Test machine specs: MSI X670E, AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, AMD Radeon RX 7900XTX, 48gb RAM
My second Pacsim scenery (taking advantage of their summer sale!). Is it a more solid offering than their latest release, KGSP?
DETAIL
In the pre-release and promo threads posted by Pacsim, there was a lot of talk about what appeared to be overly sterile textures on show in the supplied images. Thankfully, those images weren’t really doing the airport justice and the texturing of the buildings (certainly airside) is first-class. Yes, some textures undoubtedly look a little clean and cartoon-like in places, such as the entire terminal roof and parts of the multi-storey car-park, but these aren’t areas you’ll be diligently scanning from the flightdeck of a parked airliner. Airfield ground textures are excellent throughout and it’s only when you move to the landside areas that relatively low-res satellite imagery can be found (not sure whether it’s default or a custom overlay). In summary, the entire airside area is pretty darned impressive, with very little to moan about. There’s a ton of custom GSE clutter, all of it very high quality. The Delta and Skywest hangars, cargo facility and FBOs all look decent, and it really is only the peripheral buildings of this sprawling facility that have been paid less attention than everything else (which is fairly typical of the sim’s larger third-party airports). Unfortunately I include the tower in these more neglected areas — it’s not terrible but it is done using noticeably lower-res textures.
Despite being devoid of people the terminal interior is very good (the window tint looks spot-on), however as you progress through its exterior landside areas the quality of the detail and texturing takes a tumble. As mentioned above, a heavy reliance on satellite imagery, with quite a number of smaller buildings which the dev has chosen to leave as flat, 2D imagery. At least there are plenty of modelled vehicles in these areas but they are in the company of the odd satellite-generated example. The landside area is a little disappointing, given the quality elsewhere, but there is just about enough custom modelling to prevent it being a deal-breaker.
Put simply, the airside areas of this airport mostly tick all the boxes; and where they don’t, you probably won’t notice anyway. If you’re not too fussed about a fully custom-modelled landside, again, most boxes nicely ticked. Personally, I’d like to see a bit more work landside, including improvements in the texture quality.
One thing the dev has mentioned is accurate airline parking, so I was surprised to see a UPS 767 land and taxi to an airbridge-equipped passenger stand. Is this a mistake on their part of just one of those sim bugs we’re all now accustomed to? Answers on a postcard…
PERFORMANCE
Surprisingly good, even with pretty dense FSLTL traffic, but it must be borne in mind that I’m running quite a high-end machine.
VERDICT
Pacsim’s KSLC strikes a good balance between putting detail where it most matters, and omitting it in areas less frequented by virtual pilots. I personally think the landside could be better, and some areas of texturing really are quite repetitive and bland (e.g. the terminal roof). But that shouldn’t take anything away from what is very clearly a premium product. The airside areas (arguably the most important for the majority) don’t disappoint and the amount of custom apron clutter, stuffed into even the smallest nooks and crannies, ensures the airport feels alive.
The only issue for some will be price. I bought it in the Pacsim summer sale (which runs till 7th July) but at full whack ($26), it really is in the very top cost bracket for third-party airports. There are similarly sized, more detailed airports that can be had for less money… but this is undoubtedly the best version of KSLC currently available for the sim. In other words, if you want a good KSLC, you’ll have to dig deep…
For info, other renditions of KSLC are offered by Salt Lake Sims and Feelthere, and while neither looks as polished as Pacsim’s, Feelthere’s does feature a fully modelled landside (complete with train).
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