<\/p>\n
Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy) is one of the 27 administrative regions in France and was formed very recently coming into existence in 1984 when Normandy was split into Lower and Upper Normandy. Upper Normandy is bordered by the English Channel to the north and then the regions of Picardy, Ile-de-France, Centre and Lower Normandy to the west, east and south. A few stats about the region: it has an area of 4,756 sq. mi with a population of 1.9 million people and the capitol city is Rouen.<\/p>\n
Haute Normandie is well known for several things: it is the number one center worldwide for the manufacture of perfume bottles, it is also the number one region in France for refining oil. On the side of agriculture it is Europe\u2019s largest producer of flax and has the busiest French port for grain and paper.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\n
Installation and Configuration<\/strong><\/p>\n
The first thing to mention is the size of this package, it is rather large at 5Gbs but it\u2019s split into three separate files to make it an easier download.<\/p>\n
Installation is fairly straightforward. Each of the three files is an executable which you must run in sequence beginning with number one. After starting the first one you will need to add your registration code and then it will start to install. There is no prompting to go on to the second and third files but you must run them in order to fully install the scenery. The size of the installed scenery is approximately 5.33Gbs.<\/p>\n
I had to manually add the scenery entries into the FSX scenery library as the installer did not.\u00a0 If you run into this problem you will see there are two folders located in the FSX Addon Scenery folder; Haute Normandie VFR \u2013 Ground layer and Haute Normandie VFR \u2013 Objects layer. A word of caution here, you must set Haute Normandie VFR \u2013 Objects layer at a higher priority otherwise you will not see the bulk of the autogen.<\/p>\n
The installer also creates a program group France VFR with Haute Normandie VFR as a sub group. It is through here you can access both the French and English manual and the scenery\u2019s uninstaller.<\/p>\n
Documentation<\/strong><\/p>\n
The developers include with the product a manual and charts for the enhanced airports.<\/p>\n
At only five pages the manual is brief and an easy read. The content is basic stuff; they include some general product info, installation procedure, required hardware configuration, scenery specifications, a map of the scenery coverage area and where to get technical support.<\/p>\n
A full set of real world charts is included for the airports shown in the coverage map.<\/p>\n
Flying the Scenery<\/strong><\/p>\n
I\u2019d like to start out by listing the scenery specifications as they are given in the manual, as you will see by the list there is a great deal of emphasis placed on the autogen aspect of this scenery.<\/p>\n
Scenery Specifications:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ground textures from 0.85 to 1 meter \/ pixel resolution from IGN aerial photography reworked for an optimal visual rendition in Flight Simulator X\u00ae (summer only).<\/p>\n
\u2022 Dedicated mesh with high definition 4.75 meters (LOD13).<\/p>\n
\u2022 Lakes and rivers with navigable waters fitting the texture.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Transparency management of the seabed on the entire scene.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Semi-detailed airports including flatten platform correction.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Obstacles and VFR landmarks modeled on the entire scene including the official SIA database (antennas, towers, water towers, wind turbines, various constructions …).<\/p>\n
\u2022 Hundreds of thousands of objects and notable buildings integrated into the environment (churches, power plants, silos, castles, industrial tanks, bridges, tolls, cranes, boats, streetlights, road signs …).<\/p>\n
\u2022 Integration of 3D Automation\u00ae technology allowing multi-million buildings and realistic vegetation areas fitting geographic specs.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Extremely dense and optimized vegetation coverage using a custom rendering module controlled by artificial intelligence (AI).<\/p>\n
\u2022 Autogen buildings including additional specific and optimized 3D variations.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Geo-referenced data for maximum compatibility with future add-ons installed on the same area.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Development process 100% Microsoft \u00ae SDK specifications compliant, ensuring maximum compatibility with new releases.<\/p>\n
When I was asked to review this product I immediately said yes, I had reviewed some of their earlier regional scenery packages so I was expecting this one to be just as good or better especially with the new autogen technology.<\/p>\n
Ground Textures<\/strong><\/p>\n
Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n
Modelling:<\/strong>\u00a0 Very Good. Massive amounts of precisely placed custom autogen.<\/p>\n
Extras:<\/strong> \u00a0New 3D Automation\u00ae technology.<\/p>\n
Download Size: 3 files for a total size of 5Gbs<\/p>\n
Price: EUR 33.53 without VAT<\/p>\n
Developer Homepage: http:\/\/www.francevfr.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n
Link: http:\/\/secure.simmarket.com\/francevfr-haute-normandie-vfr.phtml<\/a><\/p>\n
Richard Desjardins<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"