The Orbx family, gone?

[Benny]

The guys, the friends... JV the owner, all the great guys behind that great family? Are the Orbx team getting dislocated?

Just wondering?  I have been here for so many years like so many others. I Love  so many great poster here, Snipper... and all the others?

You can delete my post if you want.. I'm i the only one that think that it will never be the same here.

I did so many Video hopping that they would end up on Orbx page, sometime they did and I felt GREAT, felling that in a way I was part of the team.
Did Orbx grow up that much that the family side of it is gone.

Best regards, Benny

[adambar]

I think everyone is mostly here, just in a different capacity for some.

[BradB]

You know Benny I think the Pandemic has played a large part of why maybe some people have been absent from the forum . Orbx has 

been growing and with any business people come and go . Hopefully we can see all of our Orbx team back In Las Vegas next June . 
 

Cheers

John

[adambar]

8 minutes ago, BradB said:

You know Benny I think the Pandemic has played a large part of why maybe some people have been absent from the forum . Orbx has 

been growing and with any business people come and go . Hopefully we can see all of our Orbx team back In Las Vegas next June . 
 

Cheers

John

I agree John and another reason I think is the new FS is keeping people busy learning the new system as well. I know I went missing for a while myself.

[MasonDominique]

 

What would be great in a post-covid life, is a nice picture of all the Orbx team reunified. Or at least most of them, somewhere in UK or AUS..

In the packaging industry in which i work for, that kind of shot would make sense. Times like that.

And in the flight simulation industry, would'nt it ?

Dom

 

[Sniper31]

I'm still here Benny. Currently exploring Yellowstone, but I am still here  

[TerribleT]

I'm sure that many people are still around in the background (like me) and just waiting for the dust to settle from:

 

The effects of COVID;

 

The arrival of MSFS and it's bugs;

 

The obvious changes that have occurred in the private Orbx business structure which we might be informed about sometime if they wish to do so.

 

Patience is a virtue they say and we we all need to be VERY virtuous in these times

[Benny]

I wonder who own Orbx now, maybe I have missed something, I for sure miss JV telling us to less cry baby

It feel just a bit different with Orbx new partners.. don't get me wrong it's great but just feel different.

It's nice to know who is the captain of the ship

Not so long ago JV and the team had posted a group picture of them all, I was like WOW those a faces on name...

This I what I meant.

I miss the pilot lounge. 

Thanks gentlemen

Ben

[Ed Correia]

You can still see that the bulk of team remains unchanged  and we have bolstered the ranks a bit as well. 

 

https://Orbx.group/team/

 

[Orbx Flyer]

22 hours ago, adambar said:

I agree John and another reason I think is the new FS is keeping people busy learning the new system as well. I know I went missing for a while myself.

Another reason, is the insistence that each shot has Orbx content in it...so, as I have mostly moved over to MSFS, there is nothing that I can post to the Screenshot forum any more.  I mean..how many shots of MSFS Orbx airport fly over's and at taxi, can one see, before it is ad naseum?  I understand that they want us all to be passive promoters/influencers, and advertise their products in any shot posted to their site,...but really...

 

With Orbx Global installed in FSX and P3D,  you had the whole sim to explore  and take interesting location snaps, (aligning with their 'Orbx content MUST be displayed posting rule) with interesting shots that people would wish to click on and view...but one, after another, after another, after another shot of MSFS Orbx airports is, well,   I don't much visit the forum any more...because I KNOW...it will be another shot of a similar shot...of what was posted last week....and so forth. They (Orbx Site Management) need to relax their requirement for all of us to be passive snapping advertisement producers, and product promoters.  Let's open up MSFS to show people WHY they should want to possibly adopt it...and then they (potential purchasers) will want to add Orbx content to it...

 

My take...and another's viewpoint mileage may vary...such is Life.

[Benny]

26 minutes ago, Ed Correia said:

You can still see that the bulk of team remains unchanged

Thanks ED,  I liked you since a long time, I hope you are doing well.. I kind of miss the exchange that we all had 5 years ago...

[Benny]

I my world, I just can have and afford MSFS 2020... So I hope that a few thing will be available foe P#D 4.5

 

[JohnE77]

I must say that things do feel different than in past years and that at least from my perspective Orbx’s purpose and long-term focus seems much less clear. In the past JV would publish roadmaps 1-2 times/year and we would know which way the company was headed and which kinds of projects they were focused on. I don’t recall seeing any roadmaps recently. I realize the early release of MFS (and the evolving SDK) has probably muddied the waters, but it would be good to know what is on the horizon. With the popularity of MFS is Orbx going to focus more on airports and city packs than regions? Or is the company most focused on bringing other developers under the Orbx Central platform? Will Orbx continue to produce content for p3d and xplane as well? As a long time Orbx user and supporter these would be good things to know. In my opinion Orbx is the very best flight sim scenery developer around and they should “hype” future products to their and our benefit.

 

I will continue to buy from Orbx and recommend their products to others. I just hope the communication improves and that Orbx’s best days are ahead of us, not behind us.

 

Sincerely,

John

 

[Taph]

I believe that the developers have been busy learning the new Microsoft Flight sim and it's SDK, also they would all have  had to sign NDA's which meant they were unable to discuss what they were up to, now that it is released hopefully thing will go more back to normal (whatever that is). As more content is released for MSFS then more images will appear as well. Just hang in there

[flying_fish]

7 hours ago, JohnE77 said:

JV would publish roadmaps 1-2 times/year and we would know which way the company was headed and which kinds of projects they were focused on.

It may be that the community only has itself to blame for this... whenever a company does this be it Orbx, or others, an element of the community then holds the publisher to account for the deadlines and timelines with a tenacity that disregards the very many variables that might come along to either put the date back or change the planned specification, not least the surprise emergence of MSFS before the SDK is fully developed.

 

The incessant nagging for updates and sense of entitlement to a product release date (without any bugs) must be difficult to manage.

 

I don't envy any commercial company now who wants to flag a launch, and raise interest in a forthcoming project when the forums and social media noise tend to over-hype expectations, then hold companies to blame when these do not emerge on the due date. We have a responsibility here.

[boetie]

I kind of get what Benny means. Eleven years ago when I joined the forum it did have that "little" community feel with its smaller number of regulars posters and scenery developers. We even got slightly jealous when a new member would appear that had discovered Orbx and we didn't have it all to ourselves. Now the Orbx community is still a community but the quantity of forum contributors has exploded - it will never have that "little" feel to it again and that's a good thing, that means Orbx is in a great place.  It's now a massive family.

Cheers

Graeme

[Stillwater]

14 hours ago, TerribleT said:

I'm sure that many people are still around in the background (like me) and just waiting for the dust to settle from:

The effects of COVID;

The arrival of MSFS and it's bugs;

"Settle the dust" is a good picture with what I think as well. Plus, this happens in real to me, as we are renovating our house with little time for simming currently...

 

10 hours ago, Benny said:

I my world, I just can have and afford MSFS 2020... So I hope that a few thing will be available foe P#D 4.5

For the time being I am with you, Benny. Staying with p3d I would love to get some more new stuff there as well, like OLC Asia ...  @Captain Lars

 

8 hours ago, JohnE77 said:

I must say that things do feel different than in past years and that at least from my perspective Orbx’s purpose and long-term focus seems much less clear. In the past JV would publish roadmaps 1-2 times/year and we would know which way the company was headed and which kinds of projects they were focused on. I don’t recall seeing any roadmaps recently. I realize the early release of MFS (and the evolving SDK) has probably muddied the waters, but it would be good to know what is on the horizon

That is a good point: At least having an idea what is intended...

[fabs79]

On 9/8/2020 at 4:04 AM, Ed Correia said:

You can still see that the bulk of team remains unchanged  and we have bolstered the ranks a bit as well. 

 

https://Orbx.group/team/

 

What I'd still like to know is if the independent developers that we haven't heard from for awhile, like Tim Harris, Alex Geoff and others are still around and developing for Orbx or if they have moved on to other things. 

[pmb]

I think I get what Benny means, and yes, I share his feeling on the forum.

 

I once (i.e. 5 yrs ago) had the illusion Orbx would fill all of my world with a layered structure of Base, OpenLC, and Vector for the whole world  plus LC-based Regions for more and more interesting areas of the world - all this in a coherent way for Prepar3D. Based on this, the FSX/P3D user group was like a big family indeed.

 

This picture got distorted with the focus shifting to XP and transition to parallel development and, according to my feeling, Prepar3d went sort of 2nd rank, with completion of the OpenLC series endlessly delayed until a point where it doesn't make sense anymore. 

 

The release of MSFS made the plot even more diffuse, with the simulators - and their proponents - becoming more and more diverse. Gone is the family idea.

 

Who dares to make any predictions on the future market shares of the sims today? Even if all of FSX, P3D, XP, and MSFS (and perhaps even AF) may survive for the foreseeable future - which I believe in - it's hard to tell which platform(s) will maintain enough paying customers to make development feasible. This way Orbx seems to just test the waters to see which echo titles like London Landmarks or Airports for MSFS, Florida for P3D - and I suppose some to be released XP titles - will meet today.

 

I suppose it will take a year to develop a new strategy, which will or will not be a coherent one again.

 

Kind regards, Michael

[Stillwater]

12 minutes ago, pmb said:

I once (i.e. 5 yrs ago) had the illusion Orbx would fill all of my world with a layered structure of Base, OpenLC, and Vector for the whole world  plus LC-based Regions for more and more interesting areas of the world - all this in a coherent way for Prepar3D. Based on this, the FSX/P3D user group was like a big family indeed.

 

This picture got distorted with the focus shifting to XP and transition to parallel development and, according to my feeling, Prepar3d went sort of 2nd rank, with completion of the OpenLC series endlessly delayed until a point where it doesn't make sense anymore. 

 

The release of MSFS made the plot even more diffuse, with the simulators - and their proponents - becoming more and more diverse. Gone is the family idea.

Well said, Michael. I share the same thoughts. We are in a stand-by mode these days, with our simulators as well as in real life.

[Nick Cooper]

57 minutes ago, pmb said:

the simulators - and their proponents - becoming more and more diverse. Gone is the family idea.

 

Hello,

I take the point and of course for years, there was only one simulator for Orbx to develop for.

Things will always change and people will always move on.

That has indeed happened and Orbx has reshaped itself to deal with that.

I don't see that as a bad thing at all and I would hope that the forums are a friendly and

welcoming place, where customers can post requests for support of all kinds.

[Captain Lars]

I think MSFS is less the problem than THE HYPE. I have the impression people have become, let's say, 'reluctant thinkers', if at all. The industry has to run for the masses, which in turn leaves more useful, coherent yet costly projects orphaned. I'm waiting for HiFi to switch off AS because of MSFS... than my simming is rendered impossible and I can thank the brainless masses for this.

 

Something similar goes for the big C. People seem to feel quite comfortable in the situation we're in, as if it would give them a break from their lives, giving some sort of meaning to it. They can 'fight' the pandemic by staying at home, wearing a mask, or, most importantly, educate others about it. A 'fight' that takes the individual zero effort and zero danger. Here I'm waiting for our benevolent governments force-vaccinating me, or making free speech a crime, then I can thank the brainless masses again.

 

Proove me right and delete this post...

[Nick Cooper]

Thanks, it's hard to imagine a less relevant post to the subject of the topic but

I will leave it as an example of what is not really acceptable in these forums.

You also have the honour of closing this topic.