Diary of a developer

[Splitpin]

QUOTE (scaber @ Aug 25 2014,6:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I like more concentrated fun! Actually, as my wife doesn't drink it always seems a bit of a waste to open a bottle of wine and then have to leave most of it for another day .. . .

anyway . . . .
I thought it was gin that was mother's ruin. Whiskey is a preservative, it will keep me going for years to come!!

True , Gin is mothers ruin.

I recall my grandfather extolling the benefits of Whiskey ..."preservative" indeed, when he passed , he was cremated and it took 3 days to put the fire out!

[toprob]

What the hell, that week went quick... Yes, I managed to get the subscription out, almost on time this month.

The theme this week has been money-juggling, which is a bit of a stressful hobby. Luckily everything sorted itself out by today, although I am living without mobile phone credit at the moment, no great loss.

I went for a drive around Lyttelton today (my flatmate has some sections over there, and we were checking to see how much Spring work is required to tidy them up(lots)) and I was really freaked out by how messed up it still is. It really looks post-apocalyptic -- my old neighbourhood looks abandoned, and the town is a disaster area. On Sunday is the road tunnel's 50th birthday, and they are closing it to traffic to let people walk through -- it's a real shame there's not much to see once they walk out...

I can remember when the tunnel opened, and I can remember the first time I went through on my motorbike -- I think it cost me 10 cents, cars were 20 cents? Takes a lot of 10 cent coins to pay off a tunnel, I guess.

I'd like to say that Lyttelton has come a long way since the tunnel gave access, but it hasn't. The one and only bank has just closed, although there is a new supermarket, which makes my life a lot easier -- I take the ferry across the harbour, load up with just what I can carry, so I have to go two or three times a week.

If anyone is planning to walk the tunnel this Sunday, let me know, and I'll talk you out of it meet you for a beer.

[Ian Warren]

I recall the travels through the Lyttleton tunnel , the control office looked so good , last time I went though it was a sad site, that was with Adrian Petford on the return trip home after that NZFF/World meet back August 15th 2012.

I recall the toll gates and the parents figuring out the costing .. had just changed from the British shilling and pence to New Zealand currency, we were at the Lyttleton port checking out the new Lyttleton-Wellington ferry Wahine at the terminal, other side off the wharf was the old Moari.

[AdrianPetford]

QUOTE (Ian Warren @ Aug 29 2014,12:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I recall the travels through the Lyttleton tunnel , the control office looked so good , last time I went though it was a sad site, that was with Adrian Petford on the return trip home after that NZFF/World meet back August 15th 2012.

I recall the toll gates and the parents figuring out the costing .. had just changed from the British shilling and pence to New Zealand currency, we were at the Lyttleton port checking out the new Lyttleton-Wellington ferry Wahine at the terminal, other side off the wharf was the old Moari.

A shame I never saw Lyttelton at its best. Was that the same Wahine that was lost at Wellington in 1968?

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (AdrianPetford @ Sep 1 2014,1:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A shame I never saw Lyttelton at its best. Was that the same Wahine that was lost at Wellington in 1968?

Yes indeed , I did see it on its side in Wellington the next year on board the Aranui and return was the Aramoana Blew their whistles as they went past for the people lost and salute - , in its time it was the Wahine was the largest roll-on-roll-off ship in the world, 1969-1970s to even when the new TEV Rangatira its replacement .. Lyttleton was very different then - walk out on the wharfs.

I should try and get that book back plus another which show Lyttleton in its day , the above is a photo from that book I posted years on the forum.

Another book I have here ... since air travel basically put a end to the Lyttleton-Wellington run the TEV Rangatira was next seen in another off my book under a different name tho ... in Port Stanley as a troop transport at the end 1982 Falkland War .

[toprob]

Was that another week wizzing by?

Monday
After a few short days last week (my flatmate had an operation on her hand, so I needed to do most tricky things for her all week), it's yet another half-day today -- I took my flatmate into town to visit the clinic, to check on her recovery from surgery. While she was at the clinic, I walked into town, and had a look around. All I can say is that central Christchurch will look great one day; but until then, it'll look pretty horrible. The odd bit of nice development does nothing against the onslaught of demolition and devastation.

I still get surprised by my reaction to things in the wrecked city -- especially around places I've worked, and spent a lot of time. The demolition of the old library hit me the hardest, it was such a great library, and although I'm more likely to use the local Lyttelton library now, I'll miss this a lot.

Tuesday
After spending months and months working on the new Wellington autogen, I decided to try out the Scenproc tool to see how well it could go towards automating the process, from online data. I've been using this for vegetation, from the NZ-wide database available from LINZ -- I used this for the existing Subscription areas, to very good effect.

However the deciding factor here was the Wellington City Council 'building footprint' data, which includes most of the buildings in Wellington, up to and including Porirua. Since I'd decided to extend the photoscenery beyond the original Real NZ new version, I thought this would be a great way to fast-track the autogen in the extentions. Turns out it works a treat, so I did the entire footprint database area to see how it looked, and now I'm stuck having to decide between my hand-placed autogen, which has a certain amount of character (and a number of flaws), or the Scenproc version, which looks damn good.
So that took care of the morning (once the experimentation was out of the way, it actually took 10 minutes to create and process the data. Kind of blows me away, especially after spending months and months creating the earlier version.)

In the afternoon, I headed into town to visit my son and daughter-in-law, and my two grandsons, partly because I don't see enough of them, but also because Marty had dropped off the Bob Dylan tickets at their place, as they live close-by.

While I was there, my son got a phone call from a company he interviewed for earlier in the week, inviting him to fly up to Tauranga and meet the general manager... On the way home, although I was still hyped up from seeing them all, and the concert tickets, it suddenly struck me that they will probably all be gone in a few weeks -- so I'd better make the most of having them still here in Christchurch!

Wednesday
Tonight is the Dylan concert, and I'm kinda excited, because I don't remember the last time I went to a big concert like this. Not much work was done, because I couldn't settle, and my daughter was coming over since Wednesday and Thursday are her 'weekend', so we did Father's Day on Wednesday. Plus I'd invited her to the concert. So really although I was fidgety all day, it was a good day in every regard.

Rob goes to see Bob
Yes, I've always been a fan of Dylan, going back to when I was at school. I've never been into poetry for its own sake, but I did appreciate it if it was hidden in a catchy tune. The thing about Dylan -- or indeed, any good poet -- is how his lyrics can evoke such strong associations, so for me it isn't so much the stories they tell, but the way that simple phrases can evoke something which is deep and meaningful to me. Dylan does that particularly well, in that I normally have no idea what he is on about, but the phrases he uses trigger so much emotion, memory, feelings, that I don't need to delve into any other meaning.

I was aware the Bob wasn't getting any younger, and this was particularly noticeable on his 2012 'Tempest' album, especially after the brilliant 'Modern Times' in 2006. I know that the last time he was here in NZ, there was a lot of poor reviews because of his voice, so I was prepared to hear something like 'Tempest', but I shouldn't have worried -- he has a raspy voice now, that's for sure, but he's certainly not lacking in sheer power, and the result is very impressive.

Right from the start of the concert I was hooked, the highlight being "Workingman's Blues #2" from Modern Times, which was already a favourite, but is now my new best favourite...

I was pleased to see so many younger folk in the audience, but my daughter said that Dylan was still 'cool', so I guess that explains it. My daughter also told me that it 'wasn't rock-n-roll' to check the noise meter app on my phone to see if there was any danger of hearing damage...

So although I was prepared to enjoy the concert even if I had to make an allowance for Dylan's failing voice, I didn't have to in the end, his voice is different, but still great. 10/10. Cheers, Marty!

I'd be keen to go again if he's still touring at 83...

[Splitpin]

"Cheers, Marty" Your more than welcome Rob , really pleased you enjoyed it .

[toprob]

Election day is always a bit of a tradition for me, I guess it goes back to when I was young, keen and married. Wives may come and go, but tradition lasts forever, so yesterday I got up, actually ironed a shirt, gave my flatmate the traditional election day abuse -- 'you're driving to the poll? You may as well just storm up to the Green candidate and slap her in the face!' -- and set off on the 3 minute walk to the school.

On the way I checked the mail, and there was the final-final demand from the debt collector for my ACC levies (mental note - ring them on Monday), which kind of dampened things a little, but that's the way life is.

My flatmate was about 3 ahead of me in the queue, and I was acutely aware that in the scheme of things my vote simply cancels hers out, but you still gotta do it, eh?

This is my first spring in Diamond Harbour, and I'm continually amazed at how beautiful the place is, on the walk home I have the view over the harbour on one side, and paddocks complete with lambs and their mums on the other.

I did plan to watch the third Godfather movie that night, but I kept on switching to the election results, so I only managed a bit of the movie. Still, the results were just as much fun, plus I was pleased and surprised to find that New Zealanders are still capable of making a good decision, even after the weird and wonderful run-up to the election. Dotcom's apology speech was unexpected, but proved that even the wackiest are quite normal human beings underneath...

So, that's over for another three years, back to the grind.

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (toprob @ Sep 21 2014,11:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dotcom's apology speech was unexpected, but proved that even the wackiest are quite normal human beings underneath...

Must watch the news tonight then ... he's not running the country then ... or Apology " I'm Sorry to be so BIG and Pushy" ..... better than the "I'm Sorry to be a Man" ...... Vote Ian for President ! Ho Ya !

[toprob]

A bit of a non-event this week, with some plodding away on masking/autogenning, which is a major part of photoscenery. I've worn out another mouse, and the replacement was a bit of a dud, so I'm waiting on a new one in the mail.

Speaking of autogenning, I've had three emails in quick succession, asking my opinion on a post over at the FTX forum, regarding a NZ photoscenery available at Flightsim.com. One of the Orbx developers commented that it seemed a bit of a waste to do that sort of work, considering that Orbx had already 'done' New Zealand.

I know that Orbx have promoted this point of view, and I don't really blame them -- they did a good job on NZ, and they deserve to sell a lot. It makes sense that Orbx continue to promote FTX NZ as a complete solution as long as they can. And for some simmers, it is -- there's a lot of 'FTX FTW!' users who are happy to only fly over Orbx scenery.

But the only thing 'done' about it is any further development. And the reality is that unless other locals actually get stuck into some new development, it'll not only never be done, it'll never get any major developments at all. Sooner or later people are going to realise that when Orbx say no more NZ development, that's what they mean. The current attitude seems to be 'sure, Orbx, we believe you, just whenever you're ready...'

This mainly affect locals -- for everyone else, FTX NZ is a nice, complete package. But locals want airports, quality custom airports, which look like the real thing. Unfortunately, as Orbx discovered, producing airports is an expensive proposition, and this expense is best spent on larger, more popular airports than any here in NZ.

Luckily we have a few local developers who don't worry too much about making lots of money, and I include payware developers like me. The goal here is to continue to develop New Zealand scenery, not pick and choose nice popular locations throughout the world, but stick strictly to New Zealand. Because that's where we live.

The fact that there are real Kiwi simmers who live in New Zealand was very apparent on NZFF this week, with a post about Herald Island, a tiny little island off Whenuapai RNZAF base, Auckland. Attached to the mainland via a causeway, you could walk around Herald Island and get back in time for morning tea. In some parts of the world, this would be an insignificant speck, not worth including in an Orbx region. And as this post pointed out, although Orbx had included it, they hadn't included any of the 300-odd houses, it was just a bush-clad wilderness.

Now it turns out that for some local simmers, this has a lot of significance. It was a simple job to download an aerial image, mask and autogen it, and upload it to the forum. Of course this isn't going to make a blip on the scenery development radar, but for locals, there's a real need to have these places well-represented. Even for 'normal' simmers, the fact that this is right there on the Whenuapai flightpath also means that a bland, generic blob isn't going to work, even if it is covered in lovely FTX trees...

Of course we have to keep coming back to the need for quality airports. To get these will require some dedicated locals. I've stated that my goal is to be able to work full-time on airports, but to kick-start this I need to raise some capital, and the way I've chosen to do this is the Godzone Photoscenery Subscription. This is for keen locals, who may or may not be super-keen on photoscenery, but hopefully they'll figure out that supporting this is a positive step towards a vibrant set of New Zealand airports one day. And will hopefully include more than a couple of nice airports by the finish.

And any other developers who choose to do any work on New Zealand scenery shouldn't take offense when Orbx developers mock them -- they're protecting their business model, which has very little to do with great local scenery. Keep up the good work.

And keep buying the subscription:)

[hoki1185]

I would be happy to buy a subscription from you but think it would help if you could explain whether it is a reasonably simple matter to run it alongside ORBX FTX,how to load it and where it should sit in the scenery folder,i.e. is it a reasonably seamless exercise?.I say this because I only have basic computer skills and generally rely on programmes to find their own path into FSX.Ian.

[cowpatz]

Each package comes with it's own installer. Just a few mouse clicks and you're done. Easy peesy.

[toprob]

Yes, as cowpatz said, the installer does most of the work. Each issue comes in a ZIP file which contains the installer, and a manual in PDF format. It is recommended that you read the manual, then run the installer.

The only tricky bit with Orbx scenery is that if you ever use FTX Central to switch regions, or turn a region off and on, it will reset the Orbx scenery position in the Scenery Library to the top of the list, which isn't where you want it to display addon scenery such as the subscription.

To fix this, you should run FTX Central, and select the 'FTX Scenery Library Insertion Points' tool from the Tools menu. Then you need to set the Insertion Point below any addon scenery which is designed to go on top of Orbx scenery. You only need to do this once, but you do need to do it at least once.

Just contact me if you are unsure about anything.

-Robin

[zk2704]

Nice to see you with an update on your Subscription Sceneries, are you considering of doing a new Auckland Photoreal Scenery?

[MichaelBasler]

QUOTE (toprob @ Oct 10 2014,3:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This mainly affect locals -- for everyone else, FTX NZ is a nice, complete package. But locals want airports, quality custom airports, which look like the real thing. Unfortunately, as Orbx discovered, producing airports is an expensive proposition, and this expense is best spent on larger, more popular airports than any here in NZ.

I am not a local (rather the opposite), but I want NZ airports, too. I belong to those who enjoy ORBX NZ, however, as I understand they essentially gave up on airports because of low sales (hard to believe, but if they tell...). This way there is certainly room for addons, and am happy for every high-quality airport in the area, freeware or payware, as long as it's (i) FTX compatible (ii) Prepar3d2 compatible. I am also looking much forward to the NZAA in development.

Unfortunately, I am on a backlog with installing the recent Wellington release, as I'd first have NZNI installed into Prepar3d, which seems to be delayed by ORBX. It's the last of the regions they are making P3D2 fit, which says much.

Kind regards, Michael

[toprob]

QUOTE (zk2704 @ Oct 10 2014,11:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

are you considering of doing a new Auckland Photoreal Scenery?

Auckland won't be part of the subscription, I'm kind of hoping that someone else does that, anyway. Of course anyone who did would need to do NZAA, I released Auckland photoscenery for FS2004, Supercity for FSX, and if I did another Auckland without the airport I'd probably be lynched:) So this time the airport needs to come first, we'll see if Orbx deliver, and it might be worthwhile building a high resolution photo city around it.

QUOTE (MichaelBasler @ Oct 11 2014,4:05 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am not a local (rather the opposite), but I want NZ airports, too.

You are an honorary local, and I'm aware that your needs are similar -- certainly not like the bulk of Orbx customers who want something exotic from the other side of the world, but wouldn't care what the real NZ is like at all.

By the way, Germany is by far my largest supporter outside New Zealand. I don't know why that is, it's just always been that way.

[MichaelBasler]

QUOTE (toprob @ Oct 10 2014,10:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

By the way, Germany is by far my largest supporter outside New Zealand. I don't know why that is, it's just always been that way.

I can tell you: Because of lack of high-quality Germany scenery. Aside some freeware, Aerosoft having been active in the country has neglected Germany during the last years and notably under Prepar3D2. (Agreed, that's certainly only part of the answer.)

BTW, I luckily enjoyed a visit to your country in the last year. Together with my wife, I was invited (and accompanied) by both of our sons to a roundtrip through NZ. Unforgettable.

Kind regards, Michael

[Ian Warren]

Michael , I guess one thing you can say about New Zealand , It can get so dynamic very quickly, now with photo-real RealNZ/Godzone subscription and the freeware incoming to mix, you may as well live in the NZ.

[toprob]

Wow, this week has zoomed by, mainly because at the moment I'm working 'office hours', to maintain some sort of rhythm and momentum. So I start work at 8:30, and try and knock off at a set time. Knocking off isn't as easy as starting on time, though, and I do tend to justify sitting at the computer through tea-time and beyond, by telling myself that I'm 'experimenting', which is different from 'working'.
I've been purposefully keeping from thinking about the fact that at the end of this month I need to make a firm decision whether or not to continue with the subscription. That'll be stressful, and I refuse to be stressed until absolutely necessary. At the back of my mind, though, I've very aware that I didn't sell a single subscription this week!

I did take Thursday off, I've mentioned before that my daughter's weekend is Wednesday/Thursday, so if I don't take a day off I don't get to see her often. We normally just go out for a couple of coffees, or a couple of beers, this week was one of each. She's talking about shifting to Wellington to finish her Masters at Victoria, so I appreciate any time I have with her. My oldest son has been living overseas for years, now, and my other son is looking for work, and all the jobs so far are outside of Canterbury, so next year if I want to see my kids I'll have to get on a plane. Still, any excuse...

I've locked up my credit card indefinitely, so I've missed out on some nice fightsim releases lately. I also need to buy Orbx Queenstown before I get to the Queenstown photoscenery, but when you are not earning, flightsim addons are a luxury you just can't even consider.

Although I did make one 'luxury' purchase this week, I hummed and harred all week, but in the end I decided that all work and no play makes Rob a bit of a sad-sack, so I bought the latest release from the 'other' Bob -- Bob Seger. Like Bob Dylan, he is still going strong, approaching seventy, and I've become a staunch fan since my operation. He's the voice of baby boomers, and I have so many favourites, it's really hard to choose one. However since I recovered from my op, I've made sure my kids know that they should play 'Like a Rock' at my funeral.

His new album is very nice, although I do think that I'd like to hear a 'live' version -- he tends to polish stuff a lot on his albums, which can be a bit over the top at times. Still, the lyrics are great, albeit a bit of a switch to religious themes, which isn't that surprising at his time of life, and doesn't really offend me as much as it should... But some great ol' country rock/blues, which is right up my alley.

When Bob Dylan was in town, I know that Marty complained when I mentioned my 'bucket list', and I told him not to worry, I have enough on my list to keep me going for decades. However if Bob Seger came to town, I'd be a lot further along the list, and I might start worrying...

I bought this from Amazon, as I normally have a tiny credit there, if anyone clicks on an Amazon link from me I do earn a few cents...like this link.

[toprob]

Oops, I'll just mention that one of the rules of the 'me-against-the-cosmos' game I'm playing at the moment is that I need the subscription to pay for itself, so I've had to say no to an offer of a donated Queenstown -- this was from a simmer who has previously supported me above and beyond what a customer should. That's not to say that I would say no to Orbx themselves...

The subscription is by far the most exciting thing I've ever worked on, looking at where it is headed, and at the same time the most frustrating, sales-wise. So to keep things fair, the success depends entirely on people actually wanting the scenery, and buying it. I have had a number of donations recently, which I really appreciate, but the real test of what I do has to be a reasonable number of customers paying a reasonable price.

-Robin