Adam Banks

I just don't understand this gripe. *Any* competition that's based on skill (of any kind) is going to be affected in this way. The most popular (ie. the best <?>) shot wins - what could be simpler? Sure - the competition is going to attract some "quality" entries from seasoned "regulars" ... but isn't that the same for *any* competition? The Chase? Wimbledon? F1 racing? My only problem with the competition is the confusion as to what qualifies as sufficiently Orbx-related content. With all the combinations of other vendors, it can get complicated! However - this whole forum is financed by Orbx, so I see no reason why the comp shouldn't showcase their products only. I think Iain has been quite fair with moderating eligibility. If in doubt - post the pic somewhere [else] and ask him. He's been quite happy to judge my pre-entries. We had similar problems over at NZFF - where a tiny handful of competitors basically dominated the comp month after month. People moaned that they thought they never stood a chance of winning ... but HEY ... I thought the whole point is to enjoy taking part (isn't it?). Anyway - we tried to open things up by using themes - and allocating votes/points to entries that best fit the theme as well as pure aesthetics. The idea was to open the field out to people that could think "outside the box" but weren't necessarily Photoshop wizards. Sounded great on paper - but went down like a lead balloon! *Two votes?* - wow - that was just too complicated for some. If anyone has any constructive ideas, I'd suggest posting them in Iain's themes thread. In the meantime - don't take it to heart, Iain - you've been doing a grand job (for years)! Wait ... I'll ignore my advice and post a suggestion here: In many competitions, the problem of skilled vs unskilled is addressed by using *league tables*. Maybe the consistent winners could be hived off to a "Premier" league (with a suitably "premier" prize) and other entrants in the "regular" league get some sort of a prize *as well*. Either that - or just give three prizes each month: 1st, 2nd, 3rd - with corresponding product values.

digital896 - nice wing view with shipping!

Here's my tribute: ... and, finally, this month's screencomp entry: The Southern Alps (NZ) - Orbx NZ Mesh.

Here's mine - a tribute to the brave Ukrainians: A pre-delivery Ukrainian AF F/A-18 on a test flight over the Southern Alps (NZ). Orbx NZ Mesh.

Well ... that gets my vote!!! I think it will add a little "spice"! The only (slight) difficulty I can see is working out whether each entry adequately fits that requirement! Would you need to moderate them for that? A while back, in the NZFF screenshot comps, we also ran them as themed - and people got *two* votes: one for "best fit for the theme" and one for pure aesthetics. The two votes were then combined to give a final score. You could weight the scoring by giving the theme vote 2 points and a "regular" vote only the one. That way, you probably wouldn't even need to police the entries.

Thanks for the noce comments, folks! As to the mud ... it's been raining solid here for over a week (in RL) ... better get used to that mud!!!

It's so great to have NZQN back to normal - with the updated NZ Mesh. Before I attempt some of those famous RNAV approaches in the 737, I thought I'd do a recce or two in something smaller! This is what a winter morning at NZQN can be like. Note: this is *not* a sepia toned pic! After a pie and coffee, things looked a little better! Away at last! Another day, another murky morning - and another aircraft! This is the Asobo/Reno T-6 (with my favourite livery). Nice looking, but not as good as the A2A/P3D version, I'm afraid! Adam.

It's just anyone living in Browns Bay LOL (Hi Bob!). I had a few disconnects again today ... but I installed the new mesh yesterday afternoon (and tried a few flights with it), so I don't think it's related.

Thanks, Ed ... that's what I need to know! I think the other one was from an old(er) install. I did some tests with the freeware NZMF out there - without the airport folder and it all worked great, so we're all good now Coincidentally - I was checking my NZFsim site and one of the pics on my Home Page shows a take-off from NZMF ... but in P3D. It's *gorgeous* ... so I'm still hoping Orbx might get around to doing an MSFS version. The freeware is better than default, but is pretty ghastly compared to the P3D version! BTW - thanks for the mesh update. All looking good so far (and it's great to see NZQN properly again!).

Brain fog here (!!) ... with my main Mesh folder, I have two additional addons: z_airport-nzmf z_default-nzmf Which of these need to be activated and in what circumstances? If any Orbx dev sees this, please note that Orbx Central shows a panel/link for the User Guide ... that goes nowhere. IMHO, either the panel should be de-activated, or a default guide of some sort needs to be put into the archive.

First off the block! boetie - with his Ballina shot!

Here's mine!!! My favourite little runabout - in one of my favourite cities! Adam.

I see Avsim is riddled with troubled posts about the 737 ... yet I've had no problems with it at all. Yes - opening up the 737 has suddenly enabled thousands of beta testers and many issues have been flagged - though most of them either aren't show-stoppers or simply haven't happened to me. Considering it's a highly complex aircraft, I'm surprised how well it performs on my ancient rig (I think I said that about the P3D NGx as well)! Overall. I'm delighted with it!

Thanks, Ed - that's put me out of my misery LOL! Maybe I cooked my own goose (as it were!) ... but I'm [also] thinking of instances like NZ Mesh (which I think has been brought up before). It's nowhere near apparent that Orbx underlies everything you're seeing. Anyway - back to the question ... if I were to post a GB North (Scotland) shot ... I'm guessing it would need to have an obvious POI ... something that's unique to that package <?>.

This one's for Iain (!) but I'm hoping some guidance may help other entrants! With the growing number of sceneries sanctioned/distributed under the Orbx banner, it's hard to know exactly what scenery is allowed - especially if Orbx scenery (or mesh) is overlaid by add-on tiles or vegetation. A case in point: I'm considering entering a shot from my recently acquired Great Britain (North) - somewhere over Scotland, I hope. I'm not sure how much content (in terms of landscape) is provided by Orbx - or is it mainly POIs etc. <??>. I use Bijan vegetation and sometimes alternative Google tiles - are either of those acceptable? I suppose a way out of this would be to [pre] post candidates in the general screenshots area and ask your opinion - but I'm not sure adding to your workload in this way would help - though I suppose a simple yes/no is quicker than asking someone to remove (or replace) a bad entry. Thoughts? ... and TIA! Adam.

Well done, @Digital896!! A tremendous shot of one of my favourite aircraft!!

Aah ... right ... thanks. I install all my Orbx sceneries outside the main folder (and also use Addons Linker).

I don't think you need to do this if you follow Nick's suggestions (rolling cache etc.) <??> ... but I'm intrigued by your last shot. What do you mean "main stack"?

I'm afraid that you might find, if you *do* clear the rolling cache, you'll lose your good NZMF. I have version 2.5 installed - and have also tried 2.4. Neither works. I'll see if I can grab 2.1 and see if that works with SU9.

renault for me!

Here's mine! In time, I hope! Orbx Central (near EGOV), MSFS:

Strange indeed!!! What version of Sergio's NZMF do you have running? And ... did you clear your rolling cache before (or after) the SU9 update? Does anyone know if scenery *order* (in the contents.xml file) is important for Orbx-related scenery?

This has been part of my S.O.P. (Standard Operating Procedure) for MSFS for a fair while now. Make a text file and put it on your desktop as a reminder!

Confirmed here. I've posted on Sergio's page on Flysim.to - asking him to wave his magic wand!! I tried every combination of with/without NZ Mesh and different addon versions. None worked - and it doesn't appear to be Orrbx Mesh related. Oddly, you'd expect the error to have occurred afte the last *World* update - and not SU9. It's a great (freeware) addon, but I'm still hoping that Orbx will re-work their P3D classic NZMF for MSFS!

Do you use the scenery cache? If so, try deleting it and re-making it - then reinstall Cityscape and re-run.