Given the ongoing issues with FS2024, and the lack of compatibility with FSLTL and many third-party aircraft, this review is FS2020 only. The dev has labelled it as 2024-compatible, however.
Test machine specs: MSI X670E, AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, AMD Radeon RX 7900XTX, 48gb RAM
Add-ons: FSLTL, GSX Pro, REX AccuSeason (which may misrepresent some colours in certain light conditions)
DETAIL
The airside detail is good, without being exceptional. The runway stains look a touch blurry, to the point that I can’t tell if they’re actually supposed to be cracks; but the ground textures and markings elsewhere are high-quality. There is little in the way of ramp clutter but this is only a small regional airport, in a pretty remote part of Africa. There are an unusual (for the airport’s size) number of towering apron floodlights, which are very nicely modelled and no doubt a quirky feature of the real-world airport. I was rather amused by the animated figure carrying a box labelled “airplane parts” across the ramp… and this wasn’t the last or best hidden little Easter egg I’d go on to find in this scenery!
The terminal looks pretty good from airside, if not a little featureless (though again, I suspect this reflects reality). However moving inside, I quickly learned that this scenery boasts a surprising secret: indisputably the most detailed interior I’ve ever seen! I shan’t go into too much detail as the numerous custom animations are fun to find (and watch) but they include shops, cafes and banks opening and closing their doors depending on the time of day, and working clocks throughout the building (even down to the red seconds hand!). I don’t think I’ve ever spent as long looking around, even in terminals 10x the size! This is truly outstanding stuff — the level of detail and innovation here is what I’d expect from the next generation of airports, specifically developed for FS2024. As a bonus, virtually everything is done in high-res.
Exiting the building to landside, it’s just as impressive: cars (some with animated drivers), tour buses, statues, roadsigns, speed humps, custom foliage totally unique to this scenery… the list goes on… and on. And as inside, all done with the very finest attention to detail — you can clearly read every tiny sign, plaque, advert, etc. Just a couple of anomalies here, that are slightly annoying (given how perfect everything else is): an uneven and rather ugly-looking road running down one side of the terminal, and custom ground textures that fit in rather awkwardly with the surrounding default. But honestly, these small flaws are very easy to overlook when you consider how gorgeous this package looks overall.
I was that mesmerised by the terminal interior that I almost missed a number of peripheral buildings/structures, which include a beautifully-modelled but very run-down shack/house at the airport’s northwest boundary.
PERFORMANCE
Perfect for me, in spite of the insane amount of detail. In all honesty, it’s airports of this size — well away from dense photogrammetry areas and catering for a very limited number of flights — that can be reasonably expected to handle such incredible levels of detail. I’d actually have been pretty disappointed had performance been anything but flawless.
VERDICT
It’s rare I say this but 61tree’s Livingstone is an airport every flight simmer should own, simply because it demonstrates the level of extreme detail possible in MSFS. As I basically said earlier, if this airport had been a 2024-exclusive, I’d have put the detail down to the new sim’s engine. If this is what can be achieved in MSFS, it bodes very well indeed for FS2024!
While this part of Africa doesn’t have photogrammetry, the landscape is pretty breathtaking, and actually much better aesthetically than I expected. It FEELS like central Africa. The world-famous Victoria Falls are only a couple of clicks away so the //42/Jeppeson2001 falls pack is a good accompanying scenery — fly into FLHN in your 737 from the likes of Nairobi or Jo’Burg, then hop in the Cessna Caravan or a chopper for a spin over the falls.
The airport is currently 50% off at Simmarket (around £6.50 / €8 / $8.50), which makes it an absolute no-brainer. It’s worth it just to explore that terminal interior once… even if you never fly here again!
IMAGES
I’m not going to post images as I think they’ll give too much away and thus spoil the surprise…