World Update 10 changes

[rhumbaflappy]

I think WU10 has triggered a change in the Bing tiles. The update changed the elevation mesh, but it also has changed the aerial imagery (that would be on the server, I believe). This has changed the placement of trees, and their density as well. Just a heads-up. The area around c59 is now different, and not for the better.

MSFS:

Google (much closer to reality):

 

[rhumbaflappy]

Also, the update turned on my rolling cache, which placed the cache on my already crowded C drive... not good.

 

[Ronald]

Also, the update turned on my rolling cache, which placed the cache on my already crowded C drive... not good.

1 - Is it technically possible to redirect / re-allocate your rolling cache onto another (non C_) drive?
2 - What a great excuse to buy a(n even) bigger [C:]drive_device....

 

[rhumbaflappy]

The point is MSFS update turned on the rolling cache without my permission. I caught it before it clogged up my drive. Other developers need to be aware this can happen as they might not catch the problem. But perhaps that was not made obvious. I'm surprised you didn't include half a dozen links in your post.

 

[=rk=]

The hardest part was finding 6.

 

[Ronald]

The point is MSFS update turned on the rolling cache without my permission.

Other developers need to be aware this can happen as they might not catch the problem. But perhaps that was not made obvious

1 - Microsoft (and many other software companies too) does have a nasty habit of doing these (undocumented) type of things inside their "up-dates"
That is why it is known to be "a good practice" to make a full systems_backup, before deploying anything new onto your own computer systems
which already have proven to cause (software-development) system instability like Asobo Studios keeps doing for over 2 years now with MSFS2020.

2 - Wasn't this "turning-of-the-roling-cache-setting" mentioned somewhere in their WP10 update changelogs / release notes ?

I'm surprised you didn't include half a dozen links in your post.

3 - Why where you surprised ?

 

[Anthony31]

Well, I was hoping that Bing would finally update the tiles around my area. Sad to see it's still imagery from around 10 years ago before the Pacific Highway was upgraded. The road was started in 2012 and finished in 2016. The satellite imagery doesn't even show the road under construction.

 

[rhumbaflappy]

Well, I was hoping that Bing would finally update the tiles around my area. Sad to see it's still imagery from around 10 years ago before the Pacific Highway was upgraded. The road was started in 2012 and finished in 2016. The satellite imagery doesn't even show the road under construction.

I may have just lost the imagery update lottery. The original aerial was good, and the trees as well. Not good now. But this serves as a reminder of how fluid the sim really is. You may have aprons or polys in a scenery project that correct an anomaly in the Bing image, but if the image is updated, your apron or poly will no longer blend into the image. So we'll all need to review our projects, and update them continually.

Hard to imagine the Australian imagery is so out of date. But that's on Microsoft, not Asobo.

 

[jgarnold]

Well, I was hoping that Bing would finally update the tiles around my area.

What area is that Anthony (I would like to check that out)? The scenery near YSHL got mucked up earlier this year which I only discovered after checking out the new YSHL airport in the release.

The point is MSFS update turned on the rolling cache without my permission.

Thanks for the heads up Dick. I will check out what changes it has made to my system.

 

[Anthony31]

What area is that Anthony (I would like to check that out)? The scenery near YSHL got mucked up earlier this year which I only discovered after checking out the new YSHL airport in the release.

It's the Pacific Highway between Ballina and Byron Bay. Ballina imagery itself is more up to date but still a couple of years old at least (there's a new road leading out from the airport which isn't in the Bing satellite images but it is in Google maps). As the highway runs inland most of it falls into much older imagery which doesn't seem to updated as much as the areas around main towns. The highway upgrade between Grafton and Wardell (which was only opened last year if I recall correctly) also doesn't appear on Bing. It appears on Google maps but their images a few years old too as it shows the road under construction and not completed yet.

 

[jgarnold]

I just checked that out and YES Google maps shows the new road at Ballina airport (what looks like a new road) yet what I saw in Bing Maps looked like a 'greyed out' 'new' road which looks strange. Maybe WIP?
I guess sparse areas of scenery don't get updated as frequently as more populated areas? I know that seems to be the case with Google satellite imagery.

 

[jgarnold]

Also, the update turned on my rolling cache, which placed the cache on my already crowded C drive... not good.

Hi Dick
I just found that some (Asobo) update in the past (not sure which one as I hadn't used custom cockpit camera views for some time) seems to have changed/corrupted my custom cockpit views for a keyboard profile I set up some time ago.
I just noticed that NONE of the previously set custom cockpit views works for my keyboard profile anymore and need setting up again AND some of the combination keys I set up to SAVE Custom Camera have changed from CTRL + a numpad number eg NUM 0 to ALT + the numpad number.
I now am 'dirty' on Asobo as you are.

BTW is the a way to backup settings especially keyboard profile settings so that they can be restored should this happen again?
Regards

 

[Ronald]

@jgarnold : There are more way to verify the existence of this road then Google or Bing
TIP: You can also use - the community empowered - OpenStreetMap website to do some sort of remote verification (see image below)

Direct link to this Open StreetMap image:
-https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=15/-28.8436/153.5659

More Open StreetMap references:
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenStreetMap
-https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Main_Page

Other option is take a look at the many "Open GIS systems" (about Australia) online over here:
-https://unimelb.libguides.com/GIS/Australia

Digital Earth Australia footage
-https://www.dea.ga.gov.au/



EDIT: 3 other good earth-mapping resource are:
"Cesium - Platform for 3D GeoSpatial " (requires the creation of a free account)
-https://www.cesium.com/

USGS Open GIS services topology maps

Direct link:
-https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/topoview/viewer/#15/-28.8441/153.5594

and many many more over here:
-https://www.agiratech.com/satellite-maps-earth

NOTE: It is always good to know the absolute //root_data-sources from which these online mapping tools draw their data from since as you can already see here, 2 different OpenGIS platforms come up with 2 different variations of the same airport

And... if you need to be absolute sure, give the Maxar team a call, since they clam to be able to do mapping in near-realtime
-https://www.maxar.com/products/satellite-imagery

I hope these resources will help you to get more clarity on this road (and many other future scenery-challenges)

 

[jgarnold]

I didn't realise there were so many methods to obtain maps.

 

[Ronald]

I didn't realise there were so many methods to obtain maps.

1 - I did not know this myself either @jgarnold , until a few years ago, when I started digging into "OS-INT" (Open Source Intelligence gathering).
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_intelligence
-https://opensourceintelligencetools.com/
For that moment on, a whole new virtual world opened up itself for me too (and thus now for you too)

2 - One sub-section of "OSINT" work-field is called "GEO-INT" as in "Geo-Spatial Intelligence gathering":
That is the area where one (as in FSx, Xplane, P3D, MSFS scenery makers) can find "the good stuff" (and often for absolute free)
in relation to all sorts of (data_sources which can be used to produce all type/kinds/sorts of) "maps".
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geospatial_intelligence

I hope that these free maps-tools and data-sources can help you with your future scenery-related projects too.