The Golden State

By Robert Jubb (7 May 2002)

The CD arrives packed it its own ultra-thin jewel case that kept the disk well protected on its 4000 mile journey from FS Genesis to our testing center. Once the CD has been inserted, the program self-launches. This then cues the auto-installation which can be followed very simply, step-by-step. Once installed, you get an entry in your Start | Programs column relating to the FS Genesis product, containing an automatic uninstaller.

This mesh scenery is excellent for the VFR virtual aviator. With your array of general aviation aircraft in flight simulator, you will be able to explore every bay, ravine and mountain range from the comfort of your own home. The scenery is comprised from 38m Digital Elevation Data from the United States Geological Survey and we believe that any real-world general aviation pilots in California will benefit from using this scenery to aid in their flight planning.

If you are an IFR virtual aviator and prefer to hit the airways rather than fly between hills, never fear! Even at cruising altitudes above FL300, the scenery, especially in Northern California is much more clearly depicted than the default terrain. Approaches into airports such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Napa Regional all have a different, more interesting perspective, which will make looking out of the window a necessity.

As always with flight simulator add-ons, there is talk of frame rates. On our review machine of an Athlon XP 1600+ 1.4 Ghz, 512 Mb DDR RAM, 64 Mb GeForce 3 Ti200, 80 Gb 14,400 rpm HDD, we were experiencing frame rates at or above 23. A score above 20 is fluid enough for the human eye not to be able to decipher any freezing at all. We believe we are getting improved frame rates on the default terrain because this enhanced terrain offers improved definition of points, and therefore allows the graphics to run much more quickly. This is most noticeable at lower altitudes. We have, in other reviews, stated that frame rates are not the be-all and end-all for FS2002. This appears to be a problem from FS2000 that has plagued all hard-core flight simmers for life.

Since we received the software, the product "The Golden State" has altered slightly to become "The West Coast." This new software offers everything from the Northern Cascades to the Bay Area, from San Fernando Valley to Death Valley and everything in between. This has of course, increased by almost double the coverage of the scenery area, as well as the value. It does however, come with a price tag of just $14.95, including shipping, which we feel offers outstanding value for money in this highly competitive market.

As always with a good product, there are going to be some downsides. These are however, very few and far between. When flying light aircraft between the hills and treetop height, we noticed that some of the default Microsoft Autogen scenery has left some trees and buildings "floating" above the terrain. While this can be very off-putting at low level, it is almost unnoticeable when flying at heights of above 2000' AGL. We feel that continuing work with the Autogen SDK recently released by Microsoft will eliminate some, if not all of these glitches.

It is also worth taking into account that a scenery project of this size cannot be based upon pictures alone, and we feel that the FS Genesis team have done a fantastic job of reproducing one of America's most beautiful states without any visual cues.

This scenery is of a very high quality, and we feel that for developers looking to develop mesh terrain sceneries, this would be a very wise investment. There have been mesh terrain sceneries produced in the past that have had airports sat up on a "plateau" because they have been positioned at the wrong height by Microsoft. However, the FS Genesis have also combated this problem, and with a good selection of these quality sceneries already released, it is only going to get better for this upcoming Flight Simulator developer.

In conclusion, this scenery is of a very high quality and offers splendid value for money. Combining the simple installation, healthy frame rate score and customer support from FS Genesis, we award the product 93 points out of a possible 100. The only downfall being on the floating buildings and trees that appear when flying at low level.

Robert Jubb
rob@rjubb.co.uk

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