Tonight, Digital Design rolled out updates for three of their sceneries. Why am I mentioning this? Because the changelog contains some very interesting adjustments. The changelog lists “improved ortho image, optimized LOD and fixed elevation changes in the airport area”. In my opinion, all of these changes are necessary because of Sim Update 16.
I already wrote a few days ago that the Sim Update changed the LOD level and that old airports may not be optimised for this. In addition, the airports often no longer fit well into their surroundings because they were optimised for the old satellite images with different colours. One thing I hadn’t realised myself, however, is that the new terrain data means that some scenery buildings may fly into the air after the update. I noticed this yesterday in the vicinity of Portland Airport, Oregon. This was also partly the case with Digital Design’s Moscow. Credit to Digital Design for adapting their sceneries so quickly for SU 16. But how many other developers will do the same now that the focus is clearly on MSFS 2024? Probably not many.
Due to the LOD adjustments, the new satellite images and the new elevation data, I believe that countless third-party airports are no longer 100% compatible with MSFS 2020. The changes made by Digital Design confirm this. The extent of the compatibility issues is likely to vary greatly from airport to airport.
But as I said a few days ago, it is completely unacceptable to roll out an update that significantly reduces the quality of many of the third-party sceneries that users have paid good money for. For me, that’s an even bigger problem than the poorer satellite data.
Moscow Domodedovo before today’s update
Moscow Domodedovo after today’s update
Changelog
