I want to download some reaslistic scenery, however Im a bit stuck and confused on what i have to purchase

 

 

 

e.g. on fs geneis site i see terrain mesh and nextmap?? what are the differences 

 

I also see ultimate terrain X europe ....is this just scenery or mesh

 

megascenery earth http://www.megasceneryearth.com/store/cart.php?target=product&product_id=861&category_id=175

 

does this include meshes is it compatible with fs genesis??

 

hope someone can explain as the sites themselves selling the products dont really explain much about what you need

 

"Scenery", i.e. the world you see in FSX, consists of several layers:

• Mesh. Terrain elevation data, hills basically.
• Global Textures. Images that cover the mesh to show fields, buildings, forests.
  • Autogen. 3D objects such as buildings, street lamps and trees, which are often included with global textures. The location of autogen is determined by both landclass and textures. The amount you see depends on your settings.
• Landclass. Tells the simulator what textures should go where, e.g. this is a town, this is a village, this is a golf course etc.
• Vector. "Lines" such as streets, roads, rivers, coastlines and railways.
• Environmental textures: the sky, clouds, concrete, tarmac, moon, sun, railway tracks, taxiway markings and so on.
• Custom objects. These are specially made items that are placed in specific locations, common examples would be custom airport scenery and landmarks.

As regards the products you mentioned:

• FS Genesis is mesh.
• Ultimate Terrain (UT) includes both landclass and vector data, so it would complement a mesh product such as FS Genesis. Typical UT is paired with a texture package such as Ground Environment (GEX) or FTX Orbx Global base.
• MegaScenery Earth looks like a mesh and photographic texture package. The textures are actual aerial photography of the area (known as photographic scenery), so there's no need for vector data (apart from coastlines) or landclass. However, there will be no 3D autogen objects, so it may look a little flat when flying at lower altitudes. Similar packages are provided by Horizon VFR Gen X and JustFlight VFR Real Scenery.
  • If you owned FS Genesis, then you would layer MegaScenery Earth GB on top of it. So you'd see the MegaScenery textures and mesh whilst in GB, and the FS Genesis mesh when flying elsewhere in its coverage area.

It's important to note that you can now get high quality global mesh for free at http://www.avsim.com/topic/467933-freemesh-x-global-10-release-announcement/

hope someone can explain as the sites themselves selling the products dont really explain much about what you need

Sure they do, if you take the time to read them. Maybe your not sure of what it is that you're looking for. All of the products you've mentioned have very informative websites explaining what the products do.

 

Hopefully with the explanation above mine you'll be able to get a handle on it.