What are realistic expectations for visual realism in FS9?

[Guest munky]

Hello all,I am pretty sure that the answer to this question is GEP + UT is the closest I will get, but I have not seen this specific question asked and answered. Apologies if I have missed such a post.Being a native of the DFW area, I bought the MegaScenery for DFW. While it looks decent at 5k+ feet and higher, slow and low it suffers from "leopard skinning" and autogen mishaps. Granted, it is a way more accurate representation of the area and what roads exist in the Metroplex, but I have to say that all I have gained is blurry (yet geographically accurate) satellite imagery as opposed to blurry canned textures (with the added "bonus" of laughable road/population placement). Moreover, there's that overly abrupt line where the MegaScenery tiles end and the canned tiles begin. This is not meant to be a knock on the folks at Aerosoft. I realize there's only so much they can do. What I am looking for input on from the masses here is how satisfying of a slow and low VFR experience can you get from GEP + UT for areas of the world that you are familiar with? After all, if some dirt trail in Alaska is out of place, I sure as heck won't know it. But, can I install GEP + UT and have a reasonable expectation of making a VFR flight from KDAL to KAUS without feeling more like I am in Kansas than Texas? Can you use this combo to fly in your city and say, " Hey, there's the local mall (or at least I can make out where it would be)" or "Hey, there's ?"Many thanks in advance for any insight you can provide. Cheers,CJC

[Guest TomOOO]

HiI have Ground environment pro and UT Europe + FS Terrain. In thecase of Europe I found these addons were much better than theequivalent photo scenery (JustFlight : East and South east UK).I depends how you do VFR, I use roads, railways, rivers andgeography for VFR and these are all correct and well placed inthe above setup. The view is reasonable from about 1,500 feet,ie has a better resolution than photographic scenery. Finally,the effect over the default MS scenery is very dramatic in Europeas MS left out most towns, and certainly all villages, but UTprovides new land classes that are good. Above 2,000 feet the viewis really excellent, and you cannot fly too fast for the terrainto keep up.(depending on specifications).The detail is at various levels, I use major and small rural roads,but you can also add suburban roads - but you need a very powerful machine for this - the ground textures do a good job for thisanyway. I live on a small "unclassified" road in the UK, andsince this is a rural one you can follow this and "see" where youhouse should be in the correctly placed village. You cannot seeyour house as such - but a texture draws houses in the correct position. If you live in a large city, you will not see your (small)mall without the suburban roads added. The larger city should bemodeled correctly - maybe drop an email to just flight . I don't know any largecities in UK well enough to tell what level things are correcthere, but I imagine you will get the main blocks correct.The night environment lighting models are excellent andallow easy VFR at night, the roads have (static) traffic, soyou can follow the lights as in the real world. Distant townsalso appear reasonable with that land mass orange glow you getat night in the distance.Ground Environment suffers a little from blurries - nothing likephotographic scenery where I had to assign a button on my joystick just to reload the scenery very 10 miles. GE-pro doesnot suffer blurries , and the extra cost of PRO is worth itjust for this alone.Finally, the above 3 addons gives me the whole of Europe forVFR, and the equivalent for the US will give you the whole of north America to explore. At risk of doing things wrong on this forum here is a picture near Geneva at about 1800 feet. You can seethe M40 into Geneva here, and all the roads are correct for thearea outside the city. Finally, you can land on all water, including rivers, withsea planes, and use these as navigation. From my experience Iwould highly recommend the 3 addons.and here is some night flying following the M11 (UK) (road) south with a small town as a back drop from a height of 2,500 feet. All roads you see here are correctly placed and exist.

[Guest munky]

Tom,Many thanks for the input. While I did not do a good job of stating my ideal end result, I think you nailed most of the questions I had on the subject. Namely, from your post, it sounds like the combination of updated (and more proper) landclasses and improved scenery textures from GEP and the proper road/rail/H20 features from UT would get me pretty much where I want to be. The comment about improved resolution over photorealistic scenery was also helpful. As I read in a review somewhere, you seem to get more "photo" than "realistic" with such add-ons.Again, I appreciate the input. It definitely sounds like GEP + UT is the way to go... unless there's any dissenting opinions out there on equivalent product combos.Cheers,CJC

[RFields5421 1]

A big part of happiness in FlightSim can come from flying places which you do not know very well.If you fly in airports and areas you know well - you will be disappointed.The scope of what FlightSim provides is absolutey amazing - but it's limitations really show when you try to view familiar areas.

[Guest PPSFA]

If you want 'as real as possible', get not only GEPro and UT, but also Flight Environment(sky, clouds, water), FS Genesis(mesh and landclass), and Active Sky(weather). The combination of all of them it amazing.

[Paul J 349]

. . . and I'll second that.

[Guest TomOOO]

CJCPleased I guessed you questions. Certainly get a terrain mesh as well,I have FS Terrain, another alternative is FS Global or FS Gensis -though this last one has landclass that is already in UT.I would like to get flight environment too - but run out of "pocketmoney" for now. I do fly where I know, and I am not disappointed with this set honest!Finally, look on the internet for fs9.cfg settings for photo realscenery settings as these work well for these add ons. IE, theTERRAIN settings, I have improved my view since the images shownon this thread.Regards Tom

[Guest munky]

Reggie,Yes, I have definitely learned that to be true, which is what spurned me to buy MegaScenery in the first place. In hindsight, seems like a good landclass would have paid off for me more.Oh well, C'est la vie. Cheers,CJC

[Guest munky]

At the possible detriment of those on dial-up, any chance you can post a pic - or point me to a review of this combo - so I can kick the tires before I buy?Thanks again!Cheers,CJC

[Guest munky]

Tom,>Finally, look on the internet for fs9.cfg settings for photo>real>scenery settings as these work well for these add ons. IE,>the>TERRAIN settings, I have improved my view since the images>shown>on this thread.Yes, I did monkey (pun fully intended) with the terrain radius -and other terrain - settings to no avail. I am due for an upgrade to my PC - haven't done a wholesale upgrade in a couple of years, so maybe I will actually take some time off from earning money to actually spend some and enjoy it ;)Thanks again for your valuable and candid input.Cheers,CJC

[Guest TomOOO]

MunkyLook up ... to the link marked Reviews :) Look to left - scenery reviews, you will see UT USA, UT Europe,GE and GE-pro all reviewed. Terrain meshes are also reviewed

[Guest munky]

Oh, I've checked out the reviews, to be sure. :) In the reviews, however, add-ons are reviewed independently - and rightly so. How else could you properly evaluate the changes that add-on provides? It definitely gives me an idea of each individual add-on, but not a true feel for the combinations of add-ons that folks in the field seem to favor. What I have read in other threads - and what people are saying in this thread - is that generally one add-on alone is not a panacea. It seems that folks are typically combining updated textures with updated landclasses, then possibly augmenting those with sky/weather add-ons (e.g.: Flight Environment). I've Googled it, but I can't seem to find any reviews touting particular combos of add-ons that the community loves. Perhaps good fodder for a new review? :) I did see the one review of UT USA, FS Genesis, and BEV all together. It would be nice to see other combos, too. Again, I appreciate the input Tom, et. al. Cheers,CJC