FlightSim.Com Review: Philadelphia Scenery

SimFlyers Philadelphia

By Timothy Kotula (28 May 2001)

Introduction

bout a week or so ago, I got an email from Nels Anderson asking me if I wished to do this scenery review. I went and checked out the NOTAM on FlightSim.Com and the package looked really cool, so I replied with a big "YES." After getting the unlocking code (this scenery is shareware, please don't ask me for the code!) I downloaded the scenery and loaded it into FS2000. The installation wizard is very simple and easy to use.

First Impressions

After loading up KPHL, my first impression was "WOW!" This scenery has it all. Taxiing planes, planes at the gate, landing planes, planes taking off, blue taxi lights, and even an active docking system at nearly every gate! There are even those yellow taxi lines painted onto the ground, which is very realistic looking concrete.

Second Thoughts

Well, the first problem is the taxi lights. They look great, but they are always visible, day and night, which doesn't seem right to me.

Second of all, I guess the designer's idea of a docking system was to just place active docking signs at almost all of the gates, which is great, but what about some moving jetways? There were none that I could find.

Third, the frame rates are absolutely HORRIBLE. There was all kinds of stuttering and stumbling on my 500 MHz Intel Celeron with 64 mb RAM. Now, I will admit that my system is kind of slow and that a RAM upgrade would probably cure a lot of that, but my advice to you is that if you have anything less than 128 mb of RAM, don't bother to download this scenery.

Finally, almost all of the aircraft I saw, with the exception of a Lufthansa 747, Delta MD-90 and what I thought was a United 757, were painted in US Airways colors. Now, I do understand that KPHL is a US Airways hub, but I would like a little more variety.

In Conclusion

So, in summary, this is a nice addition to FS2000 for those of you who have good systems (anything higher than 128 MB of RAM).

The Good

Dynamic scenery everywhere
A somewhat active docking system
In general, a good upgrade from the FS2000 default (anything's better than that right?)

The Bad

So called "active docking system" isn't all that active
Disastrous frame rates on slower computers
Needs more aircraft variety
Unrealistic taxi lights

This scenery still needs some work, but I will award it 75 out of 100 points.

Timothy Kotula
tjkotula@flash.net

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