Test machine specs: MSI X670E, AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, AMD Radeon RX 7900XTX, 48gb RAM
Reviewed for: FS2024
Add-ons: BATC, GSX Pro, GFX, Global Shipping '24
Having been pretty satisfied with SimPixel’s Naples (which I reviewed a day or two ago), I decided to give their Ciampino a go. With the current IniBuilds discount, it worked out at just over £9 — considerably cheaper than Naples.
There’s actually another version of this airport allegedly due soon, by a new dev Italian called FoxGolf; however it’s been teased for two years now and any questions are met with “coming soon, please be patient”. The last previews were nearly a year ago and to be honest, overall, the project didn’t look any better than SimPixel’s.
DETAIL
A very similar story to Naples, really. Excellent ground textures, particularly the old disused runway, with its crumbling surface and faded white crosses. The active runway is lined by individually-modelled grids, which is a nice little detail few devs seem to bother with. The airport has an elevation profile, and all airfield lighting is custom, except the approach lights for RWY33 (which are default). The impressive red/white gantries supporting the RWY15 approach lights seem somewhat misaligned, however, and the lamps themselves are facing the wrong way. While you do see approach lights at night, upon closer examination, the illumination is actually provided by floating globules that are unattached to to any structure. One of these gantries is also stuck in a PG rendition of itself, which should really have been tidied.
The terminal is done quite basically and does not have an interior (as such — one building is modelled inside but it’s completely empty). As with Naples, some buildings seem better-textured than others but there’s generally a decent degree of consistency across the airfield. The ramp features a good amount of custom static GSE but (again, like Naples) there’s noticeable repetition. There are some branded fuel tankers but, oddly, they’re located in a compound just off the airfield. There are two static Ryanair B38Ms on the main apron, plus an interesting selection of corporate and military aircraft elsewhere.
The terminal landside is okay. Nothing to write home about. It at least features custom roads and cars, plus a limited number of static people. I’ve always liked the static vehicles SimPixel use in their landsides, despite their repetition. Almost everything else is default (barriers, trees, etc.) and the modelled roadsigns are blank. Not sure what the point is in modelling these signs, if you’re not going to put any detail on them.
To SimPixel’s credit, they’ve included quite a lot of detail in the airport’s peripheries, plus a fair bit outside the perimeter fence, including hotels, offices, sports complexes and warehouses. Some of these are fairly basic but they get the job done. Their blending into the area’s PG isn’t particularly convincing but not something you’ll ordinarily see, unless you go snooping. There is, however, one very defined line (where scenery tiles don’t match) that runs rights across the airfield. It’s not particularly noticeable during everyday ops but quite obvious if you go to altitude with the drone cam. Like Naples, all surrounding roads have been modelled and come complete with functional streetlights. There’s also an all-encompassing perimeter fence, though it is a default asset.
Finally, night-lighting… which is a very mixed bag. The aforementioned streetlights around the airfield might look great at night but the one big let-down is that every building in the scenery bar one has no internal lighting (the one that does, I mentioned already, with the modelled but empty interior). They all have exterior lighting (which looks good) but not a single window is lit from within. Anywhere. It isn’t something you immediately notice but once you see it, you can’t ‘unsee’ it. There’s a huge ENAV (Italian state navigation services provider) office complex at the airport’s north end and to have not a single interior light on is just not believable. Might not be a big issue if flying in at midnight but during winter, it can of course be dark during business hours.
The only other anomaly I managed to find is a few floating assets (walls and a central reservation barrier) on the main carriageway running past the terminal.
PEFFORMANCE
I noticed no negative impact but I did get a few stutters when using the drone cam, which I didn’t expect. Like Naples, it might be best to exercise caution if you’ve a more modest PC. I do have MK’s LIRF (which isn’t too far away) installed, plus the airport is in the midst of Rome’s PG.
VERDICT
Considering this airport was released after Naples, it feels like a downgrade, in many areas. The general untidiness with the local PG isn’t especially concerning but it’s a flaw that combines with a number of others to create an airport that feels a little unfinished. That said, I tend to measure a scenery’s quality by my level of enjoyment when flying in, and I did find the airport attractive on my first landing and taxi to stand. If you’re not planning on getting out of the cockpit while using it, I guess you can’t really go wrong with this version of LIRA (I’m sure that ICAO code is intentional!).
This could’ve been a great product had a little more care and attention been paid in development. The basis is here for a solid airport: superb ground textures, mostly-bespoke airfield lighting, custom GSE and landside vehicles, good surrounding modelling, and all local navaids functional. The static aircraft are also decent, although I would personally like to see the DHL A300 and RYR 737s gone (or toggleable) in order to provide more usable stands.
Even the night-lighting is good, where it exists. But the problem of no internal lights, with the exception of one building, is very off-putting. Even a handful of illuminated windows in the huge ENAV building would do, just to give the impression of life.
In summary, I’m a fan of this airport in the daytime. Overall it looks good, and the approach from the north, over downtown Rome, is satisfying (thanks Asobo!). The approach from the south is also nice, taking in some scenic central Italian countryside. If you want LIRA in your collection, your choice is currently limited: it’s either this… or Barelli (I’ll say no more!). You could do far worse but there’s no escaping its rough edges. For me, the biggest issue is the lack of internal lighting in 99% of the buildings at night, and it makes arriving here after dark a not-entirely-convincing experience. If you are a daytime-only pilot, I can highly recommend it, in spite of the flaws. If you like to fly at night, however, you’ve a decision to weigh up. In my opinion, it suffers many of the same flaws as Naples, but they seem to stand out more here.
On a final note, I did witness a Ryanair 737 land and then vanish halfway down RWY15. I’m still none the wiser as to who’s responsible for such anomalies but this doesn’t happen at Naples — therefore it’s hard to believe SimPixel would get it right at one airport but completely fail at another.
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