Check it out ...

 

http://www.orbxsystems.com/forum/topic/64669-orbx-announces-ftx-global-vector-and-iceland-free-demo/

Meh.

Isn't this UTX, but by Pilot's...

The whole  world?

Which makes me wonder if the quality will suffer?  I see this as quantity over quality.  I could be wrong of course.

While I am sure a ton of work went into this, it still looks like UTX, only done by ORBX. .While not impressed with the screenshots, i do want to say thanks for the free demo, will try it first hand to see if it's for me.

While I am sure a ton of work went into this, it still looks like UTX, only done by ORBX.

 

Heck, even if that's all it is.. it's UTX for the world at less than the cost of UTX USA/Canada.

I think most armchair observers expected this would be the big announcement, but I'd prefer if there weren't  such an overlap with an add on most of us already own, i.e. UTX. Fair enough, UTX doesn't cover the whole planet, but there's inevitably a lot of duplication here, without adding anything significantly new. The screenshots don't especially impress me over what I see with UTX, although the global coverage is far better with this new offering, of course.

 

That said, I will probably invest, because you know that with Orbx behind it there will be constant upgrades. Won't be buying on release, however - will wait until the UTX/FTX Vector comparison shots and videos start circulating, though I expect we may get to see these in advance of launch, courtesy of Mr JV.

 

Another key question here is whether this new product will tolerate a mix with UTX, if UTX still appears to be a preferable option in its coverage areas? I suspect we already know what the answer is there.

 

Have to say that I really wish they'd concentrate on getting the whole world landclass done first. This new product may please Orbx' bank manager, but as we all know it is the FSX landclass that most needs fixing.

 

Finally, If Orbx and Flight 1 weren't at war already, then I'd say the blue touchpaper has just been lit.

I'm willing to have a look at it.  Judging from screenshots, road textures are a bit better than UTX, and the roads seem to conform to the terrain a little more smoothly as well.  But I'll wait for more detail and most likely some user reports before I decide to jump in.

Now, I'm no lawyer but this bit from the license for OSM (the source of some of the vector data that ORBX is using) makes for interesting reading:

 

OpenStreetMap is open data, licensed under the Open Data Commons Open Database License (ODbL).

 

You are free to copy, distribute, transmit and adapt our data, as long as you credit OpenStreetMap and its contributors. If you alter or build upon our data, you may distribute the result only under the same licence. The full legal code explains your rights and responsibilities.

Will it fix the elevation disconnect between correct airport elevation and surrounding land?  I have the FS Genesis Mesh and it had a fix for North American but not much else.

This is another watershed product. It's the whole world equivalent of UTX and it works with both FSX and P3D.

I would imagine you could still use Utx as utx has an exclusion layer, it would just need to be on top. I guess we'll find out. I love how people are going on about how it's just UTX for the world... Isn't that something that people have been wanting from UTX for years?

ORBX just owned FSX

Very good news for me B)  Been waiting for something like this after FTX Global got released, now we finally get better vector data for areas outside the UTX coverage, like Asia, South America and Africa. My wishes come true :Party: