Another Great Global Texture Replacement for FS9

[Groovin_DC-10 50]

I've been using GEP for FS9.  I saw the AFS World & Mosaic on simmarket when it was first released, but wasn't sure if I should get it.  I've been wanting to try it for a while but couldn't really find anything about it other than the reviews on simmarket.

 

Last night, I decided to buy it, along with AFS Water & Clouds V2.  I changed the clouds back to REX for better perf, but I kept the sky and water.  They look great.  After installation, AFS replaced the default detail1.bmp with a higher res one, but I placed the default one back in.

 

Not sure how AFS did it, but the textures look so much sharper.  This is a significant improvement over GEP.  Autogen density is also very impressive.  I see new types of autogen buildings as well.

 

So far I'm very satisfied with this product and I feel it's worth every penny.  

 

The only thing I don't like from the AFS is the night textures.  That was a simple fix.  I just re-installed Zinertek Ultimate Night Environment 2010 after AFS.  That looks superb with UT 3D lights.

 

Here are some screens... 

 

These textures look sharp...

 

 

The overall look and color has certainly changed...

 

Autogen density in some areas look ridiculous (in a good way)...

 

See what I mean...

 

Nature has a more natural look...

 

Nice variation for mountains, even in the same area.  You can see the difference between this pic and the next...

 

 

At LOWI...

 

Another shot at LOWI...

 

My minor complaint so far is that Asia should look a lot more green than this during the summer.  Not a big deal but sure would look a lot nicer to see more green...

 

 

New York...

 

[Benzhangar 108]

Thank you so much for your opinion of this add-on in which is greatly appreciated. I was itching for months wether I should put add-on in my cart. Not really thrilled with AFS products but will definitely custom for this.

 

Thanks for the heads up once more.

[~Craig~ 10]

Wow that looks really great!

 

I've been a FSX user for a long time (and still am), but I'm reinstalling FS9 this week, to use a couple of addons with (mainly the iFly 747).   Will pick this up too.

[Groovin_DC-10 50]

Make a backup of your detail1.bmp in case you don't like the high res one they give you (as in my case).  Make whatever necessary backups as well because it looks like it installs directly without making a backup.

 

 

Thank you so much for your opinion of this add-on in which is greatly appreciated. I was itching for months wether I should put add-on in my cart. Not really thrilled with AFS products but will definitely custom for this.

Thanks for the heads up once more.

 

 

You're welcome .  Just keep in mind that the night texture isn't very good (no pic on my OP).  You can always re-activiate the Ultimate Terrain special urban night texture or use another product like Zinertek.

Wow that looks really great!

 

I've been a FSX user for a long time (and still am), but I'm reinstalling FS9 this week, to use a couple of addons with (mainly the iFly 747).   Will pick this up too.

 

I'm very impressed with the sharpness.  It looks a lot like default FSX.  Don't forget about the night textures I mentioned on my posts.  I use the one from Zinertek.  Hope you enjoy your time with FS9.  Don't forget to add the tweaks in your cfg to increase lod over default max.

[Appliance 51]

Thank you Maurice ... but being picky I'm not overly fond of the long 'skinny' buildings as autogen. As an oldie I guess I'm just resistant to change.

[Goldenrocket 8]

Last year I bought and installed AFS World & Mosaic too. It's true that buildings are sharped than by default. However I hated the squared cities based on the same pattern everywhere. You find them at New York, Paris, London and so on. They are perfectly visible on the screenshots above. Ugly! Furthermore the addon sets multistoried buildings almost every mile in deserts like the Sahara. At leasat it could be acceptable with a bad freeware. In my opinion this addon is unusable and doesn't give value for money!

 

Bernard

[EngineRoom 205]

Just had a look at the product page at Simmarket - it does indeed look intersting.

 

From what I can gather the "mosaic" technique allows them to give the illusion of higher resolution textures, but at the cost of having a grid pattern which is painfully evident in the urban textures. You might be able to get away with this in perhaps a North American city, but for older European cities it looks very artificial.

[gwillmot 31]

Another one bites the dust?

[Groovin_DC-10 50]

Totally understand.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 

 

I, personally am very impressed with this add on, and I don't see myself going back to GEP.

 

I find the repetitiveness no worse than GEP, but the urban textures does give the illusion of it more because there are a lot of right angles for the roads in the urban areas.  I also have the Ultimate Terrain series installed and I'm sure they help with the overall look.

 

My complaint is still the same as above.  It would be nice if some of the rice fields and farms had more green.  Would be nice too if the textures were a little brighter.  When running GEP, I kept "Clear and Sunny" textures all the time.  I'm thinking about getting in touch with AFS and suggesting this as an update or something and see if they're interested.  I can still live with it.  Nothing's perfect:).

 

It's very interesting to see developers find ways around the limitations of FS9.  Would be so nice if someone figures out how to add moving traffic on major roads and moving boats globally.

 

I was actually going to make a wing view takeoff video last night but was too tired.  If I have time later tonight, I'll make one and post it here.

[Groovin_DC-10 50]

I was going through their products over at simmarket again.  I noticed they have another product that came out after World & Mosaic called Airport & City.  It looks like this product adds more variations to cities and autogen.  I will probably try this one next.

 

I uploaded a vid on youtube with the AFS.  UT is installed, so the streams, rail roads, and golf courses are not from AFS.  I just realized that I'm able to add a lot more diversity to the urban textures by enabling the roads from UT.  All UT roads were disabled on this video.

 

[Roger Ramjet 71]

That looks REALLY good! Nice work on the video. I, like you,have owned GEP for years and just figured that's the best fs9 is 'gonna look. I have UT as well so I imagine with the roads activated it will look a lot better. You got me thinkin'.............

 

BTW, I also noticed no dreaded blurries. which has always been an FS9 nemesis.

[metalmike 34]

Not an FS9er anymore, but that looks excellent. How do you get the autogen to look so dense? You could take screens of this and fool people into thinking it's FSX (sorry if that's an insult to some  )

[Appliance 51]

 

 

How do you get the autogen to look so dense?

 

Folks ... 'everything old is new again.'  Or is it just familiarity breeding contempt?

 

There is a wealth of info about FS9 here in the library.  As a starter search on (the late, great) David 'Opa' Marshall in FS2004/Miscellaneous Files.  His many Tips and Tricks downloadable files hold a wealth of useful info.

[gwillmot 31]

Folks ... 'everything old is new again.'  Or is it just familiarity breeding contempt?

 

 

It is a question from someone who joined the forum 2 1/2 years ago so probably never heard of Opa nor is familiar with past posts.

Let us not "eat our young" simply to elevate our own image of sim superiority.

 

I, for one, am quite glad that there is still interest in the best sim version ever made.  Let's keep it that way.

[Pugilist2 878]

Well said Gwillmot.