FSX/P3D. All these releases lately are keeping us very busy! This time, Dom and I head off to Dulles where we discover FlightBeam's latest masterpiece: IAD! If you have not given FlightBeam a chance yet, then I am truly sorry for you. I say this because you are without a doubt missing out on the highest quality scenery released since Montreal. But where this airport truly soars, is the amazing night textures, texture baking, and forest environment that surrounds the entire airfield just as in real life! So let's check it out in this latest issue of ADX FirstLook!
As a formal impression is in the works, i'll keep this short and sweet. The 3 most important things you need to concern yourself with right now before you drop the cash is:
1. Looks
2. Accuracy
3. Performance
I can tell you that you needn't worry about either.
So i'll keep this short and sweet so you can still have plenty to explore on your own!
FlightBeam really should be hard on your radar if it's not already. The quality here stands out on it's own. But with that said, It also has everything you would expect from FlyTampa and FSDT with the impressive frames to boot! From time to time I try to push those sliders to the right in an effort to determine what exactly I can squeeze out of my system. Performance was good enough, I even activated my AI traffic!
But please don't take our words for it. You can freely download a trial version and check it out for yourself!
So what's the downside? No FS9 version. Snif snif... Check it out guys, you will not be disappointed!
Great job Flightbeam!
_______________________________________________
Check us out daily and like us on Facebook!
Go fly! We'll take care of the rest! Nobody has your back like AirDailyX.
daily news | reviews | first looks | billboard | interviews | comics | live broadcasts
17 comments:
Flightbeam is one team with a lot of talent! Looking forward to seeing their next project!
I am wondering if the guys from A-Flight have something cooking, after Helsinki. They are right up there with FSDT, FlightBeam and FlyTampa...
It is beautiful. Simple.
Very true! Their silence made me forget about them... They very well just might be a 1 hit wonder....
Is this scenery DX10 compatible? I tried at night and had issues. I read before Mir said it will be DX10, but it is not for me, please confirm?
If he said it is than I assume it is. I use P3D so...
I had no issues with it in DX10, and I checked at night as well. Double check that your DX10 shader files are setup correctly.
"The next step will be seeing people and passengers walking in this terminal, looking at their watches, at screens, talking or buying a magazine. I think that's the kind of thing we would like to see in the future..."
Was dreaming the same. Who knows...in the future...probably a long time in the future if resources allow (?64 bit P3D version X)...perhaps some sort of ORBX-style people flow add-on (Passenger-flow: stand-alone or incorporated into these types of airports or even into GSX/AES-style products)could some day be cleverly displayed in selected strategically-placed positions (linked to one's flightplan gate area) to make these airports really feel even more alive.
Just dreaming I know...that's allowed, I hope?!. Just really couldn't think of any other way this masterpiece could even feel more real or perfect than it actually does.
However, on reflection, that said its a bloody good thing it doesn't exist...this airport looks so damn real that if a 'Passenger-flow' did exist, I'd be in serious danger of just sitting around the airport watching the world go by and developing 'chair sores' for about 3 months before I even took to the skies. LOL.
As you say, Dave, 'It is beautiful. Simple.'
I just can't stop exploring and flying into and out of this huge and busy airport from all the different runways, approaches and gates. The whole thing just exudes the atmosphere of a giant international airport and totally immerses me almost to the level where I sometimes think I'm get olfactory and auditory hallucinations of being able to smell and hear the place. LOL. Not good, definitely not good! But don't stop Amir! Just love the work!
Thank you so much for such realism and attention to detail...the best airport I've seen since Fly Tampa Montreal and the best large airport I've seen since Flightbeam Phoenix Sky Harbour and Fly Tampa Dubai! Looking forward to the secret project and whatever else is next for Flightbeam! Keep up the great work and innovations!
Cheers,
Sid
Quoting SID: ""The next step will be seeing people and passengers walking in this terminal, looking at their watches, at screens, talking or buying a magazine. I think that's the kind of thing we would like to see in the future..."
We are already seeing that with Orbx people flow. We are just not seeing it in large airports. But I imagine it would be very easy to implement people flow inside those terminals. Perhaps if Orbx starts to license the technology some day...
It would be nice but most lickley the main reason is that it would dramatically lower performance
Great first look AirDailyX! You guys make some seriously detailed reviews
In regards to people animations, Orbx's peopleflow is actually no mystery, we can implement 3d animated people walking around with no problem. I've worked on animated 3d characters for many games before.
The problem is, with an airport this large, and an engine so old, it would put ANY modern computer to its knees. There would need to be a LARGE amount of characters in total to cover such an expanse.
This is also a reason why there aren't so many bustling animations at the front of the terminal where vehicles drop off passengers. Smooth anims in fsx require lots of keyframes and eventually drag performance.
Anyway, sometime in the future all of this will be standard with addon airports, we just have to wait for technology to catch up :)
Good point DAndre... but I can't take credit for the quote...it was actually from Dom's first look review above.
I was just commenting on it. But you're right that is what Orbx 'people-flow' does on a smaller scale. Guess I was just dreaming about how it could be expanded upon with more personalisation to flights or just larger numbers of passengers in large terminals etc.
As you say though, if they would actually licence it to be used inside terminals(and/or outside on aprons, buses etc) as reasonable numbers of passengers and airport staff using the large airports...that would be pretty cool for life and realism-type fans (just not sure if JV would want to though so just thinking of alternative possibilities of someone creating something similar if they didn't wish to go down the road of expanding and licensing it out though).
I personally really, really love the 'people flow' (and all Orbx 'flow' tech) that Orbx's large aussie airports...really enjoy flying in, parking up, sitting at the gate preparing and glancing out of cockpit windows, taxi-ing etc...really feels so immersive and alive with all the flow going on.
Wouldn't it be awesome if FTX Global could have an extra 'flow-pack' add-on one day or something though? Just dreaming...I have no ideas of the technical practicalities of this, I fully admit. I thought it might take too many precious pc resources to do on a larger and more varied & customisable scale...No idea really.
Anyway, cheers DAndre,
Sid
Sounds fantastic Mir! Like the icing on the cake to come one day! You couldn't get more real than that once the hardware & tech catches up.
I had a (probably silly so excuse my ignorance) question regarding resources & this performance limitation you speak of:
Until technology does catch up, would it still be too hungry on computer resources if you tried some sort of tricks to create the illusion of life around the airport?
Don't know if I'm making any sense whatsoever but e.g. the animations only to take place and exist at any one time around the immediately visible area where the users' aircraft is parked only or at a certain gate or 2 only?
or just a bus arriving to drop off passengers who can disembark the bus and wait to board occasionally and only in the visible vicinity.
Or just some movement of shading/shapes in the terminal adjacent to the aircraft to create the illusion of passenger life (but using more simple fewer-polygoned shapes/shades of people, without being able to see clearly enough through windows that they aren't passengers due to distance and limited visibility through terminal glass, without having to actually create large amounts of individual passengers & staff?). In some airports the orbx people sometimes seem too large anyway (not to be pedantic but don't know if smaller means less resource-hungry).
Don't know if I'm making any sense at all so please feel free not to bother replying if I'm not and if what I'm saying sounds too confusing or stupid (I imagine it probably does sound unclear to my meaning).
Just voicing whatever came to mind immediately and wondering if such things were even possible without too much computer resource, that's all? Obviously, I understand none of this programming you guys do.
Thanks in advance if you're still about,
Sid
I so much hope they will decide to make Newark at sometime. The location is very interesting. Docks, motorway and NY city skyline in the near vicinty.
Mir, you do realize that was not the review! Just a First Look. Ill be kicking off the full review soon as I work out a virus on my system... May need to factory restore...
Just bought it, and it's simply amazing. The framerates are excellent, higher than I expected. Great job Flightbeam!
There are some things that would make FSX much more real: if you use AI traffic, there should be a program to make a real pushback for all AIs because unfortunately there is no pushback for AIs; sloped runways also to be used with AI traffic; weather radar on all aircrafts; a combination between what GSX does and what ORBX does with peopleflow. Those things would make a big difference. ;)
Post a Comment
Comments are now deactivated. Please visit our new website: AirDailyX.net
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.