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UK / Ireland photoreal regions coming to XP, AFS2 and FSX/P3D!


John Venema

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On 4/8/2018 at 2:49 AM, J van E said:

Maybe Orbx could consider somehow adding the symbolic link option to FTX Central so people have an easy to use option 'out of the box' to install Orbx addons elsewhere? Just thinking out loud here. ;)

 

Excellent idea, if possible.

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On 4/8/2018 at 5:49 AM, J van E said:

Maybe Orbx could consider somehow adding the symbolic link option to FTX Central so people have an easy to use option 'out of the box' to install Orbx addons elsewhere? Just thinking out loud here. ;)

As someone who owns all of the products I need to move the Orbx files to a separate drive from the flight sim if I am to maintain my rate of consumption, so such a facility option in FTX Central would be very helpful indeed! Brilliant idea. 

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Thanks Nick.I have looked at your guide and will attempt it. I realize that any such modification to FTXC would take time. I must reformat my flight sim computer anyway ( to many problems with the old setup) and will then attempt the move of Orbx complete to a separate hard drive in preparation for additional purchases, which I predict will need plenty of disc space over time!

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10 hours ago, Nick Cooper said:

It's not difficult to do this for yourself.

Probably much easier than building it into FTX Central would be.

 

 

I know and I've done it myself and I agree but I suggested this mainly because most people don't know about this possibility and the option to relocate Orbx files is being requested frequently and the solution is only communicated after such requests (over and over again). In that regard it might also be an idea to add information about this in the various Orbx manuals or simply add a link to your guide to FTX Central in spot that is hard to miss! That way people will at least know there is a solution/option for this!

 

(EDIT Come to think of it: adding the information to FTX Central may result in people expecting Orbx to offer support whenever they are having problems with linking... which may not be what Orbx wants... Well, anyway, as I said: I was just thinking out loud. ;) )

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2 hours ago, Nick Cooper said:

as is whether customers would want

FTX Central installing things to their PCs that are not Orbx scenery.

 

That wouldn't be necessary if you simply use the mklink command that is included in Windows (which is what I do: I like to keep the amount of software I install to an absolute minimum!). I fully understand the use of Link Shell Extension in your guide: it makes things a lot easier, but if Orbx would decide to add this option to FTX Central I suppose the developer in charge will be capable enough to use mklink. ;) But anyway, this is getting really off topic so let's get back to TrueEarth!!! :)

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I've only just looked closely at the picture of the road and houses.  I'm bloody sure its the road I used to live in!  I spent my boyhood there and  It's about the 6th. house on the right past the lamp post.

 

This is going to be a lot better than the old Horizon scenery with all the bits and pieces we've had to add to get it looking somewhat decent.  And all on one entry in the scenery library!!  

 

Come on John.  Can I have it please before I die?  I'm 85 so you've not got all that long to get it to me!;)

 

John

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The TrueEarth regions sit over the top of the land class regions but it makes no sense to keep them both installed so our advice is to uninstall them via FTX Central to reclaim the disk space back. I’d uninstall them before you download and install the matching TrueEarth region.

 

Some people may want to keep both types of regions installed so it’s fairly simple to deactivate either of them in the scenery library. We may add a deactivate function to FTX Central to make this a simple task.

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28 minutes ago, John Venema said:

The TrueEarth regions sit over the top of the land class regions but it makes no sense to keep them both installed so our advice is to uninstall them via FTX Central to reclaim the disk space back. I’d uninstall them before you download and install the matching TrueEarth region.

 

Some people may want to keep both types of regions installed so it’s fairly simple to deactivate either of them in the scenery library. We may add a deactivate function to FTX Central to make this a simple task.

JV,

Such a function added to FTX Central would be very welcome indeed. Thank you for considering it.

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I'm sorry if this question has already been answered, but I didn't see it in the thread.

 

This all looks spectacular,  and the proposed price for all this detail is spectacular.  But it's the huge download sizes that worry me.  My current

download speed is capped at 1mb/sec, and to go higher is for me very expensive.  At that speed, the 77 gb of The Netherlands  alone would 

take 22 hours to download.  And that's assuming optimum speed and a good connection..

 

In fact I've tried downloading something like that size before, one of Pilot's world meshes, using Internet Download Manager through the Flightsim

store, and it just didn't work, with repeated failures over that length of time. I eventually had to have Flightsim mail out the discs.

 

So my question becomes, does, or will, Orbx offer a mail out disc service of these new super large 1m/pixel Trueearth sceneries, either through

yourselves, or maybe through a third party?  Of course an additional shipping and handling charge would apply (hopefully not too excessive)...

 

This is the only realistic way I could ever get such large sceneries at a single go.

 

The only other way I could see is if the sceneries were broken up into a number of small chunks that could be downloaded separately over a series of

days or nights, or if Central was programmed to allow these large downloads to be stopped at any time, and then to be resumed again at the point

stopped when convenient, again this going on over a number of days or nights.

 

I see no other way for myself to get such large downloads. Any thoughts or suggestions?   

 

Thanks - Bob 

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Hi BBCM

 

Central has the resume feature.  If your download is stopped or interrupted it continues when you open it again.

 

I just had a 36 hour download for the True Earth (for some reason many of us Downunder are experiencing less than 500KB/s download speeds on 25MB/s fibre internet) and I stopped and restarted it a few times without any problem.

 

And Download Managers like Free Download Manager (FDM) are also supposed to have the resume feature if you decide to download the zip file rather than use FTXC3.

 

It is frustrating with these large downloads but it's something that is outside ORBX's control and... the download does eventually open into the amazing scenery and you quickly forget there was ever a problem!

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I believe the DVD thing as been mentioned before somewhere else, but I forget if/what Orbx's answer was. I think discs would be a good option for those who have slow internet connection.

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Thanks for replying and the information John Dow. Good to hear that Central has a resume function. My previous long Orbx downloads through Central

have all been of four or five hours, which I could let run overnight.

 

The other question which comes to mind is how long it might take P3Dv4 to load and start once all these extra large sceneries are in place. I can't

afford 2TB SSD's (and even if I could, I would rather spend the money on a better video card first). So I'm using HDD's (a WD Black 2TB for P3Dv4).

Once loaded, P3Dv4 runs well. But it can take awhile to load, even when using Scenery Config Editor to only load those sceneries that I'll be using.

 

Another thought. I read that FSX and P3Dv3 will be offered a lower resolution 2 meter/pixel 25 gb version for The Netherlands. Would such a version

work in P3Dv4 as well?  25 gb is much more manageable than 77 gb, both download and on disc, and 2 meter/pixel, although only half the detail,

may be that much more FPS friendly.

 

So just out of curiosity, in P3Dv4, while the difference between the two resolutions is probably fairly noticeable at 500 ft or a 1000 ft above ground level,

how noticeable is the difference between 1m/pixel and 2m/pixel at, say, 3000 ft or 6000 ft? I just wonder if 2 meters/pixel might be a viable  and still

attractive P3Dv4 alternative if 1 meter/pixel proves is just too much for an older system like mine.

 

Just some thoughts. But since my favourite flying is VFR touring and sightseeing, I'm following True Earth with considerable interest.

 

Thanks - Bob 

 

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1 hour ago, BBCM said:
Thanks for replying and the information John Dow. Good to hear that Central has a resume function. My previous long Orbx downloads through Central
have all been of four or five hours, which I could let run overnight.
 
The other question which comes to mind is how long it might take P3Dv4 to load and start once all these extra large sceneries are in place. I can't
afford 2TB SSD's (and even if I could, I would rather spend the money on a better video card first). So I'm using HDD's (a WD Black 2TB for P3Dv4).
Once loaded, P3Dv4 runs well. But it can take awhile to load, even when using Scenery Config Editor to only load those sceneries that I'll be using.
 
Another thought. I read that FSX and P3Dv3 will be offered a lower resolution 2 meter/pixel 25 gb version for The Netherlands. Would such a version
work in P3Dv4 as well?  25 gb is much more manageable than 77 gb, both download and on disc, and 2 meter/pixel, although only half the detail,
may be that much more FPS friendly.
 
So just out of curiosity, in P3Dv4, while the difference between the two resolutions is probably fairly noticeable at 500 ft or a 1000 ft above ground level,
how noticeable is the difference between 1m/pixel and 2m/pixel at, say, 3000 ft or 6000 ft? I just wonder if 2 meters/pixel might be a viable  and still
attractive P3Dv4 alternative if 1 meter/pixel proves is just too much for an older system like mine.
 
Just some thoughts. But since my favourite flying is VFR touring and sightseeing, I'm following True Earth with considerable interest.
 
Thanks - Bob 
 

I would recommend doing your future Orbx downloads from their website as a manually downloaded ZIP file using a download manager instead of using FTX Central if you are experiencing slow downloads in FTX Central.  I find that FTXC is very slow with downloads, I am not sure why, but manually downloading is way faster for me, but that might not be the case for everyone.

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29 minutes ago, caleb1 said:

FTXC is very slow with downloads, I am not sure why, but manually downloading is way faster.

 

That has NEVER been my experience. In fact I'm always amazed by how slick the whole download/install procedure is. Maybe an 'I find' or 'In my opinion' should have been inserted somewhere in your post.

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2 minutes ago, Ron Attwood said:

 

That has NEVER been my experience. In fact I'm always amazed by how slick the whole download/install procedure is. Maybe an 'I find' or 'In my opinion' should have been inserted somewhere in your post.

 

Ok, maybe it has to do with my internet connection not working very well with FTX Central.  I am not sure why, but it does seem to be slow for me in FTXC and not during download with a download manager.  I was saying that because it seemed as if @shane2801 was having the same experience in post #2 in this thread, so I know it might not be just me but maybe that does not mean everybody is having the problem.  :)  https://orbxsystems.com/forum/topic/147773-download-speeds/

I have edited my previous post and added an "I find" to it. :)

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On 20-4-2018 at 4:41 AM, BBCM said:

So my question becomes, does, or will, Orbx offer a mail out disc service of these new super large 1m/pixel Trueearth sceneries, either through

yourselves, or maybe through a third party?  Of course an additional shipping and handling charge would apply (hopefully not too excessive)...

 

 

21 hours ago, caleb1 said:

I believe the DVD thing as been mentioned before somewhere else, but I forget if/what Orbx's answer was. I think discs would be a good option for those who have slow internet connection.

 

Won't happen. The answer was that dvd's are a thing of the past as far as Orbx is concerned. FTX Central will be their only way of distribution. There are too many drawbacks and problems with dvd's. (Orbx released dvd's in the past and I think they still regret doing so.)

13 hours ago, Ron Attwood said:

That has NEVER been my experience. In fact I'm always amazed by how slick the whole download/install procedure is

 

Same here. GB's are downloaded in minutes instead of hours. So it all depends on your internet connection. Of course the speeds can become slower after a big release which is why a lot of people don't buy new releases a few days after the initial release.

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On 14/03/2018 at 3:56 PM, John Venema said:

 

PNW won't include BC or Canada because we cannot source affordable licensable imagery (yet). We'd love to include it but the costs are horrendous right now. The USA has access to free NAIP and USGS imagery so it's more feasible for us to do that, although it will be in smallish chunks. We could not possibly cover the entire US like this in a short space of time.

Please do Alaska.... all of it.

 

Think of it logically..... 90% of Alaska is empty wilderness. Wouldn't take that long to do, even though it is a huge state.

 

Also, the water masks wouldn't be too big either, as the coastline is nothing like Norway !

 

Then someone could do all the airports like Nome, Barrow and Bethel...... all those airports featured in the Flying Wild Alaska and Ice Pilots TV series and currently available on Amazon !

 

The possibilities are endless !

 

Magical !

 

Just a thought.

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On 15/03/2018 at 7:43 AM, John Venema said:

Answering some questions raised:

 

Each region will cost A$54.95 just like our LC based regions. Therefore all of UK + Ireland will cost A$274.75 or £150/€165/USD200. This is before we offer a discount for customers who already own the equivalent LC regions. (N.Ireland may be cheaper due to its small size).

 

Orbx won’t offer a subscription service, that business model is fraught with danger and complexity. Our cash flow is more than sufficient month to month. 

 

There is 20m elevation mesh for England, Wales and Scotland. Default for Ireland and N.Ireland, although we will investigate new sources.

 

Coverage will include all islands which are part of the UK.

 

We don’t know installation sizes yet, it’s a bit premature to ask us that. It’s safe to say they will be large.

 

 

Isn't 20m a big reduction from the current 5m of FTX UK ?

 

EDIT .... didn't see later posts.... staying at 10m

 

But there does seem some confusion about mesh levels.... in the Docs for FTX UK regions it states that mesh should be set to 5 metres. Which is it ?

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Please do Alaska.... all of it.
 
Think of it logically..... 90% of Alaska is empty wilderness. Wouldn't take that long to do, even though it is a huge state.
 
Also, the water masks wouldn't be too big either, as the coastline is nothing like Norway !
 
Then someone could do all the airports like Nome, Barrow and Bethel...... all those airports featured in the Flying Wild Alaska and Ice Pilots TV series and currently available on Amazon !
 
The possibilities are endless !
 
Magical !
 
Just a thought.
I agree, I would like Alaska TrueEarth a lot. Barrow airport is on the Orbx 2018 roadmap, but Nome would be a nice airport too.
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Hi,

It seems I must wait to get UK and Ireland  when they will be released because the first priority is XPlane. I have Prepar3D V.4.2. Who knows how long  it will take until I will have it for my P3D...

But I am very happy about you making Photoreal Germany. I hope you will make it first for P3D...?

Is there a chance to have Germany this year? 

I want to thank you very much for making Germany.

Samuel F.

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Hi John,

 

I just made my first flight over Photoreal Netherlands. It's incredible. Actually I'm not really interested in the Netherlands, but that is what I always wanted to see when I look out of my tiny VFR Cessna 172 cockpit. All the things that annoyed me with ORBX scenery are eliminated now. No more roads crossing over agriculture fields, village rims that look like real, no more grey ugly railways, sea shores with sandbanks and real looking beaches...

 

I'm looking forward to Photoreal (North) Germany. I guess I'll buy all the UK stuff just to watch the landscape although I haven't even been there yet. My wife says it's nice in Scotland.

 

Anyway... I MUST HAVE PHOTOREAL GERMANY NORTH!!!

 

Jörg

 

 

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Well Jorg.  Perhaps I shouldn't mention it here but I have the freeware VFR photoscenery for the Netherlands.  I've never been there but a friend who lives there tells me its as real as it gets!

 

Your wife is right, Scotland can be absolutely beautiful.... err..... when its not raining that is.  I've been there on business many times and occasionally on holiday and maybe I'm unlucky but its seems to be always cold and raining.

 

I suppose I'm spoiled because I live in what I regard as the most beautiful area of the Country, the South West, overlooking the sea at the back and Exmoor in the front.   This year we had snow which was the first time we've had it for over 25 years!  We stayed in.  It lasted two days.

 

Blimey, I sound like a travel brochure.

 

John

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8 minutes ago, JohnY said:

Perhaps I shouldn't mention it here but I have the freeware VFR photoscenery for the Netherlands.  I've never been there but a friend who lives there tells me its as real as it gets!

 

That freeware doesn't come close to what TrueEarth offers. The only advantage it has are the airports which are modelled in far more detail but that's about it. In all other regards TrueEarth rules. Imho. 

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I am a very happy camper with Netherlands.  The only hiccup was the very poor download speeds where I live, and the long and expensive download..

 

With your approval, I would need someone else to download TE UK onto media, me pay for it of course, then install on to this computer.

 

Nick, as you may have judged I am an ignoramus and therefore I may not be able to make your solution work for me  Although I would remove my existing UK regions and replace them with the new one, it may still create a crisis.  Still that's some way away I guess, but if the quality of Netherlands is reflected in TE UK, it should be an extraordinary revolution.

 

Oh and J van E, I think he is talking about Virtual Reality, Occulus Rift or HTC Vive.  They are worn like goggles. Themselves a revolution.

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Hi JohnY,

 

my wife is ALWAYS right. So there's no reason to prove what she says. As far as I know myself (which is not very far) I'm going to buy all that UK stuff including Scotland and the South West. So I'm looking forward to see your beautiful home and the rest of the land where it never snows. Actually here in Germany we also don't have as much snow as our fathers and grandfathers had, thanks to the global climate warming.

 

In the meantime I'll make a few turns around my home airport EDVE so I'm ready to go when UK Photoreal is available.  So here we go, ready for take-off...

 

Jörg

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4 hours ago, JohnY said:

Yep, that's right.  I couldn't call those names to mind.err...what's left of it!:rolleyes:

 

John

 

Ah, ok, VR. But then I still don't understand what you are trying to say, hahaha! :lol: TrueEarth isn't only for VR, if that is what you are asking.

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Is there any rough estimate when UK TE will be available.  I don't want it sooner, as in a few months my street may at last be connected to Australia's NBN (national broadband network), and get considerably improved download speeds.  Unfortunately the compromised system they are installing still depends on the speed of the existing connection to the building....big political debate in this country.

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Given all the work that will be going into this tremendous project, would it be possible on this - and maybe the existing scenery libraries, to incorporate an open accessible GA hangar. It would be nice to push my C182 and Comanche into a hangar for storage and maintenance etc.

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