My short review of FS Scene and Landclass (actually kin

[Guest Lobaeux4]

Here's my short, initial review of FS Scene Europe, coupled with LandClass. I purchased FS Scene Europe and LandClass Europe package from Simmarket.com Easy purchase, it dl'd, I unzipped and got ready to install. With LandClass Europe, the installation instructions were very easy to follow. I'm pretty knowledgable about the inner-workings of the file structures of FS2002, but for someone who isn't, LandClass is a breeze to install. FS Scene Europe had scant instructions with it. It had a small readme.txt file (with misspelled words, I know that a lot of flight sim developers are not English speakers, but a spell checker goes a long way), the instructions were a little unclear. For a neophyte, they might have been a little tough. Needless to say, I installed FS Scene Europe, fired up PSS Airbus and put me on a flight from Heathrow to Manchester. I'll list my computer specs at the bottom, but with London Airports by Gary Summons, Project AI (holy cow, there's another great review looking to happen, 100% ATC, very dense textures, still getting 16fps taxiing around Heathrow), FS Meteo and S-Combo running, after getting clearance to taxi, I took off from 27 Left, climbed up to FL160 and put it in spot view to check out the scenery. I've got Autogenius installed also. Whoever said (Naji I think) that the Autogen doesn't mesh up with add-on terrain is not entirely correct. I changed my Autogen to extrememly dense, descended down to 6000 and started getting a closer look at the scenery. The Autogen seems to line up with streets, the trees are in forested areas, little houses are lined up next to fields, not in them, but next to them. I'm very pleased with the Autogen merger with LandClass and FS Scene. I'll be moving my slider back to dense, just to keep frame rates up for landing though. Cruising around at 6000 with Autogen on dense, I'm still locked at 16 fps. LandClass was installed before the FS Scene Europe was, and I thought it made a world of difference. But, after installing FS Scene Europe, I've got to say, the UK is transformed!! I'm an american, in Arkansaw really, but I've flown over England a couple of times back from the desert. It looks just like I remember it. The hedges in the fields look 3D. The towns and villages look great. Autogen buildings line up perfectly with roads in cities. It looks like an inhabited world down there. Now, what I don't like about the terrain. The MS roads still look like they're laying on top of the textures. That may be a MS problem, I don't think it has to do with the textures. There is a slight blurring at times, along with a barely imperceptible amount of shifting for mesh terrain. I'm using the UK Mesh freeware. And there seems to be a slight stutter, as if the engine is loading up the default textures, then the LandClass, then the FS Scene textures. I'm not sure if it's holding these textures in RAM and if adding more RAM or having more available would help with this or not. I said I'd keep this short, but I just couldn't stop. If you don't have LandClass pack for Europe, get it, it's a must have. If you don't have FS Scene Europe, go grab it, it's such a steal at the new sale price. And above all, if you haven't installed Autogenius, take you're temperature because you must not be feeling well.Likes: The two packages seem to merge perfectly. They're not the default U.S. textures, I feel as if I'm actually flying in a different country. Virtually zero hit on framerates. And, I love the 3D-looking hedges in the fields.Dislikes: The installation instructions for FS Scene Europe. The slight, ever so slight, stutter as FS2002 loads the textures. The fact that it's only Europe, and I haven't bought FS Scene or LandClass for the U.S. I'd like to buy and review them too, but then I'd have to dodge the wife's left hook, lol.Specs:AMD 1700XPECS K7VTA3 mobo512 Crucial DDR RAMGeForce 3 Ti 20040 GB 7,200 HD19" Samsung MonitorWinXPTested using PSS Airbus, British Airways Livery, frame rate 16 fps, 1024x768x32, Tex qual-High, Terrain mesh complexity 70, terrain texture size-High (a must), Autogen-Very dense, Complexity and Dynamic Scenery-Very dense, max vis-80 mi, ATC-100% with Project AI

[Guest gasebah]

I did not read all the details of your review, but I have a totally different experience. The FSScene textures are fast because they are only 8-bit. That is also the reason why you get good framerates and less blurries. They are blurry by themselves they do not need the FS2002 blurries. When flying in Europe I use Lennart's textures. They look a lot more crisp and realistic than FSScene and on top of that they are for free. If you know how to work around you can even make them fit autogenius.Landclass SPEurope is pretty good but I would have expected it to be a little more accurate in the vicinity of airports (you still have residential areas right next to busy airports sometimes). At least it is amuch better nasis to start from then the default MS Landclass.As far as the autogen is concerned I seemed to have lot of building and trees standing right in the middel of fields.I removed FSScene long ago. I am happy to have the Landclass SP though.Alex

[Guest]

(When flying in Europe I use Lennart's textures. They look a lot more crisp and realistic than FSScene and on top of that they are for free. ++If you know how to work around you can even make them fit autogenius.++) I also rate Lennart's textures Alex (a great loss to the sim world when he stopped the release of further updates) and would love to know the work around to use autogenius. If it's at all possible could you please give me the info as autogenius with Lennart's textures dont't work well in the UK area.Shep

[virtualstuff 758]

The interaction between FSScene and FSLandclass SP Europe is great? awfEHAM

[Guest Lobaeux4]

I'm not sure I should have said interaction, but when I initially installed LandClass Europe pack, it made a world of difference. Towns looked great, it just made a change to the scenery that I was very pleased with. Then I added the FS Scene Europe textures, and instead of the default U.S.-looking textures, I got texture that looked like what I think the UK should look like. Since I installed the textures after the land class, I don't know how the textures were organised, or what the "geographic quilt" was represented just by the new textures alone. But, on my computer, my setup, my flying habits, and (most importantly) my expectations, the combination of FS Scene and Land Class can't be beat. I actually prefer now to fly around the UK and Europe, than the U.S., even though U.S. flying is what I'm used to and know the procedures for. For less than $50, I've got scenery around where I fly in the sim world that I feel immerses me into the illusion that I'm actually flying overseas. Plus, flying around the UK helps me practise ICAO procedures ;-)Lobaeux

[Guest Lobaeux4]

"Landclass SPEurope is pretty good but I would have expected it to be a little more accurate in the vicinity of airports (you still have residential areas right next to busy airports sometimes)."There are actually numerous airports that have residential areas built up right next to them. I can think of EGLC, with the buildings right next to the airport. Lindbergh in San Diego, with the buildings right off the end of the runway, San Antonio's airport is pretty much right in town, just off the loop. Going through pilot training, I remember getting yelled at because at Jackson Intl in Mississippi, there's residential housing right near the runway, that if you didn't fly out to a certain DME before turning, homeowners would call back to the base and complain about the noise.Lobaeux

[virtualstuff 758]

Thanks I'll had already FSlandclass SP Europe pack (for flying over Europe a must have) and it made a huge difference to default MS :-)Anyway for the price I'll thought give it a try, and in combination with FSlandClass and some great freeware mesh it's indeed a great buy :-) The Netherlands looks now more at what we see from above :-)Flying over my house at one of the largest cities of our country, I'll saw almost my oldest son waving at his dad :-lolawfEHAM

[Guest Lobaeux4]

Let me know how you like it. I'm going to fly a flight from EGCC to EHAM this evening. Like I said, I've only just now installed it, and it was my maiden flight with new textures from EGLL to EGCC. Gonna do some flying around Europe to check it out. Lol, what an excuse for flyiing, eh?Lobaeux

[Guest]

Sorry to disagree about FS Scene Europe, but I do agree that Autogenius and Landclass are excellent.The FS Scene textures are to my eyes (and living in rural England) washed out, indistinct, the wrong shade of green - certainly for England anyway - too light, not varied enough and interfere with the (better) default textures for hotter and duskier places in southern Europe.Though I like Lennart's textures, they too (and Lennart quite reasonably says so in his docs) tend to replace the duskier default - and good - textures in southern Europe with a generic green inappropriate to that latitude. Thus we get green fields in Southern Spain in summer.I think the best overall textures for the UK countryside are in fact the default spring textures, used as though for summer as well. They are the right shade of lush green you get in England in fields and farmland.As pointed out earlier the FS Scene textures are also very disappointing in their lack of clarity (ie 8-bit). Overall I would say this package is a let-down and not very well thought out.But that's just an opinion. Others may feel it is a good package.Regards,Rob Young

[Guest Lobaeux4]

You make a good argument Rob and you do it with class. 'Course you actually live in England, so you've got more experience with the type of landscape, thanks for your view.Lobaeux

[fspaan 1]

I think I am recovering from an illness and I have started searching for autogenius. How is the file named and where can I find this?As a P3 800 user I have never tried to use the high end textures as I thought it would impact on my framerates.Regards, Ferry

[Guest gasebah]

Go here:http://ftp.avsim.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboa...orum=DCForumID8Alex

[Guest gasebah]

A 100% match in experience from here.C my thread:http://ftp.avsim.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboa...orum=DCForumID8Cheers,Alex

[Guest]

Thanks for the link Alex. I tried replacing Lennart's textures with MS default textures for the area I fly from (Gloucestershire UK - textures used 008A2sp 1-7 - I use only the spring season) and then used Autogenius .agn (008A2an1-7) files but as yet I still have not sorted it - will try harder.Cheers, Shep.