1 hour ago, V1ROTA7E said:

Very nice. Could you post some more varied shots to show the differences with your color profile? I’d test myself, but am on a trip. 

Zell Am See (compare with message above). Both images using the New Bing (freeware) instead of the MSFS default old freeware. Note the streaks on the fields (these are there in real life).  (The color shift possibilities alone make the app very worthwhile, as well as the improved mapped images).

Brightness + 15

Contrast -22

Saturation - 22

 

When I go overboard on brightness and reduce saturation and contrast like this, then the new Bing starts to look like the washed out MSFS default Bing, at least in colorization.

If you can't see difference when moving sliders, then reload the flight (quit flight to the main menu, and then reload the same flight). It forces bringing in the tiles again to the sim.

If you still don't see difference, well I didn't either. For some reason with any cache enabled in the app that was happening to me. When the update to version 2 happened, I avoided even touching the "Cache options" down arrow. That allowed the app to stay in condition 0 cache, instead of a default of 5 GB. Which cured all issues.

Once it gets set to default 5, then I don't know how to undo it back to 0 in the settings. So if it gets set to 5 again somehow, then I'm just going to remove the app in Windows Control panel and then immediately reinstall it. That will set it back to 0 real quick!

Stock MSFS without using the app. Notice the lack of detail, the plain texture, on the green grassy areas. We don't see the long tracks where the mower has been used in real life.

 

 

Zell Am See is LOWZ

 

 

7 hours ago, Cpt_Piett said:

Decided to try the subscription for a month. This is with Apple Map (Pro) in a hold southwest of Manchester:

Btw for some reason the app is working perfectly now, whereas before I would get tiles loading in distance + strange artifacts when using high LOD. 

You are braver then I am. Already nervous just using the app, never mind giving a credit card to these people.
That aside, did you find a noticeable difference or only worth it if you really have money to waste.

 

Edited June 6, 20242 yr by Ron Lefebvre

3 hours ago, Ron Lefebvre said:

You are braver then I am. Already nervous just using the app, never mind giving a credit card to these people.
That aside, did you find a noticeable difference or only worth it if you really have money to waste.

I payed via PayPal and do not experience any distrust towards the developer, which IMO has gone far in continously developing the app, which I believe they would not have if it was meant to be a "quick cash grab", to exaggerate. But seriously, the app has been around for several years now, and IMO it's never been as well-functioning and stable as it is now. Previously I had numerous issues that led to me giving up on it numerous times in the past. This thread made me give it another chance, which I do not regret - the latest Bing maps seem generally to be "better" than default. 

So me paying 5$ (IIRC) for a trial month is aking to "donating a coffee" or whatever the expression is. I have donated in the past also though. 

I've only done one flight with Apple maps (I believe also some Google Pro maps are included in the subscription) so it's a bit early to say anything substantial. I'll report back.

4 hours ago, Cpt_Piett said:

I'll report back.

So I tried the pro maps near Manchester (looked very good) then on a flight from West Virginia (KCRW) to Washington National. No map provider looked good on that last flight - perhaps due to PG in the area? Didn't take any screenshots but made a video. Not worth seeing though as the terrain looked quite bad. 

On 6/5/2024 at 1:54 PM, Bobsk8 said:

I then started a flight and did not use the Map Tool,. just default BIng scenery, and everything was back to normal. Hopefully that was the issue. 

Clearly others do fine with this map tool but it's been a giant waste of time so far here.  Hours and hours wasted with reinstalling the map, everything seems fine, it loads one time and the next time doesn't launch the flight with the PMDG 738.  It seems to screw with SLC as well.   At a loss for whatever else can be done to make it work CONSISTENTLY.

22 hours ago, Cpt_Piett said:

Decided to try the subscription for a month. This is with Apple Map (Pro) in a hold southwest of Manchester:

Btw for some reason the app is working perfectly now, whereas before I would get tiles loading in distance + strange artifacts when using high LOD. 

Why did you choose Apple Map?

4 hours ago, Noel said:

Why did you choose Apple Map?

Because I wanted to try it. I tried Google Maps Pro 1 and 2 as well. Think it’s highly dependent on region which one is the best.

Edited June 7, 20242 yr by Cpt_Piett

1 hour ago, Cpt_Piett said:

Because I wanted to try it. I tried Google Maps Pro 1 and 2 as well. Think it’s highly dependent on region which one is the best.

Got a reply from the developer that I need to buy 2 licenses if I want to use the Pro version ( 2 view pc’s ).

The Latest Bing map looks good but for regions that are less good (eg Rome area) it is possible to make selected areas that are assigned to a specific map. That is the Hybrid feature.

But perhaps the Google Pro maps or Apple map are so good that creating areas is not needed.

Did you see watermarks on the Google Pro / Apple Maps ?

Edited June 7, 20242 yr by GSalden

13 minutes ago, GSalden said:

Did you see watermarks on the Google Pro / Apple Maps ?

I didn’t. But I was busy flying a visual approach in the Fenix into Kathmandu 😉 I’ll look out for it later today.

In the areas I’ve tested so far, Bing Maps have been very good. And Apple a bit better than that. Not sure how much better yet.

Didnt know about Hybrid, might look into that.

Edited June 7, 20242 yr by Cpt_Piett

3 minutes ago, Cpt_Piett said:

I didn’t. But I was busy flying a visual approach in the Fenix into Kathmandu 😉 I’ll look out for it later today.

In the areas I’ve tested so far, Bing Maps have been very good. And Apple a bit better than that. Not sure how much better yet.

Didnt know about Hybrid, might look into that.

The Hybrid feature is a very good idea.

The idea is to use a good general map and for regions where it is not that good it uses another map ( you choose per area ).

And how you know that before flying? This is my biggest culprit for this tool, if I am planning my flights, I have no idea what source gives the best results. Is it Google? Is it Bing latest? Is it Apple? Who knows. I then select one and bad luck, the wrong one and the flight is a disappointment. Sure, for the next flight in the same area, I do know it, but for me, flying all over the world is the fun part of the sim and as such, I do not a lot of flights more than one time. 

Anyway, the possibility of reducing the brightness alone resulted in the fact that I never fly without this tool anymore and I am fine with the risk of having ground textures looking worse than MSFS default. At least, if they look bad with baked in clouds etc, they are not cartoonish green or bright 😉 

2 minutes ago, AnkH said:

And how you know that before flying? This is my biggest culprit for this tool, if I am planning my flights, I have no idea what source gives the best results. Is it Google? Is it Bing latest? Is it Apple? Who knows. I then select one and bad luck, the wrong one and the flight is a disappointment. Sure, for the next flight in the same area, I do know it, but for me, flying all over the world is the fun part of the sim and as such, I do not a lot of flights more than one time. 

Anyway, the possibility of reducing the brightness alone resulted in the fact that I never fly without this tool anymore and I am fine with the risk of having ground textures looking worse than MSFS default. At least, if they look bad with baked in clouds etc, they are not cartoonish green or bright 😉 

It is just trying a map and see how it turns out. That you can do with all the maps that are free or if you have the Pro version you can also test the extra maps.

It starts to look that the fee Latest Bing is very good in general and that Apple is very good amongst the Pro maps.