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Videos and Screenshots below! Hi, Captains!, As we get closer to launch of SkyMaxx Pro (how does this weekend sound? ), I wanted to highlight some of the great screenshots and videos already taken in X-Plane 10 with this amazing sky rendering engine! First, let's go over what SkyMaxx Pro is and what it means for you as an X-Plane user! SkyMaxx Pro is an amazing new sky/cloud/weather rendering engine which overrides X-Plane's visual weather rendering (clouds, sky colors, etc) in order to provide you with an ultra realistic sky environment. This is all achieved with the use of a custom plug-in which also integrates seamlessly into X-Plane's weather menus and options so that you have a very minimal learning curve when it comes to using this amazing add-on. In fact, once it's installed you really don't have to do anything different than to set your weather just as you always have in X-Plane! This said, we realize that a lot of people have different perceptions as to what a sky should look like, so we also include a wonderful user interface for this plug-in which lets you adjust sky colors, crepuscular rays, how the clouds move, and more! With all of these options available to you, not only do you get an amazing sky environment, but you also get it how YOU want it. All of this is coupled with the fact that almost every one of our testers notices an increase in FPS over that of the default cloud engine supplied with X-Plane! To give you an idea of the user interface, here's a quick screenshot of what it looks like from within sim: Again, it's really important to stress here that this user interface is optional to use. SkyMaxx Pro works SEAMLESSLY with the already existing weather menus you know how to use. There's nothing new to learn here other than picking up your jaw in amazement after seeing this product work its magic! SkyMaxx Pro introduces clouds aloft with wind speed, crepuscular rays, and full 3D clouds. In my opinion, it's quite literally the missing piece to the puzzle of X-Plane 10 to really make it feel like a complete, beautiful sim environment! Some of you may be seeing this add-on for the first time, so lets get to some screenshots showing this product in action (videos down below as well): Want to see some videos? Check these videos showcasing SkyMaxx Pro out!... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZiQ-mrazPU We're really excited to get this out to you, folks, so stay tuned! Release is near!

Technically only 3 others. I bought 53 computers and I'm refreshing them all.

We're too busy flying around the skies and not working, of course.

No Problem, They are Meaty and Delicious. Edited: for epic photoshop skillz

Time to celebrate!

X-Plane 10 HD Mesh Scenery v2 released! The free (donationware!) X-Plane 10 HD Scenery Mesh v2 has been released after almost a year of work. It covers many of the "interesting" regions of the planet (over 55 Gbytes of data), covering: Europe (Iceland and Canaries included)USA (Hawaii included)Canada (most parts of it)AlaskaA coverage map can be found here: It is an update to the older v1 HD Mesh (and a replacement of the default Global Scenery) and brings a lot of improvements to the simulator: It is a much higher resolution base mesh (more, smaller triangles) compared to the default Global Scenery which ships with X-Plane 10 (one could say: approximately 2-3-times more dense)The higher resolution mesh allows for a much more detailed representation of the elevation profile of the landscapeThe higher resolution mesh allows a much more detailed/exact representation of the underlying landclass data (because of the smaller triangles, which can follow landclass changes in the raw data more closely)It is based on a completely new Openstreetmap (OSM) data (approximately end of September 2013), which brings (compared to default Global Scenery) a lot of improvements in:water features (lakes, rivers, coastline) - many previously missing water features are now finally thereroadsrailroadspower linesurban park areasIt includes line rivers from OSM (not just polygons as before) tagged waterway=river which improves the landscape in most regions quite a bitUses improved urban zoning (thanks to improved algorithms in the scenery generator)Many smaller and larger landclass data improvementscompletely replaced the landclass data for Canada (big improvements)improved forest density representation in Europe (changed the sparse / dense classification)some new classes added (in many regions), like: moraines, riverbeds, mining/dump sitesadded differentiation between ice (perennial) and snow (more temporal) to have an even more detailed representation of mountainsdded differentiation between irrigated / non-irrigated crops (in some regions - like the USA etc.)Completely replaced the elevation data with viewfinderpanoramas.org (if yew have a few cents, donate to that guy!). This doesn't changes much in areas which were already great, but fixes some which were really hosed.One important prerequisite: to make this scenery work, you MUST have at least X-Plane version 10.25 (beginning with 10.25 beta1)! A large selection of screenshots can be found here: Europe: https://picasaweb.google.com/101666907909842492197/XPlane10HDMeshSceneryV2EuropeFINAL?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNKp646D4Ynscw&feat=directlinkNorth America: https://picasaweb.google.com/101666907909842492197/XPlane10HDMeshSceneryV2NorthAmericaFINAL?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLCalPCK1MD6vAE&feat=directlinkAll informations, possible updates, installation instructions, and download links can be found here: I would recommend you to start with 1 or 2 smaller regions first. Install it, test it, and only then come back later for more. Don't expect to have all of the scenery at once! http://www.alpilotx.net/downloads/x-plane-10-hd-scenery-mesh-v2/ And a I would to thank www.flightsim.com for making it possible to host a project of this size! Andras Fabian www.alpilotx.net

I am going to sleep

OK I added it to the gallery on my site.........

Man I lost it when I seen this LOL!!!

lol I have already DL'ed all 49 NA tiles of Alpilotx HD mesh, Now just waint for this to release and I will also be live.

Ben has been working me on my live stream to buy an AN-2. With all the great addons coming out I will go broke fast.

Its one of my favorites too, just haven't picked it up yet.....

I would have guessed you guys would have been out trying to get a delicious McRibs after the photo I posted. (PS: any photo marketing jobs open? I have beer!) Guys He said this weekend! This weekend is not over yet. Go Down load AlPilotx's mesh, that will keep you busy for a few hours.

This is one of the sexiest prop I've ever seen, and the plane looks brillant too !

X-plane 11 confirmed???

All data comes from the same data you already use. It's how things are rendered that are made better, so any plugins (like NOAA) that you already use will work seamlessly with this add-on!

Yay, sounds fantastic!! My first post here, but now it is about time. HD mesh v2 + SkyMaxx Pro = mega awesome stuff!!! Thank you all for making this possible! Cheers, Marcus

So for you, entertain yourself while operating complex addons is a game, you prefer flying pointlessly to feel more professional ? A game is something casual you make just for fun, something " easy " that relax you by doing funny things without thinking too much ... Here it would still be X-Plane complexity, but with interesting missions so it would give a sense to our flying. I love flying helicopter , following procedures, checklists, and built great hover skills for example. But I realize it is useless as there is absolutely nothing to do with these except play with VOR sometimes ... So, a game ? not, a purpose in your flying ? yes !

HEY! FSXP is excited to announce that we'll be starting a new project, slated for release in 2014! Hiroshi, the modeller of our 787 and 767 exteriors has created another family of planes and wants the planes to be available in x-plane too! The series is being dubbed the 737NG Basic, and will be built over the next six months. No comment yet on whether a 3d cockpit or cabin will be added. The Basic dub means that it won't feature a lot of advanced tech like plugin control or 3d cockpit, it's designed more for simple flying and nice visuals. The project will also feature full livery compatability forward and backwards, meaning any textures from FSX for this plane can be directly copied in to the .png format and vice versa. The project will be developed alongside the 787 and will share the same animation techniques used on the 787. The project is expected to contain between 30 and 40 planes, ranging from the 600 to the MAX series jets. Other features for the planes will include: -Three types of winglets -eyebrows or no eyebrows -air stairs -ground services, including refueling trucks, GPU and a push back -quality 3d models -accurate flight model (no plugin control though) -2d panel (no comment on 3d panel)

Then ... don't refresh? Wait until tomorrow?

Sorry, that was me.. I keep refreshing

I think he's saying it's better to simply announce the product is available then to say 'coming soon', because now you've got people clamoring for something for which there's no definite release time.

Dang it you found it early......

It is a C compiled plugin.

I love ewes. Their wool keeps me warm.

Yes yes yes! Im geekin over here dawg!!! I am so excited about this

SkyMAXX will kill the default clouds completely the % slider in the rendering pane will be rendered useless..... You can make adjustments for the clouds in the UI for SkyMAXX from the plugin dialog......

Hello comrades Have you ever been amazed while watching a big city in X-Plane 10, how great it looks with all the traffic, traffics lights, houses, buildings, backyards, gaz stations, CBD, train stations etc etc ? This is what we have with the default, stock simulator, and I personally think it is really really well done. But, I have a big problem while seeing this... I HAVE NOTHING TO DO !!!!!!! ( except flying over, over and over and over again, without doing anything useful ) Cosmopolitan big cities such NYC, LA, Paris here in France, Dubaï etc are cities full of life and dynamism and ... people. Don't you see where I want to come ? Well, rich businessmen, tourists, radio stations, police services are intensively using helicopters all around such cities for various missions. We have the helicopters ( R-22, AS 350 and Bell 206 by Dreamfoils, BK-117 Nils, new Sea King, S-92 by DMO, MD900, S-76 ... and we have the stock cities, which are more than great. What we miss are MISSIONS Absolutely. Now, I don't understand why there isn't really some good scenarios for X-Plane, while everyone tells " everything's doable with plugins powaa !! " So Ben, could Gizmo help in that purpose ? Missions could be so versatile : - Take a couple of tourists up in the brand new AS-350 your company just bought, then manage to show them the city highlights on sunset - Transfer a highly priority patient from a big city Trauma center to another, or better, bring some vital organs from somewhere to a big city, in the BK-117/S-76 - A rookie photographer need some great shots of LA downtowns to show his agency what kind of building plans could be done in the years to come, to improve global city traffic fluidity ... - A team of renown scientists have a meeting to hold tonight, 8PM. It's 7:15 and they are still waiting their taxi to come... You MUST bring them to the top of that building with your company's S-92 for a delivery before 7:55PM - In your FLIR equipped AS-350/MD900, lock and chase a car to it's destination, federal forces suspect it to transport highly hazardous compounds - Senator of X state got his Learjet at La Guardia airport to depart at 06:00 in the morning. You are still at home, in near Time Square, and must hurry to Downtown Manhattan Heliport ( with your car, X-Plane has cars ) then bring your Jet Ranger to northern New Jersey to bring him back to La Guardia before 5:45 AM And so on, scenarios are endless. So yes, this is a request I make to you developers. I noticed, having the greatest plane in X-Plane and flying over the best scenery still leaves me a taste of emptiness and boringness. With missions like that, and the appropriate career follow up ( earning more money if you do your job flawlessly, in time with smooth flying etc ) it could really open a new dimension in this so empty world ... Imagine doing this kind of missions ( nostalgia here ahah if you knew SimCopter ) And listening this while starting up your Bell 206's Allison I really hope I'm not the only one to expect that, what do you think ?

What could possibly be taking so long?

I actually recommend the NOAA plugin over the default weather.....

Although I haven't tested it with VATSIM it is tied into the default weather so its safe to say yes it will work just fine......

Did you read my post? I posted 3 links that do NOT point at the .org, but the only thing you two recognize in my post is ".org"??? Seriously? Again: If you want to have missions, go to where missions are, or even better: Create them.

The thing is: this way its not me, who has to take care of payments / memberships / sales etc. ... Time which I don't have, and the little time I have is much better spent on working on scenery projects / helping Laminar etc . So in my eyes, its a fair offering, and I see it as a fair price for a service which they provide me and you (and you can download everything else over the time period of one year at high speeds too ... its quite likely, that this is not the only big scenery pack which might come over the next year). I really don't begrudge them the money which you give them ... (and remember, flightsim.com is not just some shady tiny site, but maybe one of the first internet sites for flight simulation ... since 1996 ... or so).

Oh yes that place I cannot go to or want to for that matter.

You know Mission-X? Still very alive, last updated on Nov 16th. http://snagardev.weebly.com/plugins.html Download, read the docs (http://snagardev.weebly.com/documentation.html) and start creating missions Some sample missions: http://snagardev.weebly.com/missions.html More at the .org.

awesome! been so excited for this

Congrats on your hard work man. I'm gonna be one of the first to buy it.

I'm Ready when You Are...........

This is great news. With SkyMaxx Pro on final, HD Mesh v2 at the gate, IXEG 737 starting descent, seems like X-Plane is reaching new heights and is setup for a long haul. The amount of excellent quality add ons currently valuable and under development is huge, both freeware and payware. The community is growing slowly but surely and X-Plane is consolidating as the best flight simulator in the market period. Thank you to all involved in making X-Plane what it is today.

Ho, great news, I was looking for this one for a bit. I already took Urbanmaxx extreme from this same author. And I guess if you have put this on your website, this means you'll sell this yourself. Great news as well

Wow ! Those images are amazing ! But what kind of computers are you guys using! I would imagine my 2011 imac would get about 1 frame per second or less ! I guess it time to upgrade again :-)

Hats off to you Andras, thank you for your continual dedication and contribution to X-Plane.

One thing guys. Please be so kind, and DON'T KILL FLIGHTSIM.COM ! Please, everybody start with one or two - smaller - regions and test it before you - slowly - continue! Thank you!

Last one for now, 4 of 4 All four can also be found on the site http://www.ixeg.net/blog/item/33-from-cold-and-dark-to

HB-XLA Heliswiss, Zermatt in the distance.