John Venema Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Hello everyone, It does not seem that long ago that we released FTX AU BLUE, the very first Orbx product. It was in fact, a decade ago on March 6th, 2008. I remember being in the (then) Orbx office as Adrian pressed the button at FSS and we had a live TeamSpeak call between the devs in Melbourne and Sydney and drank a few well-earned beers that evening. In the lead up to the 10th anniversary I am going to share some old videos we made over 13 years ago for the Vista Australis (VOZ) project and then some early Orbx trailers. Here is the very first VOZ trailer I made in 2005, a few months before we released. We released VOZ on the day my family went on a camping holiday on the Australian east coast. I recall checking my phone every few hours to see how the downloads were going and was astonished to see it pass 1,000 in less than an hour, then 10,000 - 20,000 - 30,000 - it was an incredibly satisfying period for the VOZ team after years of hard work. It's amazing to see how far we have come today and my goodness - what are we going to see in our sims in 2028 eh? Contrast the above VOZ video to seven years later when we previewed PeopleFlow2: Or Jarrad's LOWI masterpiece in 4K ... And here is the very first Orbx preview trailer, made in FSX for our Tamworth project More nostalgia to come! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt McGee Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Congratulation on a great 10 years! I can't wait to see what 2028 brings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFS Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 CONGRATS! Just keeps gettin' better 'n better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingleaf Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Congratulations John. Well done. ORBX rocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhalunen Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 As the frog says, "Times fun when you're having flies" I remember flying PNW when it first came out and realized three things: 1. Everything I already had in my sim was obsolete. 2. My rig was going to need upgrades. 3. I want more ORBX. Today, all of these things have proved true, especially with the advent of P3D, and we all get to share in John's vision. A hearty congratulations and thanks to all at ORBX for a fine decade and looking to what the future holds. Cordially, Roger Halunen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Lars Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 There are still parts of my flight sim world that look a lot like the 2005 trailer. So, hurry up the missing openLCs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Emms Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 A very well done to all of you, Six months down the line in August 2008 I came across Orbx by chance and have been here ever since I remember seeing some scenery by this little known Aussie firm and thought id give it ago and boy it looked great and I was hooked from then on, and from that day I only have Orbx installed on my flightsim machine as I have never seen anything else that even comes close to the scenery here. So JV thank you for having the vision to start Orbx and carry it on to what we have today, with the best Developers that keep raising the bar with every new release and I for one look forward to the next ten years and beyond. cheers Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianV Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Congratulations with the 1st decade. Your visionary work has impacted flightsim for good, and resulted in a much more realistic and beautiful environment to explore. Although Australia came first, ORBX has never been afraid to venture new ways, with peopleflow, small and large airfields, in the UK, Germany, etc. It was PNW and a first taster of Bowerman that caught my attention, and since then I haven't looked back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sniper31 Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Great look back at Orbx history JV, very nostalgic. My first discovery of Orbx scenery was in July 2008 when I purchased AU Gold and immediately fell in love with Orbx products. The very next day I purchased AU Blue and since then, I have never bought or installed any other scenery packages that were not Orbx. I have always remembered my first flight over Orbx Australia, when I was flying low and slow over some back country road. I was, for the first time in my flight sim history, able to follow the trees that lined the road. I had never before seen that level of detail in flight sim. It seems so simple now, to be able to have tree lined roads, but it was ground breaking then, and changed the flight sim world for me forever. Thank you JV, and to all the Orbx developers for opening that door back then, and all the many doors that you have opened since! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 VOZ .99 was my first experience with JV,s masterpiece scenery and when ORBX was formed I waited far too long to jump into the finest FSX scenery developed. Congratulations on your first 10 years and looking forward to the next decade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuisong Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 You have already done things that I never imagined could be done. When I think about the future... Congratulations to you and your team John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradB Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 1 hour ago, Captain Lars said: There are still parts of my flight sim world that look a lot like the 2005 trailer. So, hurry up the missing openLCs. Inappropriate comment mate , we are celebrating Orbx's 10th year anniversary in this thread . John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradB Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Having been around the FS community since the early 90's , I remember how the scenery use to look like . I raise my glass and toast you John and your team for what you have accomplished . The future is very bright for our hobby . Cheers John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taph Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 12 July 2009 my first order for Orbx Australia, and an impatient wait while the Discs were in the post, and boy was it worth it. (It would have been sooner but had to wait until I had a decent enough PC to run it.) Congratulations JV Orbx and all the team, you have definitely changed my Flight Sim world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Colin M Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Congratulations, ORBX sure helps keep FSX and P3D fresh, wishing all success for the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chumley Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 My wife just read JV's post and said "Is it really 10 years since you started wasting your time and our money on flight simming". She may have a point, but I doubt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick@YMEN Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Congratulation to Orbx and thank you for making flight simming 'as real as it gets' over the years. Best of luck for the next 10 years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Ash Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Congratulations JV and Orbx!! I remember in 2008 at the ripe age of 14 starting my flight sim hobbying with FSX. I happened to see at the time that there happened to be some amazing third party scenery for my home country, and even more so for my home area (AU Gold). Little did I know how much this company would grow, and not just in staff and products, but even continuously in quality. I remember YSTW coming out and blowing my mind, and then YBBN sometime later. The first non-Australian Orbx region PNW was perfect for me as it was a holiday to Vancouver which sparked my interest in aviation and therefore flight simming. My mind continues to be blown, and I anticipate more mind blowing with the AFS2 products, photoreal regions and cityscapes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc_Z Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Good gracious, that was the year I retired and got even deeper in simming. It wasn't until a few years later that I discovered ORBX through the Return to Misty Moorings sites. I've never looked back. Thanks to you and all the developers and staff of ORBX, the best there is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macca22au Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 I believe I was probably one of the first 1000. Great scenery in four parts I recall, then sewn together to make the present Aus region, but at the same time you took the business risk and went international with huge success. Congratulations JV and your many staff over these years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rimshot Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Congratulations everyone at Orbx on this anniversary. As if it was yesterday I remember the yaw dropping moment I had shortly after my first takeoff from Hobart in AU Blue. I'm in for the next ten years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussieron Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Congrats to Orbx ,coming up to my 10th anniversary with them. In the early days they needed us flight simmers to keep the company going ,ie ,we would pre-pay for the next project that they were planing to release. Thanks Orbx !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holger Sandmann Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Hi guys, great collection of "oldie" promo videos. One of my all-time favorites remains one of Jaggyroads's official promo videos for PNW, named "Natural Beauty", perhaps because it so well conveys our overall aspirations for the FTX Regions and the integration of airports: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhApzPe9YrA Of course, another classic is the very clever before/after video "FTX - Enter a whole new world" made for the FTX Australia release by Varioflight (Andreas Paschen): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t-dlNjNkFY Cheers, Holger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vora Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 While we're at Jaggyroad's artwork we should not forget this masterpiece : Mirage 2000 Patrol Over the Pacific Northwest . Hard to tell that this is a simulator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregmorin Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 John Congratulations to you and your Orbx team! Your collective accomplishments over the past decade have been outstanding, trend setting and phenomenal. You should all be justly proud. I admire your leadership! Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Sawyer Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Fantastic JV and congratulations! Orbx is in my opinion second to none. Not only do you guys/gals produce the finest products but there’s a lot more to it than that. From the ingenious way of installing through FTX Central to the almost instantaneous support. But one of my favorite things is this site. I have never met a nicer bunch of folks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juanvito Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Congrats! This shows how ORBX stuff (and simming in general) gets better and better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddler Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Yep. Very good reason to be proud! I can't wait to see the 20th anniversary video review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Lars Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 20 hours ago, BradB said: Inappropriate comment mate , we are celebrating Orbx's 10th year anniversary in this thread . John Obviously, this was a really big compliment - Happy Birthday Orbx!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meerkat Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Congrats to this anniversary! When I first saw the "colors of the great south land" (the impressive first vid is still somewhere on my HD), flew over the red outback with a big grin, I would not in my dreams have imagined into which incredible detail and plausible world this would turn some day. John and team, you obviously had that vision - thank you for making it come true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gypsy Pilot Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 23 hours ago, rhalunen said: As the frog says, "Times fun when you're having flies" I remember flying PNW when it first came out and realized three things: 1. Everything I already had in my sim was obsolete. 2. My rig was going to need upgrades. 3. I want more ORBX. Today, all of these things have proved true, especially with the advent of P3D, and we all get to share in John's vision. A hearty congratulations and thanks to all at ORBX for a fine decade and looking to what the future holds. Cordially, Roger Halunen This was my experience too. PNW opened my eyes to what scenery could and should be. 1. I no longer use anything pre-orbx except Misty Moorings. 2. I am on my 2nd machine and I am saving for a 5 Mhz, maxed out graphics card machine. 3. I now have all of NA and Oceana, Europe to come, and JV has more goodies on the horizon. I'll bet that in another 10 years there will not be a major flight sim out that will not be populated with ORBX scenery because ORBX is the Gold Standard for scenery. Dale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friet Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Congratulations to JV and his team. Bert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Abernathy Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Thanks JV and congratulations are certainly in order! Orbx doesn't just sit on their laurels either, always pressing forward into new dimensions. Love the nostalgia vids. I clearly remember the VOZ sceneries and the beginning of Orbx as well. Came on board as a tester with NCA region and have loved every minute of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XCLTM3 Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 On 2/19/2018 at 10:37 AM, chumley said: My wife just read JV's post and said "Is it really 10 years since you started wasting your time and our money on flight simming". She may have a point, but I doubt it. Priceless! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaronKen Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabnz Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Congratulations to JV and all of the team, past and present! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 I came onboard with VOZ and Vista Australis and feel that I have been on quite a journey with John and the team; a most enjoyable journey at that. I know that Orbx is now a commercial enterprise but it still feels more like a personal home compared with other commercial flight enterprises. I thank the whole team for their contribution to this hobby which has been without peer in the industry. Looking forward to future developments and actually can't even imagine where this whole trip will take us going foward. Congrats Orbx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjlfry Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Wishing the team a happy 10th anniversary, but a busy 10 years ahead with all the 64bit sims now available good luck. Ray Fry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadtom65 Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Hi John. Congratulations for starting such a fantastic project and look at it now. I believe that was the day I first joined Orbx as it was to come and if I remember right, wasn’t there an Easter egg or some thing you had to find, think it was a campsite or something along those lines. Here’s hoping for many more years of Orbx to come. Here’s to Orbx and the Old Coots Club. Derek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadtom65 Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 On 19/02/2018 at 3:18 AM, Holger Sandmann said: Hi guys, great collection of "oldie" promo videos. One of my all-time favorites remains one of Jaggyroads's official promo videos for PNW, named "Natural Beauty", perhaps because it so well conveys our overall aspirations for the FTX Regions and the integration of airports: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhApzPe9YrA Of course, another classic is the very clever before/after video "FTX - Enter a whole new world" made for the FTX Australia release by Varioflight (Andreas Paschen): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t-dlNjNkFY Cheers, Holger Hi Holger. Just watched those videos, oh the memories it brings back, thank you. Derek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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