John Venema Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 I thought I would share our immediate and long term plans so you know what the team is up to ok? Please, don't ask for release dates, and all the timeframes I am giving below are an *estimate* only ok? 1. Orbx Freeware GA Airport Pack AU BLUE This is now in the final stages of development. About 50 small to medium photoreal airports, so well blended into FTX you will have trouble finding them. We expect to make this available within two weeks, maybe sooner. Download will be from the FTX website on a new "Free Stuff!" dedicated page. 2. HolgerMesh AU This is the Orbx repackaging of Holger's great freeware mesh for AU. We're just going to give it a lick of fancy paint and nice neat installer which takes care of the scenery library so it's install and forget. Also 100% freeware and used with Holger's kind permission. 3. YMML Melbourne International Airport This is currently in development, with a view to an April release. Don't ask for specific release dates. YMML will be a 15cm/pixel photoreal base airport, with 1m/pixel extended coverage for 20km+ sq. around it. It will be so tightly blended into FTX you won't be able to find the joins. It will feature 100% custom gmax modeled buildings taken from 1000's of photos at the airport. We will have animated aerobridges, sophisticated approach lighting systems and lots more. It will be the finest international airport ever made for FS in Australia. All the suburbs around the airport will be 100% annotated with full autogen right up to the airport boundary. Our beta testing shows better FPS than the default airport. Screenshots of the current building coming real soon. You will be blown away by our YMML. Yours for thirty bucks. 4. FTX AU GOLD Now in early beta testing, we already have landclass down for greater Brisbane and Coolangatta areas. We expect this to be release April/May. Lots of new custom textures taken from aerial photos over South East Queensland. We're excited about AU GOLD, since there are so many GA fields there, and Mark Lee can't wait to get stuck into it! 5. Orbx Freeware GA Airport Pack AU GOLD Will be release within 2 weeks of AU GOLD. Same Mark Lee magic, same photoreal blending. All 100% free. 6. YBBN Brisbane International Airport We expect YBBN to be released around July/August. More details soon. Same tech as being used for YMML. 7. FTX CityScape Perth [glow=red,2,300]FTX CityScapes[/glow] will blow you away. It will feature the entire extended CBD areas with hundreds of custom modeled buildings combined with autogen, to create an entire inner city area so real it will look like video footage. Project leader on CityScapes Perth is Jarrad Marshall, a Perth local and world class modeler and FSX developer. Orbx is very excited about our cityscapes franchise and we will also release for Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Hobart over the next 12 months. Price will be very competitive. 8. FTX US BLUE - Pacific Northwest Holger Sandmann is the project leader on Orbx's first USA region pack. Being a local with a world class reputation for quality and detail, FTX US BLUE will raise the bar ever higher than you've seen already. Prepare to see a makeover of my personal favourite FS region in the entire world - like never before. Combine this with 50+ freeware GA photoreal airfields and you will have the must-have package of 2008. Will be released later this year. 9. FTX AU GREEN / RED Expect these two region before November. They will both contain some surprises and new tech. Whew! Sure that's enough for you? Well, we have more in store, but can't talk about that yet Yours in sharing roadmaps .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Webb Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 [snip!] 6. YBBN Brisbane International Airport [/snip!] OMG!! You little ripper! Thanks for the heads up - all exciting. A big year for our hobby/life!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
^33^Amc Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Sounds good john, but remember to take a break your john, been a tough few days.. but good to see that you are still on the ball like usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete S. Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 WOW, John. Guess I'm, going to have to start saving my ever-shrinking USDollars. It looks like Christmas will be early in 2008! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Mason Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 John, No mention of payware YMEN or YMMB? is there any hope of a port over version for the VOZ versions in the short term? also if you need any midwest airports I will be more than happy to go and take pics for you either aerial or ground level within a 2 hours drive of indianapolis (which means pretty much anywhere in Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky and Michigan!) Cheers Aussiecop p.s DYING for the melbourne cityscape, GREAT! something more to pine for! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike707 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Thanks for the roadmap and I am looking forward to all of it. By the way, I would be willing to volunteer to take pictures around the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport if you need it anytime in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Kae Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Thanks John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxter Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 A busy year ahead for the Orbx crew and lots of birthdays for Aussie simmers, Thanks for sharing John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty073 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Thats great john but now who is gonna run my business, do maintenance on house, look after kids etc as i will be locked in office flying. Shane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heiko Glatthorn Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 The Sim future is bright ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreigndevil Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 The Sim future is bright ! Very bright, indeed! Thanks for the HU! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divot Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Thanks for the heads up John! My biggest bugbear with the Brisbane Intl area in default FSX is the lack of the biggest landmark on approach: The Gateway Bridge. I am hoping that this will be corrected with au_gold. Given that it's my home area, I am looking forward to flying over my house! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aeroflux Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 John!!! you... BIG MAN!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyj025 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Holly crap thats alot of work !! I hope u have fitted sleep and family into that timeline wow you boys are working fast! Out of all of that i ask for ONE thing . PLEASE PLEASE get the height of the gateway bridge right as the true height has yet to be replicated "God and Microsoft made planet FSX , Orbx/FTX just made it better ! " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 JohnV, I did'nt see in your post about Adelaide::South Australia or the Great Australian Bight being finished. Cheers.... JohnG.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy55 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 After just a couple of hours checking out AuBlue I wish to congratulate everyone involved on a very fine effort and I look forward to future developments. It is so good to see such recognisable landmarks and very Australian looking landscapes in FSX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rimshot Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 The Sim future is bright ! It sure is! But where do I find the time to fly in all this scenery??! ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxpax444 Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Thanks for the info John, looks like the future is bright for Orbx and FSX. Keep us posted!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awright Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Come one guys, what are you doing in your spare time Got area blue this am and am impressed. Thanks Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holger Sandmann Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Hi John G, JohnV, I did'nt see in your post about Adelaide::South Australia or the Great Australian Bight being finished. Cheers.... JohnG.... Great Australian Bight coastline updates are in the works right now; shouldn't take too long. Cheers, Holger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Henare Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Out of all of that i ask for ONE thing . PLEASE PLEASE get the height of the gateway bridge right as the true height has yet to be replicated Initial planning of YBBN has the Gateway bridge covered in the photoreal area considering its proximity to the airport, and therefore i would expect that we will include a nice accurate model of this landmark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dukester Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 I am left speechless, can't wait.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Baumanis Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 7. FTX CityScape Perth FTX CityScapes will blow you away. It will feature the entire extended CBD areas with hundreds of custom modeled buildings combined with autogen, to create an entire inner city area so real it will look like video footage. Project leader on CityScapes Perth is Jarrad Marshall, a Perth local and world class modeler and FSX developer. Orbx is very excited about our cityscapes franchise and we will also release for Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Hobart over the next 12 months. Price will be very competitive. This is really great news. Will Fremantle be done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulldog Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 No matter what anyone sais you guys are TOPS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Hockings Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 John, that's a pile of work! Loving AU Blue, and live in SE Qld so looking forward to the Gold pack. I've mentioned this over on the VistaAustralis forums, but there is a big glitch in the land/water mapping in FSX/VSX at the bottom end of North Stradbroke Island in Moreton Bay. It's right where one of Mark Lee's great airstrips are, but it's a pity because the current (landclass?) adds about 100 acres to the bottom end of the island where actually it's a very narrow strip of land. The rest of the Bay is pretty good ( I think) but this square paddock the size of about 100 football fields looks very weird and ruins the flying experience over the Bay and the approach to Brisbane Airport. Just letting you know and maybe someone can check it's been picked up in the coming release. Cheers and congrats once again!! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Casey Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 G'day John, If you are getting a large chunk of land where you say you are then you are missing a file (YBCG.bgl or YBBN.bgl from memory that puts water there). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Hockings Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 G'day Rossco, thanks for the response. I'll go looking for those files. Am I looking in the 03 VSX Scenery folder or elsewhere? You have me wondering now though, because some month or so ago, in response to some issues with grass bleed-through on the YBBN runway, it was suggested we remove "CVX_YBBN.BGL" from the "03 VSX Scenery" folder, as this file was causing the bleed-through problem. I wonder if removing that might have created the issue with the extra land on Stradbroke Island? TIA Johhno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Casey Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Yep. That's most likely the reason. I had previously created these files prior to Acceleration/ SP2 patch for FSX & did not need to nominate an elevation for the new airport polygon for them to work OK. Following the release of the SP2 files for FSX this changed & an elevation was required to fix the bleed through. Unfortunately I did not upload the corrected files in time for release hence the bleed through effect. I must contact JayKae to see if there is a way we can provide the new files for download prior to the next release as it is a real pain not having a runway, & as you have seen the alternative causes just as severe a problem. Other wise remove the YBCG file & that will fix it however you will also lose the beaches & canals on the Gold Coast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Hockings Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Ross, okay, that's great to know. Will await the outcome of your conversation with JayKae to see about the new file upload. Many thanks for your help...much appreciated. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Monkey Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 That's just sounding so wonderful! I was just watching Just Planes dvd on Virgin Blue yesterday, and I was thinking I was missing a nice rendition of YBBN. You can count me in when time will come to buy FTX AU Gold and YBBN. Amazing news guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradHosking Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 While I do not have the Blue pack as yet (need $$!) I do look forward to the repackaging of Holger's mesh as it is sensational. Once I get some cash the Blue and Gold regions will certainly become part of my FSX experience Quite enjoyed that Just Flight's Virgin Blue video too. Got a pleasent supprise when I noticed that Brett was flying the last flight in that video. He used to fly with the old man in Malaysian airlines years ago. A man never to challenge at Tennis... he old man's last name is Rosewell.... Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Venema Posted March 12, 2008 Author Share Posted March 12, 2008 HolgerMesh AU will be up on the FTX website in a matter of days with a neat little self installer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pphibbs Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Hi John, I purchased FSGlobal a while back which is supposed to be good terrain mesh for FS9 and FSX. Do you recommend installing HolgerMesh AU over the terrain mesh I currently use or should I stick to what I have? Regards, Paul Phibbs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Venema Posted March 13, 2008 Author Share Posted March 13, 2008 Holgermesh is 90M STRM resampled to 76M. This is the same as FSGlobal, FSGenesis and FSX default, however Holgermesh, FSGenesis and FSGlobal have improvements which are subtle, but add to the experience. If you have FSGlobal/FSGenesis there will be no perceived benefit to installing Holgermesh. The main aim of Holgermesh is to provide a better-than-default mesh for those user who have not yet purchased FSGlobal or FSGenesis payware meshes. Hope that clarifies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pphibbs Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Thanks John, Appreciate your great support. Regards, Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Private-Cowboy Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 Why did you unpin that very important thread? Instead you should update it... Holgermesh -> released AU Blue Freeware -> released AU YMML -> on track? AU Gold -> on track? etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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