Lovin' the new Meigs - thanks IPACS, thanks Orbx

  • This is a large leap forward for Aerofly FS 2. Much more to come. Yea.

    Regards,
    Ray

  • Looking good there Ray, nice shots. How is the surrounding area do you think? OrbX said something like 12000km2 of photoreal imagery -some are raving about it, some are saying they are disappointed. Is it more just flat photoreal for now, or is there much by way of autogen? Some posts have said it isn't quite as good as the IPACS terrain. It seems the Chicago city autogen is coming shortly as an update rather than being in the initial release. I'll get it anyway at the weekend from steam, but I wanted to have realistic expectations.

    i5-12600K/MSI RTX 3080/Win11/64Gb RAM/Asus Xonar DX+ Beyer DT990 pro headphones/LG 34" UM65 @2560x1080/Quest Pro/TM Warthog+VKB MkIV Rudder pedals

  • Looking good there Ray, nice shots. How is the surrounding area do you think? OrbX said something like 12000km2 of photoreal imagery -some are raving about it, some are saying they are disappointed. Is it more just flat photoreal for now, or is there much by way of autogen? Some posts have said it isn't quite as good as the IPACS terrain. It seems the Chicago city autogen is coming shortly as an update rather than being in the initial release. I'll get it anyway at the weekend from steam, but I wanted to have realistic expectations.

    All empty and medium resolution (maybe 5m/pixel) flat photo. The scenery could be 5 sq. km wide it would be quite the same IMO.

    A "service pack" is supposed to come any time later with an autogen coverage, but currently it's very empty and quite ugly... I'm afraid an autogen coverage won't make up for the coarse resolution, unless they deliver new photo coverage with their SP...

    Cheers
    Antoine

    Config : i7 6900K - 20MB currently set at 3.20GHz, Cooling Noctua NH-U14S, Motherboard ASUS Rampage V Extreme U3.1, RAM HyperX Savage Black Edition 16GB DDR4 3000 MHz, Graphic Card Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 8GB, Power supply Corsair RM Series 850W, Windows 10 64 bit.

  • Looking good there Ray, nice shots. How is the surrounding area do you think? OrbX said something like 12000km2 of photoreal imagery -some are raving about it, some are saying they are disappointed. Is it more just flat photoreal for now, or is there much by way of autogen? Some posts have said it isn't quite as good as the IPACS terrain. It seems the Chicago city autogen is coming shortly as an update rather than being in the initial release. I'll get it anyway at the weekend from steam, but I wanted to have realistic expectations.

    John,
    That big area JV is talking about is defined with only marginally better photo scenery resolution. (something less than FS2004 for sure). I am looking at the big area as a "placeholder" for when the service pack comes out with the new autogen buildings and trees and such. I am especially curious to know what Orbx is going to do with all the existing airports in that area once we have sharp building and I assume sharp looking streets. Maybe some ground traffic?

    I really had rather not post any screen shots of that area while it is still in work. It is a large area and will make a nice place to fly around Chicago for sure.

    Regard,
    Ray


  • I really had rather not post any screen shots of that area while it is still in work. It is a large area and will make a nice place to fly around Chicago for sure.


    Er... sorry Ray, but I cannot more disagree. If IPACS or Orbx feels uncomfortable with this scenery while more is supposed to come later it should simply not have been released and sold yet.

    Potential customers deserve to know what they're purchasing before they do it. Advertising screenshots are lying by omission, strictly showing only the few highly detailed square meters. No single displayed screenshot shows the reality of more than 95% of the product.

    I don't regret my purchase because I wanted to see what Orbx can propose and how it's developping, but I would sure not encourage other AFS users to get it now, or at least they have to know what they get before paying.
    Orbx advertising is purely dishonnest in this case.

    My 2 cents
    Antoine

    Config : i7 6900K - 20MB currently set at 3.20GHz, Cooling Noctua NH-U14S, Motherboard ASUS Rampage V Extreme U3.1, RAM HyperX Savage Black Edition 16GB DDR4 3000 MHz, Graphic Card Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 8GB, Power supply Corsair RM Series 850W, Windows 10 64 bit.

  • Er... sorry Ray, but I cannot more disagree. If IPACS or Orbx feels uncomfortable with this scenery while more is supposed to come later it should simply not have been released and sold yet.

    Potential customers deserve to know what they're purchasing before they do it. Advertising screenshots are lying by omission, strictly showing only the few highly detailed square meters. No single displayed screenshot shows the reality of more than 95% of the product.

    I don't regret my purchase because I wanted to see what Orbx can propose and how it's developping, but I would sure not encourage other AFS users to get it now, or at least they have to know what they get before paying.
    Orbx advertising is purely dishonnest in this case.

    My 2 cents
    Antoine

    Well, they were certainly not crystal clear about what was or was not included in the released package but they made it clear that the big area would be updated with the new autogen and trees and such with a service pack because it would not be ready on the 15th. JV probably should not have mixed the screen shots with views of what was not included. I personally do not have a problem with it, Orbx almost always over delivers rather than under delivers, in my experience with them.

    Maybe the service pack is just around the corner and everyone will be excited. We can always spend our time in and around LOWI while the new Meigs is being completed.

    Regards,
    Ray

  • Thanks for the info Ray, personally I'd prefer an accurate description of what's there so I have a realistic idea of what I'm getting, but I don't think it's fair to criticise OrbX too much here. Sure they are going to make their product look and sound good, that's their job. The extra 12000km of scenery is over and above the other (FSX/P3d) versions of Meigs I believe, so fair enough if it's a bit placeholder.

    i5-12600K/MSI RTX 3080/Win11/64Gb RAM/Asus Xonar DX+ Beyer DT990 pro headphones/LG 34" UM65 @2560x1080/Quest Pro/TM Warthog+VKB MkIV Rudder pedals

  • Thanks for the info Ray, personally I'd prefer an accurate description of what's there so I have a realistic idea of what I'm getting, but I don't think it's fair to criticise OrbX too much here. Sure they are going to make their product look and sound good, that's their job. The extra 12000km of scenery is over and above the other (FSX/P3d) versions of Meigs I believe, so fair enough if it's a bit placeholder.

    Yes, I wrote the DTG/Orbx Meigs review for Avsim when it was the first Orbx release for Steam and also the first east of the Mississippi River so I was very familiar with the area.

    Regards,
    Ray

  • Just downloaded from Steam,
    these are some shots to show the coverage.
    I haven't been in the details right now, but I enjoy Meigs and look forward for even the announced scenery patch.

  • From here it doesn't look that different as wat we used ti, e.g. Las Vegas etc.
    Downtown buildings surrounded by flat photo scenery.

    Which is exactly why I bought buy Meigs. Yet. ;)

  • Which is exactly why I bought buy Meigs. Yet. ;)

    In addition to being an excellent location for sightseeing and flying around in general, it makes a great stopover for a little R and R when flying from the East coast DLC airports to the West coast and Utah and Arizona airports. Meigs is full of outstanding sights and the runway is very wide and long enough for most of our AF2 planes. The Learjet 45 fits very well.

    Best view going when taking off on the North runway and best view landing on the South runway.

    Regards,

    Ray