Ortho4XP Integration Adjustment

[Torbin]

Hello FlyTampa developers,

Thanks for getting the Ortho4XP Integration option going. Your swift action was greatly appreciated!

Please consider updating the files in the FlyTampa_LasVegas_3_Mesh_o4xp_USA2 folder so the sun illuminates the terrain more properly. I made a video that demonstrates and describes the settings that (I believe) bake in the information in the .ter files. The effect of the setting is easy to see in this video.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0cefv3ommrqsh ... p.mp4?dl=0

Also, please consider applying a ratio_water setting in Ortho4XP to 0.25 throughout the actual 36-116 tile, and ensure the setting that mixes X-Plane water with ortho lake depictions. You'll see in the picture titled FlyTampa 4XP Data.jpg, the water is acting as if this setting was set to 1 (X-Plane water only, no transparency). Although, these particular lakes in this tile are actually dry lakes as seen on the VFR charts and depicted in the attachment titled Otho 4XP Data.jpg.

See attached!

[Yannis[flytampa]]

Thanx!
You are free to copy your original ter files from your zOrtho4XP_+36-116, with original lines inside ;) Also check the new Ortho4XP Integration version (if not there, should be online really soon), containing more providers (but always 17 zoom level) - it supports now GO2,BI,Arc,USA2,NAIP
Now ..concerning the water blending, we use our own "ortho4xp" like tool to create complicated meshes. We do not use Ortho4xp itself. We integrate water blur with alpha in dds textures, and not as masks (like ortho4xp). We could easily add alpha for these 2 waterbodies, but then we should provide our own textures for the whole tile something we cannot do.
As the idea remains the user uses its own textures, it would take significant time to program and fix the tool to use masks. Maybe it sounds simple and easy to just add a land-water smooth transition but it 's not, as all that information is coded in DSF file.
The current integration we provide, is possible only for Vegas scenery, as the whole tile is land, so no water blending is needed (except par water bodies.. ok). For the rest of our sceneries, our conversion tool remains the only solution for now.

[Torbin]

Hi Yannis,

I wasn't sure what you meant in your response you said "with original lines inside". Anyway, I tried to do a swap of my .ter files with the ones included in the USA2 integration, but it failed to produce the lighting effects I had hoped. Can you please investigate further? It would be very nice to have that sunset lighting and shadow casting on the terrain!

Also, how will we get the newest integration tool, do we have to request a new link if purchased through BMI?

Lastly, when I did do the .ter swap, this fun issue showed up! I'm sure it's user error on my part, please advise...

[Yannis[flytampa]]

The terrain properties are inside the .ter files. That's why I suggested replacing with yours (containing the original code and properties from ortho4xp. I don't really know why, having your .ter files, you cant see the lighting effects you talk about.
The terrain problem in the shot is because the city folder is deactivated probably by a mesh folder above. Check your scenery_pack.ini file

[S3rg1o]

Also check the new Ortho4XP Integration version (if not there, should be online really soon), containing more providers (but always 17 zoom level) - it supports now GO2,BI,Arc,USA2,NAIP

Hi,
Is it online already? on the xp.org store the one avaible is the first version only for USA2 provider. Do we have to use the FlyTampa install file to get the new version ?
Thank you

[Torbin]

The terrain properties are inside the .ter files. That's why I suggested replacing with yours (containing the original code and properties from ortho4xp. I don't really know why, having your .ter files, you cant see the lighting effects you talk about.
The terrain problem in the shot is because the city folder is deactivated probably by a mesh folder above. Check your scenery_pack.ini file

Hello @yannis[flytampa], after I still had an issue getting the appropriate brightness of the terrain to work (golden hour / normal_map_strength=1 discussed above), I asked the knowledgeable folks in the Orth4XP forum and they mentioned (linked below) that the lighting data adjusted with the Ortho4XP tool via normal_map_strength=1 is embedded in the dsf file. Can you please incorporate the .dsf file in the FlyTampa_LasVegas_3_Mesh_o4xp_USA2 folder you provide to utilize this setting? I experimented swapping the one from my zOrtho4XP_+36-116 tile into the FlyTampa_LasVegas_3_Mesh_o4xp_USA2 folder, but it turned into an elevaation disaster.

https://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/f ... fo-stored/

It would be a shame to have so much light missing from the scene during sunset & sunrise departures and arrivals into your otherwise beautifully modelled scenery!

Linked image below showing Ortho4XP tile with normal_map_strength=1 on left, and the darker terrain displayed from the FlyTampa_LasVegas_3_Mesh_o4xp_USA2 folder on the right

https://ibb.co/jrm6KFd