ORBX Downloads

[pilot100ll 5]

So I've added Vector, Trees, and North America to my global base through FTX Central. Everything downloaded just fine. I have all my texture and settings on ultra. I fly in the Cleveland area. I started a flight from KCLE and headed over downtown Cleveland. So much is missing from there. The landmarks such as the rock and roll hall of fame, progressive field, quicken loans arena are not there. The Cuyahoga river is not detailed but more "cartoon-ish" if that is a word.

 

Could I have some settings wrong or did I have my hopes set too high? What I am seeing is nothing like the realism on the Orbx website. I will definitely post some screen shots and you can direct me from there. I will get back to you all later in the week.

 

What I expected to see was scenery similar to google earth. Very realistic. Very crisp. I did not expect simulated groundcover, buildings, trees, and traffic. I am hoping that I need to tweak something but I am at a loss what it could be. Any advice?

[mawibo 33]

Hi,

I think you have the wrong expectation about what the ORBX products have to offer. You have landclass data (presuming that with 'North America' you mean 'openLC North America') that tells the simulator what type of ground should go where (forest, city, desert, grassland etc.), ground textures (Global Base) that 'paint' the land class areas with a certain texture and vector data (roads, rivers, lakes, power lines, railway lines etc.). Cleveland is not part of any ORBX region, so there's no specific data, like landmarks, for the Cleveland area and also no photoreal textures for that area.

Please read the user guides (especially the 'Layers in the simulator' sections) for the products you have, to get a better understanding of what the different products have to offer.

Maarten

[scottb613 1,188]

Hi...

Yeah - Global - is just a texture pack - it's generic and used throughout the world - but is vastly improves the default textures... Vector is just shorelines, bodies of water, roads, and railroads - it doesn't include any textures... LC just places the generic tiles more accurately so you get a closer representation to real world - but they are still generic - the pack does include some improved generic textures as well... Trees are well trees...

Yeah - you're not going to get unique buildings and such... If your water looks cartoonish - that's simpley a texture thing - there are other textures for water both free and payware - personally I use ENVTEX...

If you want to step up the level of custom detail - that's what ORBX Regions do but they're coverage is still very sparse globally...

If you want "photoreal" (actual image of real terrain) - that's an entirely different thing - and most do not include any buildings or trees... I'm not a fan of photoreal...

Just an FYI if unfamiliar - download the ORBX FTX Freeware Airports pack - as they improve hundreds of airports globally with improved but generic airport libraries... I use them most of the time...

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=16TLldaoxxmFv7wOWfYyM8zV-bgM&ll=34.933205701436165%2C-93.35507730283035&z=8

Regards,
Scott

[pilot100ll 5]

Thanks all for your detailed posts. I am certainly thankful for you taking the time to explain the details. From what I am understanding, my expectations are way too high. I am building a system that I want to use to supplement my real world flying. I am trying to go high end without having to break the bank. My goal is to immerse myself in as close to the actual thing without leaving the ground. A wish or a fantasy quite possibly. Any suggestion on how to get realism would be greatly appreciated. I will look into ENVTEX and the free ware airports.

[mawibo 33]

Hi,

To be able to give you a proper answer, you first need to give us some more information like:

• what simulator are you using (FSX, P3Dv3, P3Dv4)?
• what type of flying do you prefer (GA, bush, airliner, ...)?
• what area do you want to fly in (Cleveland only or any area)?

Maarten

[scottb613 1,188]

Hi...

Yep - understand - I'm a pilot as well - and do the same... I use FS all the time to check out places when I'm going somewhere new - just to get the lay of the land... It does well representing hills - bodies of water - roads and such - so when I arrive in real life the area looks somewhat familiar... It also works very well for unofficial training with instrument procedures...

Maybe you would be happy with "photoreal" terrain - there are many fans - just not my cup of tea... It's a satellite image laid on top of the mesh so you will see whatever is there in real life - you just don't get seasons, night, or autogen (3D Buildings, 3D Trees)... It tends to be more frame rate friendly than ORBX because it lacks the 3D objects... It looks good from a couple thousand feet - not so much when you get really low... 

Search for "Megascenery" as I believe they are the largest player in that arena...

Regards,
Scott

[GHarrall 494]

https://www.aerosoft.com/us/fsxp3d/flight-simulator-x-steam/sceneries/449/us-cities-x-cleveland

[GHarrall 494]

1 hour ago, pilot100ll said:

Thanks all for your detailed posts. I am certainly thankful for you taking the time to explain the details. From what I am understanding, my expectations are way too high. I am building a system that I want to use to supplement my real world flying. I am trying to go high end without having to break the bank. My goal is to immerse myself in as close to the actual thing without leaving the ground. A wish or a fantasy quite possibly. Any suggestion on how to get realism would be greatly appreciated. I will look into ENVTEX and the free ware airports.

https://www.aerosoft.com/us/fsxp3d/flight-simulator-x-steam/sceneries/449/us-cities-x-cleveland

[scottb613 1,188]

Hi...

Oh - there you go - forgot they did Cleveland - photoreal + 3D - - - just no seasonal or night if I recall correctly...

Regards,
Scott

[pilot100ll 5]

I am running Prepare3D v4.

 

[GHarrall 494]

27 minutes ago, pilot100ll said:

I am running Prepare3D v4.

 

Well, it may get a new installer.......or it may not. Check the aerosoft forums.

My guess is it would probably work ok. Install to a dummy folder and then add to the scenery library manually.

[pilot100ll 5]

Update....

So I have installed the ORBX stuff as stated above. I think I agree that my expectations were set too high for such software. Not that it was a bad thing, I just thought that with today's technology and software development someone would be way ahead of the game.

I looked into the Megasceneryearth and the Ohio download. From what I read it offered promise. Not exactly what I was looking for but close enough. The problem I am having is loading it. The instructions are very confusing nonetheless. Install into this directory, copy this into that then open this with the extractor tool and so on.....

Long story short, does anyone have any tips/advice on how to install this for P3D v4? I get so far as to loading a flight such as Cleveland Hopkins (kcle), change the "world scenery" to Ohio and resume the flight, only to discover the default scenery. It does not load the ground scenery as expected.