Test machine specs: MSI X670E, AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, AMD Radeon RX 7900XTX, 48gb RAM
DETAIL
This is my third MXI Greek airport and, while they’re not standout in any way, I’ve been more than happy with them. LGPZ, however, seems to be a regression, with considerably less detail than their previous two releases. Their airports have only ever focussed on what’s inside the perimeter fence — and typically include a small but well-modelled portion of the terminal landside — but that’s always sufficed because they’re pretty inexpensive. But LGPZ just feels rushed. It’s got some decent custom ortho covering the entire airfield but it’s not particularly well matched to the surroundings. A bit too lush, whereas this area of Greece is quite dry (more so in summer, obviously). There’s also only a tiny section of the terminal’s interior modelled, and to call it basic is an understatement. Still, it’s better than nothing, and does feature some good static people models.
The terminal’s exterior textures are very good but some of the parallax interiors are repetitive and not particularly convincing when viewed close up. The windows that do not feature parallaxing are comprised of just a single colour, with no defining features, making them look more like they belong in FSX. The landside area is okay at best — a few cars, a handful of roadsigns, the typical lightpoles, etc. No people, though, and it all ends rather abruptly when it meets (quite untidily) the default airport entry/exit road.
There is some good stuff, though. The airside detail is reasonable, featuring a number of custom GSE assets, and the ortho looks nice enough, as long as you don’t keep comparing it to that outside the perimeter. Ground textures/markings are decent (without being anything special) and we get semi-custom runway approach lights at either end. I especially like the quality of the NATO E-3 models, three of which are parked on the military ramp. There are a number of large choppers dotted around, too (which look equally nice), plus an assortment of military vehicles.
Night lighting looks convincing enough, with an obviously intentional difference between the ramp lighting and that used landside. The dreaded Asobo globes make an appearance but they’re far enough away from the landside area to be barely noticeable.
PERFORMANCE
Flawless, even with FSLTL traffic. I think was always going to be the case — no superfluous detail to hog resources, plus the real-life airport is fairly small and quiet.
VERDICT
While there’s no denying LGPZ is disappointing compared to MXI’s last few projects, it’s not expensive and does deliver just about enough to justify its price tag. There’s no detail that’ll make jaws drop but there are a couple of very nice custom assets here that’ll likely stoke a bit of admiration. It’s shame there’s so little interior development, and that the terminal landside is very mediocre, but most other aspects of the scenery are in typical for MXI. LGPZ is currently on sale at Orbx (30% off), which actually makes it pretty good value if you’re looking to add another airport in a surprisingly well covered country in the sim. For those wanting to do real-world flights, LGPZ sees a good number of very short regional hops, operated year-round by ATRs. Greece is a great country for these trips, and despite no World Update currently existing for the region, the island scenery is some of the best.
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