FSX Barker Competition: And the winners are ...

General
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The first confusion comes before the installation: (!) (? WTF) After copying the files to the HDD, the configuration program of GEX want a backup of the original FSX textures in a folder in the root directory of the drive to create and asks, whether you want to "move" the backup folder. Of course I wanted (something has lost nothing in the root directory), but unfortunately could not create a new folder in the navigation dialog. So I tried to cancel the operation, after which the backup GEX still launched - the root directory. Then you can move the folder but then. Overall, the configuration program is overly intuitive, after activation of the GEX-regions can enable improvements to any installed UTX regions.

After all, criticized unlike the older reviews, DVD is in the currently marketed "Boxed" margin "freshly squeezed" and on the penultimate level (1,096). Penultimate level because the last GEX North America 1,099 only gets update, who also buys another GEX-region. Let's put it this way (so as not to be directly abusive) - I consider such a gun Marketing for highly problematic and that alone keeps me reliably from buying another region.

Textures in FSX - which is why there is ever GEX
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As the FSX came on the market was the disappointment for various reasons large: Among other things, they had also improves the resolution of the ground textures, but large areas seized in color and country next class assignment. Practically the entire southern United States is visually from yellow sand desert with forest in between, and the entire west south of Oregon looks like "Sahara with some rocks in it" from what occurs in varying degrees by virtually the entire world. Especially the seasonal textures for spring, autumn and winter provide a strange flying experience. In Europe, we see a little less desert, but monotonous pale fields and still visible from greater heights "tile" effect.
This was not only no progress, but even a step backwards compared to the predecessor. What Microsoft / ACES have been thinking about it, you can rip only bad jokes - "Flight Simulator has always been designed for the generation of computers of the future, since we have the same scene also adapted to the then visible effects of global warming". "This is so that our kids the same used before at the sight of the desert before we send in there" ... bad humor aside, we come to GEX. Unfortunately the bad humor, inspiring both the same again:

"The most incredible visual overhaul for the Flight Simulator X!"
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... Is no more than the most incredible cardboard lid exaggeration since "Sea People" and the X-ray glasses. GEX exchanges the disappointing standard ground textures as well as some autogen textures of FSX and that's it. For a true "overhaul" of the FSX scenery layers it needs at least additional "Country Class" -Szenerie and ideally precise and extensive "Vector" data for the missing roads, railway lines, rivers and so on, the latter is the reason why GEX almost always is used together with "Ultimate Terrain X" (UTX) from the same publisher (UTX is Vector scenery, sometimes spiced up with a little land class scenery).

Without further products has therefore still the same boring Landclass among textures, there are still missing most of the roads, waters and places and the only thing that is really GEX improves the above-described "desert" problem. This would, however, can be fix with 1-4 individual textures that could recolor necessary even if you have a few free tools worried for it. At least the existing problem in Europe of the partial devastation is fixed with GEX USA, and partially the improper polygon colors under the default airports. Expensive repairs, but still.

The problem in fact is that both "Flight 1" and Aerosoft avoided if possible as of local sales, pour the people the plain truth about what is actually GEX. Instead absolute bollocks for site and flap lid is sealed together, the operating principle can not even begin to reflect the truth. Why does not like hanging out loud and certainly has something to do with it, the replacement textures are quite find the freeware area. For example Aime Leclercq and Adam Mills have each issued a set of improved textures for Europe and America, which GEX in my opinion for the most part not quite the water can reach. These textures make exactly what promises GEX (better color, more variety and more useful / power saving arranged autogenous objects).

GEX USA Edition
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As the above-mentioned effect in practice, I would like to describe a few examples here:

Northern East Coast - The wooded countryside between the Hudson River and the Appalaches are changing (or their absence) again good - it is in the fall in total a little green, but less yellow between all the trees, there are a few more suitable tree types but overall changes the impression of the landscape between the forests do not, the variations wealth even decreases in many places. If you have not installed UTX missing here anyway loads of villages and roads, without which this area like a giant deserted jungle affects what happens to GEX alone can not change anything.

Southern Gulf Coast - Here GEX makes most paid because the "desert" here else to Florida and absolutely dominated completely shifts the landscape into the surreal.

Midwest USA, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, etc., the "breadbasket of America" ​​- at the kacheligen wasteland of Farmlands and villages has basically not changed - there is unfortunately still very "kachelig" and thus from higher flight levels just as unsightly as previously. Here you need next UTX even better land class definitions to the scenery really enhance and soften the tile effect.

A subjectively perceived disadvantage to the supposedly improved textures for me are made in artistic freedom "planting" of boxes etc., so to speak, with the brush (not to be confused with 3D autogen objects) - while the slightly higher resolution, for example, improved lines, would allow furrows and other details in greater sharpness, so a painted box rather than to a clear two-dimensional pixel salad, which fly at low altitudes VFR rather spoiled than improved. In effect, see rural areas sometimes worse than before.

While the default FSX textures in cities often exaggerated Autogenous skyscrapers in "Picket Fence" scatter settlements, the GEX-textures Autogen scenery desolate often miles uniforms seas of detached houses. Whether one is better like a matter of taste, an improvement in the sense of "realism" is not all that.

But this pros and cons takes place in an area from where you have to look very closely and compare screenshots - on the test journey across the United States I have a few times the limit of the coverage area abandoned by UTX + GEX without even realizing it.

"World Edition":
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For some time GEX is sold by the words "World Edition". This underlines that other regions are as the selling of GEX, well, benefit and gives the impression as if specially another function / property has been added. That's nonsense, of course - as many textures in FS (X) are used throughout the FSX world, it is inevitable that then some GEX-textures can be seen worldwide and textures shared care the way also for the above mentioned "Entwüstung" Germany. Of course that was already the case before it was noticed that they had invented it still no Werbegeschwurbel and printed on the carton.

Performance and problems
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It is often emphasized that the performance GEX rather improved to charge than the computer. This is only partially correct. While it acknowledges the chaotic Autogenous distribution on the standard FSX texture tiles partially on, but there are not really significantly less autogen objects used here is still the "Autogen" slider in the scene settings prevail. About forests refresh rate may even break more than before, because with GEX seemingly more trees are produced, which is why there is also a "Performance Fix", which you can turn in the GEX-configuration program. But I have found no effect.

After all, the CPU is not elsewhere potentially higher burden from Autogen, however, the higher texture resolution of soil and especially Autogentexturen charged potentially the GPU.
What can however be charged significantly higher, is the disk subsystem and / or the graphic "Fibers" of FSX. On one hand, the large amount of data is still unfragmented created during the FSX installation texture folder to be replaced by an even greater amount of data, the entire DVD before also copied in addition to the disk and create a backup of the original textures, which is why 'Flight 1' for traditional hard drives defragmenting recommends after installation.

Even (and sometimes even) if you use an SSD (which should not be defragment or must) can theoretically suffer from the increased volume of data - especially after some refresh rate improving FSX.CFG tweaks are the reload routines of FSX on the border the possible reached. The delicate balance between the "Fibers" of FSX, transporting the data to the graphics card and CPU Cycles for disk subsystem needs to be disturbed. So are reports of "Blurries" (slurred textures that its highest LOD level is no longer able to load before you flew over it) often associated with GEX.

Land's End
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GEX and UTX have now come badly in the years and other, far more spectacular products are increasingly conquering the market. The Australian company 'Orbx' has dropped at tables with their regional scenarios from hand-carved land classes and textures in recent years, some jaws and also offers a texture pack that in relation to its worldwide coverage is significantly less expensive and buyers report improved appearance compared to GEX. Other designers are going to develop from OSM data topographically highly precise scenes, which is still very much in its infancy, in some time but is likely to bless us with a genuine "I can see my house from up here" effect. In contrast, the few additional UTX roads see the most marginally better GEX textures rather old. From "incredible visual overhaul for the Flight Simulator X" in any case can be no question, not even when this buys UTX.

Conclusion:
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Too bad that you can not send them back to Amazon Software. Even with the same installed UTX is the result of the "overhaul" sobering - yes, sometimes the textures fit any better places if you look closely, otherwise you see rather no difference and sometimes it looks even worse. Some 40 for a set unspectacular textures that only partially times improve themselves with installed UTX a screenshot and actually solve a single problem, but potentially others bring is simply not adequate, which is why you probably should also advertise with boundless exaggeration of the product. Whether GEX is advisable or not is largely a matter of taste and can be only slightly "better" or "worse" mooring. The best way to advance looks a lot before / after or 'GEX vs. Standard textures' screen shots on the web, eg "Mutley's Hangar" or a different and independent as possible side unvarnished screenshots from the FSX-daily shows and not the edited shots of cream manufacturer.

For me this is definitely a bad buy, especially since the free replacement textures I used for Europe are also available for the USA. Who wants to buy Payware textures should rather times View Orbx FTX Global, cheaper with worldwide coverage bottom line than the whole GEX-parts together.