NZFF

by **FlyingKiwi** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 3:49 pm

It's looking better by the day!

Out of interest, are current mesh files compatible? I assume they are (especially since you've got that meshed-up screenshot) but confirmation would be good.

by **toprob** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 3:59 pm

FlyingKiwi wrote: Out of interest, are current mesh files compatible? I assume they are (especially since you've got that meshed-up screenshot) but confirmation would be good.

Yes, the 20 metre mesh becomes even more of a bargain with FSX.

by **moeraki** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 4:21 pm

The person with the Beta (sorry)
Can you confirm that if the Demo runs ok on my PC then the Beta would run ok and therefore the final product is probably going to be OK as well.

Just got my old PC (1800mhz 512mb Ram) fixed by upgrading 64mb video to 256mb Asus 9550GE and the demo runs ok in my opinion ie 15fps whereas my new PC holds at 26fps well.

Looking forward to getting it as FS2000 looks very sad indeed.
How far away is OCT anyway
Moe

by **Christian** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 4:29 pm

the good:

As Robin wrote, FSX does indeed include topo data by default. For kiwi's this is an amazing deal as you pretty much get my topo addon for free in FSX. People who bought my topo don't need to fret though, as there are still some bonusses in my topo pack, such as tunnels (FSX roads and rails just run over the hills), the 3500 grass strips, the power lines, the golf courses, etc. Out of the Box, NZ is pretty much the most accurate country now - yes, flying in NZ out of the box is in some aspects better than flying in the US (if you buy my mesh, it's better in almost all areas!)

The 20 m mesh works straight out of the box.

Even Wellington comes with photo-real highrise buildings. And the road and water traffic makes the whole FSX experience unreal.

the bad:

framerates are a shocker. I consider my system to be medium range (3GHz + 6600GT), and I know a lot of people have less grunt and I haven't spent all that much time in FSX. The reason is that the visuals I get in FSX are worse combined with worse framerate then what I have in FS9. Having said that, the build we have is several weeks old and MS are claiming that frame rates improve by the hour. At this stage I cannot see myself making the switch permanently, but let's hope this situation improves...

I'm not saying FSX isn't cool. As Robin, I absolutely love some of the new features. With FSX I simply feel like admiring a brand new Porsche through a shopping window - knowing it won't be installed in my garage for some time...

I'm not having high hopes for DX10 either. Rumours about 1000W systems and the fact that hardware manifactures almost always stuff up the 1st release of brand new technology, doesn't make me confident that in Jan next year we'll have the systems required to run FSX...

Also, good news for topo users, the standard FSX roads are unrealistically wide and wipe out almost all autogen in NZ cities. Personally, I quite dislike how cities look in FSX.

the ugly:

FSX is using the dodgy SRTM mesh. What's worse, rivers have to confine to that mesh. This means, if you want to fly in the Milford Sound you have 2 choices: stick to FS9, or buy my mesh + topo. Because FSX ruins the place.

As of the latest beta, not all topo features work. MS is promising this will be fixed before release. I cannot guarantee compatibility at this stage, as we beta testers won't have a chance to test this at all... Having said that, the airstrips, power lines, radio/TV masts, gold courses and race tracks should work, and the rest is in FSX anyway (although ruined in some areas due to the use of the SRTM mesh).

So what about the future of the topo then? At this stage, I suspect most people will stick to FS9 anyway. People switching to FSX will hopefully be able to use part of the topo to make FSX even better. I'm planning to have lots more cool stuff in an FSX topo including beaches, gravel beds, and every single strean in NZ. I'm also working on an airfield add on that corrects positions of the default FSX airports and adds the missing ones. I'll also revisit the pricing, but the bad news is that I'm bound to license agreements, so the price may not change at all...

In case someone wonders about my upcoming Victoria scenery, FSX is miles beyond FS9 in Australia, but my Vic mesh + topo will be miles beyond what FSX offers. The Australian data quality out of the box is by far not as good as what the spoilt kiwis get...

All of the above is of course only comments on what I have seen so far during the beta test and since I haven't seen the final version, I cannot guarantee that any of the above info is 100% accurate...

Cheers,
Christian

by **Christian** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 4:33 pm

Hi Moe

The demo mostly runs over water. Expect a substantial frame rate drop over mainland NZ (especially over the Alps). Having said that, who knows what MS will pull out of their hat in the remaining weeks.

Christian

by **ardypilot** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:13 pm

is pretty much the most accurate country now - yes, flying in NZ out of the box is in some aspects better than flying in the US

I wonder why this is? Perhaps there a few kiwis on the design team or something...?

by **Christian** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:16 pm

No. It's simply due to the fact that MS had access to the same NZ data I have access to. And the free US data is not as good as the NZ data.

Christian

by **Muppet** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:57 pm

Nice post Christian, cleared a few things up. I notice in that Queenstown shot the golf course by the airport is indeed in there by default, but this may not be the case for all golf courses? At any rate I will use FSX with your topo anyway, liking the sound of a new FSX topo by RBE too

by **kismet** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 11:11 pm

Would anybody with the beta please post some shots of NZWN, NZCH and YSSY?

by **squirrel350** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 1:20 am

Can any of you Beta testers confirm what sort of bell helicopter is included in FSX it says a Bell 206 is the default but some of the screenies look like a Bell 407 and will it just be a Bell and a Robbie again or can us chopper mad simmers be treated to more default helicopters.

by **toprob** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 10:14 am

squirrel350 wrote: Can any of you Beta testers confirm what sort of bell helicopter is included in FSX it says a Bell 206 is the default but some of the screenies look like a Bell 407 and will it just be a Bell and a Robbie again or can us chopper mad simmers be treated to more default helicopters.

No change there. There is a local paint job though.
user posted image

by **creator2003** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 11:26 am

looking really awesome isnt it WOW,,now one big question coming for a design point of view am i going to be able to use ez scenery in this ? and what changes if i cant will i have to do..are the bgl comp etc going to be the same as far as fs9 goes ,really all i want to know is am i going to beable to work with what ive got all really and are the textures going to be compat with the next genaration ?
mike :rolleyes:

by **squirrel350** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 2:49 pm

Thanks for clearing that up for me Robin and that repaint is that Peter Buttons old Westpac Machine ????.

Hey Mike hows your trip going, good to see your still lurking round the forums hows the picture taking going.
Did you see the Bell fly in to NZAA yesterday morning they were flying in from Whitianga after some sort of accident and another quick note you wont hear the bell for a few days your more likely to hear a squirrel flying in to NZAA if they have to fly up that way.

by **toprob** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 3:03 pm

natas2003 wrote: looking really awesome isnt it WOW,,now one big question coming for a design point of view am i going to be able to use ez scenery in this ? and what changes if i cant will i have to do..are the bgl comp etc going to be the same as far as fs9 goes ,really all i want to know is am i going to beable to work with what ive got all really and are the textures going to be compat with the next genaration ?
mike

I haven't thought to try Ezy Scenery, but I would assume that it won't work in FSX -- I know the FS8 version didn't work at all in FS9. Took them a long time to release the new version, but hopefully they'll be quicker off the mark this time around, given the popularity of the tool.
There are some changes to the SDK tools, but most of the older scenery files still work. There will apparently be a new GMAX export tool, but this won't be released until after the sim release. This integrates a lot of FS features, which has always been a shortcoming with GMAX.
There are plenty of changes in textures, but generally old textures will continue to work. The problem area is old reflective textures, mainly used in aircraft but some designers have used these for scenery. Old reflective textures are now transparent, rather than reflective, but there's a whole new texture set for reflectivity and bump mapping.
Designing for FSX will be a bit more complex, but ultimately more realistic.
There's also the mission aspect. A new scenery won't be complete without a mission or two thrown in.

by **creator2003** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 4:08 pm

thank you very much robin thats cleared that up for me its going to be a hole new thing again oh well i just hope that ezy will work or they will fix it ,isnt that bad of them though ,,all this money buying designer tools and here i go again having to by them all new ,,well like we have talk about im going to max after this fsdsv3 ,this weekend my uncle is coming over to help with the textures and that stuff as im getting a little sick of the tools in fsds they really dont do what i want half the time ,,missions are what i was looking at more for fs9 but the fsx has this covered finally,, and yeah i did see right through my choppers when i was out testing different things in fsx demo and now i understand fully this is going to be a big move for all of us..
mike

and scott no i didnt but i heared it,, and went right on to the pad at nzmb with paul from helilink and got some awesome photos of inside the hanger ,etc and some rotorbirds and also watched westpac come in from the hospital; just awesome

mike

by **FlyingKiwi** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 5:23 pm

Well I have to say NZ is looking really awesome in FSX; can't wait, just hoping it runs ok on my computer.

by **squirrel350** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 9:22 pm

I agree it is looking really good am wondering if I get a semi new pc (well better than the current one) and I just do what I have done with FS9 by taking all the fixed wing aircraft out except the cessna 172 and the files that arent need aswell and take all the scenery out except AUS and NZ just leaving me with my beautiful helis whether it will work alright.

by **Charl** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 9:30 pm

And the $64,000 question (drumroll)...
What about AI?
I assume the entire history of repaints and models isn't going to be wiped out in the new edition, right?
Any news on a built-in AFCAD-type editor, and FP generator?

by **toprob** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 10:23 pm

I'll just sneak this one in here, although it's a bit big.
This is default Auckland City, although it does include the 20 metre mesh. The buildings are MS default.
user posted image

The boats are real cute, they go about their business with a minimum of fuss, and its fun to watch the collision avoidance:)

by **ZÃƒÂ¶ltuger** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 11:15 pm

holy heck

those buildings are incredible, and they're default!
it even looks like they've built the extension onto the stamford plaza building

i notice there's no Air NZ building tho. is the harbour bridge there?

NZFF

New Zealand in FSX

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