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