Why Dont I Like MegaScenery Earth?

[+Dave 2,322]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Vq7nw6I_qgU

 

I bought the Michigan terrain and I just I am unwhelmed by it. When I talked to the dev about it, I said what it lacked and he never responded after a few emails back and forth. To me it still look like you are flying over a photograph and not a terrain.

 

Thoughts?

[+Erik 1,812]

Illinois is so flat I can see how it might give that impression but that scenery is a huge improvement even if the satellite images loose some of the shadows which make 3D and give our eye depth perception. Have you ever seen those street artists who draw the 3D street art?

 

 

They use the opposite effect of over illustrating shadows to trick the mind, but you have to be standing on the right side of the image to make it work. If for example you stand on the 180 degree polar side your eyes wouldn't see what they see from the POV taken with the camera in the image above.

 

The same happens with the megascenery and I'm not sure how they would compensate for it. The images they use are all taken at a certain altitude at a certain time of day in a certain position relative to the Earth and the Sun. If you are in line with the images POV you see better 3D images, if you are anywhere else your eyes may start to play tricks on you making the scenery look more flat than it really is for example. It's all complicated but given what they had to work with, it's a nice improvement. Roll your scenery back to stock and the difference will become immediate.

 

I'd like to see some of their other terrains that may have more mountainous regions in them. It would be great if they would allow us to do a review of everything they've come out with and will in the future. I think that would be huge for everyone.

[+Dave 2,322]

Well maybe I have stood under magnifying glasses looking at sat images too long. When you are at 30,000 that terrain looks great. But I like to fly between 1000 and 7000 feet. That is where I think it looks like Im flying over a picture. 

[+Erik 1,812]

To get it you'd need new images at a new altitude and perspective. You're looking at a top down view so of course the terrain is going to appear flat, when you change the perspective say looking forward or looking back it's a totally new image. Check out the same structure in different POV.

 

 

Vertical View (top down)

 

 

Horizontal View (perspective)

 

 

 

FSX Engine simulating perspective.

 

I don't know any scenery that does this well, and if it does it's done on a smaller scale than an entire state. The cost of producing such images is huge. Google had to set cars in motion to get a street view and I imagine one day they might produce some lower altitude images (there was talk) but it was post phoned due to cost. They instead opted for high resolution images from an orbital position. I've never seen FS scenery that looks like image two above, but if they had it, wow! I'm sure something like that would cost much more than photo real scenery.

 

I think what you're after is a photo real scenery with a photo real perspective. Get out your wallet.