Default Niagara Falls have photogrammetry but the actual falls are totally broken. They are beyond ugly, they are simply unbearable. So I have decided to try and fix that. This pack features enhanced scenery for Niagara Falls area (Canada/USA) with animated color-changing night illumination of the falls, to compliment default photogrammetry and autogen areas and default terrain fixes for maximum VFR flight enjoyment. Unfortunately the terrain editor is very buggy, so it's not possible to completely fix them. However using a combination of terrain terraforming polygons and imported photogrammetry I made them as good as I can, considering the broken state of the SDK. Please note: don't expect a perfect result, because it's not. But I think this pack looks much better than default, and cyclic random color illumination of the falls at night looks really nice. The power generation dams are out of default photogrammetry area and were completely flat. I added them, and also replaced several fugly opaque bridges with proper transparent models.Download here.

Video starting from the night lighting demo, but you can rewind to beginning to see it in early evening and see the casino lighting.

More images:

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Details:

Spoiler

 

Version 1.0
Check out the Demo Video of the scenery and night lighting in action. Second half shows the late night in full color.

 

 

This pack features enhanced scenery for Niagara Falls area (Canada/USA) with animated color-changing night illumination of the falls, to compliment default photogrammetry and autogen areas and default terrain fixes for maximum VFR flight enjoyment.  Default Niagara Falls have photogrammetry but the actual falls are totally broken. They are beyond ugly, they are simply unbearable. Unfortunately the terrain editor is very buggy, so it's not possible to completely fix them. However using a combination of terrain terraforming polygons and imported photogrammetry I made them as good as I can, considering the broken state of the SDK. Please note: don't expect a perfect result, because it's not. But I think this pack looks much better than default, and cyclic random color illumination of the falls at night looks really nice. The power generation dams are out of default photogrammetry area and were completely flat. I added them, and also replaced several fugly opaque bridges with proper transparent models.

 

FEATURES

• 3 LOD levels, minimizing FPS impact
• Photogrammetry is heavily edited and texture color, contrast and brightness is carefully corrected to match surrounding autogen scenery
• Custom night Niagara Falls lighting, multiple color-changing lights, Seneca Casino and Skylon tower beacons and colored facade illumination

 

DONATIONS / SUPPORT

If you want to support my other creative project, check out Progress Report - my sci-fi technothriller novel which you can read and download for free. 

 

SCENERY

• Horseshoe Falls - Canadian side
• Niagara Falls - USA side
• Rainbow Bridge
• Whirlpool Rapids Bridge
• Whirlpool Rapids Railroad Bridge
• New York Power Authority dam and power station
• Sir Adam Beck No. 2 Generating Station (Ontario Generation)
• Lewiston-Queenston Bridge
• Skylon tower top beacon and red night illumination
• Seneca Casino (US) facade cycling color night illumination

BUGS

• Due to buggy MSFS terrain editor the falls are not perfectly align and match water texture and color at the top, if looked at closely. Nothing I can do about it, I spent a lot of time to make it look as good as possible. Some river surface and level changes can flicker and display artifacts which disappear or change as you get closer. That's all on MSFS terrain editor - nothing to do with my scenery. It's just buggy when levels change rapidly.
• Due to a known bug either in MSFS or Blender2MSFS exporter, custom lights ignore the "day/night cycle" setting. It's enabled on all my custom lights, but light are on at all times. They are not very noticeable during the day, so not a big deal, but there is no way right now to make them turn off at night. 
• Because original bridges are removed, cars now drive on the bottom of the river instead of the new bridge. There is no way right know, as far as I know, to fix that. When SDK matures, there may be a way to let MSFS where to drive. It happens on all aftermarket bridges, as far as I know.

 

INSTALLATION

Unzip into Community folder. After installation your Community folder should have a new subfolder: /niagara/.

 

DISTRIBUTION

This free creation contains content from Google Maps or Google Earth. In accordance with Google Terms of Services and especially point 2.2 of Google Maps/Google Earth Additional Terms of Service, this creation is based on « fair use » or « fair dealing » of the data provided by google throught its services. No commercial use or any gain is or will ever be made by the author of this creation, who doesn’t own anything regarding google assets but a simple user Licence. According to the following document https://www.google.com/intl/en-GB/permissions/geoguidelines/, the author is freely sharing a creative application of Google Maps or Google Earth. The author will not recieve any form of retribution for sharing his work. If this content would be found somewhere where it is provided in exchange of money or any kind of retribution, I would not be with the consent of the author.

As Google stated it cannot answer to any direct demand about a particular creative use of its properties, like stated in the « written permission » paragraph of the same document, to verify if its complying with its Term of Services, and as it is economically unreasonable for the casual creator of this content to ask for a costly legal analysis of its creation like proposed in the « Fair use » paragraph of the document, the author of this creation will stop sharing it freely and destroy any trace of it at first demand from Google, in accordance with the paragraph « Taking action in case of problems » of the Google Terms of Service about « advance notice » provided « when reasonably possible ».

 

Edited September 30, 20205 yr by romandesign

Wow!  GREAT job!

1 minute ago, Greggy_D said:

Wow!  GREAT job!

Thanks, I like it 🙂

The talent in this community never ceases to amaze me.

Very nice! Keep up the good work 🙂

1 minute ago, mikeklimek said:

The talent in this community never ceases to amaze me.

 

Just now, AirlinePilot83 said:

Very nice! Keep up the good work 🙂

Thanks guys! It feels good to share...

Ohhhhh wow that looks really great!

Amazing. Great job!

25 minutes ago, romandesign said:

 

Thanks guys! It feels good to share...

Can you purchase the right to Google Map assets, for commercial use...thereby forming your own MSFS design entity, and go commercial in the MSFS Market?   Your Toronto GTA, as well as this work, is at the level of mature 3PD's...   I was compromised years ago with the coffee thing...and PayPal usage...so I don't respond anymore to the invitation. But, I would certainly donate/purchase through an historically safe entity.  Have you thought of going Pro for MSFS? Your two free-ware releases speak for themselves!  Toronto...IS...the big T.O.!  I can only imagine what your talent can realize for scenery around Kingston/Gananoque...the Thousand Islands....wow...that would be spectacular!

Edited September 30, 20205 yr by Sesquashtoo

Roman is developing a hell of a reputation here at AVSIM! Splendido. Can't wait to check it out tomorrow.

4 minutes ago, DJJose said:

Roman is developing a hell of a reputation here at AVSIM! Splendido. Can't wait to check it out tomorrow.

The pictures..LET ALONE, color animation...wow...  I asked him about considering applying his talent for a monstrous recreational destination...like the Thousand Islands, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River..at the east end of Lake Ontario....what he could do with that area...drool.... 

This could be one of the needed P.O.I.'s...for the area...and imagine how it would look inside MSFS...

https://www.boldtcastle.com/visitorinfo/virtual-tour/the-castle

Edited September 30, 20205 yr by Sesquashtoo

I wish I knew how to fix bridges. The Portland area has the most horrid bridges I've seen. I hope someone this talented can fix city bridges. There's certainly a demand for this service. 

1 hour ago, romandesign said:

Niagara Falls area (Canada/USA) with animated color-changing night illumination of the falls, 

Wow, I never expected you to do that so soon!

I was actually invited, along with one of my ice hockey teammates, to go inside the lighting control room to switch on and control the lights for the falls. Quite an experience, and you've done a great job of replicating that. Thank you.👍

1 minute ago, DJJose said:

I wish I knew how to fix bridges. The Portland area has the most horrid bridges I've seen. I hope someone this talented can fix city bridges. There's certainly a demand for this service. 

Someone said that Orbx might offer a MSFS Bridge Upgrade Package.  They certainly would have the assets to deliver that.

Excellent job!! Thank you!