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Scenery Update : LEVC - Valecia, LRSB - Sibiu Intl, LRTR - Timisoara by DAI-Media


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Scenery Update : LEVC - Valecia, LRSB - Sibiu International, LRTR - Timisoara by DAI-Media

 

What is important about scenery to you? If you are going to invest in scenery then you have to define why you need it but also if you will actually use it. There is without doubt a lot of freeware scenery, but also a lot of if not most of all those folders of places are really actually used, or are they just fillers to create an all rounded scenery system. Yes you need them, but payware scenery is different in the fact that if you are going to actually buy it, then you do expect a quality scenery to be in. But there is more to that investment to me...

 

My main criteria for selection and investment in scenery is really three things 1 ) Quality,  2 ) usability, 3 ) and that I am there point of view. Quality is a given, the scenery should be as really well recreated as the original real area and buildings, in two "usability" is in most cases the most important factor? That actually would be quite low on your list, but it is very high on mine because if I don't use the scenery it is really a waste of money or investment, just having it there is simply not good enough.

 

The "I am there point of view" is very important for me as well. When I land or depart I want to feel and see I am as close to the aspect of actually being in that place as I can. You may say that point of view is just simply impossible to recreate on a computer screen, and to a point I will agree with you on that. But you can at least try to get a close as possible anyway. Over the last few years, X-Plane's biggest weakness with its scenery finally is coming alive. Laminar Research's Global Airports are really good (and getting better all the time), but it is still the payware scenery that you need to give your view the real lift you need. I have been very impressed by the feeling on how well we have it now compared to days of a few converted ex 2004 FS sceneries, average was not the word back then.

 

But today my personal flying does revolve around my network of routes, so very good scenery is always going to be part of my growing network and is my main reason for a purchase of a significant destination. I call them my "Holes" blanks in my network that I need to fill to complete my routing and reason's to fly from one point to another. The surprise is that a really good scenery can create a totally new network and many new significant routes because the scenery is just that good that you want to, and must use it. Drzewiecki Design's UUEE Sheremetyevo Airport XP by Drzewiecki Design is a great example, as would I have flown all the way to Moscow even a year ago...  not really as it was not even on my radar. But now I have maybe six to seven routes connecting through UUEE, just to use the scenery, and that is how it all works.

 

DAI-Media has always been on my radar so to speak, I like their scenery if that only a few are way out in Romania. But because the scenery is interesting I do go out there (not very often I admit) but I still find ways of networking them altogether and mostly out of LOWW - Wien (Vienna).

 

Three of the sceneries have had updates since the start of the year in LEVC - Valecia, LRSB - Sibiu, LRTR - Timisoara, with LROP - Budapest having a major makeover and LEBL - Barcelona-El Prat Airport as their next release.

 

LEVC - Valencia-Manises

Valencia-Manises is one of my favorite routes so this scenery is always on my route list, in either routing from EGKK (Gatwick) or EGSS (Standsted) in the UK or LIRF in Rome, Italy. The LIRF - LEVC service is one of my test routes and this quick run over the western Mediterranean is one I do quite often.

 

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The airport is crowded in by the default buildings around it, so you have to account for that with your settings as they can hit your framerate. But what they take away in power is worth it by the great feeling of a city around you. But the airport has great animations and autogates and good traffic animation around it, so you always feel welcome here. DAI-Media's best aspects are their terminals, and the LEVC terminal is excellent with great design and a perfect representation of this building and its features with the swooped curved roof of the new T2 domestic terminal a standout.

 

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I try to time my arrivals at dawn or dusk, as not only is there a great view from the aircraft of the surrounding mountains, but the approach to runway 30 is simply great over the harbour, then the city and finally the landing finals over the highway, do it at night with HDR on and you are in for a treat and the lighting on the ramps is also excellent.

The updates this year (2015) comprise of:

- Corrections regional terminal roof

- Change chain fence for concrete fence

- Fix PAPI light on rwy 30

- Expanded taxiway in line with changes of actual taxiway states.

- Update runway guards and holding positions

- Changed grass, and some other misc textures

- Add ATC Flow and fix and expand atc route

- Some others bugs fixed

- Add exclusion for compatibility with Gateway airport.

- Changed visual Ads (signage)

- Fix lights where taxiway cross rwy 30

- Add Skyline Library

- Add shadows terminal and optimise terminal building, fix texture - Add more decals, more vegetation, oranges trees

- Populate port with ships, containers, cranes.

- Add volumetric effects on taxisigns

- Some others bug fixed and improvements

And you notice the updates, mostly with the new port and shipping on the approach, the fixed ATC flow is now excellent as well and far better than the wayward original tracks around the airport. And you don't get the "Global Gateway" version sticking out of the old terminal buildings.

So LEVC - Valencia-Manises is an excellent investment and even a must have if you fly around the Mediterranean...

 

LEVC - Valencia, ES cost is  25.00 €  LEVC - Valencia Manises

X-Plane Reviews release review : Scenery Review : LEVC - Valencia Manises by DAI-Media

 

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LRSB - Sibiu International

Sibiu is positioned deep with in the valley surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains in Romania. Regular routes here are from LROP - Budapest, EDDM - Munich and LOWW - Vienna. Lufthansa Regional and WIZZ will keep you busy. I run a loop from LOWW to LRSB then to LRTR and return to LOWW as a sort of charter pickup trip for international onward connections out of Vienna. (You have to admit I have a brilliant imagination). But it is in fact a great service. Mostly the CRJ200 equipment is better here, but today I am using the Airbus A320 series as I want time on the aircraft.

 

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The airport of Sibiu is an important cultural center of Romania, and tourists are finding their way there now more and more in bigger numbers each year. This is good well crafted scenery, as noted the terminal is again the highlight, but mostly the scenery is full of objects and details.

The ramps feel more empty than I thought they were? But the images in the review say the same story. Highlight is the great Șoseaua Alba Iulia (Highways 1 & 7) which are very well set out and are perfectly set into the airport scenery and making this scenery very animated.  Not a lot of animations on the ramps still though....

 

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Night lighting is excellent with the airport having great coverage and the ramp area is excellent...  arrival and departures are great in low light as the runway/taxiways are both very well lit. The signage lighting is a standout feature here.

The updates comprise of:

– Fix some Bugs,

– Add more shared objects

– Add mesh correction.

- LRSB - Aeroportul International Sibiu Mesh/ be down to: SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/DAI Media Scenery - LRSB - Aeroportul International Sibiu/

– Fix chart links

– Fix some taxi edges light and bars

– Excludes conflicts with HD Mesh 2

– Some textures update to more details

– Others small bug fixes.

– Reconfigure boundary for flattering control on mesh when “runway follow terrain contours” enabled , and Lights fix

– Reconfigure ILS runway 27. (See the point 7 for fix)

– Some small bug fixes.

Surprisingly the RWY 27 Alignment is still out but a fix is noted in the manual. And note the position of the Sibiu Mesh folder must be below the main scenery folder in the Custom Scenery ini order unless you want no scenery on landing.

For value LRSB-Sibiu is still very good and great value at only 14.00 €.

 

LRSB - Sibiu International cost is  14.00 €  LRSB - Sibiu International

X-Plane Reviews release review : Scenery Review : LRSB Sibiu, Romania by DAI Media

 

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LRTR - "Traian Vuia" Timişoara

LRTR is a short hop directly west from Sibiu and only an easily under the hour flight. Timişoara "Traian Vuia" International (also known as Giarmata Airport) is Romania's third largest airport and DAI-Media's very first project. It feels far more active than Sibiu straight away, although I was not sure of the aircraft parking? one aircraft blocked the way on to the ramp and the others were all aligned facing outwards, correct of course but they make it hard to turn around and park.

 

Highlights of all DAI-Media sceneries are the very well meshed in photo-scenery (orthos) to the surrounding default X-Plane scenery. I will note that the realism of this aspect was why I was attracted to DAI-Media's work, no other scenery designers get this intermesh as good as these people do, when you cross the fence to land then any visual aspect is perfect...  as it should be.

 

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Timişoara is highly detailed scenery, very detailed and a great destination...  My point on that "point of view" on the ground is evident here. It is very realistic, so an airport like LRTR maybe not on your everyday radar, but when you get here you feel you are somewhere different. And that is part of my points on good scenery, as you buy scenery for different reasons.

 

But the main point it must represent the place and even it is well far off the beaten route, if the scenery is good it is worth the investment and time to go there. So the detailing and objects are first rate and the airport terminal (again) and signage are the highlights. Make sure that the "mesh " is below the actual scenery unless you want another blank area on landing. Grass and fence features are also first rate thoughout all these sceneries, it is this sort of detailing that is what you pay for.

 

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Night lighting is excellent. I arrived very early in the morning and the airport looked great. Ramp lighting is perfect but throughout all of the scenery the lighting is very good.

– Correct Airport Name & some ground marks.

– Exclusion extended to fix errors with Treelines Farms Europe v2 & HD Global Scenery2

– Fix mesh and altitude. Please be sure that Mesh folder have lower priority than Scenery folder, this can cause incorrect load of scenery, for sure please take a look to your “scenery_packs.ini” in your Custom Scenery and be sure that the line: SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/DAI Media Scenery - LRTR - Timisoara Traian Vuia Mesh/ be down to: SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/DAI Media Scenery - LRTR - Timisoara Traian Vuia/

– Added tower point view

– Some others minors bugs fixed.

improvements in grass, texturing, modeling, without killing fps

Animations are excellent with opening hangar doors between certain hours and a stop bars for when taxiing until clearance is given from the tower. There could be more ramp animations though, as that is now more of a requirement when purchasing modern X-Plane scenery.

 

LRTR - "Traian Vuia" Timişoara cost is  17.00 €  LRTR - "Traian Vuia"

 

X-Plane Reviews release review : Scenery Review : LRTR - Timișoara "Traian Vuia" International, Romania by DAI-Media

Checkout DAI-Media's excellent last release in EFRO - Rovaniemi (Scenery Review : EFRO - Rovaniemi by DAI Media ) which is another great scenery... 

 

So it is time to head back to LOWW - Wien (Vienna)

 

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Even in this circuit of airports you can see how far X-Plane has come in the last few years of scenery, landing back at LOWW which is the Austrian X-Plane Design Group's (AXDG) excellent Wien Schwechat (LOWW) your X-Plane world of great scenery is becoming now a reality. It is the realism that we desire and invest in, and in some cases that realism is comes with our hard earned wages and income. But such investment is certainly worth the effort...  X-Plane is making huge strides now and that is because of users willing to invest in great scenery, and I am all for the better of all that.

 

All DAI-Media Scenery is purchased through the DAI-Media site here : DAI-Media

 

Update Article by Stephen Dutton

30th April 2015

Copyright©2015: X-Plane Reviews

 

Review System Specifications:

Computer System:     

- 2.66 Ghz Intel Core i5 iMac 27”

- 9 Gb 1067 Mhz DDR3

- ATI Radeon HD 6970M 2048 mb

- Seagate 256gb SSD 

Software:     

- Mac OS Yosemite 10.10.1

- X-Plane 10 Global ver 10.35 (final)

Addons

- Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle

- Bose - Soundlink Mini

Aircraft

- Airbus A320-214 CFM Engine by Peters Aircraft (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$54.90

 

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