NEW!: CYSE Squamish, BC for FSX, P3D and P3Dv2

[spirit_66]

Outstanding job and it's on the right way in the right direction.

Spirit

[Gordon Madison]

I'll say a group thank you for your supportive comments.

 

With regard to your comment John, I'm still kind of speechless. Thank you for all of your support and patience with this behemoth.  

 

Mini update for the troops.

I've been working with the new P3Dv2.2.1 patch which gave us live cloud shadows and mucho improved autogen management.

 

Cloud shadows are working extremely well as of this time. It's kind of freaky sitting on the ground and watching the shadows move past. Super realistic.

You all should brush up on the tweaks for this feature so that you can set shadow intensity to your liking. I'll include instructions in the manual.

 

Also, I made a major adjustment to the autogen files for Squamish. With the new LM changes I've been able to layer in a more dense cover of foliage and improve FPS at the same time. With autogen set to dense or very dense, ground coverage is very full and lush. I saw a 10 frame increase in performance with the change.

 

With everything enabled (and that's a ton of stuff), running live REX weather @ 4096 REX 4 environment textures, I'm seeing 30+FPS coming into the coverage area and looking down the barrel of the most dense coverage. Directly over the highest densities downtown, I'm in the high 20's. That's right in the sweet spot. No stutters or blurries. If I turn off  the layers not necessary when flying I jump to the forties.

Test Aircraft: Lancair, Cessna 195, Piper Pacer float and tundra, MJ C-47 DAK, Turbine Duke, Twotter, Beech 17 and a few others.

 

I'm working with the affinity mask setting as follows: Enabled all cores, then disable the CPU 0 and CPU 1. The peripherals like REX want some room to breathe.

 

Best way to achieve this is start Windows Task Manager, select Processes tab, right click Prepar 2D.exe, select Set Affinity, tick All Processors, then un-tick CPU 0 and CPU 1. I'm not seeing any miraculous changes in FPS, but the entire sim with all peripherals seems to smooth out and perform without a hitch.

You'll have to do this each time you boot into P3Dv2.

 

For the FSX guys you can do the same with a tool like FSX Booster 2013. It will do the same thing for you and save the settings.

DX10 fix will bring you guys into the real world. Performance boost and vastly improved rendering.

 

I'm coding the ObjectFlow...this is the final step, and I must confess that I did take a very, very short flight this morning...but it was only for development research...I promise.

[Mark Abdey]

This looks phenomenal, truly outstanding creative work Gordon... what exciting times ahead.

 

I am SO looking forward to uninstalling FSX and running a pure V2.2 sim environment (as soon as ENG gets a triple installer that's it for me)... from a shaky start LM have pulled the rabbit out of the hat - pure magic.

[Mickey]

Thanks Gordon and the whole ORBX team for your effort in helping to improve the sim. Im also lookin forward to CYSE and the new patch. For me as virtual rotorhead there is a tiny little question that bugs me right now. I saw a screenie where you flew the R22. In P3D2 there is this bug where the VC camera bleeds through the ground texture thus you cant see the rotor wash effects. Did you notice something has this been solved in 2.2.1? I asked this already over @ LM but did not get an answer for the time. Im just curious

 

Thanks

[Jocko Flocko]

I just purchased P3D V2x because I love what I'm seeing here so far, it's grown to the point now for me to justify purchasing the product. This airport and surrounding area is the best NA OrbX product I've seen to date.

Cheers

Great work!

[TuFun]

Superb work "G"!!!  Bring the LAC bird for a visit!

[Gordon Madison]

.... you cant see the rotor wash effects. Did you notice something has this been solved in 2.2.1?  

 

Best I can tell is that the rotor wash on the water is intermittent and depends on your viewing angle. For the most part it's no joy.

 

The boat wake issue still needs to be cleaned up. I'm running one powerboat that has a wake effect which works fine in V2, I'll transfer that to one of my float planes and give it a go when I have a bit of time.

 

Bear in mind these are minor issues that LM will pick up as they patch in the new fixes. In the big picture the new revisions are a massive step up. I was testing my ILS with night landings in the Tri Pacer last night. The combination of the ambient moolight, runway and landing lights was proably the most realistic simulation I've seen. It was the real deal.

I was literally taken back a bit, and I spend a lot of time in this sim.

 

Don't let the rotor wash spoil quash your enthusiasm...things are looking very promising.

[Gordon Madison]

Superb work "G"!!!  Bring the LAC bird for a visit!

 

Hey TF...I may be able to post up a couple of screens featuring our girl. She's stunning gorgeous in this sim. I'll edit those into this post..check back in a bit.

[Mickey]

Thanks Gordon,

i was just curious and it is not a big deal for me. Its just a cosmetic thing performance is more welcome right now

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Yardreamer]

Yeah guess it is time to hanger FSX into the boneyard just need new SSHD... Sigh

Dreamer

PS what SDK version to get I like to model ?

[DocBird]

Hi Till,

Maybe this?

http://www.orbxsystems.com/forum/topic/76163-objectflow-now-working-in-p3dv2/

 

Thanks, Eric, I did indeed miss this very important information!

Superb work "G"!!!  Bring the LAC bird for a visit!

What is a "LAC bird"?

[Gordon Madison]

TF is referring to Lineas Aereas Canedo...one of a number of C-117D/DC-3 skins I did a while back for the MJ DAK project. It may look a bit out of place in Squamish. Instead, have a look at these and pay particular attention to the cloud shadowing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mark Abdey]

Whoa!.. those are some dramatic looking screens. The cloud shadows create so much extra atmosphere, esp. in mountainous areas like this.

[marcj]

Absolutely stunning!

How is the beta testing going?

Kind regards

Marc

[Gordon Madison]

Absolutely stunning!

How is the beta testing going?

Kind regards

Marc

 

Thanks Marc,

 

I introduced the latest LM patch (P3Dv2.2.10287.0) into the build. The cloud shadowing and improvements in autogen were major additions/improvements. I've gone back to the design and made significant changes accordingly. The tweaks will benefit P3D and FSX.

 

The beta team will be seeing the build in the next day or two.

 

The environment is very fluid at this time and I'm creating the mods in real time with the LM updates. To release a version that requires an immediate patch wouldn't make any sense, so I'm updating prior to releasing for beta. The team here is of the opinon that this new LM patch puts their sim on a stable enough platform to hang our hat on. I agree and have high confidence in the Squamish beta.

 

The beta is, for all intents and purposes, a ready to market package...I'm doing due dilligence to make absolutely sure this location is bullet proof.

 

You won't be waiting long.

[Mickey]

Thanks Gordon for the update I cant wait but thank god im goin out for the real deal tomorrow for the next two days

[marcj]

Hi Gordon

Thanks for the update, I am sure it will be worth the wait.

Have you also been updating Tipella for P3D2?

All the best

Marc

[Gordon Madison]

Hi Marc,

 

In addition to the LM patch, we have been able to bring ObejctFlow up to speed as well. Now that OF works in the upcoming LM build, I'll be able to update Tipella as well. That will come very shortly after the Squamish release.

 

Originally the contingency was to release Squamish with a modified control panel to allow manually switched OF. Since I no longer need to do that I'm coding the OF into the beta, rather than waiting for the RTM version to go live with OF. This switches up my beta release timing a bit.

 

At this time it looks like we should be right in synch with the LM update. You'll be able to patch your P3D build and chase out any warts, then have a good platform for PNW/Squamish.

 

I'll stress this point again...patch your P3D up to V2.2.1 as soon as it is released. Really important guys.

[wolfko]

i have no card,only paypal.....i can not buy p3d,

 

a friend has send them a mail,if he can buy it for me,no answer from p3d...thank´s

 

Welcome to the future; now ...so not for me and others they use only pay-pal.............

 

is there a plan that you can buy p3d at FSS?  if not,so i stay away then............

 

i am happy with dx10 and stay with this,but buy only america regions in future........saves a lot money then .........lol.

 

thanks

 

Hi Ralf,

 

why shouldn't it be possible that somebody else buys P3D2 for you? Mine was bought by my wife with her credit card. She then gave me the login and download details as a birthday gift. So anyone can buy P3D2 for you with his/her cc. 

[banjoman1960]

Hi Ralf,

 

why shouldn't it be possible that somebody else buys P3D2 for you? Mine was bought by my wife with her credit card. She then gave me the login and download details as a birthday gift. So anyone can buy P3D2 for you with his/her cc. 

if i buy that way,and then maybee they cancel the licence.........and then the money for addons is waste........no way for me..........

 

from fsx i have the dvds and keys........if the keys do no more work,there are ways to get the sim work(i have pay for)......so i can install new and are save........

 

if i can not pay with pay-pal,i do not buy................shit happen...............

 

a friend has send them a e-mail,if he can pay for me,they never answer that..........so i think it is not ok then.

 

at moment i enjoy dx10,all addons work(and there is a lot),and it is a new sim for me

[John Venema]

You can purchase a pre-paid Visa card anywhere in the world. I could buy one now from the post office a block away. You put the amount of cash you need into the card and use it once online - zero risk.

Why are you making this anymore complex than it needs to be?

P.S. Please keep things on topic as well. This is a preview thread, not a P3Dv2 purchase discussion

[Airwolf]

These are some amazing screenshots of this "Region" inside a PNW Region.  Any clue on how big this area will be inside PNW.

[Gordon Madison]

Thanks Mesh,

 

Not sure what you mean by big, so I'll give you both answers.

 

Primary area coverage is approximately 85 square miles covering the entire town. There is additional coverage on either side of Howe Sound out to Britannia Beach. I've detailed the ocean water tiles to change with season as well. If you count that area it's about 150 square miles total. It's a big place.

 

File size is right at 1GB.

[macca22au]

I can only say .. incredible.  

 

The really great thing is the deliberate intent to use much of the range of graphic opportunities in P3Dv2.

 

And as to P3Dv2.2, any hints as to how it is running?

[Gordon Madison]

P3D is certainly a new canvas, and inviting from a development standpoint.

 

The current patch is running exceptionally well in my opinion. I see some small anomalies that will be corrected with further patches, but the beta version that I'm using is what I would describe as exceptional. The big issues seem to be well mitigated if not entirely cured.

 

As I said above, I'm confident enough to hang my hat on it and release Squamish as a "designed for P3Dv2" product. The final marketing description will be entirely up to Mr. Venema, naturally.

 

I don't think you will be disappointed Ian.

[Mike707]

Excellent work Gordon!  You are a master.  One question, as you have been developing for the P3D platform, are you seeing any capabilities offered in the new platform that can be implemented that will simply blow us away?

[Gordon Madison]

Thanks Mike...quite a compliment.

 

From an ORBX developers standpoint...the capabilities/possibilities are quantum.

From a "Hey Wow" sim experience perspective...quantum....

 

IMHO

[TuFun]

I'm blown away by those latest pics "G"!  Only an artist eye can see what's beyond the horizon!  TF

[DocBird]

TF is referring to Lineas Aereas Canedo...one of a number of C-117D/DC-3 skins I did a while back for the MJ DAK project. It may look a bit out of place in Squamish. Instead, have a look at these and pay particular attention to the cloud shadowing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ha, Gordon!

 

That's my Baby! I have her stationed in (default PNW) Squamish right now and love to fly her over the mountains!

 

Really looking forward to your version of Squamish!

[Gordon Madison]

I used hyper accurate tree and brush placements at Squamish. The approaches in the DAK will need more care but the old girl is really comfortable there. The hop over to P3D2 Tipella is going to be really nice.

 

 

[Mike707]

Thanks Mike...quite a compliment.

 

From an ORBX developers standpoint...the capabilities/possibilities are quantum.

From a "Hey Wow" sim experience perspective...quantum....

 

IMHO

That is great to hear!  So what kinds of capabilities could we see from Orbx in the future?

[Jocko Flocko]

HOLY @#$%!!! Wow, you can really see DirectX 11 working it's magic in those cloud shadows and lighting system, WOW! The clouds casting shadows over the water and the land at the same time looks absolutely amazing. I just purchased P3D the other day and have been really enjoying it, especially the lighting in the morning as rays of sunshine flicker through objects and into the cockpit. It's going to be nice when I can actually turn some of the tree's on past 'sparse' when they release the upcoming patch.

[Gordon Madison]

Future capabilities:

 

That's probably a question for Mr. Venema, but from an environment design perspective I'm looking at multiple levels in all of my new locations. P3D2 supports air, water, ground and underwater. I can design for that...so the possibilities become very 3 dimensional.

 

The lighting is another huge factor. With real lighting the entire approach to creating art and using light is unencumbered by the limitations of FSX. I can use light as in the real world, rather than creating faux shadows. This changes everything.

 

Vegetation is another big player. I can, and will design an entire library of FPS friendly vegetation that will cast soft natural shadows.

One thing I am really seeing is that the ORBX autogen vegetation now displays more like our hand built grasses etc. I used mostly autogen for Squamish, only augmenting Point of Interest areas with hand built custom trees and grasses. This helps FPS a ton.

 

Combine all of the three and you see where we are going. The rest is up to LM to provide the container and mechanics for us to develop around.

[kilby]

I have to say it is a work of art!

[Mike707]

Future capabilities:

 

That's probably a question for Mr. Venema, but from an environment design perspective I'm looking at multiple levels in all of my new locations. P3D2 supports air, water, ground and underwater. I can design for that...so the possibilities become very 3 dimensional.

 

The lighting is another huge factor. With real lighting the entire approach to creating art and using light is unencumbered by the limitations of FSX. I can use light as in the real world, rather than creating faux shadows. This changes everything.

 

Vegetation is another big player. I can, and will design an entire library of FPS friendly vegetation that will cast soft natural shadows.

One thing I am really seeing is that the ORBX autogen vegetation now displays more like our hand built grasses etc. I used mostly autogen for Squamish, only augmenting Point of Interest areas with hand built custom trees and grasses. This helps FPS a ton.

 

Combine all of the three and you see where we are going. The rest is up to LM to provide the container and mechanics for us to develop around.

I would imagine that not having to create "baked in" shadows would reduce development time and lower the number of textures that need to be created.  In regards to vegetation, would you see the ability to create grass on top of grass textures that are not specific to airports.  For instance, do you think that regional packs or even FTXG could place grass, crops, or other veggies to add dimension to the experience?  Also, have you been able to see if displacement mapping is a possibility in order to create a bumpy ground?

[Gordon Madison]

All of the packages will be designed for triple installers with full support for FSX, P3D and P3Dv2, so the design time will remain about the same. If we were only talking about V2, that would be another thing altogether.

 

With the latest beta patch, autogen management was so much improved I made some significant last minute changes to the tree "layers", adding more dimension to an already lush environment. How the regional team chooses to work with the improvements will be a topic of discussion. It certainly opens up design possibilities.

 

Displacement mapping is an available option. The question revolves around the logic of where to use it. It's only viable at extremely low altitude or at ground level, and that brings you back to the individual locations where the use of texture is more appropriate. The tech is available...it's just a matter of how and where to apply it.

 

Good questions. Flight sim has taken a big step forward...there are a bunch of super talented people working on multiple projects. It's going to be interesting.

[DocBird]

Future capabilities:

 

That's probably a question for Mr. Venema, but from an environment design perspective I'm looking at multiple levels in all of my new locations. P3D2 supports air, water, ground and underwater. I can design for that...so the possibilities become very 3 dimensional.

 

The lighting is another huge factor. With real lighting the entire approach to creating art and using light is unencumbered by the limitations of FSX. I can use light as in the real world, rather than creating faux shadows. This changes everything.

 

Vegetation is another big player. I can, and will design an entire library of FPS friendly vegetation that will cast soft natural shadows.

One thing I am really seeing is that the ORBX autogen vegetation now displays more like our hand built grasses etc. I used mostly autogen for Squamish, only augmenting Point of Interest areas with hand built custom trees and grasses. This helps FPS a ton.

 

Combine all of the three and you see where we are going. The rest is up to LM to provide the container and mechanics for us to develop around.

Gordon,

You mentioned the lighting system: Will the lighting at the airport "light up" the surrounding and will objects (especially but not limited to the aircraft) cast shadows when taxiing under the light poles?

That would be great!

 

I love to see the shadows of the trees passing through the cockpit when I taxi along the runway for take-off and I would really like to see that at night the lighting at the airport really lights up the environment. Any chance for this in the near future?

[Gordon Madison]

Ambient Night Lighting and Shadows

 

The night lighting and weather interact with all of the ambient lighting Till. These screens give you an idea of where things are now.

 

Screen 1. Ambient light on runway markings,tar snakes and vegetation. Note FPS @ 37.4, this was running the full load of scenery at high sliders and facing the highest density of scenery, grass and autogen. Runway markings, tar and runway oil reflect ambient light. The pebbling in the asphalt will also reflect light with varying intensity depending on the brightness of each stone.

 

Screen 2. Aircraft in open light with no tree shadow. Note reflection on centerline oil and tiremarks.

 

Screen 3. Aircraft in tree shadow. Note shadow on skin and reflection through cockpit on to the wing.

 

Important for my scenery and in general. Be sure to turn off HDR lighting at night.

 

With weather enabled (live weather is incredible), the cloud shadows move across the terrain, vegetation and aircraft as the clouds move...day and night. Moonlight intesity will contribute to lighting and shadow.

Cockpit and cabin also receive live light and shadow changes. Flying through weather you'll see the light change inside and out as in real world. The depth of the shadow can be tweaked. It would be nice to have a slider for this, but it can be done with a easy tweak.

 

I designed all of my buildings and objects to receive and reflect light. The bump mapping really enhances the effect.

 

 

Screenshots: Ambient Night Lighting No Enhancements      

 

P3Dv2.2.1 beta | Weather: clear skies | HDR Off  | Full Moon | Time: December 14 05:00

 

 

 

 

[Mike707]

Gordon,

So are you saying that any lights, such as street lamps, cause shadows?  That would be great if this were the case.

[Gordon Madison]

The vector light bulb effect doesn't cast it's own light or affect anything around it.

That would be an item idea for development for sure, and one I'm looking into after we release Squamish. The actual light fixture does cast a shadow that represents the shape of the fixture itself.