NZTU to NZTL in X-plane

[toprob]

I did mention that I took a test flight TL to TU, and that in X-plane the immersion becomes a major factor for me, compared to Prepar3d. I've been thinking about this, and I suspect that part of it is that I have a lot of baggage in Prepar3d, and MSFS in general, with 15 years of fighting for better visuals. So I know what the issues are in Prepar3d. In X-plane, though, I am going in as a newbie, so I can view it as such -- I think I see it as any user would, without the developer goggles.

But I will mention some of the things which work for me in X-plane. With this particular flight, I 'knew' where I was going from the time I got airborne. In Prepar3d, I tend to get lost easily, and part of this is due to fighting with my knowledge and control of the aircraft. In X-plane, I don't have any of this, so it flies like I would expect it to, and I can see what I would expect to see. Sure direct to Tekapo is a short hop from Timaru, and it's a big blue lake which you can't miss, but sometimes in Prepar3d I would miss it....

I'll post these shots here, rather than on my own site or the Kickstarter page, as they don't represent anything finished, or what you would expect from a Real NZ X-plane scenery, they are just quick conversions of the two airports, plus initial work on photoscenery, minus water masking in this particular area.





This is something I really like, zooming in on detail doesn't go to mush like with MSFS. It looks like a road and farm, and the actual hills in the distance.


There' the edge of my photo scenery to the left, it still needs a blend mask, but it works ok through the haze.






Another zoomed shot, showing the Mt John observatory, which is from the Real NZ Tekapo conversion


The lake doesn't yet have a water mask, so this is just photo water. One issue for me is that this part of the country is really renowned for its clear, crisp skies, and vibrant colours. I can sort of represent this in Prepar3d, but X-plane just dulls everything down. There is probably a solution...




The airport minus ground textures at the moment


The Real NZ Tekapo airport conversion

[Splitpin]

[Splitpin]

"they are just quick conversions of the two airports, plus initial work on photoscenery, minus water masking in this particular area." it's all Greek to me ... but bloody good shots.

[toprob]

Thanks for that, mate.
It's like any skillset -- you start at the beginning, and you keep going for 15 years. I learn two new things a week, and forget three, though....
My biggest fear is that someone works out a way to show people that anyone could do this, and I'd be out of a job:)