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Airport Genoa XPPublisher: AerosoftReview Author: Paul MortSuggested Price: $24.99/images/fsc/wbicons/store-buy-now-button.pngWelcome to my review of Genoa Airport and its surrounding areaproduced for X-Plane 11 by Aerosoft. IntroductionGenoa Airport also named Christopher Columbus Airport, and commonlynamed Aeroporto di Genova-Sestri Ponente is an international airportbuilt on an artificial peninsula, 4 NM west of Genoa, Italy. Theairport is also the manufacturing base for Piaggio Aerospace, anItalian aircraft design and production company. /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/map.jpgIn this review, I will be looking at what Aerosoft have producedand to see if the scenery is worth investing in. DocumentationThe documentation for Genoa consists of a single PDF in both Germanand English. It was short, but provides you with all the necessaryinformation required to get the most out of the scenery. Buildings And TexturesAs regular readers of my reviews will know, the first thing I liketo do before I get into the meat of the review, is to takeoff andexplore the scenery from the air... The airport's main runway is situated next to the sea and runsparallel to the coastline. Located nearby in the bay area are numerouspleasure boats and ships, and these go well with the interesting andsuitable shore architecture the developers have kindly included. /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/runway.jpgLooking at the scenery from above, it's clear to see that thepackage is made up of four distinct areas: the main airport scenery,the harbor, an industrial area, and the town, which includes thefoothills to the nearby mountains. /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/industrial_1.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/industrial_2.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/mountains.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/harbour_1.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/harbour_2.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/harbour_3.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/harbour_4_.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/harbour_5.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/town.jpgI was really impressed with what I saw, especially as the scenerycovered such a large and detailed area. There really was so much tosee, and I can only wish that more developers start to take up thisapproach. An airport scenery shouldn't necessarily end at its boundaryin my opinion...if possible, it should continue and then graduallyfade out. As what has now become the norm for Aerosoft, the models for thevarious buildings and structures are all of good quality, and it'snice to see a developer go that extra mile. Unfortunately though, many of them are placed on ortho scenerytiles which at times, don't really play ball. An example of this is in the picture below. Here you can see somewell modelled objects, let down by some below average ortho imagery. Ofcourse, opinions will differ, and I understand that many of youreading this are fans of orthos, but for myself...I find it quite hardto take in when it spoils elements of a scenery. /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/bad_texture.jpgWith the scenery's location opened in Google Earth on my tablet, Iwas very impressed with the layout and placement achieved by thedevelopers. Everything seemed to be well arranged, and there were nomajor blunders in regards to incorrect road or rail networks. Aerosoft have employed the sensible option of terminating roads andrailways well away from the main scenery action. Roads and railwayscannot go on into infinity, so if the cars are going to magicallydisappear, let them do it out of sight. Now we come to the main attraction; Genoa Airport...the heart ofthis scenery. /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/airport_1.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/airport_2.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/airport_3.jpgAerosoft's developers have done a great job at recreating the mainairport, with many of the buildings being high polygonmodels. Texturing is good, with a high degree of weathering being usedthroughout (not surprising considering their proximity to thesea). /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/building_1.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/building_2.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/building_3.jpgHowever, standing literally head and shoulders above the rest ofthe airport buildings, is the main tower. Here the detailing is simplysuperb, and I take my hat off to the developers for making it so. /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/tower_1.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/tower_2.jpgThe scenery also includes a number of static aircraft, but theseare only visible if you have the 'Draw parked aircraft' option tickedin X-Plane's graphics menu. However, if you wish to improve on this,then I highly recommend the free X Life Traffic plugin. Not only doesthis add more variety, it also adds animation and increases the volumeof the traffic. /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/aircraft_1.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/aircraft_2.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/aircraft_3.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/aircraft_4.jpg Night LightingAerosoft's use of night lit textures work really well, and I foundthem to be a big improvement overManchester(my previous scenery review). As you can see from the screen shotsbelow, the lighting is very atmospheric... /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/night_1.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/night_2.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/night_3.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/night_4.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/night_5.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/night_6.jpgPerformanceHow this particular scenery performs is obviously dependent on yourchosen hardware, but from what I observed on my low to medium setup, Iexperienced no major frame-rate drops or stutters. Considering thecomplexity of the scenery, I was pleasantly surprised. For reference, here are my system specifications: Windows 10 64 bitIntel i5 3350P16 GB RAMNVIDIA GeForce GTX750 TI As sceneries become more and more complex, they will undoubtedlyrequire greater resources, especially in regards to VRAM, so I wouldconsider my setup above as the bare minimum in which to enjoy thisscenery. You can of course go lower, but then you will be sacrificingdetail for smoothness. /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/ww_-_2019-07-04_12-59-17.jpg /images/reviews/genoaxp/t/ww_-_2019-07-04_13-00-49.jpgPurchase PriceAt the time of writing, Genoa Airport costs £19.23 ($24.99,AUS $35.08), and in my opinion, represents pretty good value,particularly when you consider the large area covered and all the wellmodelled buildings, ships, docks, etc. ConclusionThis was a scenery I really enjoyed as it had pretty mucheverything to keep me entertained; a great location, well modelledobjects and textures, a large area to explore, plus goodperformance. The only things letting it down, were the orthos used and(again), the lack of 3D people. Considering this is something I havementioned previously in reviews, I'm surprise that Aerosoft haven'tdone anything to remedy it. Having 3D models of people at an airport,automatically helps bring a scenery to life, and their absence, onlydetracts from this. So to sum up, Aerosoft's Genoa Airport is, even with the two issuesmentioned above, one of their best X-Plane sceneries to date and onethat comes recommended! I really enjoyed my time at Genoa and I'mcertain you will too. It gives me great pleasure in awarding Aerosoft's Genoa Airport, avery healthy 8 out of 10. I hope you found this review of Aerosoft's Genoa Airport sceneryboth informative and pleasing to read. /images/reviews/genoaxp/ASD-074-genoa-xp.jpgRegards. Paul Mort Purchase Aerosoft - Airport Genoa XP

/images/notams/notams18/gaya1205.jpgGaya Simulation has been working on their X-Plane 11 sceneryfor Genoa for some time. They've now announced it as "coming soon" andreleased a preview video. The scenery will be sold through Aerosoft. Source

/images/notams/notams18/aero1107/genoa1.jpgSome early development screen shots of the upcoming AirportGenoa for X-Plane 11. One special feature of the scenery willbe the implementation of the new "Scenery Animation Manager" (SAM)made by Stairport Sceneries. This new plugin allows for advancedanimations and will be featured in most of Aerosoft sceneries in thefuture. /images/notams/notams18/aero1107/genoa2.jpg /images/notams/notams18/aero1107/genoa3.jpgSource

/images/notams/notams18/gaya1027.jpgWe are very happy and exciting to announce Genoa for X-Plane 11.The scenery contains Genoa Cristoforo Colombo airport and the city.Release date will announce soon. FeaturesHigh resolution photoreal coverage of 187 sq kmIncludes custom models for the city and the harbors of GenoaWell detailed, accurate and high quality renders Genoa airport (LIMJ), including baked/pre-rendered shadows and realistic transparency of the terminal windowsUnique, realistic and accurate airport night light (runway, taxiways, aprons, surroundings)Accurate and realistic ground poly based on photos and satellite imagesLarge number of custom objects dedicated for Genoa airport and city- cars, trucks, buses, airport equipment, boats (many types), static aircrafts and moreLandable Helipads at Sheraton Hotel and City HospitalAccurate renders of the harbor and many objects along the approachRealistic and accurate ILS offset of 2 degreesAnimated Jetways, VDGS and Hangars (SAM Plugin required)3D volumetric grass between taxiwaysMassive optimize for good performanceCustom mesh for the airport runway over the seaCustom made realistic static aircraft'sanimated shipsSource