FS Dreamscapes Terrain Mesh for FSX ®

By Bill Stack
9 March 2009

The Need

Although default scenery in Microsoft Flight Simulator ® has improved from version to version, its terrains still aren't as accurate as they could be. Hills aren't as high as they should be, mountains aren't the shapes they should be, and rolling terrain doesn't roll like it should. This is due to the terrain mesh used, which is based on sampling the elevation of the earth at discrete points. The closer together the sample points are, and the finer the detail of the elevation recorded at each point, the more accurate the shape of the terrain will be. The default FSX terrain is a compromise between accuracy and data storage size, but the actual FSX terrain engine is capable of using more accurate data than the default scenery provides.

The Solution

For those flight simmers who want more accuracy in their terrains, FS Dreamscapes of Denver, Colorado, U.S.A., has produced a series of high-resolution sceneries for various countries of Europe and states of the U.S.A. Each area is sold as a separate product. I reviewed the Florida scenery and the Hawaii scenery.

FS Dreamscapes says: "Imagine your local landscape rendered at the highest possible resolution available for the terrain, looking every bit as true-to-life as it does through the window of a cockpit."

FS Dreamscapes uses use NEXTMap® 3D elevation data from Intermap™ Technologies of Denver, Colorado, which makes its sceneries "eight times the resolution and 64 times more detailed than the default FSX terrain mesh for the United States" FS Dreamscapes says. Its terrain mesh provides resolutions to fractions of a meter vertically such as 10.25 meters and 10.75 meters compared to other meshes with only whole-number resolutions such as 10 meters and 11 meters. This finer detail makes smoother terrain on the ground and even smoother landings, FS Dreamscapes says. The company says it is the first to use this technology for flight simulation.

The result, says FS Dreamscapes, is "terrain accurately reflecting subtle differences in elevation changes that allow pilots to fly in a virtual real-world environment, as close to reality as possible."

Disney World	Cape Canaveral	Tampa
Dreamscapes' Florida, U.S.A.

Lihue	Waikiki	Kauai
Dreamscapes' Hawaii, U.S.A.

Major Features

FS Dreamscapes' terrain mesh is definitely different from the default in FSX, and it's more obvious in some areas than others. But with differences being only fractions of a meter (10 meters versus 10.25 meters, for example) the differences are not obvious once the scenery is installed and activated. To see the differences, I had to view comparison screen shots in a graphics program. First, I made identical screen shots while the simulator was in slew mode, with Dreamscapes' scenery deactivated to show the FSX default, then with FS Dreamscapes activated to show its enhanced terrain. Then I had to switch back and forth between the images in the graphics program to see the differences.

While the differences are definitely there, the questions are whether FS Dreamscapes' sceneries are indeed more accurate than FSX and if the less-accurate default scenery is so bad after all.

Comparison of Dreamscapes' Hawaii (left) to FSX Hawaii (right)
Note the increased detail along to top of the ridge and on the shoreline

Comparison of Dreamscapes' Pearl Harbor (left) with FSX Pearl Harbor (right)

Comparison of Dreamscapes' Kauai (left) with FSX Kauai (right)

Nice Features

The sceneries are very easy to install, and FS Dreamscapes' instructions are clear and easy to follow.

For something that uses such advanced technology and produces such a high-quality result, FS Dreamscapes' Hawaii scenery is very reasonably priced.

Downsides

FS Dreamscapes' sceneries do not add, delete, or change scenery objects such as buildings and bridges because they were not intended to do so. The developers focused on terrain, not objects. Objects that rest on the terrain mesh rise up or down as the sceneries are compared to each other. I did see auto-generated trees located in different spots about a few meters apart as I switched from FS Dreamscapes to FSX sceneries. If you're looking for objects that are missing from the FSX default, FS Dreamscapes doesn't have your solution.

The first problem I had with these sceneries was the 30-minute download time even with my high-speed internet connection. That's not a problem if you have the time for it. Once I discovered how long the downloads would take, I aborted and came back later. I ended up starting the downloads just before doing something else that didn't require my computer or internet connection, specifically having lunch and walking around the neighborhood with my wife.

The next problem was that I couldn't see much difference between the FS Dreamscapes' Florida scenery and the FSX default. Literally switching back and forth between the Dreamscapes screen shot and the FSX screen shot in a graphics program, I could see only insignificant differences in the terrain – not enough to be worth the cost in my opinion. In response to my question, FS Dreamscapes replied that the best comparisons are done in rugged areas such as California and Hawaii.

Why then did they bother to make sceneries of flatland states such as Florida and Mississippi? Florida's highest elevation is 345 feet (105 meters), and there is no rugged terrain in the whole state. Mississippi's highest elevation is 806 feet, (246 meters), and that's hundreds of miles from the seacoast at the opposite end of the state. It does have some mildly rugged terrain in the far north, near Tennessee, but we're talking less than 800 feet (244 meters) of elevation. The gradual elevation differences in both states leaves little discernable to the human eye but expansive flat regions. Both Florida and Mississippi have large swamp areas because their terrains are so low and flat. So why include Florida? FS Dreamscapes explained that its ultimate goal is to make terrain-mesh sceneries for the entire United States, in which Florida and Mississippi would obviously be included.

My final problem, which I mentioned in an earlier paragraph, is that we just don't know which scenery is better than the other. I don't find increments of fractions of a meter to be significant when you're viewing from several hundred meters aloft, even during low-altitude maneuvers such as circuits and approaches. FS Dreamscapes acknowledges that its sceneries are best viewed from very low levels.

Comparison of Dreamscapes' Miami Airport (left) with FSX Miami Airport (right)

Summary

As stated earlier, these FS Dreamscapes sceneries are definitely different from the default FSX sceneries. The questions are whether they are really more accurate and whether their scenery is really better than the FSX default. If we believe they are more accurate – and I saw no reasons to doubt FS Dreamscapes' claims – then we can accept that they are indeed better than the default FSX sceneries.

Going back years to earlier versions of MSFS, in which they had highly detailed signs and lights on the Las Vegas strip, I have always questioned the need to do something unrealistic such as violating minimum-altitude regulations to enjoy realistic scenery. That's contradictory to me, but I acknowledge that there are many flight simmers who see no problem with it. If this sort of realism is what you seek, then FS Dreamscapes' sceneries are for you.

With the slight differences between the respective sceneries being discernable only from close up, they would be ideal for flight simmers who like simulating in low-level aircraft such as helicopters, ultralights, and gliders. For simmers who like high-altitude or instrument flight, however, these sceneries won't add to the experience except during takeoff and landing.

While the Hawaii scenery is reasonably priced, the others are about twice the price, and I don't see the flatland Florida and Mississippi sceneries worth two times the Hawaii scenery. I would recommend trying the Hawaii scenery first, and if you like the effects, buy the other rugged-terrain areas such as California and Germany.

Bill Stack

Learn More About FS Dreamscapes' Terrain Mesh Sceneries

Bill Stack is author of several books about flight simulation, a regular author in flight-sim magazines, and a contributor to Flight Sim Com. His website is www.topskills.com