John Venema Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Hello everyone, Just over two weeks ago I shared a rough outline of what 2017 and beyond could look like from an Orbx point of view: I believe it's important for a company to share its vision with customers and generate excitement around future plans, and do this without necessarily spelling out specific details in black and white. There are many reasons why we try to avoid showing pre-alpha screenshots and other works in progress; and probably the main reason is to avoid raising expectations too early. So Project X, as most of you correctly guessed, was X-Plane. We showed you a screenshot from a 98% complete KCGX Meigs Field which we had contracted out to be ported. The only stuff not working were human animated characters, something I am sure we would have eventually solved. So in this instance we had a real product ready to ship for XP-10 and XP-11, but which in fact was really nothing more than an internal proof of concept. We have a few such projects underway internally, trying various emerging sim platforms, different technology partners, new data sources, new development techniques, different engines, and so on. We're constantly experimenting with 'stuff'. That's a vital part of any company's future; the R&D side. So we have to make calls as to which platforms are going to meet our goals that we measure across a whole bunch of criteria; much more than simple metrics about performance, SDKs, community, market etc - an internal measurement which is important to us as a business and team of passionate developers. Rather than string the FS community along for many months I'd rather just be Occam's Razor and nip it in the bud now. We won't be doing any development for any version of X-Plane for the foreseeable future, if at all. We WILL be releasing some beautiful products for Aerofly FS 2 that play into our decade of experience; expect more announcements in the coming months and some major releases by the time FlightSimCon 2017 comes around in mid-June. We WILL continue to develop all our new products for FSX/P3D as our continued premiere platform. We WILL install the P3D 4.x SDK and see what it has in store for us. We WILL install the Dovetail SDK when it becomes available and explore options there as well. And we will continue to play with new tech and emerging platforms and maybe surprise you all one day. Who knows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy1252 Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Thanks for posting this, John. Better to know sooner, I agree. Shame though - as someone who enjoys simming primarily for the the actual environment we sim in, X-Plane for me is definitely far poorer for the lack of the ORBX touch. Personally, I will be more than happy with a P3D free of memory issues but with all the joys of the ORBX world in place. In the meantime, I just have to be careful where I fly! And Aerofly? Who knows - for me it's the same issue of appearance. I know it flies well, but I'm not a big fan of photo-scenery. But each to his own and I will look forward to getting my first ORBX scenery to AFS2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobnobs Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Can't be easy to make decisions like this so I know it had to be made for very good reasons. I personally wouldn't use X-Plane but understand that there is a strong following for it. But given the ORBX history and strategy I would have thought it would make more sense to forge a stronger partnership with Dovetail perhaps with the goal of bringing a new sim to market while at the same time underpinning your existing markets in FSX/P3D. Only wish ORBX the best. Look forward to seeing what's coming in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertPilot Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 I very much enjoy photo scenery myself (especially when 3D objects are added), and I look forward to the upcoming Orbx products for ASF2! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoLonger Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 LOL I'll keep it at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Low Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 I see that you live in Arizona, DesertPilot. Have you located your house yet in AeroFly FS2? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sim123 Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 hopefully this P3D V4.xxx version wil not take again a year to port stuff over again as with version V3.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FILOU Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Honestly, I'm disappointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmb Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 1 minute ago, sim123 said: hopefully this P3D V4.xxx version wil not take again a year to port stuff over again as with version V3.0 It probably will not. I expect it to take longer. Kind regards, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sim123 Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 they don't mention if this V4 is 32 or 64 bit , but when LM strange the structure again like they did in V3 , we can start all over again as JV mentioned before this will be not a free exercise again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmb Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 1 minute ago, sim123 said: they don't mention if this V4 is 32 or 64 bit , but when LM strange the structure again like they did in V3 , we can start all over again as JV mentioned before this will be not a free exercise again. But you recall JV mentioning project P being 64 bits, don't you? Kind regards, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sd_flyer Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Great news indeed! I'll save tons of money (which makes my wife very happy) Of course things can change if you surprise us one day again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmb Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 6 minutes ago, J van E said: I also recall JV mentioning something about support for X-Plane... Not quite right . He mentioned R&D on potential support for 4 new platforms. But he mentioned all of them factually being 64 bits. Kind regards, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Hampf Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 haha, simple reason: xplane11 out of the box has fantastic scenery ! much more believable than shitty esp engine with ugly textured roads running over houses printed on a texture there comes orbx into play and they make things look acceptable, sometings amazing. Still they are hindered by limitations of 32 bit esp, speaking of autogen pop, blurry textures, you name it. Maybe it get solved with p3d 64 ? So why compete in a still small market, where half of the job is done by fantastic talented people making stuff for free ! srsly, i wouldnt jump into that market either. And I think orbx cant make too much of a difference, scenery wise to existing freeware stuff to make it worth the money. my 2 cents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmb Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 6 minutes ago, J van E said: But well, I wouldn't call two weeks a big $ R&D commitment so something went wrong somewhere. I think we'll never know what. Well ... I tend to agree to that. Best, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sim123 Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Hello Maikel I only revert to P3D V4.... SDK , could also be possible that P3D V5... will be 64Bits. anyway it should be nice if Prepar 3d 64 bit comes on the market there will be an version where FTX Global , Vector and LC is already installed and tested by LM , so we can close the forum with problems where it goes wrong with installing these products in P3D. let Call it P3D Orbx version , beside academic, prof and prof plus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braun Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 John, I can empathize. For years my kids and I ran a coffee house / bistro where we served hot foods, ice creams, pastries and the like. We were always trying new things, and to expand our product line. In the end we learned that while variety is the spice of life, too much variety doth make the cook overtaxed, overextended, prone to unforced errors and perhaps just a wee bit cranky. Moral, stick with what you know best but only just enough to shine. Braun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanh Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Personally I am glad. P3d is the dominant sim and the one I use Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Secret Sphere Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 @sanh. FSX/FSX:SE crushes the competition as far as users go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 JV and the team, good luck in any direction you guys take. Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 JV and the team, good luck in any direction you guys take. Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattch49 Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Disappointing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfko Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 1 hour ago, Sebastian Hampf said: xplane11 out of the box has fantastic scenery ! You are kidding! You made my laugh of the day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfko Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 1 hour ago, sanh said: Personally I am glad. P3d is the dominant sim and the one I use +1! JV's decision frees up resources for my favourite sim (P3d of course)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WR269 Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Wonder what happened. Market size wise, Aerofly is extremely small compared to XPlane so it can't be that.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipeorgan Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Excellent news about the beautiful products for the Aerofly FS2 sim. Thanks John you have my total support on this. I just love your software, and I have lots of it, but have missed it over the holidays with my OR and Aerofly FS2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Colbert Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I am a die-hard P3D user but tried X-Plane 11 enough to buy it and begin using it. Too bad that Orbx won't develop for X-Plane, but I do look forward to the coming P3D 64 bit (we hope) and what Orbx can bring to that - and Based on how good "Train Sim World" looks, I still have (some) hope for the new Dovetail sim as well. And X-Plane with community add ons and P3D are great in the meantime! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertPilot Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 2 hours ago, Christopher Low said: I see that you live in Arizona, DesertPilot. Have you located your house yet in AeroFly FS2? Yes, my house (and my front/back yards) are clearly visible in AeroFly FS2. I also like exploring the surrounding mountains. Grand Canyon, impressive. To be clear, for me, AeroFly FS2 is a supplemental (secondary) flight simulator that I know I'll enjoy using from time to time when I just want to soar over beautiful photoscenery especially with 3D buildings, etc. I intend to enthusiastically purchase the upcoming AFS2 sceneries from Orbx. Prepar3d v3 will still remain my "premiere" (as JV put it) simulator for a good while to come, with a primary focus on the FTX Global/openLC world and compatible airports/sceneries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertPilot Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 41 minutes ago, WR269 said: Wonder what happened. Market size wise, Aerofly is extremely small compared to XPlane so it can't be that. Aerofly FS2 is still in the "early access" (alpha) stage. Clearly, Orbx is betting that the AFS2 market will grow significantly over time, especially as more add-ons become available and new users discover AFS2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buziel-411 Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Very disappointing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Schoen Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Bummer ! Doesnt look like I will be buying any ORBX scenery anytime soon, if at all. Unless P3D 64 is amazing. The problem with the FSX engine is how the blurry scenery come into focus as you fly. P3D going 64 bit doesn't solve that. Correct me if I am wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgenj Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Very disappointed too, was hoping to improve my visuals since I have a 737NG OEM cockpit and use 220 FOV circular screen with 3 Canon Realis projectorsSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Kane Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I am not an X-Plane user so for me this is good because taking on too much limits resources for other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbird552 Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Was really looking forward to XP11 support. Never liked any of the previous versions, but 11 is looking really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireRx Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 6 hours ago, andy1252 said: Thanks for posting this, John. Better to know sooner, I agree. Shame though - as someone who enjoys simming primarily for the the actual environment we sim in, X-Plane for me is definitely far poorer for the lack of the ORBX touch. Personally, I will be more than happy with a P3D free of memory issues but with all the joys of the ORBX world in place. In the meantime, I just have to be careful where I fly! And Aerofly? Who knows - for me it's the same issue of appearance. I know it flies well, but I'm not a big fan of photo-scenery. But each to his own and I will look forward to getting my first ORBX scenery to AFS2. Ditto on that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayRyan Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 2 hours ago, DesertPilot said: Yes, my house (and my front/back yards) are clearly visible in AeroFly FS2. I also like exploring the surrounding mountains. Grand Canyon, impressive. To be clear, for me, AeroFly FS2 is a supplemental (secondary) flight simulator that I know I'll enjoy using from time to time when I just want to soar over beautiful photoscenery especially with 3D buildings, etc. I intend to enthusiastically purchase the upcoming AFS2 sceneries from Orbx. Prepar3d v3 will still remain my "premiere" (as JV put it) simulator for a good while to come, with a primary focus on the FTX Global/openLC world and compatible airports/sceneries. For what it's worth, my house is in X-Plane's default scenery. Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayRyan Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Pity, I was looking forward to seeing Aerosoft get a serious competitor... And I very much enjoyed OrbX in my OLD simulators. Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curt1 Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 XP11 is a self-contained sim where the user manually adds aircraft and scenery into the proper folders. I think it would be too difficult for Orbx to safeguard against scenery sharing on this platform. I also think that's why most developers shy away from X-Plane and addons are usually freeware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaronKen Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Thanks for the update John. Very pleased to hear ORBX will be supporting AeroFly FS2, and will be watching for some hints as to what's coming. After following it's development the last month or so and watching some of the great videos put out, as well as your own endorsement as a sim worth investigating, I've acquired it and am very much enjoying it, and as a VFR flyer it's an amazing experience. I do hope that along with the high resolution regions/areas and airports that will be coming out in the months ahead the worldwide scenery will be updated to a higher resolution, and provided perhaps in such a way that users can d/l only areas of the world they are interested in most. Exciting times ahead for flight simmers, and it's nice to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabnz Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Very very disappointing news about not producing for X-Plane! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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