Chris is back once again! Great job!! We are forever in your debt!!Look for aeu6.zip in the file library!!

Better get it while its hot! Chris did an awesome job on it.

Yup,Don't miss this one. Chris did a tremendous job on this.

I love Chris' work, and thank him for it, but have to say that these files are mighty things which seem - so far - to hit my antiquated system quite badly. His previous 'Express' version of his MX release has been running like a dream on my system; but some of these new textures are ten times the size.So maybe there'll be an express version of this one too, for those of us stuck in the Dark Ages ... here's hoping.Mark "Dark Moment" Beaumonthttp://www.swiremariners.com/newlogo.jpg

I noticed the same thing about file size. Some of them were massive compared to what they replaced. I'm not sure where I got the previous versions from, but probably from Chris since I've got everything he's ever posted :)

Hi,I've got it, installed it, and checked it out a little. Very Cool! It is indeed a nice Airport Upgrade. :D I didn't notice any difference in performance on my system and I use pretty high settings all the way around. Sorry Mark. :( Hope you can manage to upgrade your sys before too awful long. I want you to know I enjoy a few of your creations, especially the Red, Black, and Saudi Hawks.One thing I thought was really cool was when I was at an airport up in the mountains there was a little dusting of snow on the ground. The dusting of snow was caught in the cracks in the pavement. :)Thank You Chris Arrington!Cheers,Jim

Your very welcome everyone, and thank you for the nice comments. :)I'm am very sorry about the large file sizes, but that is the nature of AEU. There is a fine balance between acceptable levels of detail and acceptable performance.I want everyone to know that I didn't just haphazardly include all of the detail I wanted without considering the consequences. I created, and successfully tested AEU6 on a 950MHz AMD CPU, 500MB of RAM, and a GeForce Prophet III video card. This is hardly state-of-the-art equipment people. You just might have to back those sliders down a bit. :)The point is, I built AEU6 around an antiquated machine... mine! :) The first BETA was released only when AEU had an acceptable level of detail, and it ran smoothly on my rig. In this day-and-age of March of 2004, I can't really justify a much lower standard than that. This is especially true when the vast majority of dedicated flight-simmers are power users.[h6] Here's what I've done in liue of performance: [/h6]1.) The textures that are most commonly seen at very close range, such as ramps, taxiways, runways, and main passenger/ cargo facilities are the largest textures. They have been expanded 4x (not 10) from the default sizes. This was the smallest allowable size for the desired level of detail. Without them, there would be nothing special about AEU.2.) Other airport facilities are either the same as, or smaller than, the original default sizes. The details are not as critical here because they are often seen from a distance. 3.) Unlike many of the default textures, I have used mip-mapping (.DXT3) format to reduce the details that are drawn from distances greater than about 200 feet. As the distance increases, the detail decreases. I did this for every single texture in AEU6, unlike AEU MX, or even FS default for that matter. Unfortunately, there can be no "Express" version of AEU6. If I tried to do that, far too many key details would simply disappear. Again, after that happens, there will be nothing special about AEU6. I have squeezed every bit of available capability out of the texture sizes and formats that I have selected. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience to those who have systems that are even more antiquated than mine.The good news is, when you do get a chance to upgrade, AEU will be there waiting for you. And who knows, it might even be a newer and better version than 6.0. :)I hope this clears up some of the questions about file sizes and performance.Thanks again everyone, and enjoy! :-wave

A lovely job Chris - many thanks.No noticeable performance hit here and everything looks good.Dave

Great job, nice improvement! Thanks!Jim

Its fantastic!

chris, amazing stuff! i was racing around the ramp for a quarter of an hour this morning, counting leaves of grass and cracks in the concrete... unfortunately, once airborne, one-second pauses whenever my pan stumbled upon an airport in the field of view made me revert to the previous version... :( but i will sure keep this one handy, for screenshots. thanks a million!

Great change. It improved my FS a lot! Thank you Chris!Bruno Francescoli :-waveStudent Pilot.KOPF PA28-161.

You are all very welcome, and thank you for the awesome comments! :)I'm real sorry that it seems to be too much of a load on some people's rigs. I really tried to squeeze out some performance, but I guess it still wasn't enough for what I was trying to do. Either way, I hope everyone will eventually get a chance to enjoy it. Have fun all!

hii have been away for awhile what does the add on do ?thx

These are default scenery textures that will greatly enhance the default airports throughout the world. Airport runway, taxiway and tarmac surfaces, airport buildings and airport lighting have all been upgraded. Special reflective windows and seasonal runway effects are included.