Lord Howe Island X From Aerosoft

By Alexander Czarnecki
21 July 2010

Introduction:

Being a resident of Australia, I was naturally interested in this release from Aerosoft. Lord Howe Island is a subtropical volcanic island 600 km (370 miles) east of the Australian mainland. It is a fairly popular tourist destination, known for good fishing, bird watching and swimming/snorkeling.

"Take off from the local airport and enjoy this beautiful Island in the Tasman Sea close to Australia. Recreated with the latest FSX technologies and done right to the smallest detail (you will learn how to read a newspaper in FSX!) it is just a stunning place to fly to" says Aerosoft's web site.

Lord Howe Island from Google Earth

Installation:

Lord Howe Island X is available as a 175 mb download from the FS Pilot Shop. It was a simple installation--just unzip the folder and launch the exe and input the license key provided on purchase.

Minimum requirements are:

System requirements:
Microsoft Flight Simulator FSX (compatible with SP1/SP2/DX10 mode)
Windows XP (SP2), Windows Vista
2.0 GHz processor (Dual Core CPU highly recommended)
512 MB RAM internal memory (2 GB recommended)
128 MB graphic card (256 MB highly recommended)
Adobe Acrobat® Reader 6 minimal to read and print the manual (1)
Download-Size: 180 MB
Installations-Size: 250 MB (from Aerosoft web site).

The Aerosoft specs are fairly realistic with the add-on being not that complex.

The Scenery:

Features:

3D terrain (not mesh but actual modeling with perfect vertical texturing)
Very high frame rates
Full photographic coverage of the island
Undersea coral reefs
3D human figures
High detail airfield
Detailed coastlines plus all the small rock islands
Full night textures
Supplemental high definition runway textures
Includes flight plans to Brisbane and Sidney (from Aerosoft web site).

The textures are sharp from above about 800 feet although they are a bit flat. Above about 1500 feet, they look better.

The 5 metre resolution terrain mesh combined with the 60 centimetre per pixel imagery looks fantastic for the hilly/mountainous parts!

The use of water masks perfectly renders the surrounding coral reefs.

The terminal is of highest modelling quality complete with 3D people (and solar panels!). The man out the front even holds a readable Sydney Morning Herald, and the tarmac has individual pavers.

The scenery is not completely bug free however. At a certain distance, gaps appear in the cliffs, but as you approach the cliffs, the gaps disappear. Also there is not much autogen.

In addition, the 3D platform for the tarmac and runways has a small gap under it.

Performance:

Even with the very high resolution textures and mesh, the performance is very good, probably because of the lack of autogen. The manual sets out suggested settings and tweaks. With these applied, average frame rates flying the default microlight were around 20-25, peaking at 35.

Conclusion:

Lord Howe Island X is a great add-on of an idyllic holiday destination, except for the minor bugs. It does have limited appeal after a while because of its small size. However, the high quality textures really make the add-on and at $19.75 USD, it is good value.