Bijan Habashi has created something quite special with his 4 Seasons Pack, the closest thing we have right now to emulate Seasons in Flight Simulator, besides adding a huge variety of new trees all over the world. The developer has also become a role model for communication and customer support in the community. His mods are constantly updated and user feedback is happily received and quickly deployed.
It’s with this community trust that Bijan is now introducing a new project for MSFS, with the goal to further improve the world of Flight Simulator. ‘Project: Rock Islands, Sunken Boats, Huts, PG Trees‘ looks to enhance the experience when flying in coastal areas, more specifically by enhancing islands with custom vegetation, adding new rocky islands that are missing in MSFS, replacing the ‘sunken’ boats for 3D models wherever they exist (marinas, beaches, and so on), enhancing famous vacations spots with huts and removing photogrammetry tress from where they don’t belong.
As one can imagine, doing this for the entire world is a massive undertaking. We’ve seen Seafront Simulations, for example, starting to release regional packs with improved coastline ambiance, hopefully expanding the idea to the rest of the world over time. It’s an example of how big such a project can be, but Bijan has an interesting idea for this new project: to take user requests and issue free updates with new enhanced areas.
At launch, this project includes an overhauled Long Beach Shoreline Marina, where 700 boats have been added to the scenery, and also the Nui Rock Island in Nui Beach and the famous James Bond Island, both in Thailand. Some poorly placed photogrammetry trees in Nicelii Airport and Los Angeles have also been removed.
It’s not much for a start, admittedly, but what’s available right now is sort of an example of what Bijan is proposing to anyone who wants to apply these enhancements in a specific location in the world. The real value of the product will come with the subsequent updates. That is, of course, if the developer is able to deliver on his promises in a timely manner, and there’s no reason to expect otherwise given Bijan’s reputation.
The overall idea is definitely interesting. You can get ‘Project: Rock Islands, Sunken Boats, Huts, PG Trees‘ right now for less than $10/€10, and get free updates for life. It may just be a cool way to get a new place to explore from time to time, but the really cool thing about this is the possibility to specifically ask Bijan to enhance some location and have that introduced in the product with no further cost.
All requests should be sent directly to Bijan ([email protected]). These can range from asking for boats to be added to a specific marina or shoreline, to enhance an existing island or add missing rock formations, enhance trees in specific locations, and more.
It’s unclear at this time how long these updates will take although, again, previous experience points to a quick reaction from the developer. Also, who knows if this new project becomes hugely popular and Bijan won’t be able to handle all the requests in due time? It’s a bit of a gamble but, in our opinion, worth the plunge.
Project: Rock Islands, Sunken Boats, Huts, PG Trees requires the 4 Season Pack to be installed, and it’s now available from Simmarket, where you will also be able to get any further updates.
