Test machine specs: MSI X670E, AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, AMD Radeon RX 7900XTX, 48gb RAM
If you’d asked me a few weeks ago about the possibility of FlyTampa’s next project being a small UK regional airport, I’d have laughed. Yet here we are, with a stunningly-detailed representation of Humberside, in North Lincolnshire. I bet no one saw THAT coming!
DETAIL
To put it simply, this (in my opinion) sets a new bar for 2024. The texturing across the entire airfield is first-class, and all done in high-resolution. All buildings and structures have the perfect amount of weathering and the landside detail is probably the most intricate I’ve ever seen. Every sign, kerb, advertisement, railing, barrier, bush, traffic cone, tree… even the Belisha beacons flash in a staggered manner, just as they should! There are some good custom static car models, too (including a proper UK police vehicle), plus an animated bus based on a real-world model that serves the airport from neighbouring communities. The bus isn’t quite as well animated as those seen in Pyreegue’s EGNX scenery but it looks great, nonetheless.
We’re treated to a full terminal interior and again, the texturing is a work of art. Animated passengers help give the internals a bit of life.
Airside, the eye-candy continues with some stunning ground textures that include puddles of stagnant, muddy water, which look fantastic. In the original release (v1.0) there were static Eastern Airways Jetstream models but of the wrong type, being J31s rather than the 41s used by the airline. I reached out to the dev and yesterday we got v1.1 which, in FT’s own words, features models “tortured into J41s”. I also noted in the initial version that there were some US-style trucks alongside the more typical European varieties — again I sought clarification from FT and they stated that these American trucks were indeed present at the airport during a site visit. Talk about attention to detail! The latest update also includes fixes to the runway lighting, though being unfamiliar with the place I couldn’t tell you what’s changed.
Outside the perimeter fence there’s more treats for the eyes, with almost the entire road network around the airfield having been custom modelled (complete with roadsigns). To the northwest of the airport, the large chemical plant has been included and features what I think is the coolest smoke/steam effect yet seen in the sim.
PERFORMANCE
Despite the insane level of detail, EGNJ runs beautifully on my system. It’s a very small airport so perhaps to be expected, however that shouldn’t take anything away from what FT have managed to achieve here.
VERDICT
Buy it! No interest in Humberside or this region of the UK? Buy it anyway! It’s worth it just for the bragging rights to what is a strong contender for the most stunningly-detailed airport so far. There’s just nothing to fault! Sure, you can always make the case for more detail but, compared to what we had two years ago, this should exceed all expectations.
It’s a beautifully-modelled scenery with an insane attention to detail. It’s a shame there aren’t more real-world routes for airliner pilots (just a handful of Eastern Airways flights, with their various types, plus KLM to EHAM and seasonal TUI to LEPA) but that of course is no fault of FlyTampa. It’s great to see a dev typically more associated with large world hubs take on a small, intimate little airport in a pretty remote corner of England — makes me wonder what other tricks they might have up their sleeves…
IMAGES
To follow…
Lot’s of product placement around which does make it come to life.
