Ortho4XP

If you have a payware prog whether it be a model, scenery or utility that you have tried.. tell us about it here.

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chrispbits
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Ortho4XP

Post by chrispbits »

For existing users of Ortho4XP there's a new version out - version 1.3. I haven't explored all aspects of it yet but there's an improved handy preview function to let you view a tile before you commit to downloading it. There's also a new source (Arc) that appears to be an improvement, overall, on Bing and is considerably better than Google.

I think that Arc is enough of an improvement to replace all my current Bing derived ZL17 tiles with Arc sourced tiles. I've got a lot so this is going to take some time. I'm even considering replacing the ORBX images used for the TE GB series with Arc images but keeping the ORBX overlays.

For those that have not yet got into Ortho4XP, it's worth a look. ZL (Zoom Level) 16 would be a better bet if you have limited storage but with high capacity disks so cheap these days it's worth investing in one to go to ZL17.

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Nigel H-J
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Re: Ortho4XP

Post by Nigel H-J »

Thanks for the HU Chris, version 1.3 sounds very interesting. Might even persuade me on downloading some tiles. Do you know if they have improved the time it takes to convert as when I did the UK it was ages especially when doing block tiles.

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Nigel.
I used to be an optimist but with age I am now a grumpy old pessimist.

chrispbits
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Re: Ortho4XP

Post by chrispbits »

Hi Nigel, unfortunately not but with your processor ought to make short work of the processing. On average it takes me about 13 minutes to complete a tile.

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Nigel H-J
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Re: Ortho4XP

Post by Nigel H-J »

Hmmm, when I tried to do one it took ages and that was on the M.2 Drive as well.

Will have to give it another go soon. Will let you know.

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Nigel.
I used to be an optimist but with age I am now a grumpy old pessimist.

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Nigel H-J
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Re: Ortho4XP

Post by Nigel H-J »

Hi Chris, did one tile and it took 33 mins 5 secs at 17.

Afraid I'm not going any further with it, just can't be bothered waiting that amount of time for each tile but thanks anyway for the HU.

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Nigel.
I used to be an optimist but with age I am now a grumpy old pessimist.

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Charlie Bravo
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Re: Ortho4XP

Post by Charlie Bravo »

I started looking into this earlier this afternoon, but after watching most of a tutorial video on how to use Ortho, I thought what a load of faff and promptly decided against it.
A bird in the hand will probably sh!t on your wrist.

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Nigel H-J
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Re: Ortho4XP

Post by Nigel H-J »

Hi Chris, I actually used Ortho4XP when I first purchased X-Plane 11 which was by far much better than the default scenery but the only problem with it was if you just used Ortho scenery it was flat on the ground but as you got higher everything including buildings were there.

It does take a lot of time and if doing tiles at zoom level 17 that I did with the one tile, it came to just over 9Gb in size.

Probably my age but just do not want to spend my time building them any-more, so for Europe I just use the Simheaven X Europe 5 which is much better than the default scenery.

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Nigel.
I used to be an optimist but with age I am now a grumpy old pessimist.

chrispbits
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Re: Ortho4XP

Post by chrispbits »

It does take quite a while. I just batch up a series of tiles (up to 15) and set it on its way. I can leave Ortho to do its thing while I do something else. I'm replacing tiles I had done previously so this is long slog number 2.

chrispbits
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Re: Ortho4XP

Post by chrispbits »

Hi Chris, if it's the video I've seen it over complicates it somewhat. At its simplest it's a 3 step process.

1. In the main screen select your scenery folder, image provider and zoom level the select the globe.
2. From the map screen select your scenery areas then tick all the boxes under "Batch build tiles"
3. Finally select the button "Batch Build"

You can, if you wish, preview the images before selecting your image provider. The settings selection isn't needed unless you're going to change any of the default settings.

One useful tip - to save your settings select the the Power Button icon rather than use the close dialog icon. It took me a bit to discover this but then again I hadn't read the user guide.

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Charlie Bravo
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Re: Ortho4XP

Post by Charlie Bravo »

chrispbits wrote:
04 Jul 2020, 10:27
Hi Chris, if it's the video I've seen it over complicates it somewhat. At its simplest it's a 3 step process.

1. In the main screen select your scenery folder, image provider and zoom level the select the globe.
2. From the map screen select your scenery areas then tick all the boxes under "Batch build tiles"
3. Finally select the button "Batch Build"

You can, if you wish, preview the images before selecting your image provider. The settings selection isn't needed unless you're going to change any of the default settings.

One useful tip - to save your settings select the the Power Button icon rather than use the close dialog icon. It took me a bit to discover this but then again I hadn't read the user guide.
Right, thought I'd give it a bash following your instructions and it's on tile 17 of 29 having started at 1300 today.

Is there anything else required once it has done its thing Chris?
A bird in the hand will probably sh!t on your wrist.

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