announcement Unified lclookup and what to expect.

[Ed Correia]

Hi all,

 

We are on the verge of releasing the unified lclookup.bgl and its supporting core files that will remove the need to switch worldwide regions in FTX Central.  This is a huge breakthrough in flexibility of all Orbx FTX Regions and FTX Global working seamlessly together.

 

How is this going to happen:

This will be a two staged approach using FTX Central and Orbxlibs. 

FTX Central will be updated very soon, so make sure that you keep an eye out on the Release Announcements as well as ensure that FTX Central is set to check for updates. This will be the first stage.

The second stage of this is Orbxlibs. The next update of Orbxlibs will contain all the required files for this migration. Due to these extra files, Orbxlibs will be a 1.25GB download. The Orbxlibs update can also be be done via FTX Central as the file delivery has been streamlined to handle the larger download size.

 

Once you have those two installed, FTX Central will handle the migration process for you. The following screenshots will give you an idea how it all happen.

 

FTX Central will start and you will be presented with the following:

 

Clicking the "Start Migration Process" button will then advise you that the process will take some time and various windows will open. Please be patient and allow the process to run.

 

Once the migration process has completed a notification window will advise you.

 

Once you migrated you will notice that FTX Central will look different. Firstly, FTX Central will run through some checks to check for migration status as well as ensure lclookup is active. 

 

You will also notice that on the left you will no longer see a Group as "Active" or the familiar "Apply Group" button on the right.

 

It's as simple as that. Happy to answer questions, but will pre-empt a few now.

 

Q. Can I choose not implement this change?

A. It will be a requirement moving forward that these changes are implemented. If you do not wish to move with the times, you can elect to to ignore the FTX Central and Orbxlibs update. We strongly recommend that you update for continued support.

 

Q. Do I need to download any new installers for the Regions or Global?

 A. No, the FTX Central update and Orbxlibs will apply these changes for you.

 

Q. What if I install a Region or Global after I have migrated to the unified lclookup?

A. When FTX Central is run it does a check for any products that have not migrated. If any are detected, it will run that migration process automatically.

 

Q. Will there be new installers for Regions/Global anyway?

A. Yes, but not till the second half of this year. 

 

Q. So I don't need to apply a region/group or select "hybrid mode"?

A. Correct, once migrated to the unified lclookup, everything is active and working seamlessly with each other and you will no longer need to switch regions.

 

We have deliberately chosen FTX Central/Orbxlibs for this deployment as it will be the simplest and most effective way of ensuring everyone will be updated. This method also allows us to keep our existing Region/Global installers in circulation as well as not making customers re-download installers unnecessarily.

 

Cheers

 

[Guest]

Blimey.  That really is good news Ed.  Its been sorely needed for a long time.  No more mucking about with regions wee-hee!!

 

Thanks Orbx.

 

John

[VH-KDK]

Yay.

No more wondering why the scenery doesn't look right and then realising I am flying in NA with Central set to EU!

Thanks Guys.

[Jorge Bach]

Great improvement !!!

Many thanks for your work, I like so much your products.

 

Kind regards,

Jorge.

[Corndog]

This is really great news! I wait patiently for the update FTX Central/Centrol update!

[KillaBee]

I saw it in the Q&A, but I am still confused...

Wouldn't installing an older scenery (region/airport) after migration screw up (overwrite) the "new/migrated" lclookup.bgl file as the installer will overwrite the "new" migrated file leaving us hanging in the middle in between "old" and "new"  lclookup.bgl product concept?

 

would this have any effect on Installation order now (Global, region, Airports, SPs, updates, etc...)?

[Ed Correia]

18 minutes ago, KillaBee said:

I saw it in the Q&A, but I am still confused...

Wouldn't installing an older scenery (region/airport) after migration screw up (overwrite) the "new/migrated" lclookup.bgl file as the installer will overwrite the "new" migrated file leaving us hanging in the middle in between "old" and "new"  lclookup.bgl product concept?

 

would this have any effect on Installation order now (Global, region, Airports, SPs, updates, etc...)?

No, the installers are set to "overwrite if older" so they won't overwrite those files.

 

There is no effect on installation order currently as we use common core autogen files across the region/global installers. 

[John Venema]

24 minutes ago, KillaBee said:

I saw it in the Q&A, but I am still confused...

Wouldn't installing an older scenery (region/airport) after migration screw up (overwrite) the "new/migrated" lclookup.bgl file as the installer will overwrite the "new" migrated file leaving us hanging in the middle in between "old" and "new"  lclookup.bgl product concept?

 

would this have any effect on Installation order now (Global, region, Airports, SPs, updates, etc...)?

 

Ed has answered this already:

 

Quote

Q. What if I install a Region or Global after I have migrated to the unified lclookup?

A. When FTX Central is run it does a check for any products that have not migrated. If any are detected, it will run that migration process automatically.

 

This applies to any Orbx product; FTX Central checks if you're out of sync and then re-syncs automatically for you. The IMPORTANT THING to do always is to run FTX Central after installing any Orbx product.

[BrianV]

Excellent news and a great step forward! However, I wonder about the vector issue with Australia, will it automatically switch vector off when flying into FTX Australia? This was discussed before, but not sure if time or complexity has made it possible to implement.

[sim123]

When making new installation from scratch will  global FTX V1.40  download have this new central inside ?

 

 

[John Venema]

1 minute ago, sim123 said:

When making new installation from scratch will  global FTX V1.40  download have this new central inside ?

 

 

 

This has also been already answered by Ed.

 

Quote

 

Q. Will there be new installers for Regions/Global anyway?

A. Yes, but not till the second half of this year. 

 

None of our current products have this new tech applied to the installers from FSS, they will be updated later in the year. But as we've said, FTX Central is smart enough to re-sync old products to the new system. Remember to run FTX Central after every product installation.

[Jack Sawyer]

Very much looking forward to this.  It will be nice to not have to switch regions anymore.  Thank you Orbx!

[Captain Z]

Another question, if I may. I plan on buying another "batch" of airports before the month is out (the sale). If this releases before I buy those, will I want to launch FTX central after every airport is installed, or could I install them all, then run FTX Central to sync them all at once ? Just wondering which is best way to go. Thank you.

[Handie]

Hello,

 

For those who do not have FTX Global, but only all regions with airports, will we have still the opportunity to switch by the option "default" to continue using other addons not compatible with Orbx, like now ?

[Ben McClintock]

18 minutes ago, Captain Z said:

Another question, if I may. I plan on buying another "batch" of airports before the month is out (the sale). If this releases before I buy those, will I want to launch FTX central after every airport is installed, or could I install them all, then run FTX Central to sync them all at once ? Just wondering which is best way to go. Thank you.

Either way will work fine in your situation

 

12 minutes ago, Handie said:

Hello,

 

For those who do not have FTX Global, but only all regions with airports, will we have still the opportunity to switch by the option "default" to continue using other addons not compatible with Orbx, like now ?

Yes, in settings -> tools there is a button to disable/enable Orbx

[Jack Sawyer]

2 minutes ago, Ben McClintock said:

Either way will work fine in your situation

 

Yes, in settings -> tools there is a button to disable/enable Orbx

I'm sorry Ben, I don't understand this.  I have several Fly Tampa airports, does this mean I will have to disable Orbx to fly to them?

[Nick Cooper]

No.

[mikee]

2 hours ago, BrianV said:

Excellent news and a great step forward! However, I wonder about the vector issue with Australia, will it automatically switch vector off when flying into FTX Australia? This was discussed before, but not sure if time or complexity has made it possible to implement.

+1

[John Venema]

The Vector 1.4 Configuration Panel has been updated to allow you to disable Vector for Australia.

[KillaBee]

Another Q. . to my recollection FTX installers install FTX central as well. e.g. if I install OpenLC EU

it will install FTX central v2 as well.

wouldn't that be an issue of an older product overwriting the newer FTX central? rolling it back to an older FTX cventral version that doesn't recognise

and work with the new lookup BGL file?

[John Venema]

Let's make it as clear as possible shall we? 

 

1. FTX Central always checks for a newer version of itself when it is first run. If one is found it self-updates.

 

2. It does not matter if you install any existing Orbx product downloaded from FSS, FTX Central will always: 

     a. Check if there is a new version of itself, and

     b. re-sync any 'damage' the old installers may have done

 

3. Always run FTX Central after a product installation. Yes you may install multiple products and then run FTX Central only at the end of the process, or run it any time in between, the choice is yours.

 

[jordancollins]

Can we still turn off Regions? 
 

I only use Regions for VFR and when I fly into my Regional Areas I turn it off becuase of the FPS with more complex planes.

[John Venema]

No you can't disable regions - the whole world is one region now. Disabling regions is totally unnecessary since the sim will only load assets into memory within your LOD settings, so FSX default of LOD 4.5 is about 50 miles or less from the cockpit.

 

If you want to save on VAS/FPS/Resources keep your LOD settings to your sim's default  

[Stan V]

Another activity I routinely do after installing new Orbx scenery files is to run the FTX Vector Configurator to make sure I have my elevation information up-to-date and correct - will this still be the recommended course of action?

 

Stan V

[DesertPilot]

1 hour ago, jordancollins said:

Can we still turn off Regions? 
 

I only use Regions for VFR and when I fly into my Regional Areas I turn it off becuase of the FPS with more complex planes.

 

1 hour ago, John Venema said:

No you can't disable regions - the whole world is one region now. Disabling regions is totally unnecessary since the sim will only load assets into memory within your LOD settings, so FSX default of LOD 4.5 is about 50 miles or less from the cockpit.

 

If you want to save on VAS/FPS/Resources keep your LOD settings to your sim's default  

 

Would the Regions still retain their existing folder structure within the ORBX directory in the simulator installation?  For example, for PNW, would the the following existing directories still be retained?

 

FTX_NA_PNW05_SCENERY

FTX_NA_PNW06_CVX

FTX_NA_PNW07_MESH

FTX_NA_PNW08_CUSTOM

 

If so, then those directories could simply be disabled in the scenery.cfg file, if there is a need to turn off a particular region.  I plan to use SIMstarter NG to manage all this, having the Unified bgl will definitely streamline things for me.

[Richard McDonald Woods]

If Stan V is correct in saying that AEC has to be run after installing scenery files, then would it be sensible to get FTX Central to auto-run it if the user's computer has the software installed that requires that it be run?

[DesertPilot]

3 hours ago, Ben McClintock said:

Either way will work fine in your situation

 

Yes, in settings -> tools there is a button to disable/enable Orbx

 

Will a FTXCentral.exe command line option be provided, to allow Orbx to be disabled/enabled?  For use with, for example, SIMstarter.

 

To clarify, when Orbx is disabled in this manner, does this affect the FTX Global BASE textures that were installed as a replacement of the default FSX or Prepar3D textures?

 

[Nick Cooper]

No and if you have Global installed, as I understand it, the option

to disable all FTX products is not there.

 

Here is a reminder of the original question and answer.

 

3 hours ago, Handie said:

For those who do not have FTX Global, but only all regions with airports, will we have still the opportunity to switch by the option "default" to continue using other addons not compatible with Orbx, like now ?

Yes, in settings -> tools there is a button to disable/enable Orbx

[Mickel]

6 hours ago, DesertPilot said:

Would the Regions still retain their existing folder structure within the ORBX directory in the simulator installation?  For example, for PNW, would the the following existing directories still be retained?

 

FTX_NA_PNW05_SCENERY

FTX_NA_PNW06_CVX

FTX_NA_PNW07_MESH

FTX_NA_PNW08_CUSTOM

 

If so, then those directories could simply be disabled in the scenery.cfg file, if there is a need to turn off a particular region.  I plan to use SIMstarter NG to manage all this, having the Unified bgl will definitely streamline things for me.

 

This is what I'm hoping.  I've got profiles that turns off the majority of the Orbx airfields but leaves the regions themselves on, others with everything on (which will now simply mean I can't forget to change regions), and another with only the global things on when flying VAS hungry birds over/to/from regions.

[Adam Banks]

10 hours ago, John Venema said:

Disabling regions is totally unnecessary since the sim will only load assets into memory within your LOD settings, so FSX default of LOD 4.5 is about 50 miles or less from the cockpit.

 

If you want to save on VAS/FPS/Resources keep your LOD settings to your sim's default  

 

Thanks, John. I wish this was in HUGE RED BOLD type on some bible/sticky or other - straight from the horse's mouth. I've lost track of how many people believe disabling scenery outside your local flying area serves any purpose at all.

[DesertPilot]

55 minutes ago, Adam_NZ said:

 

Thanks, John. I wish this was in HUGE RED BOLD type on some bible/sticky or other - straight from the horse's mouth. I've lost track of how many people believe disabling scenery outside your local flying area serves any purpose at all.

 

The primary reason I do disable Orbx scenery sometimes, is whenever I occasionally decide to fly over 3rd-party photoscenery and such.

[Stewart Hobson]

2 hours ago, Adam_NZ said:

 

Thanks, John. I wish this was in HUGE RED BOLD type on some bible/sticky or other - straight from the horse's mouth. I've lost track of how many people believe disabling scenery outside your local flying area serves any purpose at all.

Adam,  If I plan to fly Monterey KMRY to Redding KRDD, to save loading time I prefer not to have Oceania loaded when FSX is started.  That's why I use SimStarter, not that I think I will save VAS or some such, but because I want to cut down on loading time when I start the sim.  To me it makes no sense to load world regions that I have no intention of flying into or out of.  Conversely, if I fly NZ or OZ, I would prefer that the sim not bother to load up any of the North American full regions.

[Jordan King]

4 hours ago, Adam_NZ said:

 

I've lost track of how many people believe disabling scenery outside your local flying area serves any purpose at all.

 

While that may be true, some folks prefer to leave regions off for long haul flights and turn them on for VFR flying. For example, if you leave YSSY for LAX, you may want to leave with ORBX Australia on and arrive with SCA off, as leaving it on may cause an OOM during approach. 

[Jon Clarke]

For me it is nothing to do with VAS or OOM's but purely loading times, hence i use SimStarter.

Regarding the new unified iclookup I am wondering if all orbx/FTX products are " active" all the time if this would affect the loading times. I don't see it affecting SimStarter's functionality really because the sim will read the scenery cfg whatever is "active" in the cfg will load, so a Profile with only NA Regions active in the cfg will not turn EU or Oceana regions to active. It does mean however that we won't have to change Regions in Central.

Are my assumptions correct? Would like some Dev comment on this if possible.

[Scott Harmes]

I have not noticed it so much with ORBX products, but disabling certain sceneries such as large areas of photoreal will save your VAS usage and loading times if you are flying near them or not.  I have experienced it, and checked loaded files using process explorer and similar, and files that were over 1000 km away from my aircraft were still being loaded.  I don't really care if anyone else believes it or not.  I am not keeping every single item of scenery I have installed active in my scenery library, or I won't be able to leave the runway without an OOM.  Obviously P3D V3.2 has improved the situation, but FSX:SE definitely still suffers from OOMs.

 

Cheers,

[pmb]

6 hours ago, Adam_NZ said:

 

Thanks, John. I wish this was in HUGE RED BOLD type on some bible/sticky or other - straight from the horse's mouth. I've lost track of how many people believe disabling scenery outside your local flying area serves any purpose at all.

I agree to the other voices here. For me as a pure GA flyer VAS hasn't been an issue ever. However, loading times of sceneries, including my complete ORBX collection, but also an extended range of FSDT/FB/T2G/AS... airports would be exorbitant without Simstarter. Mesh gives a good contribution (the 6% hurdle, you know), notably if you use Pilot's Ultimate, thus I have it off when flying within ORBX regions. 

 

And, yes, I tried it, and yes, all Flightsim stuff runs from a SSD. 

 

Kind regards, Michael

[Ed Correia]

Drifting off topic people......this is not a discussion in VAS, OOM or other acronyms. 

[Geezer]

On 5/14/2016 at 7:27 AM, John Venema said:

The Vector 1.4 Configuration Panel has been updated to allow you to disable Vector for Australia.

 

May I ask why this is necessary.  If the OZ region is higher in the scenery library than Vector, wouldn't OZ be used and blank out Vector automatically?  Is OZ different from other regions in this regard?

[Stewart Hobson]

Yes, OZ is different, but I don't have the technical explanation for you.  Part of it has to do with the fact that AU region was developed before Vector was even programmed.

[Geezer]

I guess I don't understand.  How difficult would it be to make an exclude for the entire area and issue a patch?  I'll wait for someone to explain that it can't be done for some reason or that it would take 97 hours to do.  Otherwise, I have no doubt it would already be there.