by toprob » Wed May 16, 2007 11:19 am
Although I've not been able to try TileProxy yet, (it isn't compatible with SP1 at present) I'm certainly aware that this is a pretty exciting development. Has anyone on the forum got it up and running for New Zealand? I can't wait to try some mountain flying using TP.
For those who haven't come across it yet, TileProxy gives FSX the ability to 'stream' and display aerial photos from sources such as Google Earth or Virtual Earth. Normally it would be a breach of copyright to use this imagery for flightsim scenery, but TileProxy gets around this by a) having the user download the required imagery; and b) not supplying links to any servers with the installation. I would be very surprised if this annoyed any of the owners of the imagery, so it seems a brilliant idea. (not to mention the brilliant programming which allows it to work!)
If TileProxy users started to have a huge effect on the image server's performance, however, things may get a bit tricker. Somehow I don't think this'll happen too soon though.
I don't think it'll have much effect on 'Real NZ', as I had already decided to move more towards airport development rather than photoreal aerial textures. Although all releases so far have had a photoreal component, this will eventually change. My initial plan relied on a much faster run-out of photoreal coverage -- I was hoping for at least 50% coverage by now, but we are still a long way from that.
Even though it may be that most of us with broadband will use TileProxy often, I do think that there is still a place for showcase photoreal areas for FSX, complete with autogen. TileProxy may one day have the ability to generate autogen and mask water, but at the moment it only works well at altitude, and of course the photo coverage is very patchy.