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Information on the NORCAL release

Cameron

By Cameron
in Northern California

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Cameron Mentor

Cameron

Posted
Posted

Hi, all,

As we near closer to the release of our first RealScenery Enhanced product, it's time give some information as to what you can expect and get ready for with the release and how we intend to distribute this spectacular scenery product!

First off, we can't tell you just how excited we really are to bring this product to fruition. It has been a very long, painstaking process, as we have built new proprietary software in a few areas to make this product possible. In fact, we originally finished NORCAL nearly a year ago and decided to completely trash it and start over again (Many of the early posts for NORCAL in this forum were the old, trashed version). We felt that NORCAL will be very important to many, and we wanted to do it right! To say the least, seeing true-to-life imagery in beautiful contrast and cars following the roads, as well as the amazing night lighting in sim is definitely something to behold. The screenshots are nice, but flying it in sim will give you a whole other feel and appreciation for the Enhanced line of products to come!

So, let's recap on a few things here for those that are relatively new as to what NORCAL and Enhanced sceneries will offer:

  • Cars following all roads in the imagery. This is NOT the roads you're used to in X-Plane, and it has almost NO impact on FPS
  • Night lighting that detects urban vs rural areas, as well as parks, stadiums, parking lots, etc. It's fantastic!
  • Every single airport is aligned with the imagery. This includes runways, taxiways, aprons, etc.
  • Clear of any artifacts in the imagery. You will not find any clouds throughout your flights
  • Enhanced packages will average 1.8 meters per pixel or better vs. previous scenery packs of 5 meters per pixel resolution
  • Smooth color transitions between resolutions and default scenery.



As you can see, this package truly stands out compared to anything else we've ever released in the scenery department, and we plan to continue this trend! I don't think any of us can really stress enough how awesome this scenery really is to fly around! smile.png

Since we have the feature list out of the way, I'd like to announce our new distribution plans for this product. We have received countless e-mails in excitement for the release of this product, so I feel it's very important to give some specifics on size and how we plan to ship...

First off, NORCAL comes in at just under 93.4GB installed. Please keep this in mind when you purchase! You will be able to install specific sections rather than the entire product at once to save disk space if you like, but I feel it prudent to let everyone know the size of this package. The download size of this package will come in at just under 40GB. This means the compressed form of the scenery is about half of the fully installed size.

In addition to what is said above, we will be introducing a new way to purchase NORCAL. We realize that California is very large, and that some people are not interested in purchasing the entire scenery package just to fly around a small area they may like. As such, we will be starting single DSF tile downloads as an option! Not only is this ultimately cheaper for you if you don't want the entire package, it also saves on download time and bandwidth for you as a customer. It's fair to say that most tiles installed will weigh in at just a little over 3GB per tile.

The following image is a map of single tiled areas you will be able to purchase if you choose not to get the entire NORCAL package:

NorCal_Index.jpg


To help you better choose specific areas, we'll be giving details on each tile as to what type of flying they offer, as well as screenshot galleries for each tile offered.

So, with that said, a re-cap on how you can purchase/obtain the scenery:



With the introduction of Enhanced packages we'll also be introducing installers for the scenery. Our goal is to make the download and install process as simple as possible! We have servers in Europe and the US for RealScenery download products, and Asia is in consideration. This offers high speeds around the globe for those of you that choose the download option.


Compatibility:
RealScenery NORCAL will work with Mac, Windows, and Linux. It is important to note, however, the download option will not be available to Linux users. You'll need to order a DVD and have it shipped to you. The scenery requires version 9.2 of X-Plane, but we HIGHLY recommend version 9.5 for initial load reasons.

One of the more common questions we are asked about is the FPS impact of scenery packages like NORCAL. Because of the method we use to compile these products, your FPS impact is going to be little to none. This is also due in part with the fact we have worked to minimize issues with Laminar, and worked on better texture paging methods specifically for this product.

Thanks to everyone for your continued supporting of our products, as well as the amazing response we receive in e-mails day in and day out in anticipation of this product. It's definitely going to be a great time sharing this with you all!

Cheers, and Blue Skies!

Cameron

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Cameron
Cameron

Hi, all, As we near closer to the release of our first RealScenery Enhanced product, it's time give some information as to what you can expect and get ready for with the release and how we intend to

RealScenery
RealScenery

Thank you so much! Everyone involved in this project greatly appreciates your enthusiasm, and that of all those that have followed this project over the ongoing development cycle. This has been a tryi

polygonpusher
polygonpusher

I get your frustration Cameron. I know you guys are working very hard on making an awesome product, and I'll be excited when it is ready.   The crucial point being missed however, is that it is custom

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Kaphias Newbie

Kaphias

Posted
Posted

In addition to what is said above, we will be introducing a new way to purchase NORCAL. We realize that California is very large, and that some people are not interested in purchasing the entire scenery package just to fly around a small area they may like. As such, we will be starting single DSF tile downloads as an option! Not only is this ultimately cheaper for you if you don't want the entire package, it also saves on download time and bandwidth for you as a customer. It's fair to say that most tiles installed will weigh in at just a little over 3GB per tile.

Thank you! I have never been able to buy you full packages, so this is a wonderful option for people like me would probably spent most of their time in the SFO area anyway. :) I hate to ask, but can you give any idea on the individual tile cost now or should we just wait until release?

Kaphias Newbie

Kaphias

Posted
Posted

We're still finalizing the pricing, but it will be VERY reasonable and an incredible value for the quality and effort that has gone into this package.  :)

Well of course! Can't wait.

GlowWorm Newbie

GlowWorm

Posted
Posted

:)

That's exciting news! Been waiting for a nice Norcal package since the Fly! era - I explore the Mendocino, SF and Monterey region most. Hopefully one day there'll be a DL option for Linux users, shipping stuff outside of US can be costly. But on the other hand, a backup can't hurt.

Cameron Mentor

Cameron

Posted
  • Author
Posted

:)

That's exciting news! Been waiting for a nice Norcal package since the Fly! era - I explore the Mendocino, SF and Monterey region most. Hopefully one day there'll be a DL option for Linux users, shipping stuff outside of US can be costly. But on the other hand, a backup can't hurt.

I don't think we'll have plans to do Linux on our download software. We've had a download system like this for over a year now, and the Linux stuff just doesn't behave well for this particular software. Our shipping costs outside of the US are very, very reasonable, so no worries on that!

For what it's worth, I have had reports that our downloader works fine in WINE, however, I make no promises to it!

crs Newbie

crs

Posted
Posted

RealScenery NORCAL will work with Mac, Windows, and Linux. It is important to note, however, the download option will not be available to Linux users. You'll need to order a DVD and have it shipped to you. The scenery requires version 9.2 of X-Plane, but we HIGHLY recommend version 9.5 for initial load reasons.

Hi there,

Why is Linux so underestimated? Still no Gizmo, now that... Will CRJ be Windows/Mac only as well?

Not complaining, just stating.

Kind regards,

Kamil

Cameron Mentor

Cameron

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Kamil,

I've stated already that the Linux side of development behaves in ways that don't allow things to properly function.

As time and investment permits, we will continue to investigate Linux compatibility and our intentions to support the operating system, including with Gizmo.

For now it's probably safe to assume products like the CRJ will also not initially support Linux.

The reality is that Linux produces very little return of investment for time spent. We know this first hand, so it's best we not try and beat a dead horse here.

Again, if you want a Linux version of NORCAL you can obtain it through DVD. We'll continue to investigate this, but for now these are the answers we have on the matter.

If you feel the need to further discuss this feel free to PM me or send an email through the contact form at X-Aviation. This topic is most certainly not the place to do it.

GlowWorm Newbie

GlowWorm

Posted
Posted

Roger on the ROI re Linux.

I kind of assumed that since MacOS X and Linux have unix roots, it would make the DL option easier to implement / port to Linux. On the other hand, I just know enough about the lower level  of Unix to be dangerous, and am in no way a programmer. ;-)

:)

That's exciting news! Been waiting for a nice Norcal package since the Fly! era - I explore the Mendocino, SF and Monterey region most. Hopefully one day there'll be a DL option for Linux users, shipping stuff outside of US can be costly. But on the other hand, a backup can't hurt.

I don't think we'll have plans to do Linux on our download software. We've had a download system like this for over a year now, and the Linux stuff just doesn't behave well for this particular software. Our shipping costs outside of the US are very, very reasonable, so no worries on that!

For what it's worth, I have had reports that our downloader works fine in WINE, however, I make no promises to it!

JimmiG Newbie

JimmiG

Posted
Posted

It has been a long wait but it looks like it will be worth it. Norcal was the first flight sim region I flew over with Flight Unlimited II in 1997 so it's nice to see it in high detail in X-Plane. I hope it will be affordable enough that I can buy the whole region at once because nothing beats continuous photo scenery.

  • 2 weeks later...
Ben Russell Collaborator

Ben Russell

Posted
Posted

We got hit by a thunderstorm during the main act of Circe de X-A...

Your patience is appreciated. Two weeks max and the new installer will be done, shipped, ready, polished.

There is simply too much data in this release to move forward with the old, admittedly rickety, installer.

Thanks guys, we're all doing triple back flips at the moment, you'll understand in due time. :)

Oliver Newbie

Oliver

Posted
Posted

We got hit by a thunderstorm during the main act of Circe de X-A...

Your patience is appreciated. Two weeks max and the new installer will be done, shipped, ready, polished.

There is simply too much data in this release to move forward with the old, admittedly rickety, installer.

Thanks guys, we're all doing triple back flips at the moment, you'll understand in due time. :)

Ah so I'll be on vacation and I'll order it so I'll have a beautiful scenery waiting for me when I get back, probably need a new HDD considering the size of Real Scenery  ;D haha

  • 2 weeks later...
Simmo W Newbie

Simmo W

Posted
Posted

beat me to it! Indii's last post indicated that it should be out round about....now. everybody chant:

we want Norcal, we want Norcal, oi, oi, oi..

Ben Russell Collaborator

Ben Russell

Posted
Posted

...still blocked by me.

Someone came along and said "we want all your time between now and ___".

I wish I could show and tell, but all I can do is apologize. You'll see soon enough. :D

I can assure you that the X-A candle currently looks like this:

candleburningbothends.jpg

( ..both ends wasnt enough! )

...seriously, everyone is running at 150%, if it's quiet it's cause we're in demolition mode.

Simmo W Newbie

Simmo W

Posted
Posted

Thanks Indi, don't blame yourself, you don't need the extra pressure, I know what that's like. remember I can always send you those 600 3.5inch floppy disks!  :D

  • 1 month later...
mikced Newbie

mikced

Posted
Posted

Yes some more information would be most welcome. I don't know how many times that release date has been pushed. All perfectly fine of course as long as there is good communication. In the end everyone wants a good product so any delay due to additional testing or adding new features or whatever is great. Let me be the first one to admit that! If however the product is on hold due to lack off commitment to complete the installer from this Indi guy, perhaps someone else is more suitable for his job. As I said before why wasn't the installer worked on much earlier in the process if it's so very complicated. X-plane 10 is slowly approaching and for me personally I am starting to question my purchase plan for Norcal since we don't know exactly what the new X-plane version will feature, the compatibility issues and so on.

Sorry for the rant.

Mike

     

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