Cloud9’s Amsterdam SchipholReviewed by Ludo Lambrechts
The effect of the European airport hubs on international air travel is one that is exercised with precise care. Airports such as Heathrow Int’l (United Kingdom), Frankfurt-Main (Germany), Charles de Gaulle (France) and Schiphol (The Netherlands) all strive to become Europe’s most frequented airports. All of these airports have their engineering and architectural wonders and have designed systems, as well as routines to ensure a smooth stop through their airports. As Schiphol handles over 43 million passengers a year an extra emphasis is necessary for EHAM in MSFS2004.
Schiphol is one of the few airports in the default Microsoft Games Flight Simulator that is “presentable.” The airport was designed with limited effort, and quality, and is not exactly worth a second visit. Coming off the successful releases of Rome, Life In Elba, and the F-104 Star Fighter, Cloud9 continues their dominant quality with their development of Amsterdam-Schiphol. This add-on dedicated to this airport–which has its own casino-displays Amsterdam’s Schiphol Int’l in a way never seen in a personal flight simulator.
The important part of a flight simulator add-on is being able to use it. The initial add-on is a very simple installation process and goes directly into your flight simulator. However the next step is a little bit frustrating but by carefully following instructions is very simple. The scenery requires activation from within the flight simulator. An internet connection is required to register and activate this product. After activating it the first time, you will be okay to use this add-on for as long as you want, but if you have to reinstall your computer, or get a new computer you will need to send the necessary e-mails to re-activate your scenery. Therefore remember to hold on to those receipts as they will be needed again!
After installing and activating this scenery, you won’t be looking back at other add-ons for Schiphol, and will easily forget about the “advanced” installation procedure. By far this is the most advanced, beautiful and complex rendition of EHAM ever developed. The quality of this add-on is exemplary. This add-on features satellite images, and effectively uses them. All four seasons are included, but the airport looks most vibrant in the summer time. The buildings have been modelled with perfection and expertise, all details have been included as well as FPS saving factors have been implemented. Photorealistic textures have been wrapped around these buildings, and a tremendous amount of eye candy has been created.
The airport AI, AFCAD and ATC information have been developed in this add-on with tremendous care. The taxiways, runways, and lighting procedures are accurate creating an ultra-realistic experience as you either depart or land at Schiphol. This is extremely important as this result in accurate parking spots, perfect AI taxiing, and an overall feeling of being there. All taxiway signs have also been included to perfection, and the feeling of being a pilot actually there doesn’t get any better than this.
Frame rates are very important when considering flight simulator add-ons. Sceneries are usually very hard on your frame rates as they feature thousands of textures, houses, and AI Aircraft. Cloud9 hasn’t done a bad job in regards to preserving a smooth frame rates. Schiphol runs quite smooth on any computer, but other add-ons out there have done a better job at developing a system-friendly scenery add-on. If you have a medium- to high-end computer though as this add-on won’t cause you problems and will look amazing. In this add-on you can be free to explore the huge area covered by Schiphol, and won’t be stuck in a slideshow.
There have been a few high-quality add-ons developed that transform The Netherlands mesh. Most notably is the add-on VFR Netherlands by Aerosoft/Horizon Simulations. This add-on is a very nice one, and would be a shame to get rid of. I personally own this add-on and love it for its tremendous visuals, and performance. Cloud9’s Amsterdam Schiphol title however if arranged properly in the scenery library works perfectly with VFR Netherlands and creates a beautiful depiction of that beautiful country. The ability to work together with other add-ons propels the value of this product to a higher level than it already is at.
Most of all a small part of Amsterdam has been touched by this add-on. The default city itself is a typical reproduction of what you’d see from any other default city. A few recognizable landmarks and some autogen have been included as default. Cloud9 has created new autogen buildings exclusive to the Amsterdam area, and has remodelled the Amsterdam landmarks including the Amsterdam Arena. The focus of the scenery is based around the Schiphol airport, with the city of Amsterdam being a great add-on to this sweet package.
Cloud9 has proven with this add-on that they have a talented team of developers and will continue to be amongst the leaders in commercial scenery design. Amsterdam is a tremendous add-on with great visuals. The airport functions are done perfectly, the ground textures are among the best I’ve ever seen, there is movement in the airport, and the add-on is also capable of being run on most mid- to high-end computers. The work put into this add-on is at par with many other leading sceneries being produced such as Fly Tampa scenery or Aerosoft’s Frankfurt-Main. Therefore at the end of the day it will be a decision of personal preference, not quality. For their great work on this scenery add-on I award Cloud9 a 9.0 out of 10.
Reviewed by Ludo Lambrechts for Cloud9
Cloud9's Amsterdam Schiphol, My Review
[GK-customfield]FSX[customfield-GK] 
