So I like Xplane 11 and how it flies. The only let down is the default scenery or lacking of it. When I fly over Atlanta, nothing resembles it, nothing. When I fly in Fsx or Fsw, I can instantly identify certain buildings and scenery where I live. I've been researching Ortho scenery but it seems it is very involving to add and use. Is there any easier solution for this? I've been playing fsw for the most part and would like to start using Xplane so that it wouldn't be wasted money. Thanks

That is exactly how I felt with X-plane 11 when I first dabbled with it, but it has become my sim of choice by far. I decided to dive in and learn how to create ortho scenery and custom overlays using w2xp. Both programs are free. There is a definite learning curve and patience is required. Many tutorials on youtube show the process step by step. Once you get the hang of it, you can easily generate a ton of scenery at no cost other than bandwidth and storage. Learn to use Overlay editor and WED and you can customize things even further.  I'd describe X-Plane as more of a DIYer`s sim, than the others, but that will change as more payware scenery comes out, especially now that ORBX is developing for X-Plane.

Thanks for the info TurnandBank, i guess my only choice is to dive into it, i only have a 1tb hard drive is this enough for Ortho tiles?

30 minutes ago, KTU said:

Thanks for the info TurnandBank, i guess my only choice is to dive into it, i only have a 1tb hard drive is this enough for Ortho tiles?

It will get you started, but I purchased a 5TB external drive for my Ortho tiles. The amount of storage will also depend on the resolution you download your orthos at. I use ZL17 and set the config to download ZL18 within 3 kms of airports. This results in an average of about 10 GB per tile after deleting the original orthophotos once the tiles are created.

Some are happy with ZL16 which uses a lot less disk space, but, with ZL16, I find the immersion drops too much when you get down low.

I would certainly start creating some tiles for the areas you like to fly the most using the space you have available Bing  and ARC are good sources for most areas in the US. I didn't have any luck with Google as it would not download complete tiles. If you are successful in getting a few tiles done you can go from there and decide if you want to invest in another harddrive when your current one fills up.

Ok, I will try it. Also how will Ortho affect buildings and structures? Will buildings still be missing? Also how does Ortho affect frame rate?

Thanks

Hi,

Ortho textures and 3d overlays (buildings, etc.) in XP are two separate things, so you can change them indipendently.

You can improve the 3d scenery without necessarily using Orthos, and hence save disk space. To do that, you should use W2XP or (better yet) install pre-made W2XP sceneries. W2XP is a tool to add OpenStreetMap buildings and other 3D structures in XP. I think what you want foremost is "w2xp sceneries" for XP10 ( http://simheaven.com/w2xp-sceneries/ , they also work for XP11). You will also need to install some additional libraries and re-order the scenery_packs.ini file, but the complete instructions should be at the simheaven website.

Of course you can integrate the simheaven scenery with the Ortho textures to have even better results.

Thanks Murmur,  W2xp maybe what I'm looking  for, I will look into it....

If you want to fly in Europe I am loving Simheaven X Europe, which is like w2xp but places default autogen according to OSM data. Over top of Orthos (using Bing or BI as a source for the photos in the ortho4xp options) it looks fantastic, aligning perfectly with the orthos. But it is dependent on good OSM data. I have been flying around Geneva, Switzerland, Austria and the Nice, France area and it is dense, accurate, and fps friendly. I also highly recommend Mister X HD forests. BTW all free things available to the curious (and motivated) lol. And I recommend using zone level 17 for the orthos with ZL19 around the airports (which you can enable automatically in the ortho4xp global config settings. Have fun! Cheers

On ‎1‎/‎31‎/‎2018 at 1:09 PM, KTU said:

So I like Xplane 11 and how it flies. The only let down is the default scenery or lacking of it. When I fly over Atlanta, nothing resembles it, nothing. When I fly in Fsx or Fsw, I can instantly identify certain buildings and scenery where I live. I've been researching Ortho scenery but it seems it is very involving to add and use. Is there any easier solution for this? I've been playing fsw for the most part and would like to start using Xplane so that it wouldn't be wasted money. Thanks

I also agree that the default scenery is a bit lacking, however it is default.  I recently downloaded AI Pilot's HD Mesh V4 Scenery and it really improves the default significantly.  Great work and contribution!  If possible, t would be great to have some significant landmarks depicted such as professional sports stadiums, unique buildings (i.e. the space needle for Seattle), prominent golf courses, etc.  Maybe there is a limitation in the landclass / objects representation for X-plane scenery or conversely a significant amount of work involved.   Also, am not seeing white sand beaches, multi-colored water in various coastline areas - maybe there is an add-on to purchase / download?