It has been discussed here several times that there are way too many trees in MSFS 2024, especially in some locations (Europe?). By too many I mean especially the fact that they cover larger areas than they are supposed to or that that they grow in places where they should not be present.

I am obsessed with this topic, because in my opinion it doesn't allow users to enjoy VFR flying to its full potential. I assembled several screenshots comparing various solutions I tried in both sims. 

Which one do you find the best and why? What is your opinion?

 

Note 1

We are not speaking about PG trees here. This topic concerns autogen areas only.

Note 2

FS2024 pics are taken with TLOD and OLOD equal to 150.

FS2020 pics are taken with TLOD and OLOD equal to 200.

Note 3

The area shown is LKLB, RWY 15 (Liberec, Czech Republic). Time set to 1 August, 2025, 13:02. 

 

01 - FS2024 - Default - Trees on High setting

https://postimg.cc/Wh8Yp9qj

- too dense, esp. in urban areas

- trees are also very high

 

02 - FS2024 - Bijan - Trees on High setting

https://postimg.cc/rdxPTqSZ

- very refined approach: trees are smaller, density adjusted, colors improved,

- certain portions of tree areas are replaced by newly created bushes (amazing!)

- the urban areas still feature quite a lot of trees though. When looking at a city, I can still see predominantly trees and not buildings, at least in Central Europe.  I would prefer it the other way around, I am afraid.

 

03 - FS2024 - Bijan - Trees on Medium setting

https://postimg.cc/ZBmDKXHb

- further slight reduction of trees in urban areas,

- trees on Medium unfortunately do not cast shadows anymore , but it at least significantly increases FPS,

- the best solution for FS2024 I have found so far (still with trees overpowering buildings in European cities, in my opinion).

 

04 - FS2024 - Taburet (Global Trees) - Trees on High setting

https://postimg.cc/3yTZgmv9

- considerably more aggressive approach,

- considerably less tress and lower ones, higher FPS,

- cities finally show mainly buildings, not trees  (yes!),

 - unfortunately, density of trees is way too low even in areas which ARE supposed to be densely populated with trees, such as city parks (check the the lower left-hand corner of the image: The large city park has only a handful of trees.) or deep forests. When flying over deep forests, one can easily see the textures (photos of trees) on the ground, at least in my opinion. The tree tops do not create a canopy.

 

05 - FS2020 - Default - Trees on Ultra setting

https://postimg.cc/wRmtfbKN

- tree placement is better in FS2020 in my opinion. They grow only where they are supposed to.

- somebody has said here today that FS2024 does not use Blackshark.ai anymore. Does it have an effect not only on buildings but on trees as well? I don't know.

- but the default tress are too big in cities in Europe, still room for an improvement.

 

06 - FS2020 - YankeeMike01 (Shorter trees) - Trees on Ultra setting

https://postimg.cc/z3bRG3Lf

- my most favorite solution by far,

- unfortunately does not work in FS2024.

- cities feature visually mainly buildings, but trees are present as well,

- city parks and deep forests show a lot of dense tree vegetation.

 

YankeeMike01 writes on flightsim.to:

In the package, the vegetation is by default set as follows :

- Tree Height (Scale) : 60%
- Density                    : 200% (this helps the forest to stay dense with reduced tree heights, going over 200% doesn't seem to bring anymore benefit)
- City Density             : 25% (I have yet to experiment much with this but decided to default this to 25%. For those who fly around cities, tell me how it goes, I might revisit this setting when I get the chance to fly in a big city :D)

 

07 - Google Maps - 3D view

https://postimg.cc/47M71R0Z

- this is the closest I managed to get to a real life image of the area.

 

Edited January 10, 20251 yr by David_CSA

Any opinions on which one is the most realistic looking / the best one in general?

On 1/10/2025 at 2:28 AM, David_CSA said:

trees on Medium unfortunately do not cast shadows

Thanks for pointing that out! Now I understand why trees on high do impact fps so much. 🙂

1 hour ago, David_CSA said:

Any opinions on which one is the most realistic looking / the best one in general?

Personally, I got fed up with constantly making comparisons (setting up flights/shots etc) so I've settled on Bijan's for 2024, and Accuseason for 2020. I suspect that in some areas of either sim any of the alternatives might be better, but for now at least, that's where I've settled. Bijan is doing a grand job with his constant updates, and apparently making specific area fixes on request.

Have Rex said anything about their plans for their Accuseason product?

I am sensing various information about SU1 and trees. Some say they are better (smaller), some say there is even more of them. How do you see it?

What's the conciseness with Bijans now (given he's back and developing)? Seems his 'Seasons Enhanced' offers more than REX Accuseasons

@David_CSA Thanks for the detailed post. I think I’ll stay with Bijan for now.