Just flew AeroFly FS-2 OMG!

[HiFlyer 9,359]

I was saying in another thread, that there's probably a very good business case for supporting this for Orbx, since most of their stuff is essentially photoscenery at this point, and since Aerofly is also photoscenery, there's some obvious synergy.

 

One of the Orbx developers even mentioned that (in his personal opinion) the way forward was worldwide photoscenery, even if it took a few years.

 

Still I'm surprised Orbx took the step. The general sim community has always seemed pretty conservative/bordering on stagnant platform-wise to me, and this is a very bold, even aggressive move.

 

Its startling to see somebody abruptly unfurl the battle-flags in this sleepy niche and begin leading a charge.

[BlairB007 13]

In Short, you can sum it up as P3D and XP and FSX are Simulators whereas Aerofly 2 is a game!

[HiFlyer 9,359]

In Short, you can sum it up as P3D and XP and FSX are Simulators whereas Aerofly 2 is a game!

 

Someone could sum up that I was a fish, but that doesn't mean I would agree.  :smile:

[simmerhead 885]

They're all games - simulator games... A real flight simulator is more than just software. It stops being a game once the FAA will let you log hours on it.

[Guest]

One of the Orbx developers even mentioned that (in his personal opinion) the way forward was worldwide photoscenery, even if it took a few years.

 

Still I'm surprised Orbx took the step. The general sim community has always seemed pretty conservative/bordering on stagnant platform-wise to me, and this is a very bold, even aggressive move.

 

Its startling to see somebody abruptly unfurl the battle-flags in this sleepy niche and begin leading a charge.

 

I also think that in the end everyone wants photoreal all over the world. But with accurately places buildings, of course. In that regard AFS2 has taken the right starting point. It will indeed probably take years and ears but one day (hopefully during my lifetime) we will get there. (In the far away future we probably will get LIVE world scenery in our (VR) sims!  :wink: )

 

I was also surprised by Orbx's announcement. Never ever saw that coming.

 

 

In Short, you can sum it up as P3D and XP and FSX are Simulators whereas Aerofly 2 is a game!

 

 

I have to agree with what HiFlyer and simmerhead said here, although I have to admit I also used the word 'game' in regard to AFS2. In the end they are all games but in the end they are all also simulators. AFS2 isn't the deepest sim but it certainly simulates flight! Using the word 'game' for AFS2, like I did, is in fact a bit arrogant and patronizing (don't know the right English word for it but I hope you get what I mean). My biggest problem with AFS2 right now is the lack of 3D objects in way too many places (even the detailed places) but that of course doesn't make it a game. As can be read here and as can also be heard in the video that HiFlyer posted (from a guy who probably never ever saw photoreal scenery before...?!) more then enough people absolutely love the AFS2 scenery! But those are details and subjective preferences and none of those make something either a sim or a game. And neither the fact that certain knobs aren't working does it make a game. It makes it a 'lighter' or 'more simple' sim but it still is a sim. And I will from now on call it that.  :wink:

[BlairB007 13]

Someone could sum up that I was a fish, but that doesn't mean I would agree.  :smile:

True that. But i'm not asking you to agree with me. I'm just posting my opinion.

I also think that in the end everyone wants photoreal all over the world. But with accurately places buildings, of course. In that regard AFS2 has taken the right starting point. It will indeed probably take years and ears but one day (hopefully during my lifetime) we will get there. (In the far away future we probably will get LIVE world scenery in our (VR) sims!  :wink: )

 

I was also surprised by Orbx's announcement. Never ever saw that coming.

 

 

 

I have to agree with what HiFlyer and simmerhead said here, although I have to admit I also used the word 'game' in regard to AFS2. In the end they are all games but in the end they are all also simulators. AFS2 isn't the deepest sim but it certainly simulates flight! Using the word 'game' for AFS2, like I did, is in fact a bit arrogant and patronizing (don't know the right English word for it but I hope you get what I mean). My biggest problem with AFS2 right now is the lack of 3D objects in way too many places (even the detailed places) but that of course doesn't make it a game. As can be read here and as can also be heard in the video that HiFlyer posted (from a guy who probably never ever saw photoreal scenery before...?!) more then enough people absolutely love the AFS2 scenery! But those are details and subjective preferences and none of those make something either a sim or a game. And neither the fact that certain knobs aren't working does it make a game. It makes it a 'lighter' or 'more simple' sim but it still is a sim. And I will from now on call it that.  :wink:

Those words are fine with me as well. Both Sims. 1 detailed and 1 'simple'. Same point, just different wording.  

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

For all those that want to place all your STEAM games off of your C:/O.S. drive, here is the program to do it.   Visit this site, read about how to do it, download Steam Mover, and recover all the GB's that STEAM games were taking up, on your Systems Drive

 

In my case, I had over 160 GB's!

 

I just dumped my P3D v2.4 installation, and now have my Steam/SteamApp folder installed on my Velociraptor, with the main Steam Folder still on the C: drive, of which Steam on the Net, still accesses.  You only need to move the Steam\Steamapp folder to any other drive you want.  It will be properly associated, and having AeroFly FS2 off of your system's disk drive (C:) really smooths out, even further the sim action.  If you put in on a Velociraptor 10,000 RPM drive...it sizzles

 

Here is the link, download the app...and keep it near your STEAM icons.

 

http://www.traynier.com/software/steammover

[Guest]

For all those that want to place all your STEAM games off of your C: drive, here is the program to do it.   Visit this site, read about how to do it, download Steam Mover, and recover all the GB's that STEAM games were taking up, on your Systems Drive

 

In my case, I had over 160 GB's!

 

I just dumped my P3D v2.4 installation, and now have my Steam/SteamApp folder installed on my Velociraptor, with the main Steam Folder still on the C: driver, of which Steam on the Net, still accesses.  You only need to move the Steam\Steamapp folder to any other drive you want.  It will be properly associated, and having AeroFly FS2 off of your system's disk drive (C:) really smooths out, even further the sim action.  If you put in on a Velociraptor 10,000 RPM drive...it sizzles

 

Here is the link, download the app...and keep it near your STEAM icons.

 

http://www.traynier.com/software/steammover

 

 

If you want to prevent all this (it will also still leave stuff on your C: drive), simply start by installing Steam on the drive you want it on: all downloads and installed apps will be put in that folder on that specific drive.  :wink: I hardly ever install anything on my OS drive.

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

If you want to prevent all this, simply start by installing Steam on the drive you want it on: all downloads and installed apps will be put in that folder on that specific drive.  :wink: I hardly ever install anything on my OS drive.

You can, and that would be the best route, ......but for folks that already have Steam installed on their O.S. drive, this is the ticket for offloading game files onto another drive, and all still works as it should.

[Sethos 4,335]

Apparently, I'm not allowed to join the IPACs forum. They denied my application, so I couldn't ask them.

 

Anyone know if this will be part of the Steam Christmas sale? I'd bite at something like 30 Euro.

[HiFlyer 9,359]

Apparently, I'm not allowed to join the IPACs forum. They denied my application, so I couldn't ask them.

 

Anyone know if this will be part of the Steam Christmas sale? I'd bite at something like 30 Euro.

 

Strange.

 

And Aerofly FS 2 is on sale right now at 10% off.

Also: Interesting post from JV over on the Orbx thread a few minutes ago:

 

There is in fact photoreal coverage of the entire planet in AFS2, but it's very low resolution, about 20m/pixel I think. The developers did host some discussions on Steam asking if customers wanted a 5m/pixel coverage of the whole world for about 160GB worth of files, and the response was overwhelmingly 'Yes!'. That would give us FS2004 resolution visuals for the whole planet.

[Guest]

Also: Interesting post from JV over on the Orbx thread a few minutes ago:

Interesting quote. For high flying airliners 5m/pixel would be quite nice already and certainly an improvement. I do wonder though where they are gong to get good sources for this... And I'd still miss autogen and for low and slow it still wouldn't cut it, of course. Maybe Orbx could create an worldwide OSM based autogen addon to go with those textures.

[Murmur 3,941]

Bye bye Outerra, your train has passed. As some of us predicted, too slow development...
 

There is in fact photoreal coverage of the entire planet in AFS2, but it's very low resolution, about 20m/pixel I think. The developers did host some discussions on Steam asking if customers wanted a 5m/pixel coverage of the whole world for about 160GB worth of files, and the response was overwhelmingly 'Yes!'. That would give us FS2004 resolution visuals for the whole planet.]

160 GB at 5m/pixel worldwide is physically impossible, even if it's only land (without water). It is at least one order of magnitude bigger (a few TBs of data).

 

[Sethos 4,335]

And Aerofly FS 2 is on sale right now at 10% off.

 

Yeah, been on sale since the Christmas sale started but I still find 40 euro too steep for the game in its current state, especially as I have to add the additional sceneries on top. A decent sale at 35% or something could sweeten the deal for me. 'Else I'll just wait

[DaveCT2003 1,820]

Having been in the Flight Sim community for over 30 years, I'm always in favor and can't help but be cautiously optimistic of any development that takes place at this level - I know what's involved in making a full flight sim, a staggering task to be sure.

 

Many don't know, but ESP (the engine behind FSX/P3D/DTG New FS) wasn't built in the few years between FS2004 and FSX. It was built in the lessons learned by the team in all the years of MSFS development, and building on top of software of the previous versions. In other words, they didn't have to start from scratch for each new version.  It is also true that the lessons learned from other development and better tools and technology will great aide the AFS2 team and shave their development timeline.

 

I offered to consult with them in the past, though my message was likely buried with the many they received from members of the community.  I would certainly love to see their development road map, and milestones - it would likely answer all the questions I would have and tell me what the future this software would have in the flight sim world.

 

Believe it or not, one of the most important issues facing LM is a complete overhaul of weather. Reed Stough at REX helped me to understand the current limitations of weather in FSX/P3D/DTG NFS. I'm not speaking about what injectors like Active Sky, REX and other weather engines do, but rather the software they provide input to. I would have to believe this is a major development issue at LM given their down range commercial/military simulation focus, and it is also something badly needed by the high end simulator users in our community, especially as the multi-player and shared cockpit genres continue to grow in our community and at the very least future P3D military applications (I certainly hope this is on their road map).  This is something that I would think gives AFS2 a leg up, as they can work this before it becomes as daunting a task as is for LM and other ESP based simulators.

 

I wish the AFS2 team the very best and look forward to watching the continued development of AFS2.