Virtual tourist

[toprob]

I might visit a few places in NZ in the sim, save on gas. Here's somewhere I've never visited -- Lake Matheson on the West Coast.

[Naki]

Wow!

[Charl]

Purty... but it's doing that durned reflection thing on the trees.
But not the ferns RHS, weird.

[toprob]

Purty... but it's doing that durned reflection thing on the trees.
But not the ferns RHS, weird.

Yes, to draw the reflection, the sim needs to be able to see ONSCREEN what is reflected. So in this case, since it can't see behind the trunk I've marked, it just leaves out the reflection. Ugly, I know, but that's what we have at the moment.

[Charl]

Yeah same as '20.
Can't think why they'd need to handle it this way.
And if you do, why it needs to affect more real estate than the object hiding the reflection!

My PC is through the repair stage (Blown cooler!)
Now just waiting for the upgrade bits to put behind the Pimax Crystal Light VR I'm renting from Graham Parker...

[Splitpin]

Well I guess it is a flight sim after all.....so ground level tree shadows don't really rate , for me anyway.
But it is pretty amazing....keep walking Rob there is a nice little café near the carpark.

[Charl]

True above 40,000ft.
Ah but for the floatplane shot, when it is *just* on the step... the background must play the game

[Splitpin]

True above 40,000ft.
Ah but for the floatplane shot, when it is *just* on the step... the background must play the game

True.

[toprob]

Hobbiton really needs to be fixed in 2024, the photogrammetry really messes things up at the moment. The little hobbit homes are just plonked into a blurry mess of a hill.

However the actual modelled objects still work, so I landed my Cabri in the carpark and walked down the path to the village. (Despite the mess, a surprisingly charming experience.)

Annoyed that I couldn't walk across the bridge, but I can walk across the lake. Hopefully there aren't too many security cameras, so my peeping tom behaviour may have gone un-noticed.

[Charl]

If you carry on like this, you're going to Bend the Splitpin

[toprob]

Don't worry, it isn't all daisies and mulled wine -- I keep finding POIs without textures today. Although the Waitangi treaty grounds were untextured this morning, but textures show up this afternoon. I don't know if they're fixing these, or if it's some other issue.



HOWEVER, the 2020 Waitangi Marae, while not looking as real, had cabbage trees! The 2024 trees are marvelous, but NZ needs a biome update at some point.


Another 2020 shot, showing the Hole in the Rock:


....whereas waddaya know, no textures in 2024. But those animated waves are a huge improvement.


Nearby, the lighthouse is actually textured:


Speaking of lighthouses -- this shows a funny thing about 2024, in the past we'd have mid-high-res textures on the ground, but blurry, stretched cliffs. In 2024, it's the other way around, as the cliffs are procedurally generated.

[Charl]

Waay overdue, don't tell us Milford Sound's Smear has been fixed??

[toprob]

This is the first time I've noticed actual pine forests, and a reasonable representation of Pinus radiata. Now all we need is some native bush and we'll be on our way.


Lake Takapō.

[toprob]

A hush falls over the crowd.... Corn steps up... Wait! Where's the ball? Come to think of it, where's the crowd?

[toprob]

An architectural walk -- 'Buildings in Dunedin which actually have textures.'

[Splitpin]

Rob, this tour is amazing, and thankyou for bringing us along.
When will you be virtually in Christchurch ?

[toprob]

When will you be virtually in Christchurch ?

Good question. The trouble with Christchurch is that it is all photogrammetry, which I can't really get to work well in 2024. Well, I never liked it in 2020, but it was a bit better there.
Today my internet connection was performing well (150Mbps) so I immediately went to Ferrymead, but still no real improvement.

EDIT: get high enough, though, and it looks ok.

[Splitpin]

I wish I could find the GPS coordinates for my place , and have you hover overhead.

[dbcunnz]

:thumbup:
I wish I could find the GPS coordinates for my place , and have you hover overhead.

Try Google Earth you can get the coordinates of your house on there

[Splitpin]

:thumbup:
I wish I could find the GPS coordinates for my place , and have you hover overhead.

Try Google Earth you can get the coordinates of your house on there

Didn't think of that , thanks big D