Exploring RealScene FS2000 World Mesh Scenery
All the Mesh Scenery You Could Imagine, and More - A Discovery Review Part I
By FlightSim.Com Staff (2 November 2000)
To get started, it's a worthwhile investment to get this. Since upgrading, I can not imagine surviving with any less.
|
NOTE: I took screenshots in a variety of quality levels. Please note actual product may look far better than in these screenshots. Some pictures are lower quality to save loading time. If your monitor is not running in 32-bit resolution, you will not see same quality.
I wanted a quick solution. Not a moment after I thought to myself, maybe someone will redo the entire world in mesh, BANG, I found Eddie Denney's site My gosh! This is just what I wanted, I said to myself. Could it be true? The ENTIRE WORLD in mesh scenery!?!?. Well, the answer is a resounding YES. I am not here to give any ordinary review. After spending a week now exploring, I realized a normal, one page review just wouldn't do. I needed something better. Something more entertaining. The whole world is a big place. It will take months to check out the whole planet to see if this stuff is really any good. So, I am here after a week's worth of flying to report that what I have seen so far is nothing short of spectacular. This Eddie Denney guy has done us flightsimmers a BIG favor. I hope that by the end of this review, each and every one of you will purchase from him his masterful world CD collection. I tell you that honestly, and will naturally throughout this article notify you of the pros and cons of this package. The immediate pros being pure terrain scenery everywhere with little pausing, frame rate hit or oddities. With 384 meg of RAM in hand, I will tell you there are slight stoppages in changing views and visibilities with real weather. None of the pauses are great enough to bother me, the terrain and visual candy far exceeds them. That is all. Frame rates are the same as without the mesh, as far as I can tell. Eddie recommends keeping the mesh detail slider to 0. It doesn't take away any of the elevation points, at least any the eye can see, and frame rates will stay high. On my PIII850, I still get around 12 to 15 in detailed urban cities near the coast to over 35 in the interior regions of the Rockies. There you have it. I am convinced that this scenery most likely runs far better than other meshes because it runs off the default texture sets. Now, just poke many more elevation points under that default scenery and this is what you'll get:
NEAR PERFECT WORLD-WIDE TERRAIN
Pure and simple. This may just be the greatest add-on to Microsoft Flight Simulator in history. Now, until your CDs arrive, join myself and Andrew Herd as we explore the world with you using Eddie's Mesh scenery. Over the next few months, we'll explore and tell stories of great adventure, high and low, using real weather and as many real life comparisons as possible. Come along for the ride, I hope you enjoy it as much as we will.
I am starting off with an attempt to convince you immediately how accurate this new scenery is. What better method than to compare to a known source right away - Flight Unlimited III. Without Flight III, I would have no idea if this scenery is really accurate or not. I am using the logic that if it's accurate for this part of the country where FU3 used near perfect 4 meter postings, then it will be accurate for the rest of the globe. I must say, this was great fun as it got me back into the cockpit of Flight Unlimited III and gave me a lot more love of FS2000 at the same time. FS2000 has been transformed to another level now. Thanks again Eddie!
I will begin introducing you to the scenery by letting you view screenshots I took on actual flights. First, I started in the Seattle area and ventured down to Swanson airport, at the foothills of Mount Rainier. There, I found the tight approach to the northbound runway was just as challenging in both sims. Once there, I was amazed at the detail level of the surrounding terrain. There was no sunken runway in FS2000 nor oddities Eddie discusses may pop up in some locations. This was a great start! I then proceeded onwards to Ranger Creek, a tricky low use airport in a deep valley on the northeast side of Mount Rainier. Clear skies with real weather provided me a great photo opportunity as I flew right past the snowy mountain at over 10,000 feet. The approach into Ranger Creek was tricky, with an overhead pattern, spiraling down into the valley, over the approach end of the runway, then up into the canyon where it was wide enough to make a 180, then back down lower again, onto a final. No room for error there! FS2000 captured the feeling almost as good as Flight III did, with the only drawback being the textures. But that's not what we're comparing here. The terrain accuracy was right on, as I made the approach in the FS2000 Mooney. I really didn't think it would be that good, as I had spent many months landing and taking off at Ranger during the making of FU3. I never thought MS FS would capture the feeling of a mountain strip like that, and it sure does now!
Let's begin the photo tour now, and very soon Andrew and I will release Part II of Eddie's fantastic world scenery! Until next time, happy flying!
Little Swanson airport, about 25 miles west of Mount Rainier. The Mooney back-taxis for takeoff. Need I say more? The similarities in surrounding terrain are remarkable. I wanted to start with slightly hilly terrain.
|
The BeechJet 400A after rollout. A short field landing! The high terrain on the approach end makes it hard for the jet. Note the terrain matches that of FS2000. Texturing and colors are better, but that's FU3 for ya!
|
The lofty snow packed heap of Mt. Rainier. The MS Mooney scoots along quickly at the 10,500 level.
|
Windhawk (kinda like a Baron 58 you think?) speeding past at the same point, opposite direction. Note the same overall shape is very much the same. That's cool!
|
Approaching Ranger Creek from the west. The airport is down in the valley under the high terrain.
|
Similar position in FU3 showing a less hazy day look. Placement of roads and other features is sooooo close!
|
Mooney turning final. A very tricky approach.
|
Similar, slightly closer in short final view in the FU3 Mooney.
|
Ranger Creek tiedown area. No airport terrain problems either, in this deep valley.
|
Ranger Creek tiedown area. You can count each peak in each picture.
|
The RealScene FS World Replacement Terrain Scenery will be getting ?? out of a possible 100 points. The final grade will come at the end of the series.
Visit Eddie Denney's RealScene FS Homepage:
Click Here
Read part 5 of this review (Rocky Mountains).
Read part 4 of this review (New Zealand).
Read part 3 of this review (Kathmandu).
Read part 2 of this review (Norway Region).