John York Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Sorry if this is not the right place but I've spent a long time looking and can't find an answer. The last I read somewhere was that AU Red will be released in October. Can someone please confirm the updated estimate of this please? I'm trying to plan for my Christmas presents and want to know whether I will have to buy it for myself or if I can blackmail my daughter into giving it to me for Christmas! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffman Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Dunno about the release. But blackmail your daughter into buying two copies, one for you and one for, err ummm....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John York Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 You'd be third in the queue I'm afraid. And I don't think even she could be convinced to provide three! Two, well I might be able to get her to believe I need one for 'back-up'. My mate Redline would get the second one. But only if he's kind to me and one of these days overclock's my Q6600 for me to 3.2 Mz! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Venema Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 AU RED will be released before Christmas, possibly in November but don't hold me to it. There's an enormous amount of custom landclass (LC) to do - we estimate that with the five members of the LC team working 15 hours per week each (they are all working as part-time contractors for Orbx), it will take them 6.2 weeks to complete the LC alone. You need to keep in mind that AU RED covers the largest area in all of Australia for FTX. Then you need to add to the LC work the new textures from Matt, roads/traffic/rail/fences/vertical obstructions/wet-dry hydro from Holger, far western coastlines from Rossco and then any autogen annotation and night textures from Tim and myself. It's a big job, and we want to ensure we do it right first time and avoid a lot of hotfixes after the release. Then after AU RED we will be doing a lot of new content for AU BLUE/GOLD to remedy the LC, add new textures and LC for Western Australia and work on the blending LC between regions to make the transitions as realistic as possible. All that stuff will be in the DVD release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John York Posted October 23, 2008 Author Share Posted October 23, 2008 Hi John Thank you very much for that very detailed reply. I wish we could get that sort of openness from some other suppliers I could mention. It's good to know you are intending to continue working to iron out some of the difficulties that have been found with the other products too. Not that I've found any. Its all been pretty plain sailing, sorry, I meant flying for me so far. I'm pretty much abandoning flying in England and America for a while so that what time I have in the air is going to be spent investigating Australia. For a while when I was younger I had fairly close business ties with Australia and New Zealand and very much enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere when dealing with Australians. I know we're whingeing poms but I for one have never been one being only too aware of what this Country owes Australia historically. Oh dear, I'm getting political in my old age! Thanks again John John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IW11 Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 Virtual tourism, what will they think of next? Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bosch Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 Then after AU RED we will be doing a lot of new content for AU BLUE/GOLD to remedy the LC, add new textures and LC for Western Australia and work on the blending LC between regions to make the transitions as realistic as possible. All that stuff will be in the DVD release. Is the western half of NSW included in that AU Blue cleanup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Venema Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 All of AU BLUE is included in that service pack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinn Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 All of AU BLUE is included in that service pack. Have I missed something here? - I have been away a few days - is there a new service pack or are you referring to a future one after Red is released? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffman Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 Looking at the FTX site there is no new blue service pack yet Quinny, I think John is refering to a new one to be rolled out after red is released (and one for gold too) if I read his post right. Me I'm just gonna get the DVD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bosch Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 All of AU BLUE is included in that service pack. Woo hoo! Thanks John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Venema Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 Just to further clarify: 1. After AU RED is released, we will be licensing additional imagery from WA Lands Dept to create much-needed custom landclasses for WA 2. Many of the nice textures from GOLD/GREEN/RED will be used in GOLD/BLUE updates 3. The landclass team will then re-sweep all of BLUE/GOLD to add new textures and landclass and also missing towns 4. All of the above will be rolled into the DVD, which we expect to be ready late January. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John York Posted October 26, 2008 Author Share Posted October 26, 2008 That will be great John but that information begs the next question; What will the terms of purchase be for those of us that already have the downloaded version/s? I think you've maybe tickled our curiosity here a little. Did you mean to, or was it an accident? Best wishes John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Emms Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 Looking forward to this appearing cheers guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxpax444 Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 What will the terms of purchase be for those of us that already have the downloaded version/s? Info on pricing can be found here: http://orbxsystems.com/forums/index.php?topic=5448.msg42212#msg42212 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John York Posted October 27, 2008 Author Share Posted October 27, 2008 Thanks for that link Tom. That's not a bad deal. I think I'll have some of that. Like John Venema, I would always prefer DVD's to downloads and for the same reason. I know you can burn a disc for the downloads but I feel its never the same, particularly if there are updates to install too. Best wishes John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Mason Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 May as well jump on the post bandwagon here, is the DVD to include all freeware airports to date of release? and is there going to be a sytmatic go through off the payware support forum for missing rivers, inlets etc? or is that just too much work to do all at once? I figure there is a substantial amount just from what you have already mentioned JV. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normandean Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 You'd be third in the queue I'm afraid. And I don't think even she could be convinced to provide three! Two, well I might be able to get her to believe I need one for 'back-up'. My mate Redline would get the second one. But only if he's kind to me and one of these days overclock's my Q6600 for me to 3.2 Mz! John Hey John, can't you include one for me? Norman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Venema Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 May as well jump on the post bandwagon here, is the DVD to include all freeware airports to date of release? and is there going to be a sytmatic go through off the payware support forum for missing rivers, inlets etc? or is that just too much work to do all at once? I figure there is a substantial amount just from what you have already mentioned JV. Cheers No we cannot include any freeware on a retail DVD, since we're using unlicensed aerial imagery for those so we can't bundle them. I'll check with Holger about his mesh source data though, that might be handy to include. With regards to fixing all the user reports issues, I don't think we're going to cover them all for DVD1, but we'll release another DVD later next year which will roll up all further service packs and hotfixes and then we'll bundle all the Orbx payware airports onto it as well for the Ultimate FTX Australia Pack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John York Posted October 28, 2008 Author Share Posted October 28, 2008 Hi Norman Where did you spring from? Sorry mate, two's the limit. But I'll think of you when I get it! Mind you, it seems from John Venema's news we're going to be buying two DVD's next year anyway, so Redline's copy is looking extremely dodgy as well! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normandean Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Hi Norman Where did you spring from? You know me John, the quiet unassuming behind the scenes type. Norman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John York Posted October 28, 2008 Author Share Posted October 28, 2008 Yeah! \ Funnily enough though that's probably true Norman. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krigl Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Hi - I'm a bit confused by this - does this mean that to obtain hotfixes and service packs for the 4 regions I will have bought before Xmas that I will need to buy the DVD? These things fix bugs which were missed before release, and improve the blending between the four regions, right? I'll probably buy the DVD with the new content... but I do hope the bug fixes and service packs will be available and free to all who have bought the products. Probably I've got the wrong end of the stick..? \ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John York Posted October 29, 2008 Author Share Posted October 29, 2008 Hi Krig As I understand it the DVD will combine all the areas and include as many fixes as they can (not all) and it will be available at a hugely discounted price to existing users, I quote as follows; ' (subject to confirmation) the DVD will be priced around AU$120, which is a saving in itself. For existing Orbx customers, the DVD price will be reduced by $25 for each region pack you've purchased already, but up to a minimum price of $35. In other words, if you've purchased 2 region packs, you can purchase the DVD for $120 - $25 - $25 = $70. If you've purchased ALL 4 packs already the DVD will cost you $35 which is still good value given the convenience of a single install with all SP's and hotfixes, no FTX Mode, and a bonus payware airport for the price. As quick guide the DVD pricing works like this: $120 - first time customers $95 - customers who have purchased 1 FTX region online $70 - customers who have purchased 2 FTX regions online $45 - customers who have purchased 3 FTX regions online $35 - customers who have purchased 4 FTX regions online ' Extracted from John Venema's information on 21st September about price increases effective 1st. January 2009. Hope this clarifies it for everyone. However, be aware that a second DVD is planned for the second half of the year (See further up this thread) that will inlude all fixes etc and some extra stuff including all Orbx Airports as well. Which again begs the question as to what will be done, if anything, for existing customers. There's plenty of time, but I suspect there are going to be decisions to make as to whether to purchase DVD1 or wait for DVD2 or, indeed purchase them both. I suspect it'll depend on the depth of your purse. And for me, how much pocket money I'm going to be allowed next year! John PS - Having said that, the way I'm feeling about this scenery at present they could charge what they like and I'd have it! Oops, shouldn't have said that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krigl Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Cheers JohnY - but I think Koorby or Jaykae (for example) could best answer as it isn't clear. A lot of people on the forum often say that they'd happily pay more for stuff etc... I've just gone out and bought Aus Gold myself in order to contribute, as from where I'm standing as a European it looks basically like a cross between Blue and Gold and not something I absolutely have to have - I bought it primarily to support the awesome work these guys are doing. But my pockets are not limitlessly deep, living as I do in the Czech Republic where salaries are much lower than, say, in Australia, and I for one am glad for the low pricing and ASTOUNDING value of Orbx products... and would find it strange to pay for stuff which 'fixes' what I've bought - not that I've noticed any errors anyway . New/improved content in the DVD - now that's something else... I'm fairly sure I'm barking up the wrong tree here and the service packs will continue to be free... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John York Posted October 29, 2008 Author Share Posted October 29, 2008 Ok. But its perfectly clear to me. If you've bought the product by download in the first place and want the DVD (which includes some of the fixes they've been able to do) as back-up as I do then you can buy it early next year for a hugely discounted price as shown. There's another DVD coming out later in the year which will include everything but we don't yet know the purchasing arrangements for that. Its as simple as that. However, I don't want to argue about it. If you want to check for yourself on a separate thread, do so. I promise not to answer. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krigl Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 No arguements here mate... ...and sorry for hijacking your thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Venema Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 All the hotfixes and service packs will continue to be made available for free to existing customers, that's not changed at all. Forcing people to purchase a DVD to get their entitled bug fixes is unethical, and we'd never do that. The main benefit of purchasing the DVD: - Everything up to date in a single installer with minimal validation required; makes your life a lot easier to get FTX up and running again - Removal of FTX Mode (Exclusive to the DVD since this can only be implemented to a combined FTX AU installation and not easily retrofitted to the download versions) - A bonus payware airport (not announced yet, but it may be one of the already or soon-to-be released ones) - Plus you'd be helping Orbx out financially, and believe me, we can do with a bit of that right now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penzoil3 Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 So can I pre-order, and pre-pay for AU Red, and the DVD John? Would that help? I've already bought two of some things, can't do another...but a pre-order would be workable for me... LOL Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krigl Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 All the hotfixes and service packs will continue to be made available for free to existing customers, that's not changed at all. Forcing people to purchase a DVD to get their entitled bug fixes is unethical, and we'd never do that. The main benefit of purchasing the DVD: - Everything up to date in a single installer with minimal validation required; makes your life a lot easier to get FTX up and running again - Removal of FTX Mode (Exclusive to the DVD since this can only be implemented to a combined FTX AU installation and not easily retrofitted to the download versions) - A bonus payware airport (not announced yet, but it may be one of the already or soon-to-be released ones) - Plus you'd be helping Orbx out financially, and believe me, we can do with a bit of that right now Thanks John, that's clear now. As I said above, I bought Gold mainly to 'help you guys out'...and would have bought YMML too except for the fact I had to spend a good 200+ Euros on new winter tyres for my car... :'( I will be buying RED and YMML when I can - regarding the disk though it will depend on how much extra value there is in there as I'm anything but rich... Believe me, if I had the cash I'd be throwing it your way in bucketfuls.. Just one thing though... having seen the death agonies (possibly, let's hope not) of the FEX duo spending ages trying to improve their current product in competition with REX, and evidently taking too big a bite... - when they could have been working on something new - I'd say it might be better to asap work full out on PNW and worry about fine-tuning Australia later, especially the buying new landclass stuff to fill in the holes, which will just drain your finances further and will not lead to any more product sold. A lot of Americans haven't bought FTX because 'it's in Australia, and I fly in the US'. I'm sure some American sceneries will help your financial situation no end...just an opinion... Thanks again Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xflyboy Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 "A lot of Americans haven't bought FTX because 'it's in Australia." Hello Roger, I think you'd be surprised by how many ppl HAVE purchased FTx, me included. Anyone who flies and has spent a fortune on this sim is always seeking out a way to get the experience that feels right to them. John and his team have made the experience for me "as real as it CAN get", perfect no, but for one who has never been in Aussieland for real, it's REAL ENOUGH for me. I do agree that more people will probably buy anything of this Teams with this amount of quality thats done for the US or anywhere else. I will be a HUGE fan and supporter until I no longer can enjoy flight-simming. I have still haven't explored Blue enough, and I still have Gold and Green and Red to come. I'll be busy for awhile. I am looking forward to whatever land they decide to do. Enjoy. ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Venema Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 The USA is the largest customer group for FTX after Australia, followed closely by the UK and then Germany. So in fact, we are very grateful to the Americans for their support Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John York Posted November 4, 2008 Author Share Posted November 4, 2008 Yes, that explains why you would want to do America next John. Shame though for the customers because there are vast areas of the world not done at all, eg Africa, India, China, Russia and not forgetting gems like New Zealand and Malasia. You're going to have your work cut out to do 'em all! Job for life I should think?! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meach Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 "A lot of Americans haven't bought FTX because 'it's in Australia." There are a load of companies supplying US scenery and, while the US is a beautiful country, Australia is scenically unique, with very few sources of commercial scenery for the flightsim fan. With due deference to the many talented people giving us Australian freeware (which I use too) it takes a co-operative, commercial effort to make the really big stuff - and Australia is really big. Having spent many, many hours flying over Australia over many years, I believe that the unbelievable beauty of this continent is not realised, even by Australians sometimes. A flight sim gives everyone the opportunity to explore new places, maybe some that you can't go to in real life. FTX is an exemplary example of what can be done with FSX and modern scenery development (IMHO). The quality and sheer massive content of FTX make it an incentive for anyone in the world to buy and come and see why we love this country so much. You never know, you might like it so much that you come down here and see it for real. We're very friendly! Meach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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