FSGenesis v2 Mesh to Fix Airport Plateaus

[jordanal 70]

If you're partial to FSGenesis products like I am, it looks like Justin is getting ready to release v2 of his mesh for FSX which should also fix the FSX airports sitting on plateaus. Can't wait...:-jumpyhttp://www.fsgenesis.net/ Version 2 Features . . .The most prominent feature of version 2 is the addressing of the plateaus on which many airports are sitting in version 1. This plateau effect is not caused by the terrain mesh, per se, but by the flat-airport limitation of FSX. However, FSGenesis has developed a reasonably satisfactory proprietary method to deal with this issue globally without having to fix many thousands of individual airports manually.Additionally, vertical resolution has been increased from 1 meter in v. 1 to .25 meter in v. 2, which will create a more pleasing display of terrain elevations while eliminating any terracing effects seen in version 1.

[slashed2 53]

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out. I've haven't had the mesh installed for awhile as I fly mostly bush and the smaller airports seem to be effected most by the plateau issue.

[Guest Phil75070]

I, too, had uninstalled the mesh as I just could not live with the airports on plateaus.

[SlickNick 0]

I can't wait for this. I hate the plateau airport issue!

[timest 472]

Extremely great news! :)Thanks for the heads-up.

[BobP 56]

Maybe I misunderstand Justin's email, but not all elevation differences have been fixed. Some have and he has provided an improved method to report the mismatches, but I don't think a universal fix was found. Bob..

[Justin Toposim 16]

HI Bob,Yes, I've developed a more or less universal method to address the problem in 99% of the instances.-------Justinhttp://www.fsgenesis.netHigh Quality Scenery for FS200x

[Guest CocoLoco]

JustinThis is great to hear - I like your mesh a lot but, as many have noted, the plateaus were always a bit jarring. I don't suppose you could give us a short description of how you have decided to get around it? If I had to guess, I would think/hope that you have produced a more gentle slope such that the airports still sit at their current height but the mesh now includes an artificial gradual adjustment to this level around the airport instead of stepping up/down to it.I look forward to your update!RegardsDavid

[Guest djholmes1200]

This is great news. I'm just curious. Will water bodies also be addressed? I've noticed several lakes and rivers etc. where the water is too low and the terrain drops straight down. And even a few that are on plateaus. I was really hoping to finally enjoy some decent flying around Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri but it looks really bad. I'm using UTX also so I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

[Mace 1,909]

>This is great news. I'm just curious. Will water bodies also>be addressed? I've noticed several lakes and rivers etc. where>the water is too low and the terrain drops straight down. And>even a few that are on plateaus. I was really hoping to>finally enjoy some decent flying around Lake of the Ozarks in>Missouri but it looks really bad. I'm using UTX also so I>don't know if that has anything to do with it.This is not due to the mesh. It is due to the lake elevations being incorrect--a feature not controlled by the terrain mesh.The dataset that Microsoft used for lake elevation data is...well, let me say it is not super accurate. For areas outside the USA, it is only generally accurate.High resolution terrain mesh only brings out these dataset inaccuracies even more (the pits, plateaus). Some people would rather avoid the plateaus and pits by not running high res mesh. I think that is folly as the positives far outweigh the negatives.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

[Justin Toposim 16]

Hi David,Well, after many tens of hours pondering and brainstorming the problem, and probably a hundred hours of futile trial and error (mostly error) with the keyboard and mouse, I arrived at a relatively simple, albeit time-consuming solution. Recalling a conversaion with Adam Szofran at last years devcon in Redmond, the light bulb popped on. Adam had told me then that they "fudged" the terrain for 1 km outward from the airport background polygon.So, it simply becomes a matter of my punching holes in my source data for a 1 km radius surrounding each airport. This allows the default terrain to show through within that radius, while the FSG terrain is shown everywhere else.I have more or less automated this process, but my poor computer still takes 4-6 hours to accurately process each of several hundred large chunks of source data. As such, I can process about 6-8 square degrees per day running around the clock.So rather than processing it all, then releasing everything at once, I am going to release the areas for download as they are processed and completed then when the whole thing is done, I will ship whatever optional media is ordered. The first area (0101, for those familiar with the way FSX files are organized--western Washington. Northern Oregon for those who aren't) is completed awaiting uploading, and I am now processing 0102, hopefull ready over the weekend. I will then follow working west to east until the contiguous 48 states are completed. Then will come Canada and Mexico, then the rest of the world.Stay tuned for more details . . .-------Justinhttp://www.fsgenesis.netHigh Quality Scenery for FS200x

[Guest PPSFA]

Justin, any chance you could post a 'before/after' pic?tks

[BobP 56]

>HI Bob,>>Yes, I've developed a more or less universal method to address>the problem in 99% of the instances.>>------->Justin>http://www.fsgenesis.net>High Quality Scenery for FS200xGreat news Justin and thanks.Bob..

[Guest CocoLoco]

JustinThanks for taking the time out to provide a good description. It makes sense - I'm guessing that the difference between the FSX mesh and your mesh is more gradual and less noticeable - I look forward to seeing the final result!It just so happens that your first upload is the area I happen to be flying around in FS Economy (http://www.fseconomy.com/ for those who haven't tried it out - it's free and fun and will get you flying in places you hadn't thought of and in planes you might have neglected...). I should be able to see the results fairly quickly although it will now make trying to find those small airports a lot harder - as it should be. :)CheersDavid

[Dougal 165]

Justin, would more processing power be of any help? I'm perfectly willing to give you access to my PC during my down time (GMT), if you have the technical knowhow.