I've had FS Global 2010 for quite some time now and have installed it in FSX, P3D v3 and now v4.4. If you're still running with the default mesh even if turned all the way up to 1 metre resolution you might think you're getting a reasonable representation of the world's mountains.

I can assure you you're not. If you need any proof these two images were taken from the same position. The only difference is FS Global was enabled on one but not the other. The mountain is the Matterhorn - one of the most famous mountains in the world bordering Switzerland and Italy.

The longer load times are definitely worth it for the huge amount of extra detail it brings. No impact on frame rates either.

First with P3D default mesh set to 1 metre - the highest setting...

Now with FS Global 2010 enabled and 1 metre mesh enabled. Suddenly, the Matterhorn appears!

Nice example of the benefits of mesh Ray. These days you can gain most of the benefits with FreeMeshX; which as the name implies, is completely free. Unfortunately back in 2010 that wasn't an option and it should be noted FSG has some higher resolution mesh in particularly mountainous areas vs FreeMeshX.

You will see the benefits of a good mesh everywhere, not just in the mountains although it is obviously most noticeable there.

https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/516319-freemeshx-global-20-release-announcement/?page=1

 

Edited December 28, 20187 yr by ckyliu

Chris, thanks. How much effort is required to install FreeMesh? Lots of separate files or a single download? And given FSG is 62.6Gb I imagine the effort to download FreeMesh is considerable. Sorry, just seen the link and note it's 46Gb in multiple files.

I know FSG has released a new version but at over 50 UKP I don't think it's worth the price unless there is a big discount for FSG 2010 owners.

So why not post your equivalent of the Matterhorn so we can compare?

Edited December 28, 20187 yr by Ray Proudfoot

I'm a satisfied user of FreeMesh X Ray. 

Yes it's a considerable download size, but it didn't take me too long to get it all as I recall. On the other hand I have a blazing fast download speed that is roughly 350mbs, so if your'e speed is a lot slower it could take a while.

I would take a screenie for you to compare, but I can't quite seem to get zeroed in on "the Horn", I tried buzzing around the area a bit, as close as I could figure where it should be based on google maps etc, but I didn't see anything quite as "spikey" as your shot.

If I hadn't already bought FSG it would be the obvious thing to go for. My fastest download speed is 70Mbps so not too bad.

I used Wikipedia to get the lat / lon for the Matterhorn. It's a good test of FreeMesh to see how it compares. Just slew towards those coordinates and make sure you view it from the NW or W which has the classic view.

The "old" FSG was sold by Justin. IMHO, since then, the quality of the product is awful. Justin formed Toposim and you can find his high quality products at www.toposim.net.  He honors the old memberships and usually has some sort of discount for past customers.

Worth checking out IMHO. I have all his stuff and prefer it over freemesh.

Vic

OK Ray, here's a pic of Mt. Everest.... 

 

This is FreeMesh X with 1m  mesh resolution set in P3D.

This shot was taken just south of the Nepal-Tibet border, Mt. Everest in the background, and the Lhotse ridgeline and peak in the foreground and to the right. The high dry Tibetan plateau is behind the Everest peak.

I don't know how this compares to payware mesh products, but it looks pretty sweet to me..😎

You're right, Vic. He has reinstated himself in the mesh area. I bought all of his stuff and was happy with it. I feared that his business model was going to again put him out of work. He was putting things on sale every time he turned around. I finally got the FS Global and haven't looked back.  I had no complaints about the quality of his work.

43 minutes ago, vgbaron said:

The "old" FSG was sold by Justin. IMHO, since then, the quality of the product is awful. Justin formed Toposim and you can find his high quality products at www.toposim.net.  He honors the old memberships and usually has some sort of discount for past customers.

Worth checking out IMHO. I have all his stuff and prefer it over freemesh.

Vic

Vic, I bought direct from Pilots. The name Stefan rings a bell. Certainly not from anyone called Justin. I’ve flown from Zurich to Milan this afternoon and the view was stunning. I know there are later versions but in all honesty how much will the Matterhorn change between versions? 😉

It also needs remembering that L-M could move away from BGLs at some point rendering all 3rd party scenery redundant. FSG will do me until that day arrives.

34 minutes ago, SunDevil56 said:

OK Ray, here's a pic of Mt. Everest.... 

This is FreeMesh X with 1m  mesh resolution set in P3D.

This shot was taken just south of the Nepal-Tibet border, Mt. Everest in the background, and the Lhotse ridgeline and peak in the foreground and to the right. The high dry Tibetan plateau is behind the Everest peak.

I don't know how this compares to payware mesh products, but it looks pretty sweet to me..😎

SunDevil, thanks for that but I was hoping for a shot of the Matterhorn so a comparison could be made. For free it’s certainly a big improvement over the default.

Edited December 28, 20187 yr by Ray Proudfoot

2 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

 

SunDevil, thanks for that but I was hoping for a shot of the Matterhorn so a comparison could be made. For free it’s certainly a big improvement over the default.

I tried, but I just couldn't seem to zero in on "the Horn", just thought I would throw that pic of everest out there so people could see what FreeMesh X looks like compared tot the default mesh, and everest is easy to find.. lol

What are the load times with Freemesh X - I saw my p3d load slow down with FSGlobal 2010.  Does any one know if FS Global next generation is optimized for faster loading in Prepar3d v4

25 minutes ago, SunDevil56 said:

I tried, but I just couldn't seem to zero in on "the Horn", just thought I would throw that pic of everest out there so people could see what FreeMesh X looks like compared tot the default mesh, and everest is easy to find.. lol

Maybe it’s not modelled in sufficient detail to be noticeable. Everest is huge in comparison.

Here are the coordinates. Just go into skew mode and head towards them.

45° 58′ 35″ N, 7° 39′ 31″ E

8 minutes ago, Skywolf said:

What are the load times with Freemesh X - I saw my p3d load slow down with FSGlobal 2010.  Does any one know if FS Global next generation is optimized for faster loading in Prepar3d v4

Because of the huge number of BGLs all mesh scenery will take time to load. If you’re adept with managing multiple scenery.cfg files you could just enable the areas you need for your flight. So no need for North or South America when flying in Europe and so on.

SimStarterNG allows you to do this.

Don't expect FreemeshX to beat FSG2010, it's certainly not worth swapping from one to other because from what I recall, they are both essentially 38m resolution in Europe, with FSG having increased detail in selected areas (which the Matterhorn may be one). I'm running FreemeshX V1, not V2, so things may have changed in that regard. Installation is easy. Because of that and the detail on offer I don't believe it's worth paying for mesh products nowadays unless you have some very specific needs.

I expect loading times would be the same, since it's loading the same resolution of BGL. I don't think you can really do anything to optimise it, it's just a grid of data points. It's almost entirely dependent on how fast your storage is.

Edited December 28, 20187 yr by ckyliu

Some statistics on FreemeshX v2. 52.6GB on disk, 364 files in 23 folders. I have mine installed using the add-on.xml method.