FS Architect 2002
By Peter Saul (16 January 2002)
here
are two kinds of people in the flight simulator world: the creators
and the fliers. While, of course you can be both, let's just keep it
simple. I, myself, having been a long time pilot in the virtual world
wanted to take a leap to other side: the little world of creators. I
decided that owning a VA is not enough (although I do have one in
construction: SpringJet, available at
http://www.springjet.com),
so I went to the real world of creators. My first stop was FS Architect
2002. So, that is a brief story of why I am reviewing this product.
FS Architect 2002 is the design of a great man named Douglas A. Pouk. If you
want it, visit his web site at
http://www.pouksim.com.
FS Architect 2002 retails for $39, and FS Architect 2000 can be downloaded for
free as a demo. Anyways, moving on to the review. After downloading the
demo and FreeSC (a BGL compiler), I decided to go retail. The retail
version is a hefty 11 mb, so you might want to get a DSL line. A quick
credit card charge, and I was underway.
When you load it up, you get a simple screen. On the bottom are some viewing tools, and object placement buttons. I have planned ahead and gotten some coordinates and elevation information from Flight Simulator 2002. The airport I will make is in the middle of Alaska. All this information, along with more can be inserted into a simple dialog box. Also, if you use FS2002, you must download a replacement .dll file, which is available at Pouk’s web site, and make sure to check the “Flight Simulator 2000” box.
What’s the most basic thing in an airport? The runway! So, to add one, all you do is click the “Runway” button on the bottom of the screen, and a dialog box pops up. The process is very simple to add a runway. Just type a name for the runway, the dimensions and heading, configure it, and choose lighting, and then click OK. Then, simply place the runway where you want it.
After a runway, you need a taxiway. A taxiway is as simple as click and click again. First choose your starting point, left-click and then draw your taxiway by left clicking at each turn. At the end of your taxiway, right-click to end the taxiway. A taxiway can have an unlimited number of “waypoints.”
Next, we are going to add an ILS into our scenery. Like everything else in FS Architect 2002, it is very simple to add this. Just click where you want the landing point to be, and then choose your properties. Simple as that! You can choose its ID, heading, frequency, and more!
One thing I love about landing at La Guardia in New York is that on approach you are over water, and then suddenly the runway pops-up out of nowhere, and before you know it you’re on the ground. So, we are going to add a small lake to the front and side of our runway. To do this first select the polygon tool, and then by clicking make the shape of a lake. At first it is only a black square. With a few clicks, we select the water texture, and boom! We got a lake!
So, anyways after adding an NDB, an NDB tower, more taxiways and an apron
we are almost finished. Last, but not least is for us to add it to the
menu, so we can select it. This is done by simply adding a “Menu
Entry.” Just put the icon of the menu entry on the runway, set the
name, and we’re off.
Then, press F9 to generate the source code, press F12 to compile it, and
we have scenery! Then, go to the FS2002 scenery library, click Add-Area,
and choose your scenery folder. Then the moment of truth comes… the
famous “Textures loading…” screen. It loads up, and surprise it
works! There is only one problem, however. The taxiway texture on one
taxiway is messed up. But, 10 seconds, and it's perfect!
I know this isn’t the best review, and is more like a how to, but here
are my thoughts on the program: IT IS AWESOME! But, only if you think you
would like to make scenery. I would give it a 93 out of 100, but it is
really if you want to do it. So, go out there and make some scenery.
Peter Saul
admin@springjet.com
springjet.com