Test machine specs: MSI X670E, AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, AMD Radeon RX 7900XTX, 48gb RAM
Reviewed for: FS2024
Add-ons: FS Traffic, GSX Pro
Most in the community are familiar with Verticalsim and their quality speaks for itself, so this review is (probably) going to be a little more brief than usual.
DETAIL
Verticalsim are close to the top of the scenery development game and KPBI manages to improve on their already stellar work in a number of key areas. Ground textures/markings are excellent (without being the very best — likely because they don’t currently offer FS20204-native products) but I would like to see custom airfield lighting. As an aside here, it’s actually hard to tell if the lighting is already custom but regardless of whether or not it is, it very closely resembles what’s on offer in the standard SDK.
The terminal looks absolutely fantastic, it has to be said. The real-world building is quite hideous (it looks like a giant concrete prison!) and Verticalsim have modelled and weathered it to perfection. Its interior is fairly comprehensive and reasonably detailed but there exists better in 2026. For the purpose it serves, though, it’s more than good enough, particularly since the structure isn’t blessed with a great deal of glass. Furthermore, there have been static people models added to give it a bit of life.
I have frequently criticised Verticalsim’s outdoor landsides but what we have at KPBI is arguably their best yet: fully modelled and beautifully-detailed — in fact the only thing it would benefit from is the addition of a few more static people.
The ramp contains a good deal of clutter and it’s all high quality, as you would expect from this developer. The airport sees a lot of executive traffic and the aprons that accommodate these flights have been finished to the same standard as the amazing main terminal (complete with an excellent variety of static aircraft models). This gives the airport a very satisfactory feeling of completeness that many devs fail to achieve.
Surroundings-wise, Verticalsim never disappoints. Hotels, malls, restaurants, offices, a baseball centre… it’s all here for you to enjoy while on finals. If I had to be critical, I’d like to see some of the surrounding roads (those that’ve been left to default satellite imagery) custom-modelled, or at least touched up. There are also a number of tree models that are those horrible interlaced 2D things, that resemble a simple cross when viewed from above. Their juxtaposition with far better tree models mere pixels away can look disappointingly odd but it’s really not going to be an issue for everyday ops.
Finally, night-lighting is great but I can’t help but feel Verticalsim are missing a trick by not opting to create FS2024-native versions. Their night-lighting would really shine (pardon the pun!) in the newer sim.
PERFORMANCE
Reviewing so many sceneries, I’ve become very sensitive to performance, whether it be good or bad. In the case of KPBI, performance is notably exceptional on my machine, given the level of detail across the airfield. Kudos to the team (which I’m pretty sure is actually just one guy who calls in the odd favour!) for the optimisation on this one! The airport is surrounded by dense PG so I feel something special has been achieved here.
VERDICT
KPBI is I’d say Vert’s best airport yet. The dev’s traditional weaknesses aren’t manifesting (and where they are, they’re far less obvious). The frankly ugly architecture of the terminal building — in all its drab and dull glory — has been perfectly recreated and although a couple of areas around it appear somewhat lifeless (parts of the outdoor landside, basically), the airport generally feels bustling. It fits neatly into the surrounding PG (to the point that I had to take the drone out to check which buildings were Vert’s and which were default PG) and the coastal location makes for some really pleasing approaches, particularly when the sun’s low.
It’s one of the most well-rounded airports released so far this year, I think. Its weaknesses are minor niggles rather than issues that will in any way destroy immersion. Flight options out of here are overwhelmingly domestic (mostly to/from the northeast states) but there’s enough variety to make KPBI an airport you’ll want to come back to, again and again. It’s visually a superb-looking scenery, in a beautiful location; and the surprisingly good performance is the cherry on top!
IMAGES
Doesn’t seem much point in posting screenshots but if anyone wants to see any specific areas of the airfield, shout and I’ll add some.