FSX German Scenery Heads Up; Payware

[Lionheart]

Hey all,

This is for those that like small airfilelds as well as super airfields.

Recently, I had to get some nice scenery for FSX for taking screenshots of a new plane. I looked around for something that I would be happy with for a long while. One place I love to fly in the FS world is Europe, around England and Germany and the Alps. Well, I found two sweeeeeet packages at Aerosoft.com that have both sizes of airfield types; from grass fields to regular airports to super international airports.

Package one; small airports in North Eastern Germany (called Lower Saxony); German Airports 3. (Its actually German Airfields).

This cost about $35.00 USD or 27 Euros.

* NOTE: This has 15+ airports and airstrips/airfields in it. This is a huge package, FSX only, nearly a gig in download size.

German Airfields 3 - Lower Saxony (FSX only)


Discover 15 airfields throughout Lower Saxony! Take Off for research flights for the DLR or join one of the many flying clubs on their flights between the picturesque airfields.
Perfectly compatible to other Aerosoft sceneries (VFR Germany, German Airports). This is the third release of the ‘German Airfields’ series, created by the best designers. German Airfields cover the best known GA airfields and smaller regional airports.

15 detailed airfields:

EDVE - Brunswick
EDVM - Hildesheim
EDXQ - Rothenburg-Wümme
EDWO - Osnabrück-Atterheide
EDWQ - Ganderkesee/Atlas Airfield
EDWF - Leer-Papenburg
EDVU - Uelzen
EDVN - Northeim
EDVS - Salzgitter-Drütte
EDVH - Hodenhagen
EDWV - Verden-Scharnhorst
EDHG - Lüneburg
EDWN - Nordhorn/Lingen
EDWC - Damme
EDXD - Bohmte-Bad Essen
Features:

Full support for FSX features (like specular effects, wet runways etc)
Regional traffic
High resolution aerial images 5cm/pix
Thrilling missions especially designed for this scenery
Full night textures
Extensive English manual
Visual approach charts
Bonus airfields

I was happy with that, but some of the airfields werent 'just right' for a small jet, so I looked around some more and found the huge package called German Airports 3X. The name sounds similar to the other, aside from the X, but this package acutally has 5 major German airports in it.

Now... At first, I figured, ok, 5 big airports, screenshots look good, that will work. But after I downloaded it, and it was a very huge download, I get it installed and this dang thing has cars driving around from delivery carts to trucks, vans, fuel trucks, to AI planes of all types, static small GA planes, every type of scenery tidbit, people, etc, etc... I couldnt believe it, lol... The scenery is all photo real, as like the first scenery package above, including the ground terrain textures for the area immediately around the airports. The funniest extreme detail I saw, while driving my plane around in traffic outside the airport, was that cars turn on their turnsignals when making turns, lolol... no, really..

Here is the description.

German Airports 3 X (FSX+FS2004)


The German Airports Team shows that their reputation is well deserved. As most airports have been undergoing many modifications but this scenery shows the airport exactly as it is at this moment. All buildings, lighting systems, navigation beacons and of course the layout of taxiways and runways have been recreated to perfection.
Like before, a high detailed areal image is the base for the project and therefore the immediate surroundings of the airport is accurate as well. Another highlight is the use of Dynamic Airport Enhancement Services. This creates a high volume of vehicle traffic on the airport (and beyond) that cannot be created any other way. You will see them follow complex routes and when they take a corner you even see them use the correct lights! Notwithstanding the many details, the scenery will run with excellent frame rates on modern hardware.

Airports:

Hamburg Fuhlsbüttel
Bremen
Berlin-Tegel
Paderborn/Lippstadt
Lübeck
Features:

Highly detailed virtual replica of the airports and its surroundings incl. regional objects
Photo realistic ground textures (0,5m/pxl)
All airport buildings and institutions
Animated Parking- and Docking-Systems
Realistic navigation aids (ILS, VOR/DME, NDB, ATIS)
Excellent night effects
Realistic runway and taxiway lighting
Seasonal ground textures
Dynamic Airport Enhancement Services used to create dynamic environment
AESlite configuration tool
Many scenery effects like animated banners and fuming chimneys
Fully supported by AES
Extensive manual with information about the airports
Original DFS airport charts
FSX and FS2004 version included

The cost for the second package was about $42.00 USD or 37 Euro's. That was alot of money for me to spend, but I thought about it, thats less then $10.00 per airport. Not a bad price for a multi-pack.


So, if you are thinking of getting some super high detail airports or airfields, you might consider these two, at least if you want some nice Euro scenery.


Bill

 

[MCDesigns]

yep, been following the German Airports sceneries for awhile. I don't know Europe so I don't fly there much, but have liked what I have seen from their development images. It must be really cool for those in Germany to have their whole contry done so well for FS.

I did break down and bought German Airports 2 Island Hopping awhileback and was very disappointed, not that detailed and poor performance.

 

[Lionheart]

Hey Michael,

I had it when it was freeware and it was hard on frame rates. Incredible VFR scenery, like land marks and things. I always thought it was the windmills accross the countrysides that were causing the slow frame rates. If you pan away from them, the rates increased.

I loved that scenery though.

I fell in love with Germany when I was doing Operation Valkyrie. I had studied Germany alot as a kid. The U-Boots sections were made in Bremen, and shipped to Wilhelmshaven for final assembly, top left of Germany. The Zeppelins were made down in the South at Bodensee or Lake Constanz. The Alps line the southern border and are awesome in real life. Berlin is in the North center and the far North is quite windy and cold, like the Nordic countries. The Castles of Bavaria, Rothemburg (I may have spelled that wrong), and so many other places.... Awesome place..

How can one country have so much history, so much economic power, influence, create so many different things (manufacturing, design, engineering) and all in a country smaller then Texas?????


Bill

 

[Hurricane91]

I have a nice Tempelhof for FS9, is there one for FSX?

 

[dswo]

Package one; small airports in North Eastern Germany (called Lower Saxony); German Airports 3. (Its actually German Airfields).

I like this one too. Review and more screenshots here: http://www.avsim.com/pages/0508/Aerosoft/GE3.htm

 

[Lionheart]

I like this one too. Review and more screenshots here: http://www.avsim.com/pages/0508/Aerosoft/GE3.htm

Yep..

Those airfields are going to be well used (if not, worn out) with my newest Carenado Archer and Cessna 185 Skywagon...

:d

Grass strips (several) with photo real buildings and ground textures...! hoooo rah!

 

[vora]

And don't forget VFR Germany 1 - 4, a hybrid photorealistic/autogen coverage of the whole country (each package around 10 gigs and more). With the German Airports and German Airfields series, German Landmarks etc. the whole country is pretty well covered.
You could say what Orbx is for Australia, Aerosoft is for Germany. Both countries have the privilege of having a local FSX "powerhouse" that shoots for complete coverage of their respective homes.
While Australia is tremendously larger Germany is temendously more crowded (take a quarter of the US population, squeeze it into Texas and you know why Germany has so restrictive gun laws ).

Ozzies and Krauts don't need no UTX/GEX... a beer on that :ernae:

 

[Mr.Mugel]

While Australia is tremendously larger Germany is temendously more crowded (take a quarter of the US population, squeeze it into Texas and you know why Germany has so restrictive gun laws ).

LoL :d

Ozzies and Krauts don't need no UTX/GEX... a beer on that :ernae:

If one can afford it, or wants to spend the money on FS, personally I use UTX and some self made airports in that area, even though I´ve been at 2 places of German airfields 3 with a Piper Archer II (Not PiC, but on the right seat).
If they should ever get GA6 out, than I guess I´d buy it, it will include all the airports I´ve done (they are pretty basic, still can´t do my own 3d objects...) and which I plan to do some day...

 

[Lionheart]

(take a quarter of the US population, squeeze it into Texas and you know why Germany has so restrictive gun laws ).

Vora

Goodness, thats alot of people...

Here is a screenshot of Bremen International at dawn. My bird is slightly in the way, but gives you an idea of the realism, even at night. Really cool how there is traffic moving around everywhere, even in the turn around in front of the airport.

 

[Mathias]

Bill, do you think you can post a few screenies of EDVU/Uelzen.
That's my home airfield. Just curious how it stacks up to the real thing.

 

[Bjoern]

...and the far North is quite windy and cold, like the Nordic countries.

Oh yeah. Although it's less windy during the winter months. Also, the difference in available daylight is quite apparent compared to let's say southern Germany. While winter days are shorter, summer days are longer.

Quite strange going home in summers half drunk at 5am and it's almost broad daylight around you.


While looking really nice, the German Airports series costs a fair bit of performance because the developers apparently didn't compile their buildings with FSX's SDK (which, in my dead reckogning isn't fairly hard, considering it's just scenery objects).


P.S: Lower Saxony is in the northwest. The northeast would be Mecklenburg-Pommerania (my area).

 

[Lionheart]

Bill, do you think you can post a few screenies of EDVU/Uelzen.
That's my home airfield. Just curious how it stacks up to the real thing.

Hey Mathias,


Here are some screenshots of Uelzen.

Most have ground photo terrain textures. This appears to not have one.


Bill

NOTE: Some amazing cars in these scenery packages..... First rate!

 

[Mathias]

Thanks much, Bill!
From what I can see they actually looked up the field as the buildings are all in place just like in RL, cool!