First Impressions
The moment I saw the words "Photo Realistic", my attention was drawn
to this scenery. When I saw the screenshots I couldn't believe my
eyes! I had to download the scenery (even though it is over 3 megs in
size), and see it for myself.
What You Get
Once I finally finished downloading the scenery I went on to unzip
it. Once unzipped, it opens up to 3 more, very organized, zip files.
One contains five situation files and two video files. Four of the
situation files are at the beginning of different ILS or DME
approaches. The fifth situation is one used for the videos. The
videos show how to dock in the two different docking systems which
come with this scenery. I will talk about those later.
The Photo Realism
Two of the many airports you get with this scenery (Belgrade and
Vrsac JAT Flight Academy), are photo realistic. If you don't know
what that means, just check out the screenshots. No, your eyes are
not deceiving you! That's what it really looks like!! This is really
the first time I see something like this in MSFS! It's really
amazing! Definitely looks like a beginning of a new standard in MSFS
sceneries.
Other Special Stuff
Other than the photo realism itself, the airports are generally very
detailed. The runways are textured very well, and so they look quite
real. The taxiways are complete with centerlines, holding points and
the best taxiway signs I ever saw.
Other than that, at Belgrade Airport you get (other than the photo
realistic terminal and docking gates) a photorealistic airport bus,
car, follow-me car and fuel truck.
The Docking Systems
Belgrade Airport comes with two very nice docking systems, VDGS &
SafeGate. VDGS will recognize your aircraft type, and will guide you
to a correct stopping position. The SafeGate system will also
recognize your aircraft type, and the whole system will move up or
down according to the height of your aircraft.
The two videos that come with this scenery, show you how to dock at
each. Both docking systems are very realistic, and the docking
"fingers" or "jetways" are the most realistic I have ever seen, and
the most realistic I think is possible.
Another thing, I noticed with this scenery, that I didn't see in any
other places, is that one of the airports is located on a mountain
top at an altitude of 3,000 feet!
Compatibility
This scenery is fully compatible with Europe 1 and all other
commercial scenery, but is not compatible with any other Yugoslavia
and Macedonia scenery. Also, the scenery is only for FSFW95 and FS98.
According to the designers it is not compatible with FS 5.x.
Conclusion
This is truely one of the most, let's say, interesting sceneries I
have ever seen. The photo realism is really a first for MSFS and
that's probably why only two of the airports in this scenery are made
in this manner. The docking systems and jetways, are of the most
realistic I have ever seen! However, you must note that all of what
is described above was observed while in "Very Dense" mode. Also, at
some "Spot Plane" views, that docking systems tend to dissapear (?),
but they still exist and look fine from inside the plane. On the
other hand the frame-rate was definitely ok, but that might be because
I have a P166MMX with 64 megs of ram, and a 4 meg video card. I
can't guarantee this scenery's behaviour with slower machines. You'll
have to download it and see for yourself, it's worth it!
