Paid Airport Packs for FTX Global/Vector/OpenLC. Would you buy?

[cvearl]

Dear ORBX,

 

Now that Global is patched to 1.2 and Vector about to hit 1.1 release and OpenLC AU and NA right around the corner with P3Dv2 1.2 out, there is one piece missing that, in my opinion, is a huge wart in all of this.

 

Airports. As awesome as Global+Vector+OpenLC is as a set, we all know that FSX Default Airports are complete and utter trash. No doubt the freeware packs are sweet and appreciated but they are strewn about here and there (Except for Hawaii pack).

 

I would pay cash money for Airport Packs to be released by State or Province in NA areas. Retouched at the same level as the freeware packs or FTX region enhanced airports. I'm not talking about the detail level of the single fully modified payware airports like Concrete. Just rebuilt and modernized like the ones that come in the full fat regions. Release a few states at a time or 2 provinces together for $10 USD or something. I would buy them up big time.

 

Anyone else?

 

C.

[Ripcord]

I think there are some payware airport projects underway, for areas outside FTX regions. No doubt those will pick up steam as more talent comes on board.

[gandy]

I think this idea has come up before in the past but here is my take on it,

 

What i would like to see is enhanced airport packs for global but based on where airlines fly to like.. Delta Airlines, Southwest,  British Airways etc.. regional airport pack with common smaller airports that the company's fly to, its the type of packs that could cover the whole planet in a decent amount of time and would be great for the casual flyer ( Dash 8 and NGX type pilots etc.. ) and great for those in a virtual airline as sourcing updated airports can be a nightmare.

 

For me this would be a great addition to global and well worth buying in to

[Mac_Maddog88]

Once I'm finished with some of my Ohio airports I'd be more than happy to release them as freeware.Still gathering pictures and learning CS2, so it'll be awhile!

[Ripcord]

Well, yeah, I mean, sure. If ORBX makes it to their own payware standards, then I am buying it. Full stop.

But here's the thing -- Neil and Todd can crank out what, 20 some airports, in a couple months. And they are good, as good or better than 90% of the freeware offerings out there, but they aren't the payware mega-awesome artworks that we have come to love and respect from ORBX. But really, how many of those are they going crank out in that same time frame? Go ask Jim R or Gordon M how long it took them to really get it right, when they modeled their first projects -- or Misha Cajic, who seems to be cranking out PNW airports at a furious pace right now.

So they both have a place here, in separate segments. I say give Neil and Todd all the encouragement and appreciation they deserve. Maybe in a few months it will more than just Neil and Todd cranking these out, maybe we'll get a couple more guys up and running and then we'll have several hundreds of free airports, instead of just a couple hundred (which I think is awesome already).

[cvearl]

Hmmmm..... certainly did not mean to belittle Neil and Todd's efforts.

I also come to understand now that this question will mean something different to an NGX pilot than a tyical GA pilot. I mean ya... a 1 hour flight in a GA plane at 120 knots is not really far and the inevitable landing at a default FSX airport is usually a plain grey strip with one kleenex box sitting next to it. Which is why I love full fat regions. Lots of small and medium GA airports to pick from in all directions for my little 120 knot cruiser.

Whereas, in stark contrast, a 1 or 2 hour flight in the NGX will likely land the user at some larger airport that you have a pretty good chance will be an enhanced airport. Or more to the point, within less than a 2 hour flight in the NGX, there will be many more enhanced airports to choose from as your destination.

Interesting situation to think about.

C.

[cvearl]

Once I'm finished with some of my Ohio airports I'd be more than happy to release them as freeware.Still gathering pictures and learning CS2, so it'll be awhile!

We allowed to use ORBX scenery objects from thier library?

C.

[John Venema]

We allowed to use ORBX scenery objects from thier library?

C.

 

No you are not, Orbx objects are not allowed for any project outside Orbx, freeware or payware. That is made clear in our EULA.

[DocBird]

We allowed to use ORBX scenery objects from thier library?

C.

 

 

No you are not, Orbx objects are not allowed for any project outside Orbx, freeware or payware. That is made clear in our EULA.

Charles,

 

you are not allowed to use the Obrx objects for your own projects but I am rather sure that your help with new airports would be highly appreciated by Neil and Todd and others. So why not joining them and release anything you can create through Orbx?

I think that it is enormous how many enhanced airports we already have. Yes they are scattered all over the US but in some regions there are already a nice number of airports (like in South California or the north-east of the US). I think that in a couple of months we will have the US sufficiently covered with a lot of enhanced airports.

 

But here is one more thought: Inside the regions there are all airports enhanced.

 

@JV: Why don't you release these available enhanced airports inside the regions as payware "FTXG-Airport-Pack-NCA" or "FTXG-Airport-Pack-PNW" (so to speak as a low-budget-solution and appetizer for the full flat regions)? I trust that there would be a demand for such airports packs from FTXG-users that so far have hesitated to buy the regions. And if you could make another 10-15 $ with this already available product that could be easy money.

[cvearl]

No you are not, Orbx objects are not allowed for any project outside Orbx, freeware or payware. That is made clear in our EULA.

Thats what I thought. Thanks John. Is there a clear path to becoming an ORBX freeware developer if a person was so inclined?

C.

[Snave]

No. Things are confusing enough already.

 

Make Regions the focus platform for dedicated addons, leaving freeware for generic enhancements - and let's learn about which works with which, an order of magnitude above changing the current methodology.

 

A quick squage through current and recent topics reveals the very last thing needed is an additional layer of confusion about what-works-with-what.

 

Once the generic suitability across sim versions is dealt with, perhaps we could look at this again?

[Tim Harris]

Thats what I thought. Thanks John. Is there a clear path to becoming an ORBX freeware developer if a person was so inclined?

C.

 

Of course, the same way everyone else got started, by having a strong desire to create and standing up to be counted

[Edward Boyte]

Thats what I thought. Thanks John. Is there a clear path to becoming an ORBX freeware developer if a person was so inclined?

C.

Start using ADEX (Airport Design Editor X). That's how I got started.

http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/

[JohnE77]

I voted for the 2nd option. I would gladly buy ORBX full flat region style airports covering entire states. Sounds like a great idea, but I don't know if ORBX has the resources to take on such a project.

 

John

[Ripcord]

No. Things are confusing enough already.

 

Make Regions the focus platform for dedicated addons, leaving freeware for generic enhancements - and let's learn about which works with which, an order of magnitude above changing the current methodology.

 

A quick squage through current and recent topics reveals the very last thing needed is an additional layer of confusion about what-works-with-what.

 

Once the generic suitability across sim versions is dealt with, perhaps we could look at this again?

Agreed. And well written Snave.

[John Venema]

We have already stated our intention to create FTX Global content packs, I mentioned this in roadmap discussions over a year ago. However, we are still very much in the infancy of the FTXG product family rollout, with VECTOR v1.1 soon to be released and openLC EU entering beta soon. So clearly our focus is very much still on getting the triple-layer global solution rolled out over the next few years; not a trivial task.

 

Secondly, Neil and his colleagues are producing upgraded airports in ad-hoc locations purely because they enjoy doing this work, not because I specifically asked them to create this content. They are offering this under the Orbx banner as a goodwill gesture to our customer community and I am not going to formalise this effort into specific content packs by any geographical area such as USA state or EU country - that was never the plan by Neil and he, Todd and others will continue to roll out these airports and continue to solicit feedback from customers for specific upgrade targets.

 

Once the FTXG family has settled down into worldwide coverage Orbx will turn its attention to value-add content such as payware quality airports, cityscape and "Airport Lite" packs which offer good value for money. Those will likely be strategically added to specific geographical areas such eastern USA, South America, South East Asia and the like.

 

Concurrent to all the above, we do have a few airports in development right now for areas of the world that have no FTX Regions. Those will be developed with FTX Global in mind. ENNK in Norway is one of those (however with the upcoming FTX Norway, that may be moot also).

 

We only have limited resources as a company for project rollout so we have to strike a balance between the ad-hoc freeware being offered and more strategic payware being developed to compliment our regions.

[cvearl]

We have already stated our intention to create FTX Global content packs, I mentioned this in roadmap discussions over a year ago. However, we are still very much in the infancy of the FTXG product family rollout, with VECTOR v1.1 soon to be released and openLC EU entering beta soon. So clearly our focus is very much still on getting the triple-layer global solution rolled out over the next few years; not a trivial task.

 

Secondly, Neil and his colleagues are producing upgraded airports in ad-hoc locations purely because they enjoy doing this work, not because I specifically asked them to create this content. They are offering this under the Orbx banner as a goodwill gesture to our customer community and I am not going to formalise this effort into specific content packs by any geographical area such as USA state or EU country - that was never the plan by Neil and he, Todd and others will continue to roll out these airports and continue to solicit feedback from customers for specific upgrade targets.

 

Once the FTXG family has settled down into worldwide coverage Orbx will turn its attention to value-add content such as payware quality airports, cityscape and "Airport Lite" packs which offer good value for money. Those will likely be strategically added to specific geographical areas such eastern USA, South America, South East Asia and the like.

 

Concurrent to all the above, we do have a few airports in development right now for areas of the world that have no FTX Regions. Those will be developed with FTX Global in mind. ENNK in Norway is one of those (however with the upcoming FTX Norway, that may be moot also).

 

We only have limited resources as a company for project rollout so we have to strike a balance between the ad-hoc freeware being offered and more strategic payware being developed to compliment our regions.

 

I completely forgot about that. This is VERY good news for me as a GA sim jock who stays below FL160. I am a full fat region nut and only now with Global+Vector+OpenLC am I remotely willing to venture out beyond my regions. FTXG content packs are going to keep FSX and P3Dv2 fresh! Thanks John.

 

C.