KATL reaction

[Avwriter]

I thought I would start a new thread for this, so as not to hog the release thread.  Below are my initial thoughts on seeing ATL.  Others, please feel free to add you own, I will be back latter once Real Traffic is updated for this airport, and more once thoughts I have thoroughly tested it out.  I really am having a ball with it.  Thank you Vic and team for all your efforts.

Notes/criticisms based on two short sessions.

1.  Visually, I think it looks quite good.  Nice job on the terminal concourse buildings.  They very closely resemble the real thing, frankly more so than in some of the other airports in Tower 3D :-)   Likewise kudos on the 3D ground effects around the tower and along taxiway E at the east end of the airport, north of Terminal F.   The north runway complex at that end really does sit on a raised earth berm, and what you guys did looks very convincing.  I especially like the way you added trees down in the bottom of the depression in places to enhance this effect.

2. As we were warned, this is rather resource hungry add-on.  I am sure that your optimizations helped a lot.  At this point, performance is similar to KLAX back when Tower3D was first released.  Not great, but tolerable, at least during daytime with good weather.  Have not tried night time yet.

3.  The Atlanta skyline should be clearly visible due north of the airport.  Most of your other airports provide city views where appropriate.  I do understand and fully support your choice if this was a performance compromise, but I still miss seeing the city, and wanted to note it, just in case it was overlooked accidentally.

4.  IRL, there is a rather prominent concrete wall around the length of Taxiway Victor (8R end-around).  It is a fairly visually distinctive feature of the airport, and I doubt that adding it would have a major impact on performance.  Hard to find a good pic of it, but here is one from when the taxiway was under construction.  You can see that it extends all the way around the curve to the north end of Concourse T:                  
5. Being a little OCD here, but IRL the land off to the west of the airport is not nearly a hilly as depicted.  In reality is mostly expressways out there.  However, I must admit what you did there does make it rather pretty, so maybe keep it anyway.  I suppose I will not have much luck convincing the city authorities to add some pretty green hills out there so that the real area will match the virtual one  :-)

6. The size of this airport really really really makes me wish that we could either have a couple of extra fixed view points to better see the action, or something akin to a chase plane view that the player could select at will, instead of depending on the automated action cam that we currently have.  I know I know - next version - but I had to say it anyway.  I don't know what you will do when you get around to KDFW, where they actually have more than one control tower.

In all seriousness, thanks again for all your work on bringing KATL to life in my own home.  I really do love this airport and this is so cool, even better than having the Imaginesim KATL add-on for FSX (which is far worse on performance)   :-)

Andrew

 

 

[futureboy]

This airport is sooooo big.
How big is it?
It is so big I had to stop and refuel twice while taxiing out to runway 10/28 :)

Keep up the good work,
RickyJ

[Avwriter]

40 minutes ago, futureboy said:

This airport is sooooo big.
How big is it?
It is so big I had to stop and refuel twice while taxiing out to runway 10/28 :)

Keep up the good work,
RickyJ

Ha ha.  IRL it really stinks when your plane lands on 10/28.  The taxi distance is about is only about half a mile, but it feels a looooot longer.  Most of the time it is used for overflow at peak times and for Caro flights destined for the South Cargo Ramp.  It is rare to see it used for departures except for south cargo flights that are not so heavily loaded as to require 9L/27R.

 

Andrew

[winsaudi]

I wondered whether the release of KATL would mean Andrew disappearing from this forum until he ran out of food/furniture to chew on or whether we would get comments like "IRL there are 178 taxiway stripes from gate C1 to 27R but in your sim there are only 177". 

Seriously though, if only every T3D airport was championed by someone like Andrew and then given an opening day review with such enthusiasm & knowledge. What a great advert for the product that would be.

Andrew/Vic, I raise a glass to you both.

Wayne

[Avwriter]

54 minutes ago, winsaudi said:

I wondered whether the release of KATL would mean Andrew disappearing from this forum until he ran out of food/furniture to chew on or whether we would get comments like "IRL there are 178 taxiway stripes from gate C1 to 27R but in your sim there are only 177". 

Seriously though, if only every T3D airport was championed by someone like Andrew and then given an opening day review with such enthusiasm & knowledge. What a great advert for the product that would be.

Andrew/Vic, I raise a glass to you both.

Wayne

Thanks Wayne.  That was really very kind of you to say.

Andrew 

[Avwriter]

Views and videos from KATL tower are relatively rare.  Here are a couple of short ones.  Enjoy!

 

 

[FeelThere_Vic]

To be perfectly honest (and some may call it unprofessional) we put an extra effort into KATL due to the excitement here on this forum :)

As developers we could be all distant and corporate but we are human too. Who followed us in our soon to be 15 years know we always appreciated the fun environment and we always wanted to be personal with you guys. 

We appreciate it a lot, without you guys it would be just a job. 

Thank you

Vic

[futureboy]

 

15 hours ago, Avwriter said:

Views and videos from KATL tower are relatively rare.  Here are a couple of short ones.  Enjoy!

Too bad there is nobody in the forum that goes to the "top of the South Terminal daily parking deck of KATL" to take some live photos and videos :)  
It would also be really cool if someone that was "a military fast jet pilot" and "spent many many half-days in ATC towers as a duty pilot or duty instructor" was part of the forum, hey could post some really neato photos also :)

RickyJ

[Avwriter]

4 hours ago, futureboy said:

 

Too bad there is nobody in the forum that goes to the "top of the South Terminal daily parking deck of KATL" to take some live photos and videos :)  
RickyJ

There are already a ton of photos and videos from the areas I go to for airport watching (lets be fair - there is a lot more to see than just planes).  One guy in particular (Matt Cochran - search out his YouTube channel) has posted literally hundreds of hours of footage from KATL over several years, complete with humorous/bizarre commentary, and even a few emergencies and wild weather events.  So there is little need reinvent the wheel.  Anyway, I am not so much into the photography thing, since when I spend all my time stuck behind a camera, I feel like I am missing the action for myself :-)  Footage and photos specifically from the tower, however, is much harder to come by. 

 

Andrew

[Methos]

On 5/25/2017 at 4:22 PM, winsaudi said:

Seriously though, if only every T3D airport was championed by someone like Andrew and then given an opening day review with such enthusiasm & knowledge. What a great advert for the product that would be.

Then let's get another one started!  :)  I seem to remember reading somewhere that KBOS is either in the works or at least a planned airport for T3D.  That one is my, "backyard airport" (used to work there) and the reason I spent many MANY hours in Tower!2011.  Not that KLAX and KATL aren't challenges but I enjoy the challenge KBOS presents with the crosswind runways.  For example, having arrivals coming in on 22L and 27 while departing from 22L (and 22R: non-jet).  Not to mention dealing with Cape Air and it's ability to land with about 3 feet of runway!  Okay, all aircraft approaching taxiway N, Cessna 402 making it's way to terminal C, clear the way please!  (More like, Cair 5155 hold short of taxiway november, for about 30 minutes)  Ha!

 

The other thing I like about KBOS is that everything for the most part is right in front of you.  You're not getting whiplash swinging 180 degrees to the runways on the other side of the field.  It's all the action right in your face.  The tower is practically directly above the ramps for terminals B and C so plenty of closeups.  But PLEASE, you've got to give us north and south cargo.  (KLAX for example has no cargo ramp - unless you put them on the GA ramp.)  I used to love looking out the US Airways terminal and seeing those big DC-10's across the ramp.  Followed by the characteristic drone of an AA Saab 340B taxiing by (eyeroll - thankfully they've gone to all RJ's now and no longer park overflow traffic near Terminal A).

 

Anyway, a great airport for T3D, in my opinion.  Just over 1,000 ops per day, about 700 less than KLAX but still a challenge depending on how the runways are configured.  And right now with runway 4R/22L out of service for repaving, there's an added challenge!  So that's my, "plug" if you will.  I'll have to get down there and shoot some video sometime from central parking or Revere Beach but there's plenty already, including ATC recordings from the famous, "Boston John."  (not me - ha!)

 

~ John

[Methos]

And just for kicks .. here are some KBOS ops from Tower!2011, with my own custom made flight schedule that I built painstakingly one flight at a time from the actual arrivals and departures at the time.  I also modified the terminals heavily.  For example, Terminal B was split into Terminal B American, Terminal B US Airways, Terminal B US Airways Shuttle, Terminal B American Eagle, etc.  So each airline and each type within each airline goes to the appropriate area.  (For the most part  :p )

 

 

[winsaudi]

5 hours ago, Methos said:

Then let's get another one started!  :)  I seem to remember reading somewhere that KBOS is either in the works or at least a planned airport for T3D.  That one is my, "backyard airport" (used to work there) and the reason I spent many MANY hours in Tower!2011.  

That is good news! Looks like you've got yourself a job.

[Avwriter]

That's cool, John.  Yep, KBOS will be neat.  Also coming up (based on Vics comments) are KLAS, KSFO, KLGA(Simulated Designs), and probably EDDF (strongly hinted at by Vic, but not confirmed that Nyerges is working on this).  All five of these airports have some level of cross runway action, but each in very different ways.  With these releases, I think it is safe to say that Tower3DPro will be coming into its prime, and it will gradually begin to have something that is reminiscent of  the vast playing field we now have with Tower2011.

 

Andrew

[Ty Jackson]

12 hours ago, Methos said:

Then let's get another one started!  :)  I seem to remember reading somewhere that KBOS is either in the works or at least a planned airport for T3D.  That one is my, "backyard airport" (used to work there) and the reason I spent many MANY hours in Tower!2011.  Not that KLAX and KATL aren't challenges but I enjoy the challenge KBOS presents with the crosswind runways.  For example, having arrivals coming in on 22L and 27 while departing from 22L (and 22R: non-jet).  Not to mention dealing with Cape Air and it's ability to land with about 3 feet of runway!  Okay, all aircraft approaching taxiway N, Cessna 402 making it's way to terminal C, clear the way please!  (More like, Cair 5155 hold short of taxiway november, for about 30 minutes)  Ha!

 

The other thing I like about KBOS is that everything for the most part is right in front of you.  You're not getting whiplash swinging 180 degrees to the runways on the other side of the field.  It's all the action right in your face.  The tower is practically directly above the ramps for terminals B and C so plenty of closeups.  But PLEASE, you've got to give us north and south cargo.  (KLAX for example has no cargo ramp - unless you put them on the GA ramp.)  I used to love looking out the US Airways terminal and seeing those big DC-10's across the ramp.  Followed by the characteristic drone of an AA Saab 340B taxiing by (eyeroll - thankfully they've gone to all RJ's now and no longer park overflow traffic near Terminal A).

 

Anyway, a great airport for T3D, in my opinion.  Just over 1,000 ops per day, about 700 less than KLAX but still a challenge depending on how the runways are configured.  And right now with runway 4R/22L out of service for repaving, there's an added challenge!  So that's my, "plug" if you will.  I'll have to get down there and shoot some video sometime from central parking or Revere Beach but there's plenty already, including ATC recordings from the famous, "Boston John."  (not me - ha!)

 

~ John

Yea I definitely agree BOS would be a great add on, I support that. Between BOS, LGA, and my all time favorite CLT my collection would be complete, if Feelthere and Sim Smith Designs are taking requests.

[Avwriter]

On 5/26/2017 at 3:33 AM, FeelThere said:

To be perfectly honest (and some may call it unprofessional) we put an extra effort into KATL due to the excitement here on this forum :)

Vic

Of course, now that the secret is out, and we know what you guys are really capable of, we will have to start holding you guys to a higher standard.  Isn't life great?  :-))

 

Andrew