SimHQ.com

Aircraft and Environment
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight - Part 3

Back To Page 2

 

Microsoft has also done an outstanding job on adding more of the high detail airports. Dallas Fort Worth, Miami, Narita, JFK, Schipol, Oshkosh, Phoenix, Denver, St Maarten, the list goes on. They have done a superb job with the building placement and also the ground texture. All these airports have their own high detail ground textures from satellite photos and its done very well. Along with these high detail airports come improvements to all the larger major airports and even the smaller ones too! The taxiways look much better and now sport nicely detailed curving lines and realistic looking overruns and taxiway border areas. Each tower-controlled airport now has a realistic looking tower building and cab. There are many different types and you won't see the same one often. Each airport now has a better looking grass texture and it blends into the surrounding textures with higher detail.

193 kb 244 kb
108 kb 265 kb
178 kb 367 kb
166 kb 271 kb
208 kb 235 kb
443 kb  (yes, this image is that big!) 173 kb
125 kb 255 kb
255 kb 169 kb
373 kb

Microsoft has teamed with Jeppesen (aviation chart making company) to utilize their database and give us accurate and great looking taxiway signs. Included with this are also runway and approach signs in all the right places. No more "progressive taxi" instructions following the imaginary purple dotted line. You have to do it like the big boys do, pay attention and write it down if it's complicated.

55 kb 116 kb

One of my biggest visual pet peeves has been fixed. The refueling areas with that awful yellow box and silly gas pump are gone for good. In their place you get a nicely modeled fuel station or pump area.

107 kb

Overall the graphical and environmental improvements go a long way to giving this sim a "new" look. A lot of what's under the hood is still the same though, not bad, just the same. It does look and feel a lot more realistic to me now.

Go To Page 4




Privacy Statement | SimHQ Staff

Copyright 1997-2010, SimHQ Inc. All Rights Reserved.