I have been using FS since 1996 and one of my biggest gripes has been the inability to simulate realistic air traffic at an airport. Living in LA, I am obsessed with LAX. I flown in and out hundreds of times and even worked there for a short period of time. Having an accurate rendition in FSX was also an obsession. With FSX and a lot of community tools, I came very close. With FlightOne’s Ultimate traffic, aiseparate, traffictools, airtaxispeed, and custom afcads, I had LAX working almost true to life. It came with a cost. It took a lot of processing power and frames hovered around 10 fps and forget about flying. Going any higher was cost prohibitive. Sadly there are no equivalent tools in MSFS2020.
When MSFS2020 was announced, I was convinced I could finally get it done and be able to fly in and out of LAX. I saw the specs and said I’m building my computer for the first time and would go way above the top specs listed. I saw real-traffic would be a feature. Another step closer, but, so far that has been a bust.
When AIG announced their package, I was ecstatic. I downloaded it immediately and every single airline. If you’ve done this, you know it takes forever. I downloaded ADE and figured out how to edit Asobos LAX. I made a chart of every parking stand with airline’s using them. From Aviation Blvd on the east and Pershing Dr on west, it was covered. I went through every AIG aircraft .config file and pulled the associated parking codes. This included military, cargo, and corporate planes. I merged all of this data in to a custom ADE of LAX. I had a plane at every single stand w/room for 5 380s at the TBIT. The stands couldn’t be true to life since overlapping stands mean no planes in one. Lateral adjustments had to be made.
The limitations of internal AI traffic handling are glaring when LAX is full. FSX and the custom afcads worked so much better for ground handling. A sim update broke my ADE and my will to learn it again for now. For now Iniscenes amazing KLAX rendition will have to do.
When FSLTL announced their package, again an immediate download. Some of the visual effects on the planes like the tire smoke, lighting, and rain effects blew my mind compared to AIG models. FSLTL models seem more realistic in their longer takeoff runs and longer stopping distances on landing than AIG models. However, AIG is definitely more meticulous about the details on the aircraft in small things like fonts. They also have way more models and airlines ready to go. It’s amazing they have this many liveries and aircraft.
I just downloaded the Sim 11 beta and the updates to real traffic are very encouraging. Seeing 5 simultaneous approaches at ATL is awesome. However. Seeing departing traffic appear in the middle of their takeoff run instead of the gates in a little jarring, but typical Asobo, fix one issue, cause another.
The progress in air traffic has been slow but steady. With AIG, which I still consider the gold standards with schedules and variety of models and liveries, FSLTL and their physics and visual effects and Asobo’s updating real-time traffic handling, it’s encouraging. If I could all 3 of them in the same room, I would be in heaven. It’s not here yet but realistic air traffic is on the horizon.