Real NZ Review

REAL NZ have produced an absolute stunner here...

Their latest addon for fs2004 features 3500 sq kms of fully autogenned photoreal ground textures for the capital city of New Zealand- Wellington, plus many of the smaller surrounding towns and rural countryside. As well as this, the download/CD also includes some custom central city buildings and waterfront landmarks, a few helipads, and a highly detailed GMAX-designed NZWN, Wellington International Airport which is renowned for its difficult approach, gusty weather and short runway. The actual 3D scenery at the airport is unbelievable. Better than anything I have ever seen before in flight simulator. You might have tried the ‘FlyTampa’ series and thought they were the ultimate airport addons. If so, then be prepared to think again!

Although the airport is not too large area wise, it is very compact with a shared International and Domestic terminal, as well as plenty of hangers and GA parking. On landing at NZWN, the first thing you will notice is the superb ground, taxiway and runway textures. Photorealistic, not default- they look incredibly realistic because they are, well, real! The surfaces are not all clean and shiny looking like the default fs2004 textures, but instead these are messy and include weathered, damp and dark patches like you would expect to see at a real busy international airport.

When you pull up to the gate you will see red and green bars on the terminal wall in front of you. Line up with them, shut down the engines and pull the parking break. You will be amazed at what happens next. The jetway moves right up to connect with your aircraft’s door at the correct height. A baggage truck pulling a train of empty luggage trailers actually drives from the terminal out onto the apron and around the back your aircraft to pull up next to your cargo door. Incredible!

Once parked up, take full advantage of whatever special cameras views you have installed and explore around the place. Look at all the parked vehicles, custom structures and busy AI. It is a great place to do some virtual plane spotting! The attention payed to detail by the developers is uncanny, and the more you search around the place, the more you will be surprised!

Next let’s talk about the photoreal. The texture coverage stretches all the way from the Cook Straight harbor entrance, over the CBD, across Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt and Porirua all the way north to the top of Kapiti Island including Paraparaumu airport. All in all, that is heaps of hours worth of endless exploring just by itself!

I took my Piper Tomahawk up for a flight just checking out the region and spent about an hour and a half just mindlessly exploring the vast variety of scenery on display- everything from urban city centers to coastal tourist towns, and sloping valleys to rugged mountain peaks. Another thing you will notice with this addon compared to say, REAL NZ Auckland City, is how green everything is. The Wellington area receives a lot of rain, and thanks to this, all the surrounding countryside are lush shades of green, stretching from the sea all the way inland.

Another thing you will love is the location of this scenic area. The city is positioned right in the centre of the country, at the bottom tip of the North Island, only a 30 minute flight from the South Island. The city is surrounded by a lot of sea, as well as interesting land formations such as countless inlets, islands, cliffs and mountains making it a perfect VFR haven. What’s more, is that the actual city of Wellington is spread about over a wide area in different segments, so there are not any fat clusters of dense framerate hugging autogen! In fact, for my slow 2.4ghz system I get remarkably smoother performance, much better than say FlyTampa’s Boston Logon airport, which I fly at with the same settings as NZWN.

While I am an Auckland resident in real life, I would be happy to declare myself a virtual Wellingtonian. This addon has a such greater variety of scenery showcasing New Zealand, which will please both kiwi’s and foreigners alike. So if you want a taste of the down under lifestyle, visit SimMarket to see what I am talking about. You wont be disappointed!

PS.
The CD version includes install files for two other great freeware New Zealand addons, Godzone Turangi (a photoreal area that includes volcanoes and lakes produced by the same company as Real NZ), and a Redbaron Entertainment’s 75m mesh package that enhances NZ no end. I have the R.B.E 20m. payware version which is also another brilliant addon for the country. You can read me review of it here, which is in the form of a tour.