Matt McGee
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Posts posted by Matt McGee
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Looks fantastic Marcus!
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Happy birthday Iain! All the best for your next year!!
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Just figured out the change myself!
I usually check the forum every morning on my laptop and hadn't been getting through, so I thought there must be a problem or upgrade going on.
The forum link at the bottom of the Orbx home page (orbxdirct.com) is still linked to the "old" forum address.
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Glad you got it working again.
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Hi John. Not on my game PC at the moment, but I accessed the MSFS Marketplace last night. I was able to download & install the free UK 2000 scenery library.
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Nick,
I have an Orbx XP11 Library and also an Orbx XP12 Library created by OC.
Do I use Method 3?
How will this affect the airports that OC has already installed into my Orbx XP12 Library?
I'm thinking specifically about YBBN and Landmarks Brisbane, where both XP11 and XP12 versions exist.
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Sorry it took so long, I just got home from some travel.
Here are some shots of the current CowanSim 206B3 (v1.0.2). My monitor resolution is 1680x1050.
The product page mentions a known issue, "When full sun and at certain angles pixilated shadows may appear."
I do see this sometimes. At time 3-4 you can briefly see some pixilation on the instrument panel before it goes back to nice and sharp.
Overall, I'm really happy with the helicopter.
BTW, here are my graphics setting. Not sure how much that is affecting the quality of my screenshots.
Hope that helps!
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On 1/21/2023 at 3:54 AM, bvdboomen said:
For the new version of the Bell, I am in particularly looking for this:
- Smoothed out jagged edges on modeling: center window column, switches, door seals and frames, windows and many other parts.
- Updated several textures and fine details with PBR
On 1/21/2023 at 12:08 AM, bvdboomen said:MSFS has a graphical quality as if you just can grab the knobs, handles, etc. right of the screen. I do not get that with the two 206's.
Sorry for the delay, I’m still on the road, but when I get home I’ll post some screenshots for you.
If there are specific interior or exterior locations you want to see, post a screenshot of the default 407 and I’ll try to get a shot of the same spot in the 206B3.
My MSFS graphics settings are pretty high, but my monitor is only 1650x1080, so my screenshots will be limited to that resolution, which is probably less than what sim can display if your monitor and settings are better than mine.
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On 1/21/2023 at 7:40 PM, geronimopilot said:
Matt is that a Mentor you are sitting in?
Yes. At the time it belonged to the Whidbey Island Navy Flying Club. Unfortunately the Navy closed the club. I think the plane went to NAS Patuxent River. I was fun to fly while we had it!
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10 hours ago, WebMaximus said:
Anyone has any more news if an update is expected where these static models will be removed? Always extra annoying when you find two static airliners at a fairly small airport with not that many parking stands.
Not a clue about updates, I just beta test them.
I agree that having the option to toggle static aircraft on and off is preferable to not having any option at all.
However, I have no expectation that a developer would have to go back and update an already released airport to allow statics to be toggled on an off. I think it is great if they choose to do so, but I certainly don't think they have any obligation to do so. Especially when people are clamoring for them to develop new airports.
Were a developer to just remove the statics, there would be an outcry from people complaining that they bought the airport with statics and like them. I suspect that some people don't use AI traffic at all and actually like some appropriate static aircraft to keep an airport from feeling like a ghost town.
Clearly you don't want any static aircraft, but we chose to purchase those older airports. The LFKB product page clearly shows the static aircraft and also specifically mentions "Custom GSE and static aircraft". It seems a bit silly to now complain that they are there. When I first saw the static aircraft at LFKB, my personal thought was, "Cool, Air Corsica." I personally find AI aircraft doing stupid things more annoying than an appropriately placed static aircraft. Just my opinion.
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Just for perspective, Orbx Central currently has 20 Australian airports, 6 cities, and Reefworld available.
So that's 26 Australian products in the 29 months since MSFS was released. Almost one per month.
The poor Kiwis currently only have two airports and one city. South America only has three airports.
Don't get me wrong, I hope that all my Orbx Australian airports from P3D are eventually released for MSFS, along with lots of new ones too.
I'm just a beta tester and don't know Orbx's plans, but based on the amount of scenery I've been testing, it seems to me that Orbx is working hard to meet the incredible demand for scenery.
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On my laptop right now. (No MSFS)
Perhaps someone else will reply with screenshots before I get back to my gaming PC.
Anything in particular you want a screenshot of?
I know Orbx Central has the updated version because I can click on the headsets and they disappear.
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3 hours ago, DuncanT said:
Does anyone have any suggestions for how to correctly install the scenery? I'd appreciate your help.
Hi DuncanT,
I'm just a beta tester, not on the Orbx staff, and I don't know how to fix your issue, but I suggest submitting an official support request to Orbx. https://orbxsystems.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/2/group/-1
You could also ask your question in the Orbx Customer Help Forum for X-Plane 11.
https://forum.orbxdirect.com/forum/277-x-plane-11/
Either of those options will probably get you an answer faster than your post here in the Neil Hill Memorial Lounge, which isn't a support sub-form.
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I picked up the CowanSim 206B3 in Orbx Central and am really enjoying it in MSFS.
Looks really good in both 2D and VR, has a LOT of liveries, and is enjoyable to fly.
Nice work CowanSim!
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14 minutes ago, Adam Banks said:
As all this storage space mounts up (for either sim)
Kia ora Adam!
The scenery storage adds up fast!
You could consider a fast external SSD for local storage of scenery that you don't want installed all the time.
I don't know how expensive or fast your cloud storage is, but it might be faster to pull scenery off a local drive than downloading from the cloud.
MSFS and XP12 airports aren't terribly massive and shouldn't fill up a drive too quickly.
MSFS XP12
YBBN 2.42 GB 4.83 GB
KPSP 1.36 GB 5.87 GB
PAYA 3.65 GB 3.42 GB
It is large X-Plane scenery like TrueEarth regions that will fill up a drive quickly. TE Oregon (XP11) is 220 GB! (WA 211, NCA 195.3, SCA 162.6, FL 126, GB-S 80.3)
Add up what you think you'll need over the next couple years and then double it!!
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2 hours ago, Rylo said:
My main gripe TBH is that nothing has been updated for 12 so far by Orbx, nor have there been any new launches from Orbx.
Nothing updated and no new launches for XP12? You are mistaken.
YBBN Brisbane was the first Orbx XP12 airport released on 22 OCT 2022.
Landmarks Brisbane City is the most recent release, just last Thursday.
Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Palm Springs, Yakutat, and Global Forests v2 have also been released. All are available on Orbx Central right now.
I just finished testing another airport that should be out very soon in XP11 & 12.
2 hours ago, Rylo said:One final thing that maybe somebody from Orbx could clarify - with TrueEarth, why are there not more areas? Is it a manhour issue, or licensing or what?
No idea what Orbx's reasons are or if any work is being done on new areas.
I can tell you that they take a lot of time to test because they cover such large areas. I know because I did beta testing on all of them! I'm not sure how long the developers had worked on them before we saw them, but a lot of time and effort went into fixing issues we found and then putting out subsequent builds to test.
Licensing of imagery is something that many people don't consider. It might be a factor. (Again, just speculating.)
A developer once told me he wanted to develop somewhere, but the imagery cost too much. If I remember correctly, he said that the costs varied widely, depending on where the imagery was and who owned it.
I have no idea how well sales have gone for TrueEarth regions. They do make a vast improvement to both P3D and X-Plane's default scenery.
One con to them is that they take up a TON of space. Not sure if that has been a limiting factor or not.
Installing the XP11 versions of TE Great Britain - Central, Florida, Washinton, Oregon, Northern California, and Southern California takes up over 995 GB of drive space!
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5 hours ago, Rylo said:
as a real world pilot, X-Plane really has no equal as a flight simulator. MSFS looks much MUCH better, but that's quite literally the only thing is has going for it.
Just as a data point, I'm a real world pilot and I prefer to fly in MSFS over both XP11 & 12. The only reason I have XP12 is so I can beta test scenery for it.
People fly sims for different reasons and value different qualities. (Even within the same sim!)
Whatever MSFS has going for it, more people seem to be choosing it than X-Plane.
5 hours ago, Rylo said:my guess is that XP users per capita spend much more. I'm aware that that won't make up for there being 1000:1 MSFS to XP users, but it's something to consider.
I'm curious as to the actual spending data by simmers. Before I bought XP11, there was a definite "get X-Plane because you can make your own orthos and there is all this free scenery from the community" reputation. I'd guess Orbx has an idea of spending based on their sales of XP scenery over the years.
You keep complaining about developers not making enough X-Plane scenery, but you also are pointing out the very reasons why it may be the case. "1000:1" looks much higher than the Navigraph survey results, but even a 4:1 MSFS/XP ratio seems pretty challenging. If development costs are comparable and there are potentially 4 times the users, where would you focus development? XP users would need to spend 4x as much per person to equal the same total sales $. Realistic?
5 hours ago, Rylo said:I can't imagine that having a few people working on the X-Plane side of things is prohibitively expensive for you guys, and indeed my guess is that if done deftly you'd still make money. X-Plane's numbers might surprise you in the longer term, and there are always going to be less competitors in the X-Plane space.
You keep making it sound as if Orbx isn't continuing to develop scenery for X-Plane.
Again, I have no idea of their future plans, but scenery is currently being released. Has development even slowed down? Even from the P3D vs X-Plane days?
As for the X-Plane numbers surprising anyone, I'm not sure what you expect to change regarding XP's share of the sim market.
With XP12 out, I wouldn't expect a big increase in XP11 numbers. Given that XP12 isn't a huge improvement over XP11, the migration from 11 to 12 might be relatively slow too.
Your opinion that "there are always going to be less competitors in the X-Plane space" may be correct, but why do you think there are fewer competitors? Perhaps because the smaller market means the ability to make a profit is correspondingly smaller?
I'm glad Orbx is continuing to release X-Plane scenery. It certainly makes the sim look better. I also understand why it may not be their main focus.
Don't forget that for every XP11 user asking for their favorite Orbx scenery to be released for XP12, there are proportionally more MSFS users asking for their favorite Orbx airports to be released for MSFS!
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On 1/5/2023 at 5:23 AM, Ted62 said:
my sim load times have increased to around 11 - 12 minutes and I am hesitant that a further package will cause another big delay.
Hi Ted,
Welcome to Orbx!
First off I'm just a volunteer beta tester, not a hardware expert.
11-12 minutes does sound slow to me, but it may just be your current hardware.
I don't know how much adding additional scenery will affect your "click XP11 icon until at main menu" time.
I don't think that adding additional scenery will affect your "click Start Flight until ready on runway" time. I think this load time is just based on the scenery at the location you are loading and the level and radius of detail being loaded. Loading an add-on airport within a TE region would take longer that a default airport in a default region because more scenery data is being loaded. I don't think it matters that you have additional scenery for other regions installed, since they are not being loaded for the flight.
Out of curiosity, I started XP11 and loaded flights on my laptop and PC to see how long it took.
Laptop: ThinkPad X1 Extreme. i7 8850H @2.6GHz, 16GB DDR4 RAM, GTX 1050Ti, 1TD M.2 storage.
9 Orbx airports installed, TrueEarth WA, OR, CA-N, CA-S, & FL installed.
Click XP11 icon until at main screen = 28 seconds.
Click Start Flight until loaded on runway = 3 min 07 sec (Orbx 1S2 Darrington, TE WA)
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PC: Specs in my signature. (XP11 is on the 870 QVO SSD)
9 Orbx airports installed, TrueEarth WA, OR, FL, & GB-South installed.
Click XP11 icon until at main screen = 20 seconds.
Click Start Flight until loaded on runway = 1 min 47 sec (Orbx 1S2 Darrington, TE WA)
If you found that installing additional TE regions was adversely affecting your load time, you could try just moving the regions you are not currently using out of your XP11 Custom Scenery folder. If you just move them to a different folder on the same SSD, it shouldn't take much time to move them back and forth. Much quicker than uninstalling and re-installing.
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I'm just a volunteer Beta tester and don't have any insider info on Orbx's future plans for anything, including updates to already released XP11 software.
I agree that Orbx's TE sceneries are a huge improvement compared to default X-Plane 11. (I haven't tried to get them working in XP12.)
I have no idea what the developers need to do to make them fully compatible with XP12, but I think they would be a great addition to XP12.
As for the doom and gloom comments from some about X-Plane scenery development, I think it is OK for me to say that while I do test a lot of MSFS scenery, I still spend quite a bit of time testing XP11 and XP12 scenery. Landmarks Brisbane City just released yesterday for both XP11 & 12 and I have been testing something else in XP11 &12 all day today! Orbx certainly doesn't seem to have abandoned X-Plane from my POV.
According to the Navigraph flight sim survey results, there are a lot more people flying MSFS than X-Plane 11 & 12 combined, so I am not surprised to see a lot of MSFS scenery coming out. While I agree that X-Plane 11 & 12 default scenery may benefit more from add-on scenery than MSFS default does, there is still a big demand for MSFS add-on scenery.
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First I'd double check that you've followed the instruction for when you have both YBBN and Landmarks Brisbane installed. IMPORTANT - README.pdf
If you have Orbx Central installing your Orbx scenery into an external library (outside the default XP-11 Custom Scenery folder):
- Be sure to delete the two indicated folders from the folder structure of your Orbx scenery library, not just the shortcuts to those folders in Custom Scenery.
- Check that there are no shortcuts to the old folders in the default XP-11 Custom Scenery folder.
- Make sure you have copied the new mesh folder "Orbx_B_Landmarks_jBrisbane_YBBN_Mesh" into the Custom Scenery folder.
- Check your "scenery_packs.ini" (found in your XP-11 "Custom Scenery" folder) and make sure that "SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Orbx_B_Landmarks_Brisbane_YBBN_Mesh/" is below the entries for both YBBN Brisbane and Brisbane Landmarks.
SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Orbx_A_YBBN_Brisbane/
SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Orbx_A_Brisbane_Landmarks/SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Orbx_B_Landmarks_Brisbane_YBBN_Mesh/
Edit:
I had previously done the above steps for XP-11 and the scenery is working for me.
I just went through the same process with the XP12 version and I had to manually edit the scenery_packs.ini.
XP-12 had placed the mesh entry SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Orbx_B_Landmarks_Brisbane_YBBN_Mesh/ at the top of the list. I had to move it below the airport and city entries.
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My Orbx Central also sees my XP12 installation.
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I helped Beta test KORS and also the v1.1.0 update to KORS and the "ghost" planes were not on the ramp then.
I have a screenshot from v1.1.0 testing which shows the ghost planes were not there.
I am seeing "ghost" planes today though. I assume a MSFS update has changed how something in the scenery interacts?
If the ramp had looked like this during testing, we testers would have called it a "showstopper" and it would have been fixed prior to release.
Edit:
I also have a screenshot of the area next to the helipad from v1.1.0 testing and there was not a piece of plane visible at the time.
Again, we would have pointed it out during testing if it had been there at the time.
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Where is the "Render Scaling" setting found?
I can see the buildings appearing, but it doesn't look bad to me. (Beauty is in the eye of the beholder though.)
To be fair, the region is known for "Gulf haze". With more typical visibility, the building draw distance is a bit moot.
Here are some photos I've taken:
Dubai
Looking north towards Dubai while on approach to OMDM.
Short final OMDM.
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Patience.
As a beta tester I'm not allowed to talk about any airports I might have been testing in XP11 & XP12 lately.
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Northern Sky's PHOG no lights...
in Microsoft Flight Simulator
Posted
I am seeing runway and taxiway lights at Northern Sky's PHOG.
The current version available on Orbx Central is v1.2.0.
You may want to try the Verify Files tab for PHOG on Orbx Central, or just uninstall and re-install to see if that will fix it for you.