No doubt Microsoft and Asobo have done outstanding work when it comes to the scenery. However, it would be too far-fetched to expect them to fully cover every city with the perfect 3D model of every building, perfect type of every tree in every neighborhood, perfectly edited airports in cities without photogrammetry data etc. 

I wonder if there will be some sort of a community gateway project like that of X-Plane to allow the passionate community to contribute to the 3D structures and various other models in the sim. Suppose I don't like the way a famous landmark is generated by the AI in my city. If I have knowledge of 3D modelling, I can create the structure and contribute it to the project. Moderators at Asobo/Microsoft would then quality-check the model to ensure its not only accurate but also performance optimized, and then add it to the scenery gateway for all others to enjoy for free. Nothing to download, nothing to install. Everything's straight from the Microsoft server as usual. This prevents the need for countless scenery addons which could impact performance but also ensures consistency for everyone flying/controlling in the sim.

Thoughts?

2 hours ago, FAZZ3 said:

Nothing to download, nothing to install. Everything's straight from the Microsoft server as usual. This prevents the need for countless scenery addons which could impact performance but also ensures consistency for everyone flying/controlling in the sim.

Thoughts?

This comes back regularly on this forum. My answer is yes and no.

First let’s keep in mind that the 3rd party free- and payware offering has exponentially increasing over the last 20 years because we were ready to accept imperfections and install awkwardness. Thousands if not tens of thousands of  addons. I don’t want to give up this formidable creativity for the sake of laziness.

Also I don’t want to be bound by the tsunami of corporate cowardice vis à vis the politically correct and the lawyers perpetual fear of infringing on intellectual property (brand names, logos etc.). 

So yes if MS has not a monopoly which means the sim should allow external install not driven by their servers.

 

Edited March 3, 20206 yr by domkle

2 hours ago, FAZZ3 said:

Moderators at Asobo/Microsoft would then quality-check the model to ensure its not only accurate but also performance optimized, and then add it to the scenery gateway for all others to enjoy for free.

This sounds like a lot of extra, ongoing work for Asobo.  And what if multiple people submit the same location.  You might say pick the best, but the each could have their pros and cons, with no clear winner.  So the best option is to let the user pick.  This way it doesn't add to Asobo's workload.  It also means we can do fun things, like make a futuristic New York City, if we wanted.  Or an air race track that is fictional.  So we need to be free to do what we want with scenery.

I know this might create extra work for the user to pick the best scenery, but that can be dealt with.  For example some one could create a package with all the best scenery in it, that is realistic.  So hopefully Asobo gives us easy ways to get bundles of add ons.  So me and my friends can all see the same things.  And also, I can know if I am in multiplayer, if people in my group don't have an add on.

Absolutely, yes.
I think it's one of the cool things about XP. 
If you have no clue what the Gateway is, you can check the site out here

https://gateway.x-plane.com/

It won't stop third parties from selling their airports (which are most likely higher quality), and it might help in populating this world. However this is something we don't know yet because we have no clue about how "normal" airports looks like in MSFS so far.

Gateway airports are checked by a moderator, which doesn't necessary have to be someone from Laminar (and if it was approved for MSFS, surely not someone from Asobo)

Edited March 3, 20206 yr by Pastaiolo

I think whether or not we need a Gateway, depends how Azure/autogen manages to model the default airports, if they're not much better then FSX/P3D then it would be a yes from me.

9 iut of 10 times I've gone to the gateway, the airport I was checking on was already included in the last release,  so I haven't found a need for it yet. 

59 minutes ago, Casualcas said:

9 iut of 10 times I've gone to the gateway, the airport I was checking on was already included in the last release,  so I haven't found a need for it yet. 

I think the question was if there is a need for a Gateway to enable people to contribute - not for users to download airports prematurely.

Jan

I would like that, for Airports and for Cities. I suggested the cities gateway for XP, but LR told me that they didn’t like it because people use different textures res and something else. Could be as simple as limiting the res or polys to a certain number... but IDK if AS/MS would like the idea 

Any seamless and modern way to update a complex software like a flight simulator world and install addons without fiddling manually with files and configs is welcome.

 

Edited March 3, 20206 yr by Claviateur

Airports Gateway would be cool.  But, I would really love to see a POI gateway.   Users could add landmarks around the World and submit them for review.  Famous cathedrals, castles, buildings, etc.

Especially cool with the optional POI text shown in one of the previews a while back.

Edited March 3, 20206 yr by ual763

9 minutes ago, ual763 said:

Airports Gateway would be cool.  But, I would really love to see a POI gateway.   Users could add landmarks around the World and submit them for review.  Famous cathedrals, castles, buildings, etc.

Especially cool with the optional POI text shown in one of the previews a while back.

A map like this one will present a user friendly way to grab scenery for any spot on the planet:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1IJYlVvT9fy9VQ9voO6cp-JS3LCBGCetW&ll=5.736903783144894%2C-115.60173999999995&z=2

 Its good to maintain hope such a future ( open ecosystem ) is possible but the effort to monetize the product exists and that isn't going to make the pathway forward simple for freeware and professionals alike  , it is in fact the single most important element for sustainability , I just hope MS realize it before this becomes Flight 2 , ATM that isn't at all apparent to the informed observer.  Best CJ

I believe the notion of a "gateway project", while commendable, is quite premature:  Like everyone else commenting about fixing any possible flaws in in this mega-enterprise of creating a new flight sim, I think a wait and see approach should prevail for now...      

Such a project would probably need some kind of mechanism whereby MS could make money off it. Don't forget, one of the reasons MS bailed on FS back in 2009, with the closure of ACES, is that they wanted to trim out things which didn't make a profit. Having been the makers of a sim which was making money for lots of TPDs, but not for them since everyone had already bought the base program, didn't do much to make them feel all warm and fuzzy about supporting FS regardless of lots of people using it. So I dunno, maybe a small subscription to access such a library; let's not forget would cost them money to host such a database of stuff, and as noted, MS is not a charity. 

Most of us spend a fair chunk of cash on TPD add-ons pretty regularly, so popping a couple of quid a month to have access to some extra whistles and bells for the sim is not a big ask. It is still a bit open to the notion of copyright infringement too however, which might make it impractical. For example, let's say I modeled my local high street; at a guess there are maybe 60-80 shops on it, from small businesses to major stores, each with a sign with logos on it. Could we really expect MS to employ someone to ensure that all those logos and imagery were cleared for reproduction worldwide? And that's just one quarter mile street near me.

Edited March 3, 20206 yr by Chock

I understand the need for the gateway in XP...remember just a few years ago XP airports were completely barren by default. It was a smart move by Laminar Research. The gateway has enabled some really nice representations for some airports. Other's are ok...not great, but definitely better that completely flat. I say better than most old FSX/P3D default airports simply since the lego blocks are better quality. Though, I'd still like to have the ridiculous neon flashing "X-Plane" billboard banned from gateway airports.

I'm betting that MSFS will have default airports well represented by most standards. If default isn't sufficient, I'd personally love to see what the freeware or payware markets would bring above and beyond default.