11 minutes ago, level7 said:

I'm not sure if this is true but I had some memory of someone saying FTX Global just overwrote the textures in P3D.

This is EGBB (Birmingham) https://imgur.com/a/Q78litQ

This is CYZD (Downsview, Toronto) https://imgur.com/a/ZVdtUFp, pretty brown for April but lots of roads looks fairly accurate

That was when the product first came out and Orbx were heavily criticised for it. They've since changed their policy and according to the manual the default files and backed up and then restored with an uninstall.

Thanks for those screenshots. Birmingham looks different to mine as does Toronto which remains snow-covered. It does appear as though with all the versions of P3D v5 I've installed the FTX Global files have not been removed from the default folders.

A full uninstall of v5.3 followed by clearing any remaining files from critical folders remains the only option followed by a reinstall. Bugger!

 

1 hour ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

What is going on? Can anyone who has uninstalled FTX Global confirm the number of files they have in scenery\world\texture please?

I have 8218 files without FTX Global ever installed

9 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

A full uninstall of v5.3 followed by clearing any remaining files from critical folders remains the only option followed by a reinstall. Bugger!

or just reinstall FTX Global? I think it is likely think the seasonal changes and the autogen are better quality

... i should add my screenshots were taken at the default flight date which is mid-April?

Edited March 9, 20224 yr by level7

15 minutes ago, level7 said:

I have 8218 files without FTX Global ever installed

That confirms I have thousands of files probably associated with FTX Global there.

10 minutes ago, level7 said:

or just reinstall FTX Global? I think it is likely think the seasonal changes and the autogen are better quality

... i should add my screenshots were taken at the default flight date which is mid-April?

I did that this morning a couple of times with no difference between the appearance. It very much looks like I have FTX Global files in root folders and the only way to remove them is an uninstall of the P3D components then clearing out the critical folders of extra files. I'm careful not to delete everything.

It's quite possible that I'll keep FTX Global but first I need to do a meaningful comparison. There were also lots of UTX files remaining after an uninstall of those products showing they're not very good at removing what they install.

36 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

How many files do you have in scenery\world\scenery? I have 16,256. Do you have any starting with FTX?

27 files Ray, none starting with FTX.

8,394 in scenery\world\texture.

 

36 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

The options given to me to install to v5 show no recommendation.

It has been my understanding for a while now, that it is desirable to install ORBX files outside of the main P3D installation, so it NEVER overwrites any P3D files and it is easy to revert to default .

36 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

That option, I presume, is for users who are short of space on the P3D drive.

Not just that Ray, but also for the reason above. BTW I have all my ORBX on a separate drive from P3D.

Edited March 9, 20224 yr by Sparkrite

9 minutes ago, Sparkrite said:

t has been my understanding for a while now, that it is desirable to install ORBX files outside of the main P3D installation, so it NEVER overwrites any P3D files and it is easy to revert to default .

But surely it would have to disable the default files in order to avoid a clash with the Orbx ones? I can't see that process changing purely on the installation option you choose.

My plan is to install v5.3HF2 and check the airports I chose for screenshots. If they're markedly different to my earlier screenshots I'll at least be able to make a judgement call on whether I need FTX Global or not.

Did you compare and if so which do you feel is better?

7 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

But surely it would have to disable the default files in order to avoid a clash with the Orbx ones?

Indeed and it does this through 'layering' and AFAIK it's 'Orbx lookup' files.

7 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

I can't see that process changing purely on the installation option you choose.

Same process utilized obviously but IMO easier to control if installed outside of P3D.

Edited March 9, 20224 yr by Sparkrite

@Sparkrite, I think I'll play safe and take your advice to install FTX Global outside the P3D folder. It's still on the same drive so no reason not to really.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result. 🤣 I do have other Orbx airports and AUS2 but those can be handled afterwards.

7 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Did you compare and if so which do you feel is better?

Just the other day, I can't remember why, but I disabled Global and I noticed that parts of Turkey turned into lush green areas which I know in reality, are not.

Upon restoring Global, Turkey returned to what I know is closer to real life.

But have not done any in-depth comparison.

5 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result.

So they say!

😁😁😁

8 minutes ago, Sparkrite said:

Just the other day, I can't remember why, but I disabled Global and I noticed that parts of Turkey turned into lush green areas which I know in reality, are not.

Upon restoring Global, Turkey returned to what I know is closer to real life.

But have not done any in-depth comparison.

I suppose a comparison with Google Earth would help as those are satellite images.

Just for 'pig iron' as they say (not sure if that's just an Irish idiom) see the pics for EDFH during the summer.

With ORBX Global:-

 

And without ORBX Global base :-

Edited March 9, 20224 yr by Sparkrite

@Sparkrite, see my corrected screenshot here. Same as you. Orbx seems to darken the textures. Currently I prefer the default ones.

https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/615834-is-orbx-ftx-global-needed-with-p3d-v5/?do=findComment&comment=4735306

 

8 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Same as you. Orbx seems to darken the textures.

Yep, it certainly appears that, that is all it does.

I always believed that it did a lot more like reducing repetition and suchlike.....

But apparently not !

 

NB:  I wish I hadn't done this..........Now I don't know which I prefer !! ☹️

Edited March 9, 20224 yr by Sparkrite

@Sparkrite, FTX Global was definitely the go-to application years ago but with the improvements made in v5 especially the differences are now very small and very subjective.

I don't think you lose anything by not installing it and the saved space could contain more airports. 😁