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YBRM Broome Int'l AirportPublisher: OrbxReview Author: Stuart McGregorSuggested Price: $24 (32.95 AUD)/images/fsc/wbicons/pilot-shop-buy.png /images/reviews/broome/t/broome01.jpg /images/reviews/broome/t/broome02.jpgBelieve it or not, in all the years Ihave been an avid X-Plane flyer, I have never actually flown inAustralia, so when I was presented with the opportunity to take BroomeInternational from Orbx Simulation Systems for a test drive I jumpedat the chance. I think this is also partly because not only had Inever flown there, until recently, I had never actually been toAustralia, although it's been firmly been on my "bucket list" forquite some time. This however all changed about a month ago when Ireached the ripe old age of 50 and was lucky enough to visit an oldwork colleague across in Perth, Western Australia. My first small taste (quite literally) of this vast country wasduring a vineyard, microbrewery and chocolate factory tour -- what agreat way to spend your birthday! One of the things about Australiathat amazed me the most, wasn't the generations of amazing history, orthe mix of cultures, the fabulous food and drink (did I mention thewine?) or even the array of world class sports on offer, it was justthe sheer size of the place, that really blew me away. /images/reviews/broome/t/broome03.jpg /images/reviews/broome/t/broome04.jpgIf you aren't aware, both Perth and Broome are in the same region,namely Western Australia, so neighbors, you would think, but thinkagain, as they are more than 2,000 km apart. Staggering for someonelike me who only had to travel 50 miles or so to get to the next bigcity. Now if you live in Canada or the USA or some of the other greatland mass of this world, then I am sure it's no big deal, however fora wee lad from a small island off the coast of mainland Europe, thisis a big deal. However, no matter where you are from, it really is abig old world out there, and in Australia's case, big being theoperative word. Anyway, back to this review and this latest release from the OrbxSimulation Systems team. Broome International is their first entryinto the Australian scenery market for X-Plane 11, and as you areabout to find out, I really hope this won't their last. It currentlyretails at just over US$25, or AUS$32.95, so pretty much in line withmany of their other scenery packages. However, with ever increasingoptions, knowing where to spend your money can be tricky, particularlybecause there is such a fine array of free stuff out there. Hopefullythough, reviews like this will aid you in your decision, and will atleast give you an idea of how one flight simmer found theexperience. /images/reviews/broome/t/broome05.jpg /images/reviews/broome/t/broome06.jpgThe airport itself is considered as the regional hub for the northwestern part of Australia and the gateway to the Kimberly region, witha real mix of fixed and rotary wing, GA, regional and internationalflights all using the airport. The town of Broome itself is afavorite tourist destination for many, and during the peak seasonstriples in size from its normal population of just under 15,000, astourists flock to the famous Cable Beach and Roebuck Bay. So, sitback and relax, crack open a can of your favorite Australian lagerand let me take you to a magical part of the world, Western Australia!Oh, I should mention that Australia has more than its fair share ofdangerous fauna, ranging from marine creatures such as sharks, blueringed octopus, marine stingers, cone shells, poisonous fish, seasnakes, stingrays, saltwater crocodiles, to land based dangers likespiders, scorpions, centipedes and snakes... but let's not talk aboutthose! /images/reviews/broome/t/broome07.jpg /images/reviews/broome/t/broome08.jpg Purchase, Download, Documentation & InstallationAs with all ORBX sceneries you will need an account to be able topurchase Broome, but this is a two-minute job to set up if you don'talready have one. If you do already have an account, I am sure youwill know what to do. Being a Windows user, I was able to use theirFTX Central installer to download and install the scenery which is afabulous way to do things in my opinion, however, if you are using oneof the other platforms such as Linux or MacOS, for now, you will haveto manually download and install the scenery, but this isn't reallyany different to most other scenery packages out there. The downloadis quoted as being about 350 MB in size, so not their largest,although it will still take a little while to download if yourinternet speed is not the fastest. When complete, you will end upwith a single folder in your Custom Scenery folder with everythingplaced nicely inside. FTX Central will give you access to the UserGuide and a means of uninstalling the scenery if you so wish, howevera copy of the 10-page User Guide can also be found within the mainscenery folder if you don't want to run the tool every time. /images/reviews/broome/t/broome09.jpg /images/reviews/broome/t/broome10.jpgThe user guide is well presented and provides the usual informationon installation, graphical areas covered, where to get tech help ifrequired, acknowledgements, license information, etc. System PerformanceMy assessment of Broome International was using X-Plane 11.21 andmy favorite heli, the payware R22 from Dreamfoil. In my opinion,helicopters really give you a great way to explore all the nooks andcrannies of an airport, and I took full advantage of themanoeuvrability and large windows to give Broome and the surroundingarea the good once over. /images/reviews/broome/t/broome11.jpg /images/reviews/broome/t/broome12.jpgMy current system consists of an Intel i7 5820K 3.3 GHz CPU(overclocked to 4.0 GHz), GTX1080Ti 11 GB GPU and 32 GB of Kingston RAMat its core. My system settings are at the high end of the range withobjects on max, HDR on, although shadows are switched off. I also useSkymaxxPro and this was on throughout, with real weather selected. Onthis day the weather was fine with clear skies and excellentvisibility. Throughout the series of test flights, frame rates weregenerally in the high 20's to mid to high 30's, and basically mysystem was able to cope well with the scenery and the detailsprovided. I had no issues throughout. Look & FeelLooks fabulous and feels great! The contrast between the iron richrustic red soil, the lush green tropical vegetation, the turquoiseblue sea and the sandy white beaches really is something to behold.The scenery pack has done a marvellous job of not only presenting anaccurate rendition of the airport, but also the surrounding area. Thescenery covers the nearby town of Broome and a few other nearbylandmarks. /images/reviews/broome/t/broome13.jpg /images/reviews/broome/t/broome14.jpgFor VFR flying, this really is an excellent place toexplore, as landmarks like the container ship loading jetty area,radio masts, water towers, sports fields, shopping centers and muchmore, provide some great reference points if you want to do some lowand slow manoeuvres in your favourite Cessna or microlight. Theairport is also big enough to accommodate regional jets and some tubeliners as well as helicopter pilots, so is set up really well forpretty much every kind of user. The use of ortho photos really adds a sense of realism, as does thedesign and texturing of the airport and surrounding buildings. Theairport is littered with details and clutter and includes a few staticaircraft local to Broome. The combination of the airport and thenearby town really provides something a little bit extra, and yougenuinely do get a sense of what the real place must be like. /images/reviews/broome/t/broome15.jpg /images/reviews/broome/t/broome16.jpgThe details provided in the dense vegetation that covers largechunks of the surrounding landscape, as well as the strategicallyplaced flora around the airport, gives the feeling that the landscapeis alive, which in combination with the raw red rustiness of the soil,adds a unique flavor to the user experience. During the summer monthsyou can just imagine just how hot and dusty it must get at times, andequally when you switch to night time, the warm glow of the airportlighting means you can just imagine how the airport changes both inappearance and temperature. You can quite easily imagine the heatbeing radiated back from the concrete after dark. Not forgetting allthose eyes that I am sure come to life after the sun goes down... Youdo remember that long list of wildlife at the start of the reviewdon't you? The airport has several areas to explore, including an areadedicated to the helicopter operators, maintenance sheds, GA aircraft,the control tower and fire station, as well as the beautiful andrustic low-rise terminal building complex. There are numerous rampstarts to start from and the terminal area is peppered with 3D people,again adding to the sense of realism. As you taxi up to the terminalvia one of the realistically textured taxiways, you can just imaginestepping onto the tarmac with the smell of Jet-A1 in your nostrils,turbine engines ringing in your ears, the refreshing breeze off thesea and the warm Australian sun beating down on your back. /images/reviews/broome/t/broome17.jpg /images/reviews/broome/t/broome18.jpgWhen you are flying over the town area, the combination of themyriad of trees, low-rise houses, roads, traffic and street lighting,all have the aura of believability about it, which is a little trickyto describe, but being in Perth at the time, it just kind of allworked for me. The cars didn't quite drive on the right side, or theleft side, which is the right side for us Brits, but that is a Laminarthing and didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the scenery.Maybe one day there will be a fix for this. In my opinion, the Orbx team have done a fabulous job in bringingBroome International to X-Plane 11, with the whole experience beingextremely realistic and enjoyable. One slight negative was that whenI ran World Traffic 3, I was not able to generate any ground routesfor this airport as there were no taxi routes provided, so somethingjust to be aware of if you use WT3. /images/reviews/broome/t/broome19.jpg /images/reviews/broome/t/broome20.jpgFinal ThoughtsAlthough my experience of Orbx scenery has historically beennon-existent, having never used other sims such as FSX or P3D, what Iam beginning to quickly realise is that you are pretty much guaranteeda quality product with Orbx, regardless of which of their sceneriesyou purchase. At present the choices available to X-Plane 11 flyersis somewhat limited to Meigs Field, Barton and now Broome. Howeverthe development team's intent to expand into the growing X-Planemarket seems clear. The quality and accuracy of their scenery as well as the attentionto detail is fantastic, so I believe you won't go far wrong if youdecide to buy Broome International or any of their other work for thatmatter. As the X-Plane 11 community grows and the basic sim continuesto develop and evolve, the possible synergies between add ondevelopers such as Orbx and Laminar Research (I believe) can onlycontinue to blossom. This all bodes well for us end users, who canonly benefit from the rapid speed of development. /images/reviews/broome/t/broome21.jpg /images/reviews/broome/t/broome22.jpgSo, whether you decide to buy Broome International or not isultimately a personal choice, and I assume will depend on whether youhave an interest in this part of the world. For myself, I canhonestly say I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Broome and the greaterWestern Australian region, and I fully intend to go back; bothvirtually and also in real life. /images/reviews/broome/orbx-ybrm.jpgAnd by the way, I had a fabulous 50th birthday inAustralia... bucket list item 14... tick! Stuart McGregor Purchase Orbx - YBRM Broome Int'l Airport For X-Plane 11
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/images/notams/notams18/orbx0609.jpgAustralia comes to X-Plane! One of our favourite Aussie airfields,Broome is a highly-popular tourist destination situated in the ruggedKimberley region of North-Western Australia. A tropical oasisstraddling the red desert sands and crystal blue waters of theworld-famous Cable Beach, Broome is a melting pot of culture andhistory, richly sewn through its lucrative pearling industry andexploits during WWII. Broome Airport is the major regional hub for the Kimberley andnorth-east Pilbara regions - expect to see a busy mix of airlinetraffic (Qantas, Virgin Australia, Skippers, AirNorth & Silkair),domestic and international corporate jets, and of course regional GAand heli ops. The airport is a daily host to a wide variety ofaircraft, including B738, A320, F100, B717, E170 and DHC8 airliners,S-92 and AS332 helicopters, G550s and even the occasional Il-76. Inrecent times, Broome Airport has seen the re-introduction ofinternational flights to Singapore, development of a large heliport tocater for the booming offshore mining industry, and a new controltower. Acclaimed developer Jarrad Marshall (Innsbruck, Palm Springs,Cairns Intl) brings a personal touch to this scenery; combining highdetail with the rich colour palette unique to this corner of theworld. In keeping with his previous projects, Jarrad has ensured thereis plenty to explore outside of the airport perimeter; including theentire Broome township and Dampier Peninsula, as well as dozen oflocal landmarks. Whether you are a tubeliner flyer, low-and-slow GAexplore or even a rotor-head, Broome is the perfect airport to kickoff your Australian XP11 collection! Key FeaturesSuper-detailed rendition of YBRMUltra-HD imagery at 7cm/50cm/80cmProfessionally colour balancedIncludes the entire town of Broome15 static aircraft unique to YBRMAdvanced rendering techniquesDozens of local landmarks & POIsCustom tropical vegetation library Atmospheric dynamic lightingHand-placed autogenPainstakingly ported to XP11 by Mac OttlingerDeveloped by Jarrad Marshall Purchase Orbx - YBRM Broome Int'l Airport For X-Plane 11
