This week, Orbx posted on their forum regarding their two new add-ons in development. One of them is the Landmarks Detroit City Pack, which was released yesterday for Microsoft Flight Simulator and X-Plane 12. This add-on provides custom buildings and landmarks for the city of Detroit in both simulators. It will complement their upcoming release of the Detroit Metropolitan Airport (KDTW) scenery still in development for both simulators. The forum post included some screenshots and features of the two add-ons.
Detroit Metropolitan Airport Scenery Preview
This project according to Orbx has been in development for more than two years. It started as an X-Plane add-on, later starting development for MSFS. Via their forum post, Orbx shared some screenshots for the MSFS and X-Plane 12 versions to showcase this new scenery. According to the forum post, Detroit Metropolitan Airport will launch shortly after the release of the Landmarks Detroit City Pack add-on. We can expect this scenery to release very soon.
The features of this scenery were also shared by Orbx. This scenery will include custom GSE and jetways specific to this airport. Custom meshes are included for both simulators, being compatible with Ortho4XP in X-Plane 12. The interiors of the terminal are scaled 1:1 compared to the real airport. All buildings in this airport are custom-made with no generic buildings used. This scenery has a refined level of detail allowing for greater detail without compromising performance.
Here are some more features you can expect with this scenery in both simulators:
- Custom animations all over the airfield including toggleable hangar doors in XP12 and animated shuttles
- Seasonal effects such as snow piles and custom weather maps allow a more realistic water and snow accumulation
- Animated highway/roadway traffic (XP12)
- Spirit, Endeavor, Signature, and SkyWest hangar interiors modeled
Landmarks Detroit City Pack Released
A few days after the forum post, Orbx announced via X that their Landmarks Detroit City Pack add-on has been released. Giving us a detailed representation of the waterfront and industrial areas of Detroit. Creating over 52 custom buildings, including some important sports venues, skyscrapers, and landmarks of the city.
These buildings come with emissive textures for a more pleasant nighttime flying experience. In the city’s downtown, you can spot the Detroit People Mover which is animated. Some highly detailed models like cranes, vehicles, and structures were created to replace the photogrammetry of the city.
The Landmarks Detroit City Pack is available in the Orbx Store for MSFS and X-Plane 12. The MSFS version has a cost of $14.95 AUD and the X-Plane 12 version has a cost of $19.95 AUD. If you want to know more about Orbx’s work, you can check our previous article regarding their TrueEarth Great Britain South release for X-Plane 12 here.
