Simflyers' Orlando International Airport Version 2
By John J. Thuot II (12 October 2004)
ello again fellow
flight simmers. I'm back with another review for FlightSim.Com.
Before I continue, I would like to thank everyone who has read my
previous reviews, and have e-mailed me with questions and I hope that
I have been able to help you out. It's appreciated to know people
read what I write, and I'm glad to have you along on my two scents
for the next review.Those of you who are familiar with Simflyers know the standards for their sceneries. Those of you who are not familiar, let's get started.
It seems as though many of us on the internet whine and complain
about frame rates. I was impressed when I saw that the new scenery
now includes the Simflyers Display tool, a new utility that allows
you to check off what you want to see. Those of you that have a top
end system like myself can choose everything in the box and not have
to worry about the speed of your system. Those of you who don't (and
no shame if you don't) can adjust to what you want to see, from the
fences to even trees outside and around the airport.
As far as frames per second go, my system gets 33 and that is with all scenery features checked and running 50% AI traffic. It is a Dell Dimension 4600, 2.66 GHz, with 512 mb ram and a 128 mb AGP 8X graphic card.
One of the things that I have always liked about Simflyers is their Service Armada which has been a trademark of theirs since day one. It was a little bit tricky for me at first to get used to operating the radios for the frequencies of the aircraft that you are flying to fit - yes they do actually adjust to your aircraft, at least for the more popular choices mind you, such as the Boeing 717, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, and 777. Airbus include: A300, 310, 319, 320, 321, 330, 340, 380. The last aircraft group is McDonnell Douglas MD80 and MD11. Unfortunately, I don't have all the aircraft types installed that are on the list but I can tell you that with the default aircraft (even repainted ones) they fit perfectly.
The only thing I'm disappointed in, is that there doesn't seem to be any animation envolving the Service Armada--it all just seems to drop into the scenery. It's a minor disappointment though to everything else that has been upgraded.
In nosing around the airport, the improvements are subtle but definately noticed...from the Gmax modeled smooth edged taxiways to the newly updated equipment found in the Service Armada, Simflyers did a wonderful job on the new scenery. They did state on their website that they have done other improvements to buildings and so forth. I believe them, but however I could not notice too many differences from the first version. They still look truly wonderful, and I believe that I will be doing more flights out of Orlando now for the Flight Simulator. I think most fellow simmers will agree who give this scenery a try will truly appreciate it for all the hard work that Simflyers has put into it.
I hope that I have helped you make up your mind in buying this scenery. If so, please don't hesitate to email me. I love to hear from my readers. Also, if you have any questions you can email me as well. I will do my best to help out.
Test System:
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John J. Thuot II
ragtopjohnny01@aol.com
