Monterey: A Quick Look Under the Hood

[Jarrad Marshall 1,512]

 

G'day Everyone,

 

Thanks for the great feedback on Monterey so far. Work is continuing at a hectic pace behind the scenes; we're starting to get close now. 

 

Talking of behind the scenes, I thought I'd take a couple of minutes to explain in a bit of detail some of the new features that will be included "under the hood" with Monterey. I know that most of us (including myself!) are fly-and-forget kind of simmers; that is, we don't want to waste too much time playing around with settings. However, there is always a good deal of thought that goes into both the design layout and control panel for all our airports, and after listening to various feedback on several of my last airports, I have come up with a couple of new options.

 

1. The Control Panel

 

 

As you can see, there are many different options for you to play with to get the best balance on your machine. Of note are the Static Aircraft - rather than a "nuke all" switch, I have divided these up, so that you can, for example, disable all airline statics (in lieu of airline AI), whilst still retaining other types around the field. Of course, our APX and traffic has been plumbed to ensure you ca still enjoy plenty of AI in addition to the full suite of static aircraft.

 

2. The Ground Textures Resolution Switch

 

This is the most important addition to the control panel. By default, the textures for the ground polygon apron will be set at the extremely-crisp 7cm resolution - and don't forget that with noise and detail layers (lines, asphalt noise etc) this is technically much higher. As long as you have your P3D2/FSX settings enabled for 4096 textures - by the "texture resolution" slider in P3D, or the appropriate line in your FSX.cfg, you can enjoy the 7cm textures with a considerably reduced performance load compared to 1024 sheets. 

 

Of course, if you would prefer to allocate your system resources elsewhere, this option also enables you to downsize the base textures to 2048 or 1024 textures - note that the high-res noise layers are not effected. As a benchmark, the ground textures at Redding on the runways and taxiways are the equivalent of the 1024 option at Monterey. 

 

As we move towards more P3Dv2-centric design techniques, using this 4096 in various elements will allow greater resolution for far less performance hit. But don't forget, if using FSX, you will need to ensure your FSX.cfg is manually edited, as this will not be automatically changed by the ORBX control panel. 

 

 

 

3. Runway and Taxiway Light Intensity

 

Now I can guarantee with every airport I've ever released, I have always received requests to change the brightness of the lights, usually in both directions! The .fx system in FSX/P3D2 is a little fickle, and based on a host of variables, the same effect can look quite different on different setups. I've endeavored to alleviate this by offering four different lighting options, with the default set at my preference - 85%. Please note: due to peculiarities with the new P3D2 engine, these options will not effect the runway 10R/28L in this sim. 

 

4. AI Traffic and Parallel Runway Operations

 

We have decided to create a special layout for Monterey; AI traffic has the ability to concurrently use the parralel runways at the airport. GA traffic is more likely to use the secondary runway (10L/28R), whilst heavier commercial traffic stick to the main runway. Should you wish to use the second runway for yourself, you should select "Monterey Aero Club" from the ATC menu; both share the same tower comms and are easily interchangeable. 

 

We have also included a minor update to the NA AI Traffic with Monterey - ensure you have the latest NA AI traffic patches installed to enable a variety of FPS-friendly aircraft. 

 

5. The "Gold" Parking Spots

 

There is nothing fancy about these; I just added a little extra flair to two sections of the airport to give a nice aesthetic to arrivals and departures, should you choose these I would recommend calling up "Ramp Parking 1" (GA/Corporate) or "Gate Parking 3" (Airline) from the airport menu to get the best view at the start of your flight

 

 

 

 

And without any more descriptions, some more screenshots from Monterey. Most are areas that have been requested; please enjoy

 

Jarrad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dodgeza 0]

Sounds great - can't see the pics for some reason though ) Looking forward to this!

[Stillwater 13,615]

You constantly challenge the limits, Jarrad. Fantastic.

[Breeze 1,125]

Cannery Row and the Aquarium.  Your work is amazing Jarrad!  Where ever you get your information and textures, it's spot on.

[Voyager 1,258]

Very good work, mate! Espcially like the details that are so well explored by you! And - here's a deserved cuddle - I really like your commitment to excel and always do your best!

Congratulations Mr. Jarrad for another masterpiece!

 

Cheers

[Mallard 892]

Getting better by the minute - and that's actually an almost impossible feat as your airports are among the best there is...

 

Cheers

 

Mallard

[twsimfan 109]

Looking good... no... looking great!

[kaboki 3]

Good idea to add more options to the control panel, I always liked that Orbx has these options so I can tweak them to get the best performance out of each airport where neccesary:).+++

[DocBird 77]

Very, very nice indeed!

[gpickup 60]

Looks simply outstanding...

[rockliffe 439]

Jarrad, you are a true artist in every meaning of the word...

[FriLa 20]

Jarrad, your airport seems to become a new milestone! I like your screenshots without any ENB-effects! With ENB the scenery sometimes is much too dark like in late evening or thunderstorm. (I feel that ENB in some cases is used to correct the black-level of simple displays.) I like also the opportunity to adjust the size of the lights. Will the frames be as good as Redding?

Looking forward to a "must have airport"!

Fritz

[bdrichmond 26]

Jarrad,

Utterly fantastic work you've created here! And you did indeed impress the wife.

Respectfully,

Brian

[Vora 172]

I just LOVE the idea of golden parking spots - very clever!

[rsvette12 158]

Jarrad   Amazing work Sir

[Ripcord 930]

Very cool. If this isn't already modeled as a static then we damn sure have to get this repaint done for the Carenado T-34.

[cabnz 108]

Incredible work. Love it

[M-Sauce 10]

Hi Jarrad

 

Does AI traffic show with aircraft ground shadows enabled? I'm hoping that this limitation in Sumburgh was just a rarity among ORBX airports and not a new norm.

 

Monterrey looks great.

[CrownCityMisfit 88]

[speechless]

[wulfbindewald 49]

Hi Jarrad,

 

impressive large surrounding area including many specific details,

and the airport is portrayed incredible detailed: The how-to to include atmosphere and smell.

The panel controller including the rwy light density switches are much appreciated.

Maybe this can be adopted into the SP1´s of KRDD and KBZN ;-)  ?

 

Wulf

[Dom Mason 27]

Incredible. I hope this is going to be the new standard for Orbx (and the standard was quite high already

Dom

[JohnR 11]

Outstanding work, can hardly wait

[donbrindles 71]

Jarrad, this looks just fantastic... Congratulations!

Don

[JSilva 2]

Is Monterey going to feature an option where you can switch from sloped and flat runway/taxiways like Sumburgh.

[Hangar200 8]

Fantastic! As a Navy guy and alum of the Naval Post Graduate School, glad to it made the cut.

Also glad to see you got the golf course that is on the northwest to west side of the airport. It used to be the Navy golf course, I don't know if it still is.

The close proximity of the airport made playing golf at the Navy course exciting. The Teebox for the sixth hole (par five dogleg left) is directly under the approach to runway 10 R. When the 737s came in you could clearly see the aircrews faces, practically tell the pilots eye color. We had to wait for the wake turbulence to subside before teeing off. Seriously. Additionally, the extended runway lighting poles were obstacles on several of the holes.

Anyway, I will certainly be a adding this airport to my inventory, if for no other reason than to fly around the golf course searching for all the balls I lost there. ;-)

R/ Hangar 32

Sent from my iPhone using Tapata

[horizonair2475 11]

Very Nice!

[Todd Harrell 124]

I like parking at the Monterey Jet Center around sunset. The view over the Pacific as you perform your preflight is quite nice!

[kevinfirth 164]

Looks great I have to say. I like the constant evolution of options and the previews of quality at different settings. very nice, congrats

Some day I might even be tempted to fly outside of the Uk, (but first I'd like it if you did at least another major UK regional airport, if nothing else to keep the competition on their toes ) Cheers K

[Ripcord 930]

Also glad to see you got the golf course that is on the northwest to west side of the airport. It used to be the Navy golf course, I don't know if it still is.

Oh you know, I thought that was the case! Thanks for mentioning this. Never set foot on a golf course over there but I drove by there dozens of times...

[Jarrad Marshall 1,512]

Thanks very much everyone, I was very chuffed to read this feedback  

 

Hi Jarrad

 

Does AI traffic show with aircraft ground shadows enabled? I'm hoping that this limitation in Sumburgh was just a rarity among ORBX airports and not a new norm.

 

Monterrey looks great.

 

 

It does indeed - there are no issues with AI ground shadows in either FSX or P3D2. 

 

Is Monterey going to feature an option where you can switch from sloped and flat runway/taxiways like Sumburgh.

 

Unfortunately not I'm sorry. I made the decision early not to, as the logistics involved would have meant essentially creating two unique versions from scratch. I'm super impressed at what the guys did with the sloped runway at Sumburgh, perhaps it's something to look at for a future airport. 

 

Fantastic! As a Navy guy and alum of the Naval Post Graduate School, glad to it made the cut.

Also glad to see you got the golf course that is on the northwest to west side of the airport. It used to be the Navy golf course, I don't know if it still is.
The close proximity of the airport made playing golf at the Navy course exciting. The Teebox for the sixth hole (par five dogleg left) is directly under the approach to runway 10 R. When the 737s came in you could clearly see the aircrews faces, practically tell the pilots eye color. We had to wait for the wake turbulence to subside before teeing off. Seriously. Additionally, the extended runway lighting poles were obstacles on several of the holes.
Anyway, I will certainly be a adding this airport to my inventory, if for no other reason than to fly around the golf course searching for all the balls I lost there. ;-)

 

Thanks for the feedback To me, the Navy Course is one of the main features of the scenery. The short finals approach is definitely one of my favourites, the approach light masts in particular were one of the most interesting parts of the airport to model. When I was there last May, we stayed at a hotel across the road from the Showgrounds, so we managed to witness a few of the low approaches from a couple of bizjets  

 

Cheers,

Jarrad

[spirit_66 149]

Great job.

Spirit

[FireRx 252]

I'm Ready for it now

[Ziggy 547]

This one will definitely be part of the collection!

Can't wait!

[matthew47 13]

WOW, Looks GREAT Jarrad!! Iv'e got my wallet out!!

Matthew

[JSilva 2]

 

 

Unfortunately not I'm sorry. I made the decision early not to, as the logistics involved would have meant essentially creating two unique versions from scratch. I'm super impressed at what the guys did with the sloped runway at Sumburgh, perhaps it's something to look at for a future airport.

Thanks for letting me know. I never thought making a sloped runway/taxiway requires more work.

[Orbxtreme 2,059]

Jarrad, your airport seems to become a new milestone! I like your screenshots without any ENB-effects! With ENB the scenery sometimes is much too dark like in late evening or thunderstorm. (I feel that ENB in some cases is used to correct the black-level of simple displays.) I like also the opportunity to adjust the size of the lights. Will the frames be as good as Redding?

Looking forward to a "must have airport"!

Fritz

I agree with Fritz, better without ENB or anything else that darkens the shots too much. I am glad that you thought of this new panel and hope that it will become the standard. This a another beautiful, or shall I say exceptional creation. I guess the only one that is going to complain is the golfer playing on the green near the final for 10R. I never expected that golf courses were built so close to huge runways. Great job. My only hope is that Orbx does not abandon FSX too quickly, as there is still work to be done on P3D before running on only one platform.

[Rexbo47 17]

Hi Jarrad,

 

Just downloaded this scenery and took a spin around the area.

 

Simply put, Sir, it is spectacular.

 

My feedback after one short flight.

 

The coastal rocks should be darker shades of gray. Most of the coastal rocks in the area are closer to the shade of those

that surround the "Lone Cypress" in the scenery.

 

I was delighted to see your treatment of the harbor, Fisherman's Pier and Cannery Row although I'd have liked to see the lighthouse as well.

 

Hopefully you'll be able to address this in a future update.

 

I'll be happy to provide photographs if they would be helpful.

 

Thanks again for your work on this.

 

It truly is an excellent package.

 

Regards

 

Rex

[M-Sauce 10]

Thanks Jarrad, then I will be purchasing this beauty later today.

[alexczarn 33]

That freeway interchange modelling is a work of art.

[akmatov 26]

Used to be stationed there and KMRY is actually my main airport now that you have presented us with this jewel.  Other renderings were just irritating in their lack of fidelity to the place.  Only one tiny criticism, at a bit of altitude the planking on the Fisherman's Wharf vanishes and you have a watery canal between the shops, very Venetian. Hugely pleasant to fly from a place that was home for a long time.