There is an answer from Nick

[Dr Vesuvius 22]

I have many mixed feelings about this..

 

Generally, theoretically, I disapprove of companies riding roughshod over SDKs and standard methodologies even if they do give a short term improvement.  It almost always leads to incompatibilities with other products and forces you into a "company store" like Nick alludes to.  I should be disliking OrbX on principle, and in truth this is something that has put me off buying any of their products until now.

 

But while I've a lot of sympathy for Nick, feeling that GEX is being forced into obsolescence, the bottom line is that it's simple market forces.  OrbX are producing a new global texture pack that is cheaper than worldwide GEX coverage, that a lot of people feel looks an awful lot better than current GEX textures.  Saying that OrbX have made it so that FTXG users can't use GEX smacks of stating the bleedin' obvious.

 

One thing that does throw up a warning sign for me is this point..

 

3. Once they launch their LC product  no one else can provide any texture product that works with the FSX system unless the developer is willing to develop and work directly with their scrambled LC calls and believe me we refuse to ever succumb to that monopoly or tyrannical practice.  

 

What worries me slightly, speaking as someone with only a minimal understanding of the inner workings of FSX, is how much will these "scrambled LC calls" affect other landclass products.  Does this mean that once OpenLC is installed you won't, if you wanted to, be able to still use other landclass products for certain parts of the world?  Currently UTX and FTXG play very nicely together.  Will that be broken once OpenLC starts to be installed?

 

Honestly I don't have a preconceived answer, or even know if those are worthwhile questions or completely misplaced concerns.  They're just "worst case scenarios" that occur to me.

 

For now I'm just going to shrug my shoulders and go back to enjoying flying over a simulated Britain that finally looks like the real thing in a way that GEX could never quite manage.

 

Just personal opinions, no offence intended to anyone. 

 

Dr V

[deetee 164]

GEX had it's day, and up to now has been the only serious payware contender since 2007(?) for ground textures in FSX. They've had our money now it's time to open a new chapter and move on to develop other products. This happens in all walks of life. If were them I'd seriously consider producing a ground texture product for X-Plane, a territory Orbx has no intentions of going, and which is crying out for decent regional textures (even easier as there's only one season).

 

I wish the GEX guys well, they provided me with new textures for years, although their actively anti-P3D attitude was unfortunate.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2

[airernie 263]

For those of us who haven't been around or maybe just not paying attention; Who is NickN?

 

Thanks,

Ernie

[lodestar 186]

i was kidding, no need for alcohol, i'm having enough fun reading that Nick's post. 

 

Living on the edge! I'd stick with the beer...and a couple of hours later you can be a bear tamer.

 

Actually i used to get some beer and enjoy that wonderfull football games with Liverpool under Rafa Benitez. That was good times! I saw your profile picture and remembered...

 

May i suggest putting the bear in a cage? You probably won't be able to follow this thread otherwise

 

Don't worry, i wouldn't miss all this fun

 

Yes, this sucks big time... I haven't flown all afternoon because I am too busy reading and posting in the various FTXG related topics. It's just too much fun! Darned.

 

Yes, but i did one long haul flight yesterday during the events here. I was expecting this anti FTX campaign to happen, but this was really pathetic... I saw when "Roger_Hodgson" started that thread, and that makes me angry becouse i really don't like to see when someone is fooled in any way.

 

In the end, i was pleasantly surprised too see that most of us here are not naive at all and don't like to be manipulated....

[DickB 6]

I have many mixed feelings about this..

 

Generally, theoretically, I disapprove of companies riding roughshod over SDKs and standard methodologies even if they do give a short term improvement.  It almost always leads to incompatibilities with other products and forces you into a "company store" like Nick alludes to.  I should be disliking OrbX on principle, and in truth this is something that has put me off buying any of their products until now.

 

But while I've a lot of sympathy for Nick, feeling that GEX is being forced into obsolescence, the bottom line is that it's simple market forces.  OrbX are producing a new global texture pack that is cheaper than worldwide GEX coverage, that a lot of people feel looks an awful lot better than current GEX textures.  Saying that OrbX have made it so that FTXG users can't use GEX smacks of stating the bleedin' obvious.

 

One thing that does throw up a warning sign for me is this point..

 

3. Once they launch their LC product  no one else can provide any texture product that works with the FSX system unless the developer is willing to develop and work directly with their scrambled LC calls and believe me we refuse to ever succumb to that monopoly or tyrannical practice.  

 

What worries me slightly, speaking as someone with only a minimal understanding of the inner workings of FSX, is how much will these "scrambled LC calls" affect other landclass products.  Does this mean that once OpenLC is installed you won't, if you wanted to, be able to still use other landclass products for certain parts of the world?  Currently UTX and FTXG play very nicely together.  Will that be broken once OpenLC starts to be installed?

 

Honestly I don't have a preconceived answer, or even know if those are worthwhile questions or completely misplaced concerns.  They're just "worst case scenarios" that occur to me.

 

For now I'm just going to shrug my shoulders and go back to enjoying flying over a simulated Britain that finally looks like the real thing in a way that GEX could never quite manage.

 

Just personal opinions, no offence intended to anyone. 

 

Dr V

 

Well said Dr V. I just posted a very similar comment (re OpenLC and other LC products) over on another thread.

[g_precentralis 191]

How could FTXG and OpenLC PREVENT another addon from working...?

 

 

FTX-G on it's own doesn't interfere with other addons.

It does and it can.

 

For example some freeware developer makes LC for his country using default (standard mapped) FS textures. The user that want to use that LC and FTXG, cannot do that because developers broke that mapping standardization that would ensure compatibility wit other addons. It would be like PMDG made aircraft that cannot land at any default nor 3pd airport, but have to use custom airports built by (guess who?) PMDG itself.

 

But, I agree that letter is just pathetic. Make new textures, build your own LC, try to compete, not to cry.

[Guest]

One thing that does throw up a warning sign for me is this point..

 

3. Once they launch their LC product no one else can provide any texture product that works with the FSX system unless the developer is willing to develop and work directly with their scrambled LC calls and believe me we refuse to ever succumb to that monopoly or tyrannical practice.

 

What worries me slightly, speaking as someone with only a minimal understanding of the inner workings of FSX, is how much will these "scrambled LC calls" affect other landclass products. Does this mean that once OpenLC is installed you won't, if you wanted to, be able to still use other landclass products for certain parts of the world? Currently UTX and FTXG play very nicely together. Will that be broken once OpenLC starts to be installed?

 

 

See, that's what happens when someone like NickN starts to post utter nonsense. A lot of people get confused or upset. What he said is utter nonsense, don't pay attention to it.

 

 

 

 

 

It does and it can.

 

For example some freeware developer makes LC for his country using default (standard mapped) FS textures. The user that want to use that LC and FTXG, cannot do that because developers broke that mapping standardization that would ensure compatibility wit other addons. It would be like PMDG made aircraft that cannot land at any default nor 3pd airport, but have to use custom airports built by (guess who?) PMDG itself.

 

But, I agree that letter is just pathetic. Make new textures, build your own LC, try to compete, not to cry.

 

FIrst of all: you CAN use FTXG with ANY landclass addon. Or none at all. You do not HAVE to buy OpenLC. So nothing is broken there. But even IF something was broken... that's nothing special and very normal for EVERY addon that depends on another addon. Again, it's the same as saying FS2Crew for the 737NGX sucks because it only works with the 737NGX and not the Airbus X. That's LOGICAL and obvious! If someone made his own LC to be used with default FS textures then you should use it with default FS textures. If someone made LC for FTXG (like the upcoming OpenLC) it should be used with FTXG. Logical and totally obvious.

 

NickN is COMPLETELY ######ing up the FSX community with his utter nonsense. I am beginning to actually have a grudge against him... The EDIT man (no need to call people names... well... not publically) is purposely confusing and MISLEADING people in a very sad attempt to save his own business. Again: pathetic.

 

Now where's my beer... :drinks:

 

@NickN who is CERTAINLY reading this: I hope you are happy now?

[g_precentralis 191]

See, that's what happens when someone like NickN starts to post utter nonsense. A lot of people get confused or upset. What he said is utter nonsense, don't pay attention to it.

 

 

 

FIrst of all: you CAN use FTXG with ANY landclass addon. Or none at all. You do not HAVE to buy OpenLC. So nothing is broken there. But even IF something was broken... that's nothing special and very normal for EVERY addon that depends on another addon. Again, it's the same as saying FS2Crew for the 737NGX sucks because it only works with the 737NGX and not the Airbus X. That's LOGICAL and obvious! If someone made his own LC to be used with default FS textures then you should use it with default FS textures. If someone made LC for FTXG (like the upcoming OpenLC) it should be used with FTXG. Logical and totally obvious.

 

It's not a good example, because FS2CrewNGX do not interfere with other addons. It doesn't work with default 737 but it do not broke it neither. You can technically use FTXG with ANY landclass addon but LC mapping will probably went all wrong.

[deetee 164]

...You can technically use FTXG with ANY landclass addon but LC mapping will probably went all wrong.

Don't know where you got that idea but that is so not true and you are spreading a falsehood.

FTXG will work with ANY landclass you like.

If you later opt for OpenLC you will get extra textures for that region.

Simple as that.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2

[some1 65]

I'm currently flying over my country using custom landclass and I don't see textures out of place. In fact I tried two landclass products (UTX and OpenVFR) and they both look roughly the same.

[Q_flyer 766]

 I just wish he would have posted in these forums.

 

Perhaps he didn't because his IP is barred here.   :wink:

 

All I am saying is that if I were a forensic psychologist, I would deduct that there are many similarities between Nick's langauge, tone, intent, and style in that post, that co-incides with the original post on "that other thread, over here".

 

Tom said the "Roger / Dominic" person was in the UK.  As I understand it, so is NickN.... but then again, so are 69,999,999 other people, so take that with a pinch of salt :wink:

 

I'm happy to be proved wrong, (and won't even mention the FS Estonia matter! :lol:), so ..... just sayin'

 

 

Nick is becoming quite the drama queen.

 

Yep!.

 

One thing I know, is that there certainly is a heck of a drama going on in the "Ground Texture" arena at the moment!!   :lol:

[gheeD 62]

Well, for one thing it breaks FinlandX which has landclass, mesh and a couple custom textures. Work just fine with GEX, but not with global..

 

Anyone can try the addon themselves, it's free. But that's exactly the problem, FTXglobal is forcing you to use their landclass because their textures are scibbled to work with that, others might/ will have glitches. The funny thing is, how in all previews JV touts that it works with everything just fine and he doesn't see any reason why it wouldnt.. Next thing he comes back saying "yeah, its true that our textures dont fit default landclass, we gonna fix that for you for a bit extra". 

 

Overall it just isn't very respectful towards other developers, going around FSX SDK with a global addon that does have stuff that should normally work with it, like landclass. 

[Orbx 123]

Er, if we "broke" the standard landclass class calls then UTX, SceneryTech, openVFR, TrueLandscape France etc would all *not* work, correct? And we were stupid to show preview screenshots on our forums using those exact addons from other developers if they did not work, right?

 

Try telling the many thousands of customers now using those LC addons with FTXG that we broke their sim and locked them into our ecosystem, and their investment in previous LC is wasted. No? Didn't think so.

 

We spent ten years learning our craft, firstly on freeware for FS9 then with Orbx for FSX. FTXG is the culmination of a decade of R&D, damn hard work and an understanding our market. We did not appear out of nowhere as newbies and steal someone else's thunder.

 

FTXG is just the beginning; we have a whole series of products planned that will completely reinvigorate FSX/P3D and embrace the new tech in P3D 2.x - we plan years ahead, not a month ahead.

 

Never once in our company history have we panned a competitor's product, and the trend in fact is that we are embracing "co-opertition" between developers in our small community.

 

Anyway, we have work to do, bugs to fix, patches to make, products to release, landclass to make. Life's too short to spend on forum flame wars.

[g_precentralis 191]

Don't know where you got that idea but that is so not true and you are spreading a falsehood.

FTXG will work with ANY landclass you like.

If you later opt for OpenLC you will get extra textures for that region.

Simple as that.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2

Yeah, right, like green grand canyon  :lol:

 

As I said, I do not blame them, they are trying to optimize texture calls for their future LC projects, but the only fact is they did mixed some texture calls, and that can cause incompatibility even with default LC. Look at that as positive or negative thing, I don't care, it's subjective feeling.

[lodestar 186]

I'm sure that FTX will not do something wrong. But i am also pretty sure that nobody can prevent you to make a backup of your initial FSX installation. I use acronis true image for this, it brings whole systems back in about 20-30min.

 

You can also backup your textures if installer don't have this function, and you can choose what to use in your scenery library. 

 

So, what can be broken? 

 

There will allways be new addons and people will allways buy better addons...

The life is cruel, don't waste your time trying to convince me that something is wrong with FTX, use this time and go and try to make something better...