Orbx and VLC

[Scupper]

Sorry if this has been addressed before, - couldn't find it on a quick search,

I had a big hardware stuffup and had to reinstall Windows 7 and now I'm putting FSX back together: - does Orbx replace Vector Land Class or can they somehow be used together? I understand the Godzone stuff can be superimposed on top so that should be fairly straightforward.

Haven't bought Orbx yet but it looks like it's quite popular so may have to...

Thanks.

[Timmo]

Hi Scupper- VectorLandClass is a similar sort of product to Orbx SI & Orbx NI so you should generally use one or the other rather than try and use them together

Orbx includes more (i.e. ground texture replacements) but is also more expensive to cover the country, VLC is kiwi made and is cheaper

[Timbo]

Probably best to use one or the other, as both control roughly the same things

Orbx includes full ground texture replacement using NZ imagery, custom NZ autogen buildings and trees made using local photos, hand-crafted landclass, plus a custom mesh package for both Islands, hundreds of POIs, lighthouses, dams, windfarms and so on, and all the default FSX airports have been given an 'Orbx make over', as well as over 340+ South Island and 260+ North Island unlisted dirt airstrips, Orbx's region packs for South and North Island are more expensive than the alternative but also contain a lot more content. 1/4 of the Orbx NZ team are Kiwis


I'm biased btw with a vested interest

[Scupper]

Great, - thanks for that info.

[mfraser]

I already have VLC - but am thinking of buying NZSI/NI just for the heck of it. Does the ORBX product accurately model our roads? Its great being able to use VLC's accurate roading system for VFR nav!

Cheers all,
Mat

[Timmo]

Hehe I should add (hopefully it is obvious) that my interested is also vested being a developer of VectorLandClass

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (mfraser @ Aug 6 2012,8:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I already have VLC - but am thinking of buying NZSI/NI just for the heck of it. Does the ORBX product accurately model our roads? Its great being able to use VLC's accurate roading system for VFR nav!

I think it works both ways come VLC or ORBX .. either complete with textures or honest roadings .. follow traffic get to no the world of New Zealand with both scenery packages

[chopper_nut]

I have to admit, Im torn on this issue. I have VLC and most of Robins fantastic scenery but *some* of Orbx's screen shots keep calling to me (more the NI ones than the south) I really want to keep supporting VLC being locally made and all but the onslaught of Orbx is starting to wear me down

[creator2003]

lol try being me ,i have both worlds to please but are going to have to pick a direction at some point and stick with it, as its pretty hard designing for two platforms so far not any major issues

[chopper_nut]

Yeh I bet man. Btw, bought your Hamilton and Taupo scenery the other day. Absolute cracker, well done.

[zkcav]

Maybe a silly question but I'll ask anyway, can you sit ORBX at base level and then put VLC at a higher priority or you end up with the preverbal sheet fight and nothing shows correctly. I'd love to have my cake and eat it too!

I'm at that stage of rebuild that I can almost get back into Flying FSX again but I'm tempted to start a virtual world tour on the other side of the globe until I decide which way to swing and 6 - 10 months down the track when i get to NZ all the patches etc will be worked out I'd hope.

[Timmo]

Can you give me a bit more detail cav? Generally speaking, either use one OR the other but if using one half of NZ as ORBX, then there are ways to make it work .....I just need to know what you are trying to do

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (zkcav @ Sep 13 2012,11:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maybe a silly question but I'll ask anyway, can you sit ORBX at base level and then put VLC at a higher priority or you end up with the preverbal sheet fight and nothing shows correctly. I'd love to have my cake and eat it too!

This has been the biggest problem right from the very start , VLC is so correct in data levels and road , the vectors , ORBX is not so correct but is pretty , the horrid things are the combining all peoples scenery and getting it to work , VLC has the elevations correct were some silly reason most all ORBX are out buy 20 feet or least 7 meters which defies logic , the preverbal sheet fight happened with the mixing of textures at the beginning of the ORBX introduction ... a real foo fight .

The best compromise was Rob patching Nelson , Mike placing Hamilton and Taupo , the bigger areas are still hanging in the breeze getting worked or still deciding which way to go .

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE

Can you give me a bit more detail cav? Generally speaking, either use one OR the other but if using one half of NZ as ORBX, then there are ways to make it work[/quote]

I was hoping you'd see this Tim, I was wondering if I could install the NI and SI for the eye candy, delete their AFCADs and put VLC at a higher priority in the scenery library to get the correct elevations and then install Robin and Mike's Airports over the top of that.

From Ian's post I guess I'd end up with some large cliffs or holes or spend the next year making concentric flattens to marry up the two differing contour elevations away from the airports.

[Ian Warren]

Tell you one thing and no dribble , be nice to have all party's come together and join , be one hell of a scenery package , each recommending each others and building on them .

You look at Nelson with the fix , Taupo and Hamilton , course the other Southern airports , get all one level and everyone enjoys the scenery .

It really can get exhausting but without this energy and ideas , you won't have the wicked FSX views .

[mfraser]

QUOTE (zkcav @ Sep 14 2012,10:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was hoping you'd see this Tim, I was wondering if I could install the NI and SI for the eye candy, delete their AFCADs and put VLC at a higher priority in the scenery library to get the correct elevations and then install Robin and Mike's Airports over the top of that.

I'm guessing you'll have a reply from Tim soon - I have posed this question earlier on a different topic. Have a look here for clarification, but as I understand it, the ORBX and VLC textures can't be easily interchanged. VLC uses the FSX default landclass classifications whereas ORBX use their own process. It is a shame that the accuracy of VLC can't be combined with the ORBX eye-candy. And yup - I agree it must be hell for the 3rd party developers now trying to compensate for the variations between the two!

[toprob]

A couple of points regarding the original question:
* You can't mix and match any elevation or landclass elements safely, you'll end up with a mess. For instance, the water polys (rivers and lakes) are tied to the elevation mesh, so these will break with a different mesh. FTX NZ includes custom airports so that you can safely scrap anything else.

* When NZSI was first released there was some talk here about mixing and matching textures, which Orbx quickly squashed as it breached their EULA. If you use Orbx scenery for NZ, you really should be aware of what you have agreed to under the terms of their EULA before posting here. This is a complicated issue for NZFF, we can't police EULAs, as they are contractual agreements between Orbx and their customers, and don't belong here. However we don't encourage discussions which deal with getting around Orbx's EULA.

Although things appear a bit messy at the moment, I think that this is just a temporary hitch. There is a bit of work to do to make everything work together, which takes time. I can see a lot of directions we can head in, and there have been a lot of points raised on NZFF which need to be followed up. For instance, someone mentioned the freeware arm of Orbx (name escapes me at the moment), I wonder if anyone in New Zealand has actually spoken to Orbx about developing freeware NZ scenery using Orbx libraries etc? This isn't just an issue for current developers, we need new blood occasionally, as developers tend to 'drop off' to some extent when things get messy.

[zkcav]

Thanks for your reply Robin,

I already have NZSI paid for but not installed yet, the ironic thing I've completely rebuilt my computer from the mobo up in the last 6 months for FSX and installed 276 payware add ons, about 200 of those scenery for the rest of the world, but I haven't done anything with NZ for the reasons you mention above. I can't even recall if I've reinstalled VLC, and I haven't put any of your products on, yet I have every single one of them.

My plan of starting testing on the other side of world is starting to make more sense to me and watch how others are getting here..

Thanks for your input and advice.

As for new developers, I've invested in a few products to try my hand as a few local airports just bug me at the moment, so was going to have a play when I'm away from home working... perhaps 10 years I might be there ;-)