macca22au Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 I learned to fly from YARM. Before AU Gold I had the Cloud 9 landclass to give something better than the ghastly default. However with Cloud 9 there was a reasonably authentic shape to the town, and it gave a fair depiction of the university which is located on the NW edge of the city. AU Gold, which is so good that I feel bad about raising the matter, really has not reproduced the general character of Armidale at all. I know it is not photoreal, and nor do I want it. But for what it is worth Armidale is about 30000 people, has a distinct main street down the creek in the centre of the valley, and has the previously mentioned university out to the nw. With my sliders well to the right, the town seems to be a small place with scattered development and no town centre, and no uni. Is there any chance in the future of someone having another look at the town and giving it a bit of a facelift? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grocs Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Yeah it would be nice to have Armidale depicted a bit more - hopefully it will be looked at by the devs once they've got other priorities sorted. I went to UNE - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ross Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Hello Yes, as another UNE graduate and the person who did the landclass for Armidale I put my hands up that it could be better depicted. So I will give it a small upgrade. Might even think about Photoreal for the colleges. John Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josedav Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Valleyjohn, thanks for the positive feedback - As a non- Aussie resident (Texas) I'm truly seeing your neck of the woods for the first time thru the beautiful world of FTX. I really appreciate the efforts of yourself and all the team in presenting your great country as accurate as possible... Since FTX I don't leave Aussie land, and spending so much time there virtually, I'm beginning to feel very much a part of it-- good to know for the most part I'm seeing it as it really is!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macca22au Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 Well that's fantastic to know. I was a Senior Lecturer in Geography at UNE and at one time Acting Master of Robb College. It was probably before most of your times but it was a great period of my life. John I thought your Coffs Harbour, Lismore and the Gold Coast were great, and as you know Armidale well I am sure you can tweak it. I think it needs Beardy St to come up as a much stronger main shopping strip, and of course the uni and its colleges, as well as a much more closely settled north and south hill. Its easy for me to be wise as I am asking you to do it. But you know I want to live out my memories of drinking far too much at the Armidale Aero Club (after flying of course!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macca22au Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 Oh and remember the cemetery, it was a good VFR marker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ross Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Hello Ian Well I will certainly give it a go but no guarantees on timing. I spent a semester at Robb having snagged the use of the visiting fellows apartment - very comfortable - but then moved into town. If you remember Prof Gregson and Dr Bryan Byrne in Psych then you will know when I was there. John Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macca22au Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 I am not sure that I do remember those names but if I recall the Prof of Psych in my time was a fairly patrician character but I can't recall his name through today's alcoholic haze. But I will. I left Armidale in 1975, so may be we are many years apart. However my wife, and our young family lived in the North Court resident fellows quarters before we moved around the back to the Masters house, (endless stories to be told about that 18 months) and from there to South Hill where we lived happily while both my wife and I learned to fly, drank too much, and enjoyed the company of a number of medicos who lived close to us - and of course the endless liver attacking parties with the Aero Club. After they had drunk a bottle of wine, the doctors would remind us of the damage we and they were doing to our livers, and then took another swig to stay alive. And of course there was always Bruins for a beer, and Nicks for a pasta. As Master of Robb I was given the soubriquet of 'Mugger", I can't understand why! It was a great part of our lives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ross Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Yes, a few years apart although the description of a patrician character fits as it does for Prof Connors in Archaeology who I am sure was there in your time. Mind you the grey matter bending sessions might have certainly hazed the memory somewhat - still why not! Anyway I have just uploaded changes for Armidale which makes it look realistic and includes the creek through the town. This should be in the next hot fix. Next up is an attempt at the Colleges and campus using photoreal but that may be a little down the track. The airport is being handled by another developer and I am sure that will be under way soon. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macca22au Posted June 10, 2008 Author Share Posted June 10, 2008 Thanks for a great reply, and yes I do recall the Prof of Archaeology. He was much more suited to Roman ruins than aboriginal artifacts. The changes sound great. If the person doing the airfield is reading this, the 07/26 runway was and is still grass. I did my solo from it a long time ago on a beautiful still autumn afternoon. I almost forgot to be scared. The default makes it sealed, so if he could convert it back to Lilydale grass that would be great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Schofield Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Now you're bringing back the memories (hazy though they are)... I was at UNE for a couple of years in the late 80s studying geography and planning. At 18-19 years old let's just say I had a very good time, and even learned a few things too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macca22au Posted June 24, 2008 Author Share Posted June 24, 2008 Hi there ValleyJohn yoiur revised Armidale missed the cut. Is it possible to get the file?? Let me know if it can be downloaded. Also your Gold Coast first put some of the high rise on the beaches at Surfers, the next VOZ version got them off the beach and improved the area around and north of the Broadwater, but the last 1.2 version has got the high rise towers back on the beach. They won't have to worry about climate change, the next Spring tide will swanpt them. I have put your version higher in priority in the scenery list, which cleans the problem up, but leaves the Stradbrokes as bare sand islands which of course they are not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ross Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Hello Ian The Armidale town revision is not in the scenery release and will be a hotfix for the landclass. I will check when that will be released and let you know. As for the colleges still work in progress and I hope it may be in the next scenery release. Re the Gold Coast the current scenery is not my work and I will leave that for others to comment. But you should not be running different versions of scenery because you will get some strange effects - best to stick with FTX only. Sometime soon I will add back in the Gold Coast airport and at the same time tidy up Coolangatta to take the default highrise off the beach. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Meiklejohn Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Macca22au The Orbx freeware and VSX are not compatible. Both contain things like coastlines, buildings, roads, model libraries etc that will clash causing problems like you have described above. If you are running the early version of VSX you need to make a choice on which pack you are going to keep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macca22au Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 Thanks Barry: I completely removed VSX at the time Blue came out. All I have done is put the freeware Gold Coast above the FTX entries in the Scenery list. This has had the effect of giving a more realistic coastline, but then turns the Straddies into bare sand. I'll uncheck it, but it would be great to get the fix that shifts the highrise off the beach, and back on to the primary dunes - where sea level rise will eventually force the building of one of the longest sea walls in the country! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ross Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Hello Ian Hotfix has come to John V's attention and will not be too long now. Re Surfers and the great wall of the Gold Coast - bring it on! But maybe it would be better to flood the lot and start again with sensible planning and better hydrographic management. Those canal developments will flood one of these days and we will hear about another once in a hundred year events rather than shoddy planning (looks over shoulder and hopes the Mayor is not reading this). Such a shame because the Gold Coast would have been a wonderful area with a 20km long parkland fronting the sand dunes instead of which it is a blot on the eastern seaboard and outshone by places such as Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and the Sunshine Coast. Greed 10 environment 0 as usual. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macca22au Posted June 27, 2008 Author Share Posted June 27, 2008 John, if you'll forgive me sounding like the greenie that I am - a very old suit wearing greenie I must admit, I agree with you absolutely. Set climate change aside - the massive developments in the natural wetlands of the Nerang, the Coomera and the creeks between will inevitably flood in an inevitable storm event. Bringing climate change into the equation, then the risk of a breach in the sand islands, the Stradbrokes then expose thousands of houses to the direct action of the sea. The remedy - a seawall from Burleigh Heads to ...... the tip of North Stradboke. How elegant and attracitive would that be?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ross Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Couldn't agree more. I am no greenie (probably the last person on the planet who thinks global warming is a government hoax to get taxes and researchers will say anything for good funding - yes, I know head and sand are two words that spring to mind) but the building on flood plains cannot be defended. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macca22au Posted June 29, 2008 Author Share Posted June 29, 2008 John: I do accept global warming as a high probability. I too am a sceptic, the important thing is to read the science and make up your mind. Don't let your prejudice against greenies, liberals and pinkos get in the way. Go into the International Panel on Climate Change website and read some of the summaries there. I have a colleague who was one of the scientists on the IPCC panels, and he says he could have made much more money from coal and oil companies if he had argued against climate change. However he said the probabilities are just too convincing. Meanwhile, rolll on your scenery updates and many thanks. Its been quite something to see how many former UNE graduates there are around the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teecee Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 There have been several ice ages.. and we know that places like Aus used to be lush and green..how could man have had anything to do with that?.. nature runs in cycles..proven fact.. Global warming caused by us??? not a proven fact.. even the "scientists" cannot agree on this..I go with good old mother nature. Teecee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ross Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 I have read the argument for an increased greenhouse gasses causing climate change but like Teecee would like to see other explanations and mechanisms further explored before we are committed to global economic upheaval caused by carbon trading and other measures. But of course alternative to carbon fuels such as hydrogen should be researched as it makes so much more sense not the pump poison into the atmosphere. What I would like to see is the real planet problem giving more of an airing - overpopulation. Luckily global warming, natural or otherwise, might increase food production but the projections for population growth over the next 50 years are just frightening and unsustainable. Global warming is small beer in comparison. Update for NSW landclass not far off now but right now working on bringing Port Macquarie back to life. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teecee Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Nice post mate.. looking forward to your Port scenery.. Teecee.. Ps.. what are you doing still up?? it's about 12.30 am your time isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macca22au Posted June 29, 2008 Author Share Posted June 29, 2008 Teecee and John: Thanks for your answers but I can't agree and I don't get a dollar for my viewpoint. However its OT so I won't run a debate here - I can see I'd have to present a lot of material to at least get you to have an open mind. And that's not our business here - for me its John's great scenery skills that I truly admire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longers Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 ...... right now working on bringing Port Macquarie back to life. John Great news John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ross Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Thanks Longers - not too long now. Teccee, never enough hours in the day for scenery design so I usually do a couple of hours at 11.00 pm till 1.00 am - how sad is that!!! Ian, yes I think I will stick to scenery design and leave the debate to those with far greater knowledge than me. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macca22au Posted July 1, 2008 Author Share Posted July 1, 2008 John, I apologise particularly as I don't know what your day job is - you sound like an expert in your field. I am more than willing to put the evidence on the table that has convinced me. It's just that I have a feeling John Venema and Barry would shop me for being a bore. So I don't appear as a wimp email me and I will go from there, but on the other hand I admire your skills at scenery enormously. However if you do your scenery work after 11pm you must have a busy other life. So I want you to know that I am grateful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macca22au Posted July 1, 2008 Author Share Posted July 1, 2008 Oh, and a petition to John V. If you have John's Armidale landclass fix, I'd love to see it up in the hotfix list. Seems there are a lot of lUNE alumni flying the sim. We remember the place well, within the limits of the brain cells we killed drinking rotgut while at uni and after flying instruction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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