The Ultimate Hong Kong Simulation

By Terblanche Jordaan (3 September 2002)

The scenery installs very easily and soon I was into the cockpit of an SAA 747-200 for a trip around the islands surrounding Hong Kong.

We all know that the old Kai Tak (VHHH) with its conspicuous IGS approach for runway 13 is not in use anymore because they have moved to the new Chek Lap Kok Airport. Built in the sea, where there only used to be water, 747s now land on Chek Lap Kok's two parallel runways. I have to say the default of the latter airport is nicer than the one that comes with the CD (a matter of personal choice).

First of all, this scenery is a frame eater and on my P4 with a GeForce4 card I managed to get from time to time between 10 to 15 fps, while on the ground it dropped to under 10. I did discover that although the necessary exclude files are doing their thing, it does make a difference to disable the default Hong Kong scenery that comes with FS2002 and you will gain between 2 and 4 fps if you do that (though this is on my PC where nothing seems to be normal).

The scenery is spectacular and once you get used to the hideous blue of the sea and focus on the incredible buildings and signs above roads and buildings, you are amazed with all the detail. Pity about the paper curtains of buildings towards the mountain, one could only guess that it was used to bring those frame rates up.

The Kai Tak IGS runway 13 approach is a highlight of the scenery. It is a real challenge to land any aircraft on this approach and do not think that it is so much easier with a Cessna. You have to plan that right turn very carefully and obviously when you fly a 747 steel monster with a breeze from the sea, you have to be even more vigilant with everything you do from the moment you intercept the glideslope.

Once you have managed to land (on the runway) be aware not to take any taxiway that leads over a bridge because you will sink right through it into that 'blue' water. The bridges are only part of the look of realism and not to be used.

One thing I did miss was some airport activity because it is for sure very lonely to land at a airport that looks like the opening scene from Vanilla Sky - not a soul in sight.

But--and this is a very big but--the beauty of this scenery is the night textures. Well - you approach Kai Tak with some low visibility over the city and I tell you - your eyes pop right out onto the screen of your monitor because it is quite breathtaking. It looks and feels so real that you could smell those familiar Hong Kong aromas all the way down to the ground. This alone makes the low frame rates tolerable!

All in all a job well done by Klaus Neupert and his team. If it wasn't for the frame rates (and maybe the water color) I would have given it an all thumbs up. Definitely worth the buy if you have a computer that could handle all the eye candy.

Terblanche Jordaan
t.blanche@iafrica.com

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