Simviation Forum - FS2004 Extreme Environment Upgrade

Jun 24^th, 2009 at 10:39pm

Capt.Propwash Offline
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I was just wondering if anyone has downloaded this program, and how much of a change in overall ground textures / scenery did it make??

4 Down on page::
http://www.simviation.com/simviation/index.php?type=item&ID=85&page=21

I already have Real Environment Pro installed, but my ground textures are still a bit "rounded" when looking at mountains. I would like to fly over Mt Everest and it actually look like the pics in
http://www.pcaviator.com/shop/viewAProduct.php?pid=1036

and not the crappy 28,000 foot rounded off ant hill.

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Reply #1 - Jun 25^th, 2009 at 12:34am

dave3cu Offline
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Don't have Howards Mix but have read mixed reviews by some who have.

But my purpose for responding: Neither it nor your Real Environment Pro are going to make mountains less rounded. These are terrain and environmetal texture 'upgrades', and have no effect on elevation detail. For that you need to install higher resolution terrain mesh.

There are many sources for improved (higher resolution) terrain mesh, including the 'Global Terrain Mesh' on SimV's main download page.

For Mt Everest terrain mesh: Holger Sandmann authored detailed mesh for the Alps and the Himalayas. There are several downloads involved starting here-http://www.simviation.com/fs2004scenery76.htm-and thru the next 5 or 6 pages.

Dave

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You know....you can just rip up a to-do list.

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Reply #2 - Jun 25^th, 2009 at 6:26am

Opa Offline
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Another "trick" you can try is to edit your FS9.cfg file - experiment with changing the vertex level to 20 or 21 instead of the default 19.

TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=19

The higher numbers will make hills and valleys more pronounced.

David "Opa" Marshall

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Reply #3 - Jun 25^th, 2009 at 8:28am

Allen_Z Ex Member

TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=19

or

TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=21

Here's a comparison, 19 -vs- 21 (default FS mesh)

19

21

Not much difference.

The greatest improvement is with add-on mesh

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Reply #4 - Jun 25^th, 2009 at 11:44pm

Capt.Propwash Offline
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so far, this is what i have been able to get without a full terrain mesh.... which i am currently looking for .. for various areas around the world.

TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=20

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Reply #5 - Jun 26^th, 2009 at 12:29am

Allen_Z Ex Member

Glad you posted that! I have tried this with previous versions 2k & 2k2, but if I set it to anything above 21, the sim would re-write it to 19.

I took this screen shot, set @ 35. TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=35

At 39, the sim re-wrote to 19.

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Reply #6 - Jun 26^th, 2009 at 8:36am

ShaneG Offline
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Capt.Propwash wrote on Jun 25^th, 2009 at 11:44pm:

so far, this is what i have been able to get without a full terrain mesh.... which i am currently looking for .. for various areas around the world.

The SRTM mesh for FS9 here at SimV is very nice. It takes a while to download it all. But you could also just grab the areas you want. Wink

♪♫♪‼

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Reply #7 - Jun 26^th, 2009 at 10:18pm

Capt.Propwash Offline
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I just tested a flight .... started at LUKLA, slewd straight up, then hit F4 for full burners and maneuvered for this shot.

FS9.cfg was still still the same AFTER the flight.

by my own eyes, i can not tell a diff between 20 and 30

yeah yeah, i know, plane looks like crap due to all the jaggies. nothing i can do about it. im on a 45% crappy laptop.

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Reply #8 - Jun 26^th, 2009 at 10:28pm

ShaneG Offline
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Capt.Propwash wrote on Jun 26^th, 2009 at 10:18pm:

by my own eyes, i can not tell a diff between 20 and 30

yeah yeah, i know, plane looks like crap due to all the jaggies. nothing i can do about it. im on a 45% crappy laptop.

Then that may be why you can't tell the diffence in the terrain, which requires an immense amount more processing power to render than the planes do. Wink

I see a difference with minor adjustments, especially with the mesh activated.

Also, your test conditions are not really ideal, as this is really more of a "Low & Slow" tweak, as opposed to high speed / high altitude flying.

Pick a slower plane, slow down and get closer to the ground and give the terrain a chance to load itself and see if you can see the difference then.

♪♫♪‼

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Reply #9 - Jun 27^th, 2009 at 3:17pm

Capt.Propwash Offline
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well, i did update SOME of the files that this updates..... only things i did not update was the Weather because I like the clouds and sky that Real Environment Pro gave me.

but anywho.... MAX_TERRAIN_VERTEX is still sitting at 30... so here is a slow flying shot (not more that 200 KIAS) over the Grand Canyon::

and a Pavehawk on a Search and Resce for a downed MT Everest Climber (yeah i know everest is not in the shot, but this had more peaks and valleys in it for a more dramattic shot) what do you think

The thoughts and expressions contained in the post above are solely my own, and not necessarily those of Simviation.com, its Moderators, its Staff, its Members, or other guests. They can not, are not, and will not be held liable for any thoughts, or expressions, or posts that I have made, or will make in the future.

Computer Specs:: Acer Aspire Laptop..Win7 Home Premium 64-bit (sp1), AMD Athlon II X2 P340 (Dual Core) [2.2 Ghz], ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 (256mb), 4GB DDR3......FS9.1(sp3) / FSX (sp2)..... Ultimate Terrain X, Ground Environment X, REX, FTX ORBX PNW-PFJ-NRM-CRM, OZx, Tongass Fjords, Misty Moorings

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Reply #10 - Jun 27^th, 2009 at 5:02pm

krigl Offline
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Look for Holger Sandmann's LOD10 + 9 mesh for the Himalayas and the phororeal Mt Everest area also by him....all at SimV I believe... might make a difference to that region

If you're bored of an evening - and you'll have to be - you can check out my screenshot gallery: Kriglsflightsimscreens...HERE

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Reply #11 - Jun 27^th, 2009 at 8:08pm

Daube Offline
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Errr I might be wrong, but from what I remember, FS2004 will not recognize any VERTEX_LEVEL above 21. So it's totally useless to try values like 30 or 40.
Also, even if you increase the VERTEX_LEVEL up to 21, if the local mesh is no precise enough, then you won't notice any difference.
Basically, you should make your test over an area which is covered by a 38 or 19 meters mesh (I don't remember what is the maximum precision for FS2004). But if you test over an area covered by a 76 meters mesh only, you won't see anything relevant.

Got bloom ?
Got mountains ?
Got damage ?

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Reply #12 - Jun 27^th, 2009 at 8:57pm

Capt.Propwash Offline
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Daube wrote on Jun 27^th, 2009 at 8:08pm:

Errr I might be wrong, but from what I remember, FS2004 will not recognize any VERTEX_LEVEL above 21. So it's totally useless to try values like 30 or 40.
Also, even if you increase the VERTEX_LEVEL up to 21, if the local mesh is no precise enough, then you won't notice any difference.
Basically, you should make your test over an area which is covered by a 38 or 19 meters mesh (I don't remember what is the maximum precision for FS2004). But if you test over an area covered by a 76 meters mesh only, you won't see anything relevant.

Daube, to me .. 'the flight sim .CFG-semi idot', that actually makes a little sense. like i said in an earlier post, maybe i need to try flying over say Paris, New York City, San Fran, Tokyo or somewhere else Default that is photorealistic.

Thank you Krigl, i will look into that...
ShaneG, AllenZ, Opa, Dave3cu: thank you for your help,

The thoughts and expressions contained in the post above are solely my own, and not necessarily those of Simviation.com, its Moderators, its Staff, its Members, or other guests. They can not, are not, and will not be held liable for any thoughts, or expressions, or posts that I have made, or will make in the future.

Computer Specs:: Acer Aspire Laptop..Win7 Home Premium 64-bit (sp1), AMD Athlon II X2 P340 (Dual Core) [2.2 Ghz], ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 (256mb), 4GB DDR3......FS9.1(sp3) / FSX (sp2)..... Ultimate Terrain X, Ground Environment X, REX, FTX ORBX PNW-PFJ-NRM-CRM, OZx, Tongass Fjords, Misty Moorings

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