SimFlyers Associated KDFW
By Art Burke (24 May 2002)
et
me issue a caveat before we get into the heart of this review. I
generally don't fly the "big iron." My personal appeal to flight simulators
in general is general aviation aircraft. It should be obvious, however, to
most, the "big iron" appeals to a very large audience, whether it be
freeware or payware. Detailed scenery most often seems (in my opinion)
geared to the audience flying everything from regional airlines to the
Concorde and trans-oceanic flights. Therefore, it was with some reservation
that I accepted the task of reviewing the SimFlyers presentation of KDFW,
the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
The Files
The scenery consisted of five files totaling approximately 18 MB. In today's environment, not everyone enjoys a high speed/broadband internet connection, but it is certainly becoming more commonplace. I've already seen numerous flightsim files (aircraft and scenery both) comprising this size or greater, so the total file sizes should come as little or no shock to the average user.
The main scenery is for the runways, taxiways and buildings. The other two
scenery packages contain aircraft and ground vehicles (DFW Static Scenery
West and DFW Static Scenery East). Included in the download is a Pilot
Information manual. This manual is a PDF (viewable with a free Adobe
Acrobat reader) document which includes historical data about KDFW, all
necessary NAVAID information, airport and parking diagram (including
coordinates for each gate at every terminal), instructions for jetDock
(semi-automatic gate docking), a supply and catering feature and a FAQ.
I was initially puzzled as to why the coordinates for each gate are supplied until I remembered the software is provided for support for both FS2000 and FS2002. If memory serves me correctly, FS2000 has a "Go To" function providing for specific geographic coordinates. FS2002 no longer has such a function. (If I have erred, please don't hesitate to inform me - I couldn't find any such function among the myriad menus.) More about the airport diagram later.
I did discover some extremely minor misprints in both the Pilot Information manual and the installation instructions. These minor errors, however, did not present any problems in the installation and/or use of the software.
Installation
The documentation cautions the user to be patient. The files are encrypted and packed. I was anticipating quite some time for the installation process and was pleasantly surprised when the main scenery installed in well under five minutes. Each of the static scenery installations (they are in separate packages, one for the east side of the airport and one for the west side) were completed in approximately one minute. You can check my system specs below for potential comparison to your own.When installing the scenery, you will be prompted for a registration key. The docs advise loading the scenery initially without the key, which will load the software as a demo version. In the event you are disappointed with the speed of the display (this is very dense scenery!), you can save time and money by discovering just how the scenery impacts your CPU speed - i.e., frame rates. There are several admonitions in this regard. The developers of the software are indeed correct - you will most likely experience some form of frame rate decrease. More later.
You will be prompted for a registration key for each piece of the scenery installation - the main scenery and each of the static scenery sections. In each of the three cases, by not entering the key you will, by default, install a demo version of that particular piece of software.
Backward Compatibility
The developers kindly issued a caveat about use with FS2000. While attempts have been made to maintain backward compatibility with FS2000, the software has been optimized to run with the FS2002 platform and some display errors may occur when installed into FS2000. As I no longer have FS2000 installed I could not test for compatibility. It certainly seems to function as advertised with FS2002.
The Scenery
The scenery is really dense! Those of you having familiarity with similar
payware versions will know what I mean. As you can see above (at Gate A22
at KDFW) ground/service vehicles are quite plentiful. There are baggage
conveyors, fuel trucks, food service vehicles, etc. They were so plentiful
upon arrival; well, at the left is another picture of what that looks like.Wandering around (peeking all over with the hat switch!) for different views shows luggage going up/down the conveyor mechanism and the presence of virtually every service vehicle one would expect to see at the airport. While there is evidence of people as well, none of them seem to be moving. I guess that's still a bit much to expect! Perhaps with the advent of FS2012?
Potential Problems (With Apologies!)
In this picture (right) there is a 747 parked immediately
adjacent to me. After I had docked, the 747, instead of backing away from
the gate, attempted to make a turn away from the gate. In doing so, it
turned into the building, partially disappearing (as you can see),
and then suddenly stopped. I rechecked the docs and discovered this is a
documented problem. The AI aircraft provided with FS2002 has no way of
knowing of the presence of this add-on scenery. Microsoft has been somewhat
tardy (in my opinion) in the delivery of a scenery SDK (Software
Development Kit). It's possible when such SDK appears, the developers of
this software may be able to modify it appropriately.Once I temporarily moved the Orbit 737 away (via slew mode), the 747 continued its turn, departed the gate, turned right and merrily rolled through another building while proceeding toward its takeoff point. Rather than find fault with the software, I simply found it somewhat amusing! Technically, one could acquire the appropriate software (freeware, as a matter of fact) and alter the offending flights. That might, however, curtail virtually all traffic at KDFW - hardly a fair compromise. I personally find it acceptable to wait for an ultimate solution when Microsoft issues the afore-mentioned SDK.
Docking And Undocking
Docking is accomplished by setting the appropriate COM and NAV radios to specific frequencies. The technique initially seemed a cross between silly and complex. The documentation, however, explained both the need and the technique quite nicely. Setting the appropriate frequencies also provides recognition of the type of aircraft. The docs don't say why, so I can only assume identifying the aircraft type will also adequately identify the aircraft dimensions, placing the gate at the appropriate location.With the proper frequencies set an electronic sign can be seen dead ahead. The upper part of this sign (which I could only see adequately from the cockpit view - the "W" key came in handy here!) identifies the type of aircraft you're trying to dock. Again, I can only assume this information is provided in case you're docking a plane, set the incorrect frequency and the sign provides a warning that you've improperly set the frequencies. At any rate, the lower part of the sign provides clues for (1) system ready (2) "COME ON" (3) "SLOW DOWN" and so forth. There's even a warning if you go too far. I personally had some difficulty getting the plane in exactly the right spot, until I "cheated" and used the slew mode to properly place the plane.
While I must admit it might be possible to see the necessary information
from other than cockpit view, I didn't have much success. It certainly
seems realistic the cockpit would be the proper place for viewing the
docking procedure, I find the additional feedback available in spot view
beneficial when maneuvering the aircraft on the ground.
As you can see here (right), the gate has been undocked preparatory to departure. It was a little comical in a way. I set the appropriate frequencies to initiate the undocking procedure. The next peek I took showed the gate retracted and all the service vehicles had vanished! These guys are really efficient at KDFW!
Speaking of vanishing...The developers realized even the fastest of systems could experience difficulty keeping up with scenery generation. They have issued suggested distances for viewing portions of the scenery and the aircraft itself. While this is sometimes disconcerting, it certainly seems a practical approach. There were times I wanted to see more and couldn't without physically moving the aircraft closer. Perhaps that's indeed better than really lousy frame rates.
The Detail
As you can see from this collection of screen shots, the detail is enormous. With everything loaded (main scenery and both east and west static scenery) my frame rates ran consistently around 7. That presented somewhat of a stuttering (somewhat jerky) presentation. The documentation suggests if you experience such frame rate deterioration, you should disable one end of the airport (disabling the end you use less often) - i.e., the static scenery at either east or west KDFW.
I was intrigued by the signs over the highway. In slew mode I got closer and closer, trying to decipher the writing. I never could actually discern what they actually read, but they certainly look realistic when seen from reasonable levels - as does virtually all the scenery.
The airport and parking diagrams proved invaluable as well. I have been to KDFW in real life, though not as a pilot. Therefore I have no idea where individual gates, ramps or taxiways are located. The maps are so highly, accurately detailed (you'll really regret it if you don't print them) I had no problem finding a specific gate and parking there. The docs list every gate in the scenery available for parking/docking. My personal experience has been that a half dozen or so episodes of departing the runway for a given gate will burn itself sufficiently into your memory that you will be consulting the map less and less.
Here you can see me overflying KDFW in a smaller general aviation aircraft.
Even at this distance, where huge detail is intentionally inhibited, it is
easy to see just how detailed this package is.
System Specs
I installed and ran SimFlyers KDFW on the following system:
