Test machine specs: MSI X670E, AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, AMD Radeon RX 7900XTX, 48gb RAM
Sim version: MSFS
Add-ons: FSLTL, GSX Pro, REX AccuSeason (which may misrepresent some colours in certain light conditions)
Owning a number of M’M Simulations airports, I’ve always found them to be decent, without being top-tier. Oulu is pretty new and currently available with 40% off, so I added their latest release to my library…
DETAIL
For anyone familiar with M’M’s airports, it’s fairly typical. Right off the bat I’ll say that I have always found their texture work a bit clean and sterile, and Oulu is no different — however there are areas of texturing that look convincingly weathered. It puzzles me why they can’t apply their more convincing textures universally but… que sera.
The ground textures/markings are good, without being standout. They’re pretty sharp but, again, a little too clean. Taxiway/apron signage is plentiful. The runway does at least feature Scandinavian-style piano keys, along with reasonable signs of wear-and-tear. Apron clutter is a bit lacking (something we’re used to with M’M) and what is present is comprised of default Asobo assets.
Typically for MM airports, the main terminal is where the majority of the overly clean textures reside. They’re not terrible, generally, but there exist areas that do look more like FSX relics. The jetways are entirely custom and match their real-world counterparts very accurately. Moving inside, we find a pretty detailed interior — it’s extremely pleasant, though not award-winning. That said, I reckon there’s more internal detail than the average M’M airport, and we do get decent static passenger models. It’s worth noting that one of M’M’s strengths is the use of very high-res textures across the board, and there are some impressive examples throughout the terminal’s interior (see image 16 below). If you’re expecting a single low-res texture, anywhere in the scenery, be thankful that you won’t manage to locate one! M’M must be lauded for this approach and many better devs could do with taking a leaf from their book.
Onto landside and we are presented with the usual uninspiring modelling. To be fair, M’M always custom model their landsides (nothing left to default satellite imagery) but they look too sparse. Fewer cars than I’d like right outside the terminal, no people, and only pockets of fairly rudimentary detail such as roadsigns and advertising billboards. It doesn’t look bad, but it could be better. The perimeter fencing around the terminal looks decent, and it contains an assortment of gates, turnstiles and barriers that break up any monotony. There are, however, a few gaps in this fencing (see images 17 and 18 below), right in the vicinity of the terminal. It’s not that big a deal but it’s extremely annoying because it’s such a clumsy error (and one that’s easily addressed). The ATC tower is located right next to the terminal and has been modelled very well.
Moving on to the airfield’s more peripheral areas — both airside and landside — there’s not a great deal (probably the case in reality) but what is here is pretty well done. There are various hangars that feature decent weathering effects, and a remote military zone in the airport’s northwest corner (featuring a static chopper). Unsurprisingly, these areas have received less attention than the main terminal but there are still custom assets to be seen.
Night-lighting is very nice at this airport, although there’s little effort been made away from the main terminal area. Sadly, there are some Asobo ‘globes’ floating around, but they’re less obvious than in some other M’M sceneries, being confined to the landside car-parks. The terminal interior looks beautiful at night, particularly from the flightdeck of a parked airliner. Top marks in this department!
PERFORMANCE
In many of my reviews I often go on about the potential significance of lower-resolution textures — i.e. questioning whether they’re responsible for good performance. Well, M’M don’t do low-res textures and Oulu performs impeccably. Probably no surprise, given its size and sporadic commercial traffic, but I guess it sort of dispels the theory that low-res textures are always used to bolster performance. On the other hand, if there’s a need for low-res textures to get an airport like this running smoothly, there’s arguably something wrong with the optimisation.
VERDICT
EFOU is another airport off the beaten track for M’M, and I can certainly think of developers I’d much rather have avoided for this project. Generally, they’ve done a good job, particularly with their consistency in using very sharp textures. You can get as close as you like to any small detail and it will not disappoint.
But the scenery is let down by a few minor issues, most of which are typical for this dev. There’s obviously the issue with gaps in the perimeter fence near the terminal (anywhere but near the terminal!) but the general sparsity of some key airport areas leaves the place feeling more sterile than it should — even for northern Scandinavia. I’d like to see more custom clutter, both on the ramp and at the terminal’s immediate landside. This would make a four-star airport much closer to five-star. I’d also prefer more widespread use of weathered textures, just to up the degree of authenticity. M’M have already demonstrated they’re capable of producing some very convincing texture work… so let’s have more.
Finally, there is some sort of issue with the AI traffic, that causes scenes like the one in the last image below. I’m not sure if this is an Asobo or M’M issue but I strongly suspect the dev could address it if they were so inclined.
Okay, let’s now highlight the good, because there’s actually a fair bit to like about this scenery, with some areas of traditional M’M weakness having been improved upon lately. The terminal interior is lovely (despite not being Drzewiecki or Pyreegue standard) and features plenty of static passengers. Custom object/asset textures are fantastic across the board, with zero evidence of anything remotely blurry. And lastly, the night-lighting, particularly in and around the terminal, looks amazing (Asobo ‘globes’ in the car-park aside).
There are a couple of freeware Oulu projects but it’s plainly obvious from trawling through images that M’M’s payware version beats them all. While it’s not a top-class Scandinavian scenery in the league of Marcus Nyberg or Jo Erlend Sund, it will satisfy anyone’s need for a decent EFOU. The surroundings have enormous seasonal variation, and the airport does at least capture the essence of a remote Scandinavian backwater.
Certainly at the current sale price, it’s worth picking up.
