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Matt McGee

Orbx Team
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Posts posted by Matt McGee

  1. Hi Badl4nds,

     

    I'm just on the Orbx beta testing team and don't have any info on Orbx's future plans, so I don't know if it is coming to XP12.

    I was just asking the OP to clarify which product so someone "in the know" might be able to answer the question.

     

     

  2. 8 hours ago, mapletree1 said:

    Any news on a release for GB true earth;still waiting patiently!

    Which TrueEarth Great Britain are you waiting for?

    (North/Central/South, P3Dvx.x/XP11/XP12)

     

     

  3. Hello G.H.,

     

    I don't speak for Orbx, I am just a beta tester, so these are just my personal observations.

     

    Historically, Orbx doesn't talk much about their future plans, no matter how much people ask or threaten to leave. 

    Feel free to post your questions, because occasionally someone from the staff or a developer might chime in, but don't be surprised if you don't hear anything official about future plans.

     

    I can't really talk about what I can see from my position as a tester, but I think it is OK to say that I can only see a few P3D things currently being tested.

    It doesn't appear to me that Orbx has totally abandoned P3D, though I have.  I used to test FSX and P3D scenery, but I don't even have them installed anymore.

     

    It seems pretty obvious that MSFS is the new darling of the consumer flight sim community.

    (No offense to X-Plane, which I also test Orbx scenery for, but market share doesn't lie.)

    Developers are going to create scenery that they think people will want to buy, and most people seem to be buying for MSFS 2020.

    With MSFS 2024 on the way, I would not be surprised if the small number of P3D products currently being released gets even smaller in the future.

     

    Again, this is all just my personal view.

     

     

     

    • Like 1
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  4. 18 hours ago, tom2rific said:

    Doen't seem to be working very well

    Seems to work fine for me and some other people who have replied too.

     

    The OP’s suggestion that “a single "on Special" tab would simplify my spending”, seems to directly conflict with your own complaint, “Some of the lists are long so I usually give up.”

     

    Given the number of products on sale, a list of all sale items would be correspondingly long, thus exceeding your attention span.

    The current format of first selecting a category of interest (ie. Europe) results in a shorter list of products that you can then sort for an even shorter list of products to look at.
     

    My guess is that most people have specific airports, counties, or developers that they are interested in.  Not just “something on sale”.

    Just open the region where the interest is and sort the products by name, price, or developer.

     

    Whether I am looking for a specific airport, or just scanning the products in a particular country, OC and Orbx Direct seem pretty straightforward to me.

    Just my personal opinion.


     

    22 hours ago, wolfko said:

    It is probably deliberate, because it is mainly a benefit a for the seller, that custumers are buying things they did not itend to buy in the first place.

    I would say that organizing products by theIr geographic region and making them sortable by name, price, and developer is both logical and intended to simplify customers finding what they are interested in.

     

    Orbx isn’t moving around products like a supermarket.  

     

    • Like 2
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  5. 5 hours ago, boetie said:

    First world problems...... heavy sigh :)

    So right!

     

    Out of curiosity, I opened Orbx Direct and scrolled through all the MSFS products at a speed where I could read the product names and also see the red sale prices.

    It took me 6 minutes and 55 seconds.

    There are currently a lot of products on sale, so a filter of only things on sale would still have a pretty long list. 

     

    Within each region you can already sort by Name, New, Price, and Partner, so you can already get the lower sale priced products listed first.

     

    I'm not against the ability to generate complex searches of the product library. 

    As the numbers of products grows, the time it takes to scan through the products will grow too. 

    Being able to filter searches by tags such as: product type (Airport, Cityscape, Mesh), airport type (Grass, Paved, GA, Regional, International), developer, country, best selling, or other tags, would be nice.  However, I don't currently find it unduly difficult to just scan through the current products.

     

    A "benefit" of scrolling through the whole list is that I sometimes stumble upon products that I would not have thought to search for.

    Everybody is different, but I am more likely to get a product that I have a personal interest in, than I am to buy something just because it is on sale.

    Happy holidays!

     

     

    • Like 3
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  6. What did you do that the universe is punishing you Don?   (Trying to be humorous!)

    Sorry, I know how frustrating it is when stuff doesn't work, especially when it is working OK for others.

     

    For what it is worth, I'm not seeing the issues that you are after the latest MSFS 2020 update.  

    The default toolbar at the top of the screen works and so does the pop-up round one for Flow Pro.

    NZA Simulations' NZMF looks really good on my PC.  (Once I uninstalled the conflicting Asobo version included in World Update XII.)

     

    Sorry I don't know what is going on with your sim, but take heart that it can work.  It just might take a bunch of troubleshooting and perhaps re-installing.

     

    Like Graeme, I am also puzzled about your "default 737".  I have the Premium Deluxe version of MSFS and don't have a 737. 

     

     

    • Like 1
  7. Yes, the Asobo version of NZMF from the NZ update 13 will conflict with the NZA Simulations version from Orbx Central.

    If you have the NZA Simulations version, you will need to go to the MSFS Content Manager and uninstall the Asobo version of NZMF. 

     

    If you click the User Guide link for NZMF in Orbx Central, you will see step by step instructions on how to uninstall the Asobo version as well as other information.

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  8. Many products get released without ever having a preview post in the Preview Announcements forum.

    Just because you don't see a preview post, doesn't mean Orbx isn't developing anything.

    I am aware of several Orbx products in development and I suspect there are more.  There are also several updates being tested.

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  9. 5 hours ago, Thorsten42 said:

    To get the bug with the condition lever you can check if you plug out any hardware that has the mixture/condition lever axis defined. Usually hardware plugged in will create enough jitter/noise so that the bug won't be visible.

    I do NOT have any hardware mapped to the Mixture/Condition lever.

    (Using a TM Warthog with Throttles mapped to Throttle function and the Friction lever mapped to Prop Pitch.  Again, nothing to mixture.)

     

    That being said, if I start MSFS, load a cold start, and don't touch the Condition lever, when the starter is engaged, there is fuel flow and the engine WILL start with the Condition lever still in Cut-off.

     

    If I use the MSFS "restart" (Home key) to restart the cold start flight, the behavior is the same and the engine starts in Cut-off.

     

    If I restart (or do a fresh load) to a cold start and move the Condition lever and then put it back in Cut-off before engaging the starter, when the starter is engaged, there is no fuel flow and the engine does not start until the Condition lever is advanced.  (correct behavior)

     

    If I load a flight with the aircraft running on the runway and then exit to the world map and load a cold start, the engine does not start until the Condition lever is advanced out of Cut-off.  (correct behavior)

    However, subsequent restarts to a cold start flight revert back to the engine starting in cut-off.  (incorrect behavior)

    (When I checked yesterday, I just happened to load a flight on the runway first and then loaded a cold start, resulting in me seeing the Condition lever working properly.)

     

    - It appears that any movement of the Condition lever prior to engaging the starter will result in correct "Cut-off" behavior throughout the rest of the flight.

    - A previous flight started with the engine running will also result in correct behavior on a following cold start flight.

    - If the previous flight was a cold start, the following cold start will have fuel flow and start if the Condition lever is not moved.  (incorrect behavior)

     

    I suggest submitting a trouble ticket to document the issue officially.  (I assume the more tickets an issue gets, the more attention it will get.)

    I will submit my finding in our beta testing forum too.

     

    • Upvote 2
  10. 21 hours ago, Thorsten42 said:

    But I just noticed the engine is still starting without touching the condition lever at all. I filed that bug directly after release and never changed. One of the things that is running shivers down my spine.

    I just installed the P-750 (v1.1.0) and used the checklist to do a cold start. 

    I engaged the starter, but did not move the condition lever out of the cut-off position.  Ng increased to 18.3, but the engine did NOT light off.

    As soon as I moved the condition lever out of the cut-off position, the engine started.

    When I moved the condition lever to cut-off, fuel flow went to zero and the engine spooled down and stopped.

     

    I'm not a P-750 expert, but the condition lever seems to be working properly for me.

     

    If you are not seeing that behavior, I might try uninstalling and re-installing.  If that doesn't work, you could submit a trouble ticket.

     

    On 9/18/2023 at 8:44 PM, pilot100 said:

    Hi Matt, I think the auto pilot issue actually wasn't an Orbx issue, it was an issue with the GNS which has been fixed now. My issue is that the plane was promoted as having a much updated HSI / nav suite and basically that hasn't been updated at all, also the ipad has never been fixed as far as I am aware.

     

    I don't understand what your issue is with the "HSI/nav suite".   

    Is something listed on the P-750 product page's Systems & Avionics or Key Features sections not correct or not working for you in the sim?

    Perhaps I've missed something that was "promoted" somewhere else? 

    What is it that you think is broken or was supposed to be updated? 

     

    I can confirm that when I turn the iPad on, it stays on.  Clicking the button again does not turn it off.

     

    I'm just a volunteer beta tester, not Orbx staff, and try to help people with problems in this Community Support forum when I have time.

    I know the P-750 has had at least two updates since release (v1.0.1 and v1.1.0), but have no idea if there are more planned.

     

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  11. On 9/17/2023 at 2:03 AM, Thorsten42 said:

    But I still stumbled across the AP problems like posted above.

     

    On 9/17/2023 at 4:19 PM, pilot100 said:

    but the plane is really somewhat broken

     

    If something isn't working, John's advice to submit a trouble ticket is the way to get official support.

     

    But out of curiosity, what are you guys seeing that is broken in the autopilot?

     

    I beta tested v1.1.0 back in May and the Working Title GNS 530 and autopilot were working.

    I think one of the other testers had an issue using the Update function in Orbx Central and had to uninstall and reinstall the PAC, but it then worked for him too.

     

  12. On 8/29/2023 at 4:25 AM, jimhuk said:

    Are there no materials to provide at least the coordinates so I can plan the flights? Don't see anything in the folder or on the start menu.

    A User Guide would be handy.

     

    IDs for MSFS are:

    IDDM - Dewy Moore  Lat: 45.089  Long: -115.045

    IDSM - Simonds         Lat: 45.085  Long: -115.127

    IDVN - Vines               Lat: 45.132  Long: -114.997

     

    They show up on the World Map, along with the "Rush Point Creek Fire Lookout".

    Screenshot(3112).thumb.png.6e8ebc3a562d158a5e1cabe0847e7a3c.png

     

    The fire lookout has a helipad marked with logs, but you can not spawn on it.

    The "runway" at the fire lookout has some barely visible tire tracks for those daring enough to try.  (land uphill, north to south)

    image.thumb.jpeg.75937ef878fb6504481be8ab117fe083.jpeg

     

    It can be done!

    Lookoutlanding.thumb.gif.50786c7baa00202c870630b5a439a94a.gif

     

     

    The map has some arrows to indicate the recommended landing directions.  (Same map at both locations.)

    IDMap.thumb.gif.5c878f65403769ce2960b75ce4177715.gif

     

     

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  13. 4 hours ago, Kjaye said:

    Out of interest, when a developer sends out a product for beta testing, that's usually meaning a release is imminent right?

    Honestly, the time between seeing a product's initial beta and its release can vary by quite a bit.

    I've seen some betas with virtually nothing wrong with them.  Testing went quickly and they were released in a mater of days.

    I've also seen betas that were in earlier stages of development.  We'd test what was there, knowing that other elements and features were still being worked on.  We would look at subsequent builds until all the elements had been added.  These can take weeks or even months to progress from beta to release.

     

    Here are some of the things that can affect the speed at which a scenery goes from beta to release:  

    - Size of the scenery.  It is a lot faster to test a small airport like W16 First Air, than a large one like YMML Melbourne.

    - How quickly the testers get their testing done and reports in.  And how many of us are available to test each day.

    - How many issues the testers find.  Sometimes there is virtually nothing wrong.  Other times, there might be a bunch of issues.

    - The time it takes to fix each issue.  Some things are easy to fix, other times there may be some weird bug that is hard to fix.  

    - The amount of time per day the developer (or developers) can devote to fixing any issues the testers have identified.

     

    Out of curiosity I took a look at the timeline for EU Great Britain - North.

    I helped test Beta 1 and then two subsequent release candidates.  It took 33 days from seeing the Beta 1 until it was released on Orbx Central.

    I am not trying to hint at anything, just showing an example of how long something covering as much area and with as many points of interest as Great Britain - North took to test and release.  A similar product might take less time, or it might take more.  I really does vary from scenery to scenery.

      

    • Like 2
  14. 12 minutes ago, Kjaye said:

    Compared to other developers, Orbx has just become really sterile, as if they are above mixing with their customer base. I don't understand. If I was a developer working on a passion project, I'd be in the forums, engaging with my customers and thrilled that there were people interested in what I was doing. I'd be trying to actively create a following, and build my reputation.

    I have been an Orbx customer and regularly on the forums for over a decade. 

    In my opinion, Orbx has always been pretty tight lipped about what was being worked on.  It isn't anything new.

    There have been some road maps released in the past, but also complaining from users when something was delayed or cancelled. 

    Perhaps that has affected their sharing of information?  I have no inside knowledge of Orbx's customer engagement strategies.

     

    The Preview Announcements forum does have plans and progress from some developers who choose to reveal what they are working on, but I don't fault devs who are focused on production more than engagement.  Personally, I am more interested in the quality of the scenery actually being released than I am in projected plans.

     

    I assume development strategies are complex.  Like what happens when a developer is considering, or already working on, an airport and hears a competitor is developing the same one.  Does he or she skip or stop development, or do they race to be first to market?  Not a clue about EGLC v2 decisions.

     

    I do know that Orbx has many independent developers who choose that they want to work on based on their own desires or interests.  

     

    Regarding your original question about EU Great Britain - South for MSFS, I am unable to comment on any scenery which I might be beta testing.  ;)

     

    • Like 2
  15. On 8/24/2023 at 12:04 AM, carlosqr said:

    So if a project is proposed and can't be done for whatever reason it needs to be communicated , there no harm in doing so.

    I agree.  If a product has been announced, but then cancelled, I think that customers should be informed.

    I also think that if a product has been announced with a particular release date and is then delayed, some sort of update is warranted.

    But these are exactly the sort of issues that are completely avoided by not announcing product plans.

     

    Don't get me wrong, I don't mind hearing what developers are working on.  Screenshots and progress reports are great, if a developer wants to provide them.  :)

    However, in my opinion, this opens a potential can of worms for the developer.

    If products are not advertised until they are about to be released, customers won't have built up any expectations or feelings of entitlement, and therefore won't be disappointed by a delay or cancellation.  There is also no demand for progress updates.

     

    I respectfully disagree with your view that there is "no harm" in communicating that a previously announced project is cancelled. 

    Again, if it was announced, I think people should be informed of cancellations.  But even if promptly informed, I expect that many will still have some negative feelings toward the developer or Orbx for failing to deliver on a product they were excited about.

     

    I also think you are underestimating some people's feelings of entitlement.  How hard is a quarterly update?  Why not monthly?  Weekly?  It isn't that hard to post an update at the end of each day, it only takes a few minutes, right?

    There are comments in this very thread from people who seem to feel they are entitled to Orbx's plans and updates, even though Orbx has a pretty well established history of not talking much about future developments or providing progress reports.

     

    I agree that announcing future developments may potentially generate excitement about a product, though I have no idea if that actually affects sales in the end.

    For instance,

    - I would be excited to hear KNUW was being developed. 

    - I would be disappointed to hear it was delayed (or cancelled).  Being delayed would also cause a desire for ongoing progress updates.

    - Excitement (impatience?) while waiting for release.

    - If it was just released without warning, I would just be excited. 

    - Whether I had been waiting or just found out, I would buy it when it was released.

     

    So is "excited - disappointed - it's about time - purchase" a better customer experience than "excited - purchase"?  

    Are actual sales affected either way?

     

    A potential positive for advertising a product in development is that if I knew Orbx was developing an airport and a competitor released a version first, I might wait for the Orbx version.  I'm not sure I see much else which is entirely positive about advertising development or releasing road maps.  Again, just my opinion.  :)

     

     

     

     

     

  16. I don't speak for Orbx, I just beta test, so this is just my personal view.

     

    I can think of several reasons that a company, or individual developer, may not talk much about what they are working on.

    - Once a project is announced, a competing developer may try to beat them to a release of the same scenery.

    - Some people will continually ask for progress updates.  Responding takes time away from developing.

    - Some people will complain when something is taking longer than initially projected, as if an estimated date was some sort of promise to them.

    - If a project is dropped for some reason (technical issues, developer's personal life, change in financial viability....), some people will complain as if they had some right to that product being developed.

     

    Again, just my thoughts on some of the cons of a public road map or advertising products in development.

     

    I understand that people get excited to hear that a particular scenery of interest to them is in development. 

    However, wouldn't they be just as excited (or even more) to just hear that the product was about to be released?

     

    Personally, I think that waiting until a product is almost ready for release before announcing it has fewer cons.

    • Like 2
  17. For me, Top Gun Maverick was just like Top Gun.  (Seriously, make a list of plot points or scenes and compare how many are repeated!)

    If you liked the first one, I would think you would enjoy the second.

    If you didn't like Top Gun, you shouldn't be surprised if you don't like Maverick.

    If you never saw Top Gun, the Maverick trailers are pretty clear on what you are going to see.

     

    As for getting half way through the movie and giving up, I don't get it. (Unless you hated the original.)

    At what point is the movie not just like the original or the trailers?

    There is a lot of very "Top Gun" flying action in the latter part of the movie.

     

    • Like 1
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  18. 18 hours ago, carlosqr said:

    It is weird that you have it in the sim as it is not installed through OC as it is not in green

    Carlos,

    I think Rafal is asking about a way for OC to not display "Santa Run 2022" and the gray (uninstalled) circle on his OC products page.

    I don't think he is seeing it in the sim. 

    My understanding was that he just doesn't want an entry for it on his product list.

    • Like 1
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  19. Hi Rafal,

    I don't know if there is a way for OC to remove or hide a product that you own from your products list.

    Orbx obviously needs to keep a permanent list of products that each customer has purchased.  My guess is that Orbx Central is linked to that list, or part of the same software, and perhaps nobody thought to include a "hide" function in the coding.

     

    I'm just a volunteer beta tester and happened to be browsing the General Discussion forum this morning.  Unfortunately I don't know the technicalities of how OC works!

    Submitting a trouble ticket will get you an official answer from Orbx staff who are more knowledgeable than me!

     

    On 7/28/2023 at 8:13 AM, wain71 said:

    I mean how hard is it for an Orbx staff member to respond, even someone saying it's noted and we'll get back to you...no doubt someone will ask you to submit a ticket...

    Do remember that this post is in the "General Discussion" forum (not a support forum).  I don't know how often Orbx staff is screening posts here.

    The Community Help Forums are there if you are just looking for help from the community, but answers may not be any faster.  I see staff reply with answers there, but again, I don't know how often they are being screened.  (I assume staff priority is given to answering trouble tickets before scanning the other forums.)

     

    If you want a timely and official answer to a support question, an official trouble ticket is the way to go.  

    Orbx is paying knowledgeable people to help you!

    Just posting in the forums is relying on some well meaning, but random, person like me to happen to open your post and take the time to try to answer your question.  (With no guarantee that the answer will be correct, even if the person means well!)

     

    Again, just the perspective of a volunteer beta tester.

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  20. Nick is great!  

    Glad you got it fixed.

     

    I managed to find the report where I encountered the issue.

    In my case, something hadn't gone right when I tried to follow the instructions for customers who have both Orbx YBBN airport and Landmarks Brisbane City Pack.

    I uninstalled and reinstalled Landmarks Brisbane and then followed the instructions again, which fixed the issue for me.

    image.jpeg.1131e3b65d061af1df777b3defca6d3b.jpeg

    • Thanks 2
  21. DavidRN,

     

    I think I've seen this when I was beta testing. 

    I looked, but haven't found the report where I reported the issue or its solution, so I'm not certain what the solution was.

     

    Try checking the order of the entries in your scenery_packs.ini.  (It is in the X-Plane 12\Custom Scenery folder.)

    Open it and see what it looks like.  You will have additional entries if you have other products installed.

     

    The key things to check for:

    - The "Orbx_A" entries should be above the "Orbx_B" entries.

    - *GLOBAL_AIRPORTS* entry is last.

    - Ensure that "Orbx_B_Landmarks_Brisbane_YBBN_Mesh" is the only Mesh entry for Brisbane.

     

    Here is an example.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------

    I
    1000 Version
    SCENERY

    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Orbx_A_Brisbane_Landmarks/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Orbx_A_YBBN_Brisbane/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Orbx_B_Landmarks_Brisbane_YBBN_Mesh/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Global_Forests_v2/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/X-Plane Landmarks - Portland/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Aerosoft - LFMN Nice Cote d Azur X/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Aerosoft - LPFR Faro/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/X-Plane Landmarks - Berlin and Frankfurt/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/X-Plane Landmarks - Budapest/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/X-Plane Landmarks - Chicago/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/X-Plane Landmarks - Dubai/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/X-Plane Landmarks - Las Vegas/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/X-Plane Landmarks - London/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/X-Plane Landmarks - Los Angeles/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/X-Plane Landmarks - New York/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/X-Plane Landmarks - Paris/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/X-Plane Landmarks - Rio De Janeiro/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/X-Plane Landmarks - Saint Louis/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/X-Plane Landmarks - San Francisco/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/X-Plane Landmarks - Sydney/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/X-Plane Landmarks - Washington DC/
    SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Orbx_XP12_Library/
    SCENERY_PACK *GLOBAL_AIRPORTS*

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

    If you find an entry out of order, just move it to the correct order, save, and restart XP12.

    If the entry order isn't your issue, your ticket should still get official support from Orbx.  I'm just a beta tester!

     

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