The difference between the Beta version which has always been free, and what is sold, is several years of improvements... Justin updates the landclass regularly, at no additional cost. There have been probably at least 7 updates since the beta, as I havent kept track of the -letter- updates, probably more.Justin has even made changes in cities and towns at the request of users, to make it even better.

I agree.

I got some good advice from this thread. I bought FSGenesis US Landclass yesterday, and I am impressed. Flew from Denver for about 150 miles Southwest to some available airport just to see the Rockies. Changed seasons enroute, and I was absolutely happy with what I saw. Also did see some "circle farms" near Denver. I plan to check out some more of the U.S. today. Thanks again for the discussion here. It really helps improve the look and feel of FS9.

<>FS doesn't "set a treeline" per se. It uses land class data to set a base texture and then modifies the texture whenever the gradient slope exceeds a certain value. That's why both landclass data and higher-res DEM can both contributed to "rockiness".

I absolutely love the FSGenesis landclass. I was skeptic at first but the improvement is significant. Of course, a 38m mesh is also crucial when flying in the mountains. The recommended setting for "TMVL" is indeed 20 - FS2004 only supports up to 38m mesh where as FS2002 did support 19m so in FS2002 it should be set to 21.

PC Computer Pilot magazine just did a revied of MESH...They said about Justin Tyme's mesh, and landclass..."Your are in for a real flying treat. Using this add-on you'll instantly increase the accuracy of elevation data that MSFS uses thereby boosting the amount of detail throughout the lqndscape. This technology transforms areas that ordinarily look flat into contoured hills, deep valleys, rugged mountains, picturesque ridges and striking peaks. In many cases you'll see "eye-popping" differences between the standard and enhanced terrain."Personally, I agree... In fact, Justin's scenery could be even more remarkable, if FS2004 allowed more detail. Unfortunately MS in adding real weather, must have felt they needed to limit something, so limited scenery detail. :( Personally, I'd prefer less realistic weather, and the detail in his 9m mesh he has created for the Grand Canyon, HI, and other areas.Since he created Mesh for Europe, South America, Africa, Australia, et. al., Ive been doing a -lot- more flying in other countries.

Yes, it really is a shame about the reduced terrain detail. Microsoft did some major changes to the way mesh works, probably to improve performance, and this resulted in a lowered max resolution for mesh. It comes at a very unfortunate time - high resolution 10m and 5m data is starting to become available now but there's no way to take advantage of it in FS. Still, I think FS2004 with a lower resolution mesh provides a more realistic overall "scene" than FS2002 with a more detailed mesh due to the improved sky, weather and haze of FS2004. Haze and sky in FS2002 was some murky, toxic blue colour if I remember correctly.