FSX/P3D. The FTX Global Iceland demo is in the final stages of testing and we should see it soon. In fact by tomorrow night I hope to be in my Twin Otter looking for the bonus photoreal glacier thrown in for us. The demo will include FTX Global + openLC + FTXG VECTOR plus PILOT'S FS Global 2010 Mesh as well. The whole of Iceland for us to try it out. So if you don't have FTX Global yet or are wondering what FTXG VECTOR is all about, now is your chance to find out. For free!
Update: released!
Update: released!
http://www.orbxsystems.com/forum/topic/64669-orbx-announces-ftx-global-vector-and-iceland-free-demo/
http://www.orbxsystems.com/forum/topic/67057-ftxg-iceland-demo-final-shots/
21 comments:
Aaand its out ...
This looks quite interesting, but I feel very let down by Orbx. I've invested a lot of money in their products and JV was pushing the DX10 scenery fixer for weeks because it was going to fix the DX10 lighting problem of FTX Global.
Now that we have the DX10 fixer and FTX Global lights thankfully work, nothing more seems to have been done though. They seem to have enough time to work on a free demo, but do nothing to fix very serious issues? Why is there no communication from them to let us know what DX10 issues we can expect to be fixed and when, is that really too much to ask?
Available at http://fullterrain.com/product_ftxgiceland.html
I'll be honest. Personally, I don't care. DX11 is now on the horizon and if everything sticks to plan, we will have a proper 64bit DX11 simulator from P3D. So as the FS9 underdog, I think the FSX folks are likely going to have to make the switch rather than waiting around for developers to make changes to current projects. And who is to say Orbx isn't working on it?
As these things go, soon as an announcement is mane than everyone is bugging for the release and Orbx rarely announces anything on products till they are weeks from release. So I say be patient.
Is this a legit demo they released or an accidental beta version? I have waves washing ashore over coastal houses at Reykjavik, buildings at the airport with severe Z-buffer issues, and Reykjavik city with working traffic lights, but not a single car in sight!
I'm not sure what the demo is trying to demo, but I'm not impressed by what I see.
Fair point about you not caring, but I think you forget that you're in an absolute minority with P3D. The bulk of users still have FSX installed and with specific aircraft only being available in FSX, they will not make the jump to P3D.
Since you run a Blog that is not dedicated solely to Prepar3D, but addresses flight simulation in general, I find your comment rather perplexing, as it sounds very condescending.
Prepar3D 2 will not be 64-bit and is only going to be a graphical enhancement to the current version. The DX10 Scenery Fixer has been among the top 3 sellers since its release, so I would suggest that many users have made the jump to DX10 and are therefore interested in their add-ons working in DX10.
Orbx have only ever been vocal about the DX10 scenery fixer being a remedy for their FTX Global light problem, there has been no follow-up to indicate what they might fix in the future to ensure a more widespread DX10 compatibility of their products.
I just tried their Iceland demo and I honestly do not see what all the excitement is about. The demo is buggy, seems rushed and unfinished, with simple things like waves crashing over seaside property and a city without vehicles ruining the immersion.
You know Sean, you are absolutely correct. All I will say going forward is until we get an official statement from the Orbx on the matter, no point in beating a dead horse. But your point is valid.
I'll be honest; it really does get tiresome to see every single post (and not just about Orbx releases) being hijacked by DX10 evangelists.
Orbx has an extensive library with 1,000's of objects which we are reviewing for DX10 *and* DX11 compatibility. There is a bigger picture than just FSX at play and as a company we fully intend to make our products work with both DX10 and DX11.
Unfortunately there are lot of impatient people around who want everything fixed like ordering a McDonalds burger and then stamp their feet when it's done at their timetable. We even have DX10 supporters on a crusade, hacking our libraries and breaking models, all in their fervour to "fix" the DX10 issues.
Just relax and enjoy your hobby. We are acutely aware of DX10's increasing popularity but it does not give you the right to taint every blog post with DX10 rants, it gets tired really fast.
@Peter, please read the accompanying User Guide to see what the demo is presenting. Certainly it is not the aim to upgrade airports to payware quality or even add photoreal Reykjavik or glaciers to it (or indeed features like this for the whole world). Those were bonus items to make the demo more appealing.
As for the lack of moving traffic, I have plenty of it in DX9 and DX10 so no idea why it's not working for you. Perhaps log a support issue with examples on our freeware support forum.
Sometimes the FS community does surprise me with the lack of gratitude shown. We've spent 3-4 months on this demo which is effectively a full region given away for free, yet you put it down as unimpressive based on a few coastline issues and lack of traffic?
Take a few steps back and consider the work that went into this and think about other companies' demos; would they release a whole country like this for free?
Hey, it might get tiresome, but surely it can't be more frustrating than the feeling of being kept in the dark and not knowing who is doing what, and when fixes might be made available by different developers.
I would say that the onus is on developers to communicate to their customers in a timely manner what they're doing, even if DX10 fixes aren't at the top of their priority list. I don't think anybody is expecting you to fix anything overnight, but a clear message that you're working on DX10 fixes would go a long way, and unfortunately I haven't seen any such clear message from Orbx.
I'm totally relaxed and enjoying my hobby, I just would really appreciate you addressing issues like black boxes underneath static objects in a more zealous manner, you seem to put so much energy into everything else but DX10 issues, at least that's how it feels.
@John
I read the guide long before the download was available ;-)
Sorry, but from my perspective this is a flight simulation, so the advertised photoreal airport is one of the most important things to me, as this is where I take off and land. If airport buildings have Z-buffer problems and textures flicker like crazy, I will obviously notice this more than a downtown building with similar problems and it just seems of poor quality.
If you put so much effort and work showing the airport runway up at an elevation and model the surrounding terrain height with such impeccable detail and high quality, then it just comes across as a huge letdown and super sloppy work when I see waves washing ashore over buildings, that's just my opinion even if you don't like it.
One of the key features listed on your Iceland Demo page is the coastline. If you have waves going way beyond the coast and washing ashore over houses it just doesn't seem like you guys did a good job, even if you did take 4 months.
Oh and I didn't mention DX10 in my message, and yesterday's posts here about YBTH and Canberra didn't have any DX10 posts either, so I think you're overreacting a bit by stating that every single post is laced with DX10 evangelism.
I understand Sean, perhaps a pinned topic on our forums with our commitment to DX10/DX11 roadmaps would ease some of these tensions. I'll get onto it.
We'll take your comments on board and look to removing the .fx from the vector coastlines. I think you are focusing on a single issue that bugs you and painting a broad brush over the overall demo. Sorry you feel that way.
Done: http://www.orbxsystems.com/forum/topic/67122-dx10-dx11-compatibility-and-orbx/
Bloody hell John, as much as I appreciate your products and in this case the free demo, who did the watermask for this? As stated above, I'm seeing the exact same issues and it really doesn't reflect positively on all the hard work your team have obviously put in.
And a big thumbs up for some kind of post in your freely accessible forum section to show where you're at with DX10 stuff, thanks for your messages here :-)
@Peter: I can actually only talk about the coastline issue you're talking about (which is actually a wave effect issue, not a problem with coastlines): if you disable the Iceland Demo you'll see how the default coastline looks like - try it yourself and you'll see massive difference.
The issue you're talking about is actually none that has to do with vector data per se - it's simply how FSX renders the wave effect. If the FSX internal rendering process produces this output, the only ways to avoid it would be to not show wave effects at all or not place buildings there (even though they are there in reality).
Bernd
@Bernd, please do not use the anonymous option to reply. Instructions can be found below every post.
I haven't had the chance to look at this demo yet, life's commitments unfortunately have prevented me from spending much time at all in my sims of late, however I just wished to post a message to thank John for his posts on this article.
The patience, perseverance through insult, and willingness to respond with clear explanation and also to effect change in return, really does paint for me the picture of a team you're willing to stick by, even if there may be bugs in a product at the current time.
For a relationship we thought would be clearly divided here on ADX not so long ago, I think the baggage that's been left behind and the approach to these posts really speaks volumes for your willingness to keep in touch with your customers.
So thanks John. We don't get to see all the elbow grease that gets expended behind the doors, in both development and also the hell of a lot of corporate planning and investment strategies that would undoubtedly go on, but I'm really thankful for the work you guys are doing and for also helping push Prepar3D ahead so far so quickly too with the huge library of scenery you've made available freely for FSX users in that sim as well.
Graeme
Bloody hell, with all the b****ing over something being given away for free it's a wonder developers do anything for free anymore.
I see one "thanks!" among all this. It's just as bad at Avsim!
I can't see the above statement at:
http://www.orbxsystems.com/forum/topic/67122-dx10-dx11-compatibility-and-orbx/
It shows an error, why not make it available as a public message as requested above?
I think it's only fair to offer critique and share feedback with developers, all the more so if it's a free demo showcasing future technology. If I had a stand at an exhibition and showed software with bugs and errors, I would expect these to be pointed out to me too and wouldn't label this as whining or evangelist hijacking. In fact I'd make sure that the showcase software would be as perfect as possible, since I too noticed the waves and missing cars straight away.
It's all fun and games promoting your product and putting your company in the public limelight to attract potential buyers, but when simple things like the DX10 grass issue at Cardiff airport from Orbx's Wales package are still not fixed to this day, and yes I know that the airport uses Bill Womack's grass as does his S45 airport which has the same issue, then I can understand people's frustration, as I feel frustrated about this too.
We all have different ways of handling frustration and have our own individual threshold for patience, I can't say I blame people from being vocal about this, even if it does annoy others.
I thank John Venema for his remarks here and appreciate that it's difficult to keep everyone happy. Communication goes a long way in promoting patience, all the more so if it helps people understand that something is being done, especially when they think that nothing is being done.
Well said, sir. What we need to remember that this is supposed to be fun! Lets enjoy the generosity of those developers who give us not only the freeware and demo's...but also devote time to our hobby, often for very little in return for their devotion.
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