>>At least sign your post with your real name it's just polite>>>well, that's a good suggestion. However, my nickname is my>company name, and that's probably how most people (if any)>ever heard of me...>>>Umberto Colapicchioni - VIRTUALI s.a.s.>I know you but it's just polite to do so ;-)Cheers,Andr

>For the USA, there are *multiple* public domain data to choose>from, the resolution is usually much better, and the coverage>is more organic, meaning there is a smoother coverage between>the states.>For Europe, choices for data source are much sparser,>resolution is not the same as the USA, and coverage is more>fragmented, because some countries are better represented than>others, and the end result is a merge coming from several data>sources.The only problem is that the detailed European landcover data is not free for commercial use. All EU countries have detailed datasets available. All made with the same methods in the same format and in high detail. I have some of these free sets on my computer and I can't imagine US sets with more detail and frankly because of the resolution that landclass is in more detail would be unneccesary.See for yourself all available datahttp://dataservice.eea.europa.eu/atlas/vie...wpub.asp?id=816Simply registering is enough to get access to shape data of almost all the countries you see.Show me a US PD source thats more detailed then that...

Hi Phil, I sorta gave out my secret through a recent post in the Hardware thread.Actually, I thought it made me sound wise, experienced, and very much a sage. In reality, it means I am now long in the tooth, have eyes like a bat, and the reflexes of a snail. I was maybe 5 years old when my father took me to a Cavil Air Patrol (CAP) meeting where they had a link trainer. I got in it and had fun flying until they closed the door. It was dark, I got scared and started to cry. I still remember the blue instrument lights and the fact it moved.That simulator and an actual airplane ride when I was six started my love of aviation. For then onward, I wanted to be a pilot. I made cockpits out of boxes and sticks, drawing the instruments on the cardboard. I had an old WWII headset (still have it) from my dad and I would wear it as I flew my fighter. John Wayne and Jimmy Steward were my heroes. It was my drive to fly that got me through college and I was fortunate enough to get into USAF pilot training. It all started with that little Link Trainer. So, that is the reason for my signature.

How was the frame rate? :)http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/174871.jpg

>>For the USA, there are *multiple* public domain data to>choose>>from, the resolution is usually much better, and the>coverage>>is more organic, meaning there is a smoother coverage>between>>the states.>>>>For Europe, choices for data source are much sparser,>>resolution is not the same as the USA, and coverage is more>>fragmented, because some countries are better represented>than>>others, and the end result is a merge coming from several>data>>sources.>>The only problem is that the detailed European landcover data>is not free for commercial use. All EU countries have detailed>datasets available. All made with the same methods in the same>format and in high detail. I have some of these free sets on>my computer and I can't imagine US sets with more detail and>frankly because of the resolution that landclass is in more>detail would be unneccesary.>>See for yourself all available data>http://dataservice.eea.europa.eu/atlas/vie...wpub.asp?id=816>>Simply registering is enough to get access to shape data of>almost all the countries you see.>>Show me a US PD source thats more detailed then that...So, I am wonder if any landclass developer has made use of these databases yet...

"Please, refrain using these comments, when the fact that XClass Europe has already been updated FIVE TIMES, it's there to prove that problems, when reported, WILL get eventually fixed. "A good start would be to actually answer posts in your own forum. Not only when someone get fed up with lack of support and take it to a public forum. Thats YOUR problem, not mine, so *please, refrain using that arrogant way of answering*.The only real landclass that can be recomended for Norway is Norway Scenic X, freeware available from www.flightsim.no. Scenerytechs new landclass that do boast about desert fix is just as bad as Xclass, with less urban coverage.

Super!!!!Thanks for that picture, that was what I got to fly as a teenager. I had a blast but managed to spin and crash several times in the time I was allowed in it. Early 1960's I instructed aircrews in USAF flight simulators (vision kept me out of flight school). In the 1980's was a pilot for the Civil Air Patrol out of Georgetown, Texas. That blue box trainer in your picture was what started it all for me.To everyone, sorry for highjacking the thread. Will go back to lurking now. :-lol Phill

>Show me a US PD source thats more detailed then that...I know Corine very well, and I confirm that resolution is not any better than US NLCDhttp://dataservice.eea.europa.eu/dataservi...d&theme=clc2000As you can see, best raster resolution is 100 m, while US NLCD is 30 mVector data it's not better, since 5 acres http://terrestrial.eionet.europa.eu/CLC2000equals 50K square meters, so the linear resolution it's 223 m (sqr of 50K=223)Anyway, both resolutions are more then enough for FSX, since FSX can't do any better than 900 meters anyway, so the resolution it's NOT the problem.The problem is, as I've said, the classification (less classes than what FSX allows), expecially in urban areas, AND the fact that for Europe, even if the resolution might be good, the quality of data is not consisent between countries, while the US has more homogeneous quality.

Hi all.The limitations of FS landclass are well known to all the developers, but not so well known to end-users. Even after a careful use of raster and vector data, there's not a guarantee that the view in FSX will match the real-life view.The limitations are of 1 KM/pixel resolution for the resampling, combined with a limited set of groundtile textures, seasons and regions altering the output, and mesh slope now also play a role.Checking the top-down FSX views against aerial photos would help, but the earth is a huge place, and photos are sometimes scarce and misleading. It simply isn't practical to expect a developer would be able to examine every QMID15 square of Europe ( or any other area ) against aerial images, and accurately reproduce the earth.And eyewitness accounts can also be misleading. How many of us know exactly, from memory, what the equivalent landclass number would be for a QMID15 tile location 5 miles NW of our homes?There are 402694145 possible landclass locations for the earth, and an equal number of waterclass. Even accounting 70% of the earth as water, we still need to account for 281885902 land tile locations. Checking each tile in a single country is a huge undertaking. So, a bit of forgiveness goes a long way for commercial landclass vendors. They do what they can given the constraints of time, money, and manpower.The good news is that making landclass is now less difficult than it was for earlier versions, so we are not limited to LOD5 squares of data, and we can make a local season.bgl to match our landclass.bgl... so we can all learn to make the landclass and season correct as possible for our favorite areas... given the constraints of time and manpower.That is where most complaints arise is that the LC isn't right for our hometowns, or favorite airport areas. We all have the ability to alter that, with some SDK study, and some available tools.Dick

>Hi all.>>The limitations of FS landclass are well known to all the>developers, but not so well known to end-users. Even after a>careful use of raster and vector data, there's not a guarantee>that the view in FSX will match the real-life view...>That is where most complaints arise is that the LC isn't right>for our hometowns, or favorite airport areas. We all have the>ability to alter that, with some SDK study, and some available>tools.>>Dick>Thank you Dick for a very well written and readable piece on the ins and outs of landclasses. Between you and Virtuali, I have learned quite a lot, which I never knew before. I also learned that I am glad I don

>There are 402694145 possible landclass locations for the>earth, and an equal number of waterclass. Even accounting 70%>of the earth as water, we still need to account for 281885902>land tile locations. Checking each tile in a single country is>a huge undertaking. I miscalculated! We only need to account for 120808244 landtiles... much less work than I thought.;-) Dick