German Airports 3
By John Haley (5 July 1999)
start off by mentioning that a short while back, I had the
privilege of reviewing my first Aerosoft product,
German Airports 1.
I felt the product was very good, in terms of both detail and
accuracy. I also pointed out some shortcomings in the area of static
aircraft scenery at the major airports included in German Airports 1.
Thereafter, I was notified that there was a site in which these
static aircraft could be downloaded and added to the scenery. Anyone
who might still be wondering about such an address can simply point
to this web page of the authors:http://home.t-online.de/home/Th-Hirsch/Gap-Main.htm
I think it's only fair to point out that this Internet site finally has everything you need to both enhance your existing German Airports Scenery and answer any problems you might have. Screenshots, static downloads, all types of information and patches are available at the above address which is a vast improvement from the time of my first review.
So it is with great delight that I am able to review German Airports 3, which as the name suggests, is the third successful scenery add-on to this popular series. This edition contains 8 superbly detailed northern area airports: Berlin, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Erfurt, Hamburg, Kiel, Lubeck and Monchengladbach. In a word, I'm totally impressed with this latest edition. Every airport is UNIQUE, every airport is BUSTLING with activity, and an honest effort has been made to impress even the most demanding of pilots who expect nothing short of perfection when they arrive or depart their favorite airport.
The scenery was reviewed on my computer that is an IBM/PC 333 Celeron, 96M RAM, 16M AGP VIDEO. Scenery, both static and dynamic was set to its maximum setting to take full advantage of this product. Of course, improved frame rates can be achieved through reduced settings.
Have to say right from the start that the installation and setup of German Airports couldn't be easier. Drop the C.D. into the machine, click a few boxes and the whole thing is fully installed. If you have problems, check out the Web site or check out the manual that comes with the software. Your answer shouldn't be too far away.
I feel it's important to say right from the start, what a noticeable difference I've witnessed between the first and third editions of this scenery. German Airports 1 was already packed full of detail, but German Airports 3 appears to be much "busier-looking" than the previous version. When I "maxed" out the Dynamic and Static scenery, I was looking out my cockpit window at what appeared to be a truly "BUSY" airport. Buses and airport vehicles whizzed around my craft. These two shots are from the busiest airports Berlin and Hamburg. Dusseldorf is also bustling with large amounts of traffic:
Now, being a stickler for detail, you may recall that from my first review, it was one of my pet peeves in which I felt the passenger bridge docking system was a bit of a let down. I had expected to pull up to a designated parking space and the bridge would extend to the craft. In effect, you're simply guided into place by a sign that's located directly ahead of the aircraft. Fun yes and even realistic according to some of the people who commented on the review afterwards, but the passenger bridge stays put and there is still significant distance between your aircraft and the passenger bridge when the aircraft comes to a halt. This particular aspect has changed dramatically in German Airports 3. Check out the variations below, hats off to the designers for their work:
I also enjoyed the old fashioned wandwaver and you get that in German Airports 3 as well:
Sure it was great to see the ground traffic whizzing about the airport. But being somewhat adventurous I wondered what would happen if I turned my aircraft into the path of one these vehicles. Would it simply pass through my aircraft like I was invisible or would it recognize me and stop?
The detail surrounding the airport terminals is quite remarkable. You can make out images of what appear to be people inside the terminal. There are people on the ground outside the terminal, both flight crew and passengers. Enough chatter, the easiest way for you to see their work is to simply take a gander at some of these beautiful shots! Just have a look:
I think authors Thomas Hirsch and Peter Hiermeier should stand up and take a deep bow for not only giving us the ultimate realism in German Airports 3, but also for improving the product. I haven't seen German Airports 2 mind you, but I think the evolution between the first and third edition shows these two gentlemen have been listening to what critics have been saying. Bravo!
I would like to add one suggestion that would further enhance this project. Anyone who is familiar with Airport 2000 by Wilco Publishing must have been impressed with the small write-up included in the manual detailing the history and other pertinent information about the airports featured in this software. I think German Airports 1 and 3 would benefit greatly if the user knew more about the airports. For example, in Airport 2000, one page is dedicated to a "Introduction, History, Special Features, Future Developments, and Passenger Traffic" at each airport. I found this information not only enlightening, but chock full of neat information which helped me better understand the airport and made my flights even more realistic. In my opinion, German Airports, an already superb product, would move to "elite" status, if this information were included in the detailed manuals included with the software.
My final rating on this project is 9.9 out of ten. Really, the only thing I think is missing is the airport description, I've just mentioned above. This scenery is AWESOME!
 |
John Haley