Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 12:57 pmReal New Zealand Tauranga (version 2.0) has now been patched for use with Orbx NZNI.
Details are available on the Godzone Store site:
All patch links are here.
New FTX compatible category.
The patch includes a few minor updates which may be of interest to all Real NZ Tauranga users, not just those with NZNI. These updates bring this up to version 2.05 when using the patch, or version 2.10 with new purchases. The difference is really just in the way that a few fixes are handled -- the patch includes a stick-on overlay to fix a blend mask bug, whereas the full version just replaces the whole airport aerial image.
The full version also combines previous files from various updates, to reduce the number of files and simplify the layout.
Note that the update deactivates the City aerial image, which is something I've been wanting to do for some time -- the city aerial image was always of lower quality than other Real New Zealand scenery, as it was colourised. However the patch installer will allow you to keep this aerial image if you are that attached to it. Normally I wouldn't recommend this unless you use the default FSX (SP2).
Note that the city aerial image is not included in the current full download.
The patch updates object libraries to work better with Orbx NZNI -- this shouldn't cause any issues, but it does remove FSX-style shadows, which Orbx recommend turning off anyway with their scenery.
Since the update uses some Vector Land Class Library objects, you will need at least version 1.2 of the Libraries. However to simplify things, the patch installer will check for the Libraries, and run the VLC Libraries installer if it doesn't find them, or finds an earlier version. I may include the same code in the other installer, such as Nelson, as a few people have found the separate installers a bit of a nuisance.
The patch also differs from previous patches, based on user feedback. Most options are now automatic, which means less choices to make. The only exception is the option to keep the city aerial image, and this option is de-selected by default so you can just skip over this anyway.
I've given some options in the Godzone Store to make it easy to try an Orbx-compatible scenery. There's a new FTX-compatible category. There's a new reduced price for the stand-alone Tauranga Airport (NZ$15), and there's an Orbx-compatible compilation special for the moment -- this bundles Real New Zealand Nelson and Real NZ Tauranga with the two 'legacy' sceneries, Supercity and Southern Lakes, for the price of Nelson and Tauranga only ($49)-- in fact $1 cheaper.
Tauranga is a bit weird in that it was normally bundled with Rotorua, but since Tauranga has been updated a couple of times, and is sold as a 'modern' scenery similar to Nelson, and Rotorua is an older 'legacy' scenery. You can still buy them together, though. I'll release an Orbx patch for Rotorua shortly, but at the moment I don't have plans to update this to the same standard as Tauranga. Maybe later.
There's a short video on my site showing Real NZ Tauranga as it appears with Orbx NZNI active. Here's a few screenshots of the 2.1 update with Vector Land Class.
Details are available on the Godzone Store site:
All patch links are here.
New FTX compatible category.
The patch includes a few minor updates which may be of interest to all Real NZ Tauranga users, not just those with NZNI. These updates bring this up to version 2.05 when using the patch, or version 2.10 with new purchases. The difference is really just in the way that a few fixes are handled -- the patch includes a stick-on overlay to fix a blend mask bug, whereas the full version just replaces the whole airport aerial image.
The full version also combines previous files from various updates, to reduce the number of files and simplify the layout.
Note that the update deactivates the City aerial image, which is something I've been wanting to do for some time -- the city aerial image was always of lower quality than other Real New Zealand scenery, as it was colourised. However the patch installer will allow you to keep this aerial image if you are that attached to it. Normally I wouldn't recommend this unless you use the default FSX (SP2).
Note that the city aerial image is not included in the current full download.
The patch updates object libraries to work better with Orbx NZNI -- this shouldn't cause any issues, but it does remove FSX-style shadows, which Orbx recommend turning off anyway with their scenery.
Since the update uses some Vector Land Class Library objects, you will need at least version 1.2 of the Libraries. However to simplify things, the patch installer will check for the Libraries, and run the VLC Libraries installer if it doesn't find them, or finds an earlier version. I may include the same code in the other installer, such as Nelson, as a few people have found the separate installers a bit of a nuisance.
The patch also differs from previous patches, based on user feedback. Most options are now automatic, which means less choices to make. The only exception is the option to keep the city aerial image, and this option is de-selected by default so you can just skip over this anyway.
I've given some options in the Godzone Store to make it easy to try an Orbx-compatible scenery. There's a new FTX-compatible category. There's a new reduced price for the stand-alone Tauranga Airport (NZ$15), and there's an Orbx-compatible compilation special for the moment -- this bundles Real New Zealand Nelson and Real NZ Tauranga with the two 'legacy' sceneries, Supercity and Southern Lakes, for the price of Nelson and Tauranga only ($49)-- in fact $1 cheaper.
Tauranga is a bit weird in that it was normally bundled with Rotorua, but since Tauranga has been updated a couple of times, and is sold as a 'modern' scenery similar to Nelson, and Rotorua is an older 'legacy' scenery. You can still buy them together, though. I'll release an Orbx patch for Rotorua shortly, but at the moment I don't have plans to update this to the same standard as Tauranga. Maybe later.
There's a short video on my site showing Real NZ Tauranga as it appears with Orbx NZNI active. Here's a few screenshots of the 2.1 update with Vector Land Class.
Cheers off for a download 
One gotta plop back in myself , add to these a lotta Timmo's VLC photo scenery , so that would an extra search.