Hi there,I'm a relative newcomer to FS4 and I would like some adivce on Scenery. What is the best stuff to buy/freeware? I'm based in the UK so I'd really like good stuff for that area, but if there is an 'entire world' package available I'd have a look at it.Thanks,Dave.

Hi Dave,welcome to FS2004!For starters, there's Heather's wonderful website that lists available freeware by country here: http://fly-heather.avsim.net/index_Gallery.htmlAnother interesting approach to finding out what is popular is by sorting the Avsim library section (e.g., FS2004 scenery) by number of downloads.Also, the UK is well covered by various landscape and airport payware add-ons but I don't own any of them. I'm sure others will jump in.Cheers, Holger

HI Holger, Just realized when reading the email about threads from AVSIM, that I -always- click on a message, when I see that it was written by you. You always have something of value for me to read. THANKS,

Welcome DaveWell, if you want to go down the payware route you can get an excellent set of photographic scenery for England and Wales published by Justflight, which is best used with Horizon Simulation's VFR Terrain to provide an accurate mesh. Add in Gary Summon's UK2000 airport scenery, available by direct download or in the British Airports series by Justflight, and you've got most of good old Blighty sorted. Alas, Scotland is still awaiting the same treatment. It's a bit expensive if you get it all in one hit, although if you check Gameplay.com I think they're offering bundles at reasonable prices. CheersIan

Hey,Nice packages are:FS Global (entire world mesh)UK2000 packages + check Heathrow Pro (need a monster machine for that one)Visual Flight VFR PHOTOGRAPHIC SCENERY & VFR TERRAINWell, that basically covers things available for UK as far as I know.

Thanks Gents, I'll look into all those options!

Actually I was going to make airports my next question! I fly out of Shoreham and Goodwood which are nice little 'dromes near me. Unfortunatly how they are presented in FS2004 is nothing like how they are in real life! If I get FS Global can I just plonk the new scenery straight on top of it?

Hello :)The following are 100% free!1. Download mesh for the entire world here. First download the terrain-map that will tell you the file-names to get.http://www.simviation.com/fsdterrainsrtm.htm2.Here is all of Justin Tymes excellent USA mesh:http://library.avsim.net/search.php?Search...=root&Go=SearchThe list goes on...dont wanna overwhelm you but I feel the above are good starting points...from there...well the only limiter is the capacity of your harddrive!

Howdy,the (almost) global mesh available at simviation is definitely a commendable effort. However, it does have some systematic issues that slipped into the compilation process. Below is a screenshot that shows the problem: all white areas are missing data and in those areas the sim will use the low-resolution default mesh instead. This will be noticeable in mountainous areas as a (big) checkerboard of detailed and less-detailed sections.Thus, I'd recommend to use other mesh files instead whereever available, e.g., the Europe mesh files by Pietro Mauri or the Africa files by Aeroworx, Michael Speck, or myself. Or, if that's too much of a hassle, chose one of the commercial products that offer worldwide coverage.Cheers, HolgerP.S.: Thanks, Bob!

As said earlier, UK2000 airports and VFR Terrain and Photo scenery, the *only* accurate mesh around if you don't mind the paying.Excellent all of itAnthony(UK)

Ack how could I forget to mention Holgers excellent mesh scenery!!!!His BC one rocks :)

Yes, but you should know that aftermarket mesh always results in some airports appearing slightly raised above ground level, so you may get a plateau effect - this is due to inaccuracies in FS9's data, but it's not really a problem.Play.com has FS Global Special Edition for 24.99, down from 40 quid. Pretty good value I'd say.Ian

Okay, we've got scenery and airports covered - what about traffic? Looking around it seems that the two likely contenders are Ultimate Traffic and Traffic 2004. Which is the better one? I really want something that has ATCs with accents suitable for their country. It looks as though Traffic 2004 supports that, but I can't find out if Ultimate Traffic does the same.

>Okay, we've got scenery and airports covered - what about>traffic? Looking around it seems that the two likely>contenders are Ultimate Traffic and Traffic 2004. Which is the>better one? I really want something that has ATCs with accents>suitable for their country. It looks as though Traffic 2004>supports that, but I can't find out if Ultimate Traffic does>the same.Total drag, but NONE of the AI traffic programs have this feature (i.e., ATCs with accents). I have used both Ultimate Traffic (UT) and MyTraffic and both are truly excellent payware packages with their own strengths. I ended up with UT only simply because I didn't want to hassle too much with aircraft liveries and repaints; but most importantly, because the default repaints that come with UT are of higher quality. Although, believe me that I may just change my mind in a month since FS9 is really just a tweaker's paradise... and tweaking it half the fun of it.YMMV.