https://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/forums/topic/268914-updating-existing-ortho-for-xp12/&do=findComment&comment=2417062

Well this is definitely good news.

It would be good if the program was modded to just generate the Ortho and not the Mesh also. Or at least have an option to do so.

I never understood why you can use Ortho4xp and point to the mesh (ie HD Mesh v3) but then it generates the tiles including the mesh. The resulting download is massive.

That is great news ! Whats going to happen to my already downloaded orthos ? Hopefully there is a way to update them.

1 hour ago, Baber20 said:

That is great news ! Whats going to happen to my already downloaded orthos ? Hopefully there is a way to update them.

Sounds like just the masks may have to be updated, not the actual tiles.  Good news it is being further developed!

5 hours ago, Greazer said:

It would be good if the program was modded to just generate the Ortho and not the Mesh also. Or at least have an option to do so.

You can't.... the mesh and ortho are the same thing and can't be seperated.

I think you're confusing mesh with the overlay (roads and autogen) which isn't the same thing

 

5 hours ago, Baber20 said:

That is great news ! Whats going to happen to my already downloaded orthos ? Hopefully there is a way to update them.

You should be able to point the updated tool at the ortho folder and it will regenerate the mesh (but it won't redownload all the orthos)

10 minutes ago, tonywob said:

You can't.... the mesh and ortho are the same thing and can't be seperated.

I think you're confusing mesh with the overlay (roads and autogen) which isn't the same thing

Isn't it possible to use overlay textures in XP? That way, it would be possible to code an add-on that would stream satellite scenery on the fly, just like that MSFS mod that allows streaming Google maps satellite scenery instead of the default Bing maps.

14 minutes ago, Murmur said:

Isn't it possible to use overlay textures in XP? That way, it would be possible to code an add-on that would stream satellite scenery on the fly, just like that MSFS mod that allows streaming Google maps satellite scenery instead of the default Bing maps.

Yep it is, but it's horrendously slow over anything but small areas and not recommended, so very few do it

24 minutes ago, Murmur said:

That way, it would be possible to code an add-on that would stream satellite scenery on the fly

Unless you are simming on a phone or a chromebook with limited storage, what possible benefit could there be of streaming satellite scenery on the fly? Its still going to take as long to download before or during, but if you do it during there is a high probability of flying with absolutely #@##!# scenery.

11 minutes ago, mSparks said:

Unless you are simming on a phone or a chromebook with limited storage, what possible benefit could there be of streaming satellite scenery on the fly? Its still going to take as long to download before or during, but if you do it during there is a high probability of flying with absolutely #@##!# scenery.

MSFS doesn't take long to download streaming scenery the first time it's loaded.

 

Just now, Murmur said:

MSFS doesn't take long to download streaming scenery the first time it's loaded.

 

That the disadvantage isn't quite a severe as I imagine, isn't an advantage/benefit

I'm happy he's back.  I'll probably do a few tiles for my local area but I certainly haven't missed having massive amounts of GB's of tiles.  Or TB's if you download the high res stuff.

On 9/23/2022 at 2:30 PM, Greazer said:

Well this is definitely good news.

It would be good if the program was modded to just generate the Ortho and not the Mesh also. Or at least have an option to do so.

I never understood why you can use Ortho4xp and point to the mesh (ie HD Mesh v3) but then it generates the tiles including the mesh. The resulting download is massive.

This is why because the entire advantage of a program like ortho4xp is you can create FAR more detailed than any sim ive ever seen.

The ability to crank up the detail in the mesh is KEY to realistic mountain scenery avoiding the rounded edges seen in lower res mesh like in standard xp,P#D and msfs.

Storage is cheap