I think one of the methods ORBX botched big swaths in the US were to use highly contrasting repeating patterns so that the checkerboard effect is MUCH more prominent compared to GEX.

Not only in the US. I see the same effect in Europe as well, as long as I am in a flat area. Never noticed the tiling that much with default textures, but FTXG looks so good that I accept this little problem.

UTX really adds nothing of value for me after installing FSXG.  Big roads had a beige underlayment that really looked bad no matter what I set the road variety in UTX control panel.  Interestingly, when I disabled UTX I found no real downside and overall things looked more realistic, w/ the exception of small roads which for me is not so important as I typically fly tube liners.  I am intrigued a little w/ FS Altitude though so will have to take a look there.

 

Seems pretty obvious to just wait for Vector. Hopefully it will be as awesome as people think it's going to be.

FTX Global Vector will not get rid of the problem. The problem is caused by the FSX terrain engine itself. The landclass system has a very limited number of textures it can call on, hence little variation, hence repeating patterns and autogen. Can't be solved unless you use photoscenery, which has it's own set of problems.

 

To be exact, the FSX lanclass system allows only 124 different textures. These textures are quite small in size, I don't remember exactly, but they span just a few 1,2km squares. For farmland/rural areas you have just 3-4 different textures to choose from at best.

 

 

The terrain system is nicely explained here (Lanclass #148 is missing from the table):

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc707102.aspx

 

It is based on the USGS Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base:

http://edc2.usgs.gov/glcc/globdoc2_0.php

 

 

 

Jes, where are you flying and what altitude? Those look like pretty small fields compared to, say, around Springfield, IL, let alone further west, where you have even bigger fields with their characteristic circles made by irrigation equipment. It does look good per se, though.

Jes, where are you flying and what altitude? Those look like pretty small fields compared to, say, around Springfield, IL, let alone further west, where you have even bigger fields with their characteristic circles made by irrigation equipment. It does look good per se, though.

 West of Richmond, Indiana at about 28,000'. The data is shown in the upper left corner of the photos.

 

Will try to have a look around Springfield.

 West of Richmond, Indiana at about 28,000'. The data is shown in the upper left corner of the photos.

 

Will try to have a look around Springfield.

 

The GEX rural/fields textures are very well done. Still repetitive, but not as pronounced.

 

Is there any advantage to adding UTX USA to FTX Global or would it be better to just wait for openLC to come out?

 

It depends on how long you're willing to wait.  OpenLC North America wont be out until March/April next year.

 

UTX adds very accurate urban and suburban landclass, which for me is the most important thing.  The accurate road network, rivers, lakes, and coastlines are also very comprehensive and customizable.

 

Personally, I'll be uninstalling UTX as soon as openLC North America is released.  The Global Vector product which is coming out soon will do most of what UTX does except for the urban/suburban landclass.

 

By the way, I was flying over western Oklahoma today and out of curiosity I enabled Scenery Tech landclass.  The result was awful.  The default landclass, while certainly not perfect, was definitely more accurate.

 

Dave

The problem is caused by the FSX terrain engine itself. The landclass system has a very limited number of textures it can call on, hence little variation, hence repeating patterns and autogen. Can't be solved unless you use photoscenery, which has it's own set of problems.

 

 

I am *guessing* that you are speaking of a worldwide effect? If so, then the comments are appropriate. But since the world can be broken down into smaller "regions" any limitations of the landclass system can be overcome, with the required time and artistic talents. And given the 1.2km tile aspect.

 

It would be nice to see the land classification system revised (P3D?) to allow something like the US 30m data to be utilized.

I am *guessing* that you are speaking of a worldwide effect? If so, then the comments are appropriate. But since the world can be broken down into smaller "regions" any limitations of the landclass system can be overcome, with the required time and artistic talents. And given the 1.2km tile aspect.

 

It would be nice to see the land classification system revised (P3D?) to allow something like the US 30m data to be utilized.

 

Yes, you could break it down into smaller regions, but as you say, noone has yet been willing to put down the time and effort. Using generic textures and autogen will still yield a generic result. ORBX seems to have found the perfect formula for  medium sized regions, but ran into trouble when they moved from America to Europe.

Why not just make one tile called BIGFIELD that would betray no pattern no matter how many were laid one against the other? That way, couldn't you depict vast wheat fields or featureless deserts without a discernible pattern? Then just add a different tile when something more interesting popped up.  True, you would miss some features -- few places on the earth are THAT featureless -- but you would gain not having to see patters stretching to the horizon from on high. Market it as a brilliant new product designed with the high-flyer in mind. 

 

For purposes of illustration, if FSX had one tile and one class, "ORANGE," then we could fly over a brilliant sherbet planet with nary a hint of repeating pattern.

Why not just make one tile called BIGFIELD that would betray no pattern no matter how many were laid one against the other? That way, couldn't you depict vast wheat fields or featureless deserts without a discernible pattern? Then just add a different tile when something more interesting popped up.  True, you would miss some features -- few places on the earth are THAT featureless -- but you would gain not having to see patters stretching to the horizon from on high. Market it as a brilliant new product designed with the high-flyer in mind. 

 

For purposes of illustration, if FSX had one tile and one class, "ORANGE," then we could fly over a brilliant sherbet planet with nary a hint of repeating pattern.

 

I think this is sort of what ORBX did with their FTX Global textures. The agricultural fields are much larger than the GEX ones, and in my opinion much more realistic.  Plus the crop circles texture is now much more prevalent in the Western US using default landclass, as it should be. I saw a lot less of these when I used the GEX textures.

 

Dave

I'm hearing a lot of theory -- which is very interesting -- but I would still like to hear from a FTX Global user about the Midwestern pattern issue. GEX has a pretty good claim that GEX did it, although I still think the farms are not the big, industrial sized agricultural concerns that are common west of Indiana. (Indiana is a very nice place. I go to school there.)

 

I guess in a way the issue is moot, since I just ordered FS Altitude, which I KNOW resolves the issue. It's not perfect, but not only does it get rid of patterns, there are some really cool sights to be had from the air. I already mentioned the incredible dry lakes of Australia, and many identifiable ones, such as Crater Lake, the meteor crater, Grand Canyon. It is interesting to fly over things you can actually recognize. But only at high altitude, and best zoomed out to 50 for the best out-of-airplanes panoramas.

 

Funny, I had to use Bing Translator to negotiate their payment system. I think these are the same people who do France VFR.