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Review: Orbx - EU Germany NorthWritten by Michael Hayward /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228231301_1.jpgOrbx is a company well known withinthe flight simulator community as one of the leading scenerydevelopers for FSX, P3D and now also X-Plane. In this review, I willbe taking a look at EU Germany North, an add-on released in December2016, and will be going through all of the key aspects that thisadd-on has to offer you, as well as giving my overall opinion onwhether or not the scenery is a worthy purchase. What/Where Is It?Orbx EU Germany North covers the entire northern half of Germanywith Naumberg being as far south as this add-on goes (around longitude51.1000° N). Hand-placed objects such as wind farms, tall structures andchimneys used in VFR navigation also spread into other countries suchas Poland, Denmark and The Netherlands; meaning a very large area iscovered by this add-on (in total 70,653 miles square miles). /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180221184638_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180221184830_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180221184848_1.jpgInstallationEver since Orbx released their FTX Central launcher, installingtheir add-ons has been a relatively pain-free exercise. Afterpurchasing the add-on, head over to FTX Central 3 and load up thelauncher, find Germany North under 'Europe, Region', click on theadd-on and just click install. The download and installation processis automatic and this will also be added to your scenery library foryou. Within the launcher, you also get a 25 page PDF document which goesthrough the following: the main parts of the scenery package; aninstallation and configuration guide, as well as an airport indexshowing off the range of airports that this scenery covers. The Ground EnvironmentThere are two very distinct parts to this add-on: the VFR sceneryand the autogen. I'll be splitting these into two sections and talkabout them separately. /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228230627_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228230652_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228230725_1.jpgHowever, before I do that, I must mention first that both of thesescenery elements are of a very high standard and blend well with oneanother. At high altitude this also looks really good withhigh-quality textures all around, but it's when up close, flying VFR,when the scenery really comes into its own. The ground textures here are done to a resolution of 7 cm, which isof an extremely high-quality, and gives a clear image no matter howlow you are to the ground. This includes all roads and railway tracks,which are in turn placed on top of this. This should give you a senseof the detail Orbx has put into this add-on. Textures of the ground scenery and buildings are also modelledbased on real German buildings and really fit the part. This attentionto detail gives any virtual pilot the feeling of actually flying overthe country itself, rather than default FSX scenery using US texturedand buildings worldwide. /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228230757_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228231057_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228231139_1.jpgA new ground mesh has also been added through their Open Land Class(openLC) system. This replaces the default FSX ground mesh (LOD-64),with their own mesh which is sampled at LOD-11. This means, rivers,mountains and ground levels are within 19 meters horizontal; givingyou, the user, extremely realistic terrain and rivers that lookexactly how they would in real life. This is then improved upon evenmore in the VFR scenery areas where the ground and rivers are shapedexactly depending on the satellite imagery. This is something I reallyliked, as the default FSX mesh is poor at best - improving on thismakes flying in these areas far more enjoyable! Now let's focus on both individual parts of the ground scenery. AutogenOrbx have defined their own landclass in Germany North. This givesthe user a much higher quality scenery than what the default FSXlandclass provided. Borders blend well with one another, largertextures remove the checkerboard effect (repeated ground textures in asmall area, something the default scenery in FSX is prone todoing). When flying low to the ground, the detailing is such that itgives plenty of opportunities to enjoy VFR flying, while potentiallyallowing you to make out where you are flying - relative to real worldlocations. /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228231601_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228232143_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228231715_1.jpgSpeaking of the blending of ground scenery, Orbx have used groundtextures that match their surroundings. Unlike the default FSXlandclass, which is rather basic in comparison, the Orbx landclasswill use appropriate textures on the ground which gives you an almostseamless transition between each area, dependent on what surroundsit. There may be a few rough edges here and there where the groundscenery abruptly changes or a building is cut in half to make a roadfit, but these are not too common and are more than compensated by thehigh-resolution ground images. There is no random color changing either on the ground. As you flyover a different 'zone', the ground coloring flows as it would do inthe real world, from field to suburb to city center, as opposed todefault FSX, in which it would use the same buildings repeatedly, nomatter where in the world it was trying to depict. This makes even themost obscure and smallest of hamlets appear realistic within thesimulator, while not making a small town stick out like a sorethumb. /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228231201_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228231503_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228233341_1.jpgDon't forget that not all of of this has been automaticallygenerated - a large number of objects have also been placed by hand!Chimneys, wind farms, tall trees and buildings have all been modelledand added to the scenery in their correct real-world locations andadjusted (very slightly) to fit with the ground textures that surroundthem. VFR SceneryThe VFR portion of the ground scenery is where Germany North reallyshines. What this does is to take satellite imagery and then place itinto the simulator. While not covering the entire area, Orbx has usedthis in major areas within Northern Germany such as Berlin, Duisburg,Hamburg, Bremerhaven ports, mudflats, mines and more. When flying low and slow, you get full realism, as these buildingsand roads are present as they are in real life! This makes for easiernavigation in these areas when flying visual without the guidance ofan autopilot. /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228231751_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228232035_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228232045_1.jpgBuildings are then hand placed on top of this scenery, giving thepilot maximum immersion into the flight simulator world. For thosethat like their virtual reality headsets, flying over the VFR portionsof the map would be very convincing! Night EffectsLike all Orbx sceneries, a full 3D night environment has beenincluded. This means roads will have animated street lights andbuildings will light up, giving pilots the full night timeexperience. 3D lights along roads also differ depending on the type of road itis. Whether it be an autobahn or country road, the color, size andfrequency of these lights will change accordingly. Orbx also gives awaya free tool (available on their site) which allows you to configurethese lights, adjusting them to your liking, whether it be forperformance or visual appearance. /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228232333_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228232421_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228232752_1.jpgRather than using the standard FSX night textures or using generictextures for the night ground lighting, Orbx have created their ownground mask image which gives the ground a realistic flow wherelighting is meant to be, for example along main roads and largerbuildings. This attention to detail shows why Orbx is one of themarket leaders in scenery design. Other Structures And The Surrounding AreaAccording to the PDF document that is included with this add-on, EUGermany North extends as far as the Danish, Dutch and Polish borders,with some hand-placed scenery items extending into each of thesecountries! This gives the pilot much greater reach, especially whenflying VFR, and is a nice addition from Orbx. From someone who flies alot in Poland, this is very much appreciated. /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180221184059_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180221184310_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180221184428_1.jpgSeasonal TexturesA full set of seasonal textures have been included with thisadd-on, including both VFR and autogen sceneries. This makes flyingover Germany at different times of the year suitably realistic, as theground will match the time of year you are flying in. For those thatfly with their simulator date and time matching that of the realworld, this makes for a realistic representation of northern Germanyno matter what the season. All seasons that are defined within FSX (Spring, Summer, Autumn,Winter, Heavy Winter) have their own unique texture, and all are of avery high quality. Opinion And Closing RemarksI have had absolutely no issues with Orbx EU Germany North. It hasbeen a thoroughly pleasurable and enjoyable experience! I also need tocommend Orbx on how light on system resources this add-on has been (atleast for this reviewer). For an add-on of this magnitude, you wouldexpect a drop in frame rates, but I experienced no impact whatsoever,which really goes to show how much time goes into optimising these FTXscenery packages. /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228232842_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228232941_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228233147_1.jpgPrice-wise, EU Germany North is going to set you back $54.99(Australian dollars), which is around £30 or around $42 U.Sdollars. When you see some add-ons these days going for over£100, then I have to say the pricing is rather generous,especially for the coverage area. You are also getting the Orbxguarantee of quality which is something that comes with all of theiradd-ons. To sum up, I really enjoyed this scenery. The detailing, therealism, the performance, the price, everything. If you have spenttime flying in northern Germany and the surrounding areas, then thisis definitely the add-on for you! Despite being an FTX Region, FTXGlobal is NOT required, meaning you are free to purchase this as astand-alone product and experience the true nature of Orbxsceneries. /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228233159_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228233225_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228233305_1.jpgThe Technical BitMinimum RequirementsMicrosoft Flight Simulator X, P3D v1, P3D v2, P3D v3 or P3D v4FTX Central v3Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5Windows XP is not supportedReview PC Spec/images/reviews/orbxeugn/eu-germany-north.jpgMicrosoft Flight Simulator X: Steam EditionWindows 10 Professional6th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 6700K Processor16 GB RAMNVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 745 Michael Hayward Purchase Orbx - EU Germany North /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228232123_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228231627_1.jpg /images/reviews/orbxeugn/t/20180228232245_1.jpg