Cloud9’s KLAXReviewed by Ludo Lambrechts
There is no airport in the world that is internationally recognized like the Los Angeles International Airport. It is no surprise, located in of the biggest cities in the world with one of the biggest tourist markets; Los Angeles receives over 60 million tourists travelling through the skies. KLAX is ranked as the 5th busiest passenger airport in the world and continues to grow. The airport covers over 14 square kilometres of land and is commonly defined by the “Theme Building”. Many can’t name the Theme building but can easily recognize it by its distinct architecture.
Los Angeles is a thriving city. Dominated by the movie industry, and plastic surgery, this city also caters to a huge tourist economy. Experiencing warm weather year round and moderate climates has gone a long way in the development of the city and its tourist markets. Also positively developing due to this demand is Los Angeles International Airport.
The airport is a huge complex. Built in 9 different terminals that are arranged in a U KLAX is very organized in terms of management, but can be extremely confusing for passengers. Split up into 9 different buildings the most difficult obstacle in KLAX is probably connecting flights. Given the shuttle bus, things still can get a little hairy. With 60 Million people coming through these buildings annually KLAX is a major airport and deserves a special spot in Microsoft Flight Simulator 9. Cloud9 gives it that spot with their latest add-on scenery.
The installation is as always extremely important and so is purchasing. People are concerned about the safety of their funs as well as the ability to use their add-on. Cloud9 has a very nifty, but sometimes tricky installation/purchase system. Everything is done inside the game and all installs automatically. Like I have said in every Cloud9 review however, keep those receipts!
Once you enter the updated airport you will be amazed with the overhaul. The airport is a major step up on SimFlyer’s KLAX let alone the default scenery. The layout is accurate for one thing, the AI parking is correct, and the taxiways are terrific. Often we see inaccurate AI parking, awkward taxing, and offset buildings. This however is not an issue in the Cloud9 KLAX scenery.
The ground textures are often the highlight of Cloud9 scenery. In the Amsterdam add-on the ground textures where clearly the best feature of the scenery. It had amazing modelling but the ground textures ran away with the show. In the KLAX add-on we see the same quality in the ground textures, but also does not steal the show in this add-on as it is more balanced. Only one texture set is included as Los Angeles doesn’t experience a 4 season cycle. The environment is generally the same in LA where as in Toronto we see sunny skies and green grass change into cold temperatures and snow covered yards. The use of one texture set may slightly restrict a completely accurate appearance, but does however cut down the size and cost of this package.
Given the huge size of KLAX it is no surprise that they also have hundreds of buildings on the property. Unfortunately for Cloud9 they’d have to include almost every single one. They have done so including an abundance of hangers, offices, hotels, and other extra buildings in KLAX. All based on photo material the textures on the buildings are accurate and the buildings are well modelled. However due to the size of KLAX these buildings suffer at a greater distance. Possibly the only graphical issue with this add-on is the buildings appearances from the runway. Textures became a little more blurry than usual and put a hamper on the quality of the backdrop. This however is much better on frame rates and does not cause a drop when viewing the airport from further away.
Also to be expected is a drop in frames. With an airport size of KLAX and the hundreds of buildings you can almost guess where your FPS will be. Now with updated textures, detailed buildings, and many other enhancements how will it run on your computer. For me the Cloud9 scenery ran just as smoothly as the default scenery. This is a great feature of the scenery, and adds a lot of value into this package.
KLAX by Cloud9 is a nice add-on which meets a lot of today’s flight simulator standards. It can compare to other developments, but still does seem to be missing something which was there in the Amsterdam scenery. The scenery is well worth the money given the extensive photo material used, and the frame rates are terrific even with the huge airport coverage. At the end of the day though when you decide on which scenery add-on to buy it will come down to personal preference, not quality! For their amazing work on KLAX I award Cloud9 a 9.0 out 10.
Reviewed by Ludo Lambrechts for Cloud9
Cloud9's Los Angeles International
[GK-customfield]FSX[customfield-GK] 
, very well written.
