I have so enjoyed the FTX scenery for Australia. In fact, I have a whole new appreciation of the continent. I've bought it all. The frame rates are outstanding and great detail. The freeware on www.fullterrain.com is almost flawless. They have free GA airports and other things as well. Personally, I can't say enough for the quality of all ORBX products [payware and freeware]. Customer support is the best there is.Anyhow, because of production costs, they are going to up the price on December 1. Like 25 to 30 percent or so. Here are a couple of links. The first is to the forum which shows the pricing but remember that is in Australian dollars.http://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?board=6.0Here is their vendor. http://www.flightsimstore.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=92Be sure to plug in US dollars and you will see that the price per region drops to $19.42 [given today's exchange rate]Everything ORBX has been so much fun, I didn't want anyone considering the plunge for FTX to miss the price jump ... and also, Can't wait to see what their first US installment looks like. I think they are going to release the equivalent of Megascenery Pacific Northwest [which has never been made for FSX] early next year.Regards!Steve

Yes, definitely the time to snap it up... Amazing product and an absolute bargin!

I couldn't agree more with the above comments. For those who have yet to see FTX, the detail at low level is in a class of its own - no other scenery comes close. Their are also numerous addons made to blend into the scenery, most of them free, as well as a demo of tasmania available, but this is only a small part of what FTX has to offer. And above all, it is very well priced for what you get.

Thanks for the heads up on pricing. I went to the web site for a look, and spent quite a bit of time, never being able to find the answer to the question of how many packs does it take to cover the continent or what the specific geographical coverage was for each of the packs, besides generic descriptions. Looks like there's no color pack yet announced for the West, right? So far, I see North, South, East and Central. Am I missing it? I'd think a simple graphic of the continental outline, divided into regions and labeled with the pack color would be available somewhere, but I can't find it. There's other things I can't find from time to time, but that's another story. ;-) -Doug

The scenery does look impressive but I do 90% of my flying in Canada and the other 10% in neighbouring US States, so here's hoping they do FTX British Columbia or something :)

Doug,When you open up the page, http://fullterrain.com , you will see all of the payware packages listed on the left side. There are only 4 packs total that cover the whole continent. The Green, Blue, and Gold packs have been released. The west IS included in one of them, but I can't remember right now. But there are only 4 packs total. The Red can be pre-ordered at the current price and will come out very soon ... possibly just after the Dec. 1 price deadline. They used to have a diagram like you describe on their website, but I looked and I can't find it. The Red area covers the interior Outback. Just enjoying the scenery makes me want to go visit. Take care, Steve

This is a gorgeous piece of work, these guys are really talented. And it looks so much better than photo real scenery without so many drawbacks of a photo real scenery. Even though I live and fly in the US I am willing to try this scenery because this may be a first scenery where I think I can really "explore" and get a sense of moving from one place to another and getting to know the country. I agree with some of the comments above about information being hard to find however. Even though they have great demo and the whole website is really very impressive some basic information for pilots is hard to dig out. For example with their Au-Gold they say "visit Brisbane International" but I don't think they customized this airport in any way. It would be great to have a list of custom airports available with every pack. I understand they do have some very few isolated airports for additional fee. It would great it they could crank out airports like Brisbane, Cairns, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Darwin, etc., in other words have a few more customized airports, not necessarily "mega" but with enough concrete to put my 737 down.But I have no doubt I never saw a better looking flight simulation scenery.Michael J.http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/9320/apollo17vf7.jpg

>The scenery does look impressive but I do 90% of my flying in>Canada and the other 10% in neighbouring US States, so here's>hoping they do FTX British Columbia or something :)Hi David,I am from Canada too and have great Canadian Scenery, especially Vancouver Plus. But I have to tell you, FTX's Australia does not just seem like a different part of the world, but a whole different world altogether. It is that far ahead! The scenery is so life-like that I simply have lost interest in going back to what looks (comparatively) like a flight simulator from a decade ago, even with UTX, GTX, landclass and the best mesh. The best of upgraded FSX with all the bells and whistles does not stand a chance against the FTX system.I am not much of a a really excited user of anything. In fact I am known to be able to pick out a speck of a flaw at a hundred paces. But the ORBX package is not merely at the front of the FS pack, but is most likely better than what FS11 will be 5 years from now, add-ons and all. Go see for yourself! I double dare ya! Download Tasmania for free at http://fullterrain.com/freeware.html and you will be hooked and saying "G'day Mate" to everyone you meet.Spirit Flyer

Thanks, Steve. It's clear you have been impressed, as have been many others. I understand three region packs are out and a fourth is on pre-order. Just as a sanity check, can anyone tell me in which colored region is Perth? I know the airport itself is available. What I'd like to know to assuage my concerns is what colored region pack is the one that contains that area. I'm pretty sure the old VOZ had an easy to comprehend continental graphic. Funny there isn't one for this incarnation.-Doug

The diagram is here:http://www.orbxsystems.com/Someone produced some nice Google Maps for the regions with pins for the airports in the regions. Look here:http://www.mthake.com/FTX/ftx_maps.phpTheir stuff is great and I would have bought it for more. When it was AU$30 I bought it straight away and then the other packs as they came out. Some time early next year they plan to have a DVD with all four regions which can be had for a small fee for owners of all four regions. That DVD allegedly will get rid of the FTX-Mode thing, which would be good !Cheers,Siggy(P.S.: I am not involved with them in any way. I'm just a happy customer.)

>Thanks for the heads up on pricing. I went to the web site>for a look, and spent quite a bit of time, never being able to>find the answer to the question of how many packs does it take>to cover the continent or what the specific geographical>coverage was for each of the packs, besides generic>descriptions. Looks like there's no color pack yet announced>for the West, right? So far, I see North, South, East and>Central. Am I missing it? I'd think a simple graphic of the>continental outline, divided into regions and labeled with the>pack color would be available somewhere, but I can't find it.>There's other things I can't find from time to time, but>that's another story. ;-) Have a look here... Small maps for each region.http://fullterrain.com/buynow.htmlCheers,Chris Porter:-outtaPerthWestern Australia

>Just as a sanity check, can anyone>tell me in which colored region is Perth? I know the airport>itself is available. What I'd like to know to assuage my>concerns is what colored region pack is the one that contains>that area. I'm pretty sure the old VOZ had an easy to>comprehend continental graphic. Funny there isn't one for this>incarnation.Mate, Perth is in AuBlue...Also check this out...http://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?topic=5791.0http://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?topic=6094.0http://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?topic=6439.0http://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?topic=6668.0http://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?topic=1009.0Cheers,Chris Porter:-outtaPerthWestern Australia

>This is a gorgeous piece of work, these guys are really>talented. And it looks so much better than photo real scenery>without so many drawbacks of a photo real scenery. Even though>I live and fly in the US I am willing to try this scenery>because this may be a first scenery where I think I can really>"explore" and get a sense of moving from one place to another>and getting to know the country. >>I agree with some of the comments above about information>being hard to find however. Even though they have great demo>and the whole website is really very impressive some basic>information for pilots is hard to dig out. For example with>their Au-Gold they say "visit Brisbane International" but I>don't think they customized this airport in any way. It would>be great to have a list of custom airports available with>every pack. I understand they do have some very few isolated>airports for additional fee. It would great it they could>crank out airports like Brisbane, Cairns, Adelaide, Gold>Coast, Darwin, etc., in other words have a few more customized>airports, not necessarily "mega" but with enough concrete to>put my 737 down.>>But I have no doubt I never saw a better looking flight>simulation scenery.>>Michael J.>http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/9320/apollo17vf7.jpg__________________________________Michael and the others... Firstly I am in no way connected to the producers of FTX, but I will admit to being one of their most ardent fans.OK, For airports their first and most impressive production was YMML (Melbourne International)http://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?topic=4264.0http://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?topic=4111.0http://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?topic=4109.0http://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?topic=4090.0The great thing is that the airport scenery also includes a highly detailed surrounding rural and suburban scenery...http://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?topic=3916.0--------------------------Other than YMML, a couple of regional airports are available now/soon for sale... YSCH (Coffs Harbour - Northern New South Wales) and YPJT (Jandakot, Western Australia)Coff's Harbour can take 737's and YPJT is probably the most busy GA airfield in Oz in terms of flight movements annually.Here are a couple of screenies...http://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?topic=6393.0http://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?topic=6605.0The great thing about FTX airports are the realistic end extensive surrounding areas, and YSCH is no exception.http://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?topic=6526.0Now, YPJThttp://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?topic=6322.0http://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?topic=6439.0http://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?topic=6094.0Well these are the payware offerings and I believe that YBBN (Brisbane International) and YSSY (Sydney International) may be on the horizon somewhere next year... Not sure though.There are a number of freeware regional fields also available...See the bottom of this page...http://fullterrain.com/freeware.htmland finally there is another site OzX with over 100 free airfields that are fully integrated into the FTX scenery...Bottom line is that Flight Simming scenery in Australia has never been in a better state ever.Cheers and happy Aussie simming, join us soon, you are all welcome.Chris Porter:-outtaPerthWestern Australia

>>The scenery does look impressive but I do 90% of my flying>in>>Canada and the other 10% in neighbouring US States, so>here's>>hoping they do FTX British Columbia or something :)>Mate,From the FTX "Upcomming Releases page...From Vancouver, BC down to Portland, OR - this area is home to some of the most magnificent scenery in the world. Towering douglas firs and misty mountain passes aren't the only spectacular parts of this region. A VFR flyer's mecca, Orbx will recreate the landscape as it only knows how - and simming in this part of the world will never be the same again. Our project leader for FTX US BLUE is Holger Sandmann, who has already established his reputation for some of the most enjoyed FS addons ever made throughout the PNW area. A native of the PNW area, Holger will use his unique local knowledge to ensure it's going to be absolutely as real as it gets.You will be stunned by the beauty of this region pack.Status: Pre-ALPHAProject Leader: Holger SandmannCheers,Chris Porter:-outta

Sounds great! I just hope it includes a decent area of BC in it, or at least all of Vancouver Island.