Test machine specs: MSI X670E, AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, AMD Radeon RX 7900XTX, 48gb RAM
Reviewed for: FS2024
Add-ons: FS Traffic, GSX Pro
DETAIL
Abha is the latest airport from Tuwaiq and so I expected quality matching or exceeding that of Medina (my last scenery review). Modelling-wise, it mostly delivers. The terminal is beautifully crafted, inside and out, although the static people have a weird LOD issue that causes them to disappear at close range (normally the opposite is true, of course). The landside area is superior to that seen at Medina, with a better variety of cars and fixed assets. All airport roads are custom, however as with Medina, there are too many buildings that exist only as default satellite imagery, and no perimeter fencing. Luckily, this is a much smaller airport so the lack of detail away from the main terminal area is not as noticeable.
Ground textures are actually poorer than Medina, I’d say. There’s a strange effect on a couple of aircraft stands that manifests as dark, overlapping triangles — it’s not visible on satellite maps so clearly an anomaly that should have been dealt with before release. Also like Medina, the airfield is devoid of taxiway signage, with BATC instructing me to “taxi at captain’s discretion”. Worse still, the airport seems to have no frequencies available for arrival or departure (something I need to fully check out but I was unable to summon anyone on my one arrival and one departure so far).
Night-lighting is more pleasing than at Medina, particularly landside of the terminal. In fact, the night-lighting really is stunning in places.
Sadly, we see the same LOD issues that plague Medina (although on a scale more relative to the airport’s size). The VIP terminal features some lovely custom palm tree models but they vanish at an astonishingly short distance.
Since this isn’t a busy facility, I did not see any aircraft arrive or depart but the parked airliners were at least where they should be.
PERFORMANCE
Needless to say, the scenery is commendable in this department.
VERDICT
Another Tuwaiq scenery, and another mixed bag. The modelling here is probably on a par with Medina (i.e. very good) but feels superior, likely because the airport is smaller and more intimate. The terminal interior/landside and the general airfield night-lighting are standout, but we see the same recurring issues: too many airfield structures left to default ground imagery, no taxiway signage, botched navdata, LOD issues, no perimeter fencing, and insufficient apron clutter. There are also a couple of streams that encroach onto the runway here.
Once again, the foundations are in place for a great airport — it just needs tidying, and a bit more adding to make it feel truly alive. The modelling isn’t the issue; the issue, is, there’s not enough of it.
Al that said, we need to talk price. In the current sale, I paid just over £4. You’re actually getting quite a lot for your money, and I doubt anyone could reasonably expect much more. As with Medina, I’m not expecting the dev to fix absolutely everything, but any nav and AI traffic problems do need addressing, just to ensure basic functionality. I will say, though, that I’d rather pay a couple of pounds more and have all the faults fixed.
Abha is surrounded by some stunning terrain, and my flight down from Medina took in some superb scenery. My first experiences with Saudi Arabia in the sim — between Dammam and Riyadh — were marred by mismatched terrain tiles, however I’ve noticed very few issues flying west and south of Riyadh. Overall, for just over £4, you can’t really go wrong with Abha… as long as you accept it’s current shortfalls.
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