Orbx has released their TrueEarth US Washington SD Pack for X-Plane 11. The scenery product covers the same region as the previously released, now dubbed the HD Version, but comes with a few significant differences to make it appeal to a wider audience who may lack hard drive space or have a less powerful system.
On the product page for TrueEarth US Washington SD, some of the main benefits of the SD version is that it is using 75% less hard drive space than the original package, with much shorter loading times and quicker to install. Furthermore, because of the fact the product uses 2.4m/pixel (ZL16), it will have less GPU memory usage, so ideal for those with a graphics cards with less than 8GB of memory.
Despite the changes in file sizes, Orbx says that you will have the same experience as the HD version when flying above 2,000ft, with better FPS and less stutters – even when under load.
TrueEarth US Washington SD still features 91,875 square miles of aerial imagery, with PBR autogen technology buildings throughout. It has over 4.5 million buildings placed correctly based on detailed data-sets and over 1000 custom modelled 3D points of interest to explore.
You can buy Orbx TrueEarth US Washington SD for $10 AUD less than the HD version, meaning it will cost you $59.95 AUD. You will be able to upgrade to the HD pack later for a nominal fee. At this point, it’s not known if those who already own the HD version can also download the SD package.
Finally, Orbx confirmed to us that the previously announced TrueEarth US Washington Enhanced package is still coming in the future, which will contain even more details and a free airport in the region.
Features
- 91,875 square miles (237,956 km²) of hand-corrected, crisp, color-matched aerial imagery
- PBR autogen technology developed for X-Plane 11, allowing thousands of realistic looking PNW-themed houses and buildings to be placed at a realistic height with minimal impact on performance
- 1,174 custom-modeled 3D POIs!
- Over 500 million trees placed correctly based on detailed land use and high-resolution height data
- 4.5 million buildings at their correct height and location where data is available
- Major Cityscapes for Seattle, Bellevue, Victoria, Tacoma and significant buildings added to Everett, Olympia, Spokane, Kennewick and Yakima
- VFR landmarks such as masts, wind farms, churches, power-lines, and lighthouses are all accurately placed.
- Hand-placed and custom modelled 3D landmarks throughout the scenery such as bridges, skyscrapers, stadiums, cranes, tanks, piers farms, and monuments – this is especially noticeable in city areas
- Sharp and detailed Ultra-HD 10-meter mesh brings out stunning detail in natural features such as mountains, coastlines and valleys
- Superb watermasking along the entire coastline and most rivers and lakes
- Accurate road and rail network blended into the aerial imagery with moving traffic
- Beautiful color-balanced summer imagery with exquisite night-lighting
Main benefits of the SD Version:
- Much quicker download and install – no JPG conversion
- Much less GPU memory useage
- Much shorter loading times
- Upgrade to HD version whenever you want
- Same experience as HD Version > 2000FT
- Completely stutter free under load
- 25% of the disk space
- AU$10 cheaper
- Better FPS
