Test machine specs: MSI X670E, AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, AMD Radeon RX 7900XTX, 48gb RAM
Version reviewed: 1.0.3
Add-ons: BATC, GSX Pro, GFX, Global Shipping '24
I’m always hesitant buying Azrsim’s products because the two I already had — Riyadh and Baku — are a very mixed bag, with the latter being a little better (to the point that it’s acceptable, more so when discounted by the dev’s typical 50%).
DETAIL
For those in the TL;DR camp: Jeddah is actually pretty good, despite exhibiting some of the flaws of its predecessors.
Firstly, I’m amazed by the high quality of the default ground imagery around Jeddah (Saudi Arabia on the whole, actually), which I think always helps the feel of an airport. If the surrounding terrain is the low-res stuff, it can really damage immersion when arriving/departing. The airport scenery itself sits remarkably well within its desert setting, so we’re off to a good start (even if Azrsim aren’t entirely responsible for the local ambience).
Runway textures are surprisingly good, featuring believable weathering and general wear-and-tear. Same goes for the taxiways and aprons, with the majority of ground markings being clearly legible. There are, however, a few VERY low-res examples, by which I’m quite perplexed (see image no.6 below). In line with other Azrsim products, the airfield lighting system is entirely default.
The airport boasts a number of expansive aprons that serve various purposes but sadly, most of them feel a touch lifeless, even with AI traffic enabled (main apron included). For some of them, this might be the case in reality, given their astonishing size — one would expect the Hajj apron, for example, to be deserted for much of the year — however the general placement of custom GSE isn’t helping. The GSE itself is high-quality but much of it is located in more out-of-the-way areas where it’s seldom seen. More emphasis around the primary passenger terminal would improve things. Better news is that the majority of parking stands feature VDGS.
The main terminal building is modern and the shape and design reminds me a lot of Beijing Capital’s new terminal. It does have a slightly cartoonish look that almost makes it appear model-like but this could well be down to the fact that it’s a fairly recent construction. Considering its size, the level of exterior detail is perfectly adequate, with the jetways being especially worthy of praise. There’s internal modelling but it really only functions as something basic to peer in at from the flightdeck of a parked airliner, being limited to rows of seating and a few gate signs (the floor’s nicely detailed, though!). There aren’t even any static people but the window tint is at least convincing (a touch overdone at night, perhaps). It’s a shame the interior is so sparse and repetitive because the real building contains some impressive architectural displays.
The building’s landside roadway is actually very well modelled but again, lacks people, and could do with more static clutter (vehicles, baggage trollies, etc.) to complement the roadsigns, barriers and ornate paving. You don’t have to move far from the terminal entrances/exits, however, before the detail drops off abruptly, leaving little more than default ground. One could reasonably argue that an airport this size (it’s massive) might lack the finer detail smaller airports can easily accommodate but iniBuilds’ recent megahubs suggest this is a bit of a myth in 2026.
To be fair to Azrsim, the peripheral airfield detail is good, despite there being a number of default autogen buildings within the airport boundary. All the important buildings/structures have been custom-modelled and some of them exhibit a degree of weathering the top devs would be proud to claim as their own. There is some sort of auxiliary ATC tower close to the main fire station (see image no.8 below) that looks amazing, so Azrsim clearly have untapped talent.
The airfield perimeter is perhaps impossible to fully explore in less than a week so I can’t say for sure that the fence is all-encompassing, but I didn’t notice any gaps in the parts I did manage to traverse. It’s a default asset but I didn’t expect anything more.
Just before I comment on night-lighting and BATC compatibility, I’d like to point out two issues I’ve noticed, that may or may not bother potential customers. The first is jetway pop-in at relatively close range, pointing towards flawed LOD. The second (and less noticeable) is some of the custom-modelled roadways surrounding the main passenger terminal not matching up well with their default counterparts (sections either skewed or hovering, basically).
A strength of the scenery is its night-lighting, and being a 2024-native scenery no doubt helps. I did find a handful of Asobo ‘globes’ floating around airside (and landside) but they’re far enough out of the way to not be a nuisance. As I pointed out earlier, the terminal interior looks a bit dim at night, from the outside, but this could be down to the glass opacity of the real-world structure. Benefit of the doubt, therefore given.
I hate to end with bad news but that’s exactly what it is for AI traffic users, I’m afraid. All arrival/departure procedures are implemented but it seems the code connecting the runways to the taxiways and aprons is either flawed or non-existent, meaning arriving aircraft vanish on the runway during rollout. At one time I thought this COULD be a BATC operational issue but it’s the case with all Azrsim airports so I suspect it’s a dev oversight. I know people have emailed him re this issue — and many times he’s apparently promised to provide a fix — but it persists, for now.
PERFORMANCE
Jeddah’s a big airport. That’s the first thing to bear in mind. When this airport released, performance was a hot topic… for all the wrong reasons. I don’t recall the specifics but in a nutshell, there were simply too many polygons and too few LODs. This apparently created a slideshow in the vicinity of the main terminal (even for those with top-spec PCs), however performance has been progressively addressed in the three updates since release. I had ONE minor stutter approaching RWY34R, which is the runway closest to the main pax terminal. Other than that, everything was fine; but bear in mind I do have a pretty beefy PC.
What I would say is, exercise caution if you’ve an older or otherwise mediocre spec. If iniBuilds’ massive hubs run poorly on your system, I suspect Jeddah will, too.
VERDICT
Jeddah doesn’t completely do away with some of Azrsim’s annoying traits but things are undoubtedly getting better. There might be a fair bit to dislike here but there’s also a lot to like. The most immediately-noticeable positive is the surrounding terrain (yes, I know… thanks to Asobo), and the way in which the airport fits into it. There are no unsightly patches of mismatched default ground bleeding through, but this is likely down to luck more than anything else.
Some airports have great foundations but just need more putting on top of those foundations. Jeddah falls into that category. The modelling is generally of a high standard (a bit sterile in places) and it would only take a small variety of custom assets to really liven the place up. First and foremost, get some people inside the terminal and around its landside entrances/exits. Pad out the building’s interior to break up the monotony. Build upon the fantastic terminal outdoor landside by placing more fixed clutter, such as cars, buses, taxis, bollards, bins, etc. Increase GSE on the main apron — if that results in a performance impact, reduce the amount in areas it’s serving no useful purpose. Improve the LOD of the jetways, to eliminate or at least mitigate the close-range pop-in. Finally, ensure AI traffic has properly connected routes between the runways and the aprons.
I’d also like to see the autogen buildings airside replaced with custom models but they don’t actually look too out-of-place. In fact, I initially struggled to even distinguish them from the custom examples!
So, is it worth the money? £24 is possibly a little steep when you can get an similarly-sized iniBuilds hub for the same price; however you have to bear in mind where in the world Jeddah is, and how difficult it must be to obtain reliable reference data. I purchased the airport in the current Azrsim 50% off sale (at the iniBuilds store) and at that price, I feel like I’ve been given more than my money’s worth. As I said, Jeddah has solid DNA and if the dev is prepared to listen and keep updating, this project could get a lot better. It’s Saudi Arabia’s busiest airport with destinations few facilities outside the country offer. Furthermore, there are many sub-one-hour regional and even domestic hops operated by A330s, 777s and 787s.
On a final note, if bought as part of the same transaction as the airport, the accompanying landmarks pack works out at just 60p! It’s not great, featuring just a handful of buildings (they do now have basic night-lighting)… but for 60 pence…
IMAGES
