Test machine specs: MSI X670E, AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, AMD Radeon RX 7900XTX, 48gb RAM
A note that this scenery includes the airport AND the entire island.
DETAIL
The airport is very nicely detailed, both airside and landside. The terminal building’s textures are very convincing and give it a sunbleached, ‘used’ look. There’s a partial interior which, while pretty basic, is perfectly functional. There are static people, inside and out, and a smattering of static vehicles parked at the terminal landside. A nice touch is the inclusion of some telegraph poles, complete with messy cables — it just wouldn’t be Greece without a few dodgy wires strewn between some battered pieces of wood!
The ground textures are excellent throughout, however the custom ortho covering the airport (and the whole island, for that matter) isn’t the highest quality. It’s acceptable, though, and does for the most part give the impression of an arid landscape.
There is some peripheral detail but I’d be lying if I said it was modelled to the same standard as the terminal. Still, it’s not bad and gives us virtual pilots something to look at while on finals — for instance, there’s a small, rocky hill between the runway and the coast, next to which sits some sort of old monastery. It looks decent from a distance but get up close and you’ll see the imperfections.
In summary, the airport is very well done and has that feel of an ageing Greek island facility.
Unfortunately, the rest of the island is less impressive. It’s certainly not bad, but the nagging issue is building repetition, most noticeable in the main town, Fira (the one all the holiday brochures feature, perched atop the cliffs looking down into the caldera). The modelling here is quite basic but perfectly understandable, given that it’s clearly been designed to be seen from altitude. But there should really be far more variety in the structures, with only two or three being truly distinct. There also appear to be far fewer of the typical blue-domed rooftops than there should be. From a distance it all looks great but I’d ideally like to have seen a little more detail, such as some of the many bars and restaurants that precariously cling to these famous cliffs. On the positive side, 29Palms have at least gone to the trouble of using custom Greek-style buildings, and have overhauled the island’s vegetation to better reflect reality. They’ve also added a handful of animated marine vessels, including an inter-island ferry.
PERFORMANCE
Excellent on my system but I think that was expected, given how busy this airport is.
VERDICT
Despite the flaws, 29Palms have very nicely captured the essence of this island airport. Okay, the custom ortho perhaps could be sharper and less green in places — and more detail/variety added to the towns and villages — but they’re on the right track because it FEELS right… even if it doesn’t always LOOK right.
This is a good scenery but could be outstanding with just a few additions. Improving the custom ortho I imagine would be very difficult (Greece isn’t the most co-operative country when it comes to procuring data like that) but the bigger issue for me is the lack of variety in the buildings, and their relatively poor quality in what are very prominent areas of the island. I’d expect a clifftop restaurant in one of the most visited places in the world to feature more detail than a house in the middle of nowhere; but sadly, this isn’t the case.
Do I recommend it? Definitely — an excellent airport and an entire island is good for £16 / €19 — however I can’t help but think about what could have been. This package has great potential and I hope 29Palms take my criticism on board (I have contacted them to offer my thoughts) and spruce up the main towns in an update.
IMAGES
To follow…