Airport flattening depends on the boundary of the airport inside the apt.dat file at the time the scenery was cut (Either HD Mesh v3 or even older). Altering the bounds of the airport does not change how the flattening algorithm works, so if the boundary was bad to start with, then nothing will change until the default airport is fixed, submitted and the tile redone in the base scenery. I've had a world of pain with the flattening and floating buildings in two airports I have been working on in Norway. Both have bad boundaries (one is completely off), the only way I could fix them was to redo the mesh (Or use Ortho4XP, where you can choose the areas you wish to flatten if you are using photescenery).

 

Whilst 10.50 is a step in the right direction for scenery designers, what we really need is dynamic flattening where the airport designer can choose the areas to smooth/flatten out (Even more amazing would be per airport mesh patches)

Okay, thanks everyone for the info. I hadn't seen this before, and was re-visiting a file I had started a couple of years ago, possibly on an older cut of the scenery. Lots to learn about scenery here.

X-Plane is beginning to look and feel a bit more "right" to me, a near life-long MSFS based simmer. Not sure it is "there" yet, but with big changes away from my 'traditional' platforms, I am circling the X-Plane landing field, so to speak...

So is 10.50 out for everyone or just beta because I'm on steam and we can't have the beta :(

They don't push the betas to steam as far as I know. It's only disk and download users who have it.

They don't push the betas to steam as far as I know. It's only disk and download users who have it.

Any clue when us steam folks will get it?

X-Plane is beginning to look and feel a bit more "right" to me, a near life-long MSFS based simmer. Not sure it is "there" yet, but with big changes away from my 'traditional' platforms, I am circling the X-Plane landing field, so to speak...

 

I "landed" and purchased long ago, and there is no possible denying of the sims many technical accomplishments and merits. What its always lacked for me is the sense of flying over a real world rather than the matrix. There's just something strangely cold and mechanical/artificial about the X-plane world, and I've never been able to shake that feeling when flying in it.

 

Its not a "warm" place, and most definitely not a colorful one.

 

I love the new updates and agree that the cities look much better, even at the same time as I notice the very obvious repetition in building types (In New York City, for instance) that keeps shouting "Not real" to the reality-testing dinosaur in the back of my brain.

 

They are inching slowly forwards in that regard though, and one can only be encouraged.

I "landed" and purchased long ago, and there is no possible denying of the sims many technical accomplishments and merits. What its always lacked for me is the sense of flying over a real world rather than the matrix. There's just something strangely cold and mechanical/artificial about the X-plane world, and I've never been able to shake that feeling when flying in it.

 

 

For waht I read 9 out of 10 Xplane (me included) users left FSX for exactly the opposite reason.

Okay, thanks everyone for the info. I hadn't seen this before, and was re-visiting a file I had started a couple of years ago, possibly on an older cut of the scenery. Lots to learn about scenery here.

 

Another tidbit is that objects should extend below the level of the ground to account for uneven surfaces, those hangars don't.

 

There are a ton of object libraries and I've seen numerous objects that don't use this basic design technique.

I "landed" and purchased long ago, and there is no possible denying of the sims many technical accomplishments and merits...

 

Its not a "warm" place, and most definitely not a colorful one.

 

I love the new updates and agree that the cities look much better, even at the same time as I notice the very obvious repetition in building types (In New York City, for instance) that keeps shouting "Not real" to the reality-testing dinosaur in the back of my brain...

 

 

 

Yes, something like that.

 

It has never matched the breath-taking, too much spit to swallow, Holy Cow moments that come once in a (great) while with the "other" sims.

 

Please let me explain a freeze frame in time:

 

Years ago in FSX I flew ORBX's first Pacific Northwest's airport scenery at Darrington Washington for the first time. I leveled off at 1000 feet or so and turned south toward the rock face on the mountain on the first leg of the circuit, panning under my wing to see all the trees and light coming through the southern valley lighting between the mountain peaks, my heart sang!

 

X-Plane has never done that to me. When it does, it may come to own me...

 

 

Kind regards,

 

 

X-Plane has never done that to me. When it does, it may come to own me...

 

probably never flown at night?

Yes, something like that.

 

It has never matched the breath-taking, too much spit to swallow, Holy Cow moments that come once in a (great) while with the "other" sims.

 

Please let me explain a freeze frame in time:

 

Years ago in FSX I flew ORBX's first Pacific Northwest's airport scenery at Darrington Washington for the first time. I leveled off at 1000 feet or so and turned south toward the rock face on the mountain on the first leg of the circuit, panning under my wing to see all the trees and light coming through the southern valley lighting between the mountain peaks, my heart sang!

 

X-Plane has never done that to me. When it does, it may come to own me...

 

 

Kind regards,

 

Ive had a lot of those moments in XPX ! Are you using the demo version ?

probably never flown at night?

 

Yes I have. Perhaps it's day in the sun will come too. I hope so.

 

Kind regards,

 

PS: Have the full version X-Plane 10.50B4.

Didn't mean to rile people up as I am most grateful and appreciative of the excellent alternative it offers me.

Yes I have, but with light it is as clear as night and day (to me).

 

Perhaps it's day in the sun will come. I hope so.

 

Kind regards,

 

PS: Have the full version X-Plane 10.50B4.

Thats weird !

 

What add-ONS do you have installed ? What parts of the world do you fly out of ? Some of the dessert and mountain areas in the Southwest can look pretty amazing ! Central America is pretty interesting too ! Especially with RTH !

Its not a "warm" place, and most definitely not a colorful one.

 

I love the new updates and agree that the cities look much better, even at the same time as I notice the very obvious repetition in building types (In New York City, for instance) that keeps shouting "Not real" to the reality-testing dinosaur in the back of my brain.

 

Well, every major sim has enormous problems in that regard. I don't think the roads and buildings burned in the ground textures of FSX, or the paleozoic earth in Outerra, or the FU3-era low res textures of AeroflyFS 2 shout less "Not real" than what you get in X-Plane.