convince me whjy I should buy FTX Global/own UTX/GEX

[Don t moderate me this way 882]

I've been reading a lot about FTXG and studying its comparisons to FSX default ground textures and to GEX (text-wise, pic-wise and vid-wise). Two things I've found out so far:

 

- FTXG seems to be a great product.

- I'm not really a mere texture-replacement-guy!  

 

As good as it looks, I'll wait and re-consider when FTXG can be combined with openLC - which will unleash more textures and correct much of the current "texture-averaging" (applies to FTXG as much as to GEX as much as to FSX default).

 

(Thankfully European LC will be the first to be released.)

[Dr Vesuvius 22]

 

 

1- how will this effect my airports from fs dreameam, fly tampa, flightbeam, and Latin VFR ? will I loose anything here???
 2- since I never bought anything from orbx - how difficult is the installion part ?  If I have GEX I should uninstall it first, then install ftx global. right?
3- how is performance compared to someone who had utx with gex, and now has eliminated gex and installed ftx global ---by pereformance,, yes visually its better than gex, but is it as smooth as gex ????  please let me know

 

1) I don't have airports from those vendors, but the airports I do have from UK2000, FWI and TropicalSim seem to be fine.

2) Easy installation.  I just installed over GEX.

3) I can't say I've noticed any significant difference in fps or smoothness.

 

My initial response at seeing the price tag was "HOW MUCH!!!!" But then I worked out the AUD to GBP conversion.  Then I looked at the cost of GEX, the closest alternative, and realised that it worked out as the price of two, maybe two and a half GEX regions.  Even though it meant writing off the GEX Europe I already had, it still worked out cheaper.  Finally I looked at the difference in visuals for the area I  normally fly, and based on pure aesthetics decided the improvement was worth the cost.  The "extra fun was worth the $100" as another poster put it.

 

Now those were the data points that took me from being an OrbX skeptic to an OrbX ciustomer.  Your situation might be different (for example, If you already have GEX coverage worldwide, that's a greater investment to write off) so FTXG, no matter how good it is, might not be for you.

 

Dr V

[Drumcode 1,893]

But I'm getting hours & hours of fun with UTX and GEX!

 

The point is, would the EXTRA fun from FXG be worth $100?  That was the OP's question.

 

I'm sure it's an excellent product in itself but isn't what the OP asked.

 

It is worth a hundred bucks alone for the whole world coverage.

[ailchim 206]

It is worth a hundred bucks alone for the whole world coverage.

 

An opinion it's true, but surely only if you fly all over the world.  I suspect most of us stick to our home areas where we have already paid for other products against which the added benefit is small.

 

Quick poll - how many people have ALL of the GEX offerings? Every single one?  They have after all been regarded pretty much as must-haves until the release of FSG. 

 

Not many I bet.  Why?  Because they bought the ones they were interested in and stopped there.  

 

If that's the case, they'd get no benefit at all from world coverage because they don't fly worldwide now and wouldn't if they had FSG.  Then you're just left with the marginal benefit of possibly improved textures over & above what they already have in GEX, for the price of $100.

 

As previously stated, I don't dispute it's a good product (although plainly I haven't bought it) but I remain unconvinced it's worth the money unless you are still using the default FSX textures and want to pay the premium for world wide coverage as opposed to a smaller price for the areas you are actually going to use.

[Don t moderate me this way 882]

If you fly a lot in/over default sceneries, FTX-G is worth considering.

 

If you like to stick to the wealth of addon sceneries you've been accumulating over all those years (and still keep accumulating!), well ...

 

I, personally, think my 70 (European) bucks are better spent on FTX Norway and FTX (Northern) California, for example. Or FTX NZAA and FT YSSY, or, maybe, DEX (Deutschland/Germany X) North and West, or ...

[Guest]

An opinion it's true, but surely only if you fly all over the world.  I suspect most of us stick to our home areas where we have already paid for other products against which the added benefit is small.

 

Quick poll - how many people have ALL of the GEX offerings? Every single one?  They have after all been regarded pretty much as must-haves until the release of FSG. 

 

Not many I bet.  Why?  Because they bought the ones they were interested in and stopped there.  

 

If that's the case, they'd get no benefit at all from world coverage because they don't fly worldwide now and wouldn't if they had FSG.  Then you're just left with the marginal benefit of possibly improved textures over & above what they already have in GEX, for the price of $100.

 

As previously stated, I don't dispute it's a good product (although plainly I haven't bought it) but I remain unconvinced it's worth the money unless you are still using the default FSX textures and want to pay the premium for world wide coverage as opposed to a smaller price for the areas you are actually going to use.

 

If I would have bought GEX I probably indeed would only have bought only one area of interest because I would have had the option to NOT cover the entire world and save money. However, with FTXG I have no choice: it's all or nothing but for a price that imho isn't very high (specially not compared to all GEX regions together). And the fun thing is that I've been actually flying in other regions than the ones I usually fly in ever since I got FTXG! So I surely have gotten a benefit from world coverage: it has opened up the sim for me a LOT!

 

The reason I never bought GEX was simply because I never liked the looks of it: it never was a must-have for me! And the reason I did get FTXG is that I have always liked the looks of FTX. So for me the choice was very easy: far better looks, cheaper, world coverage: a no brainer.

 

I will STILL get FTX Norway South because that's my favorite region, but it's GREAT being able to fly elsewhere with the feel of FTX.

 

And btw why does everyone who does NOT buy FTXG keep on saying it costs $100...? It's AUD 100 and that does make (a small) difference. ^_^

[ailchim 206]

 

 

And btw why does everyone who does NOT buy FTXG keep on saying it costs $100

 

You are right.  Let's talk proper money - £60.

 

We are going round in circles here.  The only way I'll ever have time to fly all over the globe is if I win enough in the lottery to jack in my job.  If I have that much money, £60 is nothing so I agree, in that event, I'll buy it.  

 

And also a Jaguar F Type just for sunny Sundays and a boat with a big drinks cabinet, and an iPhone just in the remote chance it is actually as a good as people say and a villa on a Greek island.  

And a purpose built PC for FSX and a real plane so I don't need it.

 

And a Rolex.

 

And a season ticket for Formula 1. 

 

And my local football club.  No that's just stupid.

 

And a TV that I can wave at when I can't find the remote.

 

And a ride on lawnmower so my wife isn't so tired at weekends.  And a horse for her so she does have something that does what it's told some of the time.

 

 

I'll be back later with the rest of the list.

[Guest]

 

 

The only way I'll ever have time to fly all over the globe is if I win enough in the lottery to jack in my job.

 

I didn't and still I can do flights all over the globe... ^_^ You do not have to fly ALL over the globe! I did a 50 nm flight in Congo yesterday and a 40 nm flight somewhere in Peru. Today I flew from Italy to France, some 90 nm, and it was absolutely awesome. Three short flights 'all over the globe' which I never would have done without FTXG. And all that without winning the lottery. ^_^

[CFIJose 5,485]

The reason why you or anyone else should buy FTXG is becasue FTX offers improved textures for the entire world, 3d night lighting, and because the FTX team deserves our support.

 

I no longer have GEX, UTX, or Experience X lighting installed. UTX was good for coastlines and LC, but roads and night lighting degraded performance.

 

I'm waiting for FTX to release the LC packages and I'm enjoying much better visuals and performance with FTXG.

 

This is the best FSX add-on I've EVER purchased. I highly recommend it!

[Guest]

I no longer have GEX, UTX, or Experience X lighting installed. UTX was good for coastlines and LC, but roads and night lighting degraded performance.

 

Just out of curiosity: why not keep UTX installed for coastlines and LC only...? I use UTX Europe only for roads, waters (coastlines) and LC. I have disabled every other option. (I don't use the smallest roads and waters and no traffic on the UTX roads). This has no impact I can measure on my PC and it DOES make things look better!

[zmak 331]

J van E

 

Are you affiliated in any way with ORBX. The question is geniune

[Guest]

No, not at all. (On the contrary, I would almost say LOL)

 

Am I acting too enthusiastic about FTGX? ^_^ I think I am known for being overly enthusiastic about things I am er... happy with. ^_^ Can't help it. Well, I probably can but I don't want to.

[bonchie 2,305]

Flying out of major hubs with full 3d night lighting with frames locked at 30 would of been enough for me. Before I never flew at night because 1) the night textures of GEX/UTX were so ugly and too bright 2) the UTX night lighting was such a framerate hog.

 

This feature seems to be missed or goes unmentioned on purpose in a lot of these comparisons.

 

But since I only owned one GEX region (NA) the decision was easy. I like to fly in Europe and the Carribean as well and it'd of been dumb for me to pay more to cover these in GEX when FTXG gives me those + the rest of the world + an amazing night lighting system for the entire planet.

 

I also fly in the sourthern US a lot and FTXG's color palette and much better placed autogen (specifically the forests and texturing of houses) works wonders there compared to the pea greens of GEX.

 

Those on the fence will also have to weigh the impact of the OpenLC packs coming up. They are going to be dirt cheap ($15ish USD) for entire continents. They'll come with almost 12 more GB of custom textures to be used by the custom LC calls of the packs.

If you are interested in those, then get Global. If you could care less, have already spent the $200 on all the GEX regions, and are happy then go fly and enjoy yourself.

[lodestar 186]

Actually i had some strange feelings this days about some other people's that they are affiliated with "the other developer"... 

 

I saw to many negativism and strange questions about some potential problems that nobody ever had. I can understand there are some people who are really hard to decide, about everything. But some things are obvious and ridiculos. Not most healthy marketing...

[bonchie 2,305]

You are right.  Let's talk proper money - £60.

 

We are going round in circles here.  The only way I'll ever have time to fly all over the globe is if I win enough in the lottery to jack in my job.  If I have that much money, £60 is nothing so I agree, in that event, I'll buy it.  

 

And also a Jaguar F Type just for sunny Sundays and a boat with a big drinks cabinet, and an iPhone just in the remote chance it is actually as a good as people say and a villa on a Greek island.  

And a purpose built PC for FSX and a real plane so I don't need it.

 

And a Rolex.

 

And a season ticket for Formula 1. 

 

And my local football club.  No that's just stupid.

 

And a TV that I can wave at when I can't find the remote.

 

And a ride on lawnmower so my wife isn't so tired at weekends.  And a horse for her so she does have something that does what it's told some of the time.

 

 

I'll be back later with the rest of the list.

 

You sound like you are trying to convince yourself.