Display MoreI definitely see your point, but I disagree somewhat. I'd like to see it remain as-is with the option for those of us who want to do these things still be able to do them. It's very unlikely that they will give us an ultra-high-res topo mesh that covers the whole globe, or even the remote areas I particularly care about. Just the file sizes on that alone would be enormous. So, being able to improve those areas for my own purposes is very important to me, even if I'm not sharing them with anyone else.
The way they've implemented custom add-ons is very smart and very easily undone. If you want to restore the original sim as-installed, you just remove the files you've added to the folder in Documents.
For commercial companies selling expansion areas, then I think they should definitely coordinate with IPACS to ensure compatibility and not create 'kaleidoscopes.' But to take away our individual ability to customize things on our own would take away one of the things I like most about AeroFly (and at this point would break 90% of the areas I fly now because it's all custom stuff I've made). I think the method of letting people customize if they want is great (and obviously those people will know they might make things worse instead of better), while those who want everything to be by-the-book via IPACS can stick to the commercial products and add-ons.
FWIW, I think in a way it already is this 'kaleidoscope' you describe. The whole sim is built around having varying detail levels, and even with the default installation it changes quite a bit all over the map, including the existing topo mesh. In some areas the mesh is converted up to level 10 right now but for most larger areas it only goes to level 7. The same is true of the scenery. The cool thing about it is that you can add files to refine the 'stock' sim, which (for the most part) seamlessly integrates with everything else.
IMO, all they really need to do regarding the mesh is fine-tune the algorithm that merges edges of refined levels to ensure it doesn't create any invisible wall artifacts at the boundaries. That's the only thing I've seen so far that risks creating broken behavior in the sim.
For myself, I think the community tends towards standardization. In other sims you have a base mesh, and people tend to stick with that on a local level just because things can quickly get confusing otherwise. Proliferation of meshes eventually requires somebody with time, resources, and infinite patience, like Orbx, to rectify anomalies with a tool like the FTX airport elevations configurator, or for somebody like apilotX to step forwards with his various Hd Mesh versions to eventually get everyone more or less all back on the same page.
I noted DrHotwing1 telling everyone to be careful on this, and I realize once the genie is out of the bottle that it ain't going back in.......
With that in mind, my post was more about giving Ipacs a "poke" on the subject, since I suspect they might want to exert some overall control if possible, before it becomes the wild wild west out there.
On the other hand, maybe they don't care at all, in which case....... nevermind! 
