Thursday, September 4, 2014
The Map
It only now occurs to me that I never posted a map of my route. You can see it on the side of the plane, but here it is in a more viewer-friendly format!
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
#101 Mount Rushmore, #102 Grand Tetons
Although my World Wonders Tour is officially over, I happened to be flying across South Dakota today (I'm moving my DHC-2 Beaver from The Bahamas to Alaska!), and I realized that I'd not visited Mount Rushmore. It's very impressive in real life, so I wanted to see what FSX did with it. And then as long as I'm in the neighborhood, I flew through Grand Tetons National Park (my #2 favorite, right after Yosemite).
I don't remember nearly this much "green" around Mount Rushmore.
And I don't remember there being farmland this close to the Tetons. But I haven't been there in some time...!
Overall, not bad. Perhaps the land class could use a little adjusting, but still, you get the idea!
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| Mount Rushmore |
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| Grand Tetons National Park |
Overall, not bad. Perhaps the land class could use a little adjusting, but still, you get the idea!
Thursday, November 21, 2013
FSX Detailed City Listing and Recommendations
It's harder than you might think to get a list of the "detailed cities" in FSX. The best explanation I found was by Phil Taylor at his blog.
I've used this list to help pick my destinations. But a few of them have been disappointing. Perhaps I didn't find the 2 custom items in Helsinki.... I'll provide the list here, along some very brief comments and my Go / No Go decision. Details are presented in the blog itself; finding the individual cities in the blog is left as an exercise for the reader!
According to Phil and his research, cities with more than one custom object are:
Latin America (3)
Mexico City GO. Very large and spread out -- hard to know where to look!
Rio de Jeneiro GO. Fabulous -- almost as good as really being there!
Sao Paulo NO GO. Very boring, very generic.
Europe (30)
Amsterdam NO GO. Disappointing; only a few custom objects, otherwise a very generic city.
Athens GO. The Parthenon is great; the rest is pretty generic.
Barcelona NO GO. Okay; a bit generic.
Berlin GO. Quite nice; a variety of identifiable landmarks.
Brussels GO. Don't miss the Atomium!
Copenhagen GO. Very "real"; suburbs, then an increasingly dense city.
Dublin NO GO. Lots of auto-gen, and a bloody big power plant.
Gibraltar NO GO. Not bad, but doesn't really match the real terrain or city.
Glasgow NO GO. Just awful -- auto-gen suburbs and a few high-rise apartments. Go in real life instead!
Helsinki NO GO. Very disappointing. Looked generic to me.
Istanbul GO. Very nice. Decidedly non-European (even though I guess it's technically Europe!).
Lake Geneva NO GO. The lake and fountain are modeled well; Geneva itself, not so much.
Lisbon NO GO. Very disappointing. Doesn't resemble the real Lisbon.
London GO. Fabulous! Clearly one of the best cities, in real-life and in FSX.
Lyons, France NO GO. Acceptable, but not remarkable.
Madrid NO GO. Acceptable, but not remarkable.
Malmo, Sweden NO GO. Hard to tell. Definitely different from Copenhagan, but seems rather generic.
Milan, Italy GO. Okay. Looks like a lot of other European cities, but has some nice custom objects.
Monte Carlo NO GO. Eh. A few high-rise hotels, a nice marina and one very large mansion!
Moscow GO. Excellent. Definitely identifiable as a Russian city.
Munich NO GO. Very disappointing (then again, it was the end of a long, crummy day when I landed).
Oslo NO GO. Very generic.
Paris GO. One of the best!
La Defense GO. I've never heard of this suburb of Paris, but it's a nicely detailed business district.
Rome GO. Pretty good, and the Colesseum is cool.
Rotterdam GO. Very nicely detailed; better than Amsterdam.
Salzburg GO. A definite don't miss -- the castle and churches at the center of town are excellent photo ops!
St. Petersburg GO. Spectacular.
Stockholm GO. Very realistic in appearance.
Trondheim N/A -- didn't get to visit
US (9)
Atlanta GO. Very nice skyline (although the big buildings are set on forested tiles!).
Chicago GO. Almost as impressive as Manhattan, and not such a framerate killer. A must see.
Los Angeles NO GO. Obscurred by smog, just like in real life.
Miami GO. Big city; impressive port; MASSIVE airport.
New York GO. You shouldn't even have to ask! It did bring my framerate to a crawl, though.
Salt Lake N/A -- didn't get to visit. I've been several times in real life.
San Francisco GO! Absolutely fabulous!
Seattle GO. Gorgeous downtown, and the Space Needle is cool. Try to visit at dusk.
Washington DC GO. Very detailed, and correct (I used to live there).
Africa, Middle East (7)
Cairo GO. Nicely rendered, and definitely not European. Go for the Pyramids!
Capetown N/A -- didn't get to visit; just too far.
Dubai GO. Nice skyline.
Jerusalem GO. Seemed generic and modern, until I found Temple Mount!
Mecca NO GO. Nice enough, but quite modern in appearance. Not what I expected.
Riyadh NO GO. Very flat, very generic. A big disappointment.
Tel-Aviv NO GO. It's fine, but the custom buildings are rather generic. Much like any other modern city.
Asia (16)
Beijing NO GO. A huge disappointment. A very nice autogen, generic city, but virtually no recognizable Beijing landmarks.
Chiba NO GO. A nice enough stadium, but after Tokyo, it's a let down.
Fukuoka GO. Nicely modeled urban sprawl.
Hong Kong GO! One of the very best -- large, detailed, realistic!
Incheon NO GO. Unless you're passing by, this is just an airport.
Kobe GO. Really nice; very hilly terrain and very well rendered city. Really seems real!
Kyoto NO GO. Nice enough, but feels generic (auto-gen) rather than custom.
Nagoya NO GO. Nothing really special to see; just the airport and what looks like a convention center.
Nara GO. I found the scenery between Kobe and Nara wonderfully believable.
Saitama Really just a suburb of Tokyo (which you should definitely go see!).
Sapporo NO GO. Nice enough, but feels blocky and generic to me.
Seoul GO. Even if it's mostly auto-gen, it's very well done.
Shanghai GO. Nicely detailed downtown; lots of unique skyscrapers.
Singapore GO. Nicely detailed downtown; lots of unique skyscrapers.
Taipei GO. If you're going to do China (and you must), then you'll be close by. Go ahead and see Taipei.
Tokyo GO. Spectacular!
Australia & NZ (7)
Auckland GO! Very nice surrounding cities, and an interesting skyline/marina.
Brisbane GO. Really good appearance; surrounding suburbs, and well-organized downtown.
Canberra NO GO. Lots of generic suburbs, not many custom buildings. But, a Lake Geneva plume fountain!
Melbourne GO. Excellent example of a large (sprawling!) city surrounded by suburbs.
Perth GO. Nice skyline and marina. If you're in Western Australia, stop by!
Sydney GO. Very nicely done, and the Opera House is such an internationally recognized landmark.
Wellington GO. Gorgeous setting (it's worth it for that alone!).
Canada (5)
Calgary GO. Maybe I just got lucky with the auto-gen, but Calgary looks very nice.
Edmonton NO GO. Almost all generic auto-gen; one small cluster of high-rise buildings and a big church.
Montreal GO. A very nice mix of building sizes and shapes, most unique. Nicely done.
Toronto GO. Well done -- seems very believeable.
Vancouver GO. Really beautiful in real life. Really beautiful in FSX.
Based on my experience with this tour, I would recommend adding:
Pisa
Florence
Vienna
Agra
New Zealand
Indonesia
Yosemite, with free add-on BlueSkyScenery scenery
Niagara Falls
I've used this list to help pick my destinations. But a few of them have been disappointing. Perhaps I didn't find the 2 custom items in Helsinki.... I'll provide the list here, along some very brief comments and my Go / No Go decision. Details are presented in the blog itself; finding the individual cities in the blog is left as an exercise for the reader!
According to Phil and his research, cities with more than one custom object are:
Latin America (3)
Mexico City GO. Very large and spread out -- hard to know where to look!
Rio de Jeneiro GO. Fabulous -- almost as good as really being there!
Sao Paulo NO GO. Very boring, very generic.
Europe (30)
Amsterdam NO GO. Disappointing; only a few custom objects, otherwise a very generic city.
Athens GO. The Parthenon is great; the rest is pretty generic.
Barcelona NO GO. Okay; a bit generic.
Berlin GO. Quite nice; a variety of identifiable landmarks.
Brussels GO. Don't miss the Atomium!
Copenhagen GO. Very "real"; suburbs, then an increasingly dense city.
Dublin NO GO. Lots of auto-gen, and a bloody big power plant.
Gibraltar NO GO. Not bad, but doesn't really match the real terrain or city.
Glasgow NO GO. Just awful -- auto-gen suburbs and a few high-rise apartments. Go in real life instead!
Helsinki NO GO. Very disappointing. Looked generic to me.
Istanbul GO. Very nice. Decidedly non-European (even though I guess it's technically Europe!).
Lake Geneva NO GO. The lake and fountain are modeled well; Geneva itself, not so much.
Lisbon NO GO. Very disappointing. Doesn't resemble the real Lisbon.
London GO. Fabulous! Clearly one of the best cities, in real-life and in FSX.
Lyons, France NO GO. Acceptable, but not remarkable.
Madrid NO GO. Acceptable, but not remarkable.
Malmo, Sweden NO GO. Hard to tell. Definitely different from Copenhagan, but seems rather generic.
Milan, Italy GO. Okay. Looks like a lot of other European cities, but has some nice custom objects.
Monte Carlo NO GO. Eh. A few high-rise hotels, a nice marina and one very large mansion!
Moscow GO. Excellent. Definitely identifiable as a Russian city.
Munich NO GO. Very disappointing (then again, it was the end of a long, crummy day when I landed).
Oslo NO GO. Very generic.
Paris GO. One of the best!
La Defense GO. I've never heard of this suburb of Paris, but it's a nicely detailed business district.
Rome GO. Pretty good, and the Colesseum is cool.
Rotterdam GO. Very nicely detailed; better than Amsterdam.
Salzburg GO. A definite don't miss -- the castle and churches at the center of town are excellent photo ops!
St. Petersburg GO. Spectacular.
Stockholm GO. Very realistic in appearance.
Trondheim N/A -- didn't get to visit
US (9)
Atlanta GO. Very nice skyline (although the big buildings are set on forested tiles!).
Chicago GO. Almost as impressive as Manhattan, and not such a framerate killer. A must see.
Los Angeles NO GO. Obscurred by smog, just like in real life.
Miami GO. Big city; impressive port; MASSIVE airport.
New York GO. You shouldn't even have to ask! It did bring my framerate to a crawl, though.
Salt Lake N/A -- didn't get to visit. I've been several times in real life.
San Francisco GO! Absolutely fabulous!
Seattle GO. Gorgeous downtown, and the Space Needle is cool. Try to visit at dusk.
Washington DC GO. Very detailed, and correct (I used to live there).
Africa, Middle East (7)
Cairo GO. Nicely rendered, and definitely not European. Go for the Pyramids!
Capetown N/A -- didn't get to visit; just too far.
Dubai GO. Nice skyline.
Jerusalem GO. Seemed generic and modern, until I found Temple Mount!
Mecca NO GO. Nice enough, but quite modern in appearance. Not what I expected.
Riyadh NO GO. Very flat, very generic. A big disappointment.
Tel-Aviv NO GO. It's fine, but the custom buildings are rather generic. Much like any other modern city.
Asia (16)
Beijing NO GO. A huge disappointment. A very nice autogen, generic city, but virtually no recognizable Beijing landmarks.
Chiba NO GO. A nice enough stadium, but after Tokyo, it's a let down.
Fukuoka GO. Nicely modeled urban sprawl.
Hong Kong GO! One of the very best -- large, detailed, realistic!
Incheon NO GO. Unless you're passing by, this is just an airport.
Kobe GO. Really nice; very hilly terrain and very well rendered city. Really seems real!
Kyoto NO GO. Nice enough, but feels generic (auto-gen) rather than custom.
Nagoya NO GO. Nothing really special to see; just the airport and what looks like a convention center.
Nara GO. I found the scenery between Kobe and Nara wonderfully believable.
Saitama Really just a suburb of Tokyo (which you should definitely go see!).
Sapporo NO GO. Nice enough, but feels blocky and generic to me.
Seoul GO. Even if it's mostly auto-gen, it's very well done.
Shanghai GO. Nicely detailed downtown; lots of unique skyscrapers.
Singapore GO. Nicely detailed downtown; lots of unique skyscrapers.
Taipei GO. If you're going to do China (and you must), then you'll be close by. Go ahead and see Taipei.
Tokyo GO. Spectacular!
Australia & NZ (7)
Auckland GO! Very nice surrounding cities, and an interesting skyline/marina.
Brisbane GO. Really good appearance; surrounding suburbs, and well-organized downtown.
Canberra NO GO. Lots of generic suburbs, not many custom buildings. But, a Lake Geneva plume fountain!
Melbourne GO. Excellent example of a large (sprawling!) city surrounded by suburbs.
Perth GO. Nice skyline and marina. If you're in Western Australia, stop by!
Sydney GO. Very nicely done, and the Opera House is such an internationally recognized landmark.
Wellington GO. Gorgeous setting (it's worth it for that alone!).
Canada (5)
Calgary GO. Maybe I just got lucky with the auto-gen, but Calgary looks very nice.
Edmonton NO GO. Almost all generic auto-gen; one small cluster of high-rise buildings and a big church.
Montreal GO. A very nice mix of building sizes and shapes, most unique. Nicely done.
Toronto GO. Well done -- seems very believeable.
Vancouver GO. Really beautiful in real life. Really beautiful in FSX.
Based on my experience with this tour, I would recommend adding:
Pisa
Florence
Vienna
Agra
New Zealand
Indonesia
Yosemite, with free add-on BlueSkyScenery scenery
Niagara Falls
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