I have nothing to do this weekend except to wait for Orbx.

[OldAirmail]

"Major product announcement coming this weekend"

"Just a heads up that we are planning a major product announcement hopefully by this weekend...."

[OldAirmail]

Orbx needs a calendar, they think that the weekend started today.

That or they have 3 day weekends at Orbx and I heed to fill out an application to work for them.


At any rate, today (Posted Today (9/12/13), 07:43 PM) they announced Orbx announces FTX Global VECTOR along with a free Iceland demo.

Rather than telling it all, just click on the link above.

[OldAirmail]

Some answers:

If the answers don't help, you can always read the whole thing to get to the questions.

But in short -
"- Yes it will work with FSGenesis, the meshes are almost identical and FTXG Vector will work with both

- Yes it means you can do away with UTX because FTXG Vector does the same thing, but on a global scale but for a fraction of the cost

- Yes we will be making payware airports for the Iceland demo

- No FTXG Vector does NOT replace or feature more details than our FTX Regions. The biggest differences are a. custom textures native to the region, b. hand-crafted landclass, c. Updated default airports, and d. Photoreal imagery for significant wilderness areas

- FTXG VECTOR is not a large footprint product, it will be less than 5GB because it does not contain textures

- FTXG VECTOR is made specifically for FTX Global - you can't use GEX or FSCene or Default textures with it "

[OldAirmail]

I've been following the FTX Global VECTOR announcement, and the discussions that followed.


My take on it is that ORBX will force people into 2 camps.


First will be those who, over the years, have invested a fair amount of time and money into FSX add-on software.

In part, or in whole, the software that they already have does what the Orbx add-ons (will) do. In the past, their software was somewhat compatible with much of the Orbx software.



But that is about to change.

The second camp will be filled by people like me, who have very little in the way of add-on scenery, textures, landclass, etc. Another group in that camp will be Orbx believers and fans.

Soon to be joining that group, will be some from the first group who simple think that Orbx is doing a great job and is on the right track.



The reason for these two groups is that Orbx is planning on taking over the whole world. That's not a joke. If you fly over it, they want it to be theirs.

Simply put - their software isn't going to be compatible with the competitions' software.


FTX Global will replace most, if not all, of the FSX texture files. Those files aren't compatible with add-ons like GEX or FSCene.

FTX Global OpenLC will take care of the worlds elevation problems.

FTX Global VECTOR will change/correct - roads, rivers, lakes, coastlines, railways, power lines, motorways, moving traffic, and in some cases correct airport elevations


As I understand it, VECTOR & OpenLC WILL NOT work without FTX Global, which is now called FTX Global Base.


I like what they've done with FTX Global. Unless FTX Global OpenLC North America fails badly, I'll become a fan and buy into the rest of it.


When FTX Global came out I noted a lot of similar software was being discounted as much as half price. So if you're sure that the Orbx software isn't what you want, you may find this is a good time to buy software.

[OldAirmail]

CORRECTION

The FSGenesis Terrain Mesh will work.
"- Yes it will work with FSGenesis, the meshes are almost identical and FTXG Vector will work with both"

[OldAirmail]

I'm screwing up left and right today!

"FTX Global OpenLC will take care of the worlds elevation problems."

Landclass is about [b]what shows up on the surface. NOT how high/low that surface is.

Landclass will indicate that this spot should be city, residential, industrial, forest, ocean, desert, etc.

Sooner or later I'll learn. Probably. Maybe. I hope.

[OldAirmail]

I sure hope you guys are keeping up with the Q&A.

"Yes of course you can disable FTX Vector in the scenery library if you want to use UTX instead, no problem."



"as John said all airports will be updated to their correct elevations, it's up to you which mesh program you want to use"


OK guys. Just who does makes a great FSX mesh?



At one time I was hopping for the NEXT FSX super star. I thought that it might be X-Plane, or Prepad3d v2.

Now it looks like the old lady just needed a little makeup and a new dress.

[OldAirmail]

Click the link and read the NEW: QUICK FAQ from John Venema.


After that I don't think that I'll need to comment again, even though the story will continue to evolve.


"Pilots" has a somewhat discount on a bundle that consists of both FS Global Ultimate - The Americas and FS Global 2010 for 99,99 EUR. Unless anyone can make a better suggestion (hint, hint), I'll probably order that.


I think that FS Global 2010 may be updated in the next 6 or more months, but it has several things going for it right now.

One, is that it's at a somewhat reduced price within the bundle.

Second, is that it's MUCH newer than the terrain mesh that's built into FSX. Whatever "new" version that Pilot comes out with will probably be a big improvement, but FS Global 2010 will be good enough for me.

And the third reason is perhaps more important to me - It was used in the development of the new Orbx system, VECTOR in particular. It may not be the only solution out there, but I'll bet that the people doing the programing for Pilot will make sure that it works VERY well.