FSW or AEFS2 visuals ?

[cagarini]

Just asking...

Both have published their SDKs... Is, by any chance, anyone around here working on making those as Visuals for PSX ?

FSW = Flight Sim World
AEFS2 = Aerofly FS 2

[Hardy Heinlin]

When I google "FSW" I get no useful info.

[Swiso]

FSW:
https://live.dovetailgames.com/live/flight-sim-world
AEFS2:
https://www.aerofly.com/aerofly_fs_2/

[cagarini]

When I google "FSW" I get no useful info.

Sorry, I was speaking simmer parlance :-)

But Swiso was faster :-)

FSW is basically a devlopment over MSFS FSX, whose rights were bought by Dovetail Games. It comes with enhanced World graphics, includes TrueSky for the "weather rendering", and will keep adding features, like enhnaced ATC, AI, with future updates. The base version is inexpensive and can sometimes be bought by $9 from Steam. Presently no 744 in it, but models from MSFS can be imported I guess...
It provides some really nice views of the World, particularly the weather, and it's clouds and fog now blend perfectly with the orography. An example here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G5BYJJFpAw

Aerofly FS2 is the sequel of AEFS1, it is primarilly directed at VR simmers ( far from being my case ) and has huge sceneries, on terms of space on disk, but also quality of the overall image. It also allows for slopped terrain aty airfields, and comes with a Jumbo Jet ( 744 ) model.

I tried Google Earth again, but it's really slow on my system, probably due to a lousy Internet connection, and since I just switch on World Visuals for taxiing and takeoff, initial climb to transiition altitude and then approach and landing, that's the part when Google Earth not only becomes slower but also strange / weird sometimes graphically...

Both would be nice World Visuals for PSX :-) - Honestly not a mandatory requirement for me... I'm too busy just trying to understand the technical posts at the forums here ... and practicing my typical circuits in "bad weather", for which PSX out-of-windshield graphics more than suffice ( well, less some additional details in rw lighting ... ).

[mark744]

FSW = Flight Sim World ?

[cagarini]

FSW = Flight Sim World ?

Yes, sorry, just amended the original post...

[Kurt]

Wooow - is it just me that have been frozen down the last many years - does this FSW scenery just look gorgeous compared to X-plane and P3D or what ??

Definitely nice if a link between PSX and FSW could materialize

Kurt

[cagarini]

Wooow - is it just me that have been frozen down the last many years - does this FSW scenery just look gorgeous compared to X-plane and P3D or what ??

Definitely nice if a link between PSX and FSW could materialize

Kurt

Indeed, and it comes with an updated World airfield and navaids database - my LPMN being included!!! :-)

[brian747]

As far as using FSW as a scenery generator for PSX is concerned, it appears that FSW is largely a (64-bit) superset of FSX (with 80-90% of it is based on FSX code). If this is the case, then one might be tempted to hope that it might be possible for modified versions of existing link programs to be developed? Although....

One brave soul has been pioneering (although his technique seems limited to simply adding a suitable entry to the scenery.cfg file): http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=929612810

However, converting FSX scenery won't be as simple as that — we're up against the old 64-bit problem again, as these forum posts confirm:

"Scenery BGL files should not need recompiling to work in a 64bit application that FSW is, but addons with 32bit .dll codes from 32bit FSX won't work in 64bit FSW. ... There can be ways that an app could even break compatibility with BGL files.

Bottom line, it's not a conspiracy. In order to reduce the increasing OOM's from all the addons being put on to FSX and Prepar3D, developers are moving to 64bit and that's a different animal from the older addon's perspective. In short, compatibility is simply broken."

...and...

"You can use all sceneries which are simply compiled with BGLs. This includes the UK2000 VFR sceneries, but not the Xtreme. You cannot use the UK2000 common library, so anything that is included in that will not show. To use sceneries, copy the entry from the scenery.cfg file in FSX-SE to the end of that in FSW and then amend the area and layer numbers to suit. Make sure you back up the scenery,cfg file in FSW before adding the FSX entries, just in case it doesn't work."

So, unless somone comes up with a synthesis of Steve's Scenery Fixer combined with the Flightsim Estonia migration program and a few new ingredients, a method of using current FSX scenery in FSW doesn't look too hopeful, unfortunately....   

Cheers,

Brian

[cagarini]

Brian,

the future can well be bright regarding scenery ( ortho-based ! ) for FSW as well as P3D and even AEFS2 since at least one developer coming from X-Plane's freeware development is now at it and actually getting better results with FSW and P3Dv4 than he does with XP11.

Tony Wob: http://www.w2xp.com/

Tony has designed great customized freeware sceneries for XP10 and 11, and his World2XP has been used by other devs, as well as Oscar Pilote's Ortho4XP, to create some great sceneries ( for free !!! ) for XP11.

Some really promising results already achieved with P3D and FSW.

I'm about to get a 2nd monitor in a promotional sale :-)  It's goin to be my 1st 27" monitor which, together with the older 23" will make my PSX experience even better, and, I look fwd into the developments in scenery achieved by Tony, and might consider starting to use PSX again with one external scenery generator, preferably FSW because I alread own it and it's better graphics and performance wise than P3D v4 on my rig.

[Jeroen Hoppenbrouwers]

I'm heading your way this Summer to break another part off your car and look at the monitors.     

[cagarini]

I'm heading your way this Summer to break another part off your car and look at the monitors.     

That's Great News Hoppie!  Hope you can manage to bring both girls with you this time ! 
Regarding the car... it's difficult to find anything else to break :-) - still complies with the MEL though...  ;.)

[Pierre Theillere]

Hi all!

I just discovered that AeroflyFS2 has been released for Mac about 10 days ago:
https://www.aerofly.com/community/forum/index.php?thread/12477-aerofly-fs-2-flight-simulator-mac-version-released/
I may give it a try soon... reports (on PC) say it's quite smooth! Looks like a perfect eye-candy (and hassle-free?) companion for PSx, maybe in the future?