Which free China Lake scenery do you like?

[K5083]

Since the release of the F-18C there are at least three sceneries for KNID China Lake Armitage Field on flightsim.to.

https://flightsim.to/file/49603/china-lake-nwas-knid by Mountainair

https://flightsim.to/file/49380/naws-china-lake-armitage-field by groovy0909

https://flightsim.to/file/49562/china-lake-knid-usa by nickb007

Has anyone else tried them all out, and which is your favorite?

I have been using nick007s, and am not thrilled with it. It has the most dependencies, it uses the full DC Designs F-18C as static scenery (a LOT of them) which is inefficient, and displays them at very low LOD until you taxi right up close.

Thinking of trying groover0909's instead, it is more self-contained with custom aircraft for decoration. I'm a fan of some of his other work as well.

Mountainair's uses all stock assets but from the screen shots, seems to look pretty good. I like some of his other work as well.

August

 

[Tom Clayton]

If they're all free, try 'em all out and see which ones you like best. Unless you're on a metered internet connection, the only thing you have to lose is time.

 

[DennyA]

Yeah, though I wish there was a way to reload airports without the long time it takes to reload the sim.

There were two Edwards AFBs released in the past week or so as well, and by the time I exit and reload the second one I've forgotten what the first one looks like.

It'd be nice to have a screenshot comparison. If I check out both China Lakes / both KEDW, I'll post caps here.

 

[dvj]

Yeah, though I wish there was a way to reload airports without the long time it takes to reload the sim. There were two Edwards AFBs released in the past week or so as well, and by the time I exit and reload the second one I've forgotten what the first one looks like. It'd be nice to have a screenshot comparison. If I check out both China Lakes / both KEDW, I'll post caps here.

Yes, 2 Edwards. But they are different parts of the complex. North and South runways plus buildings. Very nice.

 

[IanHenry]

Yeah, though I wish there was a way to reload airports without the long time it takes to reload the sim.

There were two Edwards AFBs released in the past week or so as well, and by the time I exit and reload the second one I've forgotten what the first one looks like.

It'd be nice to have a screenshot comparison. If I check out both China Lakes / both KEDW, I'll post caps here.

Have you considered using MSFS Addon Linker to cut your sim loading times? I have my scenery files in different folders for each region and set each region as a pre-set, so for example if I'm going to fly in the U.K I have a pre-set for it and another for say the U.S.A. It cuts load times massively.

MSFS Addons Linker » Microsoft Flight Simulator

 

[JohnC]

There were two Edwards AFBs released in the past week or so as well, and by the time I exit and reload the second one I've forgotten what the first one looks like.

This seems to raise a much more fundamental question about the value of multiple options for a place you only visit during start-up and shut-down. Loading times, stability over sim updates, and limited external dependencies seems like principle concerns.

 

[K5083]

Thanks all for the input.

I tried a second one last night, I think it was groovy0909's, and was disappointed. Static aircraft were much more sparse than seen in the screen shots, maybe because it requires the payware F-14 and F-35 which I didn't have loaded. Like IanHenry, I use an addon manager so I don't have to load addons I don't need, and that includes planes I'm not flying at the moment. Scenery builders should be discouraged from incorporating expensive, resource-intensive payware products as set decoration in their airports. On the other hand, these things are free, so who are we to complain.

May try the third one tonight. Last night I flew from China lake to Edwards where I'm using the nickb007 scenery. I quite like that one, some nice touches, I should have spent longer taxiing around to see all the easter eggs.

August

 

[DennyA]

Huge user of Addons Manager. Multiple configs set up for different parts of the world, different plane groups, etc. But even with that, it still takes MSFS a couple of minutes to reload.

Yes, 2 Edwards. But they are different parts of the complex. North and South runways plus buildings. Very nice.

Ah, I had two Edwards folders and assumed they were from different creators, like China Lake. It's actually just that the folder name changed in the latest release. Yep, I have the North Base too, it's a nice combo!

 

[K5083]

There really are two Edwards AFBs by different authors. Nickb007 did the main base and also the north aux field, but groovy0909 did an alternative main base. Both are good. I favor nickb007s because it has fewer resource intensive dependencies and is compatible with his north base.

August

 

[collensr]

Hi All

I think one of the challenges with modelling military base scenery is that a lot of the most interesting buildings, particularly at places like El Centro, China Lake and Fallon, are quite historic and thus do not lend themselves to being replicated by generic scenery models.

They require bespoke modelling of a quality that is probably difficult and very time consuming to achieve.

IMHO the best examples of freeware military base modelling are the works of imccar26 such as his brilliantRAF Lakenheath. EGUL - RAF Lakenheath » Microsoft Flight Simulator

Back in the real world Edwards AFB, by the nature of its testing role, has a lot more modern infrastructure (particularly for programmes like the F-22/F-35) but still it has its share of unique buildings. Some can be seen in this shot taken from the South Base looking back at the main North base complex - slightly hazy due to the hot desert air that day.





China Lake is a real favourite of mine particularly because in the historic main VX-9/VX-31 operating area the hangers and control tower have a real mystic about them. I took the below shot of the Tower back in 2018.



The old hangers are also a feature of the main base at KNID.



One thing all these West Coast bases have in common and is the bane of our lives for photographers like myself is the preponderance of sun shelters.. I know they are necessary but oh boy they are ugly.

 

[jmig]

Thanks all for the input.

I tried a second one last night, I think it was groovy0909's, and was disappointed. Static aircraft were much more sparse than seen in the screen shots, maybe because it requires the payware F-14 and F-35 which I didn't have loaded. Like IanHenry, I use an addon manager so I don't have to load addons I don't need, and that includes planes I'm not flying at the moment. Scenery builders should be discouraged from incorporating expensive, resource-intensive payware products as set decoration in their airports. On the other hand, these things are free, so who are we to complain...

August

If these developers used default models to cut down on the loading time, people would yell at them for using low poly crappy models. Can't win!

 

[K5083]

Probably true, John.

I had a nice flight in the P-38 to Edwards the other night. Found an empty sun shelter and was just barely able to squeeze the P-38 in there. Around me were all the modern fighters with animated mechanics working on them, and next to one seemed to be a pilot describing his flight to his chief using his hands to represent the opposing aircraft in the traditional manner. A well done base like that can be a delight to explore.

August

 

[ZsoltB]

I think NickB version