Hello Out There:Has anyone downloaded and used any of the Airport Evironmental Upgrades by Chris Arrington found here in the library? Just curious about things like frame rates, detail and realism. Any advice which one is best?Thanks in advance for your help.John

You will probably get a TON of opinions on the subject. Graphically it is a very appealing package, no doubt about it (however I never warmed up to his runway lights). But ultimately I decided to uninstall it. No, it is not the frame rates it is the amount of stutter it causes. Since this package touches practically every single airport by replacing standard textures with textures that use considerably more memory - it can cause significant stutter/pauses in areas where there are many airports in the vicinity (for exampe Seattle, Los Angeles, etc.). There is a 'lite' version that tries to strike a balance betwen performance and visual quality but I even decided against that one too. It is a highly personal choice - I suggest you download it and try it out since installation/uninstallation takes only seconds. It may be suitable for the type of flying you are doing.Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2

You will get mixed opinions on this one. Some find that it causes excsessive stutters/pauses but in my case they were only minimal and by setting Global Maximum Texture size to medium I largely got rid of them altogether. I have a AMD64 3400+ (@2.4 Ghertz) processor & 1 gig of ram but a relatively old 4800SE video card. Why folks with very similar systems should have different experiences with this upgrade is puzzling. I'm starting to think that psychological factors/expectations play a part - what is smooth performance for one person may not be so for another - particularly if you have just shelled out a lot of cash for a you beaut system and expect perfection.Bruceb

I'm not seeing a significant increase in stutters, but the lights now look weird - blurry and way too large, IMHO. ricardo

Thanks for your responses Gents. I suspected that it might be problematic for me especially since I have a slower system than any of you who responded. I already take big frame hits at airports that are larger and more complex. I have some upgraded but even the default airports tend to slow me way down (the big ones).I want to upgrade some ports but will keep looking. I'd really like to find one's that try for as close to realism as possible re: the buildings, gates, assignments, etc. Don't personally care about the little truckies and cars going around.Thanks again for your comments.John