GOOGLE MAP FOR MFS2020

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

2 hours ago, Sethos said:

Make sure you delete your rolling cache and create a new one, that contains old Bing data and will try to load on top of Google. Same if you switch back to Bing.

Will keep this in mind...for sure! 🙂

[MrBitstFlyer 3,827]

8 hours ago, Bdub22 said:

Wow, well thats depressing. I wish I could unsee how much better the google textures look. But hey, I'm still very, very happy with what we have. It's light years ahead of anything else.

I have flown all day with Google textures, but just reverted to Bing - the area in California I flew in was detailed and relatively green.  In Bing maps it looks like a desert and the resolution is much reduced.

Would be good to unsee it 😁

[cianpars 1,164]

After running Python 3, then the app, then loading msfs, I thought it was going to hang, but it was just loading a bit slowly.  I had some blurred textures which resolved when I switched from Google server 1 to Google server 2.

In the UK, the Google textures are much better, though I felt that some airports stood out a bit more, perhaps the airport textures were not quite in balance with the surrounding ones, but no big deal so far.

As it is simple to run, just a couple of clicks, nobody should be scared to give it a go.  I've got to cover a lot more areas to see how well it works, but it does seem that some places benefit a lot more from the Google textures than others, so it will depend on where you like to fly.

I wonder how long it will be before either Microsoft or Google put the kibosh on it. I hope not, because having used both sets of textures in fsx using tileproxy and earth tiles, I do find the concept very interesting.

[Gaiiden 98]

I've been looking into this for specific-use areas. It can def be better than Bing most of the time but just as often it has issues that make me prefer the Bing imagery. It's already been pointed out here that despite the overall Bing quality being less than Google, the Bing imagery is at least processed for use in the flight sim. People often mistakenly believe the Bing data is being pulled from Bing Maps, this is not true. The ground textures in MSFS are based off Bing images but they are not the actual Bing images like this mod is pulling direct from Google.

It's also not surprising Google Maps has better quality since it has been thrashing Bing for years however MSFS has finally given Microsoft a genuine incentive as well as the money to invest in better quality for Bing Maps. I would like to think they are using the sim as an opportunity to also refresh their Bing Maps service and in that way MSFS will also benefit as well. Win/Win, it will just take another year or so for us to see the results of this

[abrams_tank 7,393]

I wonder if Google detects a specific IP address (ie. the IP address of people using this mod) is consuming top much data, that Google may block that IP address from using Google map data.

For sure, if you are constantly flying around the world with MSFS and using this data from Google, it's not normal usage of their data and you are putting additional stress on their server(s).

Having said that, it's cool there is an option to stream the Google data.  Meanwhile, for the competing simulators, you have to download TBs of data and purchase a hard drive just to store the TBs of data.  MSFS advanced flight simulation to the 2020s, while the competing simulators remain stuck in the 2000s.

Edited November 10, 2021 by abrams_tank

[jelder 14]

Is it possible to manual cache the Google data.  I would prefer to just switch a few specific areas and would also prefer not to have google block my IP address when this hits their radar.

[Mikeiavelli 3]

Would the different servers create different map results? I posted an observation on the Flightsim.to page, but he did not respond.

 

I was flying over an area close to my home, and noticed that the Google map in the game was not the latest updated Google map when you go to maps.google.com ... There are noticeable areas where new neighborhoods are displayed on the website, but in game it is showing what must be older google map versions.

[Sethos 4,299]

2 minutes ago, mikensherri328 said:

Would the different servers create different map results? I posted an observation on the Flightsim.to page, but he did not respond.

 

I was flying over an area close to my home, and noticed that the Google map in the game was not the latest updated Google map when you go to maps.google.com ... There are noticeable areas where new neighborhoods are displayed on the website, but in game it is showing what must be older google map versions.

You sure it isn't just Bing photogrammetry you're looking at? This app isn't replacing that.

[Mikeiavelli 3]

8 minutes ago, Sethos said:

You sure it isn't just Bing photogrammetry you're looking at? This app isn't replacing that.

I wouldn't think so, I don't think it was in a photogrammetry area. Is there a list of these areas somewhere because I think it is just large city areas isn't it?

[Sethos 4,299]

Just now, mikensherri328 said:

I wouldn't think so, I don't think it was in a photogrammetry area. Is there a list of these areas somewhere because I think it is just large city areas isn't it?

It can vary, usually when you see the slightly "melted" look and floating things being connected with those weird pillars in the ground, it's a sign that it's photogrammetry. But other than that, data can for sure differ. Both Bing's and Google's map services doesn't show exactly the data they feed from their backend mapping API, though it's usually accurate for the most part.

[Mikeiavelli 3]

1 minute ago, Sethos said:

It can vary, usually when you see the slightly "melted" look and floating things being connected with those weird pillars in the ground, it's a sign that it's photogrammetry. But other than that, data can for sure differ. Both Bing's and Google's map services doesn't show exactly the data they feed from their backend mapping API, though it's usually accurate for the most part.

I found a list, and I guess it may be photogrammetry in that area. It does list Venice Florida which was the area I was in. I had no idea a little area like that would get the photogrammetry treatment.

You solved the mystery. Thanks!

Edited November 10, 2021 by mikensherri328
Further investigation on my point

[MrBitstFlyer 3,827]

4 hours ago, abrams_tank said:

I wonder if Google detects a specific IP address (ie. the IP address of people using this mod) is consuming top much data, that Google may block that IP address from using Google map data.

For sure, if you are constantly flying around the world with MSFS and using this data from Google, it's not normal usage of their data and you are putting additional stress on their server(s).

Having said that, it's cool there is an option to stream the Google data.  Meanwhile, for the competing simulators, you have to download TBs of data and purchase a hard drive just to store the TBs of data.  MSFS advanced flight simulation to the 2020s, while the competing simulators remain stuck in the 2000s.

I regularly put my VR headset on and browse Google Earth all over the world, sometimes for hours, yet I haven't been banned yet.  🙂 Seriously though, it would not surprise me if google or Microsoft block access.  What I would hope though is Microsoft at some point turn their attention to improving Bing imagery, as the best way to negate the use of such apps as the Google Map mod.

I have every Orbx airport and scenery area for Xplane, every Airfoil Labs, many Just flight aircraft, every A2A aircraft and my Xplane directory is 115Gb.  in the areas I fly, the scenery looks the same as MSFS. I grant you Xplane 11 scenery isn't world wide, but when I use it to fly on PilotEdge, the experience is anything but stuck in the 2000s.  

I've spent the last couple of days flying MSFS with Google data and it is stunning.  The areas I fly in, mostly US west coast and the UK,  the scenery plus MSFS weather make the experience amazingly real.  The difference in colour is also massive.  I still find Bing imagery acceptable, but the quality is so much poorer than Google.  I have flown in Bing areas for hundreds of hours, but I can spend a flight just going over the areas I know so well just stunned at the extra resolution and life like colours from Google.

Edited November 10, 2021 by MrBitstFlyer
spelling

[Alvega 2,119]

I noticed the watermasks handmade by ASOBO/Microsoft (in the places where they added it) are much better than the Google Maps ones. You can notice lots of squares and lines in the water when using Google but they are perfect when using the default handplaced watermasks.You can see that clearly in the Bahamas.

The roads are much better with Google though.

[apollon01 25]

Just a remark about the quality difference between the default sim and Google maps provided by this mod:

Keep in mind that the mod downloads Google map tiles down to zoom level 20. The default sim Bing tiles are limited to zoom level 16. 

So even though Bing has (in places) ortho coverage of similar quality as Google maps, the default sim will show the Bing tiles only at zoom level 16.

Now, if the mod was able to stream Bing maps without the zoom level limitation... (or use some other mapping services for that matter...) 

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

This looks neat have to try this out 🙂