In case you are not aware, Orbx has just released a free Iceland Mesh which is compatible with the new World Update 5 for Nordics.
The description says the mesh is 100% self-contained with virtually no noticeable performance impact and changes made to the default contents.
Glad to find this enhancement since the Nordics update, not sure if you agree or not, seems a bit below the standard of what the previous updates offered.
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I originally had great expectation on Orbx’s True Earth Washington for P3D because the company’s True Earth Washington for X-Plane looks great. But when I got the P3D version yesterday, I have to say that I am disappointed since it is inferior to its X-Plane brother, especially in the two aspects below.
In its description, it says it offers 66,574 square miles of hand-corrected, crisp aerial imagery. However, crisp or not depends on how high you fly.
click to see larger imageThe Product Report generated via FTX Central is getting harder and harder to read when the list of the installed scenery is building up. 
To enhance readability, Continue reading
FTX Global doesn’t like other scenery addons (such as the company’s AU, NZ, EU and NA products) which in general overlay specially created sceneries and textures on top of the default FSX layer to render the ultimate image. It simply replaces FSX default textures in the World\Scenery\Texture folder with its own creations.
This approach is somewhat similar to what REXessential from REX Game Studio or the Ground Environment products from Flight 1 does to FSX — the former replaces FSX’s default clouds and atmospherics items, and the latter replaces FSX’s default ground textures, meshes and some core files with their own modifications.
Even though I don’t quite appreciate Orbx’s approach on developing addons for FSX, the company’s product, however, are no doubt much better than the default FSX and well gain a seat among other quality developers. With the release of its FTX Global, I (same to most flightsimmers) am expecting all ugly default scenery to be gone for good — in theory.
Unfortunately, my first impression on it is: not yet and not quite, in my opinion. (Edit: see update in Post 204) Continue reading
Nearly two years ago, I wrote my post #100 which talked about customized FSDiscover data for Orbx’s NA region. So in this post #200, I will also talk about my newly compiled FSDiscover data for Orbx’s UK areas.
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Following the same principle, I categorized Orbx’s original Points of Interest (POIs) for England, Wales and Scotland into two FSDiscover data files so that they could be easily assigned with different colors for easy identification.
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FTX EU_UK-Lighthouses-Oil Rigs-Wind Farms.dat
FTX EU_UK-Misc POI.dat
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Moreover, many of the locations (especially lighthouses) have been eye-ball checked and updated to ensure accuracy. And for this special occasion, I will open the download link for seven days until Jul-10.
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https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25018674/TEMP/FSDiscover%20FTX%20EU_UK%20POI.rar
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After it, the link will be obsolete and only be available to FSX Times Subscribers requesting for it.
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Update:
Since somebody asks, here are the links for AU and NA POIs as well. Updates for NA should be coming soon.
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https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25018674/TEMP/FSDiscover%20FTX%20AU%20POI.rar
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https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25018674/TEMP/FSDiscover%20FTX%20NA%20POI.zip
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My Google Map for Orbx NA Airports and Landmarks have been updated with the inclusion of the new Southern Alaska Areas (SAK).
Those who are currently using my Google Earth Network Links should find their maps updated already. Any others who are interested to try my maps could see my Post 70 and Post 74 for the Landmarks Map and Airports Map respectively.
Here are the links of my modified version for UK & Ireland Google Earth airports and landmark maps.
The first one is based on Playhorizon’s VFR UK, UK2000 and other airport addon developers, covering England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/25018674/Google%20Earth%20Shared/EU%20-%20UK%20%26%20Ireland.kmz
The second one is from Orbx’s EU which covers England only.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/25018674/Google%20Earth%20Shared/EU%20-%20Orbx%20ENG.kmz
One may use the links to compare the airports from above different developers.
As always, the links are downloadable. However, it is recommended to just COPY the URLs and add them via the Network Link function in Google Earth, so that updates can be immediately called up when available.
Orbx just released its EU England scenery addon. Just purchased and downloaded the file.
Even though I have reservation over some of the company’s airport addons, these regional scenery products are no doubt my must-buy. (Edit: See my next Post 182)
I have PlayHorizon’s UK VFR. It’s pretty good. My only complaint is the lacking of 3D autogen objects. Orbx’s new EU England is surely may be a strong competitor. (Edit: See my next Post 182)
Moreover, from the company’s forum,UK2000’s detailed airports are in some ways compatible with this new addon.
Even though I’ve been tied up with something else these days, will still spend sometime to have it installed. And look forward to seeing how it compares to UK VFR and how it works with UK2000’s airports.
FSX TIMES 