*** SANFRAN 2006 RELEASED ***

[Christopher Low 5,353]

One or two of the members on this forum might be interested to know that I have just uploaded my SanFran 2006 pack to the FU3 file library. This should be available to download within the next day or two.If you encounter any problems at any time, then please feel free to punch the wall in frustration, or throw your computer through the nearest window. Alternatively, you can send an e-mail to the address provided in the README file :-)I sincerely hope that you enjoy using SanFran 2006. It has taken Jon Point and I something like nine months to create this scenery pack, and it has been hard work at times (the first two months were spent simply adding electricity pylons) :-eek Nevertheless, it has also been extremely rewarding, and it's safe to say that I now know quite a bit about the San Francisco Bay area ;-)Jon Point is the man responsible for most of the incredible models that can be seen scattered across the region, and I offer him my deepest gratitude for the time and effort required to build all of those models that I requested. He never complained once.I would also like to thank Robert Driscoll for building several models (including the new runways at Byron Municipal airport), and also Hans Petter Roverud and Ansgar Avermeyer for helping with the beta testing.My responsibility in this project involved a great deal of initial research, looking for all kinds of interesting landmarks and other features that could be modelled (water towers, radio masts, wind turbines, marinas.....the list goes on). I then had to use FLED to add all of these models to the San Francisco region, and this has resulted in something like 235 individual scenery packages ! In addition, I have made more tweaks and upgrades to many of the airports and airfields in the region (mainly because I'm a fussy *******) :-)Anyway, download the pack and start exploring the new world.Best Wishes,Christopher Low.

[pastorpilot 0]

Congratulations Chris and crew!! This is exciting. I almost always read and never post but this is great news. Thanks for persevering. I can't wait to see it.Can't wait to try it!Take a well deserved breath, you guys!Steve

[Guest fu3]

This has taken so long, it started out as "Sanfran 2005" :-eekAnyway, it's out ;) Yay! ;)Thanks Chris :wave

[Guest Kestrel 2]

Fantastic News - I've been waiting for this announcement.I won't get to download it for a few days, but I'm sure I'll be spending a lot of enjoyable time with this scenery.Thanks!

[Guest markyc]

I'd just like to thank you for all your hard work. As far as I'm concerned your nine months or so was well spent. I've had a quick look round and to be perfectly honest Chris, you and the guys have breathed life into what for me was previously uninspiring area. I was truly amazed. I salute you all.:-beerchug Mark:)

[Christopher Low 5,353]

Yes, I apologise for the extended delay. I was originally hoping to get this pack uploaded in July or August, but several factors kept pushing the release date back. These included the decision to build quite a few electrical substations, replacing all of the 2D sailboats in the marinas with new 3D models, adding quite a few unique "one off" models (Berkeley Pier, Sather Tower, Stanford Radio Telescope, and others; all of these required a bit of time for Jon to build), and also sorting out a few technical issues, including water tanks that looked like giant ice blocks (this was a texture problem), a strange mipfile problem with respect to the electricity pylons (quite what this was is anyone's guess, but thankfully it seems to have vanished !), and one or two minor issues regarding the splitting of Oakland International airport.Anyway, it's here now :-)Chris Low.

[Guest fu3]

Chris,"... a strange mipfile problem with respect to the electricity pylons (quite what this was is anyone's guess, but thankfully it seems to have vanished !)"It was due to me having a different 'build' of pylons on my PC and reusing an existing pylon mipfile for the TV towers. I inadvertently copied the pylon files to you (during one of the many file transfers), which then called-up the wrong mipfiles.The solution (as I now had no idea who had what versions of which pylon...) was to remip the TV towers to use a new mip.Had me going for a while too, as MY pylons weren't affected, until I installed the ones I'd (mistakenly) sent you :-rollAnd the 'ice blocks' were a result of phong shading of simple objects. You notice that the other tanks and towers were OK, just the 'plain' ones looked weird. Phong shading makes rounded things look smoother (i.e. you don't see an octagon shape but a cylinder) by causing light to 'bend' around the edges. Unfortunately, because the tanks were flat on top, the light 'bent' right across the top, making them 'glow'.It's all fun :-wave

[Christopher Low 5,353]

I really wish that more people would post on this forum, even if it's nothing more than a couple of screenshots. I would love to hear from anyone who has installed SanFran 2006 recently. What do you think of it ? Is it what you were expecting ? Would you like to see other stuff ?We need to get this place feeling ALIVE again !Chris Low.

[Chesney 0]

Hi Chris!Installed and ran SanFran 2006 and Ansgar's AI update last night.Fantastic! I hardly used SanFran before, but this has revived my interest in flying in the area - I shall use it a lot more in future.Congratulations to all who had an input.Ches

[Christopher Low 5,353]

Thanks, Chesney. It's nice to know that all of the hard work has been worth it. To be honest, the SanFran region is the ONLY area that I use these days, which is why I wanted to upgrade it in the first place !Chris Low.PS. Ansgar's high detail AI Pack is another ESSENTIAL upgrade that completely transforms the FU3 experience.

[Guest Ansgar]

Hi Chris,first I would also like to thank you very much here in the forum for your superb upgrade you made to the SanFran region!I and Jon Point are knowing much more precise how much work you and Jon must have invested to add all that new models and to correct all that not so noticable and spectacular changes to all that airports and taxiway

[Guest CaptRolo]

Good going Chris , I'll get it and install on new machine . I know all the hard work that went into this by everyone involved. Very much appreciated.Thank ALL .CaptRolo

[Guest fu3]

Good to see a few people back 'on-air' ;)I feel like I've been under a rock for the past few months! S'pose I should finish the S340 now :-roll:-wave

[Christopher Low 5,353]

Yep.....and those bridges ;-)Chris Low.

[agtim 0]

Chris and John thanks a lot for this superb packsno problems at instalation but just time for a short flight :-)http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/133985.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/133986.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/133987.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/133988.jpg :-wave agtim