Landclass comparison Part 2: Saanen / Switzerland

[Guest Marc_EDDN]

I don't know why, but I could not find part 2 posted... Although no-one seems to complain, I try again today. Please also read part 1 and 3 to get the full view. And tell me if I made a stupid mistake and keep re-posting the same over and over again ;-)---Please see my original "Landclass comparison" post (Topic #410446) for the first part. This is part 2 to keep the attachment limit.Saanen/Switzerland==================This location is represented by XClass, SceneryTech and Freeware landclass from the AVSIM file library.Original FSX default:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/176084.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/176085.jpgXClass Europe:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/176076.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/176077.jpgSceneryTech Europe:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/176078.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/176079.jpgSwiss Landclass Freeware:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/176080.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/176081.jpgAerial Photos from Google Maps:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/176082.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/176083.jpgFSX original landclass shows a lot of forest where there's grass in reality, as shown on the aerials. Also, the little settlements are not well represented.XClass Europe does a lot to change this, much grass, much more houses. But again, on the right of the screenshot, there's the "big town" houses again that clearly do not belong here. Is this a serial problem in XClass or does it have to to with my chnaged ground textures, I wonder? But with the other landclasses, I can't see this bug, so it's probably an XClass thing. Apart from this, I am pretty happy with XClass here.For Saanen, I was really shocked to see the SceneryTech performance. It is almost indistinguishable from the FSX default, but then again distinct enough is several details (especially in the map) to reassure me that I am not looking at FSX default. Everything said about the FSX default landclass applies: too much forest, too little grass, too few houses. Totally wrong!Swiss Landclass looks very appealing to me and more "harmonic". But on the map view, there is some "checkerboarding" visible in the mountains, and it also shows in-flight and looks pretty annoying.In conclusion, for Saanen, SceneryTech is just out. You might as well use FSX default. On the winner side, it's hard to choose between Swiss Landclass and XClass Europe. The former has the checkerboard, the latter the house size problem - you have to pick your lesser evil here. Both landclasses do a good job in general to represent reality. When you look for a landclass just for Switzerland, the decision can be purely price-driven: use the freeware.Please see the next post for part 3, Palma de Mallorca, and the final conclusion.