A huge THANK YOU to GEX nhanced developers

[phoenixphire 50]

I just wanted to publicly express my appreciation to the developers of GEX nhanced. These people are first class developers all the way. Not only did they produce an outstanding standalone product for FSX they also released a FREE update to existing users. Quite frankly the improvements are incredible and should warrant a price for the improvement, which I would have paid. However, the developers offered to give this to the community. You guys are outstanding. Sometimes there is a lot of complaining that occurs, I hope that some public praise for over the top dedication is warranted. I also encourage anyone who is in the market to improve FSX drastically to buy this product. Thank you.

[slashed2 53]

I'll second that. Great product, great support and great price. Can't ask for any more than that.

[Guest Nick_N]

Thanks guys.. Actually, this all started because I was reading several posts where people were saying things like GEX was no different than default and were commenting about color wash issues.. I could see the difference in game but some people simply do not take notice to the same things others do. Also, I dont care how good someone says they are with computers.. I usually find they are not getting to see what I do and do not even realize it. I started decompiling the DXT files to see where the problem may be and to find out just how much different or same they really were and that is when I started to discover the true and -massive- differences between the default FSX textures and GEX. After that I ran some test to see if the textures were truly washed or if it was a post production issue... When I saw how much detail Anthony had put into his work and people were missing it, I had to do something about it. The product was taking too much flack for things it was really not responsible for and had really been designed to show. Post production effects and highlighting work is not the same a graphics production and it takes a team to accomplish those end results. FSX is not FS9 and as such the techniques for final texture processing can take greater strides in enhancing to take advantage of the engine.Originally I stated I would modify the textures and would make them available as a mod to the originals and that I would make it freely availble to Anthony as an alternate. I am a man of my word. When I say I will do something, it gets done, and, without shifting mid-stream in my intentions. During processing I discovered there was a lot more that could be done besides simply running the textures through scans and so I committed myself to doing this job right at the same terms.This update and the correct use of landclass, and, learning how to set up the drivers with Nhancer, and, learning how to tweak the monitor output of the drivers should put it all to rest and get people back in the cockpit where they belong.When we get comments from 30 year vet, real world pilot like this.. http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=25008...and the other RW pilots who posted along with nearly ZERO negative feedback thus far, we know we got it right because when a 30 year vet tells you "I have never seen anything while flying on my computer as incredible as I have seen in the last 3 hours" , THATS as real as it gets and what MS should strive for with FS11 out of the box. :)

[phoenixphire 50]

I have a hard time understanding why anyone had issues with the original GEX. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and every view point is subjective. We all see and experience beauty differently. I like brunettes someone else may like blondes. ;) I was very happy with the RTM version and now with the enhanced upgrade everywhere I fly I am greeted with jaw dropping textures. I am glad you made the decision you did. If you are not getting any monetary gain I hope you feel the pleasure of the community for your efforts, that is why I publicly thanked you on the AVSIM forums. I wanted to get as many people to see it and plug the product for those who may be considering purchasing it.

[Guest Nick_N]

Nope, not a dime. I did not ask for it and I do not intend to.This release was complements of the house.What was important to me was Anthony get the proper recogntion for his work. He knew what he designed into the textures. Every time I emailed him and showed him a still of what was possible, he told me all those elements he can now see clearly were designed into the graphics and it was his intention for them to be seen, he just did not realize how well they could be brought to the surface.In the 3D tricks I placed into the textures, I use a method of relief which targets key pixels in light and shadow which force the rendering engine to "lift" the image up, a digial version of a 3D baseball card if you will. Throw in a scan to find the spectrum of light the texture responds to, then match it to the rendering engine and you get a dynamic response to the sun and shadowing. And I am just touching on the highlights. The textures went through many filters, some as many as 50+ to get them to play the way they do.I want everyone to enjoy their sim experience and be able to look out their cockpit windows and get the same feelings they would get if it were real. Which is what Anthony wanted when he designed the textures to begin with.:)

[Guest j0nx]

I thought the first GEX was much better than fsx defaults but i dont really see any difference between gex and gexen? What should i be seeing different that wasnt in gex? The one thing i did notice is that football fields and tracks still are cut in half in places and that housing developments still have major roads through them etc. The new textures look good to me but they always looked good even with the first gex so what am i missing?

[Guest Nick_N]

You don

[Holger 0]

Hi Nick,"I believe Holger Sandman has explained the problem several times and it is not a direct GEX issue."That's not entirely correct. The blending masks (called "M-tiles") are an integral part of the FS ground texture display system and can (and should) be replaced with custom versions if the ground textures themselves are being replaced as GE-X does.It's just that Anthony has chosen not to do so. He has, however, committed to providing M-tiles as an update. Haven't heard about the status of them for a while though -- I'm just about done with more than 170 M-tiles for the first FTX add-on so I know the pain ;-) Cheers, Holger

[Guest Nick_N]

Thanks for the correction on that one Holger and apologies if I remembered that wrong. As you know, I am not a scenery expert. :)Anthony did in fact include a new set of masks with this version which does significantly reduce many of the problem areas of the initial release. As for the ball fields, I will ask him about it and see if there is time to address it and what, if any, are the issues surrounding masking those.

[Guest j0nx]

I don't fly winter but I never flew it before with gex so I wouldn't have anything to compare it to ;) I did fly edwards but it uses the acceleration scenery so i probably wouldn't see your textures there. I've only spent maybe a half hour in gexen and didn't really see a big difference that I could tell anyway. I only fly in spring or summer though so maybe most of the changes were in winter and fall? I thought gex was pretty amazing anyway so it would take a lot to make me see the difference. The only item I wish could be addressed is the sports fields cut in half and major roads cutting through housing developments. Overall a beautiful and well priced addon.

[Guest Nick_N]

Ok, well that makes sense since you do not have a lot of hours and areas to compare it with.. at the same time we enhanced all seasons so the should all look quite different from original GEXand I did mention the ballparks to Anthony. If I can somehow help in that, I will, and get it fixed :)I know UTX has ballparks which show that issue as well in places and we are also looking at the possibility of sprucing the LUX layer in UTX up too!

[Guest gmark]

I never thought that my favorite plane - at least for the moment - would be the Maule. But the windows and the view from the Maule allow me to visually capture the visuals as I fly with GEX and UTX. I haven't even gotten to tweaking and configuring yet - I'm spending all the time flying and just enjoying the view.Wow! Thanks guys. I couldn't have possibly spent my flight sim bucks any better.Cheers!GMark@KLUK

[Guest Nick_N]

Hi Holger,A bit of follow up on this. I discussed the mask issue with Anthony and I wanted to relay that we will be addressing parts of that immediately. The decision to hold off on the masks was made for two major reasons:1. The cost involved to create the masks would have required the price of the product be initially raised in order to cover, as you have pointed out, the massive amount of work involved. Anthony did not like the prospect of releasing without precision masks but in order to keep the cost to the customer as reasonable as possible, he opted to refrain from mask production at that point in time with the thought that it could be addressed after the product had generated enough income to allow the work, which it turn would keep the cost to the users stable.2. The time constraints for him to complete GEX and then get going on Europe were very tight. Therefore in combination with the financial aspects, Anthony made the decision to hold on the masks and address them later.We are releasing an initial patch tomorrow for UTX in which a small amount of the athletic field issue will be addressed, followed by another patch in a few days to address a much, much larger aspect of that and also to make many other tiles sit much better and much smoother than they currently are. Once Europe is completed we will then return to evaluate final mask production.Nick:)

[Holger 0]

Hi Nick,not sure I agree with releasing not one but two "unfinished" products (unless GE-X Europe will include M-tiles right away) but as a fellow developer I have no difficulties understanding the twin pressures of time and money ;-)Have fun making those M-tiles. FSX default has some 250 unique tiles so you have your work cut out for you. Having custom versions that fit the custom textures makes a huge difference though - no more cut off fields, houses, subdivisons, etc. Well, almost no more: there are some additional difficulties due to the coding of the lclookup.bgl file but I guess you'll cross that bridge when you get there...Cheers, Holger

[Guest Nick_N]

Releasing Europe 'unfinished" would not be the plan. For the price of the add-on we do not consider USCAN unfinished, especially with the latest update in which I would prefer it over perfectly laid average textures... but none the less we will go back and improve on it and UTX integration as the time permits and with Europe we will be applying more to the end product in initial release because the resorces are there to do so.thanks for the "fun" wishes.. LOL! I am now aware of the 'pain' :)