Author Topic: Misty's to Bowser Lake Cabin  (Read 6863 times)

Doug

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Misty's to Bowser Lake Cabin
« on: March 05, 2011, 05:46:51 PM »
Misty's to Bowser Lake Cabin ... in a boat? Are you nuts?  Yep ... and I did it.  Went from Misty's to the Nass Inlet, up the Nass River to Meziadin Lake Campground for an overnight, then back to the Nass and on up to the Bell Irving that cuts back east and connects with Bowser River that connects to Bowser Lake.  There are two unfortunate obstructions, both are concrete bridges that cross the river at water level.  I've sent these to Holger, maybe he'll get such bridges "up" 20 feet or so off the water, as they certainly would be in the "real" world.  Otherwise we "live" with it. So turn off the crash, hit the bridge, turn the crash back on and enjoy.

Yes, this trip took HOURS.  Wouldn't recommend it to anyone (but I also did a "round the world" in a DC-3) ... but I had to see if we could do it. The answer is yes.  I never saw the same thing the whole route, it was as different as a real river would be. Dangerous shoals and sandbars, little islands ... all kinds of things to keep you on your toes.  Of course we have to pay attention when we are flying, but you can also look around a little. Not with this. I tried to do about 40 mph when in the "clear" and had to literally go 5 mph to get through some of the tricky areas, some just wider than the boat (Malibu from DeltaSim).  If you take your eyes off what is ahead, you will wreck it. This is intense, almost like a driving game (racing, etc).

I didn't run into any "water anomalies" ... you will see these now and then. The Wilson River has one. Sort of like a waterfall about 10 feet high that you drive up or down. I didn't see any of these in the hours of time I spent on the Nass. 

What we need "on the water" is something besides trees and all the other beautiful land features there. So we're looking at the possibility of adding things here and there along key rivers for the boaters' enjoyment. We've got some ideas we are going to try. We'll be trying to figure out what are the "key rivers"?

Then of course, there is what Jeff has done by making longer "blue water" routes through the area. We are literally unlimited to what we can do with that. Light house tours, supply runs, all kinds of things.

One thing I learned on this trip ... DO NOT trust the GPS.  It is OK for flying, but you will wind up sailing through a forest if you try to use it on the water. It uses the old FSX (so does Plan-G) terrain. The safest way is this:  Best view is outside spot plane behind and up about 20 feet. If you are "up" a little you can see the rocks coming.  Then for navigation, in that view, hit the "A" key 3 times and you get the top down view. The + or - adjusts the map. I found it best to make a new window for the top down, adjust it so I could see what was coming and just left it down in the lower right corner of my screen. You will need it, trust me! This view easily spots the rocks and the little islands and the tough curves. If they are there, you will see them in the top down ... it's the best possible way to navigate the rivers.

So we have proof that it "can be done".  If we can get from Misty's to Bowser, we got a contiguous program that will connect all of it nicely.

So far, the DeltaSim Malibu seems to be the best boat for this. It is maneuverable in short spaces, yet can go 40 mph in the open.  It is tricky to handle at high speeds, it "skids" like an airboat so you really have to be careful and make gradual turns with it or you'll literally "spin out."

Seeing PFJ from the air is amazing ... none of us really can describe it. But you've got to get down on the water and try one of these boats.  The scenery is absolutely beautiful and you never quite know what's around the next bend .. a feeling of suspense you don't get in the plane.

We started this thread so people playing with the "boats" can talk here and we won't be disturbing the people who want to talk planes on the other topic areas.  I moved the Misty Sailing thread to this topic so it would all be in the same place.

So ... here you are ... a new area, something we certainly didn't plan but something that for many people will add an entirely new dimension to Return to Misty Moorings.

Doug

PS Had to add this PS ... I did it in "summer" mode. You don't get very far in winter mode because it's all frozen up that way ... probably could do it with a Ski Mobile ... but that's a different thread entirely!

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« Last Edit: March 05, 2011, 05:51:15 PM by Doug »

Dragnhorn

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Re: Misty's to Bowser Lake Cabin
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2011, 12:44:10 AM »
Cool beans, Doug.  Heading over to Delta Sim for  look.    8)
Rob Abernathy
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alexf

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Re: Misty's to Bowser Lake Cabin
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2011, 06:59:26 AM »
Very interesting. Never thought about this. I'd never do it (I prefer flying) but cool nonetheless.

Doug

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Re: Misty's to Bowser Lake Cabin
« Reply #3 on: March 06, 2011, 08:28:06 AM »
Alex ... You are right, there really wasn't a good "reason" to try this before PFJ and that's why we all stayed in the air.  I'm betting they "accidentally" got it "right" down on the water ... opening up a whole new kind of adventure.  I tried this in some places where I've actually done this (Pantenal, Brasil) ... nothing ... not accurate, vegetation sucks. I guess FSX was made for people to be up and above it so it "looked" good from the air. But PFJ gives it to you from 30 feet away! And that's the difference.  For most pilots, this can be as exciting as watching paint dry .. but when you start going fast (and 40 mph in a 30 foot wide curving river is fast),  not knowing what's around the next bend, or what rock or tiny island is in your path ... it give the same adrenalin rush as landing a Cub in a storm.  You grip the stick just a little tighter.  PFJ makes the difference.  I agree, it's not for everyone, but it does add a whole new dimension to FSX that I doubt the authors intended.  We'll keep "playing" with it and learning.

Doug

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Re: Misty's to Bowser Lake Cabin
« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2011, 06:18:36 PM »
When I stayed over at Meziadin Lake Campground, I had the video recorder on heading back to the Nass River.  This is my first movie ... so any nasty comments will get you banned! :-)  Seriously, this is a lot of fun fooling around with FSRecorder and Win 7 Movie maker with a FRAPS in between (what ever that is).  But I wanted folks to get a little bit of a "feel" for what it is like "down on the water." 

The vid doesn't show it all that well, but just trying to see the next turn can increase the heart rate a little.  This is the little DeltaSim Malibu that I'm using ... "slippery" in the turns ... which makes it all that much more fun.

Anyway, here's my first attempt:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7gmjKH2giM&feature=channel_video_title

Obviously I have too much time on my hands!

Dragnhorn

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Re: Misty's to Bowser Lake Cabin
« Reply #5 on: March 06, 2011, 06:26:56 PM »
Liked it!  I know its a flight sim but, being an explorer I love to have more modes of travel.  Overland by Jeep, ATV, up rivers via boat, flying to new places and exploring.......FUN!    ;D
Rob Abernathy
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archangel1

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Re: Misty's to Bowser Lake Cabin
« Reply #6 on: March 07, 2011, 12:01:01 AM »
Scenery is impressive, isn't it.  It's not an unusual view for a combat sim or even some of the naval sims but when you're flying you normally don't spare a thought for what it looks like 'down there', unless it's standing right in front of you at the end of a real short runway!

The 'Malibu' looks like a nice boat but I have one quibble with it - no 'pilot'.  I still have trouble connecting with the fact that when I look down at my feet while flying, there aren't any! I realize it would take a lot of extra programming to add a pilot to the interior of every plane but I continue to find it disconcerting, considering several of the early combat flight sims from the '90's did have bodies in the seats when you were in the cockpit.  That's why if I go boating, I'll probably use something like Hama's Riva Aquarama which does have a driver, at least in the fewscreenshots I've found!
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FSRobert

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Re: Misty's to Bowser Lake Cabin
« Reply #7 on: March 07, 2011, 01:03:26 AM »
Doug my Man, most excellent video and love the new views while in the water...Orbx really shines in their work and all they do for us FSAddits.

This hobby just keeps getting better...


Draghorn has a brilliant point concerning exploring. Seems FSX is more than just a flightsim these days and makes me wonder just how Microsoft " FLIGHT "  will pan out with RTMM. 
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Doug

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Re: Misty's to Bowser Lake Cabin
« Reply #8 on: March 07, 2011, 08:28:39 AM »
Well the scenery is about to get even "more" impressive for the boating crowd. Just got a nice note from Holger (who spends a little time on the PFJ water himself!).  He's added all kinds of navigational buoys and markers to the new service pack. He also sent me a link to the charts that he's using to make them be placed absolutely correctly.   So we are going to get some "real time" navigational accuracy coming very soon for the boaters.

The point Mike makes is correct. This scenery is more than just "flight" ... when you use ORBX's Bob and can walk around a little town ... and risk getting run over by a semi-trailer truck?  Or see a bear wading in a river?  It is breathtaking to fly over all this, but if you aren't "down into it" you miss what is there, just like in the real world.  There's something for everyone with PFJ.

... and Robert, check out Jeff Greene's new vid (in the gallery). He got a full 2 minute run down the river that gives folks a VERY good idea of what it looks like and feels like.