managing expectations; but it'll still be interesting to watch.

 

I'm eagerly awaiting this particular addon - but between purchasing two planes and then having to place a throttle quadrant on order, I'm not that upset that it's been delayed!

[mr340 56]

 

People expect way too much of these TEXTURES, it´s only new textures, please be kind to yourself and relax, or you will get very disappointed!

 

If you look at the screenshots over there, it´s an "FTX World" - with the same textures all over the world, and please note that the coastlines still looks horrible, so IMO people expect way too much of this, and they should relax a bit and carefully read, again and again, what John V. actually say what this product IS and what it NOT is, just my 2 Turkish Lira on this matter, thanks...

Let me guest you are not purchasing FTX Global right ? You are more a GEX guy right ?

[Kami 1]

@mr340: No, not a GEX "guy" - I´m fairly straight, hmmm...

 

Sure I´ll get FTX Global, and get rid of GEX and the terrible "jigsawpuzzle" Europe, they never fixed that really, maybe they will now!

 

My point is that people expect too much, only that...

[mr340 56]

@mr340: No, not a GEX "guy" - I´m fairly straight, hmmm...

 

Sure I´ll get FTX Global, and get rid of GEX and the terrible "jigsawpuzzle" Europe, they never fixed that really, maybe they will now!

 

My point is that people expect too much, only that...

People expect a change an that is what they will get when FTX Global comes out . A change in which you will notice the difference between FSX Default An FTX GLOBAL! :rolleyes:

[mmann 72]

 

 

People expect a change an that is what they will get when FTX Global comes out . A change in which you will notice the difference between FSX Default An FTX GLOBAL!

 

The change will be very subtle compared to what their FTX regional scenery packages provide. A very small subset of the much fuller treatment they provide when they released something like FTX PNW for instance.

 

As far as providing all the world with textures, they already had a good head start on things with the textures they already had on hand when they did the regional Australia, Canada, United States and England.

[cvearl 60]

People expect a change an that is what they will get when FTX Global comes out . A change in which you will notice the difference between FSX Default An FTX GLOBAL! :rolleyes:

Yes... But if you REALLY want to see it shine. Get UTX Canada, USA and whatever other area you are going to fly in. I only say this with respect and wanting to help people maximize their enjoyment of this product.

 

I remember flying my area where I live in FSX for the first time. Stuff was WRONG in FSX. Missing whole towns I drive through in real life and missing major rivers and highways I was trying to desperately find. Then I bought GEX (Ground Environment Extreme). Excitedly went hunting for these areas on the map and to my surprise.... Nope nothing but the colors of the ground had changed. My fault for sure. Then I added UTX. Whoh. There they are!!!! Cochrane, Canmore, The bow River and all the little ones that feed into it. The coastlines were round and no longer shaped like straight lines. Yes!!!!

 

That is what this is. ORBX's version of GEX. It will need land class under it (UTX) so that the beautiful textures and autogen know where they belong and so that all the missing roads and rivers and train tracks and powerlines will all pop into existence where there were none.

 

Then there is .... mesh. LOL

 

The USA was pretty high res already but Canada and much of the world was really low. Mountains look like humps with no definition. Not sure what the best Mesh products are to be honest.

 

Of course ORBX saved the day with "All-in-one" regions like the PNW! And Northern Rockies. New Mesh, New Autogen, added models, New textures, new Vector data (roads and rivers) and new landclass tiles all in one awesome package. Regions will still rule the day over all else. But this FTXGlobal will fill in the blanks for the areas that are still default so we can leave these regions and not puke at the sight of crappy scenery.

 

Adding Mesh and Landclass to FTXglobal will be like a makeshift ORBX region but no extra custom POI objects.

 

Until OpenLC comes out.

 

But Regions will STILL be the most detailed. It's all going to be about managed expectations. Sort of like my abs and Bicepts. LOL

 

Charles.

[honanhal 1,420]

It'll be worth getting out the popcorn when this releases - to so many people, Orbx means 'complete makeover'; despite how careful they've been to explain everything, there's still going to be a lot of people upset, I think. I personally think they've done a fine job of explaining and managing expectations; but it'll still be interesting to watch.

 

 

This. You only need to look at this thread--populated by Avsimmers, who are probably some of the most high-information FSX consumers out there--to see how much confusion there is. Orbx can manage expectations as much as they want, but people still hear what they want to hear!

 

Personally, I still think it will be a game changer and set a new gold standard for this kind of addon. But that's the point--it's textures and autogen, not an Orbx region. It won't look like one.

 

James