Orbx’ Grumman TBF Avenger

Judging by their past record I wouldn’t hold my breath for any meaningful updates

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Pretty much this ^

I accidentally/carelessly used orbs to buy a 2020 scenery now that they’re all expiring. I contacted support and asked if it’d be updated to 2024. They pointed me to a video explaining a long and complicated way of bringing a 2020 scenery into 2024 all of which is avoided by simply copy/pasting it. Maybe people without 2020 would need it…

Point being, they completely ignored my questions about converting the scenery to 2024 twice while answering another part of my query. I take that as “no update coming” when apparently all they’d have to do is label it for 2024. Pretty lazy…

That said, the scenery is the Tacoma Narrows airport in Washington state. It looks ok but does a very nice job fixing up the Narrows bridge.

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Well, I joined the MSFS 2024 open beta, and downloaded the 2020 version of the Avenger into 2024, oh look, crew.

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Nice looking plane! I hope they fix the speed indicator. I just might pick it up if they do.

I’m happy for you. Enjoy.

Thanks, there is of course no reason why you cannot do the same, if you do the same.

I tried my hand at a different paintscheme for the Avenger, but it’s not going to happen, the tailplane textures are inverted, so the top of the left is the bottom of the right…sorry.

Screenshot (15626) by JanKees Blom, on Flickr

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Oh man, that’s horrible texture mapping.

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My guess is the liveries were done using the “Asobo preferred” method, which is essentially all decals. To be able to therefore create liveries for the plane, you need the 3D model and a program like substance painter to create “decals”, and the textures that we used to paint in FSX days are essentially useless to us old time painters (I’m not sure what the textures are meant for in that world, since they’re not really used?).

They don’t even talk or comment about their products and you expect them to fix them?

The P750 the Blackwing and the Caribou never ever saw an update and not only that never somebody from Orbx said a single word about those products.

I think they hire devs, hide them in some foreign country without internet like Djibuti or something and then publish the add-on for sale.

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The Caribou (and Avenger) are right up my alley, but this is exactly why I never bought them. If a company won’t update their products, they will break eventually as the sim is updated around them. Never mind that plenty of addons launch with problems.

Post-launch maintenance is a must for me. Plenty of devs are willing to do this, and some are not, so I know where I want to spend my money.

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It takes five lines of text to explain the “long and complicated way”.
A private individual is free to try any potentially incompatible product in the potentially incompatible simulator at their own risk.
A commercial vendor cannot offer untested products for sale and once tested, it might well be that a second version is required before it can be released as fully compatible.
I guess that you have not shared your views with Orbx, or you might have had this explained to you there.

No, I didn’t bother, and the person was helpful in getting it to work with 2024. (And it’s fine). I wasn’t trying to cause an issue.

I’ve worked in customer service many years and the response ignoring a question wasn’t something I’d ever do. You don’t just ignore questions. In this case the person could have said, “No, this one works well. We don’t plan an update,” or “Yes, there’s an update coming.” Or, if it hasn’t been looked at yet simply say, “We have many products to go over and this one hasn’t been examined yet.”

A better response came from Amazon’s Audible recently. I asked a question. They didn’t have the answer. Not only did they apologize for not having an answer, they gave me 2 free credits, a $25 value.

Pretty simple.

Edit: I don’t mean to hammer on Orbx either. I’ve usually had pretty good service from them. Ignoring questions is just a pet peeve, as is leaving work in a sloppy mess in reference to the topic at hand.

I believe that this is called fact checking:

PAC 750
released as version 1.0.0

Version 1.0.1.changelog
ADDED/IMPROVED
Added optional PMS50 GTN750 integration
Added engine exhaust heat blur effect
Added user guide to package
Condition lever logic has been rewritten
Doors and agriculture hatch can now be operated by tablet
Pilot and co-pilot 3D models will now be hidden based on payload setting
Increased speed of map light dimmer knob
Improved tooltip for backup elevator trim handle
55X Autopilot logic has been reworked to improve reliability
Minor improvements and tweaks to cockpit textures
Improved nosewheel turning at taxi speeds
Autostart (Ctrl-E) now moves condition lever at appropriate time
Autostart (Ctrl-E) now activates aux fuel pump

FIXED
Asobo GNS530/430 units can now be popped out into a new window correctly
Fixed issue with cockpit door gas strut animation
Fixed missing TDS GTNXi knob and button animations
Fixed missing AV2 Circuit Breaker animation
Fixed broken nose gear animation
Fixed smoothing on nose gear
Fixed cabin window smoothing issues
Fixed gap in agriculture variant nose
Fixed phantom clickspots when TDS GTNXi is disabled
Fixed missing sounds on autopilot ALT and VS mode buttons
Fixed missing sounds on SN3500 and TDS GTNXi knobs and buttons
Fixed skydive masks not being double-sided
Fixed reversed rudder trim wheel direction
Fixed emergency exit decals in reverse order
Fixed agriculture landing lights not showing as emissive
Fixed duplicate mesh on agriculture navigation lights
Fixed seats baked into cabin floor textures on non-pax variants
Removed unused overhead pull handle on passenger and cargo variants

Version 1.1.0 changelog
Fixes to support Working Title GNS430/530
Fixes to support PMS750
Additional liveries

BLACKWING
released as version 1.0.0

Version 1.1.2 changelog
Properly tune NAV standby instead of editing active
Correct Vne in the manual
Hook up flaps switch animation to input events
Hook up ignition animation and logic to input events
Hook up pitot heat animation to input events
Correct elevator trim tab visual issue
Reduced the tint of the windshield
Increased the transparency of the prop when it’s spinning
Engine can now start properly with autostart (ctrl + e)
Reduce gear drag
Clarify and correct certain checklist items
Stall is less violent
Battery lasts longer
Switches that are off are now easier to distinguish from those that are on
Fix internal decal issue
Nose gear light now is emissive
Exterior light overhaul
Reduce the intensity of fingerprints on the G3X
Added analogue gauge lights
Fix GMA345 not powering up when starting manually
Fix power issues when starting manually

Version 1.2.0
Fixed issues with strong pitch-up after disengaging the autopilot

CARIBOU
The Caribou was indeed developed by a team at Orbx, but was released by Microsoft as a “Local Legend”.
As with all Microsoft releases, the licence belongs to them, any requests for updates must be made to them and it is for them to commission updates from the original developers, who no longer own the rights to the files.

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I can picture it now. A small village with straw huts in the middle of the savannah and the whole village has to pedal on bikes connected to a generator to produce energy for the computer … :wink::grin:

But seriously: do you actually believe African countries have no internet?

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I was going to write, as a joke of course, that Orbx killed its devs once the product was released. Then I thought “maybe somebody will take that at face value and I will get a forum ban or something” so I wrote the joke about a small village in a secluded place without internet. And then you took that at face value…

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To be honest: I just wanted to make sure. People say the most outrageous things nowadays, and I’m 100% certain that there are LOTS of people who actually believe that.
Just an example: I’m German, and when I was in the US the first time for three weeks, I was asked by Americans if Hitler still was our President - TWICE. That was in 1992 …

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A friendly reminder to please stay on topic. We really don’t want to go further down the path of discussing villagers (in any country) killing anyone, or past WWII leaders. In a diverse forum such as this, jokes can often be misinterpreted, causing offense. Best to stay safe & keep on discussing the TBF Avenger.
Thank you.

I’ve only tested it in FS2024.
In addition to the things discussed in this thread, I’ve noticed that when switching from exterior view to cockpit view, some of the gauges on the instrument panel are kind of blurry for a few moments, before they become clear again.
It doesn’t seem like a texture issue, as it doesn’t affect the entire cockpit. It’s like it’s loading some parts of the model again. Also, during those moments, there are some stutters. Once loaded again, everything works normally.
It is something that can be seen perfectly in the video published by AvAngel on his channel, in several moments of the video.
I have several planes from other developers and I’ve never seen this effect in any other.
Also, there is a significant loss of FPS in cockpit views.

I’ve seen this with other aircraft in 2024. Not sure why it’s happening though, you would expect aircraft, particularly the cockpit textures to be fully cached locally, but for some reason it doesn’t always happen and they get streamed again.

Hopefully, once we have the option to download products to our local drives, then this will no longer be an issue.