Questions before I purchase FTX Global

[Mac_Maddog88]

Ok, so I mainly plan on flying in coastal areas such as Florida. I'll only be using Global for airliners, no GA except in ORBX regions. That aside now, I flew around default Florida today to see what it would like like in Global mesh/vector/ landclass wise. And for what it is, I'm happy with it. I'll be flying airliners, once again, so I have no need to have that extra vector data to pick out specific roads. 

 

Now, the coastlines. P3D and FSX use some basic white/tan outline to draw beaches. When I purchase Global, will these be replaced by beaches such as you'd see along the coast of Washington in PNW? Or will I have to purchase Vector, or wait until OpenLC NA for these?

 

And speaking of vector, what is the point of vector for me; somebody who will just be flying airliners long haul? As I said, I don't need to pick out specific roads or rivers, I'll probably never do much flying even below 10,000 feet with global. I know vector improves the shape of coastlines, but for where I've flown in default USA, I'm quite happy with the coasts. Maybe I wouldn't be if I flew outside of the US, but right now I don't really know.

 

That being said, the nearest I'll be to ground level will be near whatever airport I'll be flying into/ out of. I don't plan on anything other than airliners in FTX Global, so is vector really necessary? I found some nice freeware mesh for areas I plan on flying to and don't need the whole world covered, as I plan on staying in the USA. 

 

Thanks, if somebody could answer most of these, that'd be great!

-Mac

[ojiito]

I think Global is the single best overall improvement to FSX.  I just installed :SE version and took some screenshots in various places with default, and each step of the way during the re-install of all my stuff just to see the difference.  And yeah, the default textures are kind of strange and pretty bad after being spoiled with Orbx.  Everyone should at least have Global.  It makes life a better place.

 

Vector, well, it didn't add much to my home area and I've found conflicts here and there, and you have to mess with it when you change world regions and such.  But I think it does excel at coastlines, and if you're flying out of Florida all the time, I think it would definitely be a worthwhile improvement.  I haven't done comparisons over there, but it adds a lot of detail to the coasts in a lot of places I've visited around the world.  And a detailed coastline from 30,000 feet is much cooler than a non-detailed one.  You will probably like it, and don't know what you're missing out on.

 

But if it's a choice between the two, I would go with Global.  It's good stuff.

[Doug Sawatzky]

Regardless of what kind of flying I do, I could never go back to a non Global base, non Global Vector, non Global mesh FS environment. It is of my opinion and in my mind that our FS is Global, therefore the main foundation of the FS is these complete Global upgrades as a way to produce consistency across the globe. The added quality detail, accuracy and emersion is very evident once you experience them...like anything...if you don't know or have not experienced any different then you tend to be happy and satisfied without the upgrades.

 

Doug

[ojiito]

Exactly.

[jabble]

^^^ What they said! ^^^

 

If you want to suggest a few areas, I can have a few quick flights and make some screenshots so you can compare.  However, I have Global, Vector and Global 2010 mesh, so they won't show Global only.

[Mac_Maddog88]

^^^ What they said! ^^^

 

If you want to suggest a few areas, I can have a few quick flights and make some screenshots so you can compare.  However, I have Global, Vector and Global 2010 mesh, so they won't show Global only.

Could you fly around Daytona Beach Fl and Mountain Air, North Carolina? One airport, Daytona, is my home town, and I'm very excited for Aerosoft's release, as they modeled the exact place I was born, Halifax Hospital, in Daytona! The other, Mountain Air, is an airport I'm interested in purchasing some time soon. I mainly want to see the landscape and coastlines of Daytona and see how they stack up next to default, as well as the mountains by Mountain Air so I can see how they stack up to ORBX regions!

Thanks a ton!

[Captain Z]

Hey Outrage,

 

I think Vector is certainly something you should have. I believe Global Base, Vector, HD Trees, and OpenLC NA (once it's released) should be the minimum default.

 

It will make a world of difference for Airline flights.

 

Vector makes a large difference for coastlines, as stated and shown from the FTX Vector page -

 

" Accurate coastlines, rivers, lakes and other water bodies. Vector uses new shoreline and beach textures to add more realism which provides a more integrated and natural appearance " - https://www.fullterrain.com/product/ftxgvector

 

Global does a great job by replacing default textures, but Vector takes it up a notch, getting everything placed more realistically, so that it looks much better from high up.

 

Again, if I only did tubeliners, I would absolutely want Global, Vector, HD Trees, and Open LC. Makes a huge difference when looking out the window of your aircraft.

[jabble]

Could you fly around Daytona Beach Fl and Mountain Air, North Carolina? One airport, Daytona, is my home town, and I'm very excited for Aerosoft's release, as they modeled the exact place I was born, Halifax Hospital, in Daytona! The other, Mountain Air, is an airport I'm interested in purchasing some time soon. I mainly want to see the landscape and coastlines of Daytona and see how they stack up next to default, as well as the mountains by Mountain Air so I can see how they stack up to ORBX regions!

Thanks a ton!

OK, here ya go...

 

First, Daytona Beach.  I just did a quick trip out to the pier area and back.  Note the missing speedway track, and that the coastlines are good but landclass need improving.  Hopefully OLC NA will do that.

 

Now, here's Mountain Air.  A quick circuit of the airfield, then down to Burnsville and back.  Pilot's 2010 mesh doing its job, and you can also compare the rivers and roads.  No lakes though, and OLC NA will hopefully turn Burnsville into a town instead of fields.

 

In the same vein, one flight I took a couple of months ago was from Thunder Bay to Red Lake (no, not in a Norseman ) to practice IFR nav - no pics, alas.  Most of it is flat as a pancake, but I was really impressed the way vector did all the lakes and rivers - if you look at Google Earth you'll see what I mean.  I don't think default would be nearly so detailed, even if you are at 30,000 ft.

[Captain Z]

vbazillio posted a pic in Community Screenshots that serves as a great example of why Global+Vector+OpenLC+more is the thing to have, even if you only fly from higher up.......

 

And as I was overflying this small airfield (part of Europe freeware Orbx pack), one among hundred all around France, I was enjoying my Prepar3D configuration with the help of Global Base texturex, OpenLC Europe, Vector and REX4 Texture direct + Soft Clouds.

 

 

Who can guess the name of the field ?

[Mikelab6]

Hey Jabble, what is the runway texture you are using at your Daytona airport ?

[Mac_Maddog88]

OK, here ya go...

 

First, Daytona Beach.  I just did a quick trip out to the pier area and back.  Note the missing speedway track, and that the coastlines are good but landclass need improving.  Hopefully OLC NA will do that.

 

Now, here's Mountain Air.  A quick circuit of the airfield, then down to Burnsville and back.  Pilot's 2010 mesh doing its job, and you can also compare the rivers and roads.  No lakes though, and OLC NA will hopefully turn Burnsville into a town instead of fields.

 

In the same vein, one flight I took a couple of months ago was from Thunder Bay to Red Lake (no, not in a Norseman ) to practice IFR nav - no pics, alas.  Most of it is flat as a pancake, but I was really impressed the way vector did all the lakes and rivers - if you look at Google Earth you'll see what I mean.  I don't think default would be nearly so detailed, even if you are at 30,000 ft.

Thanks for posting those! I'll obviously be buying Aerosoft's Daytona and Mountain Air then. I seriously can't wait to see what LC NA brings to the table, as you said Daytona could be greatly improved by better landclass, but then again, I grew up there so I'm partly biased! Thanks for taking the time to get these for me though, i really appreciate it! Maybe I'll buy Global soon!

[jabble]

Hey Jabble, what is the runway texture you are using at your Daytona airport ?

I've not added any specific runway texture, so it's just the normal P3D one with whatever Global adds, if anything.  It's not one of the freeware airports.

 

Thanks for posting those! I'll obviously be buying Aerosoft's Daytona and Mountain Air then. I seriously can't wait to see what LC NA brings to the table, as you said Daytona could be greatly improved by better landclass, but then again, I grew up there so I'm partly biased! Thanks for taking the time to get these for me though, i really appreciate it! Maybe I'll buy Global soon!

De nada!  Yeah, outside the regions, Global can make a major difference, and I think OLC NA will be a day 1 purchase for many of us.  OK... day 5 maybe, when the servers are coping better

[Mac_Maddog88]

I've not added any specific runway texture, so it's just the normal P3D one with whatever Global adds, if anything.  It's not one of the freeware airports.

 

De nada!  Yeah, outside the regions, Global can make a major difference, and I think OLC NA will be a day 1 purchase for many of us.  OK... day 5 maybe, when the servers are coping better

Lol, knowing our crowd over here, FSS will be down for about a week since so many of us will be wanting to get our hands on LC NA! 

With LC EU, do you find that you can fly in Europe like you would a full region; low and slow, due to the better detail and all? 

[ojiito]

 I seriously can't wait to see what LC NA brings to the table ...

 

Orbx may as well just charge our accounts right now, I'll sell the car to get this, if I have to..

[Neil Hill]

HI Outrage,

 

Just to be clear, that Mountain Air is not Aerosoft's, it's from the ORBX  freeware packs.

 

Cheers, Neil

[jabble]

Lol, knowing our crowd over here, FSS will be down for about a week since so many of us will be wanting to get our hands on LC NA! 

With LC EU, do you find that you can fly in Europe like you would a full region; low and slow, due to the better detail and all? 

Yeah, and I think avoid the forums for that week 'til the flustered turkeys stop running in circles!

 

In OLC EU I can indeed fly low and slow and it looks pretty good, but there are occasional errors and inconsistencies that would be tidied up in a region.  The other day I flew up the Ardeche valley in France, but the path of the river was a bit out of synch with the mesh so that the river sometimes climbed up the sides of the gorge.  That would certainly be cleaned up in a region, and in flatter areas it wouldn't be noticed.  Regions will have many specific features such as accurate shapes of forests, while OLC has 'typical' scenery that usually looks good, but still is quite different from what's actually there.  There are still many villages and towns which mostly appear as fields, and sometimes the opposite happens.  In general, though, it's a lot better than default, but is still some way short of a region.  It's clear that the source data (e.g. OSM) is still an ongoing project to increase accuracy, so future updates will likely improve what's there.  I'll try to do some flights with screenshots in the next few days to show what it's like.

HI Outrage,

 

Just to be clear, that Mountain Air is not Aerosoft's, it's from the ORBX  freeware packs.

 

Cheers, Neil

Indeed, I should have mentioned that.  And very nice it is too!

[jabble]

OK, here's my first Europe flight, around Split in Croatia, on the Dalmatian coast.  Split is one of the EU freeware airports and as you see is pretty darned good.

 

Take off from Kastel, just across the bay from Split city.  You'll notice in the map the OLC fixes that repeating landclass pattern you see elsewhere, and the houses are 'typical' of the area.
 

 

A quick detour inland past a village  - I do love these HD trees - then back out to the coast and down to the city.
  

Down the coast, in past the old pirate hideout of Omis, up the valley and back out.  Notice there's a little bit of sloped river in the gorge, but it's not too bad.

Return to Omis, and this time follow the opposite valley back towards Split.  This is tourist country, so there's a few hotels about.
   

Back out over the city, finals over Trogir old town, and land. Oh-oh, tourists - I'll have to queue for my hamburger...
    

 

I neglected to do a paper trail map of the route, so I've knocked up this rough one instead.

 

You might want to fly a similar route to see how the default scenery compares, but there's no doubt the Global+Vector+OLC-EU+FTXmesh enhancements make quite a difference.  Oh, and Trees of course!

[Mac_Maddog88]

OK, here's my first Europe flight, around Split in Croatia, on the Dalmatian coast.  Split is one of the EU freeware airports and as you see is pretty darned good.

 

Take off from Kastel, just across the bay from Split city.  You'll notice in the map the OLC fixes that repeating landclass pattern you see elsewhere, and the houses are 'typical' of the area.

 

 

A quick detour inland past a village  - I do love these HD trees - then back out to the coast and down to the city.

  

Down the coast, in past the old pirate hideout of Omis, up the valley and back out.  Notice there's a little bit of sloped river in the gorge, but it's not too bad.

Return to Omis, and this time follow the opposite valley back towards Split.  This is tourist country, so there's a few hotels about.

   

Back out over the city, finals over Trogir old town, and land. Oh-oh, tourists - I'll have to queue for my hamburger...

    

 

I neglected to do a paper trail map of the route, so I've knocked up this rough one instead.

 

You might want to fly a similar route to see how the default scenery compares, but there's no doubt the Global+Vector+OLC-EU+FTXmesh enhancements make quite a difference.  Oh, and Trees of course!

That's awesome! Personally, I could never tell the difference between the ORBX Global scenery and reality since I'll never fly in those locations in real life! It looks pretty darn close to a full region! I just bought Taxi2Gate Orlando Intl, so I guess this is my way of eventually forcing myself to buy Global! xD

 

How long do you remember the download for Global taking? I see it's around 6GB or so.

[Sid]

Regardless of what kind of flying I do, I could never go back to a non Global base, non Global Vector, non Global mesh FS environment. It is of my opinion and in my mind that our FS is Global, therefore the main foundation of the FS is these complete Global upgrades as a way to produce consistency across the globe. The added quality detail, accuracy and emersion is very evident once you experience them...like anything...if you don't know or have not experienced any different then you tend to be happy and satisfied without the upgrades.

 

Doug

 

Here, here! I see the FS the same way and second that statement entirely Doug! The Global product range has become the very foundation of my sims too and I couldn't even imagine the world without them...the whole world looks different already but the taste of Open LC Eu has made me salivate for the rest of the Open LC series and what the foundation of our sims will be like then...

[jabble]

That's awesome! Personally, I could never tell the difference between the ORBX Global scenery and reality since I'll never fly in those locations in real life! It looks pretty darn close to a full region! I just bought Taxi2Gate Orlando Intl, so I guess this is my way of eventually forcing myself to buy Global! xD

 

How long do you remember the download for Global taking? I see it's around 6GB or so.

Well, ya never know - I've not been to Split yet myself, but after flying it in the sim I'd be very tempted to get a sightseeing flight if I do go.  As well as being pretty, it's quite interesting for history geeks.

 

I've no idea how long it took as I left it downloading overnight, along with OLC-EU, Pilot's 2010 mesh and a few others - about 40GB total - but it was all there the next day, no problems.  I do have reasonably good broadband, though, about 20Mbit/s.

[walterg74]

Yeah, and I think avoid the forums for that week 'til the flustered turkeys stop running in circles!

In OLC EU I can indeed fly low and slow and it looks pretty good, but there are occasional errors and inconsistencies that would be tidied up in a region. The other day I flew up the Ardeche valley in France, but the path of the river was a bit out of synch with the mesh so that the river sometimes climbed up the sides of the gorge. That would certainly be cleaned up in a region, and in flatter areas it wouldn't be noticed. Regions will have many specific features such as accurate shapes of forests, while OLC has 'typical' scenery that usually looks good, but still is quite different from what's actually there. There are still many villages and towns which mostly appear as fields, and sometimes the opposite happens. In general, though, it's a lot better than default, but is still some way short of a region. It's clear that the source data (e.g. OSM) is still an ongoing project to increase accuracy, so future updates will likely improve what's there. I'll try to do some flights with screenshots in the next few days to show what it's like.

Indeed, I should have mentioned that. And very nice it is too!

This right here is my "concern", and wondering about using these or the recently released version of the competition. In the recent sale, besides buying all regions I also purchased FTX Global, but held back on Vector and EU LC, being I read the other one has more accurate data.

Granted like somebody else said, you may not ever fly there, so you won't know the difference, but the doubt is still there... As NA LC is not yet released plus it would be 2 purchases against 3 as well (although granted, Vector also gives you the rest of the world, even if just vector data you have that covered too...).

Now I'm wondering if I did right or what.. (Although as vector and EU LC are not that expensive, I won't lose sleep over what I "could have saved" on them and could just get them at normal price.

Has anyone experimented with both? (And I mean Latest versions, not old ones)

[jabble]

I can say I do fly in the OLC EU area, and it is much better than the default.  I'm just pointing out that there should be no expectation that it is as good as a full-fat region.

 

There may be a technical solution to flattening vector water in gorges, perhaps similar to how vector roads are made flat on hillsides.  However, that would likely need some sort of synch processing between mesh and vector so as to avoid introducing new anomalies.  This is just speculation on my part.

[Sid]

Lol, knowing our crowd over here, FSS will be down for about a week since so many of us will be wanting to get our hands on LC NA!

With LC EU, do you find that you can fly in Europe like you would a full region; low and slow, due to the better detail and all?

The short answer Outrage, I do. Europe is now open to low and slow! Definitely a huge difference with OpenLC EU

I can say I do fly in the OLC EU area, and it is much better than the default. I'm just pointing out that there should be no expectation that it is as good as a full-fat region.

There may be a technical solution to flattening vector water in gorges, perhaps similar to how vector roads are made flat on hillsides. However, that would likely need some sort of synch processing between mesh and vector so as to avoid introducing new anomalies. This is just speculation on my part.

Agreed Jabble...If some kind of synch could be possible, and as both products are made by the same company, Pilots so that would increase the chances possibly, it would make the water channels, streams, rivers and ravines so much more immersive and transform these features beautifully if they appeared to have 'river banks' so to speak. That would be well worth doing IMHO and one single step that would upgrade the whole world dramatically for the better

[jabble]

I'll put a suggestion in the Vector section.

 

Edit: Done!

[dominique]

I can say I do fly in the OLC EU area, and it is much better than the default.  I'm just pointing out that there should be no expectation that it is as good as a full-fat region.

 .

 

Same here and I'll add that to fly low and slow, the last iteration of OpenLC EU is much better than not only default but also Global+Vector+Mesh. But a fat region, it ain't ! And there is a quasi-absence of upgraded airports (except the OrbX freeware). The third party payware seem, except for a few (29Palms for instance which has already worked for OrbX), not adapted to the OrbX products.

 

My pet peeves woud be that there's not enough differentiation in the Norh and South Europe vegetation. The Med is too green. The PNW syndrome  ?

[jabble]

A project to upgrade default airports in OLC areas would be very welcome, but would immediately run into elevation problems because different people have different meshes (default, Pilot's, etc...).  There would need to be some sort of generic solution to manage AEC, and I reckon that could be a lot of work to implement.  Maybe as well as Base, Vector and OLC, there's potential for a future 'Global Airport' product?

 

On another note, there are very many small airfields that are not in default FSX/P3D.  Many of these are, however, visible in OSM (and likely exist in other data sources), so perhaps there's potential for that data to automatically produce basic 'painted on' airstrips in OLC areas.