ORBX

[Airspeed]

Hi All,
I've installed ORBX Australia SP4.002.
Had some difficulty as it sent my DVD drive nuts, chugging, stopping starting, etc.
Found that it's essential to follow all the recommended settings, otherwise the results are disappointing.
There are some interesting live action bits that add a level of realism; birds fly out of trees, seagulls circle lighthouse, light in lighthouse rotates effectively, folks outside airport buildings wave and so on.
Of course, there are several freeware FTX airports that make it even better.
It doesn't seem to be 100% accurate as to every road and building, but it's a great step ahead.
Next on the shopping list is Accu feel.

[speedbird591]

Hello Mike. Welcome to the world of ORBX! We're an elite team on this forum at the moment, I think. AFAIK the only other users are Paul K, Peter McLeland and myself but I think it's because they have only recently expanded from their Australian home base. But I noticed on their forum the other day that there are over 18,000 registered users so the scenery is very popular. I think Paul is the only other one with Australia, while Peter and I have concentrated in the NW USA.

Sorry to hear some of the streets are in the wrong place but if you use an iPhone or iPad you'll find the maps are so useless that they may even match up!

Ian

[emfrat]

Hello, Ian and Mike -
In my Modern FS9.1 install I have VOZ and lots of goodies world-wide to go with it. Must haves for me are good coastlines and good mesh. The coastlines come from a variety of sources, as do the meshes.
In my Classic FS9.1 install I use the same world but with all the CalClassics scenery, planes, and AI addons, plus the Silver Wings textures which remove a lot of the modern urban sprawl.
In my Modern install (FSX) I have OrbX and FTX including the full Australia set. I also have VLC New Zealand, and a lot of the excellent sceneries being produced 'across the ditch' , many of them freeware, and a couple (TaupoX and HamiltonX) which are well up to any payware standard (and better than some) - the two together cost me less than USD10.
In all three, the add-on airports are excellent, and take full advantage of what the sims can do.

However, in VOZ I can pinpoint where I live, because the roads are right and so is the railway line. The township itself is not there, but part of VOZ was to encourage people to put up scenery of their own locality.
In FTX, I have to locate on a local lake and go from there. The roads are wrong, the railway is wrong, and while there is a patch of urban landclass of about the right size and orientation, it is some way NE of where it should be.
So, at the end of the day, I am mostly flying around NZ.
There is a lot of very good WIP at CalClassics, and I will be doing a major rebuild of the Classic install to include that.
I am pretty sure I will move my FSX to P3D, once v2.0 is settled...in the meantime, if someone who has P3D could put up a screenie of this location - Lat/Long: -27.6, 152.35 (about 25nm E of Toowoomba) - I would much appreciate it.

ATB
MikeW

[speedbird591]

...in the meantime, if someone who has P3D could put up a screenie of this location - Lat/Long: -27.6, 152.35 (about 25nm E of Toowoomba) - I would much appreciate it.

Good heavens, Mike. What do you do in your spare time? How can you possibly keep up with all that?

Well, I got myself to the coordinates that you gave, bearing in mind that this is Prepar3d default scenery. Obviously ORBX would be the same as in FSX. But there's nothing there unless that's where you've buried your gold, of course!




Ian

[emfrat]

Ian, you seem to be on the right side of the Highway, but you should be looking about 90 degrees right.
I should still have a pic I put up, asking for ananda for a shot from his FSX, years ago.
Will dig it out first chance.
Thanks
MikeW

[speedbird591]

I found the lake but I can't see any buildings, Mike.



Now turning north to follow the highway to a road junction but still no habitation.



Ian

[Airspeed]

I've just had a response to my query placed with ORBX support about inaccuracies, so I replied with a comment about "SO REALISTIC IT'S LIKE BEING THERE" giving me the wrong expectations.
eg the huge petrol storage next to Westgate Bridge is just a collection of industrial buildings, no acres of huge tanks, and lots of roads are plain wrong. Definitely, you get more of an Australian "feel" because the buildings are less American, AND it's wonderful to see traffic driving on the LEFT!
They appear to have changed the coastlines to get better realism(?) but at King Island, there are waves breaking over solid land. The three wind turbines there could easily have been animated IMHO, but remain static even when I kick wind up to 36 knots. (closed for repairs?)
The freeware FTX airports are good gear!

[Paul K]

Hello Mike. Welcome to the world of ORBX! We're an elite team on this forum at the moment, I think. AFAIK the only other users are Paul K, Peter McLeland and myself but I think it's because they have only recently expanded from their Australian home base. But I noticed on their forum the other day that there are over 18,000 registered users so the scenery is very popular. I think Paul is the only other one with Australia, while Peter and I have concentrated in the NW USA.

Sorry to hear some of the streets are in the wrong place but if you use an iPhone or iPad you'll find the maps are so useless that they may even match up!

Ian

Yep, Australia SP3 on DVD was my first Orbx purchase, but I downloaded PNW shortly afterwards, sometime last year I believe. The most recent addition was Pacific Fjords because I'd won Tongass Fjords in an Aerosoft forum competition, and wanted to link it to PNW. I'd like to say that from FTX England onwards, I'll stick with expanding Europe, but whats going to make for the more interesting and challenging flying - Southern Alaska or Belgium ?

[511Flyer]

I'm one of the VFR Flyers group, we all have ORBX and very often fly there using MP. At the moment, we are flying from Welshpool UK, to Welshpool Vic. We've just reached Nepal, so have a long way to go.

There is actually an airfield at Welshpool Vic, but nobody has modelled it yet. Any Offers??

In my experience, anybody who has the temerity to criticise on their forum, is likely to get short shrift.

D.

[ChrisHunt]

I also am an avid ORBX user - I have all of Australia except the boring bits (the bit in the middle - others may have different opinions ) NZ South Island and all of USA/Can except the pacifist fords. Very much looking forward to England and Northern California. There are several new screen shots of England in the FTX forum. Whilst not "so real it's like being there" (or words to that effect) it is a very good representation of what there is to see (the England screen shots demonstrate that very well).

BTW I've been trying to log on for months and all that happened was an apparently successful log in but a return to the log on screen whenever I wanted to post a comment (is this a hint?). A request for a new password seems to have sorted that but it does highlight perhaps the need for a general support email address accessible through the forum just in case.

Regards,
Chris