Aircraft used: PMDG 738
Live weather: on
This is my first scenery by Roman Design and my first airport in British Columbia. It’s quite pricey, even when discounted, so let’s see if it’s worth the money…
DETAIL
The main apron, along with the terminal and its landside frontage, are a collective masterpiece. There’s nothing whatsoever to pick fault with and if I had to single out one airport with which to illustrate how a terminal should be done, I think this would be it. The modelling and texturing are just fantastic — just look at the reflective qualities of this watery grime on the terminal roof…
Roofs are commonly neglected so it’s great to see such detail, which adorns not just this small area but the entire roof! The terminal interior is perhaps this scenery’s centrepiece — it’s not fully modelled per se but we do get in extreme detail the arrivals hall, check-in area, main (uniquely cylindrical) concourse and entire airside beyond security/customs. There’s not a great deal missing All these areas are populated by static passengers, and the odd animated example (though these tend to randomly appear and disappear).
The airside ramp is filled with custom clutter, along with a sprinkling of more default-looking stuff. We get a good number of static aircraft dotted around the various aprons and they’re very well modelled, seamlessly fitting in with their surroundings. One thing I’d like to have seen is an airliner or two at the terminal — not necessarily at a primary gate (where it could interfere with PC live traffic mods) but perhaps parked remote, just to make the terminal feel that bit more alive.
The landside is equally impressive, featuring tons of custom assets including official Victoria buses and police cars, vegetation, signage, lamp-posts, benches, static people, etc. Ground textures are very good here, just as they are on the main apron, taxiways and runway.
The detail continues across the airfield and although the modelling is ever-so-slightly more basic in the periphery areas, the texturing remains high-quality. There’s the Viking hangar, aviation museum, Spitfire cafe/restaurant, seaplane dock (with seaplanes, of course)… plus a few Easter eggy bits and pieces to discover outside the perimeter fence.
So, is there anything I don’t like? Unfortunately, yes. Away from the main apron, taxiways and runways, some of the ground textures look a bit bland and uninteresting, and there’s quite a bit of default satellite imagery left in, fitting quite awkwardly alongside the custom work. It looks rather like a patchwork quilt in places.
There are also too many of those default trees that seem to blur and shapeshift as you get near them. They have a terrible habit of ‘moving through’ custom assets such as cars, buildings, etc. There are a couple that obscure a beautifully-modelled brick wall at the terminal. To have so many of them in such prominent areas of the airport is a touch disappointing — not the end of the world by any means but it takes a bit of the shine off what is otherwise a benchmark MSFS airport.
PERFORMANCE
The good news is that performance and stability are sublime, as attested by many other people in the forums who’ve extolled the virtues of this scenery. No stutters. No black screens. No CTDs. My first arrival was performed entirely in external view and as I taxied in I was constantly shifting the camera. Following my arrival at the gate I took the drone out into every nook and cranny for 35mins… after which everything was still tickety-boo on the flightdeck!
VERDICT
Despite my criticisms of a couple of relatively minor flaws, this is a superb airport for Xbox — but it is mildly disappointing to know it could have been better still. A couple of small annoyances take the polish off what could very easily have been a top five airport. That said, it’s certainly top 20 as it is, which is no insignificant feat when you’re up against late 2023’s competition.
It’s a beautiful airport that does some things better than any other, and it’s located in a very scenic photogrammetry area, not far from Vancouver, Friday Harbour and Seattle.
Its price may be quite high considering the size of the airport but I’d say it’s justified. There are far worse airports out there with similar or higher asking prices. That Roman’s own CYOW is cheaper I think is indicative of the ‘next-level’ quality of Victoria relative to his previous work.
Very highly recommended, whether you frequent the skies of Western Canada or not. If Roman could fix the minor issues I highlighted, I think this would be a strong contender for best MSFS airport of the year.
It just keeps getting better for Xbox!
IMAGES
My only other minor niggle is a handful of floating objects, including a few cars and these totem poles.
