John Venema 9,314 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Hello everyone, I know many of you are waiting eagerly for new of how openLC EU is shaping up, and I'm pleased to say it has entered testing this week and we are aiming to construct our first full build for FSX/P3D1/P3D2 within a week or so. Yes, there's been a delay to this project, but if we are to be brutally honest, this has turned out to be a massively ambitious project and we have produce a HUGE amount of new textures for you which all have to be seasonally coloured, annotated, night lighting added so this has pushed our openLC project timeline out somewhat. I can tell you that in 2014 you *will* see the EU and NA openLC regions released though, which I think given the task ahead of us is a positive step. The price will increase slightly due to the extra work and cost involved, but only modestly, to AU$24.95 (£13, €16.50, US22), but given the sheer amount of content in these addon packs you will realise for yourself it is a worthwhile investment, for sure. Now .. here are some shots from Scandinavia, and as Emmsie and the testing team begin to play with this in FSX/P3D you will see many more shots over the coming weeks. We are targeting an April release for openLC EU, but please keep in mind there's a lot of testing and tuning to do yet, so don't hold us to it Oh and to pre-empt the inevitable questions: - Yes it will be native FSX / P3D1 and P3Dv2.x - It will be download only, about ~3GB but we will give you a better file size estimate soon - Pensioner and OZx discounts will apply - It will work seamlessly with FTX Global BASE and VECTOR - It will feature the FTXG lighting and work with the new lighting control app - I am not 100% sure if these shots are using VECTOR, I will find out and confirm ASAP - It will cover all of Europe - Yes, once all openLC packs are released we will do a whole-world "bundle" of BASE/VECTOR/openLC so you can upgrade your sim in a single step (2015/16, though) - It will look fantastic!!!! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jpreou 104 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Too cool. Thanks everyone involved. Eagerly anticipating. Sure like the sound of a single installer too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tolkien 2 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Great shots, but sadly no comparison shots, hopefully next time. I wonder if this gets rid of the extreme patterns I'm seeing with Global FX at high altitudes in many parts of the world, because that's the main thing that always bugged me about Global FX. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Venema 9,314 Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 We will be of course making before/after comparison videos, as we did for VECTOR. openLC will completely eliminate any repeating patterns in the area it covers, in addition to adding a large amount of unique textures relevant to the the region. You will note from the shots above there is zero repetition. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ticker7 62 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Looks real perty John but couldn't help but notice the rather loud water colour (inland) will this be fine tuned or is it just my monitor ? either way mate it'll be a great addition to my sim ;-) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kiki 8 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Looking good, I would have wanted to know where in Scandinavia these shots are taken. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cabnz 108 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Wow - amazing stuff. Thank you Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMD 114 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Shaping up to be a good year, it just keeps getting better and better, regards John MD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gsumner 10 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Those shots look " Regional "quality guys. Just awesome ! Cant wait for the release. Graham Quote Link to post Share on other sites
simulatorflyer 5 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Looking great. Is that a ferry crossing in the sixt picture from the top? If so i wonder if this is a feature of openLC EU, showing real crossings and ferries going to and from? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 That looks wonderful. FTX Global is now completed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevefocus 8 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Looks great can't wait for release. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DocBird 77 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Looks very nice! One question though: Will this "shape" the cities? What I mean is this: Here in Germany we have rather precise cities and villages. Only a few houses are scattered outside of the cities/villages. For example: Look for the region around EDDF: In reality we have rather defined cities/villages but in FSX there are buildings all over the place. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob Newman 283 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Looks very nice! One question though: Will this "shape" the cities? What I mean is this: Here in Germany we have rather precise cities and villages. Only a few houses are scattered outside of the cities/villages. For example: Look for the region around EDDF: In reality we have rather defined cities/villages but in FSX there are buildings all over the place. There are two methods of placing landclass in FSX... The default method (and the one used by Open LC) involves a 1km x 1km grid system. In other words, the world is divided into 1km x 1km squares and each one is assigned a particular landclass. Method two involves creating polygons. These can be any shape, so very accurate city outlines (and forests, marshes etc) van be produced. This is the method used in the full FTX regions, but not Open LC. That being said, I would expect a great improvement over default and more accurate cities simply due to the use of more accurate data. Also, while version 1 of Open LC uses the default grid assigned LC method, there are tentative future (once all Open LC packs have been released, so very far into the future ) plans to create a version 2 Open LC which would use polygon LC placement. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PeterSuranyi86 43 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Great shots, but sadly no comparison shots, hopefully next time. I wonder if this gets rid of the extreme patterns I'm seeing with Global FX at high altitudes in many parts of the world, because that's the main thing that always bugged me about Global FX. Repetition and extreme patterns had nothing to do with FTX Global, rather than the underlying FSX landclass, which will be replaced by this product. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Magnus Farnes 11 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Good choice of location for the preview shots! This looks just like my back yard Looking good, I would have wanted to know where in Scandinavia these shots are taken. Shot #1 looks like it is from above Tyrifjorden, looking SE towards Oslo. #3 is definately looking NW over Bygdøy and suburban Oslo with the Tryvann tower and Holmenkollen ski jump in the top right corner. #4 is looking NE at the industrial eastern part of Oslo, with the Alnabru rail terminal and highway E6 clearly visible in the middle. #5 is looking W over central Oslo. The next 5 shots look like western Norway with the fjords, and the rest I can't tell. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
paddler 360 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 John, The shots look stunning! The price is quite reasonable. Bring them on when ready! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
briansommers 33 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 ok.. I'll ask what feels to me the dumb question, but I have to just know for sure. I have all of EUR regions, UK, Wales, Ireland, south and North I won't need this correct? Those regions you guys put out, the LC in those are more detailed than these correct? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alberto Zanot 4 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Hi John, thanks for the screens. Just to make us envying Last release date I remember I've read was mid/end-february. Is there any new info about this? Thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob Newman 283 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 ok.. I'll ask what feels to me the dumb question, but I have to just know for sure. I have all of EUR regions, UK, Wales, Ireland, south and North I won't need this correct? Those regions you guys put out, the LC in those are more detailed than these correct? If you're only ever going to fly in those full regions, then yes... You have more detailed LC (and better customized textures). If however you plan on flying anywhere on Europe that is not part of the full regions (France, Germany, Spain, Italy, anywhere in Europe at all), then Open LC will help improve things considerably, especially when combined with Vector. Hi John, thanks for the screens. Just to make us envying Last release date I remember I've read was mid/end-february. Is there any new info about this? Thanks! It's entering testing this week... Keep watching the preview threads for Emsie's "final shots" As with all releases now, it will be ready when it's ready... But the wait is almost over Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NN_Avirex 19 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 WOOOOOOW!!!!!! That's what I was waiting for !!! I was convinced that the amount of work was heavy, and for this reason we would wait for it, but nothing of this quality covering all Europe has never been maid before. The price remains extremely competitive anyway. Good job !!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marcog84 1 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Cool! I'm waiting for it. Finally Europe will be so enjoyable to fly in. And with an extimated 3 gb download, sure there will be LOT of new textures (and I hope that the awful castle ruins I find everywhere with global will gone away...) Please some shots from Southern Europe, like Italy or Spain! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ridinroun 47 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Nice shots. Looking forward to adding this to my sim world. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DylanM 37 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Very excited! This, in combination with the P3D V2.2 cloud shadows, is going to transform my VFR flights around Europe Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kiki 8 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Good choice of location for the preview shots! This looks just like my back yard Shot #1 looks like it is from above Tyrifjorden, looking SE towards Oslo. #3 is definately looking NW over Bygdøy and suburban Oslo with the Tryvann tower and Holmenkollen ski jump in the top right corner. #4 is looking NE at the industrial eastern part of Oslo, with the Alnabru rail terminal and highway E6 clearly visible in the middle. #5 is looking W over central Oslo. The next 5 shots look like western Norway with the fjords, and the rest I can't tell. Thanks for your information. After looking those places in satellite pics, scenery looks even better? Is the future Norway scenery even better? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MikeMarioR 13 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Hi John, the pictures are very beautiful. I am curious how Germany will look. Typical for the spring time are the bright yellow rape fields. Any chance to see it in OpenLC? Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Axel 2 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Hello! Great preview and really looking forward to the next bunches of pictures! Repetition like zero sounds nice. What about water LC, would it be possible to have no more patterns of water texture? Or is this just not possible there? Especially on larger waters you notice these patterns immediately. Brgds, Axel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GregJ 117 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Dear Development Team: My employer would like you to write them a short note that explains why my productivity has dropped off. Apparently my explanation, while perfectly sound to me, and inclusive of how it sounded to me when I gave my explanation, which was: "Frankly, I am concerned about your accusations, I will have you know, that as a part of the perk of employees being allowed to utilize the internet for personal and legal reasons, I have been reviewing wonderful new places to fly in my flight simulator software, developed by ORBX for P3D, which as a correlated result has dropped productivity during the "tracked time" in which you have reviewed my work. "However, in the time in which you have not monitored my work my output has a triple installer that allows me to install previously generated areas of work that have been enhanced in such a way that the simulated world has been made far more immersive....." This just didn't cut the mustard.... they said to me that when asked the original question I said "ORBX", and then started to slaver and drool.....like a Pavlovian dog upon hearing the "bell" aka: the stimulus. Thanks.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Zgredd 7 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I'll be candid (people please don't hang me)... I don't see any revolution on those screens. But still I'm looking forward to buy openLC as I belive only foretaste is revealed for now. I would like very much to see screens over Alps, Poland, Italy, Greece, Croatia. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Venema 9,314 Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 There's nothing "revolutionary" about correct and accurate landclass, it's just that it makes places you fly over look much more like the real world. I thought that is what most people want? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tolkien 2 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 We will be of course making before/after comparison videos, as we did for VECTOR. openLC will completely eliminate any repeating patterns in the area it covers, in addition to adding a large amount of unique textures relevant to the the region. You will note from the shots above there is zero repetition. Great!! Repetition and extreme patterns had nothing to do with FTX Global, rather than the underlying FSX landclass, which will be replaced by this product. Your comment contradicts John's, who said without hesitation: "zero repetition" If "zero repetition" would be the result of just defining a landclass, then why do I still see patterns stretching hundreds of kilometers no matter what landclass product I tried for southern Ontario (lots of farmland, like in many areas of Canada and the USA)? When John says, "zero repetition", then there is obviously a lot more to it than defining the correct class and I don't see how the increased number of textures of this new product will fit in, because wouldn't landclass "farmland ontario" not just be linked to the same texture each time, because that would explain why I continue to see patterns with similar products. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bartolomeus 7 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 That's great, can't wait....! Marko Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Zgredd 7 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 There's nothing "revolutionary" about correct and accurate landclass, it's just that it makes places you fly over look much more like the real world. I thought that is what most people want? For me the true revolution would be --> no more pattern <-- I just was meant that screens don't show true openLC potential which it contains, as I hope (which I have expirienced with Iceland demo). Some screens over Alps or high altitude over Germany, Poland, Italy would show more Quote Link to post Share on other sites
roger hopkins 8 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Just a quickie, Will it be downloaded to Global or to Europe ( I have EU England, Scotland, etc. ) and what one of these will be applied to fly within EU LC. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tolkien 2 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Just a quickie, Will it be downloaded to Global or to Europe ( I have EU England, Scotland, etc. ) and what one of these will be applied to fly within EU LC. This is for Global only, the regions your bought have their own vectors, textures, landclass, mesh, etc, they will always be superior to Global. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Venema 9,314 Posted March 26, 2014 Author Share Posted March 26, 2014 We are testing EU in sections, currently it's Scandinavia, so I will ask Emmsie to take some altitude shots for everyone. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
deetee 2 Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 There's nothing "revolutionary" about correct and accurate landclass, it's just that it makes places you fly over look much more like the real world. I thought that is what most people want?Looks fine to me! Those other pre-beta shots with the farmland perhaps showed even better the potential, but we're looking here at a heavily-forested area so the foresty bits are well, foresty. Most of us though "get it" and see the enormous potential and value in the FTX Global project. I think that whatever info you give out to try and set expectations, there will always be a few who expect/demand that FTX Global be of the same quality as an FTX region, which would obviously be unfeasible given the work involved just for a small full-fat region. Bring on OpenLC EU, card is at the ready. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lonepilot 1 Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Don't forget to take some shots of Portugal and Spain! Keep up the good work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PeterSuranyi86 43 Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Great!! Your comment contradicts John's, who said without hesitation: "zero repetition" If "zero repetition" would be the result of just defining a landclass, then why do I still see patterns stretching hundreds of kilometers no matter what landclass product I tried for southern Ontario (lots of farmland, like in many areas of Canada and the USA)? When John says, "zero repetition", then there is obviously a lot more to it than defining the correct class and I don't see how the increased number of textures of this new product will fit in, because wouldn't landclass "farmland ontario" not just be linked to the same texture each time, because that would explain why I continue to see patterns with similar products. OpenLC as the name suggest will replace landclass, PLUS it will introduce new landclass definition, something which has never been done before. The landclass products you have used have probably had the same amount of landclass definitions, as default FSX, to maintain compatibility. OpenLC will come with its own extra textures to be used with the newly added extra landclass definitions. And now there will be 3-4 farmland textures (and landclass definition) for a given climate, it will be possible to get rid of repetition. Vanilla fsx simply doesn't have enough landclass definitions to do that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alberto Zanot 4 Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Still waiting.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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