Anyone interested in having animated Windmills in Aerofly Fs 2?

  • Torsten had told me this should be an easy addition to AFS2 way back when I was writing the Avsim review. I think we may be approaching the proper time for the introduction.

    Anyone willing to give it a try?

    No doubt, Orbx will include them in the PNW scenery and we know for sure they are included in the Aerosoft's Helgoland for AFS2.

    Regards,

    Ray

  • ANYTHING that moves is indeed a huge plus. Looks great! :)

    Barely flown ORBX not had the time... kinda saving it up now until the VIVE Pro :)

    There are a few early looks at the Vive Pro on Youtube, but most, if not all, seem disappointed at the lack of any large scale improvements.

    Regards,

    Ray

  • No. But it does remind me how much I am looking forward to choppers. ;)

    Me too. Tomorrow would not be soon enough for a helicopter. I'm sure we will all be dancing in the streets when the first one arrives.

    Regards,

    Ray

  • There are a few early looks at the Vive Pro on Youtube, but most, if not all, seem disappointed at the lack of any large scale improvements.

    Regards,

    Ray

    That’s not what I’ve been reading and hearing. At least some are very impressed and note how the resolution increase is enough to really make a difference. But we'll know for certain soon enough. The reviews I’ve seen have me very eager to get my hands on one.

    Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog, MFG Crosswind pedals, 2 dof Motion, Valve Index

  • That’s not what I’ve been reading and hearing. At least some are very impressed and note how the resolution increase is enough to really make a difference. But we'll know for certain soon enough. The reviews I’ve seen have me very eager to get my hands on one.

    I sure hope you are correct. The ones that I watched all were quite early so it is possible the update was not finalized.

    Regards,

    Ray

  • Ray, I think they have all been of the same version of headset. It’s just that many were hoping for eye tracking, foveated 4K rendering, and field of view approaching Pimax, but the technology just isn’t ready yet. So an almost doubling of the pixel counts and other features disappointed some reviewers. The Pro is really just what could be done now without a complete overhaul though it does have the new tracking sensors that can use either 1.x or 2.x version Lighthouse base stations.

    The true gen 2 headsets are going to need a lot to come together and work properly to pull off. First is just bandwidth. Those pixels at 90 fps at too much higher resolution have to be calculated and shipped to the headset which is already difficult on long, thin, flexible cables that can withstand being stepped on or sent wirelessly. There’s going to have to be on the fly compression and expansion of some sort. Eye tracking and foveated rendering will need to be there to reduce GPU and CPU loads, and it will probably be needing GPU driver support to work most efficiently so coordination with GPU manufacturers is probably in there too. Maybe even optimized silicon to do it right.

    What we are getting is a resolution increase that is enough to really address the thing flight simulators have the most difficulty with - text and gauges. The big increase in text readability is something everyone mentions in Pro reviews and where GPS and comm radio displays are tough to read now, it should make a big difference. I’ve not seen anyone specifically say that yet, but it stands to reason from the way reviewers have described it. And the differences where the Pro has had through the lens video are to me stunning. There’s one video where a dev got their Pro, put it on, and just started saying "oh wow, oh wow" and commenting on how much more detail he could see. It won’t be perfect and it isn’t gen 2, but some reviewers were expecting way too much I think. Sure, Pimax is trying to run at "8k" but it’s LCD, they are having trouble hitting 90 Hz, they are upscaling lower resolution images, their lensing has issues, and they are behind schedule with no announced ship date. I don’t mean to bash Pimax by any means. I’m just saying with the choices being a much needed bump in resolution that has significant benefits now, vs. true gen 2 that nobody has even announced and isn’t expected by many for at least another year, I’ll go for the headset I’ll be able to get in the next month or two.

    Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog, MFG Crosswind pedals, 2 dof Motion, Valve Index

  • More good news on the animated windmills (wind turbines) in Aerofly FS 2.

    I had asked about the upcoming release of Holgeland for AFS2 and the developer replied that he had received the installer and only needed a few more days for final testing. A minute or so later, Fabian Boulegue, the Aerosoflt QA Mgr. posted the following encouraging news.

    I am really exciting about this newest scenery add on. First, it is good to have Aerosoft supporting Aerofly FS 2 with add ons, 2nd this will be the first scenery for Germany, and third the first scenery with significant non-aircraft movement on the surface with the variable speed turbine blades spinning at different rates. Oh wow.

    And after of some early reservations about having no other local place to takeoff and land the isolated small island might be too restrictive for wide spread use, a mainland runway has been added so we can commute or just use the added runway for the larger and heavier aircraft.

    Any day now.

    Regards,

    Ray

  • Ray, I think they have all been of the same version of headset. It’s just that many were hoping for eye tracking, foveated 4K rendering, and field of view approaching Pimax, but the technology just isn’t ready yet. So an almost doubling of the pixel counts and other features disappointed some reviewers. The Pro is really just what could be done now without a complete overhaul though it does have the new tracking sensors that can use either 1.x or 2.x version Lighthouse base stations.

    The true gen 2 headsets are going to need a lot to come together and work properly to pull off. First is just bandwidth. Those pixels at 90 fps at too much higher resolution have to be calculated and shipped to the headset which is already difficult on long, thin, flexible cables that can withstand being stepped on or sent wirelessly. There’s going to have to be on the fly compression and expansion of some sort. Eye tracking and foveated rendering will need to be there to reduce GPU and CPU loads, and it will probably be needing GPU driver support to work most efficiently so coordination with GPU manufacturers is probably in there too. Maybe even optimized silicon to do it right.

    What we are getting is a resolution increase that is enough to really address the thing flight simulators have the most difficulty with - text and gauges. The big increase in text readability is something everyone mentions in Pro reviews and where GPS and comm radio displays are tough to read now, it should make a big difference. I’ve not seen anyone specifically say that yet, but it stands to reason from the way reviewers have described it. And the differences where the Pro has had through the lens video are to me stunning. There’s one video where a dev got their Pro, put it on, and just started saying "oh wow, oh wow" and commenting on how much more detail he could see. It won’t be perfect and it isn’t gen 2, but some reviewers were expecting way too much I think. Sure, Pimax is trying to run at "8k" but it’s LCD, they are having trouble hitting 90 Hz, they are upscaling lower resolution images, their lensing has issues, and they are behind schedule with no announced ship date. I don’t mean to bash Pimax by any means. I’m just saying with the choices being a much needed bump in resolution that has significant benefits now, vs. true gen 2 that nobody has even announced and isn’t expected by many for at least another year, I’ll go for the headset I’ll be able to get in the next month or two.

    There are folks on this forum using the Samsung Odyssey right now which has the same OLED resolution as the Vive Pro. What we really need is someone with an Oddysey who has used a Vive or Rift with FS2 previously, to find out how much clearer they are finding the instrument panel.