FS9 Xtreme Evolution: beta testers wanted!

[ZsoltB]

Ok, but download link?

 

[Sascha66]

Ok, but download link?

Hi,

you get the dl after making a contribution. The name donationware seems to be confusing for some, but I did not find another name. Payware = set price, donationware = you contribute what you want or can. That was the logic behind it. I actually believe that SOH ran their donationware under a similar scheme. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Cheers,
Sascha

 

[Sascha66]

Hi guys,



I have just uploaded a lights update to the dropbox. Look for it in the updates and fixes directories.


THe new autogen only uses one type of light pole. This saves 7-8 % of fps on my system.


To use the new lights, just drop the default.xml file in the /autogen directory of your FS installation.


Here is a screenshot on dense autogen setting with the new lights. The dense setting increases fps on my system to around 28 from 21 at extreme setting for that location (KLAS). I only have an old dual core computer, by the way.

These two screenshots at Miami directly compare dense autogen setting to extreme setting:

Best,
Sascha

 

[Sascha66]

Hi guys,

Hi,

sorry I posted the same image twice. The image above has dense autogen, the image below has extreme autogen set.



Best,
Sascha

 

[rich12545]

Hi Sascha, just a couple questions.

Is the program finished including textures for all five seasons?

Are you still planning to post some screenies? A few urban and a few rural from about 3-4000 ft agl would be nice.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Sascha66]

Hi Sascha, just a couple questions.

Is the program finished including textures for all five seasons?

Are you still planning to post some screenies? A few urban and a few rural from about 3-4000 ft agl would be nice.

Thanks,
Rich

Rich, sorry I forgot all about the screenshots. No, I haven't got round to doing the seasons, I've been busy with the release and a couple of hotfixes, the most pressing of which are the 3D lights which cause fps for some (not unexpectedly). Julian is whipping up a new low-poly light which should go a long way to fixing this issue.

I will have to make a new road and a new stream texture as alternative next.

Then, it is back to the grind with the seasons being on top of my list.!

As soon as I get in some flying time I will do some screenshots.

In the meantime I also forgot to post this video of a flight over SE Asia:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlVd6f4a3VQ

Best,
Sascha

 

[Sascha66]

Hi Sascha, just a couple questions.

Is the program finished including textures for all five seasons?

Are you still planning to post some screenies? A few urban and a few rural from about 3-4000 ft agl would be nice.

Thanks,
Rich

I forgot to ask, do you have any specific area in mind?

 

[rich12545]

As far as location is concerned, I'm not particular. Maybe England or Ohio, something like that to show fields. Any urban area like Seattle or Los Angeles. Maybe a shot of the desert in Arizona. Just a couple each urban and rural. Just to see what the colors in the finished product look like. Everything looked very nice in the SE Asia video. No rush, I'm going to wait until it's finished before doing anything.

 

[Sascha66]

Hi guys,

with the help of Harald I have made a road texture without green verges. I also uploaded a strem texture with smaller green banks which indeed seens more realistic (thank you Gwillmot).

Both are in the dropbox in the directory 3_Updates_and_fixes/fixes_fs9_scenery_world_texture as fixes #4 and #5. Screenshots are in the directories.

At the moment Julian and I are stuck regarding the lights as we cannot tie the effect to a simple object and convert it to a bgl without crashing the sim. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Have a nice weekend!
Sascha

 

[Sascha66]

Hi all,

Emin has posted an amazing nighttime video at avsim yesterday. This shows what is possible with Evo. I can't even see that many lights on my own setup! Emin just installed UT and FS9 Evo on a clean install.

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/408107-how-did-this-guy-do-it/page-14#entry2966453

Cheers,
Sascha

 

[Sascha66]

Hi all,



i just wanted to point out that Evo does not have an installer because I don't know how to make one. The package comes in zipped form, you can just drop the files into the FS9 texture folders.



To use the lights, you will also need a library from a another freeware third-party download for this.



Best,

Sascha

 

[Sascha66]

Hi all,



I just tried a new (for me) tweak and it has improved my fps by about 30%. I set fs9 to run in XP (Service Pack 2) compatibility mode. To try this yourself, right-click on your desktop link and select XP (Service Pack 2) mode in the compatibilty menu.



Sascha

 

[rich12545]

I will try it. But I'm wondering. How in the world did you think of it in the first place?

 

[Sascha66]

I will try it. But I'm wondering. How in the world did you think of it in the first place?

It was recommended as a solution to some stuttering problems over at avsim. I didn't think of it myself The results will probably vary depending on your setup, but with my Vista it has worked wonders!

 

[Sascha66]

I had to repost this because I can't edit the original release post #351 anymore and one guy complained about the lack of installer (complex or otherwise) and the lack of mention of this fact.
My fault for not mentioning this in the original post! Sorry about that.


Hi guys and thank you for all your support!

I have released FS9 after much vaccilation and finding excuses to postpone.

I am now accepting paypal contributions under fs9evo@gmail.com and will post the download link to anyone making a modest or generous contribution. Please be a bit patient, I will send links out asap! I have to sort this out so I can keep track of things.

I will have plenty of time over the weekend to take care of any issues although I hope the beta test has cleaned most of them out already!

Cheers,
Sascha

------------------------------------------
"Official" relase announcement

FS9 Evolution is a global texture makeover for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 ACOF.

FS9 Evo tries to create a realistic and believable environment in FS9. FS9 Evo textures are built up by hand to look photreal.

FS9 Evo tries to evolve FS9 by having individual texture files with great detail, carefully balanced within a texture set to avoid tiling. This creates a believable low-altitude experience with enough large terrain features to have an interesting high-altitude experience.

FS9 Evo replaces most texture files (default or add ons that replace default) that define the visible world outside your plane. This includes cities and towns, fields and rice paddies, forests and jungles, oceans and lakes, deserts and swamps, airport terminals and suburban houses, clouds and grass.

FS9 Evo also has dense custom autogen for all files that can be annotated.

FS9 Evo also has new and I believe unique 3D lights integrated into the autogen. You will also need to download a freeware third-party object library.

FS9 Evo is compatible with Ultimate Terrain and all other land class because basically it is just another texture replacement add-on.

FS9 Evo is optimized for UT land class. Using UT or another good land class add-on will bring best results.

FS9 Evo is also compatible with other texture add-ons although there will probably be color mismatches. If you want to mix FS9 Evo with other texture addons, use the split folder install to select the textures you want.

FS9 Evo is summer only at this time with the other seasons to follow asap.

If you want to learn more about FS9 Evo just browse through the beta thread: http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...testers-wanted or this thread: http://forum.avsim.net/topic/408107-...his-guy-do-it/. Both have lots of comments on Fs9 Evo.

You can also check the videos I posted on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4u...S6HYLhg/videos

There are some more links in my avsim forum signature.

FS9 Evo has been publically beta tested by members of the community so should not hold any unwelcome surprises. If you do encounter issues, please post them in the sim-outhouse or the avsim thread AND send me an email to fs9evo@gmail.com.

There is no installer because I haven't managed to make one which works. You just need to drop the Evo files into the fs9/texture and fs9/scenery/texture directories. Detailed instructions are included.

Well that is it! I hope you enjoy FS9 Evo! Don't forget to make backups before installing!

Sascha


I reposted this because I can't edit the original post and one guy complained about the lack of installer and the lack of mention of this fact. My fault for not mentioning this in the original post!

 

[Sascha66]

Hi, here are some tweaks I forgot to include in the config guide, now updated with these items:

11. A set of files which I greatly recommend is found in Kaufbeuren AB v2 airport by Klaus Jone:

http://library.avsim...php?DLID=157915

Included is an excellent lclookup patch by Jobia, the only one I am aware of in fact (install into Scenery\Base\Scenery) which generally fixes landclass errors; and a set of improved terrain masks (install to Scenery\World\Texture). The latter are the files that control the shape of town and forest edges and the way textures generally meet. More detail in the file.

I also use the included Germany LC, which I like much better than UT.

12. Other freeware landclass I use on top of Ultimate Terrain and which you might like is:
- Mountains for USA & Europe by Markus Balz, http://library.avsim...php?DLID=153059
- Philippine Landclass and Waterclass Scenery v.2.0, http://library.avsim....php?DLID=38340
- Switzerland Landclass by Frank Barth, http://library.avsim....php?DLID=81240
- UK landclass by Raimundo Taburet, http://www.flightsim...right&fid=98237
- France landclass and landmarks by Arnaud Clère et. al., http://www.gratisim....tes-4?task=view

Best,
Sascha

 

[Sascha66]

Hi all,

here are some screenshots I made over the last days. As Rich requested, these are from rural locations. I wanted to show off the variety of textures, so these are from all round the world! Not all sets, though, only the most common.

1. Germany


2. Germany(Munich)


3. France


4. UK


5. UK


6. US Type1 (NE)


7. US Type1


8. US Type1


9. US Type2 (KBAB)


10. US Type2 (KBAB)


11. US Type2


12. US Type3 (Wittman Regl.)


Cheers,
Sascha

 

[Sascha66]

More rural textures:

13. US Type3


14. US Type4


15. Eastern Europe (Poland)


16. Eastern Europe (Hungary)


17. Russia


18. Eastern Europe (Slovenia)


19. Eastern Europe (Slovenia)


20. Eastern Europe (Slovenia)


21. Eastern Europe (Slovenia)


22. Greece


23. Greece


24. Greece (UT mixes English fields in some parts???)


Cheers,
Sascha

 

[Sascha66]

Still more rural textures:

25. Thailand


26. Thailand


27. Thailand


28. Thailand


29. SE Asia (Vietnam)


30. SE Asia (Vietnam)


31. SE Asia (Vietnam)


32. SE Asia (Vietnam)


33. South America (Colombia)


34. South America (Colombia)


35. South America (also uses US Type 3 textures in some parts)


36. Mediterranean


I will post desert and scrub textures and urban areas in the next days.

Have a nice Easter weekend!
Sascha

 

[rich12545]

Hi Sascha, here's my 2 cents fwiw. Thank you for the pics. On the whole I like it. There was a little urban and, hard to tell, but it looks like that dreaded blue tint is gone. Couple of urban shots should be able to tell. But rural, there's still too much green and not enough variety in colors. You can look a couple pages back at my UK shot for comparison if you want. Just my opinion but if I was flying over that section in the UK (4 & 5 in the first set for example), it would drive me kinda bonkers. Maybe others like that and I'm in a tiny minority. If so, perhaps they can speak up. It's probably just personal taste. Also, I haven't been able to find anywhere what all is included in the package. I'm sorry to be probably the most critical guy here.