I'm in.   It's a wide product and we all potentially like different things about it. (Including graveyards :lol:).   I'm about a 75% IFR flyer so the roads don't really interest me at all, but for the sake of general visual accuracy at the higher level, the Coastlines a la UTX (but for the whole world) are the reason why I'd get this.

 

 

 
X-Plane 10 default sceneries are also using OpenStreetMap, and that's why there's no sim with better worldwide default sceneries.
 

 

Have you been drinking?  

Have you been drinking?  

 

No:

• Roads
• Rivers
• Lakes
• Coastlines
• Railways
• Power Lines
• Motorways
• Moving traffic
• Corrected airport elevations

and "entire planet with OSM": This is a default feature in X-Plane 10. :wink:

 

 

and "entire planet with OSM": This is a default feature in X-Plane 10.

 

Then why doesn't it look very good?  I want XP10 to be great, but it's not really there in the scenery department yet.  yes there's tons of good data that went into the program, and it's 60GB or something like that to install, but the base program doesn't do a great job of translating that into scenery awesomeness. 

Also I'd expect the night light on the roads to match

 

 

Just having the main roads kind of sucks.

 

Other than an initial 'oh neat' factor, I've never turned on residential roads.  Kills too much autogen for my liking.

+1 yes, with good autogen residential roads are IMHO quite unnecessary, and certainly in UTX when enabled they wipe out a lot of city autogen. Orbx have chosen the right balance there I think.

Then why doesn't it look very good?  I want XP10 to be great, but it's not really there in the scenery department yet.  yes there's tons of good data that went into the program, and it's 60GB or something like that to install, but the base program doesn't do a great job of translating that into scenery awesomeness. 

 

1) OSM tells X-Plane: here's a street. The landclass tells X-Plane: yes it's a town or a village. The autogen draws a green texture on the ground an places generic buildings along the road. It's not the real size of the building that should be there, it's not the real place where real buildings are, but it's plausible. You'll not see a street crossing the texture of a roof drawn on the ground. Everything looks lined up like in American suburbs, it's very uniform.

 

2) When a road is crossing a river, X-Plane considers it must be a bridge and X-Plane draws a generic bridge. But sometimes, IRL, it's not just a generic bridge, it's an artwork called "Golden Gate" or "Brooklyn Bridge". So it's plausible but not awesome.

 

3) When there's a mountain with a road having a strange straight course, it's sometimes because a OpenStreetMap contributor forgot to add the tag "tunnel=yes" and in the sim it's looking bad.

 

4) Default textures in flight simulators are not the best. That's why you can find GEX or FTX Global, or photo-sceneries for FS, that's why you can find SimHeaven.com or RealScenery.com or freeware replacement textures for X-Plane.

 

 

 

With more than 60Gb for X-Plane's

you already have the same features as VECTOR and a good worldwide default mesh & landclass. But you'll not get all the details you have in a 3rd party add-on, including specific textures, specific buildings with specific heights, specific bridges, specific ground textures, etc... Thanks to the default mesh + landclass + streets + rivers and lakes, you can recognize the landscape for VFR flying, but you'll miss specific landmarks.

 

OSM2XP can help (for much better buildings), but only in areas where OpenStreetMap is very good. OSMAirportX can help, but only in areas where OpenStreetMap is very good.

 

Simmers should contribute more to OpenStreetMap for the areas they know.  :wink:  It's important for map users, it's important for X-Plane & FlightGear users, and with products like OpenVFR or VECTOR, it will become important for FSX and P3D users.

 

Did you map the graveyard in your village or town ? Tag should be "landuse=cemetery" or "amenity=grave_yard". Can you find every pond or lake in your area ? Tag should be "natural=water". Don't expect Orbx to map this for you.

 

Check this here: http://www.openstreetmap.org/

Mapping is easy: http://goo.gl/Dwjl1v

 

If you try the Iceland free demo for FSX, try also

in X-Plane (also a complete country, New Zealand):

http://www.alpilotx.net/downloads/x-plane-10-new-zealand-pro/

 

Happy flying, and mapping !

Well, there is a place to activate/inactive them in UTX and I have them active currently and they are all over where they should be, so not sure why you are thinking this.

Default FSX has golf courses.

 

As it's explained, it's open. They can distribute this data as long as they attribute the work (OpenStreetMap contributors) and as long as they keep it open:

http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/summary/

 

They're only "selling" a installer program or converter. And this can be proprietary payware if they're not using code from GPL open source tools like most tools made for reading and converting OSM data.

 

The concept of using OpenStreetMap for flight simulation sceneries is not new: OpenVFR for FSX is using it.

 

Before that, there was also XPOSM for X-Plane 9, or OSM2XP. X-Plane 10 default sceneries are also using OpenStreetMap, and that's why there's no sim with better worldwide default sceneries:

http://developer.x-plane.com/2011/04/osm-what-data-will-the-global-scenery-use/

http://developer.x-plane.com/2011/04/osm-is-this-legal/

 

 

 

Now the question is: how good is your local area in OpenStreetMap ?

http://www.openstreetmap.org/

 

The answer can be different depending on your country or local area, but you can contribute (just like Wikipedia) and improve it, and for a "global" scenery, I don't know any better source than OpenStreetMap.

 

I'm always using OpenStreetMap data:

http://forum.avsim.net/tags/forums/osm2xp/

 

If you want to use this project right now (OSM), you'll find many OpenStreetMap based services:

http://map.project-osrm.org/

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/List_of_OSM_based_Services

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Android

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/IOS

 

Happy flying, or mapping !

Hey, this OSM2XP thing, does this make photoscenery or just add roads etc?

 

 

I'm interested in the Iceland demo. Always fancied EGLL to BIKF ever since I watched the 747 DVD with Captain Alan Carter where they flew over Iceland on way to KSFO.

 

Me too. Having spent 13 years of my life there, I've always longed for a accurate scenery of that beautiful country. Having a full ORBX suite to show off what the global base+vector+LC can do and then throw terrain mesh in as well. looks like Christmas is coming early for me!

 

 

Default FSX has golf courses.

 

So you are thinking when GSX was installed those default FSX golf course textures were retained?

Good to see that on the ORBX website, they have untied Vector from Global meaning anyone can now use it with any non ORBX textures. A very good move and can only help sales in the long run and also introduce new customers to ORBX airports etc.

Wonder how the Orbx Iceland will compare to the Aerosoft one.

Future enhancements in the form of free patches may include ports, docks, graveyards, golf courses, forests and ocean beaches.

 

Now my simming experience is finally complete - I have virtual graveyards...

We already have this in UTX...and it seems that if you go with VECTOR, and delete UTX....beaches, golf courses, etc will vanish  as well...

 

I have many ORBX products and love each one of them...but will sit in the bush and see what the early adopters (who also have UTX USA/CANADA) comment about  before I go and get the plastic wafer.....

 

 

We already have this in UTX...and it seems that if you go with VECTOR, and delete UTX....beaches, golf courses, etc will vanish  as well...

 

Wow, this one again.  I'm with you I don't want it if all of these things go away!