FlightSim.Com Reviews: Montana Scenery

Montana Scenery

by John Haley (9 July 1998)

Now that's solid mountain work! Note the Hyalite Reservoir and Dam straight ahead.

It's referred to as the Big Sky State.

And Chuck Hall's Montana Scenery lives up to its name with a skillfully rendered rendition of a good chunk of this big, beautiful state. Without a doubt, the most impressive piece of work is the ragged, jagged mountains.

The reliable "Airport 205f" scenery designer is used to render most of the added scenery here. FS98 users will notice that a large part of the default scenery is still in place but airports are spruced up and so are a lot of mountain ranges. An outstanding job is done by Chuck to give Montana a feel of mountain range intimidation, while at the same time remembering the fact that there are so many open spaces here too.

Scenery Highlights

Included in the Scenery is a brief places to go, things to see listing. I took the time to check out all of the highlighted material included in the package, and I must say at times, I was very impressed.

Take for instance, at Gallatin Field there is what appears to be a glassed in area extending from the main terminal building. Chuck has added windmills (that actually turn) in one small section of this scenery. Chuck does a wonderful job creating "dams". He's quite proud of the fact and encourages all simmer's to check out all the work he has done when creating these works. I found most of the dams listed, but the "Hyalite Reservoir and dam", the chief supplier of water to Bozeman is a work of art. You have to check it out.

Many moutains appear to have tiny little shacks on the hillside! (Perhaps hiding another fugitive?) The author has also created Butte's Berkeley Pit, one of the world's largest open pit mines.

Berkeley Pit and Butte.
There are golf courses, smoke stacks, sailboats, hot air balloons, ski hills and monogrammed mountains. Different style boats, grain elevators. Stadiums have field markings, parking lots look pretty good although most are empty! Maybe there aren't that many air travellers in Montana!!

The airports themselves are what you might expect from third party scenery. There are the usual static planes at most airports. Most airport buildings are recognizable, but the author has gone another step further to add identifying features that make each airport unique.

An honest attempt was made to render cities as lifelike as possible but let's be honest. Sometimes big, gawdy buildings sitting on top of flightsim tiles, just don't look realistic. Should they? You have to realize that people look for different things from FS. Some want detailed scenery with mega-amounts of movement, blinking lights and extra features. I am one of these people, but my machine can't handle the extra work without significant flicker. I have learned to be content with the limitations of FS. That's why I enjoyed this scenery so much. For those who live in Montana and have been looking for a good third party scenery without sacrificing frame rate, you likely have found what you are looking for here.

Weaknesses

On the downside, Chuck has left a good chunk of the eastern portion of Montana with nothing more than just airfields. Admittedly, he insists the project is not complete, but for those who download the scenery and expect to find their favourite city laid out in detail, you may be disappointed. There were times when I viewed Chuck's work and it resembled old scenery from SubLogic's ATP. It's hard to explain, it just had a feel of older, simpler scenery. That's not a bad thing, although some will say it looks amateurish. Still, there's plenty for the average flight-simmer to see and visit in Hall's scenery. I didn't try it with the helicopter, but it might be interesting to travel through the mountains and see what else you can spot here.

For those who demand nothing but total accuracy, don't waste your time with this scenery. There are plenty of misaligned mountains, rivers and roads that just run into the side of a mountain, stop, and then re-appear on the other side. It's not a big deal for me, but it could be for some who take scenery design very seriously!

Installation is a piece of cake. Anyone with even the most basic concept of scenery installation can't screw this up.

Overall

Near Glacier National Park.

I would rate this scenery 6, possibly 7 out of 10. Chuck really does try to do something here to represent the sheer awesomeness of Montana. This scenery doesn't come close to killer frame rates, and it sure beats the heck out of Microsoft's FS98 world of Montana. That may not be saying much since a lot of scenery in the FS98 world is runways, taxiways, fuelpad and airport towers. For FS users in Bozeman, Butte, Helena, Missoula, Kalispell, Billings, I haven't seen anything that closely resembles Chuck Hall's scenery. However, the eastern portion of the state leaves much to be desired. On the positive side, Chuck has indicated that he is willing to create an airport in Montana if somone so desires. If your town isn't represented, I recommend contacting the author and see what he can do for you.

I have spent considerable time visiting Montana, and I know I'm keeping this scenery on my computer!

John Haley
jhaley@Quetico.tbaytel.net

Download Montana Scenery.

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