FS2002 Replacement Textures

By Aman Kumar (3 May 2002)

Introduction

However, there comes a time when all things must change. My flight simulator changed, my place of residence changed, and my sister should change. But I digress. The bush I'm beating around is that in my quest to change the look, feel, and appearance of MSFS, I've come across many, many, many replacement textures, tweaks, effects, et cetera. Five of these are what I review here.

And the replacements are! (in alphabetical order):

• AutoGen Trees, Gerrish Gray
• Clouds, Flight Simulator Works Group
• Night Textures, Flight Simulator Works Group
• Ocean Effects & Textures, Edwin Truthan
• Runway Lights (Golden), Flight Simulator Works Group

AutoGen Trees (8/10)

Installation, for one who visits the scenery.cfg more than his dying great-aunt, was a breeze: concise instructions are provided in the oft-neglected ReadMe file, and, while an executable / a batch file would have been much appreciated, the small number of files to be replaced defeats the very purpose of one.

These trees promise, according to Gerrish, to "transform, and greatly enhance, the appearance of FS2002 scenery." Now, if a two-dimensional stick of wood surrounded by some green-colored card paper could do just that, well, I'll be darned!

However, on closer examination, I discovered that these trees were made of much, much more than the aforesaid paraphernalia. Gerrish, acclaimed for his FS2000 Tree Library, has woven - or should I say sown - the magic once again with this outstanding vegetarian eye-candy. The screen shots below can indeed attest to the fact that the trees are photorealistic, and are cleverly drawn such that they appear three-dimensional.

Gerrish Gray's trees in summer time

The trees during autumn

Cons: None so far!

The new clouds are visible in the top-left corner. Note Edwin Truthan's new ocean effects down below!

Clouds (9/10)

The word 'clouds' belies an item that is very, very important eye-candy in the aviation world. And, with these superb examples courtesy Chris Willis and the entire FSW team, those gatherings of water vapor just can't get any better!

One of the reasons I like these clouds so much is the excellent installer provided. Indeed, FS Sky World 2002 deserves a separate review, so comprehensive and easy-to-use it is. You can install any cloud 'pack' created by FSW with ease, or have the program randomize the clouds each time FS is run, and even have the entire cloud pack change at preset intervals, while you're running FS!

And, of course, the clouds. Cumulus, cumulonimbus, 'killer-colored' clouds--the list goes on, with each cloud pack as good as the next. I highly recommend downloading the collection of all the cloud packs ever made by FSW: the 9 MB download is more than justified by the quality and sheer number of clouds! My personal favorites are the 'Real Edge Pack Set 4', and the 'Killer-Colored Thunderstorm' pack.

Cons:
Too many sets of clouds, many of them rather similar.
The hit on frame rates is quite noticeable.
FS Sky World has a small error in the menu that appears when you right-click its system tray icon.

Approaching O'Hare, banking over a stunning nighttime Chicago

Night Lights (9/10)

The renowned FSW Group indeed looks to be at the forefront of texture creation and design; the 767 PIC of textures, as it comes out with another breathtaking replacement: night-lights.

I never did like flying at night in FS2000. FS2002's made it much better, what with brightly lit AI aircraft, working landing lights, etc., but these textures add a thick layer of icing to the cake.

Freeway at night

Sharp, realistic, and, above all, non-frame rate-hungry, these textures are indeed must-haves.

Installation here is a bit tricky, but the textures are well worth the Sin of Thought. The ReadMe file explains the procedure fairly lucidly. Along with the city lights, which are available in three colors, FSW have also included night-lit road textures (also excellent).

Cons: The 'Default' texture pack (as compared to the 'White' and 'Yellow' packs) appears to be a bit too red, similar in some respects to a New England autumn superimposed on Las Vegas!

Skyhawking over the pristine Indian Ocean near the Seychelles Desroches coast

Ocean Effects & Textures (9/10)

A picture, it is said, is worth a thousand words. I've saved the editor a LOT of uploading and editing by inserting the above picture, for it shows you what I would not be able to express even in three thousand words!

The hefty 20 MB download for the wave effects (highly recommended, if not essential, for use with the replacement textures), along with the 5 MB textures took up 45 minutes of my time, but, as you can see, was well worth it.

Installation is fairly simple, with comprehensive documentation. Every little detail and discrepancy is accounted for; I think I can safely say that we've found a perfectionist in Edwin! As seen from the screen shots below, a lot of research has gone into making depths, wind speeds, etc. as realistic as possible.

Wind speed maps are part of the documentation provided. (Courtesy Edwin Truthan)

Note the impacting raindrops making smoothly animated ripples on the surface of the sea!

While my review concentrates on the textures, the wave effects cannot go unmentioned. With seven different wind-speeds and four different directions for four of them, the keen island hopper can now enjoy waves rushing in the direction of the wind, ripples that appear as raindrops hit the sea, and lots more.

What's more, all wave motion is smooth and fluid, and the textures, well; breathtaking is one word that comes to mind.

Smooth color variations to portray bathymetric (depth) differences, convincing illusions of submerged reefs and tropical waters, and plenty more...if you can afford a 25 MB download, go for it! If you can't afford a 25 MB download, go for it anyway!

Cons: Tropical waters could be colored a tad lighter.

Nope, it's not a photograph! (Panel is the Boeing 777-200 by Phoenix Simulation Software)

Golden Runway Lights (10/10)

These are another creation par excellence by creators par excellence. (Forgive me; I have a French exam tomorrow!) Another thing I didn't like about flight simulator at night was its dismal - for want of a stronger word - excuse for runway approach, border, and centerline lights. The void is now filled.

While I've never seen the runway lights from a pilot's point of view in real life, I do have about 300 videos showing the same, and these replacement lights are much closer to the real thing, in my view, than the Microsoft versions.

While I started out with 'Golden Set 1, High Intensity', the use of sunglasses was necessitated by these, so I've now shifted to 'Medium Intensity', the cream of the cake - or the tungsten of the filament, if you will - according to me.

Cons: None!

Conclusion

Till then, enjoy your facelift! (Stop calling up the salon, my good man; I meant for Flight Simulator. Ladies: I know I can't stop you going to the salon, so go ahead; FS can wait another day! )

Happy landings

Aman Kumar
amankumar100@hotmail.com

Links

Gerrish Gray's Trees

Edwin Truthan's Ocean Effects

FSW Group Web Site

• FSW Group's Clouds
• FSW Group's Night Textures
• FSW Groups's Golden Runway Lights