Advice please regarding scenery add-ons

[johnh2]

I am new to FS2004 and find I very much enjoy flying "low and slow" in general aviation equipment. My home base is located in central South Carolina and I routinely fly up and down the East Coast. I believe my computer is capable of handling any reasonable scenery add-on however I am confused. I have read as many of the posts involving scenery as I could find both here and on other forums but I am still concerned there is more I should know. Are terrain textures better than products such as megascenery for folks like me who typically fly at lower altitudes? How about programs that add roads, rivers, etc? Should the "low and slow" folks stick to the FS Genesis products for the best results? How well do these scenery products work as a pilot descends? Please accept my sincere apology for any questions that are redundant or that have been asked and answered in the past. I have posed many of these issues with the makers of scenery add-on products and they all tend to feel their products would be the best for me. I would very much appreciate some opinions from those pilots who use these products and who might be in the same position as me. Thanks very much!

[JimmiG]

Megascenery looks pretty good at low altitudes too especially outside of cities. Still at about 3000 feet or lower it starts looking a little blurry. There's a Megascenery for the New York area but it only covers about 18,000 sq. miles. If you want to enhance the entire east coast, you should get:

-30m mesh (look for freeware in the library or buy the FSGenesis stuff)

-FSGenesis US landclass. Payware but there's an older freeware version (not as accurate and a little buggy) to try.

-FSGenesis American Data Streams Roads and Utility Lines.

-Also look out for the second American Data product to be released in a not too distanct future - AD Rivers Lakes and Coastlines. This should complete the VFR experience by finally lining up roads with waterfronts and coastlines and providing much more accurate shores.

[johnh2]

Thanks JimmiG! I really appreciate the input and I will keep my eyes out for that new American Data product. Am I correct in assuming the level of resolution will be greater no matter what my altitude is if I decrease the mesh size of my scenery files? Thanks again.