WHAT IS THE BEST NZ SCENERY FOR FSX?

[BendyFlyer]

Without wishing to start any arguments on this issue I would like to get an appreciation of what you NZ residents think is the most authentic scenery combination for FSX? I divide scenery into the following groups:

Landclass and Global (That is North and South Island). Detailed Specific Scenery Addons (Autogen etc), Airports. I understand some scenery is a compromise and allways will be but fidelity and general accuracy is important hence as I ponder what to buy to enhance my NZ visits I defer to my Kiwi cousins and ask you, what do you think

Just so you know I currently have FSX standard scenery enhanced by IMPGEN Mesh 19M, some Rock and Terrain ehancement packages, ORBX Global, VLC Libraries and just about every freeware airport for NZ that I can find or have found. My impression is that the city scapes, Auckland, Wellington etc are somewhat lacking in detail or fidelity but the general terrain seems reasonable from what I remember of flying over the place. Most of the airports are excellent so can't really say, the only not so good ones are Milford Sound and Queenstown and here the ORBX stuff seems to be a lot better. I have been tossing about whether to go with ORBX or VLC NZ and just want the best fidelity possible at the moment. For example I find the Auckland scenery from FSX very ordinary and would like a more faithful replica of Auckland harbour and city for flying boat operations, same for other parts, who does this best?

So guys and girls what do you think? I would be interested in your views. Oh and I have looked at lots of screenshots on this Forum but alas not many say what the scenery package they use is, ah well. All contributions gratefully received.

[dbcunnz]

Hi Mike
Have you had a look at the greater Christchurch build http://nzff.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15983 this is a free photo real scenery quite a big file just over 1GB and is slowly having the autogen updated on it it is blended to fit in with ORBX.
If you would like it I can send you a link to the download.

[spongebob206]

Hi Mate

I prefer Virtual Landclass (VLC Purchased through Toprobs site) The have a lot of freeware airports also. Snowmans etc are compatible too Link

Payware you cannot go past Robin (Toprob) Link airports.

Also Mikes (Creators) Taupo & Hamilton X are outstanding. Can't find a link at the moment sorry. I think he went freeware.

Hope this helps

Cheers

[AlisterC]

Taupo and HamiltonX are no longer available unfortunately. Can't recommend Godzone sceneries enough! They are great. I hear Nelson (NZNS) is on special at the moment, and a great central spot to start your adventures from. Highly recommended (from a local)

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (AlisterC @ Nov 21 2013,9:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Taupo and HamiltonX are no longer available unfortunately.

I might put in a personal note to the man and get that sorted !

[AlisterC]

He did say they would disappear when the site went offline

[Ian Warren]

I'm sure we can get these two classic's hosted and posted to an ideal site, maybe a ORBX freeware

[ZK-LGD]

QUOTE (Ian Warren @ Nov 22 2013,9:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm sure we can get these two classic's hosted and posted to an ideal site, maybe a ORBX freeware

Errrr ... some of us use VLC (so don't forget the original non-Orbx install package, please).

[Ian Warren]

Hmm Dorian , now that could get interesting (headscratch)< no icon for that here - VLC and ORBX match ... maybe posted at OzX - suits all peoples , I will need to chat to Mike and see what can be done for both party's .

[Naki]

My favourites - Mikes Hamilton and Taupo, RealNZ Nelson, Godzone Hokitika, the fantastic freeware New Plymouth and Orbx Queenstown (with some minor issues - needs a patch)and Milford Sound (although the freeware NZMF is almost as good)....all mixed in with Orbx NZSI and NZNI. Looking forward to Realnz Wellington and Orbx compatible upgrades of the other legacy Realnz products

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (Naki @ Nov 22 2013,2:23 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My favourites - Mikes Hamilton and Taupo, RealNZ Nelson, Godzone Hokitika, the fantastic freeware New Plymouth and Orbx Queenstown (with some minor issues - needs a patch)and Milford Sound (although the freeware NZMF is almost as good)....all mixed in with Orbx NZSI and NZNI. Looking forward to Realnz Wellington and Orbx compatible upgrades of the other legacy Realnz products

All those ... and no mention off Wobblyville ... I don't no ....

[Naki]

Oh no....I don't have it Ian.... it seems to have slipped through the cracks ... when my pc was buggered. Where is the best place to download..... Which will have to wait as the kids have blown my broadband cap

[dbcunnz]

QUOTE (Naki @ Nov 22 2013,6:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh no....I don't have it Ian.... it seems to have slipped through the cracks ... when my pc was buggered. Where is the best place to download..... Which will have to wait as the kids have blown my broadband cap

Paul I have a zipped version 1.035GB already uploaded in Dropbox ready for anyone to download just let me know when you are ready to download it and I will pm you the link

[Ian Warren]

Doug , Ole Paul is prity stroppy these days .. he should have had it months back

[BendyFlyer]

Hmmm, thanks one and all so far. I guess I could restate part of my post re Auckland and Wellington for example, they look pretty ordinary in FSX and the harbour-land interzone is terrible compare to the real world, does ORBX's scenery or VLC's scenery do this any better?

How about I post a couple of screenshots from my system and installations and couple of others do theirs for the same area that would be very helpful! Any takers?

[Ian Warren]

I would be happy to Bendy but i'm quietly removing FSX at the mo , few days later going for a clean install on a new HD , getting all these funny issues .. but i'd be going for the RealNZ Wellington and Auckland packages , this is were i'm a hero advocate of photoreal ... Both VLC and ORBX work great in some areas .. http://www.windowlight.co.nz/store/ is the place to go .

[BendyFlyer]

OK, thanks for the link like the look of what I see there. Forgot about this mobs work.

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (BendyFlyer @ Nov 24 2013,4:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

OK, thanks for the link like the look of what I see there. Forgot about this mobs work.

Bendy - the "MOBSQUAD" .... ....

[toprob]

QUOTE (BendyFlyer @ Nov 24 2013,4:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

OK, thanks for the link like the look of what I see there. Forgot about this mobs work.

Welcome to Godzone. I tend to think like Ian, for locals (and I mean any New Zealander) cities really benefit from photo scenery, whereas rural areas work great with landclass addons (whether FTX or VLC.) I'll always incorporate photo scenery into everything I do, that's just the way I work.

Having to choose between FTX and VLC is a bit of a nuisance -- they both have their good and bad points, it really depends of where you are flying, and how well you know the area. I like FTX on the West Coast and Central Canterbury but I prefer VLC for Southland, Otago and Wellington. I generally use Vector Land Class and only switch to FTX when I'm working on compatibility, or flying on the Coast. However I am biased, since I support VLC on my website:)

I would hope that all future Godzone scenery will work with anything.

Just a quick promotional bit -- at the moment you can choose any one of the 'legacy' scenery packages with Real NZ Nelson, all for $20. So you could choose the legacy Real NZ Wellington, or Supercity when you order.

-Robin
Head (and only member) of the 'mob':)

EDIT: Oops, forgot to mention that Nelson and Supercity work with default FSX, VLC or FTX. Wellington works with default or VLC. There's a completely new Wellington in the works, which will work with default, VLC and FTX. (And Prepar3D 2.0, I hope...)

[BendyFlyer]

Thanks one and all for the responses. The FlightSim Store settled the question with a Xmas sale on just about all the ORBX stuff, so a half price, ORBX it was. I still will use all the VlC stuff I have for airports and few others but as I am overall an ORBX sim setup I guess it was the way to go.