Aerosoft has just released Ben Gurion for MSFS. I rushed and grabbed it, as the whole middle east environment is one of those that I really like to explore now that we've finally got some decent base scenery for the area with MSFS.

However, if you're thinking of doing the same, please look very closely at the sample images posted on the AS product page. I didn't, and on my first look round at the airport in the sim I was extremely disppointed with what I found. The airport buildings themselves are fine, but all the ground imagery for the area surrounding the airport, and quite a bit of the airport itself, is completely two-dimensional. There's a totally flattened area all around the airport - a really lousy bit of ground photography and not a single 3d building in sight.

I'm not saying don't buy it, but look very closely at those pix before considering whether to proceed or not.

For me, it feels like some of the old AS ground images they used to put out for FSX. Really lo-res and completely kills the airport itself.

It's a definite no buy if they have flattened the terrain.  Not acceptable.  Sounds like something from X Plane world.  

I've never been there in RL, thus, if you are familiar with the area you are certainly right.

However, just by chance, I made a landing at default Ben Gurion the other day, then baught the Aerosoft/David Rosenfeld version - which I'd been waiting for for a long time - and repeated that same tour (the short hop from Jerusalem to Ben Gurion) today, My impression (before reading this thread) was wow! The approach lighting, runway surface and markings, hangars, terminals, at least those where I taxiied looked quite well and in any case much improved.

Next, I checked Google Earth, and at least superficially I don't see that much of a difference in ground imagery. As a sidenote, imagery in Israel seems to be quite poor in general, look upon our Bing-based Jersualem which doesn't do justice  the real thing in any way (and, btw, the same applies to the Google pendant). It just might be hard (for whatever reason...) to get high-resolution images there.

But as I said, if you are familiar with the real airport you are certainly right and I am wrong, no doubt.

Kind regards, Michael

Edited December 24, 20214 yr by pmb

11 hours ago, pmb said:

if you are familiar with the real airport

not even slightly! Never been anywhere near that part of the world - closest was a couple of trips to Saudi decades ago.

My issue with the new LLBG is not the airport proper (the terminals and suchlike) but mainly with a band of ground imagery, maybe about 100 metres wide, surrounding the airport proper. I don't know the correct terminolgy or processes involved, but I assume the scenery package places its own satellite/aerial image down as a base and then places its 3d models on top of that. In this airport, the band outside the airport buildings seems to have been limited to the aerial photograph, overlaying the default sim stuff, but then no replacement 3d models for the generic buildings or even vegetation. Once you get outside the area covered by this band the default generic buildings and trees re-appear.

There's a support thread on the AS forum, where the author talks about 'known problems' with the scenery and says these are down to the SDK post SU7 and so are not currently correctable and are considered 'acceptable', but there are no details of what these acceptable problems are considered to be, and certainly no mention in the description on the sales page.

And I've not seen similar problems in any of the other dozen or so airports I've bought in the last week (been having a spending spree!) so I do feel less than pleased with this purchase. The primary buildings, runways, taxiways etc are indeed all fine, but the whole thing is sat on a murky lo-res base, and that's no longer what I expect to see in an addon airport.

I'll still use it - like you I was really looking forward to this and I do know the area doesn't have the best underlying PG in the sim. All things considered I guess I'll live with it, but it's a let down for me,

cheers,

Andy

Edited December 24, 20214 yr by andy1252
typo

I'll watch what that Aerosoft thread will bring about. Perhaps Dave can improve on that base underground aspect. 

Kind regards, Michael