Orbx Publishes 2022 Roadmap

Orbx has recently published its 2022 roadmap. On their forums, Orbx chief Anna Cicognani began with a belated “Happy New Year” then explained that in the short period between the real New Years to today, the team took some time to introspectively analyse their past achievements and how it can inform and drive their future direction. The team recently strengthened their relationship with Microsoft from the collaboration on the Australian World Update and the Fokker, propelling them to a strong start into 2022, Anna noted that the two projects is a labour of love that span many months:

 

“They have been labours of love over many many months, and we are really proud of the results”

Cigcognani moves on to wrapping up 2021 and what the team achieved, releasing a whopping total of 58 products that includes anything from 18 in-house airports, including their home airport Essendon across three flight simulators, 10 City renditions, 3 regions, and the team’s first aircraft (Edgley Optica), the rest are Indie releases from 3rd party developers.

For Orbx, 2021 was a year with intense expansion into the new MSFS simulator, with 47 products being released for the simulator alone, followed by 8 released for P3D and 5 for X-Plane respectively.

Looking into the future, Cigcognani has laid out a smorgasbord of releases, beginning with the (just) released Prague airport for MSFS, with eventual versions for Prepar3D and X_Plane forthcoming. Next on the release board is a detailed rendition of Panama Canal which is in the finishing stages “with lots of exciting features”. See here for the original list:

  • Prague for all sims, first one out will be MSFS (imminent!)
  • Landmarks Panama Canal is about to be finished too, with lots of exciting features
  • Updates to both our New Zealand mesh (the promised high-resolution LiDAR data) and Landmarks Auckland
  • More of our PC-based landmarks products to be adjusted for release on Xbox
  • OpenLC Asia - tricky as Eugene, the developer, is in the Ukraine and there have been disruptions there, plus this is such a HUGE project and we don't have firm dates yet
  • A swag of aircraft for MSFS - we will release the names and models as we get closer to getting them out, as it seems aircraft sometimes hit snags due to sim-based functionality
  • A very special project: YMML aka Tullamarine / Melbourne main airport, which will be led by Ed and Marcus, plus a Melbourne city pack with a number of POIs to make this city great again ;-)
  • For MSFS, KCRW Chuck Yeager, KFAT Fresno, KPBI Palm Beach (also for P3D), VTSP Phuket and KBOI Boise. For P3D and maybe a bit delayed - TrueEarth Eastern Alps. We are looking at making YBBN Brisbane for XPL too, and a special GB North Landmarks pack for MSFS.

Orbx’s independent partners are also involved in these projects. Cigcognani then turned the spotlight to some of the team’s prominent artists, featuring the team’s international reach. Including Marcus Nyberg, who is bringing a rejuvenated Stockholm Arlanda to MSFS from Prepar3D - decked out with brand new texturing to take advantage of the simulator’s rendering capabilities. Nyberg documents his progress on the project on a facebook page which can be accessed here: Arlanda Journal.

Here are some of the highlights from the developments:

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Another Nordic artist, Finn Hansen, has taken on another Scandinavian airport, bringing a bespoke rendition of Oslo to the platform. Projected to be completed by the middle of this year, progress has been steady for the most part:

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Another associate, Andreas Hegi is working on Bolzano Airport, know for being the primary entry into the Dolomites. From the images it appears that the developer has recently made strides in developing the interior of the terminal complex: 

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On the note of interior modeling, Cicognani turns her attention to Rasha Tucakov, who is bringing the same Orbx detailing to the Balkans development is wrapping up for LYPG Podgorica: 

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Moving to the US, developer Matteo Veneziani is currently putting a new coat of paint on KBUR Burbank for MSFS in the same fashion as Nyberg of Arlanda, this follows closely after his recent work on LKSK Skiathos. Burbank will feature reworked models, textures, and new ground work. The MSFS development will serve to be the basis for the X-Plane port (with discounts for MSFS owners once the XP version is out). Following this, Veneziani will hop to Australia to revisit Gold Coast and wrap up LIPH Treviso.

In the same continent as Gold Coast, developer Ken Hall is building a rendition of YMLT Launceston:

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 Hopping over to neighboring New Zealand, developer Tim Harris is chipping away at NZNV Invercargill, with his photorealistic approach to texturing:

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On the mesh side of things, the son of Orbx’s Global lead developer, Dmytro Krikunov, is putting the finishing touches on the highly anticipated New Zealand Mesh update, which features 1m LiDAR in selected areas, his efforts will continue into South America after NZ.

This wraps up the rewind from Orbx as the team gears up with another productive year of releases. For the original update, please visit the forum post.

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